Expecting summer company?  Now is as good a time as any to take on a bathroom renovation!  Check out these popular bathroom remodeling trends before you get started:

Go Green: Conservation is cooler than ever and there is a slew of new products on the market to help you stay on trend.  To make sure you’re buying the most energy efficient products, look for the WaterSense label – the EPA’s water saving equivalent to Energy Star - on any new shower heads, sinks, faucets, or toilets.

Add A Pop Of Color: According to the color gurus at Pantone, Tangerine Tango - a reddish orange – is the color of the year.  Use it to add an energizing pep to your bathroom.  Are you looking for a more serene sense?  Go with a relaxing blue or green color – both are on trend for 2012 bathroom paint preferences.

Relaxation Vacation: Our homes are our havens, so why not turn yours into the perfect retreat?  Large, airy showers are replacing the compact, space saving ones of yesteryear.  For the ultimate in rejuvenation, opt for multiple shower heads, a rain shower, or a steam option.  Is a relaxing bath more your thing?  Consider replacing your noisy Jacuzzi with a soothing soaking tub instead.

Storage Solutions: Homeowners are recognizing the need for storage in all areas of the house, but particularly in the bathroom.  Not only are we seeing a trend towards additional storage – we’re also seeing smarter storage solutions.  For example, more homeowners are taking advantage of vertical space by building up in the form of stacked cabinets or storage towers.  Custom made cabinet solutions are also increasingly popular since they allow one to take advantage of previously underutilized nooks and crannies.

Share Free Zone: Everything your kindergarten teacher told you about sharing does not apply to the bathroom.  Couples and families alike are opting for dual vanities, allowing everyone to have their own prep space.

Are you ready to begin your bathroom remodel?  Contact us today to get started!

Countertops can make or break a space.  Whether in the kitchen, the bathroom, or another room of the house altogether, out of style countertops can easily date a room.  On the other hand, a well coordinated countertop can tie a room together.  With such strong feelings regarding countertops, it likely comes as no surprise that we have a favorite product as well – Cambria Countertops.  We love installing Cambria Countertops in our own homes, as well as in the homes of our clients. In a nutshell, Cambria is a stain resistant, nonporous natural quartz surface that is harder, stronger, safer and easier to care for than other stone surfaces.  However, our love affair with Cambria is multi-faceted, but here are just a few of the reasons why we are happy to call them our favorite:

Cambria Offers A Multitude Of Stylish Designs: Cambria offers a wide array of designs, patterns, and colors.  Cambria now offers more than 100 designs, making their selection the world’s largest and most diverse. Click here to see all Cambria’s designs and colors.

Cambria Holds Up: Cambria surfaces are durable and stronger than granite.  In addition, Cambria countertops are NSF 51 certified for both food and splash zones and are nonporous, reducing the potential for bacterial growth and making them as safe as stainless steel for food preparation.

Cambria Stands Behind Its Products: Cambria provides a Lifetime Limited Warranty to the original owners of the installed Cambria that the product will be free from manufacturing defects for as long as the original owner owns the product.

Cambria Goes Green: Cambria prides itself on offering environmentally friendly products.  Cambria quartz is primarily mined in North America, resulting in lower transportation requirements than other quartz surfacing products produced outside the United States.  In addition, during processing, 100% of the water used in Cambria’s plant and fabrication facilities is recycled through a series of advanced settling and filtering techniques.  Lastly, all scrap material is collected and used as road base material on local construction projects.

Stay tuned next week for our discussion on how to select the best countertop for your home and our recommendation for the best place in town to find the right counter for you! Contact us for a free consultation and also for current promotions on Cambria countertops!

In this, the last of our storage series installments, we are going to be talking about solutions in the bedroom.  Organization in our bedrooms is key as research shows that we sleep better in clean, well put together rooms!  Get your sleeping space into gear with these easy ideas:

• Headboard Storage Space:  Take advantage of any and all nooks and crannies afforded within your room.  The headboard is an often overlooked storage opportunity.  For a truly unique statement piece, consider having a customized built-in bookcase headboard installed to house lamps, books, knick-knacks, or photos.

• Under Bed Stowaways: Utilize the space under your bed by packing it with storage bins filled with off-season clothing, extra linens, or other seldom needed items.  Use clear containers to keep items visible for future reference and attach casters or drawer pulls to make for easy access.

• Expand Your Closet:  If you lack the proper storage space, it is hard to stay organized no matter how hard you try!  Bedroom storage centers on the closet.  If yours is simply too small for your needs, consider expanding your closet with a bedroom renovation.

• A Place For Every Item: The key to organization (regardless of the room being organized) is to have a home for each and every wayward item, making cleanup and storage a breeze.  Consider those things that are most often found strewn about your room and designate a specific place for them.  For example, if your throw pillows can more often be found on your bedroom floor than the on the bed itself, place a large wicker basket in your room as a catchall for wayward bedding.  If your necklaces routinely end up tangled in a heap on your nightstand, place a few hooks just inside your closet door for an easy place to drop jewelry at the end of the day.

With this installment we are wrapping up our storage series, but stay tuned for more home improvement tips and renovation ideas in the weeks to come!  In the meantime, check-out our solutions regarding bathrooms, basements, and kitchens.

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In a continuation of the storage series we started two weeks ago, today we are going to tackle clutter in another room of your house!  We last talked about kitchen storage solutions.  This week, we are going to be taking our organizational skills into the bathroom.

• Add Storage: Many bathrooms lack a closet or other ample storage space making organization difficult.  If this is the case in your bathroom, place a repurposed cabinet, dresser or small armoire in your space to keep extra towels, linens or other supplies on hand.  Or, for the ultimate storage solution, contract a professional to install custom made cabinets perfect for any nook or cranny that you have available.

