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Do you have question about how to best maintain your older home?
Unsure of how to layout your tiny kitchen or bathroom design?
Have we got the event for you!!
You are invited to our
ASK A CARPENTER & DESIGNER NIGHT
Open House
Thur., Nov. 10 - 4pm to 7pm
Remodeling a Denver older home can be a daunting process. We are here to help! Please join us for our Open House event where you will meet our full staff of experts. We’ll answer all of your renovation and design questions, whether you are considering a full remodel project or simply want some tips on home maintenance.
At the event, please sign up for:
FREE, professional design of your remodeling project*
and
A FREE Home Maintenance Assessment of your home – a $99 value
And, visit one of our neighborhood businesses at near 12th & Madison for special offers!
Contact us for more information – info@classichomeworks.com or 303-722-3000
* Schematic design services up to $500 in value
Unfortunately, many owners of Denver’s older homes do not have the space for a mudroom. But, once we have the space or create the space for one, the owners never want to give up this valuable space! We recently completed a whole house remodel in the Denver Country Club area and we were lucky enough to have dedicated space for a large mudroom right off of the garage. We designed open cubbies to hang coats and jackets to enable the grab-and-go strategy, but also included drawers underneath and overhead doors to collect other items and keep the space tidy.
 Denver Country Club Mudroom See the rest of this whole house remodel, including a Denver kitchen remodel and master suite remodel, on our website at http://classichomeworks.com/denver-remodel-portfolio/denver-whole-house-additions-remodel/devries.html.
We also often work in Denver’s smaller bungalows that do not allow for a dedicated mudroom space. We know we need to work smartly in these small space remodels. We will commonly create space right off the back door to collect the items that homeowners need to commonly “drop” as they come in the door – coat, gloves, boots, keys, purse, mail, briefcase, etc. Think about the following:
- How you use your space; don’t worry about how other people will use it unless you are planning on selling soon.
- What items you typically “drop”
- How big those items are
- How the change of season changes what you are “dropping”
- How much space you will need to “drop”
- The number of people that you have in your household
- Don’t forget our four-legged friends – this can sometimes be a good spot for the food and water dish, as long as it can be tucked under somewhere so that everyone doesn’t trip over it
- And remember to take some time every once in a while to condense what you “drop” in these areas – they can be a haven for the drop and forget items.
I think I see a theme – we may start to tag these our “drop” spaces. Or maybe “drop” zone? Here are a few ideas for mudroom or drop zones from some of our creations, plus a few from some fellow design/build firms:
 Wall cubbies and hooks  Shelves built into a wall  A simple shelf, hooks and a bench
The look of the classic, white kitchen stems from the 1920′s and 1930′s period kitchens. We love the look of the Shaker-style cabinet doors, Carrera marble countertops, subway tile and numerous other classic details. Although some of these elements were not really used in the Depression era, they can now be incorporated to convey the look of the period. In many of our Denver kitchen remodels, we utilize these and other selections that really empasize the home’s original character while bringing about today’s modern function and lifestyle.
I recently made a presentation for Denver’s Old House Society at their November, 2010 workshop. I talked about “Period Kitchen Details” and showed many of the selections that homeowners like to see in their kitchen remodel when updating their older home in Denver. We typically work on homes that were built between 1900 and 1950 and many of our homeowners want to maintain or bring back some of the classic style and characteristics. So, I concentrated on showing some of the period details from the 1920′s and 1930′s – many of the elements from this time period are popular right now and we work in homes mostly built in that era. I’ll be giving this presentation again at the Old House Fair on Sat., Feb. 5 at the Tilvoli – see their website for more information http://denversoldhousesociety.org/.
