If you have a basement that’s damp or even is so wet it has running water entering it (I’ve seen this several times), chances are the basement wasn’t built properly in the first place. I discuss how to build it right in my article about  Building a Basement. This article is about fixing an existing condition.

Let me state here that simply “handling” the water that enters your basement. Pumping it out is not really a solution. It does not fix the actual problem. It only deals with the symptom, not the illness.

The secret to a dry basement is to make sure the water never gets in, at all.

Let’s look at ways to cure the illness and not just the relieve some of the symptoms.

Probable Causes of a Wet Basement

If you have a wet basement, I can almost guarantee you do not have proper grading (slope of the soil) around your house and you probably do not have proper waterproofing on the exterior of the basement walls, either. Chances are you do not have a functioning footing drain at the base of your foundation wall, either. These are the usual suspects.

You probably have places where water can collect around your house walls where the final grading (slope of the ground) during construction did not provide the right slope to get the water to flow away from the house. Or the soil has “subsided” and sunken due to improper soil compaction of the soil during construction. This happens a lot. The builder simply dumps loose soil back into the space next to the foundation and the loose soil compresses over time and creates a depression on the surface. Or your might have an excessive buildup of mulch or root mass from your landscaping that causes water to puddle next to the basement walls and be unable to drain away from the house. Do any of those sound familiar?

Fixing the Problems

The most important and least costly steps you can take toward fixing a wet basement are to correct the slope of the ground around your house. Before doing anything else, you need to make sure water is draining away from the basement walls. You need to clean, fix, or add gutters and downspouts to your house. If you hate gutters and downspouts, you need to install some sort of river stone or gravel trench at the drip-line of the eave to catch the roof run-off and install a perforated pipe within the stone or gravel that slopes away to an outfall. You can’t depend on the water hitting the ground and running away on its own.

It’s best to have the downspouts discharge the rainwater, either with surface or underground pipes, far from the house and not end on simple splash blocks. Or worse yet, have the downspouts discharge right on the ground, right next to your basement wall. Any water that collects near your house will seep into the soil and eventually find its way into your basement. Water always finds a way.

Digging Up Your Yard

The second and more difficult step toward fixing a wet basement is to dig up the soil around your house, re-waterproof the basement walls, add drainage stone, and install drain piping. This is the sure method for resolving your wet basement problem. But it will be very expensive and messy. All this digging will also force you to replace your landscaping.

But if your wet basement problem is severe and you truly want to do the job right, this may be your only option. If your home is recently built and your builder left you with this problem, he or she has an obligation to fix the cause of the problem. They need to make things are the way they should have been from the start.

Once the soil has been dug away and the exterior of your basement walls is exposed, the walls must be power washed to remove all of the dirt. When the walls are clean, a high-grade waterproofing system such as  Tuff-n-Dri  should be applied. The traditional, painted-on black mastic that might even be on your walls already, is not good enough. Think of it as “window dressing” to make everyone feel like they waterproofed the walls. It simply is not waterproof. In fact, this product is noted as “damp-proofing” and specifically not “waterproofing” on architectural drawings so as to avoid misrepresentation and lawsuits.

The best of these higher level waterproofing systems like Tuff-n-Dri coats the wall with up to a 40 mil. asphalt emulsion that sets up to a rubbery consistency. Over that, a semi-rigid board of pressed fiberglass is installed. This board helps insulate the wall. But its more important function is that it acts as a drain, breaking up the hydrostatic pressure pressing against the wall and allowing the water to drain down to the foundation drain system. Do not let your contractor talk you into a lesser system.

Fix a Wet Basement without Digging

If digging everything up is not a good option, there is another solution for a wet basement. You can coat the inside surface of the walls with a waterproof coating. There are paints for this, but I prefer a product called Xypex. It is a cementitious material that is troweled onto existing concrete block or reinforced concrete. It bonds to the concrete at a molecular level and forms a crystalline formation that is too dense for water molecules to pass through. In other words, it makes the wall completely waterproof. It was recently used to fix the leaks in the Neptune Pool at the Hearst Castle in California.

