Remodeling Your Home Office

Today, many individuals use their house as both a home and an office.  Many small businesses get their start right in a home office.  Plus, with all of the technology, gadgets and information we gather on a day-to-day basis, there has to be a good place to store all of that information.  That’s where having a functional, organized and stylish home office comes in.

There are many things you need to create a great home office, but the first and most important need is real estate.  You need an actual, physical location somewhere in your home to put an office.  Maybe you have an extra guest room that you never use.  Maybe you have some extra square feet in your basement or recreational room.  Or maybe you even have a big closet somewhere that you want to convert into a usable office.  Whatever the case may be, you will need some sort of space.

Image courtesy of Houzz

Here are two great minimum requirements that I would go by when determining which room to use as a home office: it should be at least 60-70 square feet and it should have a window.  If you have a space that has both of those criteria then you have the perfect beginnings to a home office.  If you don’t have these requirements, don’t fret, you can still make a great home office.

Once you have a space you’ll want to furnish it.  Assuming you have four walls, one with a window and one with a door, you’ll have plenty of options to deck out your work space.

Start with the desk.  The desk will be the focal point of the room and it will be the area in which you will be spending most of your time.  Find a desk that fits your needs.  Maybe you like to spread all of your papers everywhere and need as much desk space as possible.  Or maybe you like to keep hundreds of pens, pencils and paper clips right at your finger tips (in which case you will need a desk with lots of organizational features.)  Whatever your case, find a desk that fits you and then build the room around the desk.

Place the desk so your chair and your back will be against a blank wall (i.e. no windows or doors on the wall.)  Have your desk off centered from the middle of the room so you can place chairs for your guests on the opposite of the desk.  If you have a square room, your guest will feel like they are at the center of the room (read: attention) giving them the sense that they are you number one priority.

Image courtesy of Houzz

On the wall with the door, put all of your shelving, drawers, cabinets, organizers, etc.  It is the last wall your guests will see when they enter into your office so you don’t need to make it look as nice as the other walls.  Since it doesn’t have to be as nice as the other walls, this wall will be used as your utilitarian space.  Make it as functional as possible but don’t make it cluttered.  Use slim-lined cabinets and shelves and make sure you have plenty of boxes and organizational materials to keep the clutter down.

The last thing you should do to your home office to make it a functional and welcoming space is put in some sort of comfortable furniture, perhaps a chair or a sofa (think Don Draper in Mad Men taking a nap in his office.)  So maybe you don’t want to use your office as a napping space, you will need to use your office for matters that aren’t quite as serious.  Serious discussions will use the chairs right at the head of the desk and less serious matters call for some couch sitting.

Image courtesy of Houzz

Anyone can add a functional and stylish home office to their house, the keys are making sure you are getting the most usage out of that space.  Give Elite Home Remodeling a call today to find out how we can turn your house into the office space of your dreams.

Fairfax County Virginia Home Remodeling

Elite Home Remodeling serves the greater Northern Virginia community and every month we like to highlight a particular area within the community.  This month our spotlight is on Fairfax County, Virginia.

Fairfax County is home to over 20 public libraries, nearly 10 fully-furnished public parks and recreational centers, and plenty of opportunities to start and develop a local business.  With a population of almost 1,200,000 people, there’s no shortage of booming business opportunities.  As one of the wealthiest counties in the country, Fairfax County is home to some of the best neighborhoods in the region too.

Fairfax boasts many great neighborhoods and Elite Home Remodeling provides excellent service to all of them.  At Elite Home Remodeling, we make professionalism and customer service our number one priority.  Our customers notice and appreciate this and they like to tell other people within the Fairfax community about their experiences with Elite.  Some of the fantastic locations Elite Home Remodeling serves include Reston, Herndon, Vienna, Oakton, Tysons Corner, Chantilly, Centreville, McLean, Wolf Trap, Burke and Annandale just to name a few.

At Elite, we have focused our services to specially cater to the needs of the home owners and local businesses of Fairfax County.  We will not only continue to work with home owners looking to renovate their kitchens, bathrooms and basements but we also offer our services to insurance providers looking to restore their properties from fires, floods and other natural disasters as well as property managers looking to maintain the highest quality rental units in the area.

Next time you are looking to do some remodeling, renovation or restoration work in Fairfax, Virginia give Elite Home Remodeling a call to find out how we can serve you today!

Elite Home Remodeling is Hiring

Interested in working in the residential construction field? Check out our job posting for more information.

Lead Carpenter/Handyman Wanted!

Storage Trends for Reston Remodeling Projects

There’s a war going on these days between the amount of stuff you can put in your home and where to keep all of that stuff.  Although it may seem like an endless battle, there are plenty of solutions to your storage and organizational problems.  A great place to start tackling your storage and organizational woes is in your media room, office and guest rooms.

Starting in the media rooms, entertainment systems have changed dramatically in recent years and cabinet manufacturers and shops are running fast to keep up.  Today, cabinetry isn’t limited to just your bathroom or kitchen.  Cabinets are more streamlined and plugged-in than ever.  Just as TVs become more streamlined and minimal, so does the cabinetry that accompanies them. Contemporary, floating and open cabinets are all growing in popularity.

Image courtesy of Houzz

Next on the list of places to solve organizational and storage problems is in your home office.  Many home owners today work from home and they need plenty of space within their home to dedicate as office space.  With your house doubling as a home and an office, you can bet storage space is important.  Cabinetry for home offices are becoming more accessorized with more accessories and organizational tools built right into the cabinets.

