Neal's Home Remodeling and Design Blog

A sunroom is a great feature for any home, providing additional living space that can be enjoyed throughout the year. A sunroom, or solarium, is a specific type of room featuring several large windows (not just open screens) that may be winterized, or may be considered a "three-season" room. The purpose of the space is to provide a comfortable room to enjoy sunlight and views, without actually being outside. This makes sunrooms ideal for both entertaining and relaxing.

The Greater Cincinnati region has several neighborhoods with scenic views. Not every home was built to capture them, however. As we've remodeled around the area, we've had the chance to maximize how much a home takes advantage of the landscape around them. Here are a few photos and design ideas of our favorite remodel projects with a view.

More and more people are finding that an office space at home is a modern convenience that's worth the investment. Not only is the work-from-home option available to more people, but our everyday digital lives often require some type of "base of operations" at home. The best thing about a home office is that, unlike your desk at a corporate office, you can dictate style and function. 

Home additions can achieve a few different things. The obvious is that an addition provides additional square footage to the year-round living areas of the home. On the exterior, an addition can facilitate architectural improvements to the home's look, enhancing the home's design or style. Inside, additions can become a catalyst for altering an interior layout in nearby rooms or hallways that may have been less than ideal. In this post, we'll take a look at 6 before and after addition transitions that accomplished one or more of those things.

For this sitting room addition, the clients envisioned a space with the feel of a sunroom, a classic stone fireplace with large hearth, and a ceiling that showcases colorful, architectural artistry. They also desired an update to the areas of the original home that would flow into the addition. This project was a Local NARI Contractor of the Year Residential Addition winner.

To maximize the features of their urban lot in one of Cincinnati's most scenic and historic neighborhoods, the homeowners of this project were looking to convert a one-car garage into a new two-story, two-car garage in line with the carriage houses of old. This project was directed by several challenges, including retaining existing landscaping, figuring out how to get the most out of the structure, and working with both the local zoning authority and the neighborhood historical board for approval of the design. This project is a 2016 Local NARI Contractor of the Year Award Winner in the Detached Structure category.

Awkward rooms, weird hallways, odd spaces. We've all got them. From that out-of-the-blue angled wall, to the narrow room that isn't quite a room, but somehow doesn't qualify as a hallway either. In some homes, these spaces add character and charm, or possibly a sense of history or pedigree. But most of these types of spaces are throwbacks that don't quite mesh with the modern ways we live our lives and utilize our homes. Here, we've scoured our gallery of design work, and found four projects that tackled the design challenge of the awkward space in four very different ways.

For this West Chester, OH project, the homeowners were looking for a seamless addition to the back of their home to increase the square footage in their kitchen and laundry room. The primary purpose was to provide more space for entertaining in the kitchen, and to improve function and space in the laundry room. The project also provided a chance to update and improve finishes in the kitchen. The resulting addition is a 2013 NARI Contractor of the Year Residential Addition Winner.

The homeowners were looking for a pub-inspired room, with casual, rustic finishes. They desired a space in which “peanut shells could fall on the floor, and they wouldn’t look out of place.” They wanted the room to feel masculine, and were looking to create a unique space within the home. A room at the corner of their home, originally an office space with no character, was the candidate for the transformation. They also wanted to convert the low ceiling to something with a grander design in keeping with the architecture of the house and the look they hoped to achieve in the new space. This project is a National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) 2016 Local & Regional Contractor of the Year Residential Interior Winner.

With a large extended family and a penchant for entertaining, the clients felt limited with their relatively small, screened-in porch. They desired a larger space for the wide variety of family gatherings and entertaining they enjoy. The completed project included a spacious all-season room addition and an outdoor patio great for entertaining as well as daily usage. This project was recognized as a 2010 Local & Regional Winner in the NARI Contractor of the Year Residential Addition category.