Unlike other waterproofing paints, Xypex can be applied to wet surfaces. The finished surface will be a light grey, stucco-like surface. The product is fairly expensive, but nowhere near the cost of digging, etc. And you can apply it yourself, if you want to save some costs.

Caulk the Gaps

This solution will stop water from migrating through the foundation wall. But it won’t address the problem of water entering through the gap between the wall and the basement floor slab. That should be caulked with a good silicone sealer. Caulk and cracks in the floor, too. These measures should fix your wet basement if it is caused by surface water seeping into the soil around the house and then into the basement. If your problem is due to a high water table, you might need some expert help. And the solution will not be cheap.

Do not kid yourself. There is no such thing as a basement that is only “a little wet” when you are planning on finishing it off and enjoying the added living space. Water in your basement will ruin your remodeling and plague you for years to come. It’s worth the effort and expense to solve the problem the right way.

Once the wetness problem is cured, you’ll still need to make sure your basement does not feel damp and smell musty. These are issues of air quality within the basement and really have nothing to do with water infiltration. I discuss this in my article about  Building a Basement.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post A Wet Basement Can Be Fixed appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

Found mainly in the peninsula area of Michigan, the Petoskey Stone is not actually stone, geologically speaking, but fossilized coral.  Long ago, during the Devonian Era when glaciers were moving in the Great Lakes Region, rock beds and coral heads were chipped off and moved around. Over the centuries, and under the pressure of the ice masses, the coral heads became fossilized. Eventually, they became these beautiful coral-embedded stones. 

How To Use Petosky Stones

There are many ways this stone can be displayed and utilized in your home.  It can become a beautiful fireplace surround or unique backsplash. Accent the cabinets in your kitchen with Petoskey cabinet pulls. Countertops and floors have also been made using the Petoskey stone. 

Artisans use the Petoskey stones to create jewelry, carvings, lamps, and furniture as well.  Check with your local tile dealer, or your interior designer if you might want to include this natural beauty in Your Perfect House. There will be no end to the comments you’ll hear from your family and friends. Plus, you get to enjoy looking at it every single day.

A Pebble Can Become a Pearl

This “pebble” will become a “pearl” in your home. If you read my book, The Well-Centered Home, you will understand what I mean by that. Click on the link below to get yourself a copy.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Unique and Beautiful Petoskey Stone appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

The fact there are millions of colors in the world with very subtle differences in hues actually makes the task of selecting among them harder. With so many paint color choices, but with a hundred times more color possibilities, it often feels like the perfect color lies somewhere between one color sample and the next. For greys and beiges, this is particularly true. And just yesterday, a client of mine said she had gotten large paint samples of all 26 tones of white a particular paint company offers. How hard is her decision going to be?

Here are Some Tips to Help with Choosing Paint Colors

1. Find Something to Match

Sometimes it is easier to pick a paint color when you are not standing in front of many, many color choices. So instead of starting your search while standing in front of the rack of a zillion colors, start by finding an object, such as a throw pillow, a dress, some curtains, or similar that has the color you love. Take that object to the home improvement store and find the color that matches. Automatically, this will narrow your choices and make the selection easier.

2. Follow Your First Reaction

Take note of which paint colors are your “first blush” choices. Often, the colors that catch your eye initially will end up being your best and final choice. Spending too long pondering your decision can lead to you questioning your own judgment.

3. Try It Out at Home

Don’t make your final decision in the store. Take a strip of color samples (or several strips) that might be candidates home to evaluate there. This way you will see the colors in the context of your home and under the lighting conditions in your home.

4. Look at the Deeper Version of the Color

If you are choosing light colors, especially off-whites, look at the deeper colors, the paint colors with more color saturation, on the color strip that belong with the off-white color. This will show you the underlying tint of the off-white. Who hasn’t chosen a white paint color only to see it turn pink, or yellow, or greenish when the whole wall or room is painted with it. This is because the reflected light from one wall to the next will intensify the underlying tint or hue. By looking at the deeper versions of the off- white, you can more easily see the faint tones that are in it.

5. Eliminate the White Border

Cut the paint sample strip or fold it so that you can see only the paint color itself and none of the white backer card. Because our eyes gauge contrast, the bright white of the backer card will distort your perception of the actual paint color. You’ll get a better read on the true color without the influence of the white card.

