Categories Blog, Tips

5 Design Tips for Renovating Your Home by Red Door DesignWorks

We’re so thrilled to partner with Red Door DesignWorks on this blog post. This talented team is located out of Arlington, MA and specializes in home staging, renovation assistance and interior design. We worked with them on an attic renovation last year and are excited to share their design tips with you. Enjoy… These ladies know what they’re talking about! Often times, homeowners start to consider furnishing and styling their newly renovated space once construction is complete. We are here today to say: HOLD UP… Thinking about decorating AFTER you renovate is too late!

1. Plan Around Your Must-Haves
Your renovation should perfectly accommodate both your lifestyle and your favorite personal belongings. Do you have a huge piece of art that you want to feature? Do you have a long dresser you love and want to keep? You will need designated walls for all these items.

  • On the functional side, there are many seemingly mundane but vital considerations. Here’s one we have encountered over and over again—now that I’ve renovated my bathroom with amazing tile, windows and huge countertop… Where am I going to hang my towels?! Don’t forget to plan for a spot for your towel bar.

2. Reveal Special Features in Advance
Help out your contractor by alerting him or her about ALL the special features you hope to have in your space. By learning about those right up front, your contractor will be able to better plan and guide the team—special features like heated floors, a wall-mounted toilet, and a sink in your kitchen island, can affect the structural build, electrical and plumbing.

3. Mind the Schedule
Renovations move quickly. It’s a great idea to stay in close touch with your contractor about the schedule. This gives you the opportunity to make mindful choices around paint, finishes, tile, lighting and more. Making long-term decisions about these elements under a time crunch is not the best way to design a space that you will love for the duration.

4. Link Your Renovation with Your Existing Space
Renovated spaces should dovetail well with existing spaces… Be mindful of finish selections (don’t select all brass fixtures if the rest of your house is brushed nickel) and paint colors (don’t paint a room red if the rest of your palette is blue and green). By artfully handling your new space, the transition from original rooms to renovated one can be seamless.

5. Reserve Money for Furnishings
Sadly, once your space has been beautifully renovated, existing pieces often no longer fit the bill. If at all possible, try to set aside a small portion of your renovation budget for purchasing new items. We always recommend a minimum of $3K to $5K held in reserve for furnishings.

If provisioning with new items isn’t an option, we counsel clients to consider every accessory, piece of art and furniture in the house up for grabs in the new space. Think of it as a house-wide redesign, and don’t be afraid to move everything into a new location. We often find during the course of such a redesign that our clients already have everything they need to make it work.

Now go out there and have some fun designing your renovation!

Contact us if you need help with your home or business designs and decorations.

– Allison & Andrea

About Red Door DesignWorks: We are a Boston-area firm specializing in Home Staging, Renovation Assistance and Interior Decor. We love color, mixing styles and bringing our artistry to living and working environments. Collaborating with our clients to express their distinct personality is our greatest joy.

Contact us today!

Categories Blog, Recent Work

Newly Renovated Kitchen

Our McDonald Contracting team recently finished renovating a kitchen in an Arlington home. We worked with the homeowners to open up the kitchen space and make it more modern, as well as user-friendly for their family.  Check out the before and after on this one… It’s quite the kitchen transformation!

Before:

After: Our team opened the kitchen up, added new appliences, and gave it a fresh new look with modern tile and a quartz countertop!

Save

Save[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The homeowners also needed their entrance to be changed from a 2-door entrance to a 1-door entrance.  Our team rebuilt the entrance and redid the staircase to match the time period of the house.

SaveThanks for checking out our most recent home renovation!  If you need help with your home repairs, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

The McDonald Contracting Team[

Categories Blog

4 Tips for New Homeowners

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No matter what your age, if you’ve taken the leap into buying a new home, you’re going to need some guidance on where to go from here. Make use of these few survival tips so you can ease into the joys of owning your new home!

Focus on What Needs Immediate Attention
Moving into a new home can be stressful especially depending on the current state of the house. It’s important to take into account what you can afford in the beginning while always keeping in mind the future home projects your house may need along the way.

Figure Out What Repairs You Can’t Do On Your Own
One of the new expenses that accompanies home ownership is having to make repairs. There’s a time and a place to do small repairs on your own, but be careful trying to take on the ones that could put you in danger. Do not do yourself or your house the injustice of giving it the improper treatment. Remember that your home is both the place where you live as well as an investment, and it deserves the same amount of care you would give to anything else you value greatly.

Service Checks
Be sure to evaluate all of your home systems including your water heater, fireplace, and/or chimney, and any major appliances that must be checked. As a new homeowner, you want to make sure that your house is properly functioning before you begin to move in just in case the unexpected happens and your valuable items take a hit. Be proactive and take the necessary precautions beforehand to ensure a smooth transition.

Changing the Locks
Once again, protect yourself from another worst-case scenario by changing your locks before you move in. The last thing you want is to leave your home (and your valuables) vulnerable to previous residents of that home who might still have access. Don’t put this task off especially since you don’t know how many copies of the house key the previous owner made. Be able to enjoy your new home by first making yourself and those you live with as safe as possible by completing these tasks beforehand. It’s time to sit back and take some pride in one of the most memorable purchases of your life!

Did you just purchase a new house and do you need help with a renovation project?  Our team at McDonald Contracting will be happy to help you assess your new home and give you a free quote for any projects you may need assistance with.  Check out our recent work to get an idea of the work we do!

Need inspiration for you house? Check out our Pinterest boards for some great home ideas![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]