What makes Mazmanian, a certified professional behavior analyst, so certain of the qualities of his client's employees is a combination of experience and tools. He has been working with contractors for 15 years and uses the DiSC, a behavioral profiling tool used since 1945 on about 20 million people, and the PIAV, a 20-year-old personal interests, attitudes, and values assessment that measures why people act the way they do and what drives them. Read more
Go it alone or team up? The rewards and perils of partnership. Read more
By adding just 800 square feet to this 1960s rambler, Minneapolis design/build firm Sylvestre Construction was able to create a more family-friendly house. The designers enclosed an adjacent porch to make room for a new kitchen with a long, sleek island and create a larger dining room with a 12-foot sliding door that opens onto the back patio. Read more
Designer Ramina Kashani transformed an outdated guest bathroom into this serene, spa-like retreat by stealing just a little space from an adjacent closet and putting her mind to work. Read more
To list “add a level of polish” as one of your goals in remodeling an AIA-award-winning house demands a bit of hubris; architect Andre Fontaine complemented his with greater measures of skill and restraint. His design ties the addition so seamlessly into the existing house that one judge on a first look doubted the remodel was more than cosmetic. Read more
Talented subcontractors, cooperative homeowners, efficient production ó these may be important to the success of a remodel. Even more important to unlocking a room's potential, however, is a fertile imagination. Read more
Often the most glaring flaw in a poorly designed addition is that the new work screams out its newness; it shamelessly calls attention to the place where one designer's vision ends and another's begins. This addition to a Second Empire home, on the other hand, creates a whole new house. Read more
The architect/contractor team crafted such a dramatic transformation of this 1940s neo-Colonial house that the final structure is barely recognizable, the judges said. The original house had box-like rooms and bad circulation. The homeowners asked the architect to expand the space on both floors to better suit family activities. Read more
Unlike in Washington, D.C., 40 miles east, space in rural The Plains, Va., is not so dear a commodity; with their property encompassing 32 acres of fields and rolling hills, the owners of this farmhouse had plenty. What these clients of Anthony Barnes and Timothy Clites needed was for the architects to capture more space within the walls of their home. Read more
Impressive as they are, the towering front elevations of this historic home say little about its latest renovation. To see what architect Stephen Muse and remodeler Carl Petty's LifeCraft accomplished, you have to begin in the back. Read more
Though the owners of this 1920s Craftsman house wanted a larger home to accommodate their six-member family, it was important to them that the new design have traditional features that fit the neighborhood. They also wanted details and products that matched the original house. Read more
The addition is not only angled outward ó it is angled upward. Otjen raised parts of the ceiling from 8 feet to 15 feet. During the first drafts of the design, Otjen thought about creating an open loft above the kitchen. But the vaulted ceiling fit better with the rooflines of the original house and still provided dramatic height. Read more
The winners of this year's REMODELING Design Awards showcase the best in residential and light commercial remodeling. From historic renovations that nod to the past to contemporary projects that wink at the future, the projects highlight the work of talented design and construction teams. A carefully pieced together kitchen remodel earns the Best of the Year award. The addition is angled outward and upward to form a perfect geometric base for the sleek, sunny kitchen with a mountain view. Read more