6. Do a Small “Brush Out”

Finally, buy a small can of the paint color you choose, or a small can of a couple of possible colors. Then paint out a sample area (a brush out) of about two or three feet square on the wall at home. This small cost of the can of paint will be a worthwhile investment to get the color right before you spend a good deal of money on all the paint for the entire project, not to mention the time wasted if you have to repaint the room to correct a mistake.

Ultimately, It Might Be Worth the Cost of a Few Hours of Consultation with a Good Interior Designer.

One advantage an interior designer can have is they have used many of these colors on many projects. They have learned which colors they can “trust.” An experienced interior designer will have a dependable palette of colors they have used many times that won’t take on the wrong hue once the paint is on the wall and they will get the expected results. They will also know which colors can turn funky when painted in large areas.

Doing these things I suggest might take a bit more time than simply picking a paint color while standing in the store. But it will be worth it when the colors work out just as you had envisioned.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Choosing Paint Colors Is Challenging appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

Often, folks decide to not get a permit for home improvements because they worry this will alert the authorities to the fact that their house will be worth more due to the improvement, especially if the finished living space is being enlarged. They are afraid their appraised value will go up and the tax office will raise their property taxes. That is probably true.

But is it Worth the Risk?

What’s the risk of not getting a building permit? You might think I mean the risk of getting caught. No. That’s a risk, but it is not the BIG risk. What you should really worry about is the risk that your home improvement project might cause damage to your house, primarily in the form of flood or fire. If your uninspected wiring job happened to cause a fire and burn your house to the ground, your insurance company would have a perfectly valid reason to deny you compensation.

Would you like to pay for rebuilding your home after a fire? of course not. Getting permits and the proper inspections will keep your homeowner’s insurance intact. Your insurance, or your contractor’s insurance, would cover the cost.

A Bigger Risk without a Building Permit

I would guess this isn’t on your radar, but someone could get injured or killed if there is a construction accident. Building permits, and the associated inspections, give you an assurance that everything has been done correctly and safely.

Personally, I don’t think skipping the Building Permit is worth the risk. And professionally, I say you should always get a permit for any work that requires a permit. Avoiding it is just plain dumb.

So please get the proper permits and have the work properly inspected. If you are hiring a contractor to do the work and he tells you he won’t get a permit, take that as a warning that he is probably not licensed. Get rid of him and find a licensed contractor.

Get a building permit for your project. Don’t turn your “How to Remodel Your Bathroom” project into a “How to Burn Down Your House” project. Getting the proper inspections will make your house, and you, safer.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Do I Need a Building Permit? appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

In high-end houses, ten-foot high ceilings, and above, have gotten to be standard. High ceilings make rooms feel larger and more spacious. But in small rooms, such as a powder room, a room that might only be 6’x6’, a ten-foot ceiling or higher can make you look for the elevator “down button.” Did you know you can use mouldings and colors on a wall to make tall spaces appear more human sized? I recently received this question from a reader:

Question about High Ceilings in Small Spaces:

“We have a powder room with ceiling 12 feet high. What suggestions do you have so it doesn’t look like tunnel?”

My Answer: 

“Good question. You could use a trick people used in old houses with high ceilings in small spaces to make the room be more appropriately proportioned for people. These old houses, especially southern houses, had high ceilings to let the summer heat rise and make the rooms more comfortable. But often, the very high ceiling would make the room be too tall and “out of scale” for people.

But they devised a clever solution to the problem. What they did to limit the “visual height” was to place a piece of crown moulding with a small shelf on top, kind of plate rail arrangement, at the desired visual height of the room. The wall below this “cornice” was painted the wall color or wallpapered. They painted the wall above the cornice the ceiling color. There was no moulding placed where the wall eventually met the ceiling. This little trick would make your eye “stop” at the cornice and the uppermost portion of the wall would visually blend in with the ceiling thereby causing the viewer to perceive the room to be at a lower height than it actually was.”

