Before you even start, you should decide what purpose the room will serve.  Do you want it to be an extra bedroom or guest room, a home office, etc.?  You should make these decisions at the beginning to aid the design process.  If you build it as a bedroom, but later decide that you want to turn the room into a work room that will require more cabinets or a different type of flooring, then you are just setting yourself up for another project and more expenses.

A second story addition will require more preparation work than grafting a room addition for the first floor.

o Before you decide to go ahead with the story addition, you will have to find out whether or not your house can even support another story.  This will require an inspection by a structural engineer to determine if the house’s foundation can withstand the addition of another floor.  The amount of stories a structure can support will be determined by the original layout of the house.

o If the structural engineer decides that your foundation can support a second floor, then you may begin the story addition.  First, the foundation will have to be expanded.  You will have to dig a one foot by one foot by two feet footer.  After that, you have to add a compacted interior of sand (six inches) and a layer of concrete (three-and-a-half to four inches).  This will create the base from which to expand.

You might want to consider contracting with a design/build company to take care of your room addition or second story addition.  Without a design/build company, you will have to work with several different companies or specialists to get the job done.  You will need an architect, a contractor, the actual workers, and a structural engineer for inspections.  If you contract a design/build company, they will provide all these things, simplifying the process significantly while simultaneously cutting costs.

BARTON STREET P-PATCH – “BEE” THERE! The new P-Patch in Westwood is taking shape in a big way – and tomorrow the gardeners are inviting you over, not for a work party, but for a chance to learn! A Master Gardener is coming to the P-Patch at 34th/Barton 2-4 pm Saturday “to educate people about mason bees,” says Terri Lindow, adding: “This is a great opportunity to learn about pollinating bees and to see the P-Patch. Our crushed g

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The user-experience consultancy firm Netlife Research commissioned Eriksen Skajaa Architects to rethink their offices and create new spaces for reflection and creativity.

The challenge of low headroom and deep, dark office spaces inspired the architects to choose lightness as the basis for their concepts. These included white, natural rubber floors and a white ceiling as well as large glass walls and “Light boxes” to divide the different meeting rooms. The

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I made a short video featuring some photos of installed under cabinet lighting from our wonderful customers! Hopefully itll provide a little remodeling inspiration for your afternoon.

Have any great photos of under cabinet lights to show off?

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I went to my local garden centre to see what seed Potatoes they had and found they had done this really cool Potato display. They could have easily just chucked the Potatoes in boxes and left it at that but someone had really gone to town with the display. Not only could you buy in bags but you could also do a ‘pick and mix’ style shop and fill an egg box with different varieties. Thi

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While some people prefer a very in-your-face style of home security presence, there are others who lean more towards a subtle, multi-purpose approach to ensuring their home’s safety.

One way to accomplish a more low-key, yet attractive level of security is to install landscape lighting around your home.

Landscape lighting can come in many forms — such as the lamp post you see above, as miniature can lights embedded into shrubberies and flower beds, or even as solar or LED pathway lights.

The point of landscape lighting is to help illuminate your yard and home so you can monitor the exterior parts of your home without having large unattractive security lights making your home feel more like a prison than a peaceful retreat from the outside world.

Landscape lighting has other uses as well — you can throw barbeques or other outdoor social gatherings longer than the sun is up; they can be used as identifiers for people trying to find your home; and generally they will help to improve your curb appeal.

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Projects all over the USA & the World    HOME ARCHITECTS ^TM for wherever you are.

Timeless Custom Home Designs | Building Architecture | Timber Frame | Mountain homes

Good residential architects design nice houses for their clients.  Great residential architects listen to their clients first, then design wonderful houses for them.

Rand Soellner Architect starts every project with what he calls the Programming.  As the word implies, this begins by Mr. Soe

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Start by packing items you will need on a day-to-day basis. Mark these items as “Essentials” and group them based on rooms. When pa Read full post…

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• Grab a paintbrush and a new bucket of paint and just watch the entire feel and mood of a room change with a new coat of paint in a different color. If youd like to be up-to-the-minute, try the in colors for 2011, light green, blue, citrus yellow, or pink-lilac.
• Head to your local nursery and purchase several plants or a live tree to place in a room. Add a decorative pot and youve got an instant focal point and conversation piece.
• Instead of buying lamps in the same old, same old shape of fat bottom and slender neck, why not get some lamps in unusual shapes?

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Ah, the end of the year. Time for reflection, resolutions, and recaps. 2011 was a busy year for lighting  news

EISA 2007 took center stage this year, as the phaseout of traditional incandescent light bulbs approached and the political scene got heated. We published a week-long series explaining the legislation and how it will affect you:

• Truth & Lies: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 1
• The Fine Print, Explained: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 2
• Inclusions & Exceptions: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 3
• Replacement Contenders: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 4
• The Expected Impact: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 5

However, that series was not the last you heard about the legislation. Read full post…

The “web” continues to take shape at West Seattle’s newest P-Patch (Barton/34th), but unlike spider webs, this is no solo effort – it takes a community of gardeners and helpers, and Terri Lindow sends word they’re looking for more assistance, even in simple ways:

The Barton Street PPatch is seeking more community to help build our community garden! If you ar

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It’s about this time of year that the snow village appears.

It’s come a long way since I started it back in 2008. Since then I’ve been adding to it every year.

Since the boys were too young to join in I’ve been making the houses myself. I’m not suggesting they are fantastic craftwise. They are

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The space is laid out to provide a surprise arrival to a destination and an escape from the streets. As you enter the flower shop the smell of the flowers provide a relief from the neighborhood. The store is an open space inviting multiple program and activities such as event space for weddings.

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