The Architecture Happy Hour

In this podcast, architect Laura discusses designing a modular home with a very special guest. This is the first in a series on modular and panel builds.

In this podcast, Laura and Holly discuss protecting your current home from freezing temperatures as well as designing a new build to survive extreme weather.

The holidays and our New Year’s resolutions are distant memories. Spring Break is still a month away. It’s too cold to go outside, and we need a distraction from eating Girl Scout Cookies. So, let’s make the best of it and refresh your home for spring. By embracing the moment now to make your home look and feel its best, all will be completed by the time the tulips peek their sunny little heads out of the soil. Let’s take a look at twenty excellent ways to refresh your home for spring: Refresh Your Home: Happy Rearrange furniture to work better for your lifestyle. Believe it or not, it makes a huge difference in your productivity and peace of mind. Clean out kitchen cabinets and only put back items you use and love. Still have some holiday serving dishes to store? This is the perfect time to clean out your cabinets as well. Purge old linens. Look for kitchen dish towels that have seen better days; bath towels that should be downgraded to cleaning rags; and bed sheet sets that are mismatched and well-worn. Donate clothes, toys, and furniture that do not bring you or your family joy. Print and frame those family pictures that have been living on your phone. Refresh Your Home: Healthy Steam clean your carpets and rugs. And if you have pets or children, you might want to deep clean the upholstery on your furniture, too. Deep clean bathrooms and wipe down doorknobs, light switches and other “germy” surfaces, like the remote control. Get your air ducts professionally cleaned. Can’t remember the last time you did this? Then it’s definitely time. Install smoke detectors, if you don’t already have them. Place inside each bedroom and in the hall outside the bedrooms. Plus, add a carbon monoxide detector. Add a water filter to your kitchen sink and change the internal filter in your refrigerator. Refresh Your Home: Efficient Change the air filter in your furnace. Switch to LED light bulbs. Look for Warm White (2700K-3000K) color temperature. Install a programmable thermostat. Install new energy efficient windows. Increase the insulation in the attic. Refresh Your Home: Beautiful Re-paint the walls in the rooms where you spend the most time. Either freshen up your current color or try something totally new. Remember to choose low or no-VOC paint formulas. Add new accessories for a pop of color. Think pillows, a rug, art or stack of coffee table books. Add green plants or cut flowers to freshen your rooms. Power wash the exterior (but save this for the spring or a warm winter day if you are in a cold climate). Update light fixtures and cabinet hardware to be more current. They’re like jewelry for the home! Even if you simply choose to do one thing from each category, it will go a long way to making a more happy, healthy, efficient and beautiful home. After all, home is where the heart is. Why not make it the best it can be?

Listen to our podcast about how might coronavirus change home design and adapting the way we live and planning for the new normal.