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Residential Real Estate

Staircase Designs for Your New House

Architects determine the staircase placement first when designing the floor plan for a residential property since the function and flow of the rest of the home depend on it. You can opt for either the traditional placement, which places the stairway just inside the front door, or take a more modern approach and place the staircase in the center of the living room. It all depends on the home’s design and what you want your focal point to be.

Placement of the staircase is critical to your floor plan configuration because it affects both the downstairs and the floor or floors above it. If you place the staircase in the middle of the entryway, near the front door, you create a dramatic entrance but may risk splitting potential bedrooms upstairs. With different staircase options, you can redirect the top of the staircase and solve your space issues at both ends.

After deciding on the staircase’s location and placing it in your floor plan, the next step is the design. Here are some options for different types of stairs to explore for your new house:

1. Quarter-Turn or L-Shaped

This is much like the straight staircase with a single linear flight except for the change in direction. The stairs feature a 90-degree turn toward the left or right immediately after a landing.

2. Winder

A winder staircase is often referred to as a more complicated version of the L-shaped staircase. This design winds the staircase’s steps, or treads, from one end to save space on the landing.

3. Half-Turn or U-Shaped

This is the ultimate back-to-basics style of a staircase—similar to the L-shaped stairway, the landing separates two linear flights. However, the bend here is taken much farther to form a full U-shape.

4. Curved

If you don’t want any landings, the curved-style staircase is perfect for your home. Unlike L-shaped or winder staircases, the curved stairs continuously follow the bend of the banister, which makes for quite a striking architectural statement.

5. Spiral

This staircase design resembles curved stairs, but it’s more compact as it’s centered on a single pole to form a perfect circle. Spiral staircases are perfect when you have very limited space, such as outdoors, where you may want to join a patio to an outdoor balcony.

6. Bifurcated

A straight staircase features a linear flight with no change in direction.

If you’re down for a vintage feel that has Titanic or Gone With the Wind embedded all over it, your go-to is the bifurcated staircase. This involves one larger flight splitting into two smaller sets of steps in opposing directions.

7. Ladder

Believe it or not, a ladder qualifies as a staircase like any other type of stairway. This is an ideal option for smaller spaces as it can be accommodated fairly well in the tiniest sliver of square footage. A ladder also adds charm to accessing bookshelves or bed lofts.

 

Freccia Group is a trusted name in residential building construction and commercial construction management. Our home builders offer design, building, and remodeling services in Round Rock, Texas. Contact our home remodeling experts today to learn more about how you can transform the home you have into the home you want in Central Texas.

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Residential Real Estate

Four Common Remodeling Mistakes That Turn Your Project Into a Nightmare

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.

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Commercial Real Estate

New Trends in Office Buildouts

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic permanently changed the way Americans work. The forceful imposition of work-from-home restrictions has now become something employees prefer because of the convenience. A whopping 85 percent of people prefer continuing remote work despite the easing of restrictions.

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Residential Real Estate

How to Transform Your Back Porch Into a Beautiful Patio and Deck

A patio is a great addition to any home. It’s the perfect place to hold barbecues during the spring and summer, and during the colder months you can still get together with friends with the help of a heater and cozy blankets. If your house has a back porch that you’d like to convert into a beautiful patio and deck—also known as an outdoor living space—our home renovation experts in Round Rock, Texas, can make it happen.

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Residential Real Estate

The Best Features to Add to Your Kitchen During a Remodeling Job

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

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

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.

Add a kitchen island

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.

A Kitchen With a Marble Countertop
A Kitchen With a Marble Countertop

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.

Design your dream kitchen with our home remodeling experts 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.

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Residential Real Estate

3 Tips for Designing Your Dream Kitchen

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.

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Residential Real Estate

Signs That It’s Time to Remodel Your Home

You’ve probably had redoing your home on your mind for a while now, but you keep telling yourself that it’s not the right time. But as you struggle to move around in your cramped kitchen, cringe when you see the cracked tiles in your bathroom, and wonder why on earth you still have a formal dining room, the reality of it truly being time to remodel your home sets in.

In this blog, we’ll go over some signs that will tell you that it’s time to hire a professional contractor to start the process of remodeling your home.

Water damage

Water damage is the most common reason interior structures become worn down. If a pipe bursts in your kitchen, this could cause severe damage to your ceiling, walls, stairs, and cabinets. This is a great time to replace your pipes with PEX, a durable and flexible tubing that’s now being used to replace older traditional pipes made from copper or galvanized steel.

The same thing applies to the water damage caused by flooding or heavy rains. If you see water dripping from your ceiling, it’s more than likely that you have a leak in your roof. If your roof was damaged during a hail storm or other severe weather, it could be covered under your insurance policy. Depending upon your insurance carrier and coverage, many of these repairs can be paid for—at least partially—by your policy. Ask your insurance broker about your particular policy, but it could open up opportunities to do more extensive remodeling since many of these repairs would be part of a larger remodeling project.

Weather wear

If you live in a location where the weather is always harsh, you need to be more aware of weather wear. Cold winds, heavy or constant rainfalls, or other severe weather conditions cause your home to deteriorate. The best way to deal with these conditions is to make sure that the exterior of your home is solid. This means a solid roof and siding. We talked about your roof in the previous section, but replacing old wood siding with Hardie® Plank siding can give you the look of real wood but the durability and longevity of composite siding.