Try this at Home

If you have an “elevator shaft” room with a high ceiling in a small space, in your house, you might want to try this tip to see if you can bring that elevator down a few feet into a more visually comfortable position.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Dealing with High Ceilings in Small Spaces appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

The insulating window shades made by cellularwindowshades.com are good examples of shades that save energy. These cleverly designed, double-cell pleated shades look great, as you would expect. They come in many colors and translucencies, from full blackout fabrics to thin, light admitting types. But what is not readily visible is the insulating benefit they provide.

When the window shade is pulled down, the double cellular honeycomb pleats open up and forms small air spaces. Still (non-moving) air is the best insulator in the world. The cells in the shades provide a double layer of still air. Installing these window shades over windows that usually turn very cold on winter nights, helps keep the cold out of the room. You are covering your energy-leaking windows with covered with an effective insulating blanket, cutting your heating bill significantly. In the summer, the insulating shade helps keep out the hot summer temperatures and sun, thus lowering your air conditioning costs.

You can further enhance the insulating benefits of the shades by installing the sidetracks they offer. These “enclose” the open ends of the cells to hold the insulating air inside the cells even better.

The manufacturer claims these shades can pay for themselves in energy savings in as little as five years. I can assure you there are not many products you can buy for your home, or build into your home, that will pay back their cost this quickly. And that doesn’t even consider the aesthetic and privacy benefits they provide. Here’s a bonus. They are made in America.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Window Shades Can Save Energy appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

Plastic Laminate Countertops  

Plastic Laminate Countertops are by far the most economical option for kitchen countertops. They may not have the social status and market appeal of granite and solid surface countertops, but plastic laminates, like Formica, WilsonArt, and Nevamar are reasonably priced, very durable, easy to care for, and can look quite nice. Plastic laminate is available in many colors and patterns, including realistic stone and wood patterns.  

Premium laminates have special textured finishes and finishes that add visual depth, much like polished stone. You can even get patterns that are unique to laminates and give a special look you can’t find anywhere else. Of course, the special finish laminates come at an additional cost. But even the top of the price range of plastic laminate will be below the cost of solid surfaces or stone.

Plastic laminates are easy to clean and because they are non-porous, they will not stain under normal use. The shortcomings of plastic laminate kitchen countertops are that they can scratch and knives will cut them fairly easily. Their biggest shortcoming is they are not heat resistant. You cannot put a hot pan directly on them or you’ll damage them. One tip. The plastic laminate choices with matte finishes will hide day to day abrasions.

Glossy surfaces will show even minor scratches. If you put a very hot pot on a plastic laminate countertop, it will almost certainly be damaged. If the edges are not sealed properly and water can get to the substrate (the particle board or plywood below the surface) the countertop will swell and be ruined. However, these issues are easily managed with trivets and making sure edges are sealed. 

Improving the Appearance of Plastic Laminate Countertops

Plastic laminates can be constructed with special edge details to enhance their appearance. Standard square edges will show a dark line where the horizontal surface joins the vertical surface. This is not very noticeable in dark colors or patterns, but it can be disconcerting with light colors. Now, mitered edges are available that can hide the dark line. Rolled edges and edges that are slightly raised to prevent spills from running over the edge of the countertop can be molded in during fabrication.

These rolled edges have no seam and therefore show no dark line. For a bit more money, you can have a wood edge added. This can elevate the aesthetics of ordinary plastic laminate and give a designer look to the kitchen countertop for a small additional cost. I find that integrated wood edges can look great with leather-look or stone-look plastic laminate.

Another limitation with plastic laminate kitchen countertops is they usually cannot have undermount sinks installed in them. A surface mount sink with a rim that sits on top of the countertop surface must be used to keep the exposed edge of the substrate beneath the plastic laminate from being exposed to water. But even with these limitations, plastic laminate kitchen countertops give you a lot for your money and will look good for a long time. 

Solid Surface Countertops

A big step up in cost from plastic laminate tops are Solid Surface Countertops. Solid surface materials such as Corian are made from acrylic polymers. The color you see on the top runs all the way through the countertop and is not simply a layer on the surface like in plastic laminate kitchen countertops.

For many years, Corian  was the only choice for solid surfaces. And the color options were essentially non-existent. But now that DuPont’s patents have run out and there are competitors in the marketplace, solid surfaces are available in many colors and patterns.

