Remodeling is a huge undertaking that, when done right, can make you love your home even more. It’s an opportunity to upgrade your home and make it fit the way you live rather than the other way around. However, mistakes can be frustrating, costly, and downright dangerous, so here’s a list of errors: the earlier you can avoid them, the better.
On average, homeowners spend more money on remodeling their kitchens than they do on any other room in the house. A tastefully decorated, warm, and inviting kitchen is the heart of a home. Many homeowners in the United States have kitchen islands in their kitchens where the whole family can get together for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So, a cozy kitchen is a great place for a family to bond and share meals.
When it comes to remodeling your kitchen, placing your trust in the right home renovation experts is crucial. Our home remodeling experts in Round Rock, Texas, are known for the beautiful kitchens they have created for countless homeowners in Central Texas.
If you are considering remodeling your kitchen, here are some of the best features you should think about adding:
A built-in refrigerator can add a sleek, integrated look to your kitchen. Built-in refrigerators are still relatively rare in the U.S., but that’s changing. If you have a smaller kitchen, a built-in refrigerator will help add space to your kitchen instead of cluttering the room. Or if you want a larger refrigerator like the ones with a sub-zero freezer, having it built in can sometimes allow you to add within the same space as a normal-sized refrigerator, side by side.
You can talk to our home remodeling experts in Round Rock, Texas, to discuss the feasibility of adding a built-in refrigerator to your kitchen.
Double ovens are not new, but their technology has come a long way. Typically built on top of each other and incorporated into the perimeter cabinetry, the top oven is normally used for baking purposes. But new models, such as the Samsung NV51K7770DS, have Flex Duo technology that allows you to cook at two different temperatures within the same oven.
Many of the new ovens today come with smart technology that enables you to control their operations from your smart device. That means you can place something in the oven before you leave the house, turn it on remotely, and it’ll be ready by the time you get home. If you’re someone who does a lot of baking, double ovens can be a real convenience.
Again, islands are not a new thing, but the variations of them are. Yes, adding a kitchen island to your kitchen can give it the illusion of more space. Plus, it’s a great way for homeowners with young children to keep an eye on their kids while they eat, draw, or play while being seated at the kitchen island. Kitchen islands can also make the kitchen a more inviting and homey space where the family can dine and spend time together.
You can even add power outlets beneath the counters so that you have a power source to plug your devices and small appliances into. Adding lighting can make them a great work area during the day and an even better gathering place while meals are being prepared. You can discuss your plans for a kitchen island with our residential builders in Round Rock, Texas.
At Freccia Group, we’re a residential and commercial construction company and real estate development firm based in the Austin, Texas, area. For years, we have been home remodeling experts in Round Rock, Texas, helping both residential and commercial property owners across Texas. We can help you build your dream kitchen with a simple renovation or remodeling job. Contact us on our website for more information or to learn more about our remodeling contractor in Round Rock, Texas.
A bathroom is more than just a place where we shower or brush our teeth. It can also be a space to relax. What’s more therapeutic than a long bath by yourself when you can tune out the rest of the world and enjoy your own company … on your phone :-)?
A tastefully decorated bathroom can help you relax and unwind. A good bathroom design should bring together multiple features that complement one another. A residential builder in Round Rock, Texas, can help you select the best features (including tiles, wallpaper, and lighting) to add to your bathroom.
Here are three trends in bathroom design that seem to be sticking around:
Antique brass was popular with homeowners, but matte black fixtures, which made a comeback a few years ago, are here to stay. There are matte black faucets, toilets, bathtubs, and sinks. Black fixtures can add elegance and intrigue to your bathroom’s look without distracting from its overall design. They’re also easy to keep clean and will contrast with white walls and other white elements in your bathroom beautifully.
You can ask our home remodeling experts in Round Rock, Texas, how adding matte black fixtures can enhance the look of your bathroom.
If you want your bathroom to have a spa-like feel to it, the right lighting will do most of the work for you. Whether you want your bathroom to have a contemporary or modern look, the lighting you select will have a major impact on the mood and ambiance of your bathroom.
LED lights, when installed vertically down the sides of mirrors, can light up the bathroom while being concentrated around the vanity, which is where they’re needed the most. You can also install dimmers to make the light brighter or softer depending on the mood you wish to create.
Adding plants to a bathroom can give it a lush, tropical feel. You can even kid yourself into believing you’re vacationing on a beach while you soak in the tub surrounded by greenery. You can add potted plants near the toilet or foliage on the wall. Pick plants that thrive in humid conditions, and make sure your bathroom has a window from which natural light can enter.
