Dream Big With An Arlington Bathroom Remodel!
Are you planning an Arlington bathroom remodel and want your new space to feel bigger and more luxurious? We’ve got you covered. Whether you’re planning an addition or keeping an existing footprint, you can make your space feel bigger with a few time-tested tricks.
- Tile To The Ceiling: Taking the tile up to the ceiling makes any space feel bigger because it draws the eye upwards, taking advantage of the height of your room.
- Tile On Point: This is trade-speak for tiling your floors in a diagonal pattern. This detail draws the eye forward, making the room feel longer and bigger.
- Frameless Shower Doors: Shower doors with minimal framing and clear glass can make a space feel larger. Another option is to use a clear glass panel beside the showerhead as opposed to a door. This splash panel will keep water in without the space concerns of a swinging door.
- Less Contrast: While we love a vanity cabinet with a contrasting top, keeping all finishes in similar tones will make a space feel bigger. For example, a white vanity cabinet with a white Carrara marble top and dove gray paint is timeless, still has dimension, but won’t interrupt the eye.
- Floating Vanities: A floating vanity screws into a fully-reinforced wall. By lifting the cabinetry off the floor, your bathroom will feel more spacious, with fewer items obstructing the eye.
Hire A Professional Design-Build Firm To Handle The Details.
Design-build firms offer a one-stop shopping experience for your Arlington bathroom remodel. Schedule an in-home consultation with one of our talented designers. They’ll put together a game plan and connect with the carpenters to discuss a realistic design that works for you and your home. At Foster Remodeling Solutions, our perfect process provides peace of mind for an Arlington bathroom remodel you’ll love. Ready to get started?
A Look at Home Additions and Renovations in Vienna
/in Design BuildBack in the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Northern Virginia sustained a lot of growth, especially in a sleepy little town named Vienna. While it continues to grow today and is one of the busiest commercial suburbs of Washington, DC, many of the homes built during the ’50s and ’60s are now beginning to show their wear. Some of the linoleum kitchen floors, tile bathrooms and open carports have been renovated over the years, but many of them are just now being replaced by natural stone, hardwood floors and two-car garages.
Vienna is just one example of the changes that homes are going through in Northern Virginia and Fairfax County. These are homes that were built with sturdy construction materials and crawlspaces or basements. They are split-level, Colonial and split-foyer homes that have beautiful brick bases with colorful aluminum or vinyl siding on the second and third stories.
What’s interesting about many of these homes is that they are three- and four-bedroom houses that have stood the test of time and are now receiving fashionable whole-home makeovers to make them twice their size, since they are built on larger lots than the homes of the ’80s and ’90s. One of the more common Fairfax County home additions and renovations is converting the single carport into a two-car garage with a finished room overtop. Also popular is a large second-story deck addition which connects to the rear of the kitchen, and two-story wings for extra bedrooms built on to the back or side of the existing home. Finished basements offer many choices in additional bedrooms, home entertainment centers and playrooms.
Many of the streets in Vienna are one lane in each direction that were never intended to carry the traffic that now travels on them every day. The solution for homeowners with steep, single-lane driveways attempting to pull into busy traffic is the creation of a circular driveway. This offers a simple and safe way to pull in and out with clear visibility and less stress. Ornamental features such as wishing wells, statues and low-lying plants and bushes decorate the central area of these horseshoe-shaped driveways.
One common feature that once held back homeowners from making additions on their Fairfax County homes is the existence of a steep grading in the back yard. While some homeowners have chosen to fill it in over the years, the clay soil through much of the area makes this hard to do. Instead, the latest and quite successful trend is putting in graduated outdoor steps by the side of the house. This is a landscaping addition that beautifies the yard and creates a safer way for kids and guests to enter the back yard without falling or sliding down or avoiding it altogether and walking through the house. These steps are made of durable green materials that can hold planters, creating an attractive, environmentally-friendly and user-friendly enhancement.
If you would like to talk about ideas for remodeling or renovating your home in Fairfax, Mclean, Springfield, Woodbridge, Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church VA, reach out to us at Foster Remodeling. Call now for a free consultation!