Mildew and mold growth

A leaky roof or pipe that you couldn’t fix sooner creates water damage in your home that can cause mildew and mold growth. For some people with certain allergies, mold—especially black mold—can be deadly, so if you see water damage on walls or ceilings, get it repaired quickly. If you discover mold, you may need mold remediation to eliminate it after the leak is fixed. Talk to your insurance company about getting mold remediation covered and if the company will do allow this claim, again, it’s another opportunity to expand the scope of the project to get other remodeling done.

If you’re ready to get started remodeling your home, talk to the professional designers and construction contractors with Freccia Group. We provide professional residential construction services in Round Rock, Texas, including bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, and a wide range of other construction specialties.

We also specialize in commercial construction management projects and offer services including appliance installation, carpentry, tile installation, HVAC, full remodels, and much more.

Contact us today to learn more about taking the first step toward improving your home.

 

 

 

 

 

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infographics

Home Office Tips For Maximum Productivity

Work from home can be very distracting at times. But, here’s how you can increase productivity while you’re at home:

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Commercial Real Estate Residential Real Estate

Incorporating Workspaces in Your New or Renovated Home

Since the pandemic, many businesses around the world have shifted to work-from-home or hybrid models where workers can work both at home and in the office. As this trend becomes more common, many homeowners are incorporating larger workspaces and home offices within their homes.

Home offices—formerly known as studies—are not new. New home buyers are also looking for houses that are larger and more planned so that they can work from home more comfortably without being distracted.

This blog post will discuss why you should incorporate a workspace in your floor plan when building your new home or renovating your old home.

Think About the Space

Now is the time to plan. Think about what you want in your workspace in terms of needs, wants, and desires. Sure, it’d be cool to have a full wall projector screen computer monitor, but is that more important than built-in bookshelves or file cabinets? Think about how you work and what kind of amenities you want within arm’s reach. Certainly, you need desk space with enough room for a chair. A coffee bar would be cool and a small guest bathroom close by would make things more convenient. If you like to work out, make room for a small gym or your Peloton. Now is the time to plan for these extras.

Location, Location, Location

Where you put your workspace is as important as what you put into it. Can you put it close to the kitchen so that you can easily get up and grab a snack during your breaks throughout the day? Having it close to the garage means you’re seconds instead of minutes from jumping into your car to drive to a quick meeting. Should it be overlooking the backyard pool so that you can keep an eye on the kids while they swim during weekends and summer breaks? Having your office near the den or media room may cause a problem when family members are watching a movie or playing video games in the next room. So it’s probably best to locate it far from there.

It’s in Demand

Research shows that most home buyers are now looking for homes that have an in-built workspace too. This isn’t because it’s simply a new trend in housing, but also because most professional adults need them.

If you’re not sure how to go about incorporating a workspace in your home’s floor plan and design, consider hiring the professional designers and builders at Freccia Group. They can show you the latest trends and help you build and situate the best possible workspace within your home.

Hire Experienced Remodeling Contractors in Austin, TX

Our team of interior designers and builders know how to execute on your ideas and help you stay within budget. Trust us for reliable home renovation in Austin, Round Rock, or Cedar Park, TX.

 

 

 

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Residential Real Estate Uncategorized

How the Sandwich Generation Is Transforming Today’s Floorplans

Over the past few years, more Americans are taking care of both their children and their elderly relatives, including grandparents and parents. These caregivers who are “caught” in the middle are often referred to as the “sandwich generation.”

Instead of sending the elderly to assisted living facilities, these people have been taking care of their family members at their homes. In order accommodate both the elderly and the kids, the construction of new homes as well as the renovation of existing homes are changing based upon these new family trends.

This blog post will discuss some of the amenities that sandwich homes are incorporating to make everyone more comfortable, from the young to the old and those in between.

home building for sandwich generation

1. Accessibility Is Everything

Most elderly people suffer from some disability or other physical condition like arthritis, osteoporosis, or spinal cord injury that makes it difficult for them to move around the house, so they need extra help and spaces that accommodate that need. This is why houses with better access to common areas via ramps, wider doors, and hallways without sharp corners have become more popular among older families with children.

2. Separate Quarters

When elderly adults move in, they may be fairly mobile, but they may be showing signs of physical and or mental decline. Many families build rooms onto their home that are designed to accommodate wheelchairs and other amenities that the elderly need in order to stay independent but still under the watchful eye of family members. These spaces range from a single room with a small guest bathroom to a full-efficiency apartment complete with its own kitchen and master suite-size bathroom. These spaces are perfect for allowing the adults privacy now, but are built to be transitioned when the adults need extra care.

In new homes, for example, these suites are incorporated into the floor plans of many of the available models. Those who are renovating their homes may be converting a room or a garage (where the code allows) into a full living space.

3. Eat-in Kitchens

Today’s families want to stay together at home, especially if there are kids. As a result, most modern kitchens are designed to accommodate the dining area within the kitchen. This not only makes it easier for the caretakers to take care of everyone, but also allows the family to spend some time together every day.

4. Accessible Bathrooms

Many elderly people find it more difficult to get in and out of the bathroom without some level of assistance from bars on the walls next to the toilet and roll-in showers. These bathrooms are built in such a way that they are accessible to both children and the elderly.

Residential Construction in Round Rock

At Freccia Group, we keep abreast of how families are changing and provide design solutions for both home renovation projects and new home construction that accommodate the sandwich generation’s new challenges. If you’re looking for a home remodeling contractor or a new home builder in Austin and Round Rock, give us a call.