Trent from the Simple Dollar, one of my favorite blogs, writes a recurring post called the “Weekly Roundup.” In it he links to his favorite online articles from the week. As I read entirely too many blogs I decided to follow his lead and link to great articles in remodeling, construction, interior design and architecture.…

Pat was in the Better Business Journal’s article “BIAWC awards top remodelers” showing her three new REX awards! Congrats. And, in case you’re wondering where we’ve been, please be patient… I’ve been working on a very long post about subway tile. It has been taking WAY longer than expected but hopefully it will answer all…

Last week I wrote about interior painting. If you’re still looking for a great paint, take a look at the article How to Choose Paint from Mother Earth News for information about what type of paint to use in specific rooms as well as low- and no-VOC paints and natural paints.

There are a number of wonderful blogs and websites out there to find inspiration for remodel. I came across two posts today that I thought our readers may enjoy. The first post, at Curbly, a DIY community, is called Bright, Cheery Glam Details to Make your Kitchen Pop. I wanted to share this because of…

While the intent of this blog is not to help with buying a home, I found some advice that was too good to pass up. This article is aimed toward the “Flipper” but gives some great information about what to look for when buying a home. Obviously your inspector should be looking for these issues, but…

By far one of the most popular search terms people use to find this blog is “outdoor kitchens.” Earlier today I posted our outdoor kitchen project and thought I’d continue by providing some information about outdoor kitchens. Hope this is what you’re looking for. Enjoy! Outdoor kitchens are becoming more and more popular. Last year’s article NAHB…

By far one of the most popular search terms people use to find this blog is “outdoor kitchens.” Though I’ve already shown the in-progress photos for one of our favorite projects, I thought our readers might be interested in learning about the specifics of the project. This project was one of our three REX award…

As of tomorrow, Notes from the Field will be two months old. We are currently 8 views away from breaking 400 page views and this post is our 30th. I just want to take a moment to thank everybody who has come to this blog. I hope you’ve found some useful information. If you have…

A dear friend of mine lives in New York State and she has a close friend who lives in an old Victorian home. His roof has been slowly leaking for years and he finally decided to get it fixed. So he hired a contractor and moved all his possessions into one room so the contractor…

While Rose Construction generally does all the painting for our projects, every once in a while we get a client who would rather paint him- or herself to keep costs down. Painting, though it initially seems easy, requires a lot of prep work in order to get a professional looking finish. After all, who wants…

This blog is one and half months old now. I started thinking about the highlights and my favorite posts so far. That got me looking through our stats, curious about which have been our readers’ favorites. After viewing the results, I thought links to our most popular posts/pages (in case you missed them!) and a…

Every year the National Association of Home Builders (NAHBR) and the Builders Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIAWC) host the Excellence in Remodeling (REX) Awards. This year we submitted four projects and last night Pat won for THREE of them! I’ve written about all the projects we submitted, so please click on the links to…

Scary news, folks. It’s almost gutter season. I know, that word strikes fear in many a homeowner. One of those homeowners might even ask why they should be cleaned at all. It’s actually an extremely important task. Water has to go somewhere. If it is blocked from the gutter because of obstructions such as leaves…

Last week I wrote about hiring contractors. Today I’ll share some reasons why you should consider hiring, well, us! I saw an article online entitled “Selecting a Pro-Most Asked Questions of Contractors“, which is apparently a reprint from the Wallcoverings Association (WA), and thought I’d respond to both the article and last week’s post. According…

The newest addition to our Rose Construction team, Janet, will be starting on Tuesday. She will be filling the Office Manager and Contract Administrator position. With many years of experience in engineering, drafting and cost management, we think she’ll fit right in and be a wonderful asset. So, if you call in, be sure to…

Hiring a contractor can be an extremely nerve-racking experience. Most people remodel only once or twice in their lifetime so, unlike with most other businesses, it’s more difficult to get great recommendations from friends or to have existing business relationships. However, finding a great contractor is extremely important as he, she or they will be…

Before renovation, the kitchen in this historic Eldridge area home was outdated and didn’t take advantage of the home’s architectural strengths: The homeowners wanted a kitchen that would be reminiscent of the home’s existing classic style. However, the room presented two design challenges: an abundance of doors limited wall space… and the wall behind the…

I am extremely proud and flattered to inform you that our post CSI: Not Just for TV Anymore was linked to in this week’s official CSI Weekly e-newsletter. Be sure to check both out!

This is one of my (Melissa’s) personal favorites, likely because this is the first completed project I saw after starting work at Rose Construction. A 1937 architectural award-winner, this historic home has wonderful structure and charming details. However, the upstairs bathroom was lacking in both space and appeal: The homeowner was adamant that any renovations…

The kitchen in this converted condo lay inside an approximately sixty year old former apartment building. The small kitchen still had its original white metal cabinets: and an inefficient layout: Furthermore, the room was closed off by an intrusive wall: and there was little in the way of storage: However, the room highlighted a bright…

By CSI I mean the Construction Specifications Institute’s MasterFormat 2004, of course. CSI MasterFormat is essentially the Dewey Decimal system of the construction industry. In CSI MasterFormat there are two major groups: (1) Procurement and Contracting Requirements and (2) Specifications. The first group contains the paperwork to start, finish and keep the project running, such as…

One of our favorite projects was an outdoor kitchen and living space in the Silver Beach neighborhood. I thought some of you might be interested to see the progression from the existing home through the work in progress and finally to the completed project. So, here’s the story: The clients entertain often and wanted a…

We were contacted by a client who saw us at the Whatcom County Home & Garden Show in Lynden a few years ago. We were featuring one of our favorite additions, an outdoor kitchen and living space (I’ll post that soon!), and our new client had remembered it. Luckily our name stuck as well! They’re…

Every year the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County, otherwise known as the BIAWC, hosts the annual Tour of Homes. This year we’ve entered a very fun home that we’ve done quite a few renovations on. There’s hardly a room on the first floor we haven’t touched in some way, even if it was just…

Happy 40th to John, our accountant! In his off time he plays music and hangs out with his daughter. Over the weekend he had a birthday bbq where this adorable photo was taken: Happy Birthday John! For those who are interested, today is also the birthday of Virginia Dare, the first child born to English…