Project Profile – Adding Space to a Ranch Home

One of our best resources for business are our builder relationships. So, when Blanchard Builders reached out to us with a project, we were excited to jump in and create a new space for their clients. 

Rick and Patty had recently moved from a two-story home in Worthington to an older ranch home. The couple was looking for a home without stairs and wanted to stay in the Worthington area. But while their new home was all one level, it was missing a few things. 

We find this to be a common issue with older ranch homes – the need for more closet space, bigger bathrooms, an open floor plan, and a larger kitchen. Many of our clients want to be in a certain area of town, but the homes don’t meet all their needs.

In Rick and Patty’s new home, the laundry was in the basement, which meant they would be going up and down the stairs – the exact thing they were trying to avoid. In addition to moving the laundry to the first floor, a walk-in closet, and larger master suite with more vanity space in the bathroom and a sitting room were on their must-haves list.

Budget is a concern with every project, and it’s often challenging to find enough space to accomplish the homeowner’s goals without compromising their budget. But we work hard to find the best solution for each of our clients. Mike from Blanchard Builders is a pro at this too. He’s always on the ball and up front with clients. He wants to make them happy and keep the project on budget. 

We got to work and drew up plans, adding a couple hundred square feet to the back of the 1,428 sf home. Every project is a process, and where we start isn’t always where we end up. With a final square footage of 1,868 sf, we were able to redesign the space to accommodate everything Rick and Patty wanted.

Not every project we undertake is a custom home or a complete remodel. Sometimes it’s adding space to the back of the home and shifting the floor plan around to accommodate the homeowner’s lifestyle. Reach out to us with the needs and wants you have for your home and we will work together to bring your vision to life. 

Closet Organization – Tips and Tricks

Be honest – when you look in your closet, is it as organized as you’d like it to be? Or could it use some help? Our latest Front Porch Friday video, Closet Organization, is full of tips and tricks. We want to help you get organized. We can even design a new closet for you when we design your new bedroom! 

An organized closet can lessen your stress when getting dressed and ready for your day! Recapture time as you easily find just the right outfit for that important meeting or date night. Organizing, whether it’s the kitchen cabinets or your bedroom closet is very personal, so you have to do what works for you. 

What to Do:

Evaluate the Space:

• You can’t evaluate the space unless you look at it critically with everything in it. Take a photo if you need to so you can compare before and after!
   
• Picture your closet with four zones; overhead, eye level, mid level, and floor level. Are you getting the most out of all of these areas?
   
• Where do you need more space? Do you hang most of your clothing? Or is most of it folded? Do you have lots of shoes?
   
• Take everything out of the closet and do a second evaluation. Do you have dead space where shelves could be added? Is the closet deep enough to hang something from the back of the door? Is it large enough for a built-in or freestanding dresser? 
   
• If you’re lucky enough to have a walk-in closet, can it be customized to give you even more space?
   
• Sort your clothing into keep, donate, and pitch. Be realistic and honest with yourself. Will you ever wear that dress or shirt again?
   
• If you can’t decide on certain clothing items and whether you need them, hang all of your clothes with the hangers facing in the “wrong” direction. Every time you wear something, hang it back with the hanger in the “right” direction. At the end of the season, see what hangers haven’t been turned. Maybe now you’ll see what you can really get rid of. 

Organizers:

There are a huge variety of organizers available for closets. What you choose will depend on your needs. 

• Hangers come in different sizes and materials. Slim, wide, wooden, non-slip and plastic hangers are all designed to help you make the most of your closet. Plastic hangers come in many colors and styles. These are perfect for t-shirts, casual shirts, and jeans. Non-slip hangers work well for silky material and are designed to keep any clothing from slipping. Wooden hangers that are curved are best for sweaters and jackets. Hangers with clips make hanging pants and skirts easy and wrinkle-free. Slim hangers allow you more space for clothes, especially if you have a smaller closet. 
   
• Using hooks, shoe organizers, baskets, shelves, dressers, different sized plastic bins, and towel bars provide you with a plethora of options for organizing. All you need is a closet and some ingenuity to make it work for you. 

Reorganizing:

You’ve got the organizers; you’ve sorted your clothing, shoes, and accessories. Now how can you best reorganize?

• Hooks are perfect for hanging bulky items like purses, handbags, bulky sweatshirts, or fleece jackets.
   
• Shoe organizers are not only good for shoes but also other items like sweaters or sweatshirts, keeping them from stretching out. Plus, it’s easy to see them since they are separated.
   
• In dresser drawers, use drawer organizers to separate belts, ties, socks, underwear, and bras.
   
• Roll t-shirts and stand them on end in dresser drawers, baskets, or plastic see-through bins. It takes up less space and you can easily find the one you want. Plus, they don’t wrinkle as much.
   
