home addition in duxbury | Colony Home Improvement

Bathroom remodeling requires large decisions.

bathroom addition, bathroom remodeling, home additions

6 Important Decisions to Make Before Remodeling Your Bathroom

September 8, 20160

When the remodeling bug hits, it often hits with a vengeance. Once you’ve made up your mind to proceed with a home addition in Duxbury or to pursue bathroom remodeling in MA, you may be anxious to get the show on the road. While that’s certainly understandable, it will benefit you in the long run to spend time contemplating the specifics of your project before scheduling a time for your contractor to begin. If your next home improvement in Duxbury will be a bathroom remodel, make sure you answer the six questions below before you get started.

What Is Your Maximum Budget?

This, arguably, is the most important consideration before beginning your project. Your answer will guide how many wants you’ll be able to fit in to go along with your basic needs for the project.

Do You Want to Emphasize Style or Substance?

One important question to answer before beginning your bathroom remodel is who will be using the bathroom and for what? Will it be used by school-aged children who will be rushing to get ready and out the door in time to meet the bus? Or are you an empty-nester who values luxurious bubble baths? The answer to this question will have a huge effect on many of your choices for the room.

Bathtub or No Bathtub?

Some homeowners say they can’t live without a bathtub. Others say they rarely, if ever, use theirs. If you aren’t a big bathtub fan, deciding to go without one in your new bathroom will free up space for a larger walk-in shower, a double vanity, a walk-in closet or other amenities.

Your home addition requires plenty of planning.

Do You Want to Go Green?

In recent years, the assortment of energy-efficient lighting, low-flow toilets and water-saving faucets and shower heads has soared. You may pay a bit more upfront for green products. However, over time, expect to recoup those upfront costs in the form of lower electric and water bills. Green options are also better for the environment. If environmentally friendlier options are important to you, let your contractor know before he begins your project.

Custom or Stock Cabinets and Vanity?

Built-in cabinets and custom marble or granite countertops often cost more than off-the-shelf cabinets and pre-assembled vanity/countertop options. Before beginning your project, discuss your options with your contractor. Often, contractors have relationships with carpenters and fabricators and can negotiate an affordable price for custom cabinetry if that’s how you’d like to proceed.

What Type of Tile Do You Want?

It’s a safe assumption your bathroom will include tile. Most bathroom floors are tile, as are shower walls and floors. Decorative mosaic tiles are a popular option, but they often cost more than larger, more common tiles. If you insist on a pricey tile, you may have to compromise elsewhere in your budget.

A bathroom remodel will invigorate your space and make it more functional and more appealing to potential buyers down the road when you decide to sell. Colony Home Improvement has been completing beautiful home additions in MA for decades. We’ve completed hundreds of bathrooms of all styles and sizes. Contact us to get started on your project and to ensure it is completed professionally.

Add livable space with a second story addition.

2nd floor addition, home additions

What to Consider When Building a Duxbury, MA, Second Story Addition

April 14, 20160

A second-story addition can be a smart way for Duxbury homeowners to gain bedrooms, bathrooms, family space, or a more functional layout without giving up the yard and neighborhood they already enjoy. But building up is a major design and construction decision—not simply an extra room added to the top of a house.

The best first step is a practical conversation about your home’s existing structure, the space your family needs, and the tradeoffs between expanding up, building out, or renovating within the current footprint. Request a consultation with Colony Home Improvement to start planning a home addition around your goals.

Is a second-story addition right for your Duxbury home?

Adding a story can preserve outdoor space and create meaningful square footage, but the approach must fit the home. Early feasibility planning helps you weigh the opportunities and constraints before committing to a design.

Your location and layout: If you value your Duxbury neighborhood and want more room without relocating, an addition may be worth evaluating.
The space you need: A new primary suite, bedrooms, bathroom, office, or family area may call for a different solution than a small reconfiguration of existing rooms.
The existing structure: A thoughtful design team evaluates how the home can support the proposed work and what changes may be needed below the new space.
Your site and outdoor priorities: Building up can help protect yard area, while a rear or side addition may better serve some homes and floor plans.

Plan the project as a whole-home decision

A second-story project affects more than the new floor. The staircase, roofline, mechanical systems, windows, exterior character, and the connection to the first floor all need to work together. Early design should focus on how the addition feels from inside and outside the home, not just on the number of square feet gained.

It is also useful to discuss the construction sequence and daily living plan upfront. A detailed scope, clear selections, and coordinated documentation make it easier to build a realistic schedule and budget range before construction begins.

Up versus out: choosing the right way to expand

There is no single best approach for every Duxbury home. A second story can be an excellent option when preserving outdoor space matters and the existing home supports the design. A first-floor addition can make more sense when you want direct access to new living space or a more accessible layout. In some cases, a renovation of the existing footprint can solve the problem with less construction.

The most useful comparison considers your family’s needs, the home’s structure and layout, site conditions, design priorities, and investment range together. Explore Colony Home Improvement’s second-story addition services for more detail on the design-build process.

Work with a team that plans before building

A major addition deserves a builder who can help connect feasibility, design, permitting, budgeting, and construction. Colony Home Improvement works with homeowners throughout the South Shore and MetroWest on renovations and additions designed for how families live now and in the years ahead.

