Custom cabinetry has become increasingly popular as homeowners look for ways to make their home feel more like their own. Families can create their own perfectly styled cabinetry for the bath, bedroom, laundry room and any other room that begs for storage space.
In the bedroom, customized armoires and dressers provide generous storage space through built-ins, pull-outs and adjustable hanging spaces. A jewelry shelf is a simple way to keep earrings and necklaces from becoming tangled, and can be tucked away within an armoire. In the bedroom and family rooms, entertainment centers can be customized to conceal less-than-attractive cords and outlets, and can protect and hide the television screen.
Cabinetry in the bathroom can hide toiletry items that aren’t meant to be on display and give the room a polished look. Even laundry baskets can be concealed by cabinetry to create extra space by reducing clutter.
“Customers want to efficiently utilize every inch of space in their home, and they want to do it with style,” says George “Butch” Achey, president of Plain & Fancy Custom Cabinetry. “Custom cabinetry offers homeowners a solution, they can pick and choose door styles, wood species, even a customized color so that cabinetry not only serves its purpose, but also doubles as decoration for any room in the home.”
To learn more about the benefits of custom cabinetry and to create a personal portfolio, log on to www.plainfancycabinetry.com.
Housing sales may be down, but people are still remodeling. Drive through any neighborhood in the Capital Region and you’ll notice houses that were once on the market now undergoing some sort of remodeling.
“Remodeling is still an option,” said Jim Sasko, president of Teakwood Builders, Inc. in Saratoga Springs. “Though it’s not up [statistically], it’s more consistent than new construction these days.”
Clients interested in remodeling typically fit a similar mold, he said. They are usually older and established with kids out of the house, are living in their second or third home and plan on staying there for the long haul.
“In most cases this is the ‘selfish remodel,'” said Sasko. Most times clients are working within the existing footprint of their home rather than adding on.
And some people, like Meridith Englander and Josh Heller, remodel because they realize that they just might not find their perfect house. This Albany couple, who live in a 1940s style home in the Buckingham Pond neighborhood, had been looking for a new house for years. They yearned for a house abundant with architectural detail, quality workmanship and a floor plan geared for modern living. They wanted a neighborhood for their kids and a short commute to work.
“We bought plans for a new house that we liked, but the costs to build it and buy the lot were prohibitive,” said Englander. “We decided to spend the money on our home when we realized that we may not ever find the ‘perfect’ house.'”
The couple hired Teakwood Builders for the job after discovering them online when they were searching for a home builder. “Their website was impressive, so we gave them a call.”
After meeting with Sasko and determining their budget, they worked on the aesthetic details with him. Should the design be creative to fit unique spaces or make a statement? Or should it fit seamlessly into the home?
Once the aesthetic preferences were determined, Sasko presented them with a concept drawing of what their house could look like.
For Englander and Heller, it was the first floor of their home that needed improvement. They moved and expanded their kitchen, put in a new half bathroom, added a mudroom and converted a formal dining room into a family room. They also changed the faade on the back of the house, installed new shutters, added a stone patio and painted the outside and inside of the house. Construction started last May and ended in mid-October.
“The project gave us open and comfortable living space by combining kitchen, dining and family areas,” said Englander. “We had no use for a formal dining room and we did not want a massive foyer.”
Unforeseen events are bound to happen when remodeling. Thankfully, for this couple, the only mistake was on the part of the manufacturer for their built-in refrigerator, who gave them the wrong measurements. In the end, they wound up with a larger model at no extra charge.
The key to surviving nearly six months of remodeling was a reasonably comfortable space in the rest of the house for meals and relaxing. And they were able to use the outdoors for cooking and playing.
“Our builders were very respectful of our space and they kept their work area relatively neat when they were not here,” said Englander.
Her advice to those considering remodeling is to engage in “careful discussion about living arrangements with the builder.” People should be “very involved in the planning phase to get the details worked out right and then stay involved in the decision-making throughout the project.”
Sasko credits not just the finished product with a successful outcome, but everyone involved.
“It’s our team, our lead carpenters and the tradesmen we choose to work with that make a good experience all the way through.”
Maybe now, Englander and Heller, finally have their perfect home. “We love the renovation!”
For more information on Teakwood Builders visit www.teakwoodbuilders.com
– MB Galarneau