Whether you’re planning a major overhaul of your home or updating your décor eventually you will find yourself in a familiar fork in the road … “Which way do I go from here?” Finding the right path can be overwhelming. Most people don’t even know how to define their own personal style. The great thing about that is you don’t have to.

Start with the big picture. First decide what room you want to tackle first. Narrowing down the room choice can help tremendously when trying to find a style or theme for your new space. Finding some inspiration for that particular space may start with a magazine but in 2013 the latest and greatest sources come from social networking sites.

One of the coolest and easiest is Houzz.com, an elegant site that focuses primarily on residential design. Thousands of interior designers, architects and design/build firms from across the nation load their project photos giving the Houzz community an opportunity to engage with the designers, discuss photo details and create inspiration books that can easily be exported or emailed. You can even narrow down your search by your local area so if you’re contemplating hiring someone for your project you can do so by previewing their work as you build your inspiration book.

If you’re one of the many millions who are riding the Apple product wave then you probably own an iPad. If you do then download the Houzz app and start perusing some cool projects while on the go. The photos are large enough to fill the screen but with the ipad you can zoom in for greater detail.

At HartmanBaldwin Design/Build, Houzz is used in a very practical way. Clients are encouraged to sign-up and start collecting photos of inspirational spaces or items. At different design meetings the client and team review the inspiration books and start incorporating ideas into the design.  Sometimes a photo can say what a thousand words can’t.

For more information and cool photos visit HartmanBaldwin’s profile on https://www.houzz.com/hartmanbaldwin

Most people will say that picking the right gift for their loved one is the most stressful part of Valentine’s Day. Especially since you’ve only had about a month to relax from finding the “perfect gift” for many in your family for the holidays. The pressure can be all consuming so we thought it’d be a good idea to offer up some ideas from the ridiculously simple to the unabashedly elaborate. 

Don’t underestimate the power of simple gifts. These cannot only be very economical but they can evoke a heartwarming reaction and sometimes tears of joy. For example, try creating your own greeting card with maybe a long-lost photo of you and your special someone and write a little about what makes them so special. Present it along with a handpicked bouquet from your own garden and tie it with a pretty bow and you’ve officially beat Martha Stewart to the punch. 

Another great idea that starts at home is to get out that long and overdue Honey-Do list. Why not start checking off some pesky home improvement projects your partner will be sure to notice. If you don’t have the time to do them yourself, call a local handyman and get someone else to do it. The point is to get them done. Once they are complete, plan to cook a special home cooked meal like steak and lobster dinner with a nice bottle of wine, to candle light of course and toast your way to a happy night. 

If you’ve got a little more time and money to spend why not do what one of our clients did for his wife, surprise her with a new Kitchen. For nearly 20 years his wife talked about one day remodeling their small and outdated kitchen.  So we happily plotted with him to surprise her with some designs for her new kitchen and wrapped them in a beautiful box with a huge bow. On Valentine’s Day he took her out to a nice dinner and a show. Towards the end of a very fun evening he let her know there was one more little gift he had for her. Then he handed her the beautiful gift box. Needless to say she was ecstatic. A few months later we finished construction of their new kitchen just in time for her birthday.

The recurring theme in all of these gift ideas is to consider the size of the thought not the size of the price tag.  As long as you can show your partner that you’ve listened and wanted to make them feel special you’re sure to have a fun and stress-free Valentine’s Day.

We speak to hundreds of couples every year about their remodeling plans and often times we find ourselves in the crossfire of helping two people try to communicate. As with most communication jams the root of the problem is never quite that given topic…it usually goes a little deeper.

When a couple calls about a major home remodel we often start with the simple question of “How long do each of you think you will stay in this home?” It’s very common to get two completely different answers, usually to the astonishment of the couple in question, and therein lies the problem. One may say, “5 years, then we’d like to retire and buy a place by the beach”, while the other says “I’m not planning on leaving here, I love this place, I’m planning on staying here after we retire.” 

Often as couples we focus on the simple questions like “granite or tile?”, “dark or light colored cabinets?”, or “carpet or flooring?” but when we start talking about projects that require a substantial investment and major structural changes then the question of “Is this worth it and why?” becomes the first and hardest to tackle. Questions that are often avoided because of the real life decisions they’ll need to make regarding future plans to sell or move, retire, or part with money. 

To start the conversation, begin with a small exercise, in which each of you ranks how much one loves or hates the house you live in, the neighborhood you live in, and then write down the number of years each of you expects to stay in the home. Do the exercise separately and then compare notes. This will let you know if you should start exploring options like selling and moving into a home or neighborhood that better fits your long term goals.

