kitchen renovation Archives - Page 3 of 4

What Your Renovation Contractor Knows that You Don’t

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / Comments Off

Starting to think about a renovation in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom? Whether the job is a major addition or just a remodel, here’s a few things your renovation contractor knows that you don’t.

Why Bids Vary Wildly

Behind every bid for a renovation or remodel is a renovation contractor. The contractor’s bid is influenced by many factors. But, the chief factor is their overhead. If you hire a contractor that has a large staff and large offices, the contractor has a large overhead to cover. That bid will be higher.

In addition, some contractors take shortcuts that can end up costing you more in the long run. If the job requires the work of a plumber, but the contractor doesn’t use a licensed plumber for the work, you can end up paying extra in repairs.

You Can Judge a Renovation Contractor by Demolition

If you think it’s hard to judge the quality of work a contractor will do before the work starts you are wrong. Renovation contractors know that you can begin to judge the quality of the work that will be done during the demolition phase.

If a contractor treats your home as a job site, it shows a lack of respect and a willingness to cut corners. A quality contractor treats demolition with the same care as they treat construction. The work area should be isolated with plastic sheeting where possible to retain dust. Protective coverings should go over floors to guard against damage from worker’s boots and debris carried through the house.

If the contractor asks you to pull any permits during the demolition phase or later in the project it is a large, screaming red flag that cannot be ignored. This is a sure sign the contractor has a problem with their license or has allowed their license to lapse.

The Actual Contractor is Rarely on the Job

The job of the renovation contractor is to see that the work is done as contracted and to the proper specifications. The contractor will hire and schedule subcontractors that perform the actual work.

Your contractor will assign a project manager to your job. The project manager will be on-site regularly. That’s a good thing, because the project manager will know the details of your job better than the contractor will.

Both the contractor and project manager should be available to answer your questions. A sign of a good renovation contractor is the willingness to return phone calls and respond to emails. It’s a sign of a great project manager as well.

Some Renovation Contractors Pass on Jobs

Repairing a DIY job gone bad can be a bigger hassle than building from scratch. Don’t be surprised if many renovation contractors take a pass on this type of work.

Frequently, the DIY horrors only get worse once walls come out and shoddy wiring and plumbing are exposed. This is why many contractors won’t take a job repairing bad DIY work. It’s better to hire a pro in the beginning than hire someone later to rescue the project.

Orange County Renovation Pros

For your renovation project, call Jason and Joe at Inspired Remodels. You’ll get a professional renovation contractor and an awesome project manager. It’s the team that’s creating functional and fabulous indoor spaces, one renovation at a time. Call (949) 716-1938 and schedule your consultation today.

A Kitchen Renovation to Make You Thankful

By Inspired Remodels / Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off

Any renovation project is a major disruption. But a kitchen renovation or a bathroom renovation can make simple day-to-day activities even more difficult. But all those dinners of microwaved soup will be worth it if the project brings you a kitchen that is functional and beautiful. Now that’s a kitchen renovation to make you thankful. To make sure that’s why you get, follow these guidelines.

Pick the Right Kitchen Renovation Partner

To end up with the right kitchen, you’ve got to start with the right partner. You need a kitchen renovation expert that knows how to convert your dreams to reality. A kitchen is just more than a collection of appliances and cabinets. A kitchen includes all construction elements. You’ve got plumbing, electrical, drywall, HVAC, and flooring as well as cabinetry.

Changing the kitchen could mean changing the plumbing. The right renovation partner considers all the pieces that must come together to create the kitchen you want. When budget is a concern, that’s important. Pick Inspired Remodels as your partner.

Approve a Workable Design

Your renovation must start with a plan. Make sure the design you approve is a workable design. Kitchens are work spaces. The most efficient designs are based on the kitchen triangle. The refrigerator, sink, and stove are essential to cooking. Place these items in a triangle and the cook moves efficiently between the essentials. Include storage for the most used items in easily accessible places.

Work with a design/build contractor and make the kitchen renovation process easier. A contractor like Inspired Remodels not only creates a workable design, they execute the design as well. That’s one less headache for you.

Utilize Easy Care Finishes

Unless you want to spend as much time cleaning as you do cooking, pick easy care finishes. Do you pine for granite countertops? Did you know that quartz is easier to maintain? Tile makes a lovely backsplash, but do you want to scrub grout?

