Month: March 2017

5 Mistakes to Avoid with Your D.C. Kitchen Renovation

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 2 Comments on 5 Mistakes to Avoid with Your D.C. Kitchen Renovation

If you live in Washington, D.C., and you are seeking a kitchen renovation, then here are five (5) mistakes you want to avoid with your remodel.

Improper Kitchen Functionality

A common mistake among homeowners is not considering the overall functionality of their newly designed kitchen. Will your kitchen help you save time in the mornings as you prepare breakfast or lunch for you or your kids? Will you be able to entertain a group of friends in the space? At the end of a busy day, will your kitchen have room for you and your family to congregate and share the events of the day?

These are just a few questions to ask yourself while in the design phase. After-all, it doesn’t make sense to have a new kitchen if it doesn’t function the way you want it to. If your kitchen doesn’t serve your needs, you may not enjoy it as you should, which means that you will spend a lot of money on a renovation that keeps you and the family away. Also, a poorly designed kitchen will negatively impact the resale value of your home.

Opening up Your Kitchen

It is not uncommon to have a small and closed off kitchen space, especially if you own a home in Washington, D.C. Having a closed off kitchen area makes it tough to entertain family and friends. It is also a challenge while cooking if you need to keep an eye on your children.

One solution you may want to consider is to open your space by removing a wall that closes off the kitchen to an adjacent room.  You may even need to consider removing a load bearing wall and re-supporting the structure in a different way.

In a residential situation, a load bearing wall is a wall that supports the structure above. Getting advice from a professional design-build firm in Washington, D.C. and their recommended engineer will help determine what structural members are needed to support the span that is being opened.

There are several ways in which a load bearing wall can be removed while the opening is re-supported and it can be a lot less expensive than you realize!

Not Considering the Work Triangle

While planning for an upcoming kitchen renovation, it is very important to consider the work triangle of the space. This is a commonly used term by kitchen designers, which refers to the three primary work areas of the kitchen:

  • Your kitchen sink
  • Your cooking areas such as a range or cooktop
  • Your food storage, as in your refrigerator.

It is very important to make sure these three primary areas of your kitchen are properly placed within the space. You want to ensure that they are not shoved up next to each other or too far away, and you need to make sure that they are forming a triangle.

Also, you want to make sure that no one leg of this triangle is shorter than four feet if you can help it, and no leg of this triangle is longer than nine feet long, again if you can help it. This will make sure that you have an efficiently designed kitchen that will work for you.

Not Having the Right Lighting in Your Kitchen

Another important element to consider in your upcoming D.C. kitchen renovation is the lighting in your space. There are four main types of lighting your designer will be considering when planning your renovation:

  • Natural kitchen lighting. This is the light that comes in through the windows in your kitchen or through a skylight in the kitchen.
  • General kitchen lighting. This is the artificial light that you will need in the kitchen when it is night time or for those cloudy days outside. You can still get the proper general lighting to walk safely through the kitchen, and be able to illuminate what you are doing. Types of general lighting will be recessed lighting on the ceiling, or other surface mount types of lights, such as track lighting or decorative fixtures mounted to the ceiling.
  • Task kitchen lighting. This is most common with your under cabinet lighting, and it is important because it illuminates your work area, so when you are prepping food, or you’re cooking, you can clearly see the countertop area.
  • Accent kitchen lighting. This type of lighting is used to illuminate certain features in the kitchen, such as lighting that is placed above the crown molding over the wall cabinets to bring to life the ceiling. This type of lighting adds a little extra dimension to your kitchen space.