Here are just a few of some great looks for a classic, white kitchen remodel:
 - Siegrist Kitchen Remodel - Denver
 - White Kitchen Remodel with nook
 - McFarland Kitchen Remodel Cherry Hills
 - Great details with inset doors, Carrera marble backsplash and classic stove
 - Denver Park Hill Kitchen Remodel with original stove
 - Remodel with vintage elements
 - Swedish White Kitchen
For those of you who have lived through an older home remodel and lived to tell the tales, you probably remember standing in front of a recently opened wall or crouching under a cabinet with a flashlight and just thinking to yourself “Why? Why did they do that?”. It happens quite often here at Classic Homeworks. We remember past home owners in various ways – some good, some bad, some in utter disbelief, some speculation of what kind of drugs they were using when they decided to use garden hose for electrical conduit (yes, we did find that – see picture below). The answer to why older homes are poorly renovated usually comes down to someone doing the work who is uneducated, lazy or trying to save money.
Keep this in mind as you move forward with your next home remodel. You are the guardian over your home for now, but you may become a past homeowner sometime in the near future. We work in older homes built anywhere from the late 1800′s to the 1990′s. Many of the homeowners that we work with feel as if they are the caretaker of the home in the present day and need to retain the home’s assets and systems in the highest regards during their tenure. And we consider ourselves a partner in that process and feel obligated to provide quality construction.
Here are a few fun things that we have found along the way in some of our projects. Again, these are the WRONG construction practices that WE end up FIXING in our projects!
 Joist was cut to fit new plumbing running perpendicular to it, compromising the structural integrity.  Note the green garden hose in the background used as electrical conduit.
So, you’ve decided to move forward with that kitchen remodel. You’ve done your homework and found a remodeling professional that is experienced and communicates well with you. In order to achieve the look that you want, you need to convey that look to your design/build firm. I think the best way to communicate the look you are going for is to find pictures of the style and design that you would like to achieve. Pull every picture that you find that has something that interests you. It may just be a piece or part of the picture - the cabinet style, the countertop, the hinge on the cabinet door, the grout color in the tile backsplash. But, the assemblage of those pictures will help your designer or contractor to produce the look that you are going for.
You can find some great sources by heading to your favorite, local book store and making a beeline to the Home & Garden section, as well as the magazine section. There are numerous home decor books that focus in on particular styles or themes and provide great inspiration.
Then, there is always the internet. The internet is good because it is free, but the results can be overwhelming to sort through. So, you type in “kitchen remodeling ideas” in for a Google search. The results are broad, varied and exhausting to browse through. You need to be specific with the key words that you type in when searching for ideas and inspriations for your new kitchen. Use such terms as Bungalow kitchen ideas (you can use ‘ideas’ or ‘photos’ after each of these and get different results), Arts and Craft kitchen ideas, Contemporary kitchen photos, Mid-century modern kitchen photos, Eating or dining nook ideas, etc.
However, here are a few sites out there that I like to provide great inspirations:
- houzz: www.houzz.com - Individual architects, designers and professionals post pictures of projects that they have completed. It is categorized by type of project (kitchen, exterior, bathroom, bedroom, etc), so it is a great place to look for all kinds of remodeling inspriations. You can view Classic Homework’s listing http://www.houzz.com/photos/professionals/7700/Classic-Homeworks and ideas that I love http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/kortegren on their site.
- Remodelista: Sourcebook for the Considered Home: www.remodelista.com – So many cool and inventive ideas. The styles and inspirations on this site are striking, inventive, broad and yet very specific. You can find ideas for the perfect farmhouse sink, the best kitchen countertop options, or a rustic barn door adapation (see pictures below). You can also sign up for a daily email to receive 5 random design ideas.
 Farmhouse sink from Remodelista.com  Sample of Statuary marble from Remodelista.com  Interior barn door from Remodelista.com
- This Old House: www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/planning-and-ideas - I like this one because it is specific to older homes. We can’t always make use of grand, vaulted ceilings and there are limitations to what can be done with an older home. This gives realistic ideas for the owner of an old home.
- old house web: www.oldhouseweb.com/product-showcase – Another site that has great ideas for older homes, including salvaged pieces, shingle siding and classic medicine cabinets.
- dwell: www.dwell.com/ideas - Some modern design is classic. We appreciate all classic design. Dwell delivers exemplary samplings and inspirations with every issue and online.