• A basket filled with socks or underwear is easy to pull out from a shelf. 
   
• Organize by color, function, style, and use. Keep dressy clothes in one area, exercise and casual clothing front and center, and work clothes where you can easily mix and match. 
   
• Towel bars can be hung on a wall. Tie scarves to them or hang up high-heeled shoes. They’re easy to see and doesn’t take up valuable rod or floor space. 
   
• Raising the closet bar higher allows you to hang a second bar or add shelving or a dresser underneath it.
   
• Shelf dividers allow you to stack sweaters up higher since they will be held in place.
   
• Shelf brackets can have a whole new use! Flip over a shelf bracket and sort items by type and hang with curtain clips.

The sky’s the limit with your closets! Even a small closet can be better organized. Be creative, use the ideas we’ve suggested, and if you’re ready, contact us to help you design a home (and closets) for you!

Design Don’ts…Could These Hurt Your Home’s Value?

You’re excited, ready and anxious to start on your design of your new dream home or the renovation of the home you already love. At RDS, we understand as our residential designers work with clients every day to help develop their dreams to reality.

Many of the families we work with have built several homes and understand the process thoroughly but we are all inundated with so many media options from Houzz to HGTV that often the inspiration sources provided can have divergent ideas. It is our responsibility to ask you detailed questions about your ideas and work with you in making decisions that will serve you and your family best for the long term.

What you love now, or what you’ve seen on HGTV, might not work for a future buyer, and while we don’t want to think about selling, it all too often can become a reality.

What to Consider:

Investment Level: the homes in your neighborhood have a range of pricing and if you’re not careful you can spend more than you can recover if you would have to relocate unxpectedly. This shouldn’t be the only criteria to make a decision but it is an important one.

Does the design fit the home? How does the design of the home, impact the neighborhood? Creating an ultra-modern look in a traditional neighborhood might not be the best fit, especially in a historic district.

If you need to include Universal design in your existing home due to accessibility issues, then by all means, do it. But if you’re thinking of widening doors and hallways in your renovation plans to add resale value, think again. The costs may far exceed the perceived value.

Depending on where you live, don’t upgrade a kitchen beyond what is typical for the neighborhood. You can easily price yourself right out of the market and never recoup your investment. Work with our design team to find the best options to fit your home and neighborhood, while still achieving the look you want.

Not every kitchen renovation can accommodate an island without adding or repurposing space. Many times the budget limits the extent of the work and a careful redesign of the existing kitchen will provide solutions to address the functional improvements within the space.

Swimming pools…you may dream of having one, but if they’re not common in your neighborhood it may be hard to recover your investment. If you have to sell, a pool could be a deterrent to buyers that might see it as an added cost, more maintenance, or a liability.

Live in a historic charmer that you want to remodel? If you have areas that are beyond repair or can be changed without losing value, then go for it. Be careful about getting rid of all of the original features and historic charm of your home though…it’s historic for a reason!

Your home is listed by the number of bedrooms, so the loss of a bedroom to enlarge an owner's suite or create a new bathroom could backfire on you. Adding bathrooms or expanding a bedroom is a smart choice, but not at the expense of reducing the bedroom count, as it will change your home’s comparables in the neighborhood.

Set on having granite? It’s still a popular choice, but do your research and see what else might be an option. Marble and quartz continue to be strong contenders. Not everyone is excited about granite anymore.

Your home needs a tub, especially with children, but be wary of jetted or spa tubs. These are not what buyers are looking for. Walk in showers and freestanding tubs are design dos!

Love the aquariums you’ve seen on HGTV, and wish you had one? Think twice, built-in aquariums will only appeal to certain people.

All white rooms are out. Texture and color are in. All white cabinets and walls in a kitchen is not trending anymore, but if white is what you want, add pops of color in the backsplash and other areas such as countertops.

As much as you might love barn doors and shiplap, they will, like many hot design trends, date your home eventually and might make it difficult to resell. But if you want it, be creative and original with it.

Wallpaper is making a comeback, but only as an accent. Too much wallpaper might be too much of a good thing. If you do use it, be sure it can be easily removed for potential future buyers.

Hardwood and tile are still the flooring options of choice, with carpeting used in certain spaces. Look at what’s out there, to make an informed choice about flooring.

If doing a remodel, converting a garage to a gym or another type of room is not a smart move. Buyers want garages. A smart remodel would be to redefine the space and add storage. If you really want to convert the garage, do it in such a way that it can be converted back to a garage - don’t remove the garage doors.

Ultimately, it’s your home, and you should include design ideas that you love. Just remember that future buyers might be scared off by your choices that are too personalized. Are there ways to be able to appeal to future buyers even with your design choices and still recoup your investment? Our designers listen to you, help guide you, and present you with the best options available for your home. Get started on your home design ideas with us!