Connor Remodeling andDesign, Inc.

The clients were looking to update the style and function of their 1980’s Master Bath. The main issues they needed to address were lack of counter space, lack of storage and overall layout. The clients love to travel and have had the pleasure of staying at spa retreats. They were looking for a design which would create a place to rejuvenate or relax them at the beginning or end of each day. Their style has a vintage European influence.

Prior to the remodel, the room was laid out with a garden tub and small shower located on the West side of the room, and a double vanity flanked by a exposed water closet situated on the East wall. The only available storage consisted of the open space beneath each sink. Counter space was at a premium and was cluttered with the items that would not fit into the available storage. The windows in the room sat above a rarely used garden tub and were difficult to reach to bring in fresh air or to pull shades for privacy. The room was dimly lit with overhead lighting at the vanity and a few recessed lights along the opposite wall.

The layout of the bathroom completely shifted, based on the client’s needs. The room was designed with a vintage flair reminiscent of a European hotel. The shower was relocated to the East side of the room, creating a privacy wall on two sides and allowing the overall size of the shower to increase. Architectural detail was added through structural columns and creative use of tile. Recessed niches were built into the shower to hold the client’s shampoos and scrubs and a tiled bench was added for ease of use. The water closet, now hidden from view, is strategically located next to the shower wall and features cabinetry above it for additional storage. Separate vanities, a dressing table and a linen cabinet were fabricated as distressed and glazed furniture pieces and moved to the West side of the room. A 30″ wide linen closet with doors and drawers houses necessities and sits adjacent to two vanities separated by a dressing table. The husband’s vanity is flanked by upper cabinetry that allows plug-in items to be stowed away from view. Under the vanity a pullout shelf hidden in a blind corner cabinet makes use of every available space for storage. Functional placement of cabinetry in this bright, light filled room now allows the client easy access to the windows to enjoy a Summer breeze and/or control privacy as needed. Shimmering chandeliers, sconces, and strategically placed recessed light fixtures, all dimmable, create luxurious ambience and heated floors bring welcoming comfort on chilly Wisconsin mornings.

Anytime you hear dripping in the house – and it’s not coming from a sink – there’s good reason to be concerned. Water is rarely a friend to home interiors, unless there’s a cleaning process involved.

Chimneys are sometimes a source of dripping water, especially after a heavy rainstorm. Chimney leaks can also occur at the end of winter when accumulated snow and ice melts.

These types of leaks are especially common in “prefab” chimneys. Instead of brick or masonry construction, prefab chimneys are frame built on-site of wood. A fireplace insert is installed, and the exterior is finished with vinyl or aluminum siding, cedar boards or T1-11 plywood. You can easily identify a prefab chimney because its exterior materials match the rest of the house.

The source of leaks in prefab chimneys usually starts at the top, and can often be traced back to original construction. Improper flashing around the chimney cap is a common problem. The reason is that different work crews often build the chimney, and don’t necessarily communicate with each other. Often the work is done haphazardly, with poor attention to detail or simply using bad materials.

In other cases, a sheet metal worker might have accommodated different pipes protruding from the roof – fireplace, hot water heater, exhaust – by creating a “gift box cover.” Holes are cut in the sheet metal for the different pipes, and gaps around the holes filled with caulk.

Well, caulk doesn’t last forever. When it breaks down, water gets in. A drip starts.

The solution isn’t rocket science – more common sense, really – but one that we at Connor Remodeling & Design, Inc have perfected.

We start by fabricating a new sheet metal cap for the chimney. But instead of just having holes for protruding pipes, the cap has a protective sleeve for each one. At the top of each sleeve, an angled overlapping brim piece is soldered on to provide cover from the elements. The effect is similar to putting a hat on one’s head. The protection is complete, and immediate.

It’s a solution that’s guaranteed to last longer than caulk. In all likelihood, it will last the lifetime of your home.

Even better, it will eliminate one source of dripping. We don’t want you to have any, of course. But if you do, rest assured it won’t be the chimney you’re hearing.