Solid surfaces have a distinct advantage over laminates in that seams are virtually invisible. Plus, small scratches can be sanded and buffed out. Sinks can be installed as surface mount units or undermounts. 

But one sink option that is unique to solid surfaces is a sink made of the very same polymer material as the countertop that can be “welded” to the countertop creating a seamless connection. This removes all crevices for dirt to accumulate and is an appealing feature. 

Solid Surface Countertops Can’t Stand the Heat

Solid surfaces are not heat resistant and hot pans can melt and burn them. The integral polymer sinks can crack if extremely hot water is poured into them. These are not extreme worries and a modicum of care will prevent these problems from occurring. But you will have to treat solid surface kitchen countertops differently than some of the other options.

As I said, solid surfaces are a significant step up in cost from laminates. An in between option is a plywood and solid surface composite. This type of countertop consists of a plywood backing with a moderately thick solid surface layer on top. By reducing the amount of polymer material needed because the solid polymer layer is thinner, the cost of the kitchen countertops can be reduced while still providing the look and feel of a thicker solid surface.  

Granite Countertops

Granite Countertops are the stylish and functional choice in high-end kitchens. You can get granite in a wide range of colors and patterns, all created by Mother Nature herself. Granite is virtually indestructible and will look good for a very long time with minimal care. 

Granite is available in two and three centimeter thicknesses, but three centimeter is the popular choice for kitchen countertops. Two centimeter is often used for bathroom vanity tops.

You may automatically think of a shiny, polished appearance when you visualize granite countertops. But granite is also available in a honed finish that is smooth, but not shiny, and it’s available in “flamed” and “leathered” finishes that have a textured surface. The flamed or leathered surfaces are still smooth enough to use for a kitchen countertop and can be cleaned easily. But they are irregular enough that it would be difficult to write your shopping list out neatly on a piece of paper on top of it. Because the honed and flamed surfaces are not yet widely used, i.e., seen everywhere, they can give your kitchen a very distinctive look.

Granite is non-porous. It will not stain under normal use, although I have seen a bottle of olive oil leave a ring after sitting in the same spot for several days. Granite does have minute voids in the surface and because of that, many people recommend sealing it to close these irregularities and keep food and bacteria out. Sealing a granite countertop is not hard. It is simply a matter of cleaning the top well and wiping on a liquid sealant. This takes just a few minutes and only needs to be done annually.

Granite Countertop Benefits

Benefits of granite kitchen countertops are that it is tough, heat resistant and beautiful. It can be fitted with undermount sinks and can also have integral drainage grooves cut into the surface to let the section of the countertop adjacent to the sink act as a drainboard.

Granite countertops are more expensive than plastic laminates, but the cost has gotten much better in recent years. The actual cost will depend on the color and pattern of the granite you select, not on the physical quality of the stone. Types of granite that are plentiful are competitively priced. Granites that are scarce are more expensive. But don’t overlook granite for your kitchen countertops just because you think it’s too expensive for you. Price out some of the more plentiful varieties and you might be surprised to find granite can fit your budget. If it does, the market value of your house will be enhanced and the small added cost may be worth it.

Some granites have patterns that are consistent throughout the slab. Others have “movement” or veining that can vary from one slab to another. If you select one of the granite types with movement, it is wise to preview and select the exact slabs for your kitchen at the granite slab supplier’s warehouse and work with the fabricator to determine how the countertop will be cut from the slab to get the veining and feature colors in the best place in your kitchen countertop.

Marble and Limestone 

Marble and Limestone Countertops  are other choices for stone tops. These are beautiful, but very hard to live with. They have many of the same virtues of granite, such as the ability to have undermount sinks and the continuous color through the thickness of the slab so edge details will not show seams.

But marble and limestone are very soft and porous stones. Mild acids like orange juice will etch the surface and dull the polished shine. Spilled liquids, like red wine, will soak in and stain the stone. Scratches will happen easily. I recommend against marble and limestone for kitchen countertops because of those shortcomings. You will be disappointed in them in a few short years.

One solid stone that has similar visual characteristics to marble is quartzite. This is not to be confused with quartz solid-surface countertops that are made of stone chips bonded into a resin. Quartzite is a solid stone from a quarry. Quartzite is a hard stone and does not have the maintenance problems true marble has. It is a good choice if you are looking for a marble type of appearance.