Ask your remodeling contractor in Round Rock, Texas, how a botanical bathroom could work within your space.
If you want to hire a residential construction contractor for bathroom remodeling in Round Rock, Texas, get in touch with us at Freccia Group. We’re a leading residential and commercial construction company and development firm based in the Austin, Texas, area. For years, we have served clients by providing the best home remodeling services in Round Rock, Texas. If you have any questions about bathroom or kitchen remodeling in Round Rock, Texas, contact us on our website, and let’s build something together.
Most of the time, we tend to focus on our bathrooms and kitchens during home renovations. This is because these are considered key spaces in a house, and upgrades in these areas usually add value to it.
While Texas typically doesn’t have very harsh winters, the summer season can be scorching and humid.
And since climate and weather can vary a great deal, it’s best to ensure that your home is well equipped to deal with the extreme temperatures.
Moreover, inadequate insulation means your utility bills are probably higher than they should be. And this alone is a great reason to replace your insulation during a home renovation.
Basically, insulation works by trapping air molecules and keeping them from escaping the structural boundaries of your home.
As you probably know, heat is mainly transferred through three processes: convection, conduction, and radiation. While insulation can’t wholly halt heat transfer from your house, it can slow it down by reducing conduction, convection, and radiation.
There are many types of insulation options that all have both benefits and drawbacks. They have different costs and distinct applications, and some are more effective than others. They each have different R-values, which tells you the difference between the warmer temperature and cooler surface on each side the insulation material measuring the conductive flow of heat. The higher the R-value, the more resistant to heat the insulation is.
Minimum recommended home insulation R-values can range from R-13 for walls to R-60 for attics. Since attics are where both heat and cold escape, they need higher R-values to keep the home comfortable. And, depending upon where you live, the more extreme your area’s temperature—whether it’s hot or cold–the more material it takes to achieve an effective R-value.
Here is a list of the most common insulation materials ranked by lowest R-value to highest:
Here’s a breakdown of the most popular insulation materials in Round Rock homes.
Fiberglass is the most commonly used and most affordable type of insulation in Central Texas home. It’s made up of glass fibers that are extremely fine and are blown in (also known as loose fill) or spun to form rolls, batt insulation, or boards. Blown-in insulation is made up of loose fiberglass or foam material that’s blown into the space, and it’s perfect for adding a layer to your attic when you already have a layer that has compressed over time. Insulation rolls are used in new construction in walls but can also be added to attics. Batt insulation is similar to rolls, but they come in long sheets.
Since it’s a risky material to work with, it’s best to wear protective gear when installing it or maybe just let the experts handle it.
Cellulose insulation is highly underrated if you ask us. It’s perfect for building cavities and for restricting airflow. Moreover, some types are even fire- and insect-resistant, making them perfect insulation options for homes.
Also, since they don’t require any added moisture barrier, they work well for both old and new homes.
Spray foam insulation in liquid form is mostly sprayed and at times poured or injected and helps to fill all spaces. It may cost more, but it has a higher R-value and saves you from other pricey processes like caulking, for instance.
Spray foam isolation can also be open-cell or closed-cell and is typically used for walls, below roofs, and under the floors.
Not only would proper insulation make your home more comfortable, but it would also help you save on unnecessary heating and cooling costs.
In fact, we usually advise our clients to upgrade their insulation during home remodeling projects since the walls are likely to be opened anyway.
If you have any questions about what insulation could be right for your home, give us a call.
We’re home remodeling experts in Round Rock, TX, and can help you upgrade your home’s energy efficiency with our home remodeling services.
If you’ve finally decided to go ahead with the home renovation you’ve been planning for years, it only makes sense to make the most of it.
Typically, the homes we buy or build are largely based on our present needs. Over time, our requirements change, and often, the space requirements are no longer the same, given that families grow.
So, if you’re remodeling your house, it’s best to plan ahead and maximize space.
And of course, while adding a few extra square feet would be ideal, it may not be an option for many. So, here are some ways you can still create space or at least an illusion of it.
One of the simplest ways to add more space to your interiors is to make your exteriors a part of the house.
While, of course, a porch or a patio is part of the floor plan, they are exterior spaces with limited uses. You can expand the house and make these spaces more functional by enclosing them.
For instance, you could use them as an extra entertaining space or completely cover them to create a home office at the side of the house—the possibilities are endless! You could also just install bifold doors to open up the space and merge the interior spaces with your patio whenever you need to.
