| Thompson Remodeling (12)

The owners of this beautiful historic farmhouse had been painstakingly restoring it bit by bit. One of the last items on their list was to create a wrap-around front porch to create a more distinct and obvious entrance to the front of their home.

Have you seen a no-threshold shower? It’s a shower that has no curb or surrounding edge to it, making it flush with the bathroom floor. You may have also heard the terms barrier-free, curbless walk-in-shower or zero threshold, but they are all the same thing. I know what you may be thinking. Where is all the water going to go? Won’t I have a flood on my hands after every shower? No! The secret to containing the water is in the drainage system. This type of shower will have either a trench drain, which is a long and narrow drain placed where the shower door would be placed, or a center drain with the floor just slightly pitched towards it.

This desperately dark kitchen was suffering from a lack of light, storage and a poor layout. The main source of light was provided by a decades old ceiling fan, the refrigerator blocked the main traffic path to and from the living room, and a sliding door was taking up prime real estate that could be used for storage.

Grand Rapids, MI, February 6, 2014—The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) named Thompson Remodeling, in Grand Rapids, 2014 East Central Regional Contractor of the Year (CotY) in the Residential Kitchen $40,000 to $80,000 category of its annual awards competition.

Did you know that egress windows are required in finished basements by Michigan residential code? The code states that an egress window is required in any habitable space or sleeping area in a basement or lower level that is below the fourth floor for both new and existing construction.

Flooring is one of the most important selections you will make for your home remodeling project. When you’re looking at the many options, you may want to consider some of the hottest flooring trends we are seeing in home remodeling today.

A great place to extend your living space is in your own backyard with an outdoor remodeling project. In recent years, homeowners have been using their backyard as a blank canvas to create great spaces to spend time with family and entertain guests. The latest trend in outdoor remodeling is designing outdoor versions of your favorite indoor spaces.

Does your home offer enough space for informal family activities? Is your floor plan too closed in? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you are not alone. Today’s families prefer open living spaces that flow from one room to the next, allowing for meal preparation and socialization in one central area. That's why family room additions are such a hot trend today. A family room addition is the perfect solution to open up your home and provide an all-purpose space for all of your activities.

Making the decision to remodel your home is exciting. It’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed at first, so to help you prepare, we’ve compiled a list of tips to ensure a stress-free remodel.

Incorporating architectural details into your home remodeling project can bring warmth and character to a room and provide that finishing touch. Our designers can help you select the right architectural details to enhance any style -- traditional, contemporary, modern, or transitional. Some of the details listed below are strictly cosmetic, while others offer a functional purpose as well.

It used to be that bathrooms were simple, utilitarian spaces. Not so anymore! Today, bathroom design trends lean toward creating a relaxing and luxurious place to start and end your day. Homeowners are remodeling bathrooms to remind them of their favorite hotels and they want the same type of amenities at home. Current bathroom design trends entice the homeowner to spend more time in the space – whether its relaxing in a steam bath or getting ready while listening to your iPod or watching TV.

Many households have a devoted pet that is considered part of the family. If you own pets now or plan to in the future, it stands to reason that you might want to consider them when planning your remodel. Some pet lovers go as far as building indoor retreats or cat ramps that run throughout the house. Here are a few things that you can do that are much less expensive that can make maintenance easier for you. Well, let’s face it some of these things are ultimately luxuries for your pets.

Once you’ve made the decision to move forward with your remodeling project there are a few important things you can do in your home to get ready for construction to start. With good planning and preparation, you will find things will run quite smoothly. Be sure to give yourself adequate time to complete these steps so that you won’t be rushed the days before your remodel starts.

Completing a remodeling project will increase the beauty, enjoyment and pride that you have in your home. We know that remodeling your home requires the commitment of time and thoughtful budgeting and the return on your investment is important. Making improvements allows you to stay in your current home and you get to enjoy your return on investment on day one in your great new space, while the value of your whole house improves overtime. In this blog we’d like to highlight the remodeling projects that add the most value to your home, where you will see the biggest return.

The new color trends for Spring 2014 were recently released by Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color. Twice a year they make predictions for the upcoming season, which are heavily based on what is popular on the fashion runways. Decorators pay attention to these trends because the colors that make an impact in the fashion world trickle down into home décor. In this blog we will introduce Pantone’s color trends for Spring and give you some simple ways you can introduce color into your own home without breaking the bank.