Enhance Your Bedroom to Reduce Stress
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important parts of reducing stress in our everyday lives. Factors like light, noise, and temperature can easily have a profound effect on how we sleep. If you have problems with too much noise when you sleep, consider installing some sound dampening material on your walls and ceiling. If too much light leaks into your windows, try replacing your existing window dressing with blackout curtains. Installing a small heater and/or air conditioning unit where you sleep can give you control over how your bedroom feels no matter what the rest of the house is like.

Get Your Exercise at your Home
In some climates, going outdoors is not always the most pleasant experience in the world. The commute to and from the gym combined with the sometimes over-stimulating environment that goes hand in hand with many fitness centers can be a bit much for many people. Since exercise is a proven stress-reducer, creating a space in your New Jersey home to get a workout (which can be used all year round no matter what the weather looks like) might be just what the doctor ordered.

Boost the Relaxation Potential of Your Bathroom
Few things are as relaxing as a warm dip in the tub. Instead of racing through your morning shower, take the time to have a good bath every once in a while. To make the experience even better, consider installing a dimmer switch to reduce the harshness of bathroom lighting. (If you are already a bath connoisseur, you can boost your tub scrubs with home spa equipment)

Stress Reduction in the Kitchen?
Though a few storage enhancements as part of a kitchen remodel done with the help of your New Jersey remodeling contractor might make preparing a meal less stressful, experts say that the real stress reducer in the kitchen comes by altering what you eat. Getting three square meals a day is important, and making sure those meals are healthy and nourishing is a key factor in not just stress reduction, but in maintaining a healthy body overall.

Reducing Stress in Living Rooms and Dens
Too much TV is obviously a bad thing in many respects, but taking the time to sit back and watch a comedy can actually reduce stress. Even better, you can use that incredible sound system to listen to relaxing music or turn it off altogether and curl up on the couch or your favorite chair with a good book (both of which are excellent stress reducers).

Home Office Stress Reduction
While it is easy to see the benefits of working from home, having everything you’re responsible for in the place that’s supposed to be your own personal refuge can get stressful really quickly! Those who work at home should make sure to separate their work from their leisure in time as well as space. Home offices that are in some way separated from other areas of the home (preferably with a door that closes and a scheduled amount of “regular business hours”) can help make the transition from work-mode to home-mode more defined, and can allow you to fully enjoy yourself during your time off.
Read more: http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Room-By-Room-Stress-Reducers-for-Your-Home.16355.html#ixzz1uwyo4o2s

If you’re looking for a professional New Jersey kitchen remodeling contractor, then give us a call today at 800-734-3737 or complete our request for a design and budget consultation.

1. Garage Additions
Whether you use this to shelter your car, for storage space, or want to finish it to make it livable space—or all three—a garage addition is great way to add square footage to your New Jersey home. Even if you already have a garage, adding a second story can be the perfect answer to carving out additional living space.

Many people find that a garage offers the perfect environment to house their home office, studio space, or workshop. Most garages can be easily fitted with the same comforts as a home: heating and cooling, phone wiring, even plumbing.

2. Garage Remodeling
Many people find that a garage remodel offers the perfect environment to house their home office, studio space, or workshop.

Transforming your garage doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your storage area. Many garages today have become multifunctional, allowing for cars, general storage, and a home office or workshop all in the same space.

And, if you find you will be losing too much storage space in your garage, consider building a small storage shed in your yard to house tools, sporting equipment and seasonal items. A building separate from your New Jersey home will expand your storage space, allowing you to use the garage in ways that you could not use a shed: electricity or heating, for example.

In addition to remodeling your current garage space, you could also consider an addition above the garage. Raising the roof and adding a room for work space above your existing garage can give you additional space, not to mention increase the value of your New Jersey home, without changing the floor plan.

Garage addition or remodeling ideas:

• Guest apartment
• Home office
• Laundry room
• Mud room
• Music studio

3. Garage Storage and Organization
Organizing or even contemplating organizing the garage can be a tiresome task for many New Jersey homeowners. Remember that organizing your garage is about finding a designated place for everything while still keeping your tools and sporting goods easily accessible for everyday use.

