How to Prepare for Moving into a New House

Everyone has mixed feelings about moving to a new home. It’s incredibly exciting to move into your family’s new dream home, but it can also be incredibly stressful. There’s a ton of moving parts and even when you think you have everything mapped out ahead of time, every day you come up with new things to add to your “to-do” list.

If you are planning a move in the near future, it’s important to properly prepare for the day. Here are a few tips on how to prepare for moving into a new house!

Make a Week-Of Schedule

A while in advance, it’s important to make a schedule for the week of your move. This will help you to avoid last-minute cramming the day before or day of.

Spend time thinking of all the big items that have to wait for last. Whether it’s cleaning sections of the house, moving or selling bigger furniture items, or cancelling services like WiFi and cable – you want all of the “last details” written into a specific timeslot for the last week. And even at that, give yourself several hours of leeway because we all know how these things go...

Start Saving Boxes

Moving boxes are expensive if you have to buy them all new. But it’s pretty incredible how many boxes we accumulate throughout the year via online purchases. Even smaller and medium sized boxes are helpful for moving – silverware, plates, miscellaneous kitchen items, trinkets, etc. Think of all the things you shove in random boxes last-minute. If you have a specific place for them – even smaller boxes – packing and unpacking will be significantly easier.

Cancel/Change Address-Specific Services

Think about everything that relates to your current living situation – your WiFi, TV, phone service, postal office and shipping address, banking address, etc. It all needs to change, and if you leave it till the last couple days to start thinking of all of it, you won’t remember it all. Start making the list now and changing over all services that pertain to your current address!

Be Clear with Moving Box Labels

We all know to label our boxes as we pack items, but I’d highly encourage that you take it a step further in your clarity on the labels. Don’t just label everything “Kitchen” – be specific about silverware vs. plates vs. pots. It will make it easier on moving day to get everything in the appropriate place, but more importantly it will allow everyone who is helping you pack to be super careful with fragile items and how they are loading their cars/trailers.

Benefits of Vinyl Wood Floors Over Hardwood Floors

This past week, Texas received some of the craziest winter storms ever recorded. Many of our homes just are not prepared to handle the cold we received and many homes were flooded due to frozen and busted pipes. If your home is one of these, you may be looking for new floors for your home.

Flooring makes such a difference in a home, and there are so many options that it can get overwhelming to decide what’s right for your luxury home! For some, carpet is just fine and the perfect “cozy” touch that their home needs, but in recent years, carpet has become a bit outdated.

Homeowners are turning to hardwood floors as a replacement due to their elegant and practical design. However, as hardwood floors become popular again, vinyl “fake wood” flooring is gaining a ton of attention (and for good reason).

So, if you’re home was recently flooded and you are now in the market to replace your home’s flooring, here are a few benefits of vinyl wood floors over traditional hardwood floors:

Budget

Obviously, you want nice floors, and as a homeowner you’re probably willing to pay what’s needed to get the end result you’re looking for! But who doesn’t love a gorgeous budget option when it comes to home remodels?

Vinyl plank flooring is quite a bit cheaper than traditional hardwood floors, making it an excellent option for homeowners who are looking to save a bit of money on their new flooring installation!

Cleaning

People don’t usually think about this before they begin their remodeling process, but cleaning hardwood floors is difficult. Hardwood flooring needs to be cleaned with specific cleaners that won’t damage or weaken the wood over time. This means absolutely no wet mopping (which is unfortunately one of the quickest ways to clean your flooring.)

Vinyl wood flooring on the other hand can be cleaned through a variety of means. Whether it’s wood-specific products or simple wet mopping, vinyl flooring is durable and easy to deal with, making cleaning a breeze!

DIY Installation

One more thing that’s absolutely incredible about vinyl wood floors is that DIY installation is rather easy! If you’re looking to replace your current carpeting or tile with vinyl wood plank flooring, chances are with a little bit of research and planning, you’ll be able to do it yourself.

Vinyl planks are incredibly easy to layout and attach, as they have interlocking edges that make alignment super simple. They’re also easy to cut and rather durable so you don’t have to worry about handling them as much as hardwood floors.

