Expertise: Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling

Remodeling can take your home to the next level, making old, outdated spaces feel like a brand-new home. While remodels are more cost-effective than relocating, these projects can easily exceed their original budget and schedule unless care is taken to ensure you get the desired results without breaking the bank. Consulting with an experienced, accredited – NKBA, NARI, CKBR or ASID – professional can reassure homeowners their project is in good hands.

House & Home spoke to Hometech Renovations' CKBR-accredited president David Cerami to emphasize the importance of hiring qualified professionals whose experience allows them to create your dream vision within the reality of your budget.

How can homeowners save time and money with experienced, accredited professionals?
They'll have the experience to understand a lot of the nuances of a design expansion. Homeowners often want some changes within the existing design – remove a wall or expand the footprint into an adjacent room – which would involve some form of remodeling. An expert understands what needs to be done and some of the cost benefits and projections associated with a project like that. I find that a professional can help customers hone their budgets a bit more by explaining the cause and effect of some of the things they've considered before we get into the design of a project.

For example, I had a client that I just finished the design on. He wanted to remove a wall but had a chimney there allowing his furnace to heat the entire home. He thought he was locked into leaving this monolith in the middle of the footprint; I suggested some alternatives that would allow us to claim that space and really expand this kitchen tremendously.

Because of my knowledge, I offered him some cost-effective ideas to remedy that issue. There's always something needing to be addressed: A true professional that has been around would certainly know the issues associated with a project's demolition and rebuild aspects.

How would you advise a homeowner undertaking their first remodel or redesign?
Work with an accredited, experienced design-build company. Design companies are quite different from design-build: I've worked with very talented designers, but there's value-based engineering that could have been incorporated by a design-build team in some of these designs.

The second thing that's very helpful for any professional is for a customer to realize what they can afford and potentially want to invest in. Most homeowners we meet don't think about kitchens and baths in terms of a process: They think, "I'll just call this contractor and get one estimate." That's hard because how do we walk into a home and prepare one estimate on a space requiring pre-existing conditions, design, demolition, products, product integration and selection of various elements? There's a lot to consider.

Share with that professional a comfortable budget you're considering. That way, they can walk in and if the budget is not in line with the breadth and scope of what you're looking to do, they can say, "That budget could get you X, but would not be sufficient to get you your ultimate vision. Here are your other options." It saves time for both the homeowner and professional.

What are some potential "swaps" for homeowners on a budget?
If they're not looking to radically change the footprint of the kitchen, they might consider cabinet refacing or restoration. Cabinet refacing spruces up the space with new cabinet doors and soft-close hinges to match other design and material details without replacing the cabinets altogether. They might also consider standard plumbing fixtures, sticking with existing flooring or luxury vinyl as opposed to tile or stone, switching to energy-efficient LED lighting or saving upgrades on standard-sized appliances for later. As for the bathroom, one-piece shower pans and surround panels, eliminating large builder-grade whirlpool tubs, and considering standard-sized vanities incorporating specific countertops and integral sinks that retrofit with the vanity are wonderful style options that aren't likely to break the bank.

Hometech Renovations
(215) 876-8413
HTRenovations.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 24, Issue 2 (Luxury Living Spring 2024)
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