Interior walls are meant to divide large indoor spaces into smaller ones. So, it makes sense to remove them if the small spaces are beginning to feel too small.
While, of course, the bedrooms require privacy, we suggest removing the interior walls between the kitchen, living room, dining area, and other shared spaces. This would give you a large open space that you can decorate and design smartly to maximize space.
Even if you decide to keep the room furniture in exactly the same spot, eliminating walls can transform multiple rooms into one larger space.
While most of us think about adding more horizontal space, we often overlook the vertical space we already have.
If you have taller walls, you can utilize them for storage. And in some cases, you could even consider building lofts if you have the space. This would open up your floor space, giving it a more spacious look overall.
If you’re not quite sure how to go about this, reach out to the renovation design experts at Freccia Group.
We’re remodeling contractors in Round Rock, TX, and can help you with our home remodeling services.
Call us for more information on how to get started.
Kitchens are often where families spend most of their time. It’s where we start the day, and it’s also the space where we make tons of family memories.
Your kitchen should look great, feel warm, and be as functional as possible.
Moreover, kitchens are incredible selling points in a house. Most real estate experts will tell you that most of the time, you’re not selling a house, but you’re selling a kitchen, so it’s something you need to focus on during home renovations.
Here are some valuable tips to keep in mind as you embark on renovating space into your dream kitchen.
If you are not happy with your current bathroom, it may be time for a remodel. Lucky for you, there are many different types of updates that you can make to your bathroom. From installing new tiles around the bathtub to installing a new sink, there are so many different things that you can do that will not only transform your bathroom into something beautiful but will also increase the value of your home.
Let’s look at some of the reasons why you might need bathroom remodeling.
Before the 1990s, bathrooms were meant strictly for doing your business and getting out. Now they’ve become a type of sanctuary or place to escape requiring more room and incorporating the latest technology, like heaters, video monitors, and touch-activated fixtures. Many people are replacing the integrated bathtub-shower with walk-in showers only. This change makes the bathroom feel more spacious and it’s more practical since more people these days are using the shower more often than the bathtub.
A newly remodeled bathroom may include an integrated steam room or sauna. Since some of the older bathrooms have both a shower and bath area, eliminating needing to dedicate space to a bathtub opens up the possibility of installing a sauna or steam room.
If you’ve ever slipped in the bathtub or on the wet shower floor, you know how dangerous it can be to have unsafe footing surfaces. In older bathrooms, builders would tile everything and leave the bathtub finish slippery, making a rubber bathtub mat a necessity. Rarely would you find an older bathtub built for someone with disabilities.
When you redo your bathroom, make sure to use no-slip materials—like stone, tile, or even composite wood, which can resist moisture—on flooring and shower areas. If an older adult or someone with a physical disability is going to use the bathroom, be sure to include grab bars, extra lighting, and wider shower doorways to avoid accidents.
Given enough time, everything breaks down. From toilets to leaky faucets and cracked tiles, it’s not just ugly, it’s annoying. The beauty of a remodeled bathroom is that everything is new and you don’t have to worry about waking up in the morning with water leaking on your floor, the toilet running constantly, or the faucet having dripped all night.
If you are thinking about remodeling your bathroom, the options are endless. But what’s more important is that you choose a professional residential contractor who can execute your vision for your project. At Freccia Group, we provide professional residential construction services in Round Rock, Texas, to rebuild any room in your house.
Our team does bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, and a wide range of other construction services. Contact us today to get started.
You’ve been overlooking your outdated kitchen for years now, thinking, “What if … ?” How do you know it’s time to make improvements—both functionally and aesthetically—to everyone’s favorite room in the home?
Allocating the finances to fund your redo could be more appealing since remodeling your space essentially adds value to your property, especially if you’re about to put it on the market. However, if you’re planning on staying in your home for at least five years, remodeling your kitchen is both a financial investment and an investment in your home life.
Here are two of the many ways that remodeling could help.
Kitchen remodeling updates your kitchen’s style and can provide more space. Many homes built before the 1990s automatically included a formal dining room in their scope. As lifestyles have changed, that room has been used less and less. Fortunately, many floorplans located the formal dining area right next to the kitchen, now opening up the possibility of making the kitchen larger and incorporating seating in the kitchen’s island. This reflects how the kitchen has evolved from an isolated cooking-only area to a space where cooking, social interaction, and dining are all within a few feet.
