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SAN JOSE — Jim Kabel: At Next Stage Design, we do a lot of master bathroom work for our homeowner clients. And so, I wanted to share with you five great tips for remodeling our master bathroom. Most of us have small master bathrooms in our older homes that may be master in name only but are just attached to the master bedroom. So, if you have a larger master bathroom or you intend on expanding the space, here are some things to consider doing. One, get rid of that massive spa tub. Many people don’t use those spa tubs on a daily basis, and because of the way they’re constructed with a tub surround and a pump, they take up a lot of space. So, that’s one thing you can do to open up the bathroom.

Second thing is, if you really want to keep the bathroom tub, then consider doing a nice soaking tub that can sit as a standalone unit, separate from a tub surround. That’s a great way, if you like to keep a tub in the area and still make sure you have plenty of space in that spot.

Third idea is to consider a decorative backsplash. This just adds a little bit of pop of color, a little extra design to the bathroom area. But remember, if you do something like this, put in a straightforward, simple faucet so you don’t get two finished items competing with one another.

Fourth tip is, if you have a little bit of extra space now because you’ve taken that large tub out, consider having a separate vanity. This makes it easier for someone else in the household to get ready, prepare, and kind of be in a separate spot. And it also provides some additional storage and maybe an extra sink.

And last but not least, light is a really, really important factor. Consider getting rid of that shower cave that you might have that has three walls on it, open it up, wrap it around with a frameless glass enclosure. Add a skylight or a sun tunnel and open up the windows and just allow a lot more natural light in your bathroom. So, those are five tips to help you with your master bathroom design.

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SAN JOSE — Jim Kabel: Seems like in the last five years, we’ve seen a large number of people who are buying a second home or their second home and have decided that the home doesn’t really quite fit the way they plan to live. And are very interested in doing a lot of projects, either in a short period of time or over an extended period of time. So, the first tip is to really think about what your design goals are. And what are the aspects of the home that fit your design goals, and what are the things that don’t quite match? We have a number of homes in Silicon Valley that have been built from the mid-80s to the early 2000s, and quite a few of them have features that are kind of out of date and need updating.

So, think about what your priorities are and list them in priority order from most important to least important. Second is think about how extensive your project is. It’s a really good idea to think through, are you going to live in the home or not during the project? Especially if it involves multiple rooms. We’ve worked with homeowners on both bases, but it’s really important to think about whether you want to have all that remodeling concentrated in a short period of time or whether you want to phase it. And we can help you with the pros and cons of both of those.

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SAN JOSE — Jim Kabel: So, many of you have children at home and that can add some special challenges when you’re doing a remodel project. So, here are a couple of tips to help the kids adjust a little bit more to the remodeling process. One tip is to make them a part of the process. When we put sample boards together, you can have as a great project, your kids do kind of the same idea. Pick some materials, put them together, mix and match different things. And let them be a part of the process and look at the different options, and maybe even come up with some of their own sketches and designs. This might be a way to find a future interior designer that we can hire at Next Stage.

A second is to give them a place of their own during a remodel. There may be some part of the home where they spend a lot of time that’s now really off limits to them. So, what we’ve found works really well is if you can find some kind of special place for them, a place for them to play away from where all the construction is. This keeps things safe, and it helps them kind of explore some new part of the home that maybe they haven’t spent as much time with. So, those are two tips to have you help your kids enjoy the remodel as much as you will.

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SAN JOSE — Host, Sarah Rutan: As life circumstances change, you may find your home is no longer large enough to accommodate your needs. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can augment your existing space. Today we’re in San Jose with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Jim Kabel of Next Stage Design & Build to learn more.

Jim Kabel: As our lives change, quite often we find our homes no longer meet our needs. Quite often with growing families, kids moving out or back in, senior parents moving in, or just planning for our own aging in place, the way our home was designed may not have the space that we need to accommodate our lives going forward. It sometimes makes more sense to find ways of creating or finding more space in your existing home.

So, there are four ways to do that. One is, find ways to maximize space. This can be through better organization products that are available as aftermarket units that you can use to better organize a closet, better organize your kitchen or bathroom. Also adding lighting really makes unused spaces or darkened spaces much more accessible and much more functional.

Second way is to reconfigure space. As a design-build company we’ve worked with a number of homeowners to help them reallocate space to get them that larger pantry, that larger kitchen, that walk-in closet, or bigger master bathroom, or laundry room that they’ve been looking for for a long period of time.

Third way is to convert unused or hybrid space. This is space that may be partially outdoors. Could be converting an attic or a basement into finished space, could be adding a dormer or bump out – a number of different options that enable you to capture space that wasn’t properly utilized before. Converting unused or hybrid space can be one-third the cost of adding new space to your home.

The fourth option is adding space. So, this would be adding a detached or attached addition to your home, which can be the most costly, but also provide the most flexibility if you can meet the city requirements. No matter what option you choose, a good solid design-build company can help you evaluate the pros and cons, the different costs involved, and help you make a good decision for today or tomorrow.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local, top rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.info.

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SAN JOSE — Host, Sarah Rutan: When remodeling your home, its important to plan ahead. Today, we’re in San Jose with Diamond Certified Expert Contributor Jim Kabel of Next Stage Design & Build to learn five steps to consider before beginning a project.

Diamond Certified Expert Contributor, Jim Kabel: When considering doing a large remodeling project or anything that’s design-intensive, here are five steps that I think are important for you to think about, or five key points, actually.

Number one is get a clear definition of your scope. As you’re starting to interview potential companies that you’re going to be working with, having a clear idea of what you’re going to be doing, what’s included, what’s not included, what aspects you plan to keep, what aspects you plan to change are going to be very important to help you get a good budgetary idea of what the project’s going to cost.

Number two, get a sense of what your style is. Understand the architecture of your home. Get a good sense of what types of projects are of interest to you based on websites you’ve visited, magazines you’ve looked through. You may not have to understand all the different types of styles, but if you can get a clear idea of what you like and don’t like and communicate that, that’s extremely helpful.

Third, get the structural details defined as early as possible. If you plan to open up walls, move walls, bump out space, change the size of doors and windows, those are all things that can consume your budget very quickly and it’s important to nail those down up front so you can manage the rest of your budget properly.

Fourth, when you actually move forward with the project, get everything documented in great detail. Make sure that there are drawings that spell out everything specifically. Make sure you have a contract that supports those drawings that spells out all the terms, all of the other nuances that are important in this project as it goes forward.

And then fifth, choose the right partner. Find a company that you trust. Find somebody that you’re comfortable working with. You’re going to have this working relationship going on for an extended period of time, both before, during, and after the project and you want to hire somebody that you trust and that you feel comfortable with.

Host, Sarah Rutan: To learn more from local, top-rated companies, visit our Diamond Certified Expert Reports at experts.diamondcertified.info.