Not Getting Professional Help

There are three paths you can take when designing your kitchen:

  • Research online and DIY. This is not the recommended approach if you are trying to implement a beautifully designed kitchen that will fulfill your functional needs. If you are not a general contractor, and you are seeking to go this route because you think of yourself as a quick learner who can watch several YouTube videos and know how to design and build a D.C. kitchen in your spare time, then you will be sorely disappointed. A project of this scope requires expertise.
  • Hiring multiple contractors. One approach some homeowners consider is to hire many contractors to implement a kitchen remodel. While you may be able to save money in the short-term, in the long-run the quality of the craftsmanship may not live up to the potential. Also, by hiring multiple contractors (e.g. a plumber, an electrician, a tile company, cabinetry, ) you run many risks with projects taking longer than expected, going over budget, and worse – not being the final product you originally wanted. Each contractor is working on different schedules, which you or the general contractor will need to coordinate, and not all contractors work well together.
  • Hiring a design-build firm. This is by far the recommended approach when designing and building the kitchen of your dreams. When you hire a reputable design-build firm in Washington, C., you will be working with people you like and trust. The right company can be with you each step of the way from design to implementation, and won’t pass you off to another department, or different project manager. Plus, you get the added reassurance that your design will come to life with professionals who have the knowledge and necessary experience, and make it all happen without you having to hire multiple contractors and dealing with that coordination headache. Working with a good General Contractor will give you peace of mind and you will ultimately enjoy the kitchen of your dreams with those you love most.

We hope you found these tips helpful. If you reside in Washington, D.C. and you are in the market for a kitchen renovation, then reach out to us for a free design quote.

Finesse Design Remodeling is an award-winning full-service design-build firm specializing in fine renovations and restorations in the Washington DC Area.

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DC Kitchen Remodeling: Tips to Ensure You Get the Most Out of Your Kitchen this Spring

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 1 Comment on DC Kitchen Remodeling: Tips to Ensure You Get the Most Out of Your Kitchen this Spring

Spring season in D.C. is a time of rejuvenation. It is also a time in which many homeowners begin working on projects to spruce up their space so they can improve their quality of life and time spent home with loved ones.

Below are several tips to ensure you have an appropriately designed DC kitchen so you can truly maximize your space and get the most out of your home.

Do you have adequate space in your kitchen?

There are many important aspects to consider with a functional kitchen. Take for instance the placement of your refrigerator, sink, and cooking areas, and the placement of your countertop areas. A poorly designed kitchen will prevent you from using your kitchen appropriately, and it can even result in accidents.

If you feel like your kitchen doesn’t have adequate space, then why not open up your kitchen to your living or dining area?

You can take advantage of removing load bearing walls and re-supporting the structure in a different way. This is an ideal way of opening up your kitchen space and can greatly improve the way it functions. This will also make your kitchen and your living space look bigger than it actually is and accommodate more people in both areas at the same time.

Is there a proper traffic flow in your kitchen?

A poorly designed kitchen space can also impact your traffic flow. If you have more than one person in charge of cooking, or you like entertaining guests in the kitchen, then having a narrow walking space can cause a traffic jam.

The ideal width of a kitchen walkway is usually three feet but varies depending on a number of factors. If you are considering an island or peninsula in your kitchen, you should think about the size and placement of this feature as this can contribute to a narrow walkway and bad traffic flow if not designed correctly.

The location of doorways around your kitchen also dictates how traffic will flow through the space. A poorly located door can direct traffic right through a critical kitchen prep area, which will interrupt you while cooking or tidying up. Lastly, it is important to consider the arrangement of your kitchen appliances, tools, cabinets, workstations, cookware, and others to create proper traffic flow in your kitchen.

How about efficiency?

Have you ever had a hard time working on a meal because your kitchen design was outdated? Dated, malfunctioning products or an outdated kitchen scheme will cause you to be inefficient with your meal preps, which can create a stressful situation and make you want to work and entertain less in your kitchen.

Implementing more modern features, maximizing the function of your cabinets, and designing specific work zones will help you be more efficient in your kitchen. Modern appliances are also easier to manage and use, giving you more time to spend entertaining your family and friends rather than laboring all day in the kitchen.

Have you considered the location of your kitchen?

Easy access to other rooms, such as a porch or a deck is ideal for your kitchen. Having an outdoor grill off the kitchen makes it simple to add healthy grilled options to your warm weather dinner routine. Additionally, your family and guests will surely enjoy dining on freshly cooked meals al fresco with the freshness of spring in the air.