Quartz Composite Countertops

Quartz Composites are another kitchen countertop option. These are a man-made product, like the other solid surfaces. But quartz composites are made of over 90% crushed quartz, a very hard stone and one of the minerals in granite. The quartz stones are bonded together with resins to form what is called an “engineered stone.” It is cut into slabs and polished. Quartz countertops will give you many of the same benefits of granite, such as heat and chemical resistance and the ability to install undermount sinks.

Quartz tops come in many colors and styles. The main visual difference between these and granite is the color and pattern in a quartz countertop is much more even and uniform than granite. This is either a benefit or shortcoming, depending on your tastes. Newer offerings from the quartz top manufacturers have more movement than they have in the past. In some cases, it is hard to know if a top is quarried stone or an engineered stone. 

My clients often think that quartz tops and even solid surface countertops will be less expensive than granite, but this is not true. Quartz and Corian can be more expensive than the more plentiful and better priced granites. So, don’t select these countertops for a cost savings. Select them if they are the look you want and if you like their functional advantages.

Porcelain

One other recently available countertop choice is porcelain. Porcelain had come to dominate the tile market due to its good looks, durability, and reasonable priding. Now, large slabs (effectively giant tiles) of porcelain are being produced. These have the realistic stone images printed into them like the porcelain tiles. They are not low priced but could become so as time goes by. They are extremely durable and actually harder on the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness than granite. And they are resistant to heat. Porcelain slabs, such as Dekton, can be mitered together at the edges allowing extra thick edges and waterfall ends to be made.

Edge Details

Edge Detail Choices for granite, marble, limestone, quartz tops and solid surface tops will be similar. You have the choice of square, slightly rounded, bull-nosed, and shaped or ogee edges with any of them.

Concrete Countertops  have grown in popularity. They are not like the concrete in your sidewalk. This kind of concrete is smooth and can be formed and colored in many different ways. Unique items like bits of glass and sea shells can be imbedded in the concrete to give the kitchen countertop a personal and distinctive appearance.

Concrete countertops are sealed and polished to give an attractive and easily maintained finish. But even though concrete is an inexpensive material, concrete countertops are not inexpensive. Because of the labor that goes into making and finishing a concrete top, the cost can quickly exceed the cost of even a high-priced granite top.

Wood Countertops

Wood Countertops are possible. These can be built from many different species of wood and will give an elegant, warm look to your kitchen. But they require more maintenance than stone or plastic laminates. Wood tops need to be oiled annually to keep them sealed and prevent splitting. This is not a hard task, just like sealing granite or other stones. But wood tops cannot be exposed to water without incurring damage. They also can be damaged by very high heat.

Incidentally, there is one manufacturer of wood countertops that has a proprietary finish that allows for contact with water without damage. Grothouse Lumber has a finish they call Durata that works well and will let you have wood kitchen countertops with an undermount sink without water damage problems. Wood tops cost about the same as the higher priced granite choices, but the distinctive and warm look of the wood may be worth it.

Tile Countertops

Tile Countertops can be a three-way compromise between cost, usefulness, and appearance. Granite, ceramic, and porcelain tiles can be used to construct a countertop. The stone tiles are much less expensive than full slabs and will give you the benefits of heat resistance and the appearance of granite for less money. Ceramic tile and porcelain tile will do the same.

Tile countertops have grout between the tiles and the grout can be a cleaning challenge. If you are planning on using tile for your kitchen countertop, look at large tiles to reduce the number of grout joints and then be sure to use an epoxy grout. These kinds of grouts are very resistant to stains.

There are other exotic choices, such as slate, soapstone, and slabs made from recycled content that can be used for kitchen countertops. Each one comes with benefits and shortcomings. No single one of these is the answer to everyone’s needs. So do a little research and get samples of your prime candidates. Be sure to choose the other parts of your kitchen at the same time. It’s important to select the complete palette of countertop, backsplash, cabinets, cabinet hardware, kitchen flooring, and paint simultaneously to make sure you have everything working in harmony.

 I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Kitchen Countertops Can Make a Kitchen Beautiful appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

We’re not just a website. We are a full-service architectural firm. We offer our services several ways. Let me show you.

