How Residential Remodeling can Keep up with Your Changing Needs?

Over the long arc of a lifetime, people’s needs change. And their house needs to keep up with those changes to remain functional, comfortable, and attractive. This article describes how residential remodeling can respond to every stage of an owner’s life.

As a young couple, Pat and Gene started out by scraping together everything they had earned to qualify for a loan and buy their first home located in Santa Rosa. It was charming, which is to say… small, but it was just enough for the two of them and they were happy.

Eventually they decided to start a family, affording a larger house in Sonoma County was out of the question. So, even before the first child arrived, the house began to reflect their changing life. Where would the nursery be? What color would they paint it? They needed a handyman to install all the baby proofing covers to door handles, electric sockets, and cabinet doors. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, their Infant became a toddler and safety became the priority all over the house.

The first small remodel came with the need to remove carpeted rooms and replace them with linoleum which was easier to clean. Closet space became a premium for all the gear and toys so those were modified to maximize capacity. They added plywood to the attic and started to store their extra stuff up there.

As time went by there were more children which spawned the need for even more creative small space design. The entire house seemed to become an acreage of toys not only for their own kids, but many of the neighbors’ too. So, they decided to designate one room as “the play room” and built bunk beds to make the most out of the other bedrooms. Of course, there was the nightly bathroom parade. This was delt with by remodeling the bathroom to have a two sink counter top which cut down on the bedtime routine.

Remodeling for privacy.

Just as they felt they had established a balanced use of space in the house, the teen age phase began. In the past it was the parents who wanted privacy from the kids. But now, it was the kids who wanted privacy from their parents. It was time to remodel the garage into a hang out space and eventually their oldest boy got to move in to it like his own place. This involved putting down a slightly raised floor over the concrete and adding insulation and carpeting. Later when his friends formed a band and used it as a practice space, a double wall was added with lots of sound proofing so everyone else in the family was able to maintain their sanity.

The children grew up so quickly that suddenly, it seemed they were already off to college. Now their nest felt empty. It was time for a fresh remodeling to reclaim the house just for the two of them. They put in new windows, beautiful flooring, crown molding, and new lighting and finally updated the old kitchen.

However, when their oldest couldn’t find a job in the bad economy, he wanted to move back home. So, they converted the former garage/bedroom/music space, into a studio apartment with its own entrance and efficiency kitchen. This was a good thing, because when he landed his dream tech job and moved out, they rented it as an Airbnb.

Remodeling for health

Now in the winter of their life the size of the house feels too much. It would be nice to not have to keep up with the maintenance and repairs and neither of them like having to take the stairs. So, they have rented out the main house which pays their mortgage and expanded the studio into a single level Additional Dwelling Unit which is where they now live. This allowed them to remain close to their friends in the same Santa Rosa neighborhood. It’s charming, which is to say… small, but it’s just enough for the two of them and they are happy.

At Toolbox House Care, we have plenty of experience building all these residential remodel solutions to meet your changing family needs. We are committed to quality, craftsmanship and integrity. For more information visit us at https://www.toolboxhousecare.com/.