If this is not possible, but you still want to bring in some fresh air, try getting your kitchen rearranged to have access to bigger windows without compromising the function of your kitchen.

What is the island’s function in your kitchen?

Many kitchen designs have islands, and these kitchen islands are not just about being pretty. Some homeowners want to have the convenience of enjoying a meal inside the kitchen or creating a gathering space for family or entertaining. Other times, the primary goal of an island is incorporating a different workspace or enhancing the prep area.

If you want to use the island for eating or seating, it is imperative that if this is in conjunction with a primary work area that appropriate space considerations are taken into account. This is especially important if you have a cooking surface in your island for the safety of a seated individual. As mentioned earlier, you must also consider whether you have enough clear floor space to allow for proper traffic when incorporating a kitchen island. Having a kitchen island can be an elegant way to add storage and function to your kitchen, but it doesn’t always mean you need and can have one.

What colors should you use?

Trying out new colors for the kitchen is a great idea, especially as we now enter the spring season. This year, there are a few trends in color schemes that can bring spring inside your kitchen. Greenery and jewel tones which focus on natural colors of nature can be refreshing and eye-popping, especially in the kitchen.

Two-toned cabinets can change your kitchen’s ambiance dramatically. If you have a small kitchen, using shades of white or other light colors can make the whole room brighter and bigger.

We hope you found these tips helpful. For additional tips, be sure to join our community of DC homeowners below who received weekly tips and insights from us – straight to your inbox.

Cheers!

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DC Kitchen Remodeling Proper Heating and Cooling and the Work Triangle

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 1 Comment on DC Kitchen Remodeling Proper Heating and Cooling and the Work Triangle

Here at Finesse Design Remodeling, we want every household in D.C. to have gorgeous and functional spaces, and this should also be true for your DC Kitchen Remodeling. For the next few weeks, we will talk about important factors to consider when remodeling your kitchen. You can check out last week’s tips for proper sub flooring and lighting here. Without further ado, here are this week’s tips:

Elizabeth Mitchel

Partner at Finesse Design Remodeling

When you are planning for an upcoming kitchen renovation, it is very important to consider the work triangle of the space. This is a common term used by kitchen designers and refers to the three primary work areas of the kitchen- first your kitchen sink, second being your cooking areas such as a range or cooktop and third being your food storage as in your refrigerator.

It is very important to make sure that the placement of these three primary areas of your kitchen are properly placed within the space. You want to make sure that they are not shoved up next to each other or too far away. You need to make sure that they are basically forming a triangle. You must also make sure no one leg of this triangle is shorter than four feet, if you can help it, and no leg of this triangle is no longer than nine feet long, again if you can help it. This will make sure that you have a very efficiently designed kitchen that will work for you.

Brian Bielski

Partner at Finesse Design Remodeling

We’ve had a lot of homeowners who have requested a little sunroom addition or maybe we enclose a porch and they want to make sure that they have the proper heating and cooling. To ensure that you have the proper heating and cooling is kind of expensive. There’s a couple ways you can do it, you can either specify an entirely new system for just the addition, or you can what’s called a mini split.

A mini split is a sort of a cassette that can be matted on the ceiling or the wall and there’s an outdoor unit with it. What you don’t want to do is tap into the existing home’s ductwork and simply try to pump air into that space. It’s not going to work. Number one reason is it’s like trying to force air into a vacuum-packed can- it’s not going to happen. You have to have return air. That’s additional ductwork that has to be considered.

On top of that, typically when the mechanical contractor sizes the equipment for the home. They do with that what they call manual J’s which is low calculations that tell you what size unit you have based on the square footage of each room, how many windows, doors and things like that. That unit is sized for the house the way it is and not for the addition, so if you are going to try to heat and cool a new addition, you are going to need to consider an entire new system to handle that capacity that it needs.

We hope these DC Kitchen Remodeling tips help you!

