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Many of our kitchen remodeling clients will ask us about painting their cabinets instead of replacing them. Often, they are considering taking on the task themselves as a DIY project. Before we can provide a simple yes or no answer to this question, there are a few important considerations. We certainly understand staying within budgets and looking for ways to save money, but sometimes painting your own cabinets may not be the best solution.

Every industry has its own jargon, and that’s especially true of the remodeling and construction industry. At Thompson Remodeling, we make sure that our clients understand their project plans, the design and construction process, and do our best to avoid using a lot of remodeling jargon. That being said, if you are going to remodel, it’s always helpful to know the common terms used in the industry as sometimes there’s just no other way to say it!

Before most renovations can start, you have to tear down or demolish what’s currently in place. This can range from walls to cabinets and even tearing out old plumbing fixtures and appliances. Many clients ask us if they can do the demo themselves to save money on their project. Depending on the complexity of the demo, it’s not an easy yes or no answer. Most often we would recommend that our clients not take on a DIY demo due to the potential safety hazards you may encounter during the process. Safety is always our main concern, but there are several others reasons that you may not realize.

If your household includes children or pets, your flooring can take a beating. You should select a material that can withstand the wear and tear of little feet and paws running around and the accidents that will inevitably occur. Fortunately, today there are many great choices you can make without sacrificing style and comfort.

Wow! This is very cool news! Thompson Remodeling of Grand Rapids has won “Best Of Design on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. Our design build firm was chosen by the more than 35 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The holiday season seems like the perfect time to post a little reminder blog on kitchen safety tips. With the kids being home from school and family and friends visiting, your kitchen will be getting more traffic than usual for the next couple of weeks. It’s always better to be safe than sorry and take steps to prevent accidents in the kitchen, so we’ve compiled a list of safety tips you can easily implement in your home.

It’s that time of year again when Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color, selects their top color pick for the coming year. This year they selected not one, but two shades, something that they have never done before. And the colors are (drumroll please)…Rose Quartz and Serenity.

It’s completely normal to have questions and even some remodeling fears before beginning a major renovation on your home. First time remodelers don’t know what to expect and second timers often have fears based on previous experiences. The Thompson Remodeling team understands this and our goal is to ease your concerns and guide you through our process from our very first meeting with you. There are four common remodeling fears that we hear most often and we’d like to provide some tips on how to face them head on. We hope that our advice will help you to investigate your concerns further so that you can put your fears to rest.

There’s more to your bathroom remodel design than simply where to place the toilet and sink. Even though bathrooms are the smallest rooms in the house, careful thought should go into how to maximize every square inch of space. Thompson Remodeling’s approach towards designing a great bath space is to marry beauty and function to best serve and reflect the main users. For a powder room you consider the guest, for a master bath you often need to accommodate two users, and for children’s baths there are all sorts of considerations for safety, storage, and bathing.

Thompson Remodeling's Tips for Increasing Curb Appeal Ah yes, we all know what they say about first impressions and when it comes to your home, that first impression can be summed up in two words -- curb appeal. Improving your home’s exterior appearance has two great benefits: improving your pride of ownership and increasing your home’s value. Seasonally, it’s a good idea to take a look at the outside of your home to see how your curb appeal measures up.

The holiday season is fast approaching and that means your kitchen is about to start working overtime! As you prepare for the meals, parties, and baking that the holidays bring, you may feel like your kitchen isn’t meeting your needs. And if you do, you’re not alone. This is the time of year when most people recognize the flaws in their kitchen and we get a lot of calls from folks just after the holidays that have decided it’s time for a kitchen remodel.

I can remember when a mudroom was just a simple room off of the garage with a few shelves and maybe a sink. Thankfully, designers and remodelers have realized that the mudroom can be so much more! Even tight spaces can be maximized to provide the much-needed functional storage space every family needs to keep a variety of “stuff” organized. Depending on your lifestyle, that “stuff” can include the obvious coats, scarves, gloves and shoes, but can also extend to sporting equipment, pet necessities, school books, computer bags, and cleaning supplies.