Remodeling 101

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GET A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW SPACES ARE EVOLVING TO SUIT A MODERN LIFESTYLE. BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE

CUSTOM BARS. Next-level mudrooms with drop-spot storage and a place for pets. Dedicated suites for grandparents. These are a few of the thoughtful spaces being built into homes — along with warmer finishes and welcoming textures — as the house has evolved into a lifestyle-focused environment that suits multitasking households. Here’s a look at what’s on the scene from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) home remodeling professionals.

MORE THAN A MUDROOM

“People want to develop systems in their homes that work and that they can maintain easily,” says Katherine Kiczek, designer, Hurst Design Build Remodel. Case in point: the mudroom entry with more storage, more conveniences and more space in general.

“We’re creating that drop zone so when the kids come into the house, they know where to put away their stuff and it’s easy for them to access that space.”

Pat Hurst, owner and CEO of Hurst Design Build Remodel, says flexible spaces like a mudroom/laundry area are important for active households and, in fact, an even more popular ask these days than the home office. Desks with computer stations and spots to wallmount iPads are worked into mudrooms. So are dog food stations or pet showers. “It’s all based on the unique circumstances of the family,” he says.

Because many homes were built with a front door and garage entrance and lack a high-traffic and roomy side entry, carving out the space can be a priority. As for the four-legged friends, pot-fillers at baseboard level are convenient for water dishes, says Michelle Bortolotto, senior designer at Cabinet S-Top Inc. “If you want to pamper your pet, anything is possible,” she says.

WHAT’S COOKING

Open kitchen spaces are in demand, and while light-and-bright cabinets are a common request, Ken Perrin of Artistic Renovations says clients are going bold. Specifically, one home he’s working on in Lakewood features deep, Irish green cabinetry, “which is really popular,” he says. Soft greens are also coming online and more prevalent. “We’re mixing cabinet colors — uppers and lowers,” he adds. “That might include a soft green base cabinet and an upper in white, or reverse.”

Gray cabinets are on the outs, Bortolotto says. “We are moving away from those.”

Black hardware pops on light cabinets and an ebony island offsets ivory in other parts of the kitchen. “We are also doing lower cabinets that are white with lowers that are a deep black, and that can also be applied to a china hutch to really accent it,” Perrin says. “When done well, it’s a stunning look.”

Decluttering and finding “hidden storage” is also a priority, Kiczek says. “Lately, I’ve seen concealed storage like a kitchen backsplash that slides and behind it are shelves. There are creative ways to find more space and keep the look minimal.”

Butler pantries — also referred to as catering kitchens — are on the rise.

“We are redesigning kitchens to incorporate that walk-in pantry where you can house appliances, and it’s not just a pantry with shelves,” Kiczek says. “Some are soundproof so you can run the blender without waking up the children, and everything is in its place. Think Kardashian. They’re pantries on steroids.”

While the open kitchen-dining area is a longtime desire among homeowners with choppy floor plans, people are more strategic about exactly how open the main living area of a home is these days. “We still see people opening up spaces and wanting an open concept, but not like before,” says Lori Bryant of HTZ Construction Inc. “There is some divide because people understand they want space for an office or an ability to close off areas of the home.”

LIGHTING SECTION

Recessed lighting and statement fixtures are on the scene — larger pendants with texture and basket weave. “With our projects, we encourage people to overdo

it with lighting and then we add dimmers so they can tone it down in the evening,” Bryant says, adding that fixtures are popping up in “defined spaces” like open shelving, under cabinets, in toe kicks and on sconces over windows.

Perrin says today’s undercabinet LED tape lighting allows for clean-lined cabinets. “What’s nice about it is you do not need trim on the bottom to cover the fixtures, so it’s a cleaner look,” Perrin says.

Kiczek says the latest fixtures are 1970s-inspired — “woven, beaded, natural fibers,” she says. “We’re creating layered lighting plans. Everyone wants multiple ways to light their rooms, and with LED there is so much flexibility for accent lighting.”

ON THE SURFACE

Quartzite is more accessible and affordable than in the past, and Bryant sees a move toward this hard surface versus granite or engineered quartz that is human-made.

“There are some unique and beautiful designs with pretty veining, and it is becoming more popular now because they have improved the mining techniques,” she says. “Where it used to take like 20 days to get it off the side of a mountain, now they can cut it out in more like 20 hours.”

Bryant says the natural stone has appeal and “it’s like having a little bit of a museum in your house — something that was just on the side of a mountain and now it’s in your kitchen.”

MOVING IN

In-law suites are gaining popularity, Perrin says. “Some are add-ons and others are built into the existing structure — some are a combination,” he says of how families are finding or creating space. For example, he has repurposed a family room into a primary suite for the parents and added a dormer to the upstairs primary bedroom to accommodate a bathroom for the grandparents. “For cost purposes, we try to work within the existing footprint,” he says.

After a long run of gray as the goto neutral, things are warming up and colors are back.

“The grays are down-trending and although whites are always in style, we are seeing warmer tones — green is up and coming — and natural woods in cooler tones,” Kiczek says.

The warming trend extends into hardware selection with materials like soft brushed gold, Perrin points out. Mixing and matching adds interest.

“If you do brushed gold on the faucets with black accents on handles — or black cabinet hardware on a light cabinet — you are mixing color and texture and it really highlights everything,” he says, calling hardware the “jewelry of the house.”

We still see people opening up spaces and wanting an open concept, but not like before. There is some divide because people understand they want space for an office or an ability to close off areas of the home.

LORI BRYANT, HTZ Construction Inc.

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