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DC Home Remodeling: Spring Temperatures and 2017 Design Trends to Consider

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 7 Comments on DC Home Remodeling: Spring Temperatures and 2017 Design Trends to Consider

If you reside in the D.C. area, then you know winter temperatures weren’t predicted accurately by our groundhog friend, Punxsutawney Phil. The first day of spring is Monday, March 20, and spring-like temperatures are here already (minus the snow from the other day). This means spring cleaning and home projects are soon to be underway.

Instead of waiting until spring to release our home design trends for you to consider with your upcoming interior home design and remodeling projects, we figured it would make better sense to go ahead and release some insights now. So without further ado, here are some popular trends in 2017 for you to consider:

The Colors of 2017

The Color of Nature

The beauty and colors of nature can put anyone in a good mood, especially inside your home. One current trend that is stunning in the modern household is the wood element as it provides a feeling of getting closer to nature. Panatone also named “Greenery” as their 2017 Color of the Year, is a vibrant and refreshing shade of green reminiscent of lush foliage. A great way to incorporate this dramatic color into your home is through the addition of potted plants in your décor.

Jewels Tones are big for 2017

The colors from jewels tend to capture the attention of many designers as well as homeowners. The saturated and bold colors of jewel tones, from emerald green to sapphire blue, is perfect for accents in home furnishings and art pieces.

Taupe or Shadow

Whether you prefer the drama of “Shadow” as Benjamin Moore does, or a softer version such as “Poised Taupe” by Sherwin Williams, these trendy purple shades for 2017 will surely bring class and warmth to your space. Neutral yet impactful, when combined with other colors, they give joie de vivre (enjoyment of life) inside your home. A departure from 2016’s Color of the Year, “Simply White”, these new neutrals further demonstrate that 2017 is all about color!

The Kitchen

The Two-toned Craze

Two-toned themes have maintained popularity in kitchens. Most two-toned kitchens use rich wood finishes combined with lighter hues of white or cream. However, grays, blues, and even navy are making a presence especially when tempered with or with luxurious champagne bronze or brass tones. These color combinations let the whole kitchen look well designed, rich, and fabulous.

Everything Clean and Simple

One popular trend with kitchen designs today is a simpler and clean look. Many homeowners, for instance, prefer to have cabinets with simpler door designs such as a slab or shaker profile. The simpler door style goes hand and hand with the more dramatic trending kitchen tones of 2017.

Quartz on the Countertop

Tiles on your kitchen counter or mainstream granite colors can give your kitchen an outdated feel. Although some homeowners still prefer granite countertops for both their kitchen and bath, quartz composites are starting to get more attention. Quartz has the same durability as that of granite but because it is a manmade product, it lends itself beautifully to contemporary or transitional designs. Plus, quartz countertops are non-porous, so sealing is not needed.

Essential Cooking Wares

Technology in the kitchen is catching up, which means you better be ready for more modern cooking tops and other appliances inside your kitchen. Induction cooktops are gaining popularity, especially when gas cooking is not an option. Built-in microwave drawers that save space with a modern appearance is also a great idea for the kitchen.

The Bathroom

Closer to Nature in Contemporary Style

Contemporary style with a touch of nature is now in. Whether it is your sink, tub surrounds, shelves or linens, the touch of nature with neutral wood and greenery colors is a 2017 trend. Most of these designs can be seen in spas where people go to aide in relaxation, and this trend has slowly dominated in the residential sector. The modern twist of nature-inspired bathrooms can easily attract homeowners because of its relaxing qualities.

The Tile Styles

Geometric tiles are getting more attention, creating a more artistic and unexpected twist from your classic square or subway tile inside the bathroom. Another style getting attention is Moroccan inspired tiles or encaustic cement tiles which feature different lines, shapes, and patterns. If you are not into attention grabbing patterns, then classic subway tiles with a contrasting grout may come as a better choice for you.

Contemporary Fixtures, Cabinets, and Sinks

Many homeowners want a contemporary style integrated with their whole interior design. Most of the contemporary fixtures, cabinets, and sinks are simple, easy to maintain and simply stunning. Undermount sinks are a staple in contemporary bathroom designs, and the greenery trend is also incorporated well on contemporary fixtures, cabinets, and tiles by using neutral colors and adding wooden elements in the design.