Kitchen remodeling can help with organization, too. You should be able to add storage with open pantries, wider and longer countertops, cabinets, and shelves. When people try to remodel their kitchen themselves, storage is often overlooked because people like to think about aesthetics. When you hire a professional designer, you leverage his or her years of experience to help you rebuild a kitchen that looks amazing, is more open, and has plenty of solutions that help you store food, dishes, appliances, and kitchen tools so that they’re hidden but easy to access when you need them.
That fact that you’re reading this blog says that you already know, but here are the top two reasons homeowners decide to redo their kitchen.
Your countertops are cluttered for a reason: You’ve got too many kitchen tools and appliances and not enough places to put them. The cabinets are packed and stacked to the point where the doors don’t close. The stove doesn’t have enough counter space on either side of it. If two people are cooking, they bump into each other trying to prep and cook at the same time. And, finally, the breakfast area where your family gathers most of the time is so far from the kitchen that it’s impossible to socialize while cooking meals. In most cases, the homes with these older kitchens have the space, but it needs to be utilized more wisely to open it up to the rest of the house. A professional designer can make this happen.
Your oven is more than 20 years old. Your countertops have seen better days. Your cabinets are scratched and worn. If you have melamine or Formica countertops, congratulations, you may able to brag that you’ve discovered a lost archeological artifact!
This is the time to upgrade everything. You can replace your countertops with timeless granite or another hard surface that’s durable enough that you can cut on it. You can also replace those cabinets with wooden shelves to make the kitchen seem larger. And replacing your oven with a new smart oven can make cooking easier than ever.
If you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen, choose the right contractor that shares your vision while making sure you adhere to local building codes. At Freccia Group, we provide professional residential construction services in Round Rock, Texas, for homeowners who are ready to redo their kitchen or any other part of their home from interior upgrades to adding another room.
Our team provides kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, and a wide range of other construction services based upon the latest construction best practices and your vision. Contact us today to learn more about how to get started.
2022 will be the year of renovations. As the supply chain continues to affect new-construction homes, many people are deciding to renovate instead of buying up.
Whether you want to add a sunroom to the back of your house, redo the kitchen to make it more functional, or expand and repaint your living room to give it new energy, there are hundreds of ways you can improve your current residence. Here are just a few of the home renovation ideas that will be popular moving into the new year.
A coat of new paint on the outside can make a huge difference in improving your home’s curb appeal. While many HOAs are restrictive in what you can do, others are pretty hands-off. Most will readily approve earth tones with accent shades for shutters and doors. Repainting your home also gives you the opportunity to repair or replace siding. Hardie® Plank siding has become more and more popular over the years because it looks like wood but it’s made of a composite material that’s both attractive and strong. Plus, you can install it in your colors or in a paint-ready option to apply your own blend.
Bathing trends are showing that most people are taking showers more than baths. Showers use less water, are faster, and prevent you from wallowing in your own bathwater. If you have an old tub that is showing its age, replace it with a shower area that can fit in the same space. Today’s new showerheads have dual massagers or heads that spout water so that it falls like rain. Plus, you can have seating installed to make your shower more relaxing.
Kitchens in many new homes automatically come with an island with stools and tons of extra storage underneath. This is almost a necessity when you expand your kitchen and eliminate the walls in the breakfast and or formal dining area. Adding dining space to your island in the kitchen simply makes sense and allows you to socialize while preparing meals.
Adding new lighting to your bedroom can completely change its character and mood. Many of today’s LED recessed lights come with switches that allow you to change the tone of the light from warm glow to daylight. This option keeps you from having to change the bulbs out if you want to adjust the lighting in the room. Simply pull down the fixture and adjust the hue and put it back.
Replacing the flooring in your kitchen can be an easy decision if your floors are more than 20 years old. Since the early 2000s, flooring has come a long way from new composite materials that look like wood but are really ceramic tile that comes in thousands of colors, designs, and textures. Whatever you decide, make sure the material is “no slip” and durable because the kitchen floor can take a beating with food spillage and water dripping.
If you’re thinking about renovating or remodeling your home, don’t compromise on the contractor you hire for the job. Find someone who listens and can execute your design. Choose a professional contractor who is dependable, insured and bonded, and has experience with renovation and remodeling kitchens in your area.
At Freccia Group, we provide professional residential construction services in Round Rock, Texas, to homeowners who are upgrading their property to sell or to stay in for a while. Our services include kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, and a wide range of other construction specialties.
Contact us today to learn more about how to get started.