Remodeling With Your Pet In Mind

We build our homes to live in and enjoy with our families – every member of our families, including the four-legged ones.  In recognition of this, more and more homeowners are designing their spaces with their pets in mind.  In fact, a whopping 24% of Americans have invested in pet remodeling.  If you consider your pet part of the family tree, you may want to consider one of these tips for remodeling with your pet in mind.

Landscaping: Pets can wreak havoc on our lawns.  To make your landscaping more pet-friendly, line areas that you would like to keep pets out of – flower beds, gardens, etc. – with decorative trim or wood.  Also consider the materials being used in your yard.  For example, soft paws will prefer smooth flagstones and mulch as opposed to gravel or rocks.  Finally, if your yard is bare of shade, be sure to plant a large tree to provide a reprieve from the sun, when your pet is outdoors playing.

Flooring: Homeowners shouldn’t have to choose between a well maintained home and pet ownership.  However, they do need to choose flooring that holds up well to their animals.  While “hard flooring” such as laminate, wood, or tile will fare better than carpet, some of these harder materials can be prone to scratching.  Bamboo – the hardest of all the wood floors – fares great in high traffic situations as does stone, porcelain or ceramic tile.  If you do decide to go with hardwood or laminate floors, apply a few coats of industrial-strength polyurethane wood floor finish. Also, apply a protective wax to the floor. These products will help to make the floor scratch-resistant.  Color is also key – solid flooring colors will easily display any hair and dirt that your pet tracks in.  Choose flooring with a subtle pattern or mottled effect to best cover tracking.

Spare Your Bathroom: Nothing dirties the family washroom faster than a muddy dog or stinky cat in need of a bath.  To take these troubles out of the family’s space, consider using the plumbing in your laundry room to install a walk-in pet shower.  Not only are pet showers less intimidating to your animals, they’ll also save your back as your dog or cat will not need to be lifted in and out of the tub.

Custom Cabinetry: Whether you want to showcase your favorite furry friend or hide some of their day-to-day supplies, custom cabinets can be used for either option.  House a litter box out of the way in a cabinet with an open interior and easy floor entrance.  Modify a standard kitchen base cabinet to house a dog bed.  Install a shallow floor level drawer that pulls out like a tray, complete with feed bowls for an easy feeding solution.  Simply close the drawer when your dog is done with dinner for a tucked away finish!

How To Choose Your Cambria Countertop

In our last post we revealed one of our favorite products –Cambria Countertops!  This week we wanted to explain exactly what you need to do to get your own Cambria Countertop installed.

Find A Location: While we like big box hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s as much as the next person, you won’t find Cambria products at those retailers.  The Cambria company prides itself on establishing long-lasting relationships with a limited group of retail partners.  Our personal favorite such retailer is The Cabinet Store located in Apple Valley.  We love working with The Cabinet Store and our clients to create custom solutions.

Choose Your Aesthetic: Cambria countertops are available in more than 100 designs.  Color options range from calm neutrals to bright modern styles, creating enough variety for any aesthetic.

In addition to your color choice, you will also need to choose an edge profile.  As with other countertop materials, a choice of square, bull-nose or ogee edges are available (plus many more).  However, keep in mind that an ogee edge will be slightly more prone to chipping than the alternatives.

Get Your Estimate: To order your countertop, you will need the dimensions of your cabinet layout, information regarding backsplash requirements, edge profile selections, and the location and dimension of your sink and stove. Which of course we can help you with!

If there is any additional questions that you have about Cambria either give us a call here at Shaeffer Contracting or feel free to visit Cambria’s excellent Common Questions webpage.

Are you ready to purchase the perfect countertop for you?  Give us a call, and we will help you get started!

Product Feature – Cambria Countertops

Countertops can make or break a space.  Whether in the kitchen, the bathroom, or another room of the house altogether, out of style countertops can easily date a room.  On the other hand, a well coordinated countertop can tie a room together.  With such strong feelings regarding countertops, it likely comes as no surprise that we have a favorite product as well –Cambria Countertops.  We love installing Cambria Countertops in our own homes, as well as in the homes of our clients. In a nutshell, Cambria is a stain resistant, nonporous natural quartz surface that is harder, stronger, safer and easier to care for than other stone surfaces.  However, our love affair with Cambria is multi-faceted, but here are just a few of the reasons why we are happy to call them our favorite:

Cambria Offers A Multitude Of Stylish Designs: Cambria offers a wide array of designs, patterns, and colors.  Cambria now offers more than 100 designs, making their selection the world’s largest and most diverse. Click here to see all Cambria’s designs and colors.

Cambria Holds Up: Cambria surfaces are durable and stronger than granite.  In addition, Cambria countertops are NSF 51 certified for both food and splash zones and are nonporous, reducing the potential for bacterial growth and making them as safe as stainless steel for food preparation.

Cambria Stands Behind Its Products: Cambria provides a Lifetime Limited Warranty to the original owners of the installed Cambria that the product will be free from manufacturing defects for as long as the original owner owns the product.

Cambria Goes Green: Cambria prides itself on offering environmentally friendly products.  Cambria quartz is primarily mined in North America, resulting in lower transportation requirements than other quartz surfacing products produced outside the United States.  In addition, during processing, 100% of the water used in Cambria’s plant and fabrication facilities is recycled through a series of advanced settling and filtering techniques.  Lastly, all scrap material is collected and used as road base material on local construction projects.

