by Jill Williams | Dec, 2022 | Article, Design + Architecture, Green Building, Living
As if you don’t already have enough on your plate preparing for the holidays, adding plans for a remodel may not feel like the top of your priority list. Yet, this is the perfect time to tune in and take note of all the small details you’d like to change about your home as we move into the new year.
This time of year is when we find ourselves in the kitchen more – maybe wishing we had more counter space and more room to move. We host family and friends and dream of an open-flowing kitchen and living space so everyone can be together. Or imagining how nice it would be to have that extra bathroom downstairs. It’s the time of year that we find ourselves identifying changes we’d love to see and saying, “We will do that for next year.”
The reality is that a simple kitchen remodel, from initial idea to end-of-build can easily take 6 months to a year – more complicated projects can take much longer. As such, now is the perfect time to make a running list of your troubling and dream features.
Meanwhile, contact us to schedule an initial phone/zoom call with us in January to get the ball rolling and endeavor to be ready for next year’s holiday cheer.
by Jill Williams | Nov, 2022 | Article, Design + Architecture, Green Building, Living, Tips + Inspiration
Backyard Cottage and DADUs
Maximize the assets you already own, like your home and your property.
The holidays are a perfect opportunity to re-evaluate the functionality and usefulness of your home. Entertaining friends, family, and pets for one-day celebrations as well as hosting guests for extended stays, really highlight what works, what doesn’t, and what the dream may be. Maybe it is a remodel to open up the kitchen to the living space – perfect or entertaining – or the need for extra space to accommodate extended family for longer periods of time – whichever, both are good to start discussing immediately if you are considering having it done in time for the 2023 holiday season!
ADUs grow out of a variety of design opportunities. When the additional living space is contained within (think basement, attic) or physically attached (like a converted attached garage or an addition) they are called ADU – or attached accessory dwelling unit. An ADU has the design advantage of feeling like just another part of your home if you want it to and has less of a cost impact due to the easy access to systems/utilities and building no or less exterior walls.
Sometimes, however, it makes sense to have the additional space detached – which is often referred to as a backyard cottage or detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU). More costly than an ADU, but with other advantages (like sound, and privacy for just two) that have additional opportunities for increased value as well.
In today’s crazy world, maximizing your existing assets — like your home and property – is not only smart but sometimes the “easiest” solution for maximum return.
If you find lack of space is your biggest obstacle, many people consider finishing out a basement or adding square footage to the existing home. Neither are an inexpensive endeavor when done right, so we often encourage families to consider diving deeper and maximizing the effort by expanding scope into an Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU). Yes, it costs more and there is often equal to not more value added to your home immediately – not many investments can boast that kind of return!
A few reasons why ADUs pencil out:
Perfect Guest Space
While most of us love having friends and family at our house, things can get a little uncomfortable, especially if you don’t have extra space to begin with. A backyard cottage makes for the perfect guest house friends and family will love!
Ideal for Family Members
These structures make for the perfect in-law suite or multi-generational housing options. Whether you have an aging-in-place family member or your young adult just graduated from college, an ADU allows independence while saving money and being close by to provide support.
Income Generating Rental Opportunities
Have you ever considered investing in rental properties? If so, an ADU is a smart choice! You can rent it out for short periods or fill it with a full-time tenant. Because these units have their own entrance, bedroom, and bathroom, they make for the perfect vacation destination or long-term rental.
Increase Your Property Value
Another benefit of building an ADU is that it will increase your property value. With rental housing costs and the lack of available units, ADUs are becoming more and more popular and are in high demand. Having one on your property will give your home a competitive edge when it comes time to sell.
Sustainable Housing Solutions
The new generation of homeowners and renters are much more concerned with their ecological footprint than ever before. Accessory dwelling units are low-impact housing solutions that tend to use far fewer harmful resources compared to building traditional homes. Because they are small in size, they also require less energy to light, heat, and cool. And utilizing space on an existing housing property rather than breaking new ground is always the more environmentally-friendly approach!
This holiday season, consider giving yourself the gift of more or more flexible space, and consider the real estate investment opportunity “right in your own backyard.” Reach out to us today to help you get started on that path!
Check out our photo gallery page to view a few of our recent backyard cottage, DADU, and ADU projects.
by Jill Williams | Oct, 2022 | Green Building, Living, Tips + Inspiration, Uncategorized
Shorter days and cooler nights are here. You may have already broken out the sweaters and pumpkin-spice lattes, which means it is time to prep your home for the Fall season. Get started by taking inventory and creating an eco-friendly fall maintenance checklist.
- Inspect your roof. Be sure to replace missing, worn, loose, or mildewed shingles.
- Prepare your fireplace for the cool weather. Have your chimney thoroughly cleaned and inspected by a professional each year.
- Secure doors and windows. Reduce air leaks by weather stripping or caulking the doors and windows of your home.
- Schedule an HVAC system checkup. These checkups will normally include a carbon monoxide test and will examine the heat output of your unit.
