Home Improvement Blog

The Benefits of Adding Skylights to Your Home

March 26, 20150

Brighten a room with skylight installation.

Skylight installation can let more natural light in.

Skylights were once seen as a luxury addition to homes, but today, skylight installation is considered an eco-friendly option for just about anyone. If you are considering this change to your home, it’s important to talk to a local home improvement contractor to determine whether they will work well in your home and what benefits they can offer.

Additional Light

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of skylight installation in your home is to provide additional natural light. To help reduce your electric bill, it’s best to tap into the natural light of the sun as much as possible. Because the sun is located in an overhead position, skylights typically let in more light than your average windows.

Heat in the Winter

One of the suggestions a home improvement contractor may make to heat up the interior of your home naturally is to open the shades on your windows. When the sun is shining, skylights make the perfect avenue to bring more of this heat into your home. Because skylights have excellent insulation, they won’t leak out your heated air like older windows can.

Your home improvement contractor may recommend skylights.

Talk to your home improvement contractor about skylights.

Premium Ventilation

Roof ventilation is important to the quality of your roof, as well as the energy efficiency of your home. Many homes don’t have the proper ventilation to protect these elements of your home. Adding skylights to your home can provide additional ventilation for your attic space, greatly increasing positive air flow through your home.

Cost Savings

When you first work with a local home improvement contractor, one of the initial things you will discuss is how much the project will cost. Skylight installation may seem like a major expense, but when you compare it to the savings you will experience in your heating and lighting bills, you will quickly see it is a wise investment for many homes.

Strategic Placement

If you want to make the most of your investment in skylights, it’s important to ensure they are placed in the appropriate locations. Your local home improvement contractor will inspect your home closely and help you determine which area is the best option to enhance natural lighting and heat transfer. You can indicate which room you would like the skylights in and the contractor will let you know which locations will provide the results you’re looking for.

Skylight installation is no longer something few people can afford. Instead, it has become a green option that gives homeowners a large number of benefits. These skylights can provide additional natural light to help reduce your electric bill, as well as provide natural heat transfer, which can decrease the cost of heating your home. Once you realize all the benefits you can experience, talking with your home improvement contractor should be your next step.

If you’re interested in skylight installation for your home, contact us. Colony Home Improvement provides Massachusetts homeowners with skylights to lighten and heat their homes.

How to Create a Safe and Efficient Bathroom

March 24, 20150

Learn to make the most of your bathroom addition.

A bathroom addition should be both safe and efficient.

Bathrooms are among the most used rooms in the home, but they can also be the most dangerous. With the presence of water and the use of electrical equipment, the dangers are many. When you’re considering a bathroom addition or bathroom remodeling in Quincy, MA, it’s important to take this matter into consideration. Your design build remodeling project will help you create a safe, efficient bathroom everyone in the family will love.

Accessibility Options

If you have a family member who has specific safety concerns, your bathroom addition or remodeling project should consider accessibility options. This may include a walk-in shower or another type of accessible bathtub. Some accessibility options are a good idea for any bathroom because you never know if you will suffer a debilitating injury that would require these accommodations. Talk to your design build remodeling contractor about the options that may be best for your home and unique family situation.

Slip-Resistant Materials

The most common accident in the bathroom is slips and falls due to wet surfaces, particularly after or during a bath or shower. During bathroom remodeling, it’s important to make sure your contractors are using slip-resistant materials to ensure your safety. These materials are a must in bathtubs and showers, but they should also be used in other areas of the bathroom as well.

Increase safety with bathroom remodeling.

Bathroom remodeling can make the room safer.

Other Possible Features

In addition to using slip-resistant materials and implementing accessibility options for those who need them, there are other features you may want to consider for your bathroom addition or remodeling project. Some of the features you should consider including are:

Grab bars to prevent falls, particularly if you have elderly family members living with you.
Storage at multiple heights so every family member can easily reach what they need.
Countertops that can be reached from standing or sitting positions.
Zero clearance doorways that measure 36 inches wide.

