Home Remodeling Trends: Basements, Outdoor Spaces, Universal Design, Kitchens, and Ceilings
Host:
Welcome to the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction on News Talk 1310 WIBA. Have a question? Email it to EdgeConstructionRadio@gmail.com.
Now, here is your host, Sean Prebil, on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We are joined this Saturday morning by the owner of Edge Construction, Mike Twohig.
Mike, how have you been?
Mike:
Great, Sean.
Host:
We have a great topic. We are talking about trends around the house and some of the emerging trends going on right now.
It is interesting when we talk about home remodeling because there is a balance there, isn’t there?
I know you have talked about how here in the Midwest, we are a little more reserved when it comes to following extreme trends.
We tend to think long-term.
That is some of the important stuff as we go through these trends — not just being current today, but making choices that are going to stay current and nice for years and years to come.
Mike:
Yes.
I think that was probably most apparent during the housing boom in the early 2000s, when people were only staying in houses five years on average or something like that.
Things got really trendy.
It seemed like there was a lot of influence.
We have joked and talked about how I think these trends start on the coasts, east and west, probably those crazy people out west maybe more, and then they work their way in.
Some of those trends, and some of the ones I do not like, thank goodness, run out of gas before they get to the Midwest.
We are pretty conservative here.
The Midwest is a little more conservative with design than other places.
But there are some interesting things standing the test of time.
It is fun for me to see what is happening.
If I want to know the trends, I have to look at what our designers are doing because they are on top of it.
There are things that I thought a few years ago were kind of bold, and now they have become sort of normal.
So there are some things that have made it here and are putting in roots.
Host:
Let’s talk about some of the spaces that are trending in design.
You mentioned the Midwest.
One of the great things we have here in the Midwest is that most of us have a basement and some type of area below our house that is absolutely perfect for remodeling.
Whether it has never been done before or it needs an update, it is a great place to do some things for your house and some really cool remodels, isn’t it?
Mike:
It is.
I think it is a sign of the times.
If you need more space, you cannot just go around the block and find a house that is a few hundred feet bigger, has another bedroom, another bathroom, or that great room space.
The majority of homeowners are looking inward.
What can I do?
Do I do an addition?
We are doing more additions than ever, trust me.
But I think you have to go through the exercise on the lower level first because you get so much more for your money if you can make it work.
There are a lot of cases where it just does not work, or maybe it has already been done and you still need more room.
But yes, I think we are going to talk some about that today.
Host:
One of the cool things too is data.
Every time you search something on Google, apparently they keep records on it.
Searches for “basement family room” rose nearly 800 percent year over year, and “basement recreation room” jumped 525 percent.
So people are definitely looking into this, aren’t they?
Mike:
Yes.
I wonder too, there are still people spending more time at home than they were before. There might be some work-from-home people left, or people doing some partial work from home.
Maybe people are not as comfortable going out as much as before.
I have not seen the stats on that, but people are spending more time in their houses, and you need different types of spaces in your house if you are going to spend a lot of time there.
Host:
What are we seeing when it comes to basements and basement trends?
I know there was a shift probably 10 or 15 years ago from very specific spaces with very rigid uses — this space is for watching movies, this space is for something else.
Have we kind of gotten away from that?
Is that still the trend?
Mike:
That is not really a trend anymore.
It is just the accepted way of doing things now.
When I started off, we were doing a lot of specific spaces.
This is where we are going to entertain, and if we are going to watch movies, we are going to build a room off over here.
My brother-in-law does have a room for watching movies.
Have you ever been in somebody’s basement movie theater?
Host:
I toured one, I think in a parade home in the Milwaukee area, and I thought, “Oh my goodness, very cool.”
I sort of thought I would never need that, but then when you get to spend some time in there, it is very cool.
Mike:
It is definitely halfway between watching it in your living room with dishes clanking in the background and being in the theater with good sound.
It is hard to exactly recreate that, but with today’s technology, those things are getting better.
I do not know if that is coming back.
We get a lot of requests for rooms that do a lot of things.
People say, “We want a kitchenette. We want entertainment space. We want a great space to watch what we want to watch, whether it is sports or movies. Maybe we want to turn the lights down at night and really get into it.”
You can do that with today’s technology, sound, and things.
One case in point: we have done several walls we call movie walls or projection walls.
In the past, if somebody wanted to project a movie or whatever, you would have a dropdown screen.
Those screens are expensive, and if you look at a screen, it is not really a super-flat surface.
