Announcing Our New 2012 Naperville-Area Remodeling Design Guide

We’ve been hard at work this winter creating a design guide specifically for Naperville.

So many times you open a home magazine and see some gorgeous photography but quickly realize that none of it works for your home. We’ve seen this problem as well. So, we set out to create a book of design ideas that specifically pertain to Naperville-area homes.

Naperville is not known for Cape Cod,  Southern Georgian or Southwestern Pueblo style homes. Naperville was created by builders that used a mixture of styles in their homes. You will rarely see this style of design in a magazine.

But what can you do when remodeling your Naperville builder-style home? We have faced this design challenge numerous times so we set out to give you some great ideas in our Free Design Guide.

Click Here to Request Your Free Copy

Crimson 2011 Small Business of the Year Awards FINALIST!

Crimson Design & Construction proudly accepted nomination for the 2011 Naperville Small Business of the Year (SBY) Awards earlier this year, and on May 13, 2011, owners Neil and Joel Kristianson attended the awards gala to anxiously await the results of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce’s top honor.

While Crimson was not the winner of the Business-to-Consumer category, we were selected as a Finalist! This was Crimson’s first nomination and we feel like a true winner for being nominated alongside several outstanding small businesses in the community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Neil and his wife, Jennine, accepting our award.
(Photo courtesy of Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.)
The SBY Awards are divided into six categories with one overall winner. Members nominate businesses for the awards and winners are selected by the blue-ribbon committee – a panel of last year’s winners. For more information on the SBY Awards, please visit www.naperville.net.

Crimson Wins Again!

The Guildmaster Award that is.  This is the 3^rd consecutive year that Crimson has won GuildQuality’s prestigious Guildmaster Award for exceptional customer satisfaction.

Once a year, GuildQuality recognizes exceptional customer service with their coveted Guildmaster Award.  Crimson was one of 154 home builders/remodelers throughout North America recognized for their superlative performance.

GuildQuality is an independent surveying company that surveys Crimson’s clients upon completion of their remodeling project and one year later (to determine satisfaction with follow-up, warranty issues and overall satisfaction with the project).  Clients are asked about their experience with Crimson and how we may improve our service or product.

We strive to deliver extraordinary customer service to our clients.  We appreciate the time our clients take to respond to our survey requests.  We take all these comments to heart and use them in the future management of Crimson.

 

 

Kitchen Remodel In South Naperville

We just wrapped up an extensive kitchen remodeling project on the South Side of Naperville.  The project involved removing all the kitchen cabinets and one pantry closet (where the new wall oven and microwave are located).  The cabinets were replaced with new Fieldstone Cabinetry in stained cherry and painted maple hardwoods.  The backsplash tile is all new with a great design and accent pattern above the cooktop.

The cabinets contain many innovative design configurations such as roll-out shelving, spice rack drawers, garbage and recycling center, and self-closing drawers.

The original kitchen did not have a vent to clear cooking fumes and smoke from the range.  We were able to add one set in a dramatic mantle-like style.  The new vent exhausts to the exterior and clears any unwanted odors from the kitchen quickly.  No more setting off the smoke detector!  That’s actually a common problem we hear that our clients would like to fix.

See some before pictures of this project.

 

One of the other big changes to the kitchen space was to add a stainless steel 48″ built-in refrigerator.  This new fridge fits perfectly in an alcove that used to contain the refrigerator and some cabinets.  No lack of space in that machine.  But just to make sure, we also added a beverage fridge near the family room so that the kids can grab pops and fruit juice without getting in the way in the kitchen.

One of the biggest changes to the house was the addition of hardwood floors throughout the first floor and upper hallway.  Every room on the first floor now has beautifully stained white oak floors.  Some of the rooms even have the flooring in patterns with walnut inlays.  Quite the elegant look.

 

 

 

All of the formal spaces on the first floor, and upper hallway, were upgraded with wainscot paneling on the walls.  The white panels add a great contrast to the darker floor and really help to make the wall colors stand out.  The panels were carried up the stairway and down the hall to really tie all the spaces together.

Speaking of stairs, the stairway was also rebuilt to add oak treads and handrails.  The oak was all stained to match the flooring.  New painted balusters were also installed.  A formal wool carpet runner was installed to add that last finishing touch.

Overall this project has turned out great.  It’s a great new living space that the homeowners can be proud of for years to come.

Updating A Kitchen In South Naperville

This kitchen on the South end of Naperville is getting a dramatic facelift.  We will be pulling out all the cabinets and replacing them with new Fieldstone Cabinetry.  Beyond the kitchen, we will also be replacing two stairways in the home  with new oak treads and rails, adding hardwood flooring in the living room, dining room and study, and adding trip upgrades such as door heads and wainscot panels.  It’s really quite an extensive project.

This week the homeowners moved out and we relocated all their furniture from the first floor to the basement to make way for the hardwood floor installation.  Any flooring on the first floor that was not hardwood will be upgraded to new white oak hardwood to match the existing.  The existing floors will also be sanded, stained and refinished so that all the flooring blends together.  Three of the rooms will also get walnut inlay strips for a stunning pattern.  Not easy work, but well worth it!  After a two week temporary move the owners will be able to return to a beautiful new floor.

At this point the kitchen cabinets have been removed and as soon as the floors are done the new Fieldstone Cabinetry will be delivered.  The cabinets will be a combination of stained cherry and painted maple with a glaze.  We are using some of the existing granite countertops since they were only a couple of years old.  We will be able to match the existing tops with new granite in some areas to fit our new layout.