Step 1: Sort and categorize all items in your garage
First things first, empty that garage. Start by sorting everything into categories. Separate all lawn maintenance tools, sporting equipment, electric tools, etc. Once you realize how much stuff you actually have, you can determine the best ways to organize and store everything.

Also, if there are miscellaneous items that ended up in the garage by mistake, return them to their proper place.

Step 2: Separate and store seasonal items
Get a handyman to install a rack to hang lawn maintenance tools, snow tools, and sports equipment that you may use regularly in an accessible yet out of the way place. Anything that is used seasonally should be stored and then swapped out when needed.

Step 3: Add additional garage storage shelving or cabinets
If you haven’t already done so, now is the perfect time to add additional garage storage space to help you maintain your organization in the months to come. You could have shelves or cabinets mounted on the wall or, for a more inexpensive option, consider purchasing durable plastic totes and drawers.

Step 4: Create an efficient work area
If you use your garage as a work area, be sure to make the best use of this space. Install a work bench or table. A pegboard and a sturdy tool chest are a great way to store your tools, yet keep them easily accessible.

Step 5: Relocate trash and recycling bins to nearby the garage entrance
Section off an area near the entrance of your New Jersey home for trash or recycling to make it easier to dispose of these items.
Read more: http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.3-Garage-Solutions-Build-It-Remodel-It-Organize-It.12103.html?link_id=9207#ixzz1uwnmPk9n

If you’re looking for a professional New Jersey room addition company, then give us a call today at 800-734-3737 or complete our request for a design and budget consultation.

If your New Jersey home’s stairs are in terrible shape, only an entirely new staircase may help. That project is expensive, one where you’ll probably have to call in a team of professional New Jersey remodeling contractors to handle.

You can renovate your stairs on your own, a project that may be as simple as bringing out a hammer, some nails and a sheet of sand paper to start. Follow these steps to make your staircase a showcase:

1. Inspect each step. Bring along your hammer and walk up each step, hammering in any nail that isn’t flush with the stairs. Replace broken or bent nails with nails of the same size as needed.

2. Fix cracks. You may be able to save the stair’s tread by using a filler to fix cracks. Ask the Builder’s Tim Carter recommends that New Jersey homeowners first insert “expanding urethane glue or a heavy-bodied epoxy” in the crack and top it with wood filler. Use stain or epoxy to make the crack disappear. You’ll need to sand the tread first and then follow the other steps.

3. Tighten treads and risers. Stairs are made up of three main parts: stringers, which hold the stairs in place; treads that you walk on and risers that are perpendicular to the treads and support each tread. Tom Silva of This Old House magazine, notes that glue and or nails often holds these pieces together. Plan to scrape off the old glue before applying a new coat of glue. If you have access to underneath the stairs, you can tighten the stairs that way too.

4. Baluster and railing — The wood spindles holding up the railing are called balusters. These may need tightening, especially if screws are already present. Or, you can add new screws to secure each one. The post at the bottom of the stair is a newel post and that can be best secured by refastening it to the stair stringer. Install screws to connect and use gorilla glue to hold in place.

When sanding, you’ll want to carefully remove debris, something you can accomplish with a damp towel or a vacuum. Stairs should be completely dry before applying your first coat of stain. Follow the directions on your can of stain to know when to apply your second coat. Once your done, your stairs should look like new and perhaps you have saved yourself from an expensive and unnecessary renovation.

Article Source: http://www.letsrenovate.com/home-improvement-magazine/2012/01/24/you-can-renovate-your-stairs/

If you’re looking for a professional New Jersey remodeling and design company, then give us a call today at 800-734-3737 or complete our request for a design and budget consultation.

One of the more affordable projects is making a den. After all, if you have a spare bedroom, then that room can be repurposed to become a den, right? Well, yes. However, if you want to make this room special, you’ll need to take under consideration several things before you move your desk, chair and computer into your newly minted den.

Survey the room — Does you den have enough natural light. If not, is there enough light overhead to brighten the room when you turn on the switch? Take a look at the number of outlets in this room — you’ll want to plug in lamps, computer equipment and have a phone line available. If your electrical and broadcast lines are not sufficient, you’ll need to hire an electrician to run some lines for you.