For people who are really picky and into it, the newer thing — although we have been doing it for quite a few years — is a super-smooth wall, very flat.
We can go to a finish level where it looks like all your other walls, but it is great to project on.
That has gotten popular.
Host:
Is some of this because, when we think about the way basements are being designed, the home theater or movie space used to have to be super specialized?
If you are a movie buff, obviously there are still things that are above and beyond my imagination or understanding.
But you mentioned doing movie night in a more general family gathering space, being able to bring the lights down and have that surface.
Before, that used to have to be very specialized. Now with technology and other tools, it can be done in any space.
Mike:
Any space, and at a lot of budgets too.
There are great products if you have less to spend.
We used to get involved in installs on those.
If we were doing a basement for a homeowner and they said, “We have some components. Can you make all this work?” we would reluctantly get involved in it.
But that technology has passed us by.
If it is not our business, we cannot stay on top of all of it.
Now we run the wires.
Some people do not want wires. I think we find that if you are more technical, you are okay with them, and you probably want that.
I think you do a little better job with wire connecting everything rather than just Wi-Fi.
That stuff is fun for us because we have homeowners who understand it and know what they want, so we try to complement that.
If it gets beyond that, we have companies we work with in town where that is their business.
Sometimes as a homeowner, you do not realize you are buying a component and you are basically buying a computer.
Every component is a computer that needs software updates and things to make it work. That can be a little frustrating.
I started talking to our suppliers who actually do this every day a few years ago, and they said, because they are in the business, they can buy things that are already updated.
They do not have to spend 10 hours updating software.
The point is, you can now find technology to complement almost every situation.
Host:
What about this?
I know it is not necessarily a basement trend anymore, but generations ago, it was acceptable to go lower quality in the basement and not have the same level of finish that you would expect throughout the house.
It seems like, again, maybe over the last decade or so, comfort and quality in that basement space have become very high priorities.
Is there no longer a curve of saying, “It is just the basement, so we do not have to use the same type of finish or quality that we have on the main levels of the house”?
Mike:
No.
Unless you are living in a house with your frat buddies, right?
It used to be a lesser space, and it was okay.
You would throw up old paneling.
You were not that worried about lights, insulation, sound, or how it was going to feel because you did not spend a lot of time down there.
It is totally different now.
We notice that a lot of times, when we start the conversation, I say, “Okay, we at least match your upstairs finishes.”
Now we have joked and kidded builders a little bit because there are those dirty words called “builder grade.”
Sometimes the house gets built the first go-round, and you are rushing through the process.
You are hemmed in by product. You can pick from these products and get this thing built.
After a homeowner lives in a house for a few years, they say, “I do not really like those cabinets. I want something better. I do not like the level of finish they went to on my drywall. I do not like this paint. It is not washable. It marks up really easily. Now I know what I want for lighting, and I do not want what I have up here.”
So a lot of times now, that basement space has a higher level of finish: better cabinets, better flooring.
A really fun part about doing a basement is that, on the design side, people will take a few chances down there.
If there is something they really like, they might be a little too conservative to do it upstairs, but in the basement they will give it a try.
Host:
Have you ever done a golf simulator?
Mike:
Yes.
Host:
Actually?
Is this somebody that I feel like there is another guy at a different radio station — we do not need to mention him — who would go for something like that?
Mike:
He plays golf enough already.
But yes.
My brother just did one, and we got involved a little bit.
If you are going to build that into a basement space and have it be part of the design element, there are levels to go through with golf simulators.
You can do it in kind of an off-room with sliding panels. They look like drapes, but they are sturdier and slide out. It is really nice, but it is not like built-in console-type stuff.
You can actually watch movies on the golf simulator.
You are more of a techie than me, but the last one we did had a short-throw projector.
It spread out to, I think, 120 inches from maybe two or three feet away from the screen, really high definition.
You can watch movies. You can play golf. You can entertain. You can have things on there while the game is going if you are not playing golf.
Host:
That is awesome.
As we are talking this morning with Mike Twohig, owner of Edge Construction, we talked about movie buffs and golfers.
Let’s say you have a musical family.
Do you guys ever do little stages or those types of things in basements?
Mike:
I have two granddaughters, and they would love that.
We actually just demoed one of those for a basement not too long ago, heartbreaking to say.
A couple of daughters in this family were very much musical.
But that time is fleeting.
I do not know if I would design my whole basement around it, though it was pretty cool. We know the girls would love it.