Three-Hour Design Consultation

This is our most basic service. It works like this. You send us your sketches or plans, even at an early stage, along with questions and notes about your goals for your house design or remodeling project. We’ll review everything and then make a list of recommendations, answers, and suggestions. Then we will discuss our recommendations with you through a one-hour video conference. If you haven’t done a video conference before, don’t worry. It’s very easy.

We sometimes do Three-Hour Design Consultations several times for folks as they develop their projects. Our suggestions often solve problems, suggest better ways to do things, and provide a valuable second opinion that might confirm what the builder, architect, or house designer is saying. We can give you some confidence and ammunition to push back on things you feel just aren’t right and need to be altered before accepting the design. Geography is no object. We have consulted on houses throughout the US and Canada, as well as, in Europe and Asia. Click here to get the full description and fees for our Three-Hour Design Consultation service.

“Design Only” Architectural Services

This is the next step up in our services and involves many, many hours of consultation and design services. Here, we will start with your Wish List, site information and a conference call and ultimately end with a complete custom house design for you. The entire process is interactive and will involve several web conferences to review and critique the house design as it progresses. If you wish, you can come to our offices in South Carolina or Delaware for in-person meetings instead of the web conferences. Or we can include one or more site visits, if you choose. We’ll provide floor plans, elevations, preliminary building sections, a site plan, three-dimensional images of the exterior of the house and other drawings to fully describe the design as we develop it.

You will be involved throughout the process in the same way you would be with our Comprehensive Architectural Services. This work can take several weeks or even a month or two, depending on the complexity of the project. When these services are complete, you will have full design concept drawings and three-dimensional views of the exterior of the house. From this point, you can retain a builder, draftsperson or local architect to prepare the actual construction documents and structural design.

Comprehensive Architectural Services

This is our full-service package and includes everything that’s in our Design Only Architectural services plus we prepare all the construction documents, structural design, specifications, and we assist you with the selection of the builder, bidding, construction contract review, periodic on-site construction meetings, on-line meetings, and construction administration services. With our Comprehensive Architectural Services, we are with you from start to finish. Usually, these services include monthly site visits during construction, even for projects that are distant to us. We have provided these services for projects from Maine to Hawaii and Florida to Wisconsin.

With our Comprehensive Services, we strive to be your guides and advisors in addition to being the designers of your house, even including helping with fixture and finish selections, review of builder’s payments, periodic site visits to review the construction, and final review of the completed project. Our goal is to be your “best buddy” and professional eyes and ears from start to finish.

We want to provide you with services you feel are highly valuable and we do not want you to feel you were obligated for services you did not need or were not valuable to you. For this reason, every service we provide is customized to the needs and desires of our clients. When it’s all done, we want you to feel we were well worth the cost and that we added value and quality to your perfect house.

If you are interested in finding out more about our design services, please drop us a note. We look forward to discussing your project with you.

The post We Can Help You with House Design Services appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

I try to create a “graduated” degree of inside versus outside and a thoughtful transition from the public domain of the street to the private domain of your home with the entryways I design, regardless of house style. This is one of the key tenets in making a house “feel” right.

Unfortunately, many houses are designed and built where this transition occurs abruptly in one or two steps. I’m referring to houses where you simply walk up to the front door and step through right into the living room. I guarantee this feels uncomfortable to you even if you can’t explain why except to say that it seems to compromise the privacy of the living room. Actually, what is happening is there was no “middle place” to let your mind adjust from public to private. There is no place where the visitor, or you, can be inside the house, yet not be completely inside the house.

Front steps, porches, vestibules, and defined foyers are all part of a better entry transition from outside to in and public to private.

You really need at least two intermediate places to make an entryway feel right. First would be a front step and porch. These are still open to the public, but they have some private aspect to them since they “belong” to the house and the porch might even be covered, thus making it become a little bit of an indoor space. I consider this space to be 75% public and 25% private.

Next is your foyer.

It’s much more private because it is inside your house and beyond your front door, but it is not as private as your family room. It still carries some publicness because you greet guests there, visitors can see into it from the front door, and there is no sitting furniture indicating that people linger there. I consider this space to be 25% public and 75% private. 