Generally speaking, real hardwood flooring is significantly more difficult to deal with and it’s almost always recommended that you seek the help of a professional for installation (which further runs up your remodeling bill!)

Give Luxury Homes Designed and Built by Tony McClung a call if you need help with new floors in your home after this crazy winter storm!

Luxury Home Renovations: Kitchen Backsplash Ideas

If you’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking about remodeling your house, chances are pretty high you already have several ideas in mind of DIY projects you can accomplish yourself or with minimal help. Often, one of the projects we see come up all the time are kitchen backsplashes!

The kitchen is a staple room in defining the atmosphere of your home, and how you decorate or renovate it has a major impact on how the rest of the house “shines.” So if you’re looking for a simple way to give a facelift to your home, here are several ideas on what you can do for a new kitchen backsplash in your luxury home!

Subway Tiles

The title “Subway Tiles” may sound underwhelming, but they are a very modern, sleek, and sophisticated look to add to your kitchen. Subway tiles are simple white rectangle tiles that stack in a brick wall-like configuration. They are quite popular in recent years for both modern and farmhouse style homes, and are an excellent way to brighten up a kitchen!

Reclaimed Wood

People will add reclaimed wood walls in their bedrooms or game rooms, but you don’t often see them in kitchens! However, they are a great way to add some character to your kitchen this year! Reclaimed wood walls can be subtle and elegant if you get similarly colored wood planks, or rustic and whimsical if you find a mix of dark brown, light brown, gray, and white planks! Just watch out for slivers when installing them!

Painted Glass

Painted glass backsplashes aren’t a classic “go-to” for kitchen backsplashes, but they add so much to a kitchen. Painted glass backsplashes not only brighten a room up - they actually make a room look and feel bigger due to their reflectivity.

If your kitchen feels a bit claustrophobic and you’re looking for something to make it feel more expansive, a painted glass kitchen backsplash may be the way to go!

Conclusion

Kitchen backsplashes are such a fantastic way to give your home a facelift and change the atmosphere of your luxury home’s main floor. Subway tiles, reclaimed wood, and painted glass are a few of many ideas out there, and each will bring something unique to your space - modern, rustic, or elegant.

Take a couple weeks out of your spring or summer this year and install the perfect backsplash to compliment your luxury home’s kitchen!

Hiring a Remodeling Company: Things to Keep in Mind

Embarking on a remodeling project is super exciting. Most of us have several “dream” home remodels we would love to see come to fruition, but it’s rare that you ever get the chance to see it through! Remodels are a lot to prepare for – financially and mentally – and it’s exciting when you see it all coming together.

But unless you or a relative are planning on hitting an intense multi-week DIY project, you are probably hiring a remodeling company. That search process can be daunting.

If you are planning on hiring a remodeling company for your home remodel, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Don’t Evaluate on Price Alone

Here’s something most homeowners don’t realize – most remodelers charge a similar amount for projects. They are calculating the cost of materials and labor, and that’s similar regardless of who you go to. Small variations come when those factors fluctuate, but the gist of it is this – price is not a good factor for evaluating a remodeling company.

At the end of the day, the pricing structure between the worst and the best company is going to be extremely similar, and you are better off focusing your decision making on factors such as their experience, process, and approach. A $2,000 saving isn’t worth it for a life-long poorly executed remodel.

Know Their Specialties

Each remodeling company will have an area of expertise; a particular type of home remodeling project that they do a lot of. As you’re searching for a remodeling company, find out what types of projects they do a lot of. Do they do a ton of smaller-scale projects like replacing backsplashes in kitchens and cabinetry? Or is their focus more on large-scale projects like home additions or new home construction?

Finding a remodeler whose focus lines up with your project needs will lead to more realistic pricing and a better final product turnout.

Find Someone You Mesh Well With

We can’t overstate this. It is so important to find a remodeler that you love! You may love the result of the remodel, but did you love the process it took to get there? Intense remodeling projects take up a lot of time, and it’s not worth putting up with a remodeling company that has bad communication practices and fails to make you feel heard and cared for throughout the process.