Host:
Do you guys do any soundproofing on basements?
Mike:
Yes.
Soundproofing is something we should talk about because it is such a tough question.
I would say there is no perfect system.
All the stuff we have tried, the expensive membranes, they help, but nothing really stops it.
We try to do things that deaden the sound a little bit.
We know sound is transferred vibration.
If we are making noise here, theoretically the drywall is moving, connected to whatever framing material is behind it, and that transfers through to the outside. That is why you hear it.
You can do things to separate that stuff and stuff those spaces with insulation.
It helps.
But if your kids are getting wild down there, you are still going to hear it.
Host:
I will tell you what my son bought on the last day of school with his very own money.
A drum set.
Mike:
I am kind of jealous. I always wanted a drum set.
Host:
We had nowhere to put something like that, so they are very, very cool.
We are talking this morning with Mike Twohig about different trends.
We talked about basements.
We will get to some other spaces around the home.
We went down, and now we are going to talk about going up, some options there, and some other great things we are seeing trend-wise when it comes to home remodeling.
We will do all of that next as the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
The Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues now on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction, online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great website to learn more about the guys and gals at Edge Construction and see the great work they do.
There are also links there to Houzz, Pinterest, and Facebook.
If you have not checked out Houzz, by the way, it is amazing.
Head over to EdgeConstructionCompany.com, and you will get some ideas for sure.
If you are thinking about doing a remodel, pick up the phone and give them a call at 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We are talking about home remodeling trends and design trends.
We just talked about basements.
Another note says going up — up on a roof and those kinds of things.
Years ago, when we bought the house we are in now, one of the houses we looked at was interesting.
It was a two-story attached garage, and the attached garage was just flat on top. There was a door that came out of the primary bedroom.
It looked like it was designed to put some type of rooftop patio or sitting space, but nobody had finished it.
Do we see people carving out spaces in higher areas for maybe a bigger patio or sitting place?
Mike:
Obviously, there are not a lot of houses that have that opportunity, but we have run into it a few times.
We have one that had a breezeway to the garage. It must have been added in later at some point on an older house.
You rubber-roof it.
There are different levels of rubber roof you can put up there.
You put a thick one up there, one that is sturdier and meant to handle being walked on.
Basically, then you build a deck on top.
The deck boards sort of loose-lay on top of that.
Then you have to figure out a way to have a handrail and make it safe.
They put a hot tub up there.
It was the same thing with the primary suite, so they could head out there in the winter and jump in the hot tub.
Host:
That is super cool.
Do we see a trend of maximizing or making use of spaces that are otherwise wasted?
These last two things we have talked about seem like spaces that, if you have them and are not using them, are wasted space.
If you have that flat spot on the roof connected to a primary bedroom, or you have a basement that is unfinished or was finished back in the 70s or 80s, is one of the trends maximizing the space that is available?
Mike:
I think it is.
Any place you can get a little bit of space, that is valuable.
Those spaces tend to be kind of private.
You can put a privacy fence up there and sort of niche it.
I have noticed when we travel and go to other countries, they have a lot of spaces like that.
They do not have to be big.
They can be small, but they are little private, quiet spots.
I think we have one coming up where we are redoing the rubber roof on that space and maybe doing loose-laid deck boards and a handrail like I was talking about.
We had a project that we finished this last year where we tore part of a house downtown off and built it back on a little bit bigger and a little bit better.
There was a small rubber flat roof next to this addition that we redid handrail on.
Like you said, anytime you can get another usable space, that matters.
Maybe it is just a spot where you go out and have coffee, or maybe it is a quiet spot to get away from the drum set.
Host:
You were talking about experiencing how things are done in other countries.
I watch a lot of TV, Mike.
One of the shows I watch is one of those where they show people three different properties and they make a choice.
There is a European version, and a lot of it takes place where the yard is tiny compared to what we consider a yard.
But I am always amazed at how small the spaces are, and how efficiently they use them.
They often have a small space, very high hedges, and the area inside is really neat.
We have these big spaces and do not always do much with them.
Mike:
Right.
The outdoor living thing is a little hemmed in here because we have the Wisconsin mosquito that will carry you away some months of the year.
This summer has been better with it being dry.
I am always jealous of other areas that have a milder climate where they can use spaces like this more often.
But we do have people who use these spaces, take their furniture in and take it back out.
Sometimes, like you said, when you have a smaller space, you make better use of it.
There are some pretty cool products you can use up there.
They have self-contained little fireplaces, like a bowl with a propane tank hidden underneath it.