Including these two semi-public and semi-private spaces as part of the entry experience, no matter how small they may be, will make your house feel more comfortable and the design will feel more “resolved.” Most people cannot verbalize why some entryways feel right and others feel wrong. I would suggest that the omission of proper transition spaces is usually the cause of things feeling wrong.

This idea about the entrance to a house and the concept of transitioning from public to private might not have been on you design radar screen. But it should be. It’s a concept I discuss in some detail in Designing Your Perfect House.

Our minds seek order. Our senses are uncomfortable with abrupt changes. We like gradual transitions. If you consider the sensation when you step from your dark bedroom in the middle of the night and turn on the light in the bathroom, you get a pretty good idea of how harsh a change can feel. Our psyche reacts to changes in spaces, albeit subconsciously, the same way. Sudden shifts from one type of space to another can be jarring and disconcerting. Transitions that feel nature and unforced are the key to designing your perfect house.

Happy Holidays!

Be sure to leave a comment. Tell us your story!

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post A Welcoming Holiday Entryway appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.

Adding an In-Law Suite Adds Family Happiness

I am asked from time to time whether we are seeing increased demand for multi-generational housing designs. Those are homes designed for children, parents, and parents of parents. I would have to say “yes” we are. With many boomers looking to care for aging parents, the addition of a potential in-law suite into some section of the house has broad appeal. 

There may come a time in your parents’ lives where it is not practical or economically feasible to maintain a separate household. Certainly, the cost of two households would be higher than the cost of maintaining one household, even one that can accommodate two generations living somewhat independently. The key is to maintain enough separation for mutual happiness. Beyond the financial costs, an in-law suite connected to your house can pay dividends by strengthening family bonds while allowing for care and companionship for the senior parents.

Some Common Scenarios for Adding an In-Law Suite:

Guest Suite Behind the Garage

The most common design theme for an in-law suite is simply adding a first floor bedroom with a private bath. A logical place for this is often behind the garage, separated from the living areas, but with potential direct access from the side of the house. This space has multiple potential uses as a home office, guest suite or bedroom in addition to an in-law suite.

With the bedroom, private bath, and closet in the base design, options can be added to make the in-law suite more appealing. These can include a small kitchenette as well as a direct door from outside into the suite.

A Larger In-Law Suite

For homeowners looking for a more dedicated in-law suite, some additional elements may be added. These might include an expanded kitchen, laundry and a spacious bath — with accessible fixtures. Wider doors and clearances between fixtures, along with some grab bars, flexible shower heads, and a seat in the tub or shower executed in a tasteful design, will allow comfortable aging in place.

Adding a Garage and Living Room

Sometimes adding some more amenities to an in-law suite will make it more comfortable and feel less “invasive” for the parents. They won’t feel as though they are “moving in” with the adult kids. Rather, they are moving “alongside” their grown Children and their families. Here, the addition of a garage, living room, along with a front door with foyer and island kitchen, adds to the privacy of the in-law quarters.

Second Floor Suites

In some cases, a second-floor in-law suite can be incorporated into the design. For many house designs on smaller lots, a second-floor suite may be necessary since the first-floor space is limited. For some households, mobility may not be an issue. However, if that issue does arise, stair lifts can be added to most staircases at a later time. A small sitting room separate from the bedroom might be a desirable space to add into an in-law suite. No one wants to spend all of their waking hours in their bedroom.

Accessibility, Privacy, and Independence

With any in-law suite design, accessibility, privacy and independence are all primary objectives. At the same time, access to the main part of the house is equally important. Multi-generational living was historically very common and the trend returning to that lifestyle now has broad appeal to many households.

Many thanks to James Wentling, today’s guest blogger. You can visit his website here.

I hope this information is helpful to you. You might want to get yourself a copy of my best-seller, Designing Your Perfect House. It is chockfull of valuable tips and advice that will save you many times the cost of the book on your house building or remodeling project. You might also like The Well-Centered Home: Simple Steps to Increase Mindfulness, Self-Awareness, and Happiness Where You Live. It will show you how to make your home a happy place.

The post Adding an In-Law Suite to Your Home appeared first on Designing Your Perfect House.