The Technology for Your Home

A Smart House in the Palm of Your Hands

Your whole home can slowly become easier to maintain and control with the help of cool new apps. Want to have a warm bath ready? Tap your iPhone. Want to have the lights dim during the night, or the air conditioning on a steady temperature during the day? Set it up on your smartphone, so you don’t have to come home with rooms that are too hot or too cold.

We hope you found these insights helpful as you embark on your home design and remodeling projects. If you are in the market for a free home design consultation, then don’t hesitate to contact us.

You can also become a member of our awesome community below of D.C. homeowners who receive weekly tips and insights straight to your email inbox:



 

DC Kitchen Remodeling: Proper Sub flooring and Lighting

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 1 Comment on DC Kitchen Remodeling: Proper Sub flooring and Lighting

Here at Finesse Design Remodeling, we want every household in D.C. to have gorgeous and functional spaces, and this should also be true for your DC Kitchen Remodeling. For the next few weeks, we will talk about important factors to consider when remodeling your kitchen. You can check out last week’s tips for load bearing walls and GFCI units here. Without further ado, here are this week’s tips:

Brian Bielski

Partner at Finesse Design Remodeling

One of things that we see a lot of when we go into looking into people’s bathrooms or kitchens, older homes in D.C., Virginia, Maryland or wherever it may be, we see a lot of cracked floor tile. The reason is usually whoever installed that floor tile did not have proper subflooring. To install floor tiles, there is a couple of ways to ensure that you have the proper subflooring.

The American Tile Institute recommends a minimum of an inch and a quarter of sub flooring. That would be three-quarters of an inch plywood and a half inch of cement board tile backer, whether it be Durock, Wonderboard, etc. If you have that three-quarters plus half, you will not have any cracked floor tiles.

The other way you can do this is to go over the three quarter inch plywood. Schluter makes something called Schluter Ditra, which comes in rolls and has honeycombs and is made structurally to basically take the floor stresses off of the tiles. If you use Schluter Ditra plus three-quarter plywood, you will not get any cracks.

Elizabeth Mitchel

Partner at Finesse D­­esign Remodeling

Another important element to consider in your upcoming DC Kitchen Remodeling is the lighting in your space. There are four main types of lighting that your designer will be considering when planning for your renovation. The first type is the natural lighting of the space. This is the light that comes in through windows in the kitchen or through a skylight in the kitchen.

The second type of lighting that you should be considering is the general lighting. This is the artificial lighting that we need in the kitchen when it is nighttime or it’s a cloudy day. You can still get the proper light to be able to walk safely through the kitchen and be able to illuminate what you are doing. Types of general lighting would be recess lighting on the ceiling or other surface mount types of lights such as track lighting or decorative fixtures mounted to the ceiling.

The third type of lighting that is very important to consider is the task lighting in the kitchen. This is most common with your under-cabinet lighting. This is important because it illuminates your work area so when you are prepping food or you’re cooking, you want to make sure you are able to see the countertop area clearly.

And the final type of lighting that especially designers like to consider is the accent lighting. This is to illuminate certain features in the kitchen, such as lighting that is placed above the crown molding over the wall cabinets to illuminate the ceiling. This type of lighting adds the little extra dimension of the space.

We hope these DC Kitchen Remodeling tips help you!

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The 5-point Checklist for Your D.C. Bathroom Remodeling Project

Posted on | by Finesse Design Remodeling | 16 Comments on The 5-point Checklist for Your D.C. Bathroom Remodeling Project

Remodeling a bathroom can be overwhelming. This is especially true with homes in Washington, D.C. as interior space is extremely limited.

To ensure your bathroom renovation runs smoothly, we here at Finesse Design Remodeling have put together a quick 5-point checklist for you to use, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed throughout this project.

Budget

Just like with any project you are about to embark on, the first question you need to have answered is ‘how much should I afford to spend?’