There are ways to cozy these things up.
People put plants and furniture up there.
We did one a few years ago now that I am remembering, and then we came back and did their kitchen and bathroom later.
They had a space like this.
It was not necessarily up high, but they had a flat-roof garage.
We made that into a deck with a privacy fence and rubber-roofed it.
Obviously, it had been done a long time ago and was leaking, so we fixed all that.
We put new products up there, new handrail, and things like that.
It is not a huge space, but in a small house with a small yard, sometimes that is a really valuable space.
Host:
When you mentioned mosquitoes, and of course I think about snow as well — do you have mosquitoes?
Mike:
No, no such thing.
Host:
That made me think about something I know you guys have been doing a lot more of, so I am going to qualify that as a trend.
If you have that space, even enclosing that space and doing an addition on the second story of your home.
Mike:
Yes.
That is another thing where we explore all the options.
It does not come up a ton, but I am thinking of one we just did.
It was a screen porch.
We went with what I always call waterfall windows.
They are porch windows that can fold down too. They have four or five sections and fold in two.
I put the first one of those in on a job maybe 15 or 20 years ago when they came out, and I got a chance to see that job this last summer.
Those windows still look great.
It has sort of a thicker plastic, but they stop most of the weather from getting in.
It still has that porchy feel.
That might be an option too.
Host:
Awesome stuff.
This week, as we talk with Mike Twohig, owner of Edge Construction, the website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
We will continue our conversation with Mike.
We are talking about accessibility and universal design.
Specifically, we will talk about the bathroom, but also some other rooms as far as trends.
We will do all of that next.
In the meantime, if you have not been to the website yet, check them out online at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
More of the Home Remodeling Show is next right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
The Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues now on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com. That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great website to learn more about Edge Construction.
Check it out. They are always updating recent projects on the site.
As a matter of fact, we might touch on that a little bit later in the program. You can get a head start by heading over to EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
While you are there, check out their links to Facebook, Pinterest, and of course Houzz, which is a great resource for remodeling.
Just head over to EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Pick up the phone and give them a call at 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We are talking about some of the design and remodeling trends we are seeing right now, and what people are really going for.
We talked about some great options, whether it is a basement or going up if you have space to do that.
Another area — and again, this is one that is a trend, but it also feels like something I learned from you years ago — is universal design.
Bathroom accessibility specifically is part of this, but overall accessibility and functionality have definitely become a priority for remodeling.
Mike:
It has.
So many houses are not accessible.
It was never a thought when anything got built in the past, and I question how much they are really thinking about it now.
Some of this universal design talk has made it into the conversation.
I still talk with people in our industry every week who say, “Universal? Do you mean ADA?”
They are thinking of a ballpark bathroom, and it is really nothing like that.
We have an aging population.
But even if you are young and healthy, all of the things we are going to talk about are things people seem to want anyway.
I suppose I should talk about what universal design is.
We know what the ballpark bathroom looks like.
Does that function as a bathroom?
It works as a bathroom. It does the job, but it is not attractive.
All the elements made for that are super visible.
You look in and say, “Handrails, well, I know what those are for.”
The tenets of universal design are that it should work for everybody.
If you are healthy and young, it should work.
If you are older and not healthy, have broken a leg, had some other injury, have a handicap, are disoriented, or whatever the issue is, there are things in the design that can help with that.
The design should work for everybody.
Then they say things like it should not be visible.
So if you need help getting around, maybe with a second person at your elbow while walking, the space should be a little wider to accommodate that.
You should not have pinch points.
That is not something somebody would look at and say, “Oh, I know why they did that.”
They also say it should be attractive.
If you need grab bars, now there are options that look like towel bars and are much more attractive.
You would actually want them in your shower or space.
But they also serve this other purpose. They help you deal with whatever issue you have.
Maybe if you are building a new house, which I would love to do, you build it with one zero-threshold entry.
That means there is one way into the house that does not have a step.
Somebody in a chair, or somebody who has trouble lifting a leg or picking up their feet, or maybe has an injury, can get in without even one step, which can be a real bear.
There are a bunch of things that add onto that.
Host:
One of the important things you mentioned is the visual.
It should not look apparent that it is universal design.
When you see universal design in practice, it just looks better.
You think of a kitchen or bathroom and say, “That is a really well-designed space with good room between the counters.”
It is better overall, right?
When you have things like lighting — a well-lit space fits well into universal design.
We all want well-lit spaces.
