I recently finished a gorgeous new project for one of my favorite clients: installing a new wooden vanity counter in the master bathroom of her mountain cabin. Photos don't do this project justice, but since you can't see it in person, here goes... (Click on any picture to zoom in and read about it.) And for those of you who use Pinterest, here's the big "before and after" shot: This isn't the final stage; my client plans to add a granite backsplash in place of the white tile. (You can see the gray sample stuck to the wall on the right.) I'm looking forward to seeing the final version; I think it's really going to look good with the rustic vibe of the room.
My client Joshua is really smart investor. He bought an investment property here in Asheville and had it completely updated: new roof, new wiring, new plumbing, better floor plan, and so on. He was almost done with the renovation, but he didn't have enough time to devote to the last item on the list: the kitchen. That's when he called me. Savvy sellers know that the kitchen and bathroom are the most important rooms in the house. Joshua wanted "kitchen appeal" to make the house look fresh and up-to-date. We started by installing new countertops, sink, faucet, drain assembly and garbage disposal. Then we installed new appliances: the water heater, fridge, stove, microwave, and dishwasher. Presto! A new kitchen. That hardworking gentleman cutting out the hole for the sink is my friend Jesse. I brought him in to help with the countertop and appliances, since they would have been awkward for just one person to move. He's also an experienced handyman in his own right, and I often recommend him to clients when I'm too busy to take on more work. Thanks for the help, Jesse! Now that the kitchen was done, it was time to fix up the bathroom. Joshua had already ripped out the dated fixtures and had the new plumbing stubbed in, so it was ready for the new sink, toilet and light fixture. Last, but not least, a grace note: new ceiling fans in all the rooms. I'm sure the added "kitchen appeal," "bathroom appeal" and even "ceiling fan appeal" will help Joshua's investment sell faster, and I really enjoyed making these finishing touches. Do you need help improving or maintaining your Asheville investment property?
Call me! I love this stuff. This is the second post in which I’m showing off a beautiful house near Mars Hill and Weaverville. I’ve been working with the owners, Henry and Barbara, to fix the house up. The kitchen in this house has great “bones.” That is, the cabinets are solid and sturdy, and it’s got a nice big peninsula that lets onlookers sit and eat breakfast or talk to the cook. But like any kitchen that’s been lived in for a little while, it needed a few small updates to give it a fresh appearance. We recently did the basic update, starting with the simple stuff: a good-quality faucet and new strainers in the sink. The cabinets were starting to fade a little, so we touched them up and put a new coat of finish them. They look brand new, don't they? And finally the appliances arrived. This really is a nice kitchen, and a nice house overall. It will be up for sale soon, so let me know if you’re interested in buying it.
This house is going up for sale in a week or so (if it’s not already listed). It has a fantastic eastern facing view looking over beautifully tilled fields. It’s on a quiet road, and the whole neighborhood seems to be a really peaceful place. (Click any of these four pictures to enlarge.) I worked on it for 3 weeks, helping Henry and Barbara get it ready to sell. They had already painted all the rooms and doors, steam-cleaned the carpets, pulled off the flower print wallpaper, and probably cleaned up a hundred other details. But they wanted to get it on the market by early Spring, and they still had a lot to do, so Henry called me. We walked through the house and wrote out a long list of everything they wanted done. He asked me to start by renovating both bathrooms. I removed all the baseboards and fixtures. Then I tiled the floor. Here's some "before" and "during" pictures: While the tile grout was drying, I worked on smaller details like installing closet shelves and rods, replacing broken mirrors and torn window screens, updating faucets, adjusting doors to make them open and close properly, and replacing the locks, latches and handles on the doors. After the tile grout dried, Henry painted the bathrooms. Then we installed new vanity cabinets, counter tops and faucets. Fortunately the tubs were both in great shape and we were able to leave those. The renovations both turned out really well. I think they got a good bang for their buck by bringing these bathrooms up to date. Bathrooms are said to be the second-most used room in a house, with the kitchen being first. We did update the kitchen on this house, but that's for another post. Getting ready to sell your house? Why not get an estimate to update it?
If you read a lot of home decorating magazines, you will eventually notice that the "before" and "after" photos show a kitchen going from dingy to delightful in just one photo. This is fine for people with huge budgets (or more likely, huge debt), but what can people with modest budgets do? This kitchen is an example of how you can slowly improve your home by making a series of renovations as you can afford them. In the first picture, you can see that the kitchen was in a cramped "U" shape, with an intrusive breakfast bar that kept the cook from interacting with the rest of the family. In Phase One, we simply took out the intrusive wall and used an existing pantry to house the refrigerator. This made the kitchen "livable" until the client could afford to take the next step. In Phase Two, you can see that we have added simple cabinets below the left-hand counter and over the refrigerator. We also covered the old linoleum with nice "granite" flooring that is actually peel-and-stick tile. Last but not least, we built a simple custom kitchen island to extend the rustic feel of the kitchen. In the final phase, we replaced the laminate counter and cheesy white backsplash with nice, warm-colored tile. We also panelled over the dated "popcorn" ceiling and called in an electrician to install new lighting. Regardless of what home decorating magazines say, you don't have to do everything at once. Just make sure that you work with your handyman to make a good plan that fits your budget. Need a local handyman to help with your next home renovation? If you're in the Asheville area, give us a call!
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