In Bellingham, homeowners are upgrading their bathrooms! Check out what can be done to enhance your bath: Floating vanities: Have your contractor build the vanity on the wall; this leaves open space at the bottom, giving the room a more airy feel. This works especially well if your bathroom has a nook that the vanity…

Be aware there is a possibility that water damage could be uncovered when flooring or walls are removed; it is a common problem in bathrooms. Be prepared for this possibility and have contingency budget for this. If your contractors don’t encounter any water damage, consider it a bonus! If you have the room, consider putting…

Stays in spas have provided the inspiration for many homeowners to re-create that awesome spa experience right in their own bathrooms. Sometimes just coming home from a stressful day one craves that relaxing spa experience, but may not have the time to go to a spa. Creating the spa experience at home can start with…

You know what they say: “What is the bottom line?” Meaning money, of course. That’s why you should remodel now. A master bath remodel, kitchen remodel, or adding a well-designed powder room will add value to your home. Of course, you will be able to enjoy updated fixtures, colors and furnishings for as long as…

Well we’ve done the research for you, combing through thousands (just kidding – maybe hundreds; uh make that maybe tens) of websites and blogs, noted what our clients have requested lately, and the results are in. Ta da! 1. Kitchen cabinets: Clean, simple contemporary looks will be popular, with homeowners looking to economize and eliminate…

Buying a home often means buying someone else’s outdated bathroom. Since the bathroom is so often visited, you may decide to remodel. When exploring design ideas, remember to make the updated bath fit the style of the rest of the house. A good bathroom remodel is considered one of the best enhancements for the value…

Outhouses: Well, this is where it all started – after the “doing it in the woods” thing, which I confess, some of us still do when out backpacking the Mount Baker wilderness. This just serves to make us appreciate our indoor plumbing. Or even those pit toilets. Anything . . . really. I’ve used one…

Case in point: Is your bathroom perfect? I suspect there are a few things you wouldn’t mind changing. Whether your home is fairly new, or has been around a long time, we all have different lifestyles and tastes. The basic elements of a bathroom are: Dimensions of the room Sink/ vanity Shower or tub Toilet…

There is an incredible variety of kitchen faucets these days, and it can be daunting to decide which is the best for your kitchen. Especially if you want to buy a quality faucet that will last a long time with little or not maintenance and you plan on spending a significant amount; you want to…

In our bathroom remodel projects, we are often helping clients select bathroom faucets and then installing them. While appearance is very important, there is more to know! Knowledge can save you money and problems. Questions you need to answer: How will the faucet be mounted; on the wall or on the sink? Do you prefer one handle…

Some people have no problem making decisions on their bathroom remodel. But others struggle with this, fearful of selecting the wrong faucet or countertop material and only finding out after the fact that it just does not work for them! Here is a collection of comments from people who have had their bathrooms remodeled and…

The bathroom in this small,historic one-story home was gutted and completely remodeled to a more modern and sophisticated look, while paying homage to the original architecture. Custom cherry cabinetry, solid surface countertops, marmoleum, and  tile were integrated to achieve our clients vision. porcelain tiles were strategically placed around a new window and clear shower doors were installed to allow natural…

Are you desperate to the point of fantasizing about taking a sledgehammer to the room yourself? Then it is time to sit down and figure out how to make it happen. This really is not a futile effort. What do you need to know to do this? Your budget. It is difficult to define the…

It depends on your budget, the level of dissatisfaction you have with the current bathroom, as well as the workability of what is there now. Home Renovations has an excellent article on this topic that covers all the bases – from budgeting and financing, to the levels of remodels that can be done and their…

Frameless shower doors provide a clean, modern look and open up the master bath. Houzz.com  has a great article giving the reader 12 reasons to consider installing them in your next bath remodel. To keep the space open and airy. Balance between traditional and modern Contrast modern and rustic Show off tile work Make a small room…

Bathroom design – it’s fairly easy to know what you want in your bathroom, but figuring out how to fit it in there without moving a wall or window, or if you have budget restraints, without moving the plumbing outlets – these are the problems that require creativity and some skills. Kohler has a neat little article…

So, what does kitchen and bath remodels have to do with Groundhog Day? Not much. But groundhogs are kinda cute and February 2 is their day. Arm yourself with the following facts so you can sound knowledgeable on Feb 2; impress your friends. Groundhog and Groundhog day factoids: Groundhog is another name for the woodchuck. They are large…

I found a website called “A Bathroom Guide” with some great bathroom designs. Pictures help a great deal – and they have a nice collection of bathrooms showing what works in combining colors and patterns of tile, as well as some excellent sinks and tubs. The styles shown range from ornate to traditional to the minimalist…

The National Kitchen and Bath Association provides a wealth of information for those thinking about remodeling their bathrooms or kitchens. This article focuses on material selection for the bathroom vanity top. Granite and marble are very beautiful and at $125 to $250 per lineal foot, the most expensive. For some, this will be a non-starter…

With toilets, it’s not just the appearance that counts; nor even the gallons-per-flush rating. These things matter, of course, but there is much more to consider in the models of toilets available today.  Toilets are estimated to use about 30 percent of the water used in homes, according to the EPA, replacing a high-capacity toilet…

Kohler has an article on their website titled “Designing the Perfect Powder Room.”  It very comprehensively lays out what should be considered when re-modeling or designing a new powder room. Some of the main points from the article are listed here, click on the link above to get the full article. The following is excerpted from…

I am always looking for ways to make a small (or even tiny) bathroom look good, and work! A small bath, no matter how small, still needs a place to put a few towels, a toothbrush, hair brushes, maybe a few band aids? Some are unbelievably small, but there really are solutions to all the…

The kitchen and bathroom, of course! Naylor’s Kitchen and Bath points out that “Kitchens continue to maintain their long-standing status as one of the two most frequently remodeled rooms in the house; the other is  . . .  the bathroom.  They are known as “the rooms that sell the house”.  tch The National Association of…

Remodelista has an article today on black tile in bathrooms. It must be the weather (Fall is coming soon), because I was just thinking about dark bathrooms. It seems that most home remodels go for the light look – white, off-white and warm muted colors. I suspect that due to our long dark winters in the…

  This photo is borrowed from http://remodelista.com their bath remodel section. Remodeling projects vary so tremendously from almost austere styles to ornate.   A nice detail of a  concrete vanity top and chrome, single lever faucet:   VERY elegant pedestal sink   What era would you say this pedestal lav is reminiscient of?  Grecian? Roman?…