During your search, find a remodeling company that you have some chemistry with. The process and communication should feel natural. You should feel assured that they understand what you’re looking for and always leave you at ease after your conversations.

Of course, here at Luxury Homes Designed and Built by Tony McClung, we would love to help you with any of your custom home renovation needs. Please give us a call at 214-668-7802.

Affordable Remodeling Projects for 2021

2021 is almost here and it is finally time to start something new. Aren’t we all tired of 2020 and excited to see it over?! Well, if you’re anything like us, you are probably getting a little claustrophobic being stuck in your house for the last several months of quarantining. During this time of staring at nothing but your own home, you can probably attest to getting increasingly irritated with several aspects of your home. Being forced to sit at home in the evenings, and maybe even work from home all day makes us all incredibly perceptive of every single detail of our homes, and for us daydreamers, remodeling has probably been on your mind more than once recently.

If that’s the case, these are 3 affordable remodeling projects you can take on!

Restoring Wood Floor Shine

Wood floors add a lot to a home, but after a while they get really dusty and scratched up. Instead of adding to the atmosphere, the drag down the appearance of a room and make it look “worn out.” All you need to do though is work on restoring the shine of your wood floors!

It’s smart to restore the wood shine of your floors every six months to a year, but if we’re being realistic, we know that’s a lot of work for any homeowner. Even if you’re able to get around to it every one to two years, that’ll be fine. It’s just important to give it attention from time to time to ensure it stays looking its best!

Replace Lighting Fixtures

That dusty, 90’s chandelier can go any day now – you don’t need to be afraid to replace it.

It’s actually quite incredible how much lighting fixtures can change a room. Usually when people think of DIY remodels, we think of repainting, recarpeting, changing trim, and other projects of that sort, but we never think about changing the lighting fixtures that have been in our homes since the day we moved in. If it hasn’t been on your radar till now, it’s time to consider it.

The neat thing about lighting fixtures is their ability to change the feel of a room. Extravagant, modern fixtures draw attention and add a unique quirk to a room. Traditional antique style fixtures look elegant while blending in with the scenery. Once you start looking, you’ll be amazed at the options and the way they can complement or contrast your current room designs.

Build Something for Your Laundry Room

By this point in time, we’ve all spent enough time in our homes to become painfully familiar with laundry chores. If you dread doing laundry, why not transform the space to make it more inviting and efficient?

Here’s a tip: be practical with your remodeling project. Can you build some type of new or replacement table to go in your laundry room that serves more purpose than just a table? Build something that you can fit baskets under. You can do a couple large ones for clean and dirty clothes, or even do several smaller ones with the names of each person in your household to keep laundry organized.

Get creative, search ideas on Pinterest and other websites, and see what other homeowners have done to make their laundry rooms efficient and easy-to-work-in spaces!

3 Texas Home Winter Remodeling Tips

It’s no doubt that Summer is the popular season for remodels. Everyone waits for the warm and reliable weather before they take on a major project that’s going to require going in and out of the house several times for supplies and big appliances. It makes total sense! After all, I think we prefer Summer remodels also. When you can rely on the weather, it’s just easier all around.

However, the season only impacts certain types of remodels. If you are wanting to do a remodel to your Texas home during Winter, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Here are a few remodeling tips for projects this Winter in your Texas home!

Replacing Kitchen Countertops

When people think about a kitchen remodel, they often think of replacing appliances, changing the flooring, adding backsplashes, repainting, changing all the wood trim, replacing cabinets, and everything else under the sun. However, one of the most impactful things you can do to change the appearance and feel of your kitchen is replacing the countertops, and Winter is a prime time to get this done.

Aside from the initial transport of the countertop, everything is done inside and there aren’t that many moving parts involved. And usually, Texas homeowners will hire out the transport and installment of the countertop anyways! So there’s not a whole lot that the season is holding you back from when it comes to a kitchen countertop replacement project.

Repainting

What better remodeling activity for the Winter than painting? It requires approximately one trip to and from the hardware store and you’re good to go.

Spend time looking up some color palettes and find a room or entire level of your house that you would like to repaint!

