Posts Tagged ‘kitchen’

We buy a house because of the vision we have for it.  We see ourselves living here.  We see our family future here.  Then slowly we begin to look at our house differently.

The kids are gone and our vision for our future is somewhere else and we begin to view our home as a dog house.

Here’s the question – did you once love your home?  Have those core reasons actually changed?  Are the items that currently separate you from Loving Where You Live changeable?  Is the value in Loving Where You Live higher than the investment it will take to transfer your home to someone else, buy someone else’s home, and customize it to meet your needs?

A client story: Larry & Bonnie loved their home – location, square footage, the fact that it was a very nice walkout ranch vs. a two story.  They loved the memories they made raising their family in their home.  They assumed they were going to move to a condo.  They hunted for a condo.  They couldn’t find one they loved.  They determined that they’d have to give up everything they loved about their home, and spend an additional $100,000+ to get into a condo they maybe wanted.  They hired someone to mow the grass and we fixed the problems with the house.

Problems & Amenities Addressed:

1. Reconfigured the Master Suite – Huge barrier free/doorless shower
2. Opened the kitchen to the great room
3. Fixed the back entrance traffic jamb
4. Upgraded and updated all the flooring, trim, millwork, entry doors & finish colors
5. Brought up the level of finish in the basement to match the main level of the home
6. Opened up the staircase to connect the main floor & lower level.

Over 250 times in 2010 people sought us out to share their story and have us facilitate this conversation with them. We discuss the value versus the investment it will take to Love Where You Live – Again.

We three Thompsons think about how to make living in your home easier all the time. We just can’t turn it off…

Here are some practical, often overlooked storage secrets for the bathroom, kitchen, and other important storage areas around the house.

When thinking about storage:
1) Remember: “A storage system must be a retrieval system.” Sandie Thompson
2) Carefully plan your storage areas, before you create the storage system.
3) Buy your storage containers before you build any shelves/cabinets.
4) Is this storage for adults or do you want the kids to use the storage system too? If you want them to put stuff away, make special plans for it to be easy for them.

Storage Secrets by Space:
BATHROOM
1) Put towel hooks within easy reach of the shower.
2) Consider a low towel bar for the kids.
3) A household of 2 people may need 6 bath towels. 3-6 bath towels require 15″ of vertical shelf space when folded.

PANTRY
1) Paper towels are 11″ x 6″ – makes it difficult to have 2 deep in a 12″ cabinet
2) Napkins are 7-8″ squares
3) Toilet paper (4 pack) is 10″w x 6″d x 9″t
4) Kleenex – 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 5″t
5) Canning “Mason” Jars – 16-17″ tall between shelves is recommended to stack 2 high.
6) Don’t forget to leave space for the broom or small vacuum.

KITCHEN
1) Soup laddles don’t fit in a standard 5″ deep drawer. We recommend at least (1) deep drawer near the cooking area of the kitchen for extra utensils if you want to get the utensil crock off the counter top.
2) Roll out trays are always helpful.
3) It’s not just the trash anymore…we also need room for a recycle bin.

Pre-planning your storage spaces will maximize the space and help keep your storage system a retrieval system. When in doubt, clean it out! Thank you, Sandie Thompson, for these helpful tips.

Join us Saturday 8-9am for live calls and feature content – Energy Tax Credits, a new law requiring Carbon Monoxide detectors, small changes to your kitchen that make a BIG difference, and more!

When your cupboards feel packed it’s time for a cardboard box and a marker.  What is this for?  It’s to put all the things you haven’t used in the last 3 months into said box.  Then write the contents on the box and DATE the box before putting it into storage in the basement.  Many benefits will come of this:

1) You’ll free up cabinet space – if you can see what’s in your cabinets you will use what’s in them.

2) The streamlining process reduces stress (it’s subtle, but when you experience it you’ll appreciate it.)

3) You don’t have to throw it away immediately.  Many of us have an emotional reaction to throwing something away.  “What if I’ll need this someday?”

4) Power comes from labeling the box with the date.  Let’s quantify “someday.”  The next time you get up the courage & energy to clean your basement you can approach the boxes in your basement with a plan.  You’ll go through the boxes that have been sitting on the shelf longer than 1 year.  It still has some value, but just no active value to you because you haven’t used it in a year.  So donate [or sell] the contents of the box so others in your community can pit it to use.

5) I love surprises – and when you go back through that box, you’ll find something you just cannot live without and you’ll take those few items out of the box and put it back in the kitchen.  An example could be the waffle maker you put in the box, and that rediscovered waffle maker will cause a new Saturday morning tradition.

I promise that clean and organized cupboards will help you love your existing kitchen.  Try it out.

Ben currently gives a multi-media talk on the subject of Remodeling vs. Moving titled, “Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?”   Contact Ben for more information 616-942-1866 or Ben@ThompsonRemodeling.com.  Below is some more specific information from the National Association of Home Builders.

REMODELING VS. MOVING
Courtesty of NAHB

If you want to change your home, your other option besides remodeling is to find a new one. But more and more American families are deciding to stay put and improve their existing home. Here are some of the reasons:

• Remodeling allows you to customize your home to meet your needs and desires. The only similar, but much more costly alternative, is to have a brand new custom home designed and built.
• Remodeling means that you don’t have to give up a familiar neighborhood and schools.
• Remodeling is a more efficient use of your financial resources. According to the American Homeowner Foundation, selling your home and moving typically costs about 8-10% of the value of your current home. And much of this goes into moving expenses, closing costs, and broker commissions – items that have no direct impact on your home’s quality.
• Remodeling can be stressful, but few experiences are more stressful than moving.

While there are many reasons that people choose to remodel, the bottom line is that remodeling makes your home a more enjoyable place to live. The intangible value of this pleasure needs to be considered, along with any resale value you hope to gain.

But there is no doubt that, as far as improving the sale of your home, all remodeling projects are not created equal. The general rule of thumb is that any remodeling project that brings your home up to the level of your neighbors’ is a worthy investment. But it doesn’t pay to be the most expensive house on the block – real estate experts recommend that a remodeling investment should not raise the value of your house to more than 10-15% above the median sales price in your neighborhood.

Remember that potential buyers will compare your home to ones newly built. Therefore, you’ll want to look at the design trends and amenities being built into new homes. Great rooms (open kitchen/family room arrangements), master bed and bath suites, and higher ceilings are a few of the features sought by today’s home buyers.

Each year, Remodeling magazine conducts its “Cost vs. Value” report to assess which remodeling projects create the greatest return on investment. Not surprisingly, kitchens and baths regularly come out on top. These are two of the most used rooms in the home, and they receive the most scrutiny from potential buyers.

For more information about this item, please contact James Lapides at 800-368-5242 x8451 or via e-mail at jlapides@nahb.com.