Mike:
Yes.
On cabinets, even cabinet hardware matters.
I am looking here at appliances.
They tend to not have a knob that you have to grasp and pull anymore. They have a handle that you can slip your hand into and pull.
It is just much easier for most people, and it is also attractive.
Host:
With accessibility being a trend, it takes multiple parties being involved.
The homeowner has to be interested in it. The builder has to know how to do it.
But also, the people producing products have to make those things available.
Are we seeing more demand and more availability?
You mentioned bathroom grab bars that look like towel holders.
It seems like manufacturers are really behind this too, making a good, stylish product.
Mike:
They are.
The manufacturers got on board almost right away.
When I first started taking classes on universal design a lot of years ago, the manufacturers saw this coming and said, “Okay, we have to be able to do this.”
Just like you want to put a green stamp on something, it is not really a universal design stamp, but it has to be the philosophy.
If we are going to design something, it needs to fit this way of doing things.
Homeowners generally know what they like when they see it. I am that way too.
But being studied up on something like this helps because sometimes you know a space works better for you, but you are not sure why.
I think that is the best design.
On our side, it needs to be prevalent in everything you do.
If this is your philosophy and you are designing with this in mind, then it sort of invades all of your designs.
It does not have to be a conscious thing.
As I am talking, I am thinking to myself that I wonder if our younger designers know the reason I want more space in there is because it fits well with universal design.
But that is how we do things now.
Host:
When you think about the products, if they are not only going to be used for their regular function, like a towel holder, but are also expected to hold weight when needed, it is just a better-built product overall.
Mike:
Yes.
Anybody who has raised kids has bought cheap towel bars, and they just fall apart.
If you knew you could get a better product, it is attractive, and it does the job, maybe there is some incentive to put in something like that too.
We had three baths we did for a couple maybe two or three years ago.
This last year, we went back in and did their kitchen.
I had been in there when we were doing the kitchen, looking at how our bath work was holding up.
I noticed — and I do not know why I did not notice it the first time around — that they had towel bars in their shower.
But they really were not towel bars.
They were so attractive that I thought they were a design element.
But no, you could actually grab onto these things.
They were super strong and just did not look big, heavy, and clunky like the old stainless steel grab bars.
Host:
It is pretty amazing stuff they can do for you at Edge Construction.
They would love to talk to you if you are thinking about doing some remodeling.
Mike and the team — just give them a call at 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
We will head into the kitchen next as the Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues right here on 1310 WIBA.
Host:
The Home Remodeling Show with Edge Construction continues now on News Talk 1310 WIBA.
This is the Home Remodeling Show, brought to you by Edge Construction.
The website is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is all one word, Edge Construction Company dot com.
It is a great resource to learn more about Mike and the team at Edge Construction.
There are also some great links there: Houzz, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram as well, I believe, all at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Their telephone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
We are talking about trends, design trends, and remodeling trends.
Mike, industrial-style kitchens are trendy, but if I remember right, in the Midwest there is a little bit of a softer take on that kind of kitchen design.
Mike:
Yes.
I can see that as the crowd gets younger, contemporary designs are influencing things.
I would not say they are taking over.
It still has the warmth of a traditional Midwest kitchen, but I do notice things moving in that direction.
I do not know about industrial, but certainly more contemporary.
Host:
What about some of the hardware and other metals we are seeing used in kitchens?
One of the things I love with some of the trends there is the availability and the option to go with different choices.
It used to be if we were going brass, we were going brass everywhere.
Everything had to be the same.
Thank goodness that is no longer the case, is it?
Mike:
There are so many options now that I think it is sometimes hard to decide.
Mixing metals is the official term.
It used to be kind of a no-no. We had all these rules, and life was simpler back then because we knew what to do.
If you liked a stainless faucet, that meant we were probably going stainless in other places too.
Now we do not have to worry quite as much about what is going over here and what is going over there.
Generally, people are not getting too crazy with it.
But it is fun when people find something they like.
Maybe it has a cast-iron element to it or some other kind of metal.
Dark metals are really popular right now.
You can do that stuff.
Every time I think, “Do not go too crazy,” I see it and I like it.
There is a method to the madness, and a really good designer can help you through that process.
Host:
Looking at a couple of the pictures you brought in today, and then of course looking at some of the kitchens you guys have done over the past few years, not only am I seeing islands everywhere, but I am also seeing seating at the islands.
Having a place to sit at a nice little island — is that a hot trend these days?