As the equipment in our office gets more high-tech, so too does our cabinets.  Cabinet makers are coming up with improved storage systems for our gadgets.  Features such as built-in charging stations make your cabinet space work with your electronics.

Image courtesy of Houzz

Do you have an extra room in your house that you use only as a guest room?  Does it only ever get used when you have guests come over?  If this is the case, you might benefit from having a Murphy bed!  What is a Murphy bed?  A Murphy bed, or better known as a wall beds, is a bed and bed frame that can fold up into a cabinet or wall.  Recent trade and home shows have showcased new styles, new features, new configurations, new easier open-close mechanisms and new lighting and entertainment built-ins for this category.  Murphy beds make a great addition to a guest room because they allow to use the room for many other features throughout the year for all those times you don’t have guests over.

Image courtesy of Houzz

These are just a few simple solutions to helping you with your organizational and storage problems.  Take a look at the messiest areas in your home to figure out where you need the most help.  Once you’ve nailed that down, you can start creating an action plan to get your space neat and organized.

Give Elite Home Remodeling a call today to find out how we can help you with your cabinet, storage and organizational problems in Reston and throughout all of Northern Virginia.

Blending His & Her Renovation Styles

It’s a classic design dilemma: a couple is ready to make a house a home, only to find out that their styles couldn’t be more different.  This is an all too common problem that often leaves one party with too little influence.  This post will help you take the best of both styles and blend them into one great renovation.

Traditional, Meet Modern

Take for example a Fairfax family of three was ready to build their dream home.  They hired an architect and interior designer to create a cozy but spacious home that would balance her love for modern and his love of traditional.  For those of you keeping track at home, modern and traditional styles don’t always see eye to eye.

The couple already had already selected a house in between Fairfax and Reston.  Although they initially wanted to tear down the home completely and start from scratch, they quickly realized the home was in excellent structural shape and did not need a complete tear down.  So, the design idea was set in motion; design a bright and open home that embraces the outdoors — and the couple’s opposite styles.

Image courtesy of Houzz

Despite their differences in styles, the new home owners agreed that they wanted a home that felt open and bright – something that would work well with both of their styles.  A great way to blend traditional and modern design elements is by going with more traditional building elements – such as hardwood flooring, eight foot tall doors and tall base boards.  Then to compliment her style, bring in modern furniture.  That way if you ever sell your house in 10 – 20 years, you won’t be left wondering what happened to your modern style.

Another great design feature that crosses over all styles is natural light.  Adding as many double pane, low-e windows as possible will not only help with the sustainability of your home but also increase the amount of time you’ll enjoy spending inside your home.  Make sure to add lots of windows to common areas like living rooms and family rooms.  Also be sure to add a window or two in hallways and corridors.  This make those narrow passage ways more usable.

Next time you and your significant other argue over design styles, don’t fret!  There is always room for both styles in your home remodeling project.  Make sure to give Elite Home Remodeling a call to find out how we can help you with your next home remodeling project.

Elite Home Remodeling is Now BBB Accredited

The Better Business Bureau or BBB is an organization aiming to promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between business and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education, and service excellence.  A BBB accredited business is an ethical company that believes that customer service and ethics comes first in all areas of business.

Since its inception, Elite Home Remodeling has been operating by similar standards set forth by the BBB and other ethical and credible associations.  Now, we have finally made it official.

Elite is a part of the Washington D.C. and Eastern PA chapter of the BBB.  It has been serving the people of the Mid-Atlantic region since 1920, and continues a commitment to help make the Mid-Atlantic region a better place to do business.

The BBB sets forth high standards for business to follow and they grade these businesses on certain characteristics.  Only certain companies can become BBB accredited and only the best of the best achieve top rankings.  The standards by which the Better Business Bureau grades a company are a comprehensive set of best practices for how businesses should treat the public in a fair and honest manner.

BBB accredited businesses must meet certain standards to qualify for accredited business status and to remain an accredited business. Many BBBs publish their entire accredited business list, or you may request a list of BBB accredited businesses in a specific business category. Reliability reports from most BBBs also state whether a business is accredited.

In 2010, the BBB received 2,983,238 searches for home contractors, repairs, and service people.  Of those searches, only 2,518 consumers sought to file a complaint.  That is 0.08% of BBB accredited contractors who received complaints.  It just goes to show that when you are dealing with an accredited BBB contractor, you are going to be working with the best.

Give Elite Home Remodeling a call today to find out more information about Elite Home Remodeling’s accreditation and how we can serve you today!

Home Remodeling Wedding Registry

Picture this: you are getting married and you are inviting all of your friends and family to the wedding of the season.  Nothing could be sweeter.  The ceremony and the reception are going to be fantastic.  The food is going to be great, the dancing is going to last all throughout the night and love will be all around.  Everything is going to be perfect, except for the fact that everybody got you a toaster.

A toaster?  The best thing you could come up with to ask your friends and family for is a toaster?

Well, not any more.  Instead of asking for the stuff you already have, ask for something that you really want.  That you really, really want.  Make your wedding registry a dream home registry!

Elite Home Remodeling is now proud to offer home remodeling services to the happy couple as a wedding registry.  You and your significant other are going to spend the rest of your lives together, why don’t you make sure you spend it in a place you really want to live in.

How does it work?  Simple.  Sign up for a registry at My Dream Home Registry and tell all your friends and family that instead of getting you a new serving dish you want a new kitchen for your serving dish!  Then, bring that registry to Elite Home Remodeling and we will be happy to build you the home of your dreams.

Make your wedding last forever by creating a Dream Home Registry with Elite Home Remodeling today!