- Clean gutters and debris. Clear leaves, twigs, and other items around the exterior of your home and in your gutters before the bulk of the leaves start to fall.
- Test your smoke detectors. Smoke detectors can last up to 10 years, while carbon monoxide detectors last about six.
- Fertilize your lawn. Apply fertilizer to your grass in the fall to prevent winter damage. You can also use compost you’ve made yourself from the yard and kitchen scraps.
- Weatherproof your outdoor furniture. You can protect your furniture by placing it under a covered patio or underneath a sturdy waterproof cover to ensure it looks just as good as it did when you first bought it.
- Choose a clean electricity plan. You’ll be doing the planet a favor by choosing to power your home with 100% clean energy.
by Jill Williams | Sep, 2022 | Featured Projects
Our clients, Kristen and Anthony, came to us with their sweet, mid-century rambler home in Columbia City, looking to open up the living room into their small, compartmentalized kitchen — a very popular trend back in the day but less useful to how we live today. As such, their goal was to create a flexible dining space, open the flow of the layout, and let in more natural light.
With an out-of-state architect on the project we had to adapt our typical processes to flexible communication modes to co-create a lovely space — balancing the clients’ desires and maintaining a sustainable footprint.
Together we cultivated a gorgeous, more modern mid-century look. By combining white and fir cabinetry with integrated appliance panels can get persnickety — especially the fir. As such we brought in one of our custom cabinet builders, resulting in a high-grade, grain matching, aesthetically pleasing, and highly functional product. With the paneled appliances, warmth of the fir, higher island, and flush-mount stove vent* — the space feels more integrated into the living area and less like a kitchen. The sleek, stainless counters complimented the clean design of the cooktop and light cabinetry, integrating the mid-century minimalistic feel.
The original house design included a single kitchen door to the backyard with windows along the living room’s back wall. Swapping that for large, sliding doors created an easy flow from the indoors to utilize the outdoor space as part of their day-to-day living space; adding loads of natural light, and complimenting the warm openness of the now conjoined space.
Removing a wall has several challenges: you lose space and sometimes lose structure! To obtain the open span desired we were required to add a steel post for support. Not part of the original concept, we worked through a number of aesthetic options — from boxing it in to giving it a special finish. Ultimately Kristen and Anthony chose to just give it a clear coat finish and live with it for a bit. Oftentimes changing a finish selection down the road can create more trouble than it’s worth — as such we are usually huge advocates for choosing the end solution. In this particular case however, anything extra we could do to the post wouldn’t impact any of the other finishes — giving them the opportunity to keep the solution simple in the moment.
Solving the loss of storage space was a much more fun opportunity. The dining hutch not only added a ton of function, but also a beautiful focal point in the room. Every detail planned and executed masterfully, the hutch strategically included push latches to minimize visual distractions from the gorgeous fir and supporting the simplistic, modern mid-century design Kristen and Anthony desired.
*Surface mounted flush ceiling flush stove hoods have come a long way. It is critical, if you consider going that route, that you do extensive research and stick with a high-quality brand. A number of features need to go into that product to make it successful with the extensive amount of space from the cooking surface. The extra time and money invested in a quality mounted flush ceiling stove hood will be well worth it if that is the direction you choose to go. (See image below).
by Jill Williams | Sep, 2022 | Green Building, Living, Tips + Inspiration, Uncategorized
Eco-friendly advantages to retrofitting rather than building new.We are thrilled to see more people seeking ways to reduce the environmental impact of their lives and homes. From buying/using less plastics to slowing down fast fashion, eating more local foods, and even driving a hybrid or electric car. But what about when it comes to making significant changes to your home?
Green building trends are becoming much more desirable these days. Techniques and super efficient and healthy products are super accessible. Yet, the number of builders intentionally integrating these solutions is still alarmingly low. (We’re happy to be amongst the small community authentically striving to build better!)
With so many new building techniques for high-efficiency homes and with the cost of retrofitting – we often get asked if it is “better” to build all new or keep as much as we can and retrofit/remodel?
In most cases, retrofitting a home already in existence is greener, more sustainable, more efficient, and overall less impactful on the environment and carbon outputs than building something new. New construction has been blamed for over 30% of all global emissions – from extracting new materials to transporting them and disposing of the old materials (which also involves lots of transportation). Renovating your current home eliminates the sourcing and use of new materials and allows you to incorporate some of the same modern, eco-friendly/carbon-impacting technologies that can lead your home towards the inspirational, new Net-Zero and Passive House homes being built.
We are huge advocates for looking at the whole system of your home and establishing a master plan for what is appropriate to tackle at what stages. Often times that is also means taking a look at not just system upgrades but how you anticipate shifting the interior or exterior spaces of your home over time as also a discussion point to when to do some of the system upgrades.
Contact us to set up a consulting appointment and start envisioning your future sustainable and carbon-friendly home.