Once you’ve decided that you are planning on staying in the home and want to remodel it’s recommended that you start listing your wants and needs…separately as well. Share your answers once the exercise is complete, but be careful to reserve judgment. For example, something like moving a wall could seem like an expensive venture but until you truly have the scope outlined and priced out one can’t really tell the true cost of something that may give you the value of your investment.
 
A few simple rules to follow like listing wants and needs separately and reserving judgment on the list items can help expedite the communication process so that you can better understand where the other person is coming from. This will make your experience with a designer a more productive one now that both of you are on the same and well on your way to remodeling success.

Happy New Year! Another year has come and gone, but 2013 gives us a brand new opportunity to start again and check-off some of those wish list items that you couldn’t get to in 2012. For some of us that meant putting off important remodeling and building projects. If you’re one of many who are contemplating a major remodel or new build project here are a few things to keep in mind when starting your research:

1. Start identifying the liabilities of your space. Don’t get this confused with writing down your wish list, before you can start dreaming it’s important to identify what doesn’t work about your current space and more importantly why it doesn’t function to meet your needs and lifestyle. Then you can start collecting photos and ideas to compile an inspiration board that will help communicate your style and preferences to your future designer.
2. Ask friends and family about their experiences in remodeling. You can learn a lot from other’s successes and failures. Make sure to ask them if they would do it over again what and how would they do things differently. From this you will build a list of pitfalls you will want to avoid or smart planning tips you surely will want to emulate.
3. Learn the benefits of working with a Design/Build firm. If you are not familiar with the term Design/Build, start-a-Google-ing. These firms provide their customers with one point of accountability because they provide design and construction services. The added benefits to clients are more personalized attention, more control over scope and budget and schedule assurance in construction because it’s all under one roof.
4. Check references, licenses, insurance and of course their work. It may be tempting to get going as quickly as possible since you have been waiting for as long as you have but this is the step where you should and must take your time. Most remodeling or building nightmares occur because the homeowner went with their gut versus verifying the information they heard from a friend and sometimes from the contractor themselves.
5. Learn your financing options. First thing is to know how much money you need and roughly how much you can get from the start. A good Design/Build firm should be able to provide you with a range of costs based on the scope you are ready to move forward on. Then narrow the myriad of loan options down to the ones that match your needs and finances while concentrating on the lenders that are likeliest to provide the type of loan you want.

To learn more, attend HartmanBaldwin’s Home Remodeler’s Survival Guide Workshop. You can register online at http://www.HartmanBaldwin.com/sgw-registration.asp

There are many new innovations in home automation. They range from simple remote temperature controls to more sophisticated systems that remotely control virtually every mechanical or electronic device in the home.  Finding the right system for your home can help simplify your life and unclutter your mind.

There are a few different systems out there worth checking out. One of the simplest is Nest, the learning thermostat. In just one week this little gadget will learn your routine and it will automatically turns itself down when you’re away. The idea being that Nest helps you understand how your home uses energy so you can save more. The Nest can be accessed online, on your iPad or iPhone so if you’d like to make the house a little cooler before heading home you can choose any of those easy options to adjust the thermostat. It’s also very easy to install, according to the Nest website if you can install a light fixture, then you can easily install the Nest thermostat. And for about a $250 investment you can save money, energy and be more comfortable in your home throughout the year.

Pasadena Magazine recently featured one of HartmanBaldwin’s custom homes in their science & technology issue as an example of how to integrate this type of technology into new homes. This home’s ultra-modern design includes wide open spaces, clean lines and window walls that frame the impressive views of downtown Los Angeles.  To automate this home HartmanBaldwin used the Lutron RadioRA system to control lighting, blinds, audio, A/C, computers, speakers and more. A central “brain” was housed in a small hallway closet to store electrical components.

Lutron’s website describes RadioRA as a wireless total home control system. This energy-saving system gives you the ability to adjust the amount of daylight and electric light (using light controls and automated shades) as well as temperature in a single room or throughout your whole home. The system also turns off standby power to small appliances when they’re not in use. One of the reasons designers like this system is because they can expand on the lighting design well after construction is complete because one can design different lighting configurations in different living areas or rooms based on your preferences or activities. This type of system may require more of an investment because of the planning involved to install and program but once it’s complete it triples your home’s IQ by turning it into an intelligent home that intuitively adapts to your lifestyle.

The success or failure of your remodeling project depends almost entirely on the people you choose to perform the work. Don’t make this important decision based on price alone. Pay very close attention during the interview process — evasiveness, discomfort, impatience, or defensiveness are red flags

Here are a few more critical questions to ask before you choose your team:

What were your best and worst experiences on a job?

Even negative experiences can have a positive impact when a company learns from them. And every company or contractor has had at least one bad experience. If they don’t then, either they are not being forthcoming or they lack the experience.

What kind of work does your firm like/dislike to do?

