In an ideal world, we all want to remain in our homes and live independently for as long as possible. This has come to be known as “aging in place.” A study from Boston Consulting Group shows that 90 percent of homeowners in the retirement age bracket want to age in place. What many do not realize is the importance of taking steps now, so the decisions around aging in place remain firmly in your hands.  ..read more

It’s morning. It's time to jump (or very slowly and gently roll) out of bed, open the bedroom door, take a few steps into the kitchen, and get that coffee going. Simple! No stairs to navigate in those first few minutes of wakefulness.  That’s one of the many benefits of having a main floor bedroom suite as you age in place. But is it possible in your home (or your children’s home if you are considering an in-law suite)? Maybe there is some first-floor space that could be converted. Or maybe an addition is the way to go, but is there room on your property for a home addition? So many ques ..read more

Aging in place is the ideal for most people. To do so often requires modifications to your home if not significant remodeling. But is it practical in your situation? Are you starting to feel like you have too much square footage in your home? Too many steps to get in and out? Too much of a yard to keep up with?  If you are getting stressed just thinking about these questions, it may be time to start planning for the future. If you enjoy lawn work and gardening or don’t mind paying others for the upkeep, a sprawling yard can be fine for aging in place. But if your home has a lot of steps ..read more

A home addition, how hard can it be? Three walls and a roof and, boom, you have more space. Of course, there is much more to it than that, not least of which is the blending together of old and new.  An addition isn't just a box you stick on the side or back of your house. Especially if you have an older home, you may see evidence of a piecemeal approach to home additions by previous homeowners. The results are a home footprint that may have multiple levels on one floor and confusing circulation from room to room. These issues can be corrected with an understanding of the challenges surr ..read more

There are so many reasons to build an addition: Your family is growing, and you work from home at least a few days a week. Gone are the days when you took the Metro to Adams Morgan or Georgetown into the wee hours of what seems like every other evening. Home truly is where your heart is, but you just need a bit more room ..read more

When space is getting tight in your home -- whether it’s in Arlington, Cleveland Park, Rockville, or anywhere in between – an addition is one of the first solutions that comes to mind. There are two questions you need to ask when considering whether or not to include an addition in your home renovation plans: First, is an addition possible? And second, is an addition necessary? If both answers are yes, then great! Start planning and budgeting. But sometimes an addition is neither practical nor necessary. In that case, how do you rethink, repurpose, and make the most of the space you do have a ..read more

You get up in the morning and head to a bathroom you share with too many other family members – no surprise, someone has beat you to it. The familiar wait begins. You’ve been scribbling notes in your bullet journal and finding ideas online for the addition your home desperately needs, which includes a spacious ensuite bathroom for you and your spouse. Hooray! But hold on. You know your township in Montgomery County well enough to know you can’t just put up an addition on a whim. There are zoning ordinances to deal with. The shape and size of your lot will determine how big – and even if – an ..read more

Sometimes a prospective client will ask, "What's the cost per square foot for building a home addition?" When most people ask this question, they simply want to get some idea in advance of what their addition is going to cost. Once we have a sense of your needs, the cost picture can come into clearer focus. In terms of cost per square foot, it is important to understand a fundamental difference between custom home renovation and new home building. Refer to our helpful resource page to gain a better understanding of how to budget for a home addition project.  Custom renovation appears to ..read more

Will more square footage make my addition more valuable? Let me take you back to a time when we all felt the need for more room. In the late 20th Century, families who had grown up in small square footage homes - built for the growing middle class after World War 2 - were feeling the limitations of those close quarters. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about, and if you don’t just ask your parents (or grandparents)! Small rooms with small doorways leading to other small rooms felt predictable–and very confining. New construction and new additions to these homes was driven by a desire ..read more

Although many of the homes in the Metro DC region were built 50, 75 years, or even longer ago and they have gone through several generations of ownership, the exterior most likely has not evolved in terms of its appearance, its style. But the interiors, especially kitchens, have evolved enormously.  If your home is, for instance, a center hall colonial built in the early 1950s, the outside is probably recognizable, even with new siding and upgraded landscaping. The interior is a different story. You don’t walk inside your 50’s-era colonial to a 1950s style kitchen (unless you’re John Wat ..read more