The Overall Design

When it comes to design build remodeling, it’s important to consider the overall design of your bathroom for safety and efficiency. Bathroom remodeling in Quincy, MA, can help you make any changes to elements you find difficult to use or inconvenient. Your contractor will help you evaluate the amount of space you have available, whether you are adding a bathroom or renovating an existing one, and help you determine the best configuration so everyone can get the most out of your bathroom.

Bathroom additions and remodeling can be a great way to improve the safety of the room and enhancing its functionality. Because the bathroom is such a busy space, it’s important to make sure it works best for all of your family members. Hiring experienced contractors will ensure your bathroom is safe and works the way it was intended.

If you’re looking for design build contractors to help with your bathroom remodeling, contact us. Colony Home Improvement provides quality bathroom remodeling in Quincy, MA, and the surrounding areas.

Where Is the Best Place to Put the Laundry Room?

March 19, 20150

Your home plans should include a laundry room.

Where does your laundry room fit into your home plans?

All home plans provide a laundry space where you will keep your washer and dryer and may even fold your clothing. Over time, the location of these laundry rooms has moved to various positions within the home, depending on the design of the house. When it comes to the placement of your laundry room in home remodeling in Wellesley, these tips will help you choose the right option.

In the Basement

Years ago, the basement was considered the ideal place for the laundry room. It keeps things out of the way and provides more space than other areas on your main floors may provide. This is why you will find laundry rooms in the basement in many older home plans. However, many people dislike the idea of having to go downstairs to do the laundry, which leads them to seek home improvement in MA to move the location of their laundry space.

In a Closet

If you’re looking for an out-of-the-way place for your laundry room, home remodeling in Wellesley can help you transform a large closet into a hidden laundry room. You will be able to keep your machines out of sight, yet convenient enough to use while you go about the rest of your day. Unfortunately, this means you will have to give up a closet, which may not be the ideal option if you are already lacking storage space.

Home remodeling can relocate your laundry room.

When home remodeling, you can move your laundry room.

Near Bedrooms

A vast majority of your laundry is generated from the bedroom or nearby bathrooms where you change clothes. Having your laundry room near your bedrooms may make doing laundry less of a chore. Remember some of your laundry will still come from bathrooms further away from the bedrooms, as well as the kitchen. Your contractors can help you determine the ideal location in proximity to the bedrooms.

In the Garage

Some individuals are looking to put their laundry machines somewhere the noise won’t bother them or others in their family. This can make the garage the ideal location. If you don’t already have the appropriate connections here, you will need home remodeling in Wellesley to create the right space. One of the most significant issues with this location is it can be difficult to find the time to go out to do laundry, especially during the winter months.

In the Bathroom

The bathroom is another major generator of laundry. For this reason, some individuals include a laundry room in the bathroom in their home plans. This location is often out of the way and makes it easy to put a load in whenever you need to. Bathrooms tend to be small, however, so it’s important to consider the pros and cons of this location carefully.

If you are building a home or want to complete home improvement in MA, you will need to determine the best place for your laundry room. To determine the ideal location, consider the layout of your home, as well as your family’s unique needs. Each area has its own list of pros and cons, requiring careful consideration before you make a final decision.

If you need help with home remodeling in Wellesley, contact us. At Colony Home Improvement, we can help you choose the best place for your laundry room.

Ways to Make a Small Kitchen Functional, Stylish and Modern

March 17, 20150

Talk to local home improvement contractors about your kitchen remodeling.

Local home improvement contractors can help you transform your kitchen.

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in many homes. However, when you’re working with a small kitchen, it can be difficult to make sure your space is not only functional, but stylish and modern as well. With the help of local home improvement contractors, you can complete kitchen remodeling in Brookline to ensure you get the best results.

