Classic Recognized for Service and Design Excellence

In a business where referrals are essential to our success, we are consistently working to ensure our clients have a great remodeling experience and want to share that experience with others. We've been fortunate that so many have willingly participated in reviewing our company, garnering some public recognition for our both the quality of our work and our customer service.

Earlier this year, Classic received the "Best of Houzz" awards from Houzz.com for both Design and Service. Design award winners' work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as "Houzzers." Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2015.

 
In late June, we were notified that we have once again been named Guildmaster by GuildQuality, a third party surveying company.  The Guildmaster award is granted to those builders and remodelers who have an 80% survey response rate and a 90% satisfaction rating. This marks the 11th consecutive year we've earned the award. We are also among only a small handful of companies nationwide who have earned the Guildmaster title every year since the award's inception.


Most recently, the readers of Charleston Living Magazine named Classic Charleston's Best Kitchen and Bath Remodeler in their "Best of the Best" readers' poll. This marks the third year Classic has been recognized by the readers of Charleston Living. You can see the full list of winners in the July/August issue, on newsstands now.

We pride ourselves on excellence and are honored that our clients continue to recognize us for providing quality construction and superior customer service. Thanks for your continued confidence in Classic Remodeling!

Top 5 Bathroom Remodeling Trends

Classic Remodeling's Kitchen and Bath Specialist, Krista Scheider, shares some of the trends she's seeing in bathroom remodels this year. 

Bathroom remodels (along with kitchens) have been one of the most requested renovation projects we’ve seen this year. These projects offer a great return on your investment (according to the 2015 Cost v. Value Report, you can generally recoup about 70% of the cost of your project). And as more and more people opt to remain in their homes for a longer period of time, they are finding that their needs for a functional and luxurious master bath have changed. Here are a few trends we have seen in master bathroom remodels this year:

1. Curbless Showers. This is one of the most popular requests from homeowners. A curbless shower 
    makes the space feel larger and gives it cleaner lines. It's also very important if you are considering
    universal design elements for aging in place (see trend #3 for more info on this).

 

2.   Free standing tubs and/or large showers.  Gone are the days of the garden tub and the tub/shower combo. Today most homeowners are opting for a large walk-in shower and free standing tub. Some are eliminating the tub altogether and going strictly with a shower. While in the past many thought this would hurt resale values, these days it's more about efficient use of space and Americans tend to take fewer baths than in past years. So don't feel bad about forgoing the tub!

3.   Aging in Place. As we go through the design phase we often think about how our clients' needs

      may change as they age and we try to plan for those needs. This may including thinking about

     installing a curbless shower, strategically placing grab bars, or installing bench seats in showers.

     With a wide range of products available, they are much easier to integrate into the design. From

     faucets and towel bars to shelving and soap dishes, these elegant fixtures provide discreet support, 

     making them both beautiful and functional. 

4.  Toilet Room.  As often as the design allows, we try to incorporate a separate toilet room or toilet

     and shower room into each space. Not only does this help eliminate the toilet as a focal point in

     the room, it also makes the master bath much more accommodating for two people to use at the

     same time. 

5.   Double Vanities. You'd be surprised how many homes in our area do not have a double vanity in

      the master bath. This has become a must-have design element and there are several ways to work

      them into a space. We've done the standard single countertop with double sinks where space 

      allows. When space is tight there are other options such as separate vanities or back-to-back 

      vanities.  As a design-build firm we can get creative and find unique ways to create the space of

      your dreams. 

Check back soon for Krista's top 5 trends in kitchen remodels!

Classic Remodeling Awarded "Best of Houzz" for Design and Service

We are pleased to announce that Classic Remodeling has been awarded "Best Of Houzz" for Design and Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. Classic was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Design award winners' work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as "Houzzers." Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014.

"Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project," said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing for Houzz. "We're delighted to recognize Classic Remodeling among our 'Best Of' professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes."

For those who aren't familiar with Houzz, it is a great way to find inspiration, get advice or find a home building or design professional for your project. Users can view project photos and save their favorites to an ideabook for future reference or ask questions about specific products or design dilemmas and get advice from professionals around the world. It's also another great resource to help you find qualified home design and remodeling professionals in your area. "Best Of Houzz" award winners will have "Best Of" badges on their profiles to make them easily recognizable.   

We're honored to be among the "Best Of Houzz" award winners this year!

Be sure to stop by and check out our Houzz profile and see what we've been up to!

Celebrating a New Addition

Spring has finally sprung here in the Lowcountry, and just in time for another “end of renovation” party.

Bjorn and Lindsay Miller own a beautiful home in Mt. Pleasant. They came to us with a desire to increase the size of their very small living room and create a larger, more family-friendly media room. The home also had a small porch and deck adjacent to the living room, but no way to access the backyard. 

As Bjorn states, “We knew that with kids on the way we would need more room than we had. We also felt like expanding the living room would increase the water views in our back yard.”

So Classic went to work on a new addition and deck to help accommodate the Miller’s growing family and new needs for their home. We expanded the space for the new media room by eliminating the existing porch and opening up the entryway from the old living room to the kitchen. The room now has an open, airy feeling and delivers those beautiful water views the Miller's were looking for. The old deck, was also eliminated and a new deck was built that not only provides a great spot for entertaining but also now offers a way to get to the backyard. By bumping out the exterior walls to create the expanded media room on the first floor, we also created a new patio area on the ground floor. 

“Classic really shared our vision for how the project should go. There was a high standard that Classic set for themselves and no detail was too small. We felt like we were part of the process and kept informed the whole way through.”

Once all was said and done, our team came back to help them celebrate the completion of the project, and share the results of their renovation with friends and family (some from as far away as Pennsylvania). 

“We are very happy with the end result and Classic was wonderful to work with. I felt like they were not happy until we were and the result is a fantastic addition for our home.”

Check out a few before and after pictures as well as some photos from the party:

Exterior before:

 

Exterior after:

 Living room before:

New Media room:

Celebrating with friends and family:

Good Ideas Never Die – They Just Go Viral

In 2004, we began incorporating a hair dryer drawer into many of our bathroom vanity designs. The drawer included an outlet at the back that would allow the homeowner to conveniently store a hair dryer, without the hassle of unplugging it after each use.  We did a sketch, took a photo and submitted it to Remodeling Magazine. They published an article about it in their October 2004 issue.

It’s 2013 – why are we talking about this article now? Well, at the end of 2012, Remodeling Magazine decided to take a look back over the year to see what their most popular stories had been. Our 2004 “Dryer Drawer” article was one of the most popular!  Thanks in part to the popularity of Pinterest, our hair dryer drawer story has gone viral!

You can check out the original article here.

Just goes to show, good ideas (and good stories) never die!