Fixtures

Whether it’s light fixtures around the house and in your bedrooms, bathroom sink fixtures, or others, this is a great remodeling project to take on during the cold Winter season of Texas. You can look up different designs on Pinterest and other remodeling inspiration sites, get some ideas of what you’d like to see in your house, order the fixtures, and do everything inside.

The best part is that fixtures, although small, add such a facelift to a home. It can help to completely change the vibe of your kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Make sure to coordinate between rooms to keep a consistent design in place!

Making Christmas Plans in 2020: Celebrating During COVID

COVID doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. We’re sure you’re sick of hearing it at this point! But unfortunately, cases are surging in Dallas, TX and it’s now affecting what holidays may look like this year for friends and family get togethers.

If you are still hoping to do something on the holidays, but getting together with a bunch of family members doesn’t seem feasible, here are a few ideas you may want to consider trying with friends or distant family members this year!

2020 Christmas: Ideas for Celebrating During COVID

We get that none of these solutions are exactly what any of us want, but the new circumstances require us all to think outside the box a little bit to plan for Christmas celebrations this year!

With COVID surges and mandates in place, these are a couple things you can consider doing for Christmas this year!

Video Chat and Virtual Games

Most of us have “Zoom fatigue” at this point when it comes to meetings. However, video calls with family and friends can still be fun. Rather than just tuning in to “catch up and talk”, plan a game night over video!

There are tons of options out there, like Jackbox TV games or House Party (a mobile app) that allows players to play games virtually. It’s the next best thing to an actual game night, and may be a fun way to still connect with friends and family for an entertaining game night over Christmas.

Plan Something With the Immediate Family

We all have our usual traditions - the meals we cook, timing of opening presents, and potential seasonal family outings. But with us all being couped up for so long, sometimes you just need to do something different with the immediate family to stir things up and them interesting.

Plan something fun that you can do at home - a gingerbread house building competition, a wine tasting, setup a hot chocolate bar, try a new board game, etc. Try to create either a new tradition, or try something completely out of the ordinary from your usual plans.

Take on a Remodeling Project

Wow, doesn’t that sound like a lot of work? Well, not necessarily. With us all stuck inside for so long, we’re sure you’ve become painfully aware of all the things in your house that drive you nuts or that you wish were different. And that awareness is exactly why people get remodels.

Do you wish you could change the handles and cabinets in your kitchen? Do you want to replace old tile or scratched up wooden floors? Add a backsplash to your kitchen? Redo carpet? Repaint a room? Think about all the potential remodeling activities you could do to pass the time and add a face lift to your home this season!

If you have any questions about remodeling projects that would be appropriate at this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our team members! We would love to help you brainstorm, answer your questions, and do whatever we can to contribute to making your season brighter this year!

Hosting Thanksgiving at Your House During COVID-19

2020 has been a doozy, can we all agree? So much of this year was completely unexpected, and it seems like things continue to take strange twists and turns. It’s frustrating – we get it. But if there’s one thing that most of us are looking forward to, it’s the holidays. A chance to kick back and relax with family, catch up, and enjoy the festivities.

And while we would all love to celebrate our holidays as usual, the way things used to be, there’s no denying that this year will (and should) look at least a little bit different for us all. If you’re planning on hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year, here are some things you should keep in mind as we are still going through the pandemic:

Sanitize Everything

When in doubt, sanitize. Not only is it courteous, but it’s also safe to make sure your entire house (or at least all rooms that guests will be in) have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Do some research to find what sanitizers are best for combating COVID and other germs depending on the surfaces in your home and where people will be congregating.

It’s also a great idea to keep a bottle or two of hand sanitizer at the entrance to your home and at the kitchen table(s). It encourages people to keep their hands sanitized and lowers the risk of spreading anything to each other over Thanksgiving!

Specify Your Expectations Ahead of Time

Are you very COVID conscious? Will you be encouraging social distancing? Do you want everyone to wear a mask or not? These are things that need to be specified ahead of time. Even if it’s your own family, you just never know where people are truly at. It’s smart to play it safe and thoroughly communicate what you are planning for the day.