For local examples of how we can help, visit our Duxbury remodeling and home-addition page. When you are ready to discuss your home, request a quote and we will help you evaluate the next step.

Creating a Dining Room Home Addition in Duxbury That Fits Your Personality and Style

December 10, 20150

Add more dining space with a home addition.

A home addition can add dining room space.

If your children have moved closer with children of their own, family and holiday dinners may have become an exercise in how to squeeze in additional place settings. You’ve dreamed of having a large dining room to accommodate your growing family for years. Maybe it’s time to make your dream a reality!

Here are three basic plans for creating the dining room addition of your dreams:

1. Add an entirely separate room next to the kitchen — This could include windows and possibly an exterior door. Your dining room addition could also be adjacent to a living area and designed to flow into a great room for a more spacious and open feel. Great room addition floor plans in Duxbury and the surrounding areas provide a less ‘boxy’ look to a home design.

2. Enlarge an existing room — This is often called a bump out and can provide up to 50 square feet of additional living space. As with a room addition, this plan requires pouring concrete and running electricity to the area but seldom needs additional heating or cooling vents.

3. Remove a wall in the kitchen — In many cases, this will provide enough room to accommodate a larger dining table and open up the kitchen as well.

Your Entertaining Style

When planning your home addition in Duxbury, consider how the room will affect the adjacent rooms in your home. For example, do you want an enclosed room or an open, expansive area?

Homeowners who frequently host dinner parties enjoy having their dining room separated from the kitchen area so guests aren’t exposed to the inevitable clean up. These people also enjoy having a buffet table and bar in the room and can request their designers to include a built-in serving area along a wall in lieu of a stand-alone buffet.

Others prefer having the kitchen open into the dining room and even into the living area. In this arrangement, the cook feels less isolated and can enjoy conversations with family and friends while the meal is being prepared. No matter what your entertaining style is, you can plan a dining area that can take you from comfy casual for family meals to dressed up and elegant for entertaining.

Add value and beauty to your home with a dining room addition.

A dining room addition can add value and beauty to your home.

Lighting: Natural and Overhead

While designing your dining room addition, your best source of lighting will come from window placement that maximizes natural light. Once you have established the design style of your room, you can look at ceiling fixtures and install dimming capabilities to change the ambiance of your dining area.

Furnishing Your Dining Room

When you’ve determined your room dimensions, you can begin looking for the perfect dining table and chairs. Your table options can range from a traditional round to a rectangle for seating 10 people, or you can choose a square table with a drop leaf to add when you have more dinner guests.

If you’re ready to take the next step in creating your dining room addition floor plans in Duxbury and the surrounding areas, consider calling Colony Home Improvement, design and build experts for more than 40 years. Contact us today for a consultation to discuss your plans.

Adding a Sunroom Addition Is a Great Way to Add Square Footage and ROI

May 21, 20150

Consider a sunroom for a home addition.

If you love to spend time outdoors but don’t want to worry about inclement weather, you can design your own sunroom for your home. This type of home addition in Duxbury can provide many advantages, including adding square footage to your home and increasing its value. It also gives you a great way to spend time outdoors, even if it’s rainy or cool.

Space You Can Use All Year Round

A deck is often the top choice for homeowners who want to spend time outdoors. However, if your room addition floor plans in Duxbury and the surrounding areas include a sunroom instead, you gain additional square footage you can use, regardless of what the weather is like outside. A sunroom has plenty of windows to let in light and fresh air, helping you feel like you’re outdoors while protecting you from the elements. You can even enjoy time in this area of your home during the coldest winter months.

Add a sunroom to your home addition floor plans.

Consider a sunroom for your home addition floor plans.

Increase the Value of Your Home

Homes that include a sunroom often bring in a higher selling price than homes that don’t include this feature. This is because it is an attractive element for prospective homeowners. In fact, some realtors claim adding a sunroom to your home can provide a return on investment of around 60 percent on average. This feature can also add curb appeal to your home, drawing in more prospective home buyers.

Reduce Required Maintenance

When you add a deck to your home, you get many of the same advantages as a sunroom, but when you consider the maintenance requirements of a deck, a sunroom wins hands down. A deck is exposed to the elements and will require more maintenance to ensure it stays in good shape so you can continue to use it. Decks need to be stained and sealed and may need portions replaced as they rot. An enclosed sunroom won’t require any more maintenance than the rest of your home.

Design your own sunroom for your home.

Bring the Outdoors In

The options for outfitting your sunroom are virtually endless. You can bring in the feeling of being outdoors with all the amenities you would typically enjoy indoors. From the lighting and other electrical components to the furniture you choose, you can utilize your indoor living space while allowing the light and fresh air from the outdoors in.

Your home addition in Duxbury and the surrounding areas should include a sunroom if you want to see the most out of your investment. You will be adding a functional room that will also increase the value of your home. This gives you a great place to relax and enjoy the outdoors, while being protected like you are in any other room within your home.

If you want to design your own sunroom for your home, contact us. Our Massachusetts contractors can provide the valuable insight you need to get the project done right.

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