How much one should spend on a remodel depends on a number of factors. As a former real estate developer and owner of Habitar Design, a design and home remodeling company in Chicago, I’ve advised many clients about this over the year. It’s not hard to figure out. There just a few questions to ask yourself. […]

You want to remodel your kitchen and bathroom, have a good idea of what you want, but have no idea what the right price is.  Welcome to Home Renovation 101! Today's question: should you get three bids for your kitchen or bathroom renovation or just one?  The answer depends on the work you want performed [...]

Stinky, odorous kitchen sink in a high rise? Do you come home sometimes and smell stink coming from your kitchen sink?  Is the odor worse after being away for a few days? This can be from a combination of waste outlet pipe (below your sink) being at a height 24 inches above the floor and [...]

You’re about to buy a place or you bought one a few years and now you’re asking how much will a kitchen renovation cost in Chicago?  I add Chicago because the cost of construction varies greatly in different regions.  This is because labor costs and building codes are different and if your renovation is in a high rise building more time has to be spent getting approvals and carrying materials up and down elevators which makes working in high rises inefficient.  This means a kitchen or bathroom in a Chicago high rise could cost 75% more expensive than nearly the same construction in a small town in Iowa. […]

When I was a theater director, yes — believe it or not I was a theater director before getting into construction — I used to say picking the right actor was 60% of getting a good show. There was only so much you could do with an actor. The same applies to pretty much everyone you hire, particularly, contractors. You can tell contractors, write them a list, show them, leave sticky notes, plead, beg, threaten or pray but pretty much they’re going to do what they do which will not be much different from what they did for others. Keep in mind: sometimes they can be worse than expected, but rarely are they better. Don’t even hope for it and don’t believe the explanations. […]

If you are looking to make the most of your Chicago home this year, then there are some pretty exciting trends that will transform the place you call ‘home.’ Being bang on trend means you are the envy of your neighbors, can make the most of your space and have something that will sell at the drop of a hat. Not bad at all. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the top Chicago remodeling trends in 2019 and what they mean for you. […]

If you are looking to make the most of your home, the two most important rooms time and time again are the bathroom and kitchen. These two rooms, when done right, add value to your home. Let’s face it, we spend a great deal of time in one or the other. With this in mind, here are the most common bathroom remodel ideas in Chicago. […]

How much will my bathroom remodel cost me in Chicago? Short answer. 8K to 60K. That was a lot of help, wasn't it? But read on and I'll try to explain some factors that will help you understand how much your bathroom remodel in Chicago should cost. We'll start at the bottom, down and dirty, [...]

Do you really need to gut your entire countertop if you get a small scratch on your stainless steel? Sometimes we just need a few small tips to hold us over between remodels. Our Construction Project Managers dish out their favorite temporary fixes for hiding and repairing these common small scratches. Stainless Steel Scratches Get [...]