So many people avoid social gatherings simply because they don’t know where others stand with COVID procedures. They don’t want to show up and be the only one with a mask.

Maybe reach out to people individually to gauge their interest and how they feel about COVID procedures and then send a group text out with the plans.

Have Fun!

The year may look different, but don’t let precautions keep you all from enjoying yourselves. If your family decides to entirely or partially go virtual for the year, find a time to connect and hang out over video chat if necessary. Make people feel included but safe, and always ensure that you understand everyone’s social boundaries in regards to the pandemic.

Best Remodeling Projects for Winter

I think most of us like to think of Summer as the prime season for home remodels. It’s easy to work when the weather is warm, and driving, transporting, and walking materials in and out of the house is easy. For the most part, we would agree that Summer is the best time to get your home renovating and remodeling projects finished, however, there’s no reason to sit around and do nothing during the winter season!

If you wanted to get a head start on your home remodeling, these are a few projects you can start this winter:

Tile Backsplashes

A full kitchen remodel, while feasible during winter, isn’t ideal. There are a lot of big parts moving in and out of the house and it can get overwhelming to take a stab at during the winter season.

However, there are several smaller tasks that can add a major change of atmosphere to your home that you absolutely can do during winter. One of which is adding a new tile backsplash to your kitchen!

Tile backsplashes are a major facelift to your home. They are a manageable remodeling project that doesn’t require many materials or tools, and usually can be accomplished with a bit of research and DIY skills. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to get it done!

Install Smart Home Appliances

Whenever someone mentions “smart home”, everything thinks they’re referring to a project that will be thousands of dollars, but that’s not the case. Smart home appliances and components don’t have to be expensive or major undertakings. You can start with something as simple as a smart thermostat. Of course, these projects don’t take much time or money and are easy to tackle during the winter months when you’re already couped up inside!

Painting

Painting is just about the most “inside” project you can do. You need your paint, paint trays, and a couple brushes and then you’re done making trips - no extra tools or materials needed.

If you’re eager to change up your house and atmosphere a bit during the winter season, we can’t overemphasize how much of a difference a new paint job makes. Research some color palettes and come up with a look that will freshen up your home’s environment!

If you have an remodeling projects that are too big for you, or you just want some expert help, give Tony McClung a call at 214 - 668-7802

Essential Fall Renovations for Your Luxury Home 2020

Fall has got to be one of the best seasons – the weather is perfect, the colors are amazing, and it’s a wonderful transitional period to prepare us for the cold months of the Winter. It’s also a great time to renovate our homes and carry out the necessary tasks to prepare it for the Winter season.

If you are looking for some projects to get done around the house before the winter rolls around, here are a few essential Fall home care and renovation tasks you can take up in the final weeks of the Fall this year!

Fall Lawn Care

Fall lawn care is huge. You’re not just preparing your lawn for the winter – you’re preparing for how healthy it will sprout back up in the Spring. Racking your leaves thoroughly will prevent them from suffocating your grass and garden when Spring comes around. Doing your due diligence to fertilize and winterize your trees, plants, and grass will prepare them with the necessary nutrients to make it through the Winter.

Replace Your Windows

This only applies to particular households, but have you noticed your home either failing to keep it’s heat, leaking water through windows, or feeling slight drafts when near windows? Depending on how long you’ve had your windows, how they were sealed and prepared, and the overall build quality of them, it may be time to look at getting them replaced.

Fall is the perfect time to swap out your old windows. If you know how to do it, it can be a relatively easy DIY project, but if you feel uncomfortable with any of the steps, reach out to a local remodeling or renovation company to ask for help. Chances are it will be a quick and relatively cheap project!

Power Washing Your House

If you’ve ever had your house power washed, you know the difference it makes. We don’t notice how much dirt and grime builds up on our siding, sidewalks, decks, and patios before we take a power washer to it, but the difference is massive. Fall is kind of your last shot of the year at doing a deep clean on the exterior of your house and it is well worth it!

See if you can borrow a power washer from a friend or local store, otherwise hire a lawn care professional around the area to get it done!