Temperature control — Your den will be the place where you spend plenty of time especially if you also use it as your home office. Sure, make room for the couch and flat screen television and add other accouterments for your man cave. You’ll also want a room that is sufficiently comfortable year ‘round. That may mean having an electrician making a separate heating and cooling zone just for your den or area of your New Jersey home. Your proposed den may seem comfortable today, but with computer equipment and furniture included, it can heat up fast.

Walls and flooring — A first floor den located adjacent to a noisy room of your New Jersey home may be hard to handle. What you can do is install sound deadening panels on your walls to absorb some of the noise. You can also choose your furniture wisely and set it up strategically — place that bulky home center against the wall facing your garage, kitchen or living room. Thick carpeting or an area rug can come in handy if your den is on the second floor and you don’t want your frequent movements disturb people below you. Invest in an office floor protector to help preserve your carpet.

Office Furniture — Besides the couch, big TV and mini fridge, your den may include library shelving, desk, chair and computer equipment. If room is tight, find furniture that can occupy one area of your room, preferably with shelving space that can run up and down one corner with desk space on either side of it. Cabinet space can fit underneath your table and lighting can be derived from smartly placed lamps, a table lamp or both.

You may find that investing in custom shelving is one way to create your den, hiring a New Jersey remodeling contractor to create the needed space and to handle other tasks including installing a sound proof door. Make good use of your remodeler while he is still on site and your electrician too to ensure that your den office is everything that you want it to be.

Article Source: http://www.letsrenovate.com/home-improvement-magazine/2011/04/05/how-to-make-a-den/

If you’re looking for a professional New Jersey interior remodeling company, then give us a call today at 800-734-3737 or complete our request for a design and budget consultation.

Salvaged wood can come from a surprising number of sources. While old barns have traditionally been a reliable source for reclaimed wood, this resource is becoming scarce. But, as demand for reclaimed wood has risen, companies have started to find other sources for the material and expanded the definition of reclaimed wood.

Today, industrial buildings slated for demolition, condemned structures, and even bowling alleys provide an increasing amount of reclaimed wood for the home improvement market.

Wood pulled from the bottoms of creeks and rivers is another source for flooring. In the past, logging operations often floated timber down rivers and creeks to be milled. During the process, a certain percentage of the timber would sink to the bottom. Until just recently, salvaging this wood was too expensive, but as the demand for reclaimed and recovered wood has risen, some companies are now plumbing the depths for these sunken treasures.

Recovered timber from forest fires can also be salvaged and milled for flooring. Often this wood is stained or marked by the intense heat of the fire, giving it a unique look.

Though sometimes twice the cost of traditionally milled hardwood floors, reclaimed wood floors combine an aesthetic quality with environmental responsibility. Black walnut, cypress, redwood, cherry, and even the now-extinct American chestnut can be sourced, as can traditional oak, pine, and maple.

The look and feel of reclaimed and recovered wood is often varied and irregular, with natural knots, worm holes, saw marks, and color variations. Newer recovered wood can be scraped and stained (distressed) to create an antiqued look.

Whenever possible, reclaimed wood is milled into wide planks to highlight the age and feel of the wood. Though some reclaimed wood has tongue-and-groove edges, most often, flooring installation is slat style. Rough edges and gaps in the flooring between planks is to be expected (if not encouraged) to enhance the authentic appearance.

New Jersey consumers wanting to make sure the flooring material they purchase is made from reclaimed or recovered wood can look for several industry certifications. Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is an independent third-party certification and assessment body that evaluates industry claims.

The SCS has created the “100% SALVAGED WOOD from Recovered Submerged Timber” designation. SmartWood is another third-party certification body that evaluates forest product operations that are reclaiming, recycling, and/or salvaging wood materials.

Your New Jersey remodeling contractor can also look into various sources of reclaimed wood for you.

Article Source: http://www.hometips.com/buying-guides/wood-floors-reclaimed.html

If you’re looking for a professional New Jersey interior remodeling company, then give us a call today at 800-734-3737 or complete our request for a design and budget consultation.