Antiques (Only)

We understand the importance of the past and its designs, but when you’re designing your home you don’t have to adhere to a specific period exclusively. Pairing antiques with pieces from the same period is pressure at its finest hour. Instead of worrying if you will find the right vase to match your American antique wood counters, look at different ways you can bring variety to your home. Aesthetically, challenge yourself to create a cohesive mix of elements from the past, present and future. If you want, you can use the antique as your starting point. If not, just throw it out altogether.

Oversized Furniture

If you’re looking to save some space this year, don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed with oversized furniture. Space is important to any homeowner, and the use of heavier furniture serves as an inefficiency when designing your home. Playtime is over, and this year you should look for pieces that will provide both fit and functional interior landscape capabilities. If you’re far from the fantasy of oversized furniture designs, do away with the larger-than-life shoe shaped lounge chairs.

Cheap Mirrored Furniture

The cheap mirrored furniture is something that should have been chunked away in 2016. Just in case you’re still holding onto it in your home, do away with this low-end home décor piece. This piece of furniture only works if you’re looking to store it in a room with a Hollywood glamour presence. Although these items usually have multifunctional components to assist them, the practicality of these fashionable items has fallen behind.

Whirlpool/Jacuzzi Bathtubs

Bigger is better, so they say, but let’s rethink this when it comes to your bathtub. There’s nothing wrong with pampering yourself, but why would you want to do that in a pool? This year your focal point for your bathroom will be the free-standing tubs that creates an elegant, carefree space for your in-home spa. If it doesn’t do the trick, consider spacious showers that can be accompanied with multiple showerheads to help with your body sprays.

Over-the-Range Microwaves

Over-the-range microwaves – a poor, but past favorite that still tends to trend in pop culture. Sure, you’re saving space and playing safe, but the idea isn’t the best. Aesthetically, it isn’t that attractive on the eyes and isn’t the best for shorter home shoppers. An installed microwave drawer is more popular today and appeals to different buyers on the market. Instead of hindering yourself from making the sell on your home, think height and save yourself the hard time of rearranging your space.

Geometric Tiles

Look for something that is cost-effective, but look away from the tile! Not only are the materials overdone, but it calls for a lot of maintenance. Nowadays, you can improve the value of your home when you do away with the design. Yes, the style is classic and has stuck around for years, so why not try something bold and beautiful? Try a tile that focuses on continuity of straight lines that plays well with the atmosphere of your home’s aesthetic.

As you begin to create your 2017 resolutions, make sure you consider ways to resolve your personal space. Reinvent the house this year and start with a trend that is transformative and adaptable for your home in the future.

The post 6 Design Trends to Skip in 2017 appeared first on RIGGS Company in St. Louis, MO.

When you think “Greenery,” the first thing you might think about is the environment, but there is more to this color than the mind can collect. If we look beyond the environment and engage with our social and political climate, we can see that this color reflects the current landscape. Not directly being influenced by money or the election, this color is all about freedom and possibility. The color is an outlet to new beginnings and aids you in the renewal and rejuvenation process.

“Greenery” is a tangy yellow-green with an illustrative reflection of hope. Currently, we reside in a world that is very stressful and tense. This color is the perfect acknowledgement to our nation that is serving an array of uncertain emotions. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things through architecture, lifestyle and other designs.

Since we’re speaking of architecture and design, try sprucing up your kitchen and highlight your room with this color. This color would make a great accent trim, and if you’re not about putting paint on the walls, you can always add plates to your cabinet for a fresher dish. Wake up energized when you color your walls with the calming tone of this subtle green. Paint your walls, closet doors or even the dresser to sleep sounder. “Greenery” also complements a wide variety of color schemes and can be used as an alternate neutral color to help balance out the ambiance of any room.

If you want to brighten up your bathroom, or revitalize any room, view Pantone’s Color of the Year website HERE to see more ideas on architecture, design, fashion and home décor. What do you think of “Greenery”? Do you think it serves a meaningful purpose for the year or do you prefer another color? We want to know your thoughts.

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Going Wacky with the Wallpaper

Searching for a home can be dreadful, but what’s more daunting is the idea of scraping wallpaper off the walls. Yes, wallpaper is removable but it doesn’t always scream move-in-ready. If you’re thinking of flourishing your walls with something new, fresh paint and neutral colors are good for staging your house while it’s on the market. When making your decision between paint or wallpaper, think about factors such as how long do you plan to stay in the house and if you’re considering selling it, would a buyer want to tear it all down? Some potential home owners might find scraping wallpaper off walls as their tipping point.