Every company has a sweet spot or niche. A company that doesn’t know the answer to this question may not have the depth that you need to accomplish your project. For example a kitchen and bath project requires a lot of planning, design development and coordination in construction.  If most of their jobs are random handy man type jobs and they’ve only done a couple of kitchens it’s important to explore that and learn about the scope of work and see if it is similar to what you are looking to do.

Who were your two best clients? Who were your two worst clients? Why?

Anyone who has worked construction a while should have a story or two to share. This is good to learn for a few reasons. The most important one is seeing how they speak about their past clients, even the nightmare ones. Too much blame on the client could be a sign of avoiding responsibility; a red flag.

Do you use subcontractors for some special­ties? What is the length of time you have worked with them?

An established firm should have a reliable pool of sub-contractors that are in line with the firm’s level of quality and service. At HartmanBaldwin all potential sub-contractors are asked to submit to a rigorous qualification process that involves background and reference checks, face to face interviews, visits to past completed projects to determine quality of work.

Will the same crews who worked on those projects be working on mine?

A construction crew and subs that do beautiful work on one home are of no use if they won’t be working on yours! They may not need to be the exact same crew but they should be able to deliver the same type of experience. It’s important to learn if the people that will work on your project have the same experience and qualifications. When you are getting ready to tour some of their finished projects ask to see work that your potential crew has done.

A tile job has been by far one of the most popular do-it –yourself projects that many then realize once they’ve completed it, that they never want to do again. It’s one of those tricky little jobs that require a little more planning then most of us homeowners ever thought it would need. So if you’ve got a small job you are just itching to try here’s some pointers for you to keep in mind.

Never assume, ball park or guess at the dimensions of the space you are planning on retiling. This may not be a shocker, but this is the most bypassed step, and the main reason why these little jobs can turn into big nightmares. It’s critical to the success of even the smallest of tile jobs to have accurate measurments of the space in question. This is an imnportant step so that you can also understand if you need to compensate for whatever substrate material you will need or if there are baseboards that will need to come off before laying down tile (just in case you are wondering, yes, you should lay your tile down without baseboards).

Once you’ve got the dimensions accurately measured you can then start the fun part and go shopping for tile. A couple of pointers before you embark on your shopping trip is to have an idea of the colors you would like the tile and grout to be. You don’t have to have the actual color picked but if you can choose a tone, you will at least narrow down your options from millions to thousands.

Choosing decorative floor tiles for your home can be a daunting task, made all the more serious by the sheer cost of it all. There are many different kids of floor tile, not to mention colors and styles.  Plus, floor tiles come in every conceivable form: soft, hard, cold, warm, light, heavy, difficult to lay, easy to lay. They also come in an assortment of sizes, colors, patterns and textures, and these vary widely. If you are doing this on your own rely on the expertise of the vendor to help guide you to the right type of tile for the space.

Please note that when using heavier, rigid tiles or slabs (such as quarry tiles or ceramic, marble, slate or terrazzo) that they are laid on a floor that can bear their weight. The floor must also be absolutely level. Floorboards should be covered with hardboard (masonite) or plywood. Concrete should be covered with cement or sand screed. A surveyor or engineer may have to be called to check if a floor can bear the load, particularly if the floor is upstairs or a hallway.

Before you finalize your tile selection review your plan, dimensions and design for your tile job. If you are adding small decorative details into the layout it may be a good idea to mock it up in the space and see how the color and placement works. Also take a look and see if the lighting changes the colors or tones, you may like the dark tone during the day and find that it darkens your room too much by night.

Upgrading windows and doors can be a fun and quick way to breathe some life into your home’s curb appeal. Here are some ideas of how a bold color or a distinctive window details can make your home stand out and be the highlight of your neighborhood.

If you are interested in making a bold personal statement, then how about painting your front door a bright unconventional color? For some, deciding on a color can be an overwhelming endeavor so if you fall into one of these categories call an expert like a professional painter or interior designer to help you develop a palette. Once you’ve picked your colors you may want to upgrade the hardware on your doors and windows for decorative impact. You can easily change a plain white door to a modern marvel that changes the look and feel of your home without breaking the bank.

Some living in older homes may find themselves needing to replace the old windows and doors. This can be an opportunity to revamp your home’s façade. When planning your makeover it’s important to consider the style of the home. If your home is an arts and crafts inspired home then start by looking at doors and windows that are designed to match that style.  Many Craftsman style doors and windows offer options that have integrated decorative stain glass. If you really want to splurge, then work with a professional and have a beautiful custom door designed for you. In this case our client wanted the windows and doors to have a distinctive look and together we designed beautiful stained glass designs used throughout the home.