• Clear Your Counter Space: In a room as functional as the bathroom, some countertop clutter is inevitable.  However, this doesn’t necessarily have to equate into messiness.  Cotton swabs, q-tips or other bulk grooming items can look in-place on countertops when stored in pretty glass jars or other decorative containers.

• Shower Shelves:  Nothing is worse than trying to start your day with a warm shower only to be greeted by cluttered shelves along the rim of your tub.  Take your shower from a storage space to the sanctuary that it should be with in-shower shelving.

• Manage With Magnets: Mount a magnetic strip above your bathroom sink.  Store toothbrushes, razors, and other daily use items on the strip by mounting small magnets to each tool before hanging them.  A tiny screw or metal washer placed on the back of your toothbrush will work as well if you don’t have an adhesive magnet handy!

• Cabinet Cleaning: Make the most of under sink storage by keeping this space clean and useable.  Laying down squares of self-adhesive tile will not only brighten up an otherwise dull cubby; it will also create an easy, wipe-clean palette for future spills.

Next week we will be tackling the darkest of home organization dungeons – the basement!  Stop by next week for our basement solutions.

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Arguably, no room’s ambience is more important than that of your bedroom.  Your master bedroom and bathroom can serve as your home’s retreat and your overall respite from the day.  Get the most out of your space by implementing one of this year’s most popular color trends to create a master suite atmostphere you can truly unwind in!

Glamorous Gold: Shades of gold are expected to be amongst the most popular color choices in 2012.  From mustard yellow and marigold to varieances of sunflower, this bright hue will serve as the shaping element for many a 2012 room.

Gorgeous Grays: After gold, tones of gray are expexted to be the next most popular color pallete in 2012. Great for creating a clean, spa-like feel, gray makes the perfect bathroom base color.

Bring The Outdoors In: Emphasis will once again this year be placed on bringing natural elements into your bedroom.  Use earth tone colors to create a tranquil setting for rest and relaxation.  Earth tones also offer the added benefit of being relatively neutral and, as such, serve as great backdrops for stronger accent colors.

Cohesive Collection: While starkly contrasting rooms were a popular trend in the past, 2012 will be the year of cohesive room
collections.  Coordinating color palettes between rooms not only helps to create a sense of cohesive flow, it can also visually increase the size of your space.  If two rooms of the same color are a bit too cohesive for you, obtain the same impact by using the same color but varying the shade from one room to the next.

Are you ready to create your dream bedroom and bath?  Contact us today to get your project underway!

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The term man cave has become a popular phrase in the English language today – so much in fact that whole websites are devoted to the observation and discovery of great caves! One such website, defines a man cave as, “A dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends.” However, in reality a man cave is simply a space where a guy can relax or an environment that that makes him feel completely fulfilled. Because of this, man caves can take many forms. Here are some of our favorites:

• Man Cave Gymnasium: Does your idea of relaxing involve breaking a sweat? Consider making a man cave gymnasium, complete with non-slip flooring, ceiling to floor mirrors, and central air. Add cardio equipment and weight lifting machines before installing a macho stereo system to give you just the motivation you need to finish your workout strong!

• Man Cave Entertainment Room: A man cave doesn’t have to be a solitary space. To the contrary, some of the best man caves are those centered on entertaining a group. Create a focal place for your television, install a bar for pouring drinks for the gang, and invest in stadium seating for easy show viewing and your man cave will be the new weekend hangout!

• Man Cave Workshop: Installing shelving, work benches and tool cabinets can turn your man cave into a workshop for all sorts of masculine handyman projects. To ensure your undertakings don’t disturb others invest in noise-reducing insulation before picking up your power drills.

• Man Cave Game Room: Whether your gaming trends tend toward board-games or cards and poker, a game-based man cave can be enjoyed by many. Combine comfortable seating with a pool table, billiards board or other large components to create a space that is fun for all. Ground your space with functional and durable flooring that will withstand whatever play time has to offer and prepare for your man cave’s first game night!

Are you ready to create the perfect environment for you? Contact Schaeffer Contracting and let’s begin building your man cave today!

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While the DIY home improvement weekend warrior can undoubtedly accomplish a great deal, some projects are just better left to the professionals.  When determining whether to tackle a project yourself or consult with a contractor, consider these factors:

• Cost Of Tools: Many projects require specialized tools and equipment which, if not already in the possession of the homeowner, can add substantial project costs.  If your project can be undertaken with rented or borrowed tools it may still be worth doing yourself.  However, in most cases if the project requires substantial equipment to be purchased or the tools needed will only be used once, it’s well worth it to contact a contractor.  As an added benefit, home improvement professionals will already have experience and expertise using the equipment in question.

• Cost Of Materials: Raw materials make up a large portion of any project cost.  However, this expense can actually be minimized by working with home improvement professionals.  Contractors bring to the home improvement table supplier relationships, allowing them to get materials at a much lower cost than the average homeowner.  In addition, working with a professional can prevent costly supply wasting mistakes.

• Cost Of Coding: For the more substantial elements of home improvement, such as plumbing or electrical work, coding requirements must be taken into consideration.  While codes may vary by region, many jurisdictions require that work be completed by a licensed and bonded professional to meet code.  Not following coding requirements cannot only result in safety risks, but also insurance penalties and legal sanctions.

• Cost Of Peace Of Mind: While home improvement in general is not for the faint of heart, some projects are particularly dangerous.  For example, major electrical projects or any work involving gas lines should always be referred to a professional.  Although a price tag cannot be placed on safety, the best way to ensure your own wellbeing is to work with a trained professional for all major home improvement projects.  Contractors have the training necessary to minimize safety risks and ensure that both you and your home are left standing when the job is done!

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