Things to think about before meeting with your kitchen contractor

Kitchen renovation projects can be an exhausting and overwhelming experience for even the most savvy (and style conscious!) of Westchester homeowners. The key to an efficient and organized project is—you guessed it!—preparation. To get ready for that first meeting with a prospective contractor, there are three basic questions you need to ask yourself: what do I want from my kitchen, when do I want the work completed, and how much do I want to invest in it?

Function

Determining what you’d like from your new kitchen may seem like a very broad question, and it certainly takes plenty of elements into account. The best way to collaborate with your kitchen designer is...

Completed your latest interior-design project, but just can't put your finger on what's missing? No doubt, it's the finishing touches, often remedied by hanging the just-right decorative prints. Not only are they the jewelry of the room's wardrobe, but hand-picked prints help give the room personality (notably, yours!).

Where to start? Begin by concentrating on the foyer, the room that sets the tone for your entire home. It's the perfect place for a mirror, and I often suggest a round or an oval shape, which often lends an unexpected touch. The shape provides a good contrast if you have decorative prints in a rectangular shape. If you can't find the appropriate size for the space, talk to your framer, who can create one to spec, fitting not just your size, but your style,...

What do you do with a little-used living room? Recently, I was working on a project for a client with a large family and a small dining room with an adjacent rarely used, oversized living room. Short of excluding half the clan during any given holiday (clearly not an option for those hoping for functional families), the client had been toying with the idea of swapping their two main spaces, using the dining space as the living room and vice versa.

Having lived in the house for a dozen years, the homeowners were very hesitant about flipping the rooms, finding it challenging to envision the spaces differently than where they had been for so many years. That’s where a designer with objective eyes and design vision can be of great service.

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How can you make your garden extra special this summer without breaking the bank (or losing all your weekends)? It’s simple: decorative pots and planters.

I learned long ago that no matter how beautiful a swimming pool, how expansive a patio, or how stunning a front entry may be, the addition of several large pots filled with blooming flowers give extra flair to the scene. At the completion of each landscape project that my company designs and installs, we work with clients to add the finishing touches—just the right pots and flowers to complement the property.

If you’re wondering how that technique might work with your home, have no fear. After all, the variety of looks and effects are endless. A modern house may require simple, geometric pots, like a...