Investing thousands of dollars into sprucing up a room or two in a home may seem fruitless when the housing market is down and people aren’t buying. However, homeowners are continuing to remodel their homes, but for different reasons than in the past.

Personalized RemodelA personalized remodel can create a home people will love and enjoy for years to come. Whether it is a total redo of the kitchen or expanding and updating the master bathroom, homeowners at all ends of the economic spectrum are opting to remodel, local home builders and remodelers say.

“Several years ago, people felt like they could put money into their homes and get it back out easily,” says Michael Daniel, president of Legacy Design Build Remodeling. “Today … they don’t care if they’re going to get their money back. People that are remodeling now have the need for it or have been saving and have the money for what they want.”

Most people who decide to complete a remodel expect to live in their home for many years to come. They want to enjoy the remodel, so they design the room or entire home of their dreams. Daniel says the most popular rooms to get remodeled are the rooms that get the most use: kitchens and bathrooms. “It’s the time-tested, proven things of the past that people are doing,” Daniel says. In their kitchens, homeowners are focused on the cabinets, counter tops and appliances.

What’s trending? Hiding appliances is a new trend that has become popular with homeowners. “They think there is too much clutter,” Daniel says. “People like to have pretty things on the counter tops, and appliances are clutter.” Legacy recently completed a kitchen where the homeowner didn’t want the refrigerator seen. Daniel and his team eliminated the main refrigerator and installed smaller refrigerators disguised as cabinets. The dishwasher and microwave were also hidden as cabinets.

Another popular kitchen trend is making the island the focus of the kitchen.

Personalized Remodel“Kitchens are a place for entertaining, so the island is really important,” Daniel says. Legacy completed a kitchen remodel for a chef who installed a 9-by-9-foot island in her home, so it could accommodate 16 students for her home-based cooking classes.

For bathroom remodeling, many people choose to remove the bathtub and install a larger shower or add storage space.

As for counter tops, Daniel says homeowners are using onyx, a translucent material that allows light to shine through it. Different backlighting, such as LED lights, can change the look or effect of the counter top.

Homeowners looking to create extra space in rooms can install pocket sliding doors. When opened, they slide into a deep pocket in the wall, creating a more polished look.

Heading outdoors. Homeowners aren’t limiting themselves to the inside of the house. “Exterior projects are normally popular,” Daniel says. “Some of the whole house remodels do a lot outside.”

Pools, grills, gazebos and fireplaces are common installations in backyards.

Legacy is working on a home remodel on Moon Mountain that adds a guesthouse, fire pit, barbecue, garage extension, and gazebo. The designers are remodeling both the pool and the landscape, which will include a pit for the children’s trampoline.

Legacy Design Build Remodeling
7750 E. Gelding Drive, Ste. 4
(480) 991-1993
legacyaz.com

Scottsdale Living Magazine Fall 2011