Make no mistake: Heidi’s passion was the basis of the project.

Heidi loves to cook. Given a choice, she might live full-time in the kitchen. She revels in creating culinary delights for family and friends. She lives to entertain.

Her kitchen is her castle. It has to be just right. But, it wasn’t.

For starters, she wanted a different stove. Looking around, other things jumped out. This wasn’t the cooking mecca she envisioned. There were better options available. The ball started rolling.

“I needed a bigger island and a bigger stove,” Heidi said. “That led to ‘We need a bigger kitchen.’”

This wasn’t a new revelation. She had been researching kitchens for some time. She didn’t have all the details, but she had a plan.

“My vision was to have it very clean and simple, but I wanted some artistic flair,” she explained.

Our task was to design the kitchen her passion demanded. It needed more countertop space. It needed more storage space. It needed functional elements that were big, bold and suited to the needs of an active, passionate user.

So, first things first. We started with a Viking Professional stove and oven that would make Julia Child proud. “I told Kevin (her husband) it’s coming with us if we move,” Heidi said. The custom stove hood was custom-made on site of wood and dual-color Venetian plaster, with a Ventahood exhaust inside. Two corbels accent its artistic look and feel, hewing to Heidi’s desire to make the kitchen both fully functional and pleasing to the eye.

When working at the deluxe Viking unit, Heidi doesn’t have to go far for pots and pans, either. The new island has three large base drawers built into it directly across from the range. She can literally turn around, take what she needs from the drawers, and go right back to work.

We nearly doubled the cabinet space in the kitchen, offering many more storage and organizational options. The drawers are all soft-close, full-extension design. The doors are soft-close. The upper cabinet above the refrigerator has vertical tray dividers, easing the sometimes arduous task of sorting trays and cookie sheets.
Heidi sought an antique look for her cabinetry. To achieve this, we utilized maple cabinets with a mink wash treatment and ancient bronze hardware. We ordered matching panels for the dishwasher and refrigerator doors, creating a seamless look with the cabinetry.

We maintained visual interest by staggering the heights of the different cabinets. Upper cabinets feature double-stack crown moldings. Some cabinets have rain glass inserts to display decorative items within.

Meanwhile, the entire area was brightened with a plethora of new lighting. Eight recessed lights in the 9-foot ceiling illuminate the counter space. Undercabinet lights brighten any food preparation work. In-cabinet lighting spotlights decorative items within glass-door cabinetry. Above-cabinet lights offer just the right ambiance to complete the scene.

Above the island hang two distinctive, eye-catching chandeliers that definitely set off the kitchen’s mix of antiquity and artistry. Heidi simply would not be denied these fixtures, with their oil-rubbed bronze finish and Renaissance-era feel. “Everybody doubted me on them,” she said. “My kitchen’s not that big. I had to have these big, beautiful, glamorous lights. They make the room extra special.”

The island itself took a bit of doing. Ultimately, we created a two-tier structure that provided invaluable food preparation and staging space, plus a dining area that allowed the owners to get rid of a kitchen table that had fallen out of favor. The 120-inch length of the island allows it to meet these dual needs. The island offers plenty of room for people to gather around during parties, with wide open spaces that offer guests ready access to food and drink. The increased seating space offers Heidi’s family a comfortable dining table, with more than enough room for plates and serving dishes. She bought accompanying chairs that blend with the island’s cherry base and the granite countertop’s multicolored brown hues. Two corbels built into posts on the island base give it a sturdy, dignified look.

Heidi selected the white tumbled travertine subway field tile that makes up the backsplash ringing the main kitchen area. During its installation, she personally directed the placement of floral bronze metal accent pieces scattered into the backsplash. She helped create a six-tile decorative mural insert above the expansive range of her new Viking range.