As we work on many of Denver’s old homes, we find that many homeowners love their old radiators and the boiler system that provides the heat on Colorado’s cold winter days. However, many of these original, decorative radiators have been painted over too many times to count and may not be working properly. We are fortunate enough to partner with Dave Stroman of Stroman Plumbing and Heating, who specializes in boiler remodel projects in Denver’s older homes. We actually remove the radiator from the house (Dave has a special process and helps us, as they are extremely heavy), have it stripped down and refinish it based on the home owner’s wishes. It is amazing how beautiful these pieces are when they are returned to the job site. Dave also has a collection of old radiators in case we need to replace one.
Here is a photo of a recently refinished radiator from a project in Denver’s Country Club area. We finished it in a lovely bronze color and it is amazing how we were finally able to see the lion’s head detail on the radiator after the layers of paint were removed! Forgive me – the amatuer photo does not do it justice.
 Restored radiator Dave was recently featured in an article in Contractor Mag. He’s the best in Denver when it comes to plumbing and hot water heat in Denver’s older homes. Check it out to learn more about his specialties: http://contractormag.com/columns/love-old-radiator-0610/.
 Classic Homeworks is lucky enough to be directly across the street from one of Denver’s most charming and delightful little shops, Wildflowers. They specialize in garden, gift and home and it is so fun to stroll through the store and discover little treasures that you just can’t live without. Jonah Bradley, one of the owners of Wildflowers, recently announced that they have now added indoor furniture to their line of offerings. Won’t Jonah be surprised to find me snuggled up on one of his couches sipping my carmel latte from Under the Umbrella?
Please visit the Wildflowers website at http://www.wildflowershome.com/.
We are happy to welcome a new business to our block at 12th & Madison in Congress Park! Sienna Wine Bar opened recently to add a new touch of class to the area. Quince and Mary opened the establishment on June 17 and are offering an array of wines, beers and delicious small plates. It has been fun to get to know the crew and see the changes to the space. The “roses in resin” bathroom floor is especially fun! I encourage you stop by to hang out and help support our local businesses.
Please visit their website at http://siennawinebar.com/.
On April 22, 2010, the EPA’s new “lead paint law” became effective. This will impact most projects – renovation, repair or painting (RRP) projects – that owners want to complete for their homes built before 1978. Essentially, this will regulate how contractors and homeowners handle materials that contain lead. This includes scraping old paint from surfaces in preparation for new paint (interior and exterior), disturbing any walls, pipes or other materials that contain lead and the list goes on.
If you are going to hire a contractor (painter, plumber, HVAC, etc) or general contractor, you will want to make sure that they are a certified lead renovator. Because Classic Homeworks works mostly only on older homes in Denver, we were one of the first in our area to become certified and are assuming that most of our projects will be affected by this new regulation. We have had multiple procedures in places to contain dust previously, so this is just an extra step for us. However, this also affects do-it-yourselfers. So, please make sure to do your homework.
To learn more about the new RRP regulation, see the EPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
Classic Homeworks is officially joining the world of technically savvy, hip and effusive businesses. Yes, we are starting a blog. Thank goodness I have a thesaurus and Wikipedia nearby so that I can appear knowledgeable and quick-witted. Okay, it may take more than those two tools to achieve that, but I’ll give it a shot.
Given that we specialize in the unique business of remodeling older homes in the core part of Denver, we are actually hoping to provide a chronicle of interesting view points, stories and information for owners of older homes. Our project scopes tend to steer towards kitchen remodels, basement remodels, additions, pop tops and master suite remodels – but we work throughout the house. Whether you have an older home or just like to hear about the joys of home ownership, the content should relate. Our blog will include, but will not be limited to, subjects on remodeling projects, home maintenance, decorating, home values, living in the core part of Denver, funny stories from homeowner projects, the weird things that we uncover in our projects, events in Denver, etc.
I would also welcome any questions or stories that you have about your home, a remodeling project or a neighbor’s remodeling project (when you don’t want to admit what you did to your kitchen). There may be others out there with the same question and we may be able to help.
My hope is that this becomes a useful tool for homeowners searching for the right solution to their problem and that it has thoughtful and relevant information. I’ll try not to use too much filler copy. And I’ll try not to overuse the thesaurus by using erudite language and creating loquacious posts.
Happy Remodeling,
Kelli
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