Converting A Finished Basement To A Bedroom Suite

We have just started work on a basement bedroom suite in Naperville.  The existing basement was one giant finished room.  We are splitting it in half and using half for the new bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet.

One of the challenges in fitting a bedroom in a basement is having the code required window.  In this case we had to dig in a new window well and install a four foot square window.  This will allow for some natural light in the basement as well as allow for someone to escape if there is a fire or emergency.

The window well was dug out by hand (8 feet deep!) because there was not room to get a piece of excavation equipment around the side of the house.  This is very common for these situations and we usually end up hand digging the windows.

So far on this project the room has been stripped of old paneling, we have dug in the new window well, and we have cut up the floor and installed the new underground plumbing required for the bathroom.  Overall this project will take about 8 weeks.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Interior Designer Joins Crimson Team

Crimson Design & Construction would like to introduce our newest team member.  Meet Carolyn Conklin!  Carolyn was recently hired to work full time with Crimson’s clients as a Designer and Selections Coordinator.

Carolyn interned with Crimson last summer to gain on-the-job experience.  In August, she went back to Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama, to complete her schooling.  Carolyn graduated in December 2010 with a degree in Interior Design.

Carolyn enjoys working with our clients during the design and selections process. She says, “I like being a part of the transformation – designing a space to go from unusable to efficient, cramped to spacious, embarrassing to ‘wow’ factor.”

Carolyn started with Crimson one month ago and has successfully settled into her new position.  Her main focus is to give as much attention to each project that is needed.  She is committed to giving Crimson’s clients her best at all times.

Please help us welcome Carolyn.  We know she’ll be a great addition to the Crimson team!

Contact Crimson if you are looking to spruce up your space!  Carolyn has an eye for color and detail and would love to help you make selections that suit your space, your taste, and your budget.

Second Story Addition Completed In Downers Grove

Well, we have completed 98% of an addition in Downers Grove.  The remaining exterior parts of the project will remain until the weather cooperatives and we can replace the existing driveway and front porch.  The client is all moved in and the kids are enjoying their new bedrooms.  What fun.  A room of your own!  It is reported that our youngest client (2 years old) is sleeping much better now that she doesn’t have to share a room.  It’s good to know that these projects really do make a difference in peoples’ lives.

For those that have not seen this project before, we added an entire second-story on an existing 1950′s ranch home.  We also added a family room addition on the first floor that allowed for a family room three times as large as the original.  It also made room for the laundry to move from the dark basement to our client’s new favorite room in the house – a laundry/mud room.

This room off the garage now has space for a five foot long coat rack as well as individual lockers for each child.  Everybody gets their own storage space for coats, books and shoes.  In addition the room has a good-sized closet, the washer/dryer, cabinets above the washer/dryer and a laundry sink.  There is a lot of function packed into one room!

One of the former bedrooms on the first floor was turned into a home office area where the kids can gather around the computer after school and do their homework.  This room also made way for the new stairway to the second floor as well as a large closet under the stairs.

Upstairs are three new bedrooms, a bathroom and a large hall closet.  Each bedroom has it’s own double-wide closet the length of the room.  Giving each bedroom almost fourteen feet of hanging space!  The homeowner says that this is one of her favorite features to the new addition – all the closet space!

The upstairs bath features two sinks and a separate toilet/shower room.  Plenty of room for the three young children to get ready in the morning.

All-in-all the clients are loving this new addition.  Their friends, family and neighbors all say that the addition looks like it has always been there; which is music to our ears!

Katrina – Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Trip

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we set out for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to help with post Katrina reconstruction. We met some great people while we were there that were doing some amazing work. Although we were only there a week we feel that we made an impact on a select number of lives.

On February 11, 2007 Neil & Joel traveled to Mississippi with about a dozen members of the Chicagoland NARI Chapter.  While there we worked with a religious organization, City Team, that responds to natural disasters around the world.  There were about fifty volunteers there that week all living in a tent city on a baseball diamond about four blocks from the Gulf.  We took cold showers, ate great food prepared by local volunteers and learned a lot about people.  How they come together from a tragedy and how they truly care and help each other.

Over the week we split up and worked on three different homes.  We met the homeowners that were still living in their FEMA trailers almost two years later.  The conditions even that far out were still a mess.  It was great to be able to finish three homes the week we were there and see the owners get their lives back.

To remember and reflect we wanted to share some of our photos from that trip.

Residential Elevator Completed In Naperville

We recently completed work on a residential elevator retro-fit in Naperville.  Our clients were very happy to take their first ride in their new elevator.  Health problems have made navigating the stairs a real concern for them.  The new elevator was buy no means a luxury, but a real necessity to staying in their current home.  Having lived in the home since it was built 20 plus years ago, moving was not really a consideration for them.  The elevator gives them the ability to stay in their home for many years to come.

The largest challenge with this project was finding a place to put a six foot square elevator shaft through all three stories of the home.  Luckily there was an existing spiral staircase that we were able to remove and put the elevator shaft in its place.  By adding windows in the shaft walls and in the cab itself we were able to keep the light flowing through the home so that the new structure did not create a dark and foreboding feeling in the family and kitchen areas.

The cab interior makes a real statement and adds a level of class and sophistication to what could have turned out to be no more than a painted box.  Luckily the clients saw the value in upgrading the cab interior and it turned out great!

In addition to the elevator, we also repainted quite a bit of space on the first floor of the home as well as replaced the old outdated oak flooring with some great bamboo flooring.

This was our third project in this home and one that will make a lasting impact.

Next Page »