Removing ALL Bathtubs
We’ve noticed a trend in people removing bathtubs in their home. Maybe they don’t have children or don’t find themselves using tubs, so they remove them and put in elaborate showers. If you’re planning to someday resell your home, a lack of bathtubs WILL hurt the value of your house. You don’t know who might be looking at your home, maybe they have young kids who need a tub. Maybe it’s a family with dogs who need to be bathed. Maybe it’s someone who loves long, relaxing baths. Removing all tubs devalues your house because it makes it too “personal” to you, and it doesn’t make it desirable to the masses.

Installing “Kits”
You might see those bathroom kits or pre-fabricated sunrooms and think, “that’s a quick and easy way to update my home!” Yes, these might be quick, easy and less expensive than a remodel, but it will look exactly that way- quick and cheap. They don’t last long and break down quickly. As quickly as these break down, the money would be better spent in a custom bathroom remodel. When we have clients come to us with a recently purchased home, the first project they want completed is tearing out these bathroom surrounds and sunrooms. We can’t even tell you how many of these we have torn out.

Aging Appliances

Modern conveniences and styles in the kitchen is an easy way to add value to your home, but holding on to classic appliances that can’t be cleaned need to be replaced. The modern convenience route isn’t always necessary if you maintain a classic kitchen design. However, countertops and backsplashes that are stained or outdated detract value from the kitchen. It’s important that potential investors aren’t reminded of past circumstances that took place in the home. The goal is to erase any marks and enhance your kitchen with quality improvements. Remember, make proper and professional renovations – poorly done repairs and renovations will only burn your pockets.

Be encouraged to enhance your home to suit your standards of living. When doing this, make sure to consider the future of your home. All renovations aren’t the same, but demographically, you have to account all things that makes your home profitable to the housing market. Don’t just build with a beautiful space in mind, but build with value.

The post Are You Devaluing Your Home? Don’t Make These Mistakes. appeared first on RIGGS Company in St. Louis, MO.

When planning your business, there are a lot of things to consider and options to weigh. Who to hire, where to plant your roots and how to set up the office are just a few of those thoughts. When planning the layout of your office, do you want an open or closed concept? There are pros and cons for each depending on your office culture, the feel you’re looking for in the workplace and the type of personalities. Here are the pros and cons of having an open office vs. a closed office.

FOR AN OPEN OFFICE:

Cost:
An open office concept is much cheaper and can make better use of the space. With closed offices, the space can seem smaller and you can lose precious square footage.

Communication:
The open concept allows better and more efficient communication between employees. If your business involves a lot of co-working and collaboration, the open concept is a great option. It can also benefit introverts and help them work better and communicate with their colleagues.

Culture:
An open concept office can help to break down the hierarchy and create a more collaborative environment, everyone is equal and on the same “level”.

Better flow of energy:
Not only does an open concept help to make better use of the space, there’s also a better flow of energy and creativity when employees are in the same space and able to communicate and collaborate with ease.

Happier Employees:
There are many studies showing that people who work in open offices are happier and enjoy going to work every day. Who wouldn’t want that?

AGAINST AN OPEN CONCEPT:

No privacy:
With an open concept, there is very little privacy or walls to hide behind. When planning an open concept office, it’s a great idea to offer conference or meeting rooms where people can use for phone calls, internal meetings or meetings with clients.

Louder:
If your employees will be making a lot of phone calls or meetings, the office can get pretty noisy.

More interruptions:
Someone might be watching a funny video, the person at the desk next door might be meeting with a client or there might be some employees brainstorming and working together. You can’t close the door and escape from the interruptions. This is where co-working spaces come in handy to create privacy for employees and clients.

Ultimately, the layout of your office is up to you and what works for your company. Every layout will have its pros and cons. Give us a call if you have any questions or would like to learn more about office layouts and talk through what you’re looking for.