We put in a farmer’s sink with space galore for food, dishes or whatever Heidi desired. The structure and decorative feet of the sink, plus the mounted corbels above, create a furniture resemblance. “I just love my sink,” she said. “It’s big, it’s nice, and my family just loves it because they can help with the dishes and can easily reach into it.”

Space wasn’t necessarily the final frontier in Heidi’s kitchen, but she definitely wanted more. We removed a wall from a pantry, transforming its small dark space into additional cabinets and counter area. Heidi keeps small appliances on the new counter and prepares her daughters’ lunches there.

The rest of the former pantry was converted into a laundry area and new mudroom. By stacking the washer and dryer in the laundry area, space was freed up next to it to add new storage cabinets and a countertop for laundry sorting.

On the other side of the mudroom, we opened and renovated a previous cramped closet for greater functionality and efficiency. By adding shelving and hanging hooks near the top, and storage drawers at the bottom, the variety and quantity of items it can accommodate was multiplied several times. This allowed the closet space to be narrowed by 18 inches, widening an adjacent hallway to the dining room. The top of the drawers doubles as a bench, further enhancing the area’s usability.

The entire mudroom area can be closed off to the kitchen via a pocket door built into the reworked closet. The door has full-view etched glass, allowing light into the mudroom and visibility from the kitchen.

The flooring in the kitchen and new mudroom – formerly engineered hardwood – was replaced with stonefire noce ceramic tile. Its color was chosen to blend in with the family room carpet, now a true neighbor after we took out a wall between the two rooms.

The remainder of the living room wall was converted into two pillars that were custom-built on site and resemble the posts on the island. Removing the wall was a last-minute call by the owners. After living with the results for just a short time, Heidi called it “the best decision ever.” It’s not hard to see why – both the newly-remodeled kitchen and the family room seem larger, with a smarter and more efficient traffic flow.

Accenting the freshly-opened space is a new sliding patio door whose color matches its casings. Its grid design matches those in nearby windows.

The door casings bear the literal touch of the homeowners, who saved thousands of dollars by painting many parts of the project. Heidi personally painted the walls, window casings, base molding, shoe molding, pocket door and mudroom. She applied many coats of Venetian plaster to the stove range hood to create its soft, velvety look.

We saved the homeowners at least $500 by researching the corbels used in the kitchen. After learning the steep price charged for corbels by the cabinet manufacturer, we found an online catalog that offered them for substantially less. Heidi gladly chose from the catalog, and this decorative touch was added at a great savings.

In addition, we worked to keep the project within budget by providing Heidi with material allowances for the countertops, plumbing fixtures and all tiles. She had no problem working within these parameters – a win-win situation for all concerned.

When all is said and done, the greatest achievement is hearing Heidi talk about the joy her new kitchen has brought her, and how it has benefited her family. “It’s exactly what I wanted,” she said, standing in front of the kitchen and spreading her arms wide to take in the expanse. “My vision is this right here.”

You just know that some products are good. Well, one of the best product lines that we know is the custom cabinetry made by Holiday Kitchens, headquartered and produced just a few hours north in Rice Lake, Wis.

We’re proud to announce that Connor Remodeling & Design is offering the Holiday Kitchens line to our customers for their kitchen projects. We’ve looked into this for some time, and recently reached agreement with Holiday Kitchens. Needless to say, both sides are happy.

Here’s what’s so great: Holiday Kitchens offers an almost unparalleled selection of designs, wood types, overlays, veneers and other features. It’s literally a smorgasbord of cabinet options, and customers can pick and choose to create their own personalized product.

The options for creating a custom look for a kitchen are unbelievable. In other words, customers get exactly what they want, because they can select every element of the cabinets – from the wood, to the frame style, to the metals, to the finishing … you get the point.

Do we sound excited? We are, with good reason.

Enhancing the options, Holiday Kitchens carries an extensive line of “green” products. Customers so inclined can choose cabinets made from recycled materials and even exotic eco-friendly woods such as bamboo. All are produced with low VOC emissions, but still offer unique aesthetic and functional qualities.