Mike:
It is.
That has been here a while, but it is even more common now.
People are saying, “There are five of us. Figure out how we can all sit here.”
Kitchens have gotten so nice that people are spending more time in them, whether it is kids doing homework, entertaining, or just eating dinner.
If it is a little more casual, you are eating at the island.
That was the case at our house for a long time.
We have the dining room table, and now it seems like we are trending back to that because we have more people.
But yes, seating is a big deal.
Islands serve a lot of purposes now.
It is a great prep space.
It is that expansive countertop that you can cook on, entertain on, where people can stand around it, do homework, pay bills, eat dinner, and entertain as well.
Host:
I think that is one of the trends too: the entertainer’s kitchen.
Mike:
Yes.
That is as important as anything else.
When we are designing spaces — and we talked about lower levels before — I like thinking in terms of it, and I encourage our designers to think in terms of designing places for people to congregate.
We talked about universal design and needing space between things.
If we have a kitchen and enough room, we can get a good amount of space between the island and the rest of the cabinets, or the island and the fridge.
If it is not a pinch point, people are more likely to congregate there, stand around, and get to know each other.
Host:
When we think about the kitchen and having that gathering place that is comfortable, where groups can congregate, it is always something to think about when having company over.
You want a comfortable place to do that.
Mike, we were talking earlier too that maybe we just want to go where the food is.
Mike:
You are 100 percent right. You are reading my mind.
Host:
We were also talking earlier about having a quiet space, a place to go.
For a long time, open concept was the trend. Everybody wanted fewer walls.
Except we are starting to see some separation make its way back into the design process, aren’t we?
Mike:
Is that not interesting?
It is amazing.
We put in walls, then we take out walls, and then we put them back.
We have built some new houses now that literally have no walls on the lower level.
They are smaller houses we build for other builders, and our heating people say, “How do we get heat upstairs? There is no place to run. There are no walls.”
The only walls are in the stairwell, and we are trying to get inventive with getting mechanicals up there.
I think sometimes open concept is necessary, and a lot of people obviously love it or it would not have driven the trend.
But now, when possible, sometimes people are asking for a little bit of separation.
Sometimes it is nice to put a couch up against a wall rather than just have it out in the open.
Or maybe it blocks some noise.
The design challenge is that we have this top-down CAD look, and we are asking, “What spaces do we really want? Do we want to define those spaces more?”
Is this a great-room combination — everything from spare bedroom to home office to dining room — or is it just a great room?
Is it a place to look at the fire or fireplace and maybe watch a movie?
My own personal feeling is that I do not mind a little bit of separation.
But I also do not want a room like a kitchen to be closed off from the rest of the house.
I like when spaces are a little more defined.
That is the trick of good design.
Host:
Are there certain things that delineate different areas?
Maybe some of those tricks you guys employ when it comes to design?
Mike:
Yes.
We do small things.
Maybe lighting can help define spaces.
Flooring changes can define a space.
Maybe we mix it up just enough so the same material does not go everywhere because we want to delineate a space.
We do what we call stub walls.
That is just a short, maybe two- or three-foot wall coming out.
It can be a little break.
It does not totally separate rooms, but it does let you know where you are.
Host:
Before we wrap this week, as we talk about trends, one of the surfaces in the house that has been massively overlooked over the generations is the ceiling.
For a while, everything was popcorn texture.
Now we are starting to see some designs moving toward different materials or different textures — not textures exactly, but actually thinking about ceilings and saying, “Hey, that is another space design could touch.”
Mike:
It is.
The picture I brought in shows a tongue-and-groove ceiling painted white.
It is not really heavy, and then there are a couple of not-very-big beams that give it a little bit of a look.
We do have a kitchen that just finished up where we did kind of a coffered look.
It is a rustic house, actually a log house.
The kitchen does not have the full logs in it, so it still wanted some of that rustic look.
It has knotty alder cabinets and cedar beams.
You would not know it unless you got really up close.
Cedar is a great thing to make beams out of because it is light, it stains really well, and it lasts a long time.
We will see the look when we post the pictures.
Host:
Check that out.
Speaking of posting pictures, check them out online right now at EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
That is Edge Construction Company dot com.
They are always putting new great stuff up on the website.
There are also links to Pinterest, Houzz, and Facebook.
Again, that is EdgeConstructionCompany.com.
Their phone number is 608-636-3343. That number is 636-EDGE.
Edge Construction brings you the Home Remodeling Show right here on 1310 WIBA.