If you live in a more contemporary styled home exploring glass door options may be good for you. For our clients’ modern home we wanted the entry to make a big statement. The new front doors are tall and over-sized with an eye catching pattern that is aesthetically dramatic but also is opaque enough for privacy.

Often times, vintage homes have windows and doors that aren’t standard sizes so replacing them can be quite expensive. There is however professionals out there specializing in restoring vintage or antique windows and doors. This can be very economical compared to the cost of replacement and retrofitting. In some cases, a home’s vintage door may be so worn that it needs to be replaced in those cases it is worth paying for a replica to be built of your custom door to keep consistency within the original architectural details.

From ultra-modern metal or steel options to old world replicas the finish and style of the doors and windows can have a dramatic impact on the curb appeal of your home.

In the early 2000s, it seemed that the art of entertaining at home was diminishing. One indication was the popularity explosion of the Red Solo Cup, which became far more common at dinner parties than stemware. Sure, it was fun to keep things casual for a few years…but now, people are passing on the paper plates and breaking out the good china again. If you’re one of those people, consider the following ideas for throwing a dinner party that’s elegant, sophisticated and designed to impress.

The first course of action is to set the stage, and that starts with the party invitation. Yes, Facebook invitations and “e-vites” are convenient, but that doesn’t mean you have to use them. When having an elegant dinner party at home, there are only two invitation choices: a mailed paper invitation or a friendly phone call. Choose an invitation template from an online source, purchase a nice set from the stationery/greeting card store, or make your own special invitations with quality craft supplies. If a paper invitation is too formal for your taste, simply pick up the phone and call your invitees. All other types of invitations are more suitable for a paper plate affair.

Next, it’s time to think about how to set your dinner party apart from the rest. Hiring professionals is a great way to do it. Hiring a professional chef for your dinner party may be more affordable than you think; if you have friends who with connections, trying asking if anyone knows of a chef who works parties for a little extra cash. He can do a cooking demonstration for everyone, or maybe a quick class on food and wine pairings. Perhaps you’re an outstanding cook and want to prepare the food yourself; if so, hire servers so you can enjoy your guests rather than spend the night shuffling plates around. If you have a large group coming, you may wish to step it up further by hiring a bartender or entertainer.

Another thing to consider when developing a mood concept for your dinner party is entertainment. There are other ways to set the mood as well, such as lighting (will it be bright and bold or subtle and sexy?), decorations (festive or formal?) and music (live or recorded?). Depending on your lighting mood, you may choose tiny white lights, lots of candles or the glow of your chandelier. Your decorations may be homemade, party store purchased or professionally put together (i.e. by a florist). Your music may be courtesy of professional musicians, or it could be a carefully selected playlist that streams from your iPod.

If you truly want to know how to have an elegant dinner party at home, the most important thing to remember is to be thoughtful and strategic in your planning. Don’t just “let things happen” – make them happen. The best party hosts know this is the key to pulling off an elegant dinner party at home.

Lighting is an essential feature in every room of the home. Why, then, is it often overlooked from a design standpoint? Lighting is so much more than basic illumination. It is also instrumental in crafting the mood and ambiance of a space. With those things in mind, it’s important to get lighting right when you’re commissioning a remodeling project.

When developing a lighting concept, the most important consideration is the. What actions do you perform in this space: reading, writing, manual work or recreational games? The placement and scope of the lighting should be a reflection  of what tasks or activities take place in a room. Bright lights are good for rooms where lively games are played and manual tasks are performed, while softer lights are appropriate for relaxing and reading.

The formality of a room is also important in the development of a lighting concept. A formal dining room can be accented by an elegant chandelier, while a family room designed to look welcoming and comfortable may be better suited for table lamps and/or subtle ceiling lights placed in strategic locations. A formal living room that is rarely used and contains showpiece furniture may be accented by sconce lighting.

Besides function and formality, the third consideration in a lighting design is feeling. Lighting can literally create or kill the mood in a room. Soft, warm lights can evoke a feeling of calm and relaxation. In the kitchen, you may or may not want this feeling to be present. Some people prefer the kitchen lights to be brighter, creating a “wake up” effect. You can create nearly any type of feeling with the right lighting, but you should know ahead of time what you want that feeling to be.

Of course, we’re not merely referring to artificial light here. This also applies to natural lighting. Natural light is usually key in lighting design. When designing around the use of natural lighting, the windows of the home is highlighted. For example, if a room faces the rear yard, its largest window can be minimally dressed (or not dressed at all) in order to let more light in during the day. If it overlooks a backyard swimming pool, the blue glow of the pool light through the window can help create a serene vibe after dusk.

When designing or remodeling a room in your home, don’t overlook the importance of lighting. The lighting is very important in the function, formality, and feeling of a room. Having the right will help make that room all the more perfect for you and your family.