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• Care for your Pets: Pet care is something many people don’t consider when it comes to a home remodel. Furry friends can be easily frightened by new people and loud noises and you don’t want to risk them getting scared and running away or sneaking out the door. We often hear people say, “oh, don’t worry, Fido is friendly!” We’re not worried about if they’re friendly or not, we don’t want them to get hurt. We’ve had dogs who are just curious and want to see what we’re doing, but we don’t want them to get hurt or injured by any of the equipment! Consider where you will keep them during the remodel to keep them safe and contained.
• Utilities: During a remodel, your utility bills WILL You will have higher electric and gas bills with the doors opening and closing, and if you are replacing windows or the roof, etc., you are letting out the cold, or hot, air. Therefore, your home is not energy efficient and the bills will add up. This is something to budget into your overall remodel costs and be prepared for.
• Time is money: We all know the saying, but it becomes especially true during a remodel.  You may need to find time to meet with the contractor, designer, landscaper, or anyone else you may have hired to help work on your home.  This could mean taking some time off work or cutting in to your personal time.  Be prepared to invest your time as well as your money during a remodel.  Also, if a contractor has a long construction timeline, this could cost you more money than you had originally anticipated. (Think more meals out, time away from the home, more time your home is exposed to the elements, etc.)
• Yard maintenance: Another potential cost to keep in mind during a remodel is landscaping. If you have any valuable items in your yard you want to protect, be sure to point them out to your contractor. For example, you might have a rose plant that a family member gave you and blooms year after year. This is an important keepsake that we would want to know about to ensure its safety and beauty. Also, ask your contractor what will be done to help protect your lawn. At RIGGS, we will lay down plywood and tell you where it will be so you are aware. After the remodel is completed, we’ll also recommend that you consider getting your yard aerated to bring the lawn back to its original state.
• Seasonal Considerations: During certain times of year, like rainy and snowy seasons, splashes from puddles might get on the house. Ask you contractor if they plan to take care of this for you (many do not). After RIGGS has completed your remodel, we will power wash and clean any spills to make sure the house is in tip-top condition.
• Dumpsters: Something that we do that many other contractors might not, is put down Tyvek under the dumpsters to protect the asphalt or concrete. Depending on the length of the project, the dumpster could rust the concrete or make the asphalt sink, which would cost you more money. We of course want to avoid this and look to save you money!
• The Unforeseens: Even if we have the original blueprints for your house, we cannot guarantee how it was built in the past, especially when it comes to older homes in the Kirkwood and Webster Groves area. Sometimes the contractors had to improvise on the jobsite due to material avaialability or other challenges they ran across while construction was taking place. We might think a pipe is in a certain place, but once take down the wall, we see that it’s not where it was marked on the blueprint! This can be a bit of a setback, but don’t be alarmed. This is just one reason why hiring a professional is so important. We know how to manage things like this when they arise on a jobsite, and will promptly communicate the best solutions.

Don’t let these unforeseen circumstances scare you.  Knowing these items and circumstances, you can be better prepared and know what to expect leading up to the remodel project. And if you ever have a question or concern, be sure to speak up! A professional contractor is happy to answer any and all of your questions to ensure that you feel comfortable and are well-informed. Now you can enjoy the home remodeling experience!

The post How a Contractors Experience Will Make a Difference in Your Confidence appeared first on RIGGS Company in St. Louis, MO.

Step One: Put together a budget
I know this doesn’t seem glamorous, fun or exciting, but  before you start pulling together a Pinterest board of unrealistic, outrageous remodel projects, pin point what you can afford. This will help give you an idea of what you can manage and will make the overall process much easier. You don’t want to fall in love with something that you can’t afford, that can be heartbreaking!

Step Two: NOW you can create that Pinterest board
Your budget is set, and you know what you can afford. Now you can begin planning your perfect project! Pull together inspirational floor plans, pictures, colors or furniture that gets you excited and inspired. Having these inspirational boards helps you feel motivated, and not like you’re starting with a blank slate.

Step Three: Compile your Dream Team
You don’t have to tackle this remodel on your own. Take the time to interview and hire a remodeling professional who is willing to stay within your budget, help you mold and imagine your dream home and execute in a timely and professional manner.

Step Four: Set a timeline
It’s almost impossible to exactly pinpoint how long a project will take. There will always be something that pops up or a product that doesn’t come in on time, but having an overall plan and suggested timeline will keep everyone on task, organized and prepared. This is another step that might not seem thrilling, but you will thank us in the end. If you don’t have a plan, or if you stray too far from it, then you might end up paying for it.

Step Five: Stay positive and look towards the light at the end of the tunnel
That sounds cheesy, but remodeling can be stressful and sometimes it might seem like the project will never come to an end. But picture yourself in your beautiful, perfectly designed home, happily hosting a party or making dinner in your state of the art kitchen with your family, and you’ll know that it was all worth it. And if you’re still stressed out, be sure to check out our blog on preventing stress during your remodel.

You’re not alone in this remodel process. Our design-build remodeling experts would love to sit down with you and help you create the home you’ve always wanted, and help ease some of the remodeling fear. Contact us today, we look forward to hearing from you!

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