Go Up

If you don’t have room to expand outward in your kitchen, you still have the option of building up. Many design built plans for small kitchens will feature a wall of cabinets that reaches from the floor to the ceiling. This will provide all the storage space you need without negatively impacting critical floor space you use for other purposes.

An Open Area

One of the easiest ways to make the most of your kitchen space is to create an open area. Sometimes removing an entire wall can provide a more open feel to your kitchen. This openness will make it feel like a larger room and give you the extra space you need for a functional, stylish kitchen.

Make your kitchen more functional with kitchen remodeling.

Kitchen remodeling can make a small kitchen more functional.

Make It Bright

Dark colors have a tendency to make rooms feel smaller than they really are. This can be a serious problem when you’re already dealing with a lack of space. For this reason, kitchen remodeling in Brookline should focus on keeping things light and bright. Stay away from dark woods, use a light-colored paint and consider adding more windows. This will give the illusion of a larger kitchen.

Keep It Organized

A cluttered kitchen will feel less functional and can lead to even less usable space, making it difficult to prepare food for your family. Local home improvement contractors know dozens of ways to create a more organized space in your kitchen. They can implement a number of storage options so you always have just what you need at your fingertips without infringing on the space you need to cook.

Go Armless

If you want to create an open space in your kitchen, it’s best to choose features without arms. Instead of chairs and a table, consider adding a kitchen island with bar stools. This island can double as a food preparation station, helping you make the most of the space you have. In addition, the lack of arms on chairs allows you to push them under the table or island to keep them out of the way when not in use.

A small kitchen may not be preferable to those who love to cook, but it doesn’t have to restrict the functionality and style of your kitchen. With the help of local home improvement contractors and design built plans, you can make the most of the space you have and forget how small your kitchen really is.

If you’re looking for experienced kitchen remodeling in Brookline, contact us. Colony Home Improvement can help you make the most of the amount of space you have.

A 3-D Design Plan Can Help You Remodel or Build Your Dream Home

March 12, 20150

Ask your contractor about 3-D home plans.

3-D home plans help you envision the end results.

Making changes to your home, particularly home additions in MA, can be a major undertaking. Because of the cost and the work required, it’s important to be sure you will be happy with the end result before you get started. With the help of 3-D home plans, you can get an idea of what your home will look like when the work is complete. This method of design build remodeling is one of the most effective options to ensure you are pleased with your home.

Make Changes in Real Time

While your typical 2-D plans are a good way of putting a renovation or building into perspective, you may need to wait for an architect to make changes to the plans before you move forward. However, when you use 3-D home plans to illustrate the changes, you will be able to work with your contractor to make changes immediately right in the computer program. You can then try several options before settling on the final one for your project.

Reduce the Risk of Additional Costs

As your contractor works on home additions in MA, you may find you aren’t happy with the way things are progressing and you wish to make alterations, sometimes more than once. Every time you make changes, you run the risk of increasing the cost of your project. When you make use of design build remodeling tactics, however, you will be able to see the end result before you even start so you can make the changes then, increasing the chances of a more accurate budget.

Find out if your contractor uses design build remodeling.

Design build remodeling is one of the most effective methods.

Improved Quality of the Design

A flat, two-dimensional drawing of your home renovations may leave much to the imagination. What you envision may be something entirely different from what your contractor is considering. When you work with your contractor to develop 3-D home plans, on the other hand, everything is laid out specifically the way you want it. Not only will the contractor be able to see where everything should go, they can also identify colors, patterns and more. This means you won’t be surprised when you see your home after the work is already done.

Home renovations and home additions in MA can be a great way to change the look of your home and provide the additional space you need to accommodate your growing family. Before you make any changes, though, it’s important to find ways to see what it will look like before investing the time and money into the project. With the help of 3-D home plans, you can get a clear view of what you will get and help your contractor envision the same end result you do.

If you’re interested in design build remodeling, contact us. Colony Home Improvement provides general contracting services throughout the Boston area, as well as southeastern and metro west Massachusetts.