Setting a budget will help guide you as you make decisions about what to include and exclude, the level of craftsmanship you expect, and the quality of materials you want to incorporate into your bathroom renovation.

And, knowing your budget will help you to choose which contractors to reach out to because pricing will vary considerably since not all contractors offer the same level of quality and service.

So, you need to determine what is more important to you – cost or value?  Information online can be skewed and price depends on the region you live in. Some information suggests that a bathroom remodel costs as little as $6,000 – $9,000.00 – way too small of a budget for a full remodeling job!

For this range, you may replace the shower tile or some of the fixtures but that doesn’t constitute a full remodel.

Other sources suggest that a full bath remodel should cost $10,000 – $16,000.00. This could be the case so long as you don’t rearrange the layout and you limit your selections to lower end products, or plan to re-use some of the existing fixtures.

So, if you are going the cost route, then your best bet may be to stick with off the shelf products and fixtures you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes. However, if you truly want a bathroom that suits your design and function criteria, then your best bet is to go the custom route. If you are considering selling your home in the future, a well-designed bathroom will realize more value at resale. Achieving this will require some design expertise to help you navigate the way.

Here are some additional questions to have answered when deciding on your budget and which contractor to hire:

Will your contractor include?

Design and materials selections?

Permits and inspections?

Licensed plumbers and electricians?

New dedicated circuits included for lighting and GFCI plugs, or is the contractor assuming the current wiring schematic is adequate?

Time

Just because you have a small bathroom does not mean it will take a lot less time than a large bathroom to remodel. The same materials need to be ordered (e.g. cabinets, light fixtures, and tile), which will take time to be delivered and installed.

Also, depending on the number of items you are replacing in your bathroom, your hired contractor will need to go through all the same steps he and/or
she would have to go through with larger bathrooms.

Lastly, if the bathroom you are remodeling is the only bathroom in your home, then this is something you must consider as well during your bathroom renovation. You don’t want to be stuck in a precarious situation in which need to rely on your neighbor’s home to use their bathroom, or the nearest McDonald’s.

Added tip: a “full gut” and remodel of a typical bath should take two and a half to four weeks. If someone promises under two weeks, then chances are your bathroom remodel will not turn out favorably.

Hidden Problems

Based on your initial consultation with your contractor, the renovation seems like it will go according to plan, suddenly, however, there are hidden problems once work begins.

Regardless of the age of your home, the biggest hidden problem you can encounter is water damage.

It is important to look for structural deficiencies in the floor framing, plumbing that may not be adequately vented, old or damaged plumbing, tile shower/tub surrounds that aren’t waterproof, and more.

If you are doing a major bathroom remodel, then it is ideal for you to consider doing a “full gut” renovation. Hiring the right professional design/build firm will help ensure your bathroom remodeling process is enjoyable because your firm will be able to creatively solve any problems that arise, your bathroom will function flawlessly, and the remodel will add significant value to your home.

Here are some additional considerations for potential hidden problems:

Inadequate sub-flooring, which can cause ceramic tile to crack

Improper toilet flange and/or wax ring installation causing leakage and sub-floors to rot

Circuits that aren’t ground fault protected, which can cause shock or electrocution hazard

Waste vent system improperly done or undersized, causing toilets to burp, and slowing the drainage of sinks and tubs

Design Style and Functionality

There are so many design and functional elements to consider with the bathroom you envision, which can cause overwhelming stress. What paint color do I choose? What tile choice(s) do I go with? How about the showers, tub (if wanting a tub), faucets and lighting? What options do I choose to set the right ambiance or mood within the bathroom?

You can do investigative research online, which can take hours, days, months, or even years during your spare time. And during this lengthy process (which may be when your first grandchild is born), you can piece together elements you like and hope for a cohesive design that functions well.

Or…

You can seek professional help from a reputable design and build firm that is partnered with you each step of the way through this process. This is the recommended approach as such companies are specialized in coordinating everything for you from start to finish – more on this later.