In addition, Holiday Kitchens has teamed with famed eco-designer Robin Wilson to create the Robin Wilson Home Custom Cabinetry Collection. Ms. Wilson is well known for creating healthy home environments around sustainable and non-toxic elements. She’s good company to keep.

The breadth of the Holiday Kitchens product offerings is truly breathtaking. But don’t take our word for it – see for yourself at www.holidaykitchens.com.

It’s possible that some customers might be overwhelmed by all the options that Holiday Kitchens offers. If so, we’ll step in and offer some suggestions. But we believe it’s better to offer customers more choices, rather than fewer.

In many homes, the kitchen is the hive of activity. People are spending more and more time there. We believe the space should be as closely matched to their needs as possible. With our Holiday Kitchens partnership, the universe of possibilities has expanded like never before.

For seemingly forever, showers were pretty utilitarian. After all, how much time did you really spend there? You got in, got out and went about your day. Not much was expected from this very personal cleaning space.

A lot has changed in the past decade or so. Showers are no longer just a place to scrub down – they’re increasingly an oasis of tranquility, relaxation and comfort.  Homeowners have increasingly opted for comfort and luxury. These desires have manifested themselves in a plethora of shower stall design features.

For example, gone is the tiny, cramped, almost coffin-like shower stall where one could barely turn around. New homes are being built with showers large enough to take a nap. The shower has gone from a necessity to an experience.

Significant trends have emerged in the design of interior elements of shower stalls. Benches are an increasingly popular feature, again illustrating the push for more comfort. Wall niches and corner shelving are built so that bathers can leave frequently-used items in the shower space.

In existing homes with limited area – where a shower cannot be physically enlarged – options exist to create the illusion of greater space. One method is replacing walls in the showers with corner glass units, which can add a tremendous amount of natural light. Frameless doors with full glass panels offer a sleek, clean look. The goal is to create a brighter, more open feel to the shower space.

Water delivery has undergone a wholesale transformation. Rain showerheads deliver a drenching quantity of water at a gentle velocity, increasing the relaxation factor that many seek in a shower experience.

For those who like the water more directed – and from multiple angles – body sprays are the answer. Body sprays can create a true “spa experience,” as usually four adjustable heads are mounted in the shower walls. The sprays are often at different heights to target specific body areas, and can be rotated for people of different sizes. Sometimes the sprays are in movable panels mounted on the walls, offering even greater flexibility.

In a sense, perhaps this evolution of the shower isn’t so surprising after all. Most people have to spend time in a car each day, and vehicle features have grown to make the experience more pleasant. Why should showers – another necessity for most people – be different?

Besides, a shower almost guarantees that you’ll emerge refreshed, clean and smelling good. The same certainly can’t be said for a car – especially when stuck in traffic on a hot, sticky day. Where would you rather be?

The Handyman did it (in the shower stall, with a claw hammer …)

If you’ve ever played the classic game “Clue,” you’ll recognize that lead-in. If not, well, read on and you’ll understand …

Let’s start with a question. What if you hired someone to do a remodeling project, and then couldn’t use the finished space?

You’d be pretty upset. Justifiably so, too. And yes, it does happen.

We’re in the midst of replacing a shower stall project gone very wrong at a customer’s home. She had a “new” shower area built three years ago. Her family has yet to use it.

It’s really a disturbing story. She entrusted someone – probably a handyman-type person who said they could do it – and was completely misled. The lure, in all likelihood, was a very low price.

This operator put in a three-piece fiberglass “surround” stall. The finished project was anything but, though. The fiberglass housing was cracked. The drain pipe was cracked. The shower door didn’t seal. Leaks were everywhere.

In short, it was a mess. Worse yet, it probably added unneeded stress to the family of four. That additional shower space would have been nice on days when everyone is rushing to get ready for school and work. But it wasn’t available.

It’s an example of how, when people try to save money by choosing the cheapest contractor, they often end up spending more later to fix the job. Sometimes the old saying is true: You do get what you pay for.