Stay tuned next week for our discussion on how to select the best countertop for your home and our recommendation for the best place in town to find the right counter for you! Contact us for a free consultation and also for current promotions on Cambria countertops!

Seasonal Color for Your Home

Summer is a time of bright days and cheerful skies.  And with that in mind, we have color on the mind!  Color can be a powerful tool in your home.  It can set the tone for a room, it can evoke an emotion, or establish the ambiance of a space.  However, color can also be intimidating, especially if you are unsure how to use it.  Here are a few tips as well as our favorite color trends.

Rely On Neutrals: Color will always pop best when paired with neutrals (think gray walls with teal and cranberry accents).  Implement this summer’s color trends by using them as an accent to a more neutral backdrop.  Gray is currently considered one of the most popular neutrals as it is thought to be a color that will transcend time.

Use Accessories To Accent: Add color to your neutral backdrop through the use of accessories, art, and furniture.  Pillows, vases, a bold rug, or a statement chair are all great ways to add color to a room without overpowering it.  As an added benefit, when the fall comes and your color preferences change, you can easily adapt your accessories to welcome in your new “favorite” hue!

Draw Attention: Avoid the temptation to paint your favorite color on all four walls.  Instead use it to call attention to a key feature, an interesting architectural element, or focal point.  For example, painting your fireplace surround with your accent color can be a great way to feature your palette!

Summer Color Trends: So, which will be the hottest colors this season? According to the color gurus at PantoneTangerine Tango  will be this summer’s key color for design and fashion.  Benjamin Moore followed suit featuring their ownClaret Rose as part of their summer selection.  Green is also expected to be popular this summer, with hues on the lighter end of the spectrum, such as this hancock green, serving as an alternative for more traditional neutrals.

Storage Solutions In The Bedroom

In this, the last of our storage series installments, we are going to be talking about solutions in the bedroom.  Organization in our bedrooms is key as research shows that we sleep better in clean, well put together rooms!  Get your sleeping space into gear with these easy ideas:

• Headboard Storage Space:  Take advantage of any and all nooks and crannies afforded within your room.  The headboard is an often overlooked storage opportunity.  For a truly unique statement piece, consider having a customized built-in bookcase headboard installed to house lamps, books, knick-knacks, or photos.

• Under Bed Stowaways: Utilize the space under your bed by packing it with storage bins filled with off-season clothing, extra linens, or other seldom needed items.  Use clear containers to keep items visible for future reference and attach casters or drawer pulls to make for easy access.

• Expand Your Closet:  If you lack the proper storage space, it is hard to stay organized no matter how hard you try!  Bedroom storage centers on the closet.  If yours is simply too small for your needs, consider expanding your closet with a bedroom renovation.

• A Place For Every Item: The key to organization (regardless of the room being organized) is to have a home for each and every wayward item, making cleanup and storage a breeze.  Consider those things that are most often found strewn about your room and designate a specific place for them.  For example, if your throw pillows can more often be found on your bedroom floor than the on the bed itself, place a large wicker basket in your room as a catchall for wayward bedding.  If your necklaces routinely end up tangled in a heap on your nightstand, place a few hooks just inside your closet door for an easy place to drop jewelry at the end of the day.

With this installment we are wrapping up our storage series, but stay tuned for more home improvement tips and renovation ideas in the weeks to come!  In the meantime, check-out our solutions regarding bathrooms, basements, andkitchens.

Backyard Improvements

In Minnesota, sometimes referred to as the land of two seasons – winter and road repair, that slim window in between known as summer is all the more precious.  Don’t waste your summer working in the backyard.  Instead, enjoy the season to its fullest while still making the most of your backyard with these simple fix-ups you can start on now, before summer is in full swing.

Stain The Fence: Spring is the perfect time to stain your fence in anticipation of the summer season.  Sunlight can degrade the lignin that bonds woods fibers, allowing water to penetrate and causing your fence surface to gray.  To avoid discoloration, stain your fence with a semitransparent stain fortified with UV blockers.

Create An Inviting Space: Invite family and friends alike to linger in your backyard for lazy afternoons or long conversations by creating a welcoming environment.  Create mood lighting by utilizing candle lanterns hung on shepard’s hooks, placed on railings, or hung from decking.  Not only do they require no wiring – they are also easy to move when the party heads in a different direction.  Also invest in seating.  Whether you choose to install an inviting swing or an intimate bistro table, seating encourages guests to stay a bit longer.

Go Green: Plants can bring your backyard from a bare terrain to a green oasis.  Lacking a green thumb?  Invest in pre-planted container plants or hanging baskets.  For maximum impact, select baskets that include lush and trailing plants.

Sound Selections: Transform a birdbath, a pot, or jug into a bubbling fountain.  Simply install a water pump inside your chosen vessel, plug it in and place a basin (to catch the water and recirculate) and listen to the soothing sounds of summer.

Storage Solutions: Just like indoors, storage can pose a problem outdoors as well.  Need a neat place to put your gardening tools or sandbox toys?  Install a custom-built outdoor cabinet under the deck or alongside the patio to create a simple storage solution.