You will also want to consider the eventual resale of your home, and think of how the bathroom design will fit in with the rest of your home. For instance, it may not make sense to have an Arts and Crafts styled bathroom when the rest of your house is an Art Deco theme.

Ultimately, the design style of your bathroom should work hand in hand with the functionality you envision.

Here are some additional questions to have answered?

Are multiple design concepts presented, and are the floor plans and elevations discussed with you to determine the best possible layout?

Is there going to be a formal process for material selections? Will a professional designer assist you by providing samples or visiting showrooms with you? Will their selections process harmoniously bring together style, color, and texture of the fixtures and materials, and capture the design theme that you want?

Will the design flow well? Is there potential door and/or drawer interference? Is there adequate clearance in around the different bath fixtures?

Is the lighting thoughtfully addressed so that applying makeup or shaving is a breeze?

Cabinets, Storage, and Shelving

As mentioned earlier, space in D.C. homes is limited. Therefore, you must think creatively about how you can have a beautifully designed bathroom to serve your functional needs while ensuring you have enough cabinet, storage and shelving space that is reachable.

This can be especially tricky if you are raising a family and you need ample space to store things like diapers, extra towels, and more.

Additional tips:

Well planned shower niches are a great place to store bath products.

Ledges can be incorporated into the design which also provide a place to store bath products

Built in linen towers are good for storing towels, diapers, etc., and incorporating an outlet inside a cabinet is a great way to charge items such as toothbrushes and razors while keeping them out of sight.

Recessed medicine cabinets can be utilized for storing pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene products, etc.

Sometimes less is more. If there is plenty of storage adjacent to the space, or if space is limited, perhaps you want to consider a pedestal sink, corner sink, or drop in vessel style sink, which can be used to save space.

Bonus: How Do I Find and Hire the Right General Contractor to Remodel My Bathroom?

More than likely you will need to hire a contractor. However, given that there are so many contractors out there, choosing one that will ultimately deliver the best value for your bathroom remodeling needs is the way to go. Of course, this requires some research on your part or seeking advice from friends and/or family who may have already shared with you who not to go with based on their horrific experience.

One rule of thumb is not to seek multiple contractors to handle different parts of your bathroom remodeling project – e.g. a flooring contractor, a plumbing contractor, an electrician, etc. This can lead to added stress and more headaches trying to coordinate all of this – this is what a general contractor is supposed to do.

Also, if you are going the value route for your bathroom needs, then hiring a general contractor that also specializes in design is your best bet. Essentially, these companies will be with you each step of the way – from the initial consultation, through the design concepts and the construction phases. Similar to a wedding coordinator, these firms will take almost all the stress off your shoulders so you can focus on other areas of your life, and not have to go to bed worried about whether or not the job will deliver the value you desire and be completed on-time.

Lastly, a reputable design and build contractor will ensure that any hidden problems are met with a solution – sometimes a creative one – to ensure your bathroom is delivered within the agreed budget.

Additional Tips:

Think about the entire process. Will your salesperson hand you off to a design person who hands you off to a production person? Or will you be working with the same people throughout the entire process?

Don’t hire the lowest price contractor (this isn’t the government), or someone who promises the job will be completed too quickly.

What is the contractors warranty policy?

Will the contractor take care of all drawings and documents needed for permitting, and handle the permitting process for you?

These are our five (5) checkpoint tips to ensure your next bathroom remodeling project goes right. Of course, there were some others we could have added, such as plumbing fixtures and features; proper measurements; walls and flooring; lighting, accessories, final cleaning and more. If you keep these five (5) checkpoint tips handy, however, and decide to go the with a design and build firm to deliver the best value for your buck, then your hired contractor will help ensure that all of these other points are addressed to meet your bathroom remodeling needs.

About Finesse Design Remodeling:

Finesse Design Remodeling is an award-winning full-service design-build firm specializing in fine renovations and restorations in the Washington DC Area. We work with you from start to finish in whole house renovation and restoration, including kitchen and bathroom remodeling, and interior and exterior design.