Hiring a contractor or remodeler shouldn’t be an exercise in hope. Here are some pointers on finding someone who will, in all likelihood, do the job right the first time:
• Always – always – check references. Ask to speak to the most recent customer for whom they finished a project. Ask to speak to a customer from at least a year ago, to get an idea of how the work has held up and, if needed, how the contractor followed up.
• Check professional affiliations. Is the company a member of NARI or the Metropolitan Builders Association? These organizations have codes of ethics that members are sworn to follow.
• Check professional certifications, again through NARI or the MBA. Such certifications help ensure that the company exhibits professionalism and quality workmanship.
• Ask to see a project(s) that the company has done – real, live and in-person. A reputable contractor should be willing to arrange this.

We guarantee that our previously-mentioned customer will have her project done correctly this time. She’s picked out some nice elements: a custom-poured floor, new tile on the floor and walls, and a custom heavy glass shower door.

The customer isn’t doing things on the cheap – and that’s probably OK with her. She’s already taken a bath, figuratively speaking. At least this time, she’ll get the shower that she wanted all along.

Whew! It’s been a busy several weeks. We’re still working on a list of topics to address here. We plan to focus on the questions we hear most often from customers, and the projects that are in greatest demand. Any suggestions? Let us know.

In the meantime, we extend an invitation to visit Connor Remodeling & Design at the 48^th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show. This is Wisconsin’s biggest home improvement and remodeling show, and it draws thousands of visitors each year.

Mark your calendar, because you don’t want to miss it: Feb. 11-14 at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park. Doors open at 11 a.m. the first two days and 10 a.m. on the weekend.

Connor Remodeling & Design will be in Booth 219, located near the main entrance. Stop by and say “Hi,” then take in a bevy of seminars and demonstrations by home improvement experts. If some look familiar, it’s because you might have seen them on HGTV!

Similarly, if you enjoy good food – who doesn’t, right? – be sure to catch the cooking demonstration stage. There might be a few recognizable faces there, too. Some prominent local chefs will be working their culinary magic, along with national cooking celebrities from FOX and Bravo.

The show has more than 300 exhibitors, so allow plenty of time to take it all in. This year’s theme is “Put a Little Love in Your Home” which, while encouraging, doesn’t quite sum it all up. We suggest that you put a lot of love into your home, so that it can be a place of true comfort and enjoyment.

Here’s a hint: Go to the show’s web site and get a coupon for $2 off admission. The link is near the bottom of the page.

We are very pleased and proud to have received a first-place award for “Best Show Booth” at the MBA Home Building & Remodeling Expo in January. Above all, we appreciated the many people who stopped by to chat or bounce ideas off us.

We hope to meet many more at the Milwaukee/NARI show. These events are your chance to really learn what’s out there and, hopefully, expand the possibilities for your home. It’s your space – make it fit your dreams!

Welcome to our inaugural blog post! We’ll be posting all sorts of useful information here about remodeling trends and topics. Your questions and ideas are always welcome.

For the immediate moment, we invite you to visit Connor Remodeling & Design at the Metropolitan Builders Association Home Building & Remodeling Expo. The show is Jan. 7-10 at the Midwest Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee. We’re in Booth 742, which is pretty much right in the middle of the show floor.

If you’ve been considering a remodeling project or home addition, you’ll find this event to be time well spent. Bring an open mind and an inquisitive attitude. This show is all about making your home brighter, more useful and, above all, more enjoyable.

Besides the hundreds of exhibitors’ showcases, the Saturday and Sunday event schedules are filled with seminars on planning creatively, building smart and saving money in a new or existing home.

Need more incentive? Connor Remodeling & Design has some free tickets. Contact Kevin Connor if you’re interested – just use the “e-mail us” application on the web site.

The new year is here! Let this be the year that your remodeling dream becomes a reality. The MBA show is a great place to start. Be sure to stop by Booth 742 and say “hi.”