How Much Unused Space Is In Your Basement?
/in Basement Remodeling, Custom RemodelingHow Much Unused Space Is In Your Basement? Is the basement the most neglected space in your home? When it exists as one wide-open space at the bottom of a long stairway, it often serves as the catch-all place for junk and storage. It does not have nice furniture or wall decorations. Sometimes it doesn’t even have a finished ceiling. This is where the large appliances live – the washer and dryer, or maybe the extra refrigerator and freezer. It’s where you put Aunt Mary’s old couch or let the kids finger paint on a rainy day.
Is your basement a hidden gold mine of space? Imagine it with more walls. Maybe it’s time for you to do some custom remodeling. Divide the basement into two or three more rooms. There would still be plenty of room for storage and appliances, but the wide-open space can probably be used much more efficiently. Maybe it’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but never seem to get to.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Bedroom
Who needs their own bedroom? Has your family expanded since you bought the house? Maybe your children are sharing a room. Things might be a little more peaceful if they had their own rooms. Teenagers would definitely agree with that.
Bathroom
Has someone in your home been dubbed a “bathroom hog”? This might be one way to solve the problem. Improve the one you have with a remodel to add a shower or tub. If there is no bathroom downstairs, adding one is probably easier than you think. Click here for Inspiration!
Playroom
Do the kids have a safe place to play where they can be a little noisy? Give them their own haven with soft floors and cozy furniture. Make a playroom big enough for the train set, the Barbie dolls and the Wii.
Storage Room
Are things piled up in the basement? Use shelving to make the most of all that space. Line the walls with storage units or rows of shelves to store paint cans, small appliances and sports gear. Anything that is in boxes or piled up in a corner can be neatly stowed away until it is needed.
Entertainment
Do you need a comfortable place for another TV or are you ready for a new entertainment center? Put sound proofing in the walls and move Aunt Mary’s couch in here. Add a small fridge and a bar with a sink for cold drinks and refreshments during the game or a movie. This can become a room for rest, relaxation and enjoyment.
Computer Room
Do you have a computer room? This might be a good place to put one. Maybe your office upstairs is too noisy or distracting. Move it downstairs to the basement and convert the room upstairs into something else, like a bedroom. Consider installing wireless networking to make it compatible with your laptop.
Lead Paint Renovation Repair and Painting Program
/in Cleaning, Design Build, RemodelingLead Paint Renovation Repair and Painting Program
Beginning April 22, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency will begin enforcing its new Lead Paint Renovation Repair and Painting Program. This program was designed to decrease the risk of lead poisoning in children living in homes under renovation. In 1978, the Consumer Products Safety Commission banned the sale of lead paint to prevent complications from lead paint contamination in homes and schools. Lead paint and specifically dust from lead paint created during renovation projects is extremely hazardous to children under 6 years of age as well as pregnant women. In children, lead has been proven to cause damage to the nervous system and kidneys as well as speech, language and developmental disorders. Pregnant women are at a higher risk of lead exposure and contamination can be passed along to the fetus resulting in miscarriages, low birth weight, premature births and brain damage.
Beginning on this date; Contractors working in homes constructed prior to 1978 when more than 6 square feet of interior or 20 square feet of exterior painted areas are removed or disturbed, must follow the new regulations the new regulations. In addition, all companies working on a project where lead paint has be identified must be certified through the EPA and have at least one Certified Renovator on staff. Below are the necessary steps to properly work on homes constructed prior to 1978:
In Addition to the above steps, the “Certified Renovator” must keep the following information on site in a job file and maintain these records off site for a minimum of 3 years:
It is important to understand that “Certified Renovators” are not trained or certified to be “Abatement Contractors” who can provide lead specific removal but are trained and certified to work safely on projects that may contain lead paint covered materials as part of a renovation or remodeling project.
When searching for contractors to renovate you home, please ask for a copy of their Environmental Protection Agency “Lead-Safe Certified Firm” certificate. Click here for more info.