What You Should Know Before Embarking on a Remodeling Journey

Construction Engineer's DeskAt TAB Associates, we love remodeling homes to transform them into the homes of the owners’ dreams. However, there are a few remodeling and interior design tips we always recommend owners keep in mind before they start their remodeling journeys.

  • Know your budget going in – This makes it easier to choose materials that you can reasonably afford throughout the project, rather than leaving you on a tight budget and forcing you to skimp at the end.
  • Pay attention to measurements – Sometimes, it’s not possible to fit everything in a space without it feeling overly cluttered, so prioritize and know what you’re willing to do without.
  • Think about the lighting scheme – With the wrong lighting, an otherwise beautiful place can look dull.

TAB Associates recently partook in a remodeling project at a huge log home in Bachelor Gulch. We added extra bathrooms, a workout space, and a theater to the space, and we also completely remodeled the master bathroom. In the process, we and the building’s owners payed close attention to the tips above, which ensured that everything came out beautifully and the home flows well upon completion.

Contact us to learn more about this and our other projects.

Authenticity in Architecture

modern designer kitchenWhat does authenticity mean when it comes to architectural design? This can be a complex question, but the simplest explanation of authenticity is that it occurs when all of the pieces and elements of a design coordinate together perfectly, rather than feeling thrown together in a haphazard manner.

Consider, for instance, a home with a very minimalist exterior — clean lines, only two materials, and parallel geometry. You would expect the interior of the home to have the same elements, and if it does, the building would be said to feel authentic. On the other hand, if the home’s interior were cluttered with complex patterns and the use of multiple materials, the space would not feel authentic.

Another good example would be a children’s room that is decorated with bright colors and geometric patterns. If the window frames were painted bright red or blue, this would feel authentic. On the other hand, carefully hewn wooden, rustic window frames would not have an authentic feel. Authenticity in architecture is similar to the concept of unity — everything should have the same “character.”

If you’re thinking of building a home with architectural authenticity, then contact TAB Associates to learn more about our design services.

Modernist Architectural Trends: Portals

One of the most stunning architectural trends that is popping up in homes across the country is portals. Put simply, portals are exterior elements, such as walls and floors, that extend past the exterior walls of the home to encapsulate pockets or frames.

A large portal may consist of floors, walls and ceilings that extend past an exterior wall to create a sort of porch for residents to spend time on. In some cases, a large portal may wrap around the corner of a home, creating substantial outdoor living space.

Portals can also be integrated as balconies. A middle floor can be extended, along with a roof, to create a projection of an upper floor. Add a railing, and you have a comfortable outdoor space.

Of course, some portals are small. A little wooden portal on the back of a home can serve as a miniature garden, where you can house potted plants and a few patio chairs. Extending just the floor and walls, but not the roof, results in an open-air design.

The experts at TAB Associates can help you integrate the latest architectural trends into your space. Contact us to learn more about our services.

For further reading, check out this Houzz article:

Craftsman Style Architecture Is a Timeless Trend

Some architectural styles come and go, but others stay stylish forever. The Craftsman style is here to stay, and if you’re looking to create a timeless home that will look just as appealing in a few decades as it does today, Craftsman is a good choice.

The Craftsman style honors the use of natural materials and handmade elements. Traditionally, Craftsman homes are designed from mixed natural materials — typically wood, stone and brick.

Exterior elements of a Craftsman home include a low-pitched roof, overhangs supported by tapered pillars, a large front porch, and partially paned doors. Windows on Craftsman homes typically feature four or six panes up top, and a single pane on the bottom. The rafter tails are often exposed. and foundations are generally made from exposed brick, stone, or a combination of both.

Interior elements of a Craftsman home include an open floor plan, use of plenty of natural wood to create crown molding and wide baseboards, and double wooden doors that swing widely into rooms. Tall ceilings are also common.

Contact TAB Associates to start discussing your Craftsman home today. We’d love to tell you more about our design services.

Refining the Look of Your Log Home

Darker floors, neutral colors, and having large focal point pieces can help to compliment the rustic qualities of your home.

There’s nothing more comfortable and cozy than a log home. However, while the style of a log home will certainly provide an inviting and comfortable atmosphere on its own, you’ll want to decorate it in a way that compliments its rustic qualities for a balanced interior design. The following are a few rustic design tips for your log home:

  • Design darker floors – Add some contrast to your wood log walls and ceiling by staining the floor a darker brown. This helps add a sophisticated balance in addition to providing some visual weight to the space.
  • Use neutral colors – Neutral colors throughout your interior will help create a more cohesive overall look. Gray palettes tend to calm down interiors and help modernize your design a little bit in addition to softening your interior.
  • Large focal point pieces – If you have tall ceilings, which many log homes do, consider hanging a big light fixture that stands up to the scale of the room. A big art piece can also help create a focal point and add visual interest.

Use these decorating tips to design your log home. For more advice on enhancing your log home design, contact us at TAB Associates today.

Light Your Home Up With These Tips

The right interior lighting can make a well-designed home look even more stunning. Follow these lighting tips to ensure your home is perfectly lit.

