This is the last of our latest series in Making the Most of Your Remodeling Project.  We are hitting the topic of a growing home. 

Kids grow - they change.  We have to adapt.  The cute baby space is no longer appropriate for a 6 year old.  And watch out once they hit those middle school and high school years.  Their needs have really changed and we have to make changes within our home to really adapt to what they require to thrive.

Make changes within your home to allow for older children to have their own space.  You might want to reconfigure a bedroom into a study center.  A place for books, computers, tables for projects and a space for working in a group. 



You might also consider ways to renovate the bedroom to accommodate more area for things other than sleeping.  Space saving bunk beds are a great idea - maybe a desk nook, storage systems for music, books, sports equipment, and other hobbies.



Lastly, one way to reduce our trash and be a better steward is to set up a "Donation" Box for each child.  When they outgrow something physically or mentally, let's try to find someone who could use it rather than throw it out with the trash. 

It may be time to add some additional space into your home to accommodate some of these ideas.  If you need an architect to help you with designs, Mingioni Construction works with several extremely talented architects in the Delaware and Chester County areas.  We'd be happy to help facilitate a meeting to discuss your ideas. 

If you live in the Chester County/Delaware County area of Pennsylvania and you're looking for a home builder or remodeler - you can't get better than Mingioni Construction Company!  We were voted the Home Builder of the YEAR!! by the Home Builder's Association.  You can click on the link below to check out our website.  We are VERY proud of this distinction and we'd love to be involved in your next project.  

On that note, we have been posting on Making the Most of Your Remodel.   How many of you have unused space??  It many of the homes built over the last 30+ years there have been areas of the home designed for a way of life that really didn't exist.  How many times have you used your "formal" living room?  Or it may be another room that just either wasn't finished at the time of construction - or some other life change has made a room available.  

Here are some ideas for unused spaces that you may want to convert into really utilized spaces that you will LOVE:

1.  Guest Rooms - We all love to have guests over.  It is wonderful for them to have their own space.  What a show of hospitality when you can give a guest a lovely, Bed and Breakfast-type room, with a window seat, a book nook, a comfortable bed and it's own private and adjoining bath including a jacuzzi tub, a frameless glass shower with rain head shower heads.  It would make any guest feel your warmth and luxury.  It would be a stay they would never forget!

2.  Closet Space - Who couldn't use more closet space??  We all have items that need to be stored.  Whether it is your off season clothes that you'd love to store in a cedar lined "closet room".  Or you need storage for cleaning supplies that are bulky (think vacuums and steam cleaners).  Maybe you are thinking a large Butler's Pantry to store all cooking supplies you have as well as those seldom used appliances. 

3.  With more and more people telecommuting at least 1 day a week a home office is essential!  How would you like a room that truly is an office.  A large mahogany desk with a comfortable chair surrounded by built in bookshelves, file cabinets, crown mouldings and a coffered ceiling to lend luxury and style to work environment.  A separate computer station where your essentials are right at your fingertips.  Your office can be outfitted with specialty lighting, CAT5 lines and all the necessary electrical trimmings to make your life in your office almost a vacation. 

4.  If you have teenagers, you know they need a space of their own.  You want to keep them home and within the safety of your home community, but at the same time they will NOT want to hang out with you in the kitchen with their friends.  Give your older kids a space of their own.  You can fit out an area specially designed with their needs in mind.  Think a gaming and computer area, a TV and movie theater, kitchenette and "bar" stools for hanging with their friends.  Any space can be converted into a "cool" place to be within the safety of your home. 

We'd love to help you realize these dreams - if you live in the West Chester, Media, Newtown Square, Main Line, Malvern, and any of the surrounding Delaware and Chester County areas we would welcome your call.  Click the link below to see our web:  www.mingioniconstruction.com

Kitchens..........

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home and in many families that is really true.  When you are contemplating a kitchen remodel think of the the many ways you may use your kitchen:

• Cooking - Would you like to have a state of the art cooking kitchen that rivals any commercial kitchen space on your favorite TV show?  Or are you more in tune with a low key kitchen?  Do you like granite or tile?  Are you interested in the newest concrete countertops with recycled glass backsplashes?  Think about if you need a double oven as well as a microwave.  What is your preferred cooking method - gas or electric?  How easy do you want clean up to be?
• Eating - Think about breakfast in the morning.  Do you want to have a bar stool area where the kids can eat before school?  Do you want a sunny nook?  Do you want to eat your main family meals in the kitchen?

• Entertaining - Do you need a large area for buffet style entertaining?  Do you want a wet bar in the kitchen area for mixing cocktails or a large wine refrigerator for your collection of wines?  How should the flow of traffic go through your kitchen area?  What is the most people you would try to entertain in your home at one time?
• Homework and Computer Stations - Do your children use the kitchen as a homework station?  Do you need a place for your laptop, your chargers, your mail?  

All of these ideas can help you decide some key design elements you can bring to your architect/builder so they can incorporate these important usages into your architectural design. 

Next up............ Unused space