Best Remodeling Firm and Best Kitchen Design Firm categories.

“There is no better feeling than to receive an honor like this from our clients,” said SVA Construction Corp Design Build Founder, Russ SVA Construction Corp.  “It truly shows that all of our hard work pays off.”

Nearly 8,000 people voted in the online readers’ poll. The categories represented everything from remodeling and design firms to best new restaurants.

The Challenge: 
The biggest challenge with this project was figuring out what to do with a beam that ran across the ceiling of the room that had to stay in place. We suggested incorporating the beam into a tray ceiling with beautiful decorative molding. The clients were a little concerned with how this would turn out but loved it once they saw it completed.

BEFORE

FLOOR PLAN AND 3D B&W RENDERING

The Result:
A relocated window and new window seat provide the homeowners access to great views and additional storage. Taller cabinets, a full pantry with pullout drawers, a larger island and a decorative glass cabinet all create an impressive look while adding the functionality the homeowners desired. One-of-a-kind, meticulously chosen Bordeaux granite tops create a sense of elegance, while a furniture-like refrigerator and dishwasher ensure a high-end and seamless look. The larger island provides an ideal alternative eating space. The homeowners couldn’t be more thrilled with their classically-styled yet updated, new space.

AFTER

The new kitchen features Yorktowne Cabinets in an antique white with maple glaze, Giallo Vicenza granite countertops, and Pella windows and door. Gorgeous built-ins were incorporated to add visual interest as well as functional space.  The kitchen prep area is expansive allowing for several cooks at the same time. And the breakfast area contains plenty of room for a large table and is the ideal place to spread out and relax with a cup of coffee while looking out into the backyard.

The mud room boasts built-in shelves and cubbies for the busy family of five to store their belongings. Everything from jackets to backpacks and shoes now has its own space keeping things neat and organized.

The family couldn’t be more thrilled with their beautiful new kitchen and breakfast area. It is a clean, updated space perfectly designed to meet their needs. And the new mudroom provides a level of organization they have dreamed of for years!

Design
Carbonized bamboo Crystal Cabinets created a warm, rich look in the space. A Green Onyx backsplash and Costa Esmeraldo countertops blended beautifully together. Mick appliances and LED under cabinet lighting completed the sleek and contemporary yet at the same time, warm look. 

Results
The end result is a beautiful kitchen that flows with the style of the rest of the home. The room now contains all of the bells and whistles the homeowner desired providing the functionality that he was looking for. The homeowner couldn’t be more thrilled with his brand new kitchen.

A relocated window and new window seat provide the homeowners access to great views and additional storage. Taller cabinets, a full pantry with pull-out drawers, a larger island and a decorative glass cabinet all create an impressive look while adding the functionality the homeowners desired.  One-of-a-kind, meticulously chosen Bordeaux granite tops create a sense of elegance, while a furniture-like refrigerator and dishwasher ensure a high-end and seamless look. The larger island provides an ideal alternative eating space. The homeowner’s couldn’t be more thrilled with their classically-styled yet updated, new space.

Retrofitting homes to provide ease and comfort for the disabled takes more than simply meeting accessibility standards. “You have to listen to your clients,” says Robin Burrill, a co-owner of Curb Appeal Renovations in Fort Worth, Texas.

Curb Appeal recently renovated a home for a wheelchair-bound man who was 6’7″ tall and his wife, who also was 6 feet tall. He uses a higher wheelchair and requires other adjustments to standards for typical disabled people. “You should follow the guidelines, but you have to meet their needs,” Burrill says.

Current standards, for instance, require 36-inch-wide doors, but remodelers consider those to be “knucklebusters,” to use the term favored by Bill Mavrakis at T&L Design-Build in Canton, Ohio. He tries to create 42-inch-wide doorways to aid wheelchair users who have to pilot themselves.

Exterior home entrances pose the first challenge for designers. Most stay away from the home’s front, putting ramps at the rear or in the garage. But the required 1:12 slope ratio “can take up an entire garage stall,” Mavrakis says. He often uses reconditioned or used lifts, building a 4.5-foot-square platform for maneuvering. Dennis Gehman, president of Gehman Custom Builder Inc. in Harleysville, Pa., typically creates L-shaped ramps to compress the needed space. “Each one is really custom,” he says. Landscaping often helps the ramps blend with the home’s exterior.

Bathrooms create the largest challenge, as they typically are small spaces that lack maneuvering room. “We try to expand the bathroom into an adjacent room or create a new bath from a spare room,” Gehman says. “Curbless” showers that allow wheelchairs to roll right into them are popular for these spaces. Dave Cerami, president of Home Tech Renovations in Philadelphia, sometimes notches the existing floor joists to slope the shower correctly.

In kitchens, removing floor cabinets around sinks and installing plumbing pipes tight against the back wall can allow wheelchair users to roll up to the sink. Setting sinks and other countertops at 30 inches rather than 36 also aids disabled cooks.

The key challenge for remodelers is that homeowners want a look that is functional but also aesthetically pleasing. “When they have to sell their home,” explains Burrill, “they don’t want to sell it as having a handicapped bathroom but as having a very nice, high-end, larger bath.” That can be achieved by placing half-walls rather than bars around the toilet and installing thin but sturdy rails that resemble towel racks. Mavrakis often uses the curbless shower base but installs it with cultured marble or ceramic tile walls “so it doesn’t look like a barrier-free shower.”

Designers expect that this type of work will grow and product lines are expanding to accommodate that growth. The need will become particularly great as aging baby boomers look to remain in their homes or see their own parents move in with them. “Some are finding that it’s cheaper to remodel the home to fit their needs than to move into a nursing home,” Mavrakis says.

For more tips and requirements for designing for disabled homeowners, visit the Americans with Disabilities Act website.

By Craig A. Shutt

Original Article: http://www.hgtvremodels.com/interiors/creating-accessible-homes/index.html