Bathroom Ideas | Bathroom Remodeling & Makeovers Tips & Tricks

One of the most fascinating – and potentially useful – new tools in home renovations is web-based communication systems that allow clients to keep a remote eye on the work being done. A lesson any successful contractor quickly learns is that communication and
information sharing with the client is as important as the work itself. While custom online tracking systems have been around for a while, we recently invested in a new web-based project tracking software package that seems to do it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Home renovation financing has matured into one of the most competitive aspects of today’s mortgage market, and equity-rich homeowners are benefiting from an unparalleled degree of flexibility and options. “Basically, the client tells us how they
plan to spend and we will tell them what is the best value and the right product,” said Terry Korurek, manager of the Scotiabank branch in Burnaby’s Brentwood Mall. Read the rest of this entry »

A garage is usually the only place in a home, which is not given proper attention and care. It is mainly used to dump all waste things. If we go for intelligent garage remodeling ideas, we can make it the best storage place in our home. Remodeling your garage is an easy and effective way to add a spacious room to your home. If you follow a proper design, we can change our garage into a multifunctional room. Read the rest of this entry »

When WISA Healthy Homes of Vancouver sent out a low-key e-mail inviting interested people to a February tour of a gut-andrebuild renovation being completed to R- 2000 standards, the award-winning “sustainable” contractor was in for a surprise. “We had an almost unbelievable turnout; 135 persons came on Saturday, while 28 Korean architects came on Sunday,” said WISA president Wilma Leung. Even a year ago, such an event would have drawn perhaps two-dozen visitors, mostly those already converted to the green cause. Read the rest of this entry »

A careful planning is required to organize a garage. If you succeed in this task, you can utilize the space effectively for different purposes. To organize a garage, at first you should dump out the waste articles. You should keep only those things, which you think are really useful for you. You should organize the garage in the way that you can store same types of things in a particular place. This would help you search the required item easily. Read the rest of this entry »

The first step in garage storage organization is to get rid of the items that are no longer useful to you. Next you have to manage the storage space. The use of plastic bins, boxes and crates will help you manage the space inside your garage. You can make use of the tough storage racks available in the market. The garage shelves made of steel plastic resin and wood are more popular in the market. The floor mats help you keep the garage clean and mud free. Read the rest of this entry »

By adopting good fireplace makeover ideas, you can change the fireplace into the focal point of your living room. Whether you live in a cold place or a place with moderate climate, a fireplace symbolizes warmth and togetherness in a home. Moreover it adds value to the house as compared to the other without a fireplace. A fireplace must look attractive. There are many fireplace makeover ideas that give a total makeover to your living room. Read the rest of this entry »

The home that you got for your family years back appears to be a bit incommodious when your family grows up. Of course, it was perfect for two of you, but as the number of your family members increased and your children grew up, the sweet home appears to be smaller.  Not everyone has the option of moving to a new big home. In such situations, garage makeover ideas are the best alternative available to accommodate your growing home needs. Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew Petrozzi Bigger is not better when it comes to home theatres in condominiums. Just because you sacrificed on square footage it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on sound and picture quality, thanks to today’s flat-panel TVs, compact speaker systems and
miniaturized audiovideo components. Condo owners can have the same high-fidelity sound and crisp images as homeowners without giving up floor space or making enemies of the neighbours. Read the rest of this entry »

Before you start with your bathroom renovation, you are required to consider few things. Let’s explore them out.

Since you spend a lot of time in the bathroom, your bathroom must always look attractive and lively as that would directly have an impact on your psychological mind. A dull and lifeless bathroom is indeed stressful and depressing. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing can be so depressing than waking up early in morning and rushing into an uninviting bathroom for a shower before leaving for work. It becomes even drearier if it’s a foggy winter morning. So, to make your bathroom more comforting, you may take a look at the following tips on small bathroom makeovers. Read the rest of this entry »

As of January 1 of this year, Metro Vancouver has banned a number of common construction waste materials from landfills and other waste disposal sites. These include paints and solvents, corrugated cardboard, yard trimmings and gypsum wallboard, all of
which can be generated during a home renovation. There are also new targets for the capture of paper, plastics, electronic equipment and household appliances to be phased in over the next few years. Read the rest of this entry »

The popularity of home design shows reflects a common desire: We want our rooms to look great. Often we are inspired to make changes, only to find that what looked good in a magazine is out of sync in our home. And, perhaps, a great deal of money has been spent on a solution that doesn’t work. As an interior design coach, my mandate is to involve, inform and inspire clients, to help them to create an interior space that reflects their needs, interests and lifestyle. Read the rest of this entry »

If you think that bathroom cabinets are not so important while designing or decorating your bathroom, you are certainly mistaken. The vanity cabinets are in deed quite important. You must not have noticed a fact that is most of your personal items are actually kept in bathroom. So, whenever you decorate your bathroom make sure there is sufficient space to fit in all of your personal toiletries. Read the rest of this entry »

Demand drops for renovation energy audits When the federal government killed the EnerGuide program this year, and replaced it with the EcoEnergy program, applications for the energy-saving assistance program dropped, according to local contractors who perform home energy audits. Architect Richard Kadulski, a Vancouver expert on home energy savings, blames both media coverage and the way the new program is structured. Read the rest of this entry »

The realtor wishes to remain anonymous, but her message is echoed by other agents in Metro Vancouver’s sudden buyers’ market. Her concern? Ugly renovations. “A buyer’s first impression is `I don’t want to go any further’ into the house. They won’t get beyond the front entrance,” said the veteran realtor. Quality upgrades can add value to a home, she explained candidly, but shoppers are easily turned off by badly executed projects. Read the rest of this entry »

Honest contractors say trust is a two-way street.

Adisreputable driveway paving crew has been bulldozing through Vancouver neighbourhoods this spring, offering cut-rate, no-tax deals for homeowners who pay up front. “We received 10 calls in three days on these guys,” said Lynda Pasacreta, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Lower Mainland. The complaints relate to shoddy workmanship, low-grade materials and jobs left uncompleted, sometimes with the original driveway in pieces and the contractor long gone. For Pasacreta, it is another sign of summer. Read the rest of this entry »

This issue of Home Makeover magazine was to present a tour of Whistler renovations by CHBA-Sea-to-Sky members, but such is the pace in the resort community that renovators had no time to arrange the summer openings. Trust us, though, the home makeovers are amazing and we will present the Whistler tour in an upcoming edition. Fortunately, Blue Ice Construction, one of the top Whistler renovation companies, allowed us to tour two of its recent projects, both of which captured 2007 Georgie awards. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing can be so depressing than waking up early in morning and rushing into an uninviting bathroom for a shower before leaving for work. It becomes even drearier if it’s a foggy winter morning. So, to make your bathroom more comforting, you may take a look at the following tips on small bathroom makeovers.

Small Bathroom Makeovers Tips Read the rest of this entry »

Not getting proper permits can be the most expensive mistake a homeowner will ever make.

There is a dangerous secret in Metro Vancouver’s booming renovation sector: work being done without municipal building permits. Some homeowners claim ignorance of when a building permit is needed; others chose to begin work without a permit, hoping to speed up the construction, and save the few hundred dollars it will take to have the plans and inspections completed and the permits processed. Others are just trying to keep city tax officials from increasing the assessment value of the house. Read the rest of this entry »