Design Ideas

Look to neighbors for ideas on vintage architectural details

Look to neighbors for ideas on vintage architectural details

The nice thing about remodeling an older home in a neighborhood of such homes is that you need simply walk around the area with your eyes open to find ideas for exterior architectural details. That’s what Aaron Raymond did when he remodeled his 1942 French Normandy home in the Windsor Hills area of Los Angeles.…

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How’s that remodel working out? Greening up a modest tract house

How’s that remodel working out? Greening up a modest tract house

Bill and Becka Doering did a whole-house green remodel on their Santa Barbara home, and I wrote a Pardon Our Dust feature about it, which you can read here. Bill is both an engineer and a green-building enthusiast. With his firm, Doering Design & Engineering, he helps others make their homes more energy-efficient. Also, the…

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The new chic: decorating from the dump

The new chic: decorating from the dump

I knew we were on our way to a Depression Era decorating mentality and now we have arrived. Thank goodness we have artists living at the poverty level to show us the way. As seen in this feature in the New York Times, an artist who makes sculpture from driftwood and his resourceful partner have…

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5 Favorites on Kathy’s Remodeling Blog

5 Favorites on Kathy’s Remodeling Blog

You can tell what’s up in the world by what people search for on the Internet. Here on Kathy’s Remodeling Blog, we’ve got five consistently favorite subjects that interest your fellows readers. They are: Green Remodeling Kitchens Before & After Contractor Issues Design Ideas

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Is it a grab bar? Or a fashion statement?

Is it a grab bar? Or a fashion statement?

It’s true: People don’t generally like the way grab bars look. The industrial feel of old-school grab bars brings to mind an institution of some sort. And so while it would make sense to install grab bars during any bathroom remodel, many homeowners don’t on account of the looks. These are from our friends at…

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The doggie apartment in the laundry room

The doggie apartment in the laundry room

Where to put the dog bed? That is the question. In my own house, I tend toward the philosophy of: Let’s put the dog bed in the middle of the living room so my fur baby doesn’t get lonely. But not all people are going to warm up to this idea. I’ve never crated a…

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Would you sacrifice square footage for charm?

Would you sacrifice square footage for charm?

When famed kitchen designer Susan Serra visited Copenhagen this month, she stayed in this apartment and sent back this photo. In this living room, I was struck by the deep-set windows, which add so much charm. It creates a feeling of thick walls, and provides shelves for plants, flowers and other things of beauty, and provides a…

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Before & After — Ikea kitchen island on steroids

Before & After — Ikea kitchen island on steroids

This is one of the best budget kitchen remodels I’ve seen. While you can see a dramatic change from before (bottom) and after (top), notice that the cabinets are the same, the window is in the same place, all the appliances are in the same locations and the floor and ceiling are the same. So…

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Add a front porch; save the world

Add a front porch; save the world

Have you ever driven or walked past a house that was so alluring, so charming, so warmly inviting that you felt an urge to go in and sit a spell? I bet that house had a front porch. I’m convinced that our future as a species would be more hopeful if we all had front…

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Flaunting Ashton Kutcher’s luxury studio trailer is in very poor taste . . . but I wanna touch it!

Flaunting Ashton Kutcher’s luxury studio trailer is in very poor taste . . . but I wanna touch it!

As you well know, the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are going the other way. The whole economy is rigged that way and you wonder how long it will go on. As our new two-class economy unfolds, it seems disgusting for rich people to flaunt their riches, doesn’t it? So why…

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