Talk with your kitchen renovation specialist during the design phase to pick out finishes that are not only lovely and durable but are easy to maintain.

Once you’ve selected your design and finishes, then set up your temporary kitchen in another area. Use disposables, small appliances, and practice patience. The end product will be well worth the disruption.

Celebrate with A Party

Once the work is complete, invite friends over. You’ll be thankful that entertaining and cooking is so easy in your new kitchen. Picking the right partner and relying on their expertise in design pays off in a workable kitchen. You’ll have a kitchen that’s great for cooking and easy to clean when you’re done. Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us today and schedule a consultation.

Kitchen Renovation Ideas to Fall in Love with this Fall

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement, Kitchen Remodel / Comments Off

Thinking about renovating your kitchen before the holidays? Inspired Remodels, the premier kitchen renovation company, has some ideas for touches that will give you a kitchen to fall in love with this fall. Just take a look.

Use Patterns in Your Kitchen Renovation

Chevron patterns are everywhere. We are finding them in upholstery, wallpaper, textiles and now they are even showing up in tile. Check out this chevron pattern we recently installed on a backsplash.

Chevron Tile Pattern installed by local kitchen renovation company

Backsplash Tile in Chevron Pattern

This is tilework is practical, easy to clean, and adds timeless style to the kitchen. Notice the use of grey? Grey is the new white in interior design.

Another popular pattern is achieved with subway tiles. These traditional 3 x 6 tiles are available in an incredible color palate and their appeal is timeless. Your kitchen renovation should be about creating a kitchen that you will fall in love with again and again.

gray glazed subway tile used for backsplash in this kitchen remodel

Grey glazed subway tile has timeless appeal

When you stay with classic colors and lines you get a kitchen that is ageless. Simply update the fixtures, lighting, and cabinet hardware when you are ready to freshen thing up.

Task Lighting to Love

Your kitchen needs to be more than beautiful; it needs to be functional as well. Having enough light to tell the parsley from the cilantro makes a real difference in the way your food tastes!

You can make the most of natural light and augment it with lighting for ambience but the key to a kitchen you love is task lighting. Task lighting gives you the light you need to get the job done. Chopping, kneading and mixing are easier and safer when you can see what you are doing.

Lighting mounted under the cabinet is a way to add light to your work areas. Notice how this kitchen renovation gets a lighting lift with under-cabinet lights.

Lights under the cabinets and pendant lights provide task lighting

pendant lighting used in kitchen renovation to provide task lights

Pendant lights provide task lighting

Pendant lights are another fabulous way to provide lighting over an island or prep station. Pendant lights direct the light exactly where you need it. They are also available in a wide variety of finishes and shades to match any décor. When you are ready to update, just change the shade and it looks like new lighting.

Little Touches – Big Impact

Sometime it’s just the little things that make you fall in love with your kitchen. Cabinet door knobs and drawer pulls are more than just a way to open the door/drawer they are an inexpensive way to highly customize your kitchen and make it yours.

Cabinet Hardware. Just take a look at this drawer pull. Yes, it is functional, but it is beautiful as well. Same for the cabinet door knobs.

Pulls and knobs are like jewelry for your cabinets

Personalized Storage. Make sure your kitchen renovation company understands your cooking style. Incorporate storage where you need it most. Do you like to stand over a simmering pot, stirring, tasting, and adding a dash of this or a touch of that? If so, the unique storage drawer have you falling in love with your kitchen every time you cook.

Pull Out Rack Keeps Spices Close at Hand

Storage can also be used to transition from the kitchen to the living area. This kitchen remodel included a transitional space that provides storage and display space and doubles as a wine bar too. Perfect for the family that entertains from the kitchen area.

Renovate Your Kitchen this Fall

If you are ready for a kitchen renovation that will give you a kitchen to fall in love with this fall, pick the kitchen renovation contractor that designs and builds. Pick Inspired Remodels.

Inspired Remodels will help you come up with a personal design that provides timeless appeal and can be easily updated in the future. Need some inspiration? Talk to one of our designers. They are experts at listening and turning dream kitchens into real kitchens.

Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us to schedule your consultation.