Planning & Budget |
When stopping by the Evo Design Center showroom, Josh and Tami, both doctors, fell in love with the idea that Evo Design Center is a one-stop shop. With their busy schedules, they would be able to find everything for their project within the massive four floors of the showroom, from tile to cabinets to plumbing fixtures. They also realized that Josh is the pediatrician for Pia and Perry Michael Reinstein’s (owners of Evo Design Center) three children, which made them feel even more comfortable on such a large project. In their Melville, NY, home, the existing master bedroom was very spacious, but being a now 15+ year-old builder bathroom, was in need of a remodel. As with most builder bathrooms, the existing shower was small and operated very poorly. They also felt the original vanity lacked space and functionality. As Perry Michael redesigned the space, he reduced the tub platform in order to enlarge the shower to 4’ x 6’ with an integral bench seat and lengthen the vanity to include three drawer stacks for incredible storage and organizing. One real necessity was the new shower function well. After running pressure and flow tests, Perry Michael determined that he needed to increase some pipe sizes in the floor. As far as style, both husband and wife agreed they both loved a simple Crema Marfil marble Elegant Resort feel with very simple and clean lines. Grohe faucets, Jaclo high flow thermostatic shower controls, Wellborn cabinetry and the icing on the cake using two electric mirrors that really give excellent lighting to finish the space. With every detail completed with precision and expertise by Evo Design Center, they now are on a resort vacation every day in their own home. Bon Voyage!
Helpful Tips, Kitchen Design, Planning & Budget |
A lot of clients come to me questioning the higher end appliances and service issues. I think the first thing to remember is all mechanical items will require service calls, hence warranties. From my experience all levels of appliances have their issues I think that when people spend 3 or 4 times on a high-end appliance they might voice their complaints that much more when something goes wrong. What high-end appliances do offer besides the name tag are better quality components, more features, nicer designs, and superior integration. I always assimilate it to shopping for a car, make sure you fit the car with the driver, because it might cost as much, lol!
Outdoor Living, Planning & Budget |
First you will need to check with your local building department as to your zoning for size, height and setback (distance from property lines) restrictions and if planning to have a bathroom and/or kitchen what septic requirements you will have. That aside I would then look at how I will be using the space? Do you want enough space to have an eating area or maybe couches and television? I usually like to make a space like this “convertible”, so the shape and size are useful for different uses so it can be changed as life changes. I also like to have a large openings leading out to the pool so when left open the space feels like and open roof like resorts have. And finally, I would always recommend a little larger than your original thoughts because the most common regret is, “the space could have been bigger.” I know I didn’t give you an actual size but I hope these ideas help.
Planning & Budget, Tile Tech |
I think a marble look whether Crema Marfil or Carrera or others is a great timeless look. The real question here is not how it is maintained but are you and whoever else will be using this room be able to be a bit more careful. Marble scratches easily and can stain if abused (something with heavy dyes not cleaned up immediately). It also can stay beautiful for a long time, is not a fragile as it’s made out to be and can be re-polished easily (e.g. Casinos, restaurants). Today there are some really great porcelain tiles that when installed you cannot tell the difference but this will also require creative designing and possible use of real marbles for the bull noses, pencils and other edge finishes because most porcelain tiles will not have exposable edges. This being said, if you can find the look you want in a good porcelain tile I would probably recommend this first but don’t be afraid of using Marbles in a lower traffic space.
Helpful Tips, Kitchen Design, Planning & Budget |
I am proud to be involved with the NKBA for decades, a board member for 7 years and now I am moving into a national position of Chapter Representative. Why I tell you this is because I am proud of what this association does and stands for. You the Homeowner and Professionals alike should, too.
So what does this mean to you?
Because of this Association we have thousands of Professionals who continue to educate themselves and learn from each other how to provide the best possible job for our clients. We continually meet with manufactures reps, attend seminars and the professionals who are lucky enough to attend KBIS (Kitchen and Bathroom Industry Show) get the learn all of the new products and trends coming to our markets. This continuing professional development and education that that happens from this NKBA involvement in turn can only help our Homeowners achieve better projects.
Now as we know all construction jobs have their snags but by choosing a NKBA professional to develop a project for your family you are almost guaranteeing the most professional and successful job possible!
“The road to success is always under construction.”
Helpful Tips, Outdoor Living, Planning & Budget |
Well this is a little bit of a loaded question and I can probably write an entire book on the subject. I think the main parameter of this question would be budget. A gunite pool will generally cost double the comparable vinyl pool installed. There are also long-term maintenance concerns as well as local property tax considerations. Then determine if the additional cost is worth the long-term durability or if you like the softer, smooth feel of a vinyl pool. There also are fiberglass pools to consider that give long term durability, very interesting shapes and internal features and will use the least amount of chemicals to keep functioning properly. I think the best solution is to look at all of these factors, how long you plan to be in the home and really interview well established and high rated pool installers. This is a very hard one to fix if done wrong so which ever pool you decide on don’t go cheap, you might end up regretting it. Please feel free to contact me again with any other concerns or questions on this subject.
