Blog

Smart-home technology changes fast. The wiring, power and network inside your walls do not. Here’s what to plan during a remodel so the house stays useful long after today’s gadgets are outdated.

A bathroom exhaust fan does much more than clear a foggy mirror. Proper ventilation helps manage moisture and protect the room around it.

Quartz, quartzite and granite can all make beautiful countertops, but they are very different materials. Here’s what homeowners should know before choosing one.

LVP and LVT have become common in kitchens, basements and busy homes. Here’s why—and what to look at before assuming every vinyl floor is the same.

Kitchen lighting is one of those things homeowners notice most when it is wrong. Too dark and you are chopping onions in your own shadow. Too bright and the room starts to feel like somebody should be asking you to say ahhh. Start With Layers A good kitchen usually needs more than one kind of light. Ambient lighting handles the general room, task lighting helps you actually see what you are doing, and accent lighting adds depth and highlights the parts of the kitchen worth lo

Small bathrooms have a special talent for making perfectly normal people perform sideways gymnastics around towel bars, cabinet doors and each other. The good news is that a small footprint does not have to mean a frustrating bathroom. Use the Walls When floor space is limited, go vertical. Shallow floating shelves, wall-mounted cabinets and a well-planned medicine cabinet can add storage without making the room feel crowded. The key word is shallow: storage should help, not

Permits aren't usually the part of a remodeling project anyone gets excited about. Nobody has ever called us and said, “We can't wait to see the paperwork.” But permits, inspections and proper licensing matter. They're part of making sure the work in your home is done safely, legally and in a way that won't become somebody else's unpleasant surprise later. Why Permits Exist Building codes establish minimum standards for things like structure, electrical work, plumbing, mechan

We spend a lot of time thinking about how a remodeling project will work for the people who live in a house. But in plenty of homes, the people aren't the only ones with opinions. Pets have an impressive ability to turn ordinary design decisions into very practical questions. Where will the food bowls go? Can an older dog handle that flooring? Is there a good place for a pet gate that doesn't make the house look like a kennel? And is there somewhere a dog can watch the entire

After more than two decades in the home building and remodeling business, I’ve helped a lot of families reimagine their homes. Then my wife and I bought a 1968 house and decided to remodel the entire thing ourselves. Apparently knowing exactly what a whole-house remodel involves does not prevent you from saying, “Sure, let’s do all of it.” A True Whole-House Transformation This was not a countertops-and-paint project. Our team rebuilt the house from top to bottom: a new kitch