  • Place mirrors cleverly throughout the room to reflect light that comes in the windows. Mirrored table tops are even more stunning.
  • A filter for natural light, placed over the windows, can make it appear even airier.
  • The color of a lampshade affects the color of the light that shines through it. Look for white lampshades made from organic material for the most vivid light.
  • Interior doors with glass panes can make interior rooms with few windows seem brighter and larger.
  • For rooms where you want dimmer, more ambient lighting, use 20 or 40-watt bulbs overhead. For rooms that must be brighter, 75-watt bulbs are the best choice.
  • A dimmer switch is perfect for the living room or dining room overhead light, but it also works well for table side lamps, since you can turn them down for ambiance or up for reading purposes.

If you’re working on your interior design and need more help choosing the right lighting scheme, contact the experts at TAB Associates today!

TAB Goes Green With These Beautiful Properties

Green building is more than just a trend, it’s the right way to build for the health of the planet. At TAB Associates, we’ve created many beautiful green properties, including:

The Bonidy Residence

This 3,000 square foot home has stunning views of the Sawatch Range. We used blown urethane insulation, an 80% effective air-to-air heat exchanger, and a passive solar system to keep energy use down. Radiant in-floor heating is supplemented by a wood-burning stove. Click here for further information and images.

Holzworth

Spanning more than 8,000 square feet, this timber home has 6 bedrooms, 7 1/2 bathrooms, a 3-car garage, a hearth room, a ski room, and more. It’s located on a ski-in, ski-out lot. The photovoltaic panels and evacuated solar panels green up the design. Click here for the further information and images.

Madison Partners P.U.D.

With 112 condominium-style homes, this resort is situated on 21 acres in Avon, CO. It is still being planned and developed, but we are focused on attaining a LEED certification through the use of green building products. The homes stretch across the base of a mountain. Click here to see project.

To learn more about our commitment to green building, contact TAB Associates today. We’d love to share our latest project and design ideas with you.

Our LEED Gold Residence is Beautiful & Eco-Friendly!

TAB Architects is proud to introduced the Navarro-Wear Residence, a 5.900 square foot home with a wood frame and wood accents. Earning its LEED Gold Certification, the home is energy-efficient and sustainably built.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. It’s a green-building certification program through which building projects that meet environmental and energy-efficiency standards are given ratings. The Gold Certification is certainly one to be proud of.

This home is not just eco-friendly, it is also stunning. With 5 bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms, it incorporates unique timber accents. Solar collectors provide heat supplemental heat, and all of the insulation is polyurethane spray foam. Air exchangers provide continuous circulation of fresh air. Set amongst the hills and surrounded by gorgeous landscaping, the exterior of the home stands out with its wooden and stone finish and unique, multi-level roofing design. There are even several balconies from which residents can enjoy the outdoors.

Learn more about this LEED Gold Certified home and our other projects by contacting TAB Associates. We’d love to help you design a beautiful, environmentally friendly residence, too.

Add Rustic Touches to Your Kitchen

A kitchen should feel warm and welcoming. A few rustic touches can go a long way towards ensuring your kitchen has a welcoming appeal. Consider these simple rustic touches for your kitchen design:

  • Include an open-air set of hooks in your kitchen design, and use it to hang your pots and pans. Copper pans, especially, have a very rustic appeal.
  • A fireplace adds instant warmth, both literally and figuratively, to your kitchen. You can even use it for roasting marshmallows on cool winter nights.
  • You can add rustic appeal to almost any set of cabinets by choosing antique brass hardware. Choose matching antique brass water faucets and light fixtures to create a unified look.
  • Stone is a natural material that adds rustic appeal when used to make a fireplace, an archway, or even a heat-resistant wall behind your range.
  • Add a vintage accessory here and there to carry the rustic appeal through the room. Old tins, older wall hangings, and other items from a local antique store are perfect choices.

Are you looking for a reliable architecture firm in Colorado to help create your perfect kitchen design? Contact TAB Associates to learn more about our services.

For More information, check out this article:

TVs and Fireplaces are a Terrific Combination

When you think of focal points in a living room, two items come to mind most often — TVs and fireplaces. You don’t necessarily have to choose between them. Here are some ways to work TV and fireplace combinations into your décor.

  • When designing your fireplace, have a frame designed above it in the same style and color as the fireplace. It can even be a continuous unit. Mount the television inside the frame, and you have a beautiful display of both focal points.
  • In an artistic, modern living room, try placing both the fireplace and the television on an otherwise blank wall. Offset them so that the TV is on one side, while the fireplace is on the other.
  • Center a stone backdrop along a long wall in your living room. Build a fireplace into one side of the backdrop, and a television cubby into the other side of it.
  • Choose a fireplace and a television that are the same shape and size. Mount a shelf on the wall directly above the fireplace. Above it, mount the television.
  • Another way to mount a TV above a fireplace is to hide it behind a piece of art on a lift.  When the TV is turned on the art lift activates and slides up the wall above the TV.  this takes care of those that hate a TV in the Living Room, but know it is a logical place for one.

For help designing a living room that balances your TV and fireplace, contact the expert designers at TAB Associates!

For more information, check out this awesome article: