Remodeling: Imagine Your Dreams
By Norma Lugar

Right now, you live in a neighborhood that suits you just fine.The problem is, your house doesn’t. What worked for you as young marrieds doesn’t work anymore, now that you have kids and need space for yourselves, your teen-agers, their friends, your friends, assorted animals and things you’ve accumulated over the years. Besides, the kitchen looks dingy.
You lack a fun area. And life would be easier with an extra bath or two.

If all that sounds familiar, you probably know remodeling and expansion are the answers, both projects that can turn a too-tight-for-comfort home back into the place you loved in the first place. But just how much can remodeling accomplish? The truth is, given enough space, budget and imagination, the sky’s the limit.

To prove what remodeling can do, here are four upgrades that solved the owners’ problems and made their homes more livable and well suited to the families’ lifestyles.

Note: The builders and projects featured are winners of a special Association drawing.


Minding His Own Business
The Owners: Charlie and Linda Coulter, 3750 Peakwood Dr., Roanoke

The Project: Remodeling a 1960s something kitchen with its adjacent laundry area and 5’ X 8’ bathroom.

Labor of love. At the builder’s home, turning an antiquated kitchen into a gourmet’s delight was a reminder of what clients go through.

The Contractor: Charlie Coulter of Coulter Custom Homes.

The Objective: “This part of the house was pretty antiquated when we took on this project,” says Coulter. “The kitchen itself was dark and outdated, and it lacked up-to-date appliances. Since my wife is an excellent cook, I wanted her to have a kitchen that
would be suitable to her skills.”

General Description: To correct poor lighting, Coulter installed recessed canned lights, halogen lighting around the cabinets and a central chandelier. He also added custom cabinets in a glazed finish to match the beige grass cloth wall treatment, granite countertops and a ceramic tile floor in a natural stone look called Travertine. To increase
the kitchen’s efficiency, the couple chose commercial-grade, stainless steel appliances, including a double wall, convection oven by Thermador and sixeye gas cooktop. They also increased workspace with an island outfitted with storage drawers and a large, restaurantsized been a bonus to their busy schedules and entertaining duties.

“This has been our best dollar value,” says Coulter. “One person in the family can eat dinner at 5:30 p.m. and another at 8 p.m., and it doesn’t matter. The food is always the right temperature and consistency. That solves one of the hardest things about cooking: having everything ready at the right time. This has been great for entertaining, too.”

Special Touches: The informal eating area in the 13’ X 15’ kitchen was designed as a T-shaped extension of the island and can seat three adults or two adults and several children. The addition of very efficient appliances, a casual eating area and a modern, updated bath
make this location more work-smart and attractive for family living and entertaining
as well.

Special Uses: The emphasis on efficiency also spilled into the adjoining laundry area, where an antique table is now used as a worktop and cabinets may be added later.

Special Lessons: “It’s a good idea for remodelers to take on a project of their own every once in a while,” says Coulter. “It gives them a lot of empathy and reminds them of what clients go through.”



A Place in the Sun
The Owners: Richard and Jeannie Boone, 7130 Pine Needle Dr., Boones Mill

The Project: The addition of a 16’ X 20’ sunroom.

The Contractor: Southwest Sunrooms and Remodeling Corporation, formerly Southwest Virginia Window Company, a 23-year-old Salem firm.

General Description: This new project, which boasts a cathedral ceiling, sliding windows, glass kick panels and glass trapezoids, was constructed at a cost of $35,000 and exemplifies
exclusive glass options such as triple pane glass, composed of two panes with multi-coated silver/titanium. The room, conducive to relaxation not available in other areas of the home,
affords the owner beautiful outdoor views through the use of glass expanses, while retaining the comfort of indoor living.

Great addition. Masses of glass give this sunroom breathtaking views and maximum light while minding energy costs.

“The objective was to place as much glass as possible in the room’s wall space while maximizing light and ern living. It met all the customer’s need, with maximum glass and maximum comfort without high heating or cooling costs.” reducing heating and cooling costs,” says Jim Wright, Southwest’s Sales Manager, whose challenges included considering
the direction and angle of sunlight to the location. “The multi-coated silver/titanium triple pane glass with its krypton gas raises the room’s insulating factor to R-8, which is double any other window available.”

Special Touches: “Interior decorator wall coverings feature an embossed Luran exterior that provides years of maintenance free relaxation.”

Special Uses: “This room provides the owner with a location for exercise, an office, family activities or a hot tub,” says Wright, “adding more and more relaxation time to the home and making the room suitable for today’s modern living. It met all the customer's need, with maximum glass and maximum comfort without high heating or cooling costs."


More Of A Good Thing
The Owners: Jim and Denise Revercomb, 2908 Carolina Ave., Roanoke

Location, location. With a choice spot but too little space, the Revercombs’ new 2,000 square feet will mean breathing room for a growing family.

The Project: A three-floor addition to enlarge the circa-1930s box Colonial to accommodate a new family of parents and four sons. Upon completion, the addition will add approximately
2,000 square feet to the beginning total.

The Contractor: Charlie Coulter of Coulter Custom Homes.

The Objective: “This couple loved the location of their home, although it lacked enough room to adequately serve a family of six,” says Coulter. “Our job was to increase the living areas and make it more livable for a family of this size.”

General Description: The lower level is designed to include a 22’ X 20’ children’s playroom and half bath. The first floor addition will hold a 22’ X 30’ family room with a fireplace, built-in cabinets and desk, and two additional bedrooms and a second bath will expand the second floor.

Special Method: “Clear span Timber Truss trusses on the first floor permit unobstructed space in the open basement. The new Metwood steel beams for the second floor system allow the same treatment for the first floor family room while at the same time providing
structural support of the second floor. This enables us to use conventional framing to match the house’s existing framing dimensions.”

Special Challenges: “One gauge of a remodeling project’s success and something I believe has been a strong point with my work is a finished area that appears to have always been part of the original.”

A Gracious Living Style
The Owner: Mrs. Pat Vaughan, 3635 Ridgewood Lane, Roanoke

The Project: A two-story wing addition expansion of an existing 1950s Colonial brick home, adding 1,200 square feet including garage to the property.

Oh so livable. To increase this classic design’s practical use, the first floor expansion created a convenient, sunken den and sunny adjoining deck.

The Contractor: Charlie Coulter of Coulter Custom Homes.

The Objective: To update the kitchen, and provide the home with a more formal den on the main floor.

General Description: In order to increase this home’s livability, the main level was extended to include a second powder room, a breakfast room and sunken den. The dated kitchen was opened to the nearby breakfast area and refurbished with new countertops and
cherry cabinets in a glaze finish. For a dramatic touch, the family room was sunken two steps, outfitted with the home’s second fireplace and adorned with custom moldings of South American woods provided by the owner and used for trim, wainscoting, built-in cabinets and bookcases. French doors were installed to access the new deck and basement space finished to serve as a gardening and yard equipment storage area.

Special Method: Making the most of the quality woods furnished, the builder rented a tractor-trailer, installed dehumidifiers and used this space as an onsite shop to fabricate moldings, cabinets and bookcases.

Biggest Challenge: “We went to great lengths to match the brick, trim and details of the home,” Coulter says. “Today it blends beautifully with the original house and looks as if it were always part of the home.”