Month: February 2021

Six Small Condo Remodel Ideas for Your Florida Condo

Small Condo Remodel | Varian Construction

A Florida condo often serves as a home away from home. Your Florida condo may be a collection of memories from vacations, seashells and pictures of your favorite sunsets. As much as you love your space, time does take its toll and perhaps it’s time for a facelift. Let the experts at Varian Construction give you six small condo remodel ideas for your Florida condo to give it new life.

Remodel the bathroom

Perhaps one of the most popular small condo remodels is a bathroom renovation. A remodeled bathroom always catches a buyer’s eye and eventually leads to an increase in home value when it’s time to sell. In fact, bathroom remodels often recoup 64% of its value, making it a wise investment in your Florida condo. Think of updating your vanity, shower, tiling or even gutting the entire bathroom and starting from scratch with your own planned design. For more tips on doing a bathroom remodel, check this out.  

Upgrade your kitchen

The kitchen is the lifeblood of a small condo. Although the Florida lifestyle offers the pipe dream of eating out every night, Florida homeowners know that the best times are spent in the kitchen. Upgrading the kitchen in your Florida condo is a great way to increase your condo’s value. A minor kitchen remodel recoups about 77% of its value upon the sale of the condo. A kitchen remodel has a plethora of opportunities including adding new appliances, updating the flooring and adding more storage. In many instances, a skilled contractor can find extra room in your condo that you are perhaps unaware of. A skilled contractor can add a new layout providing new seating, new tiling and many other additions!

Update the flooring

The flooring in Florida condos see a lot of wear and tear due to the bright sunshine and sand we track in from the beach. In 2021, we don’t say “If these walls could talk,” we say, “If these floors could roar.” If the character of your flooring is defined by the sand and mud you have tracked in over the years, it is time for an update. Ditch the old-school carpet and add hardwood floors, laminate flooring or ceramic tile. This will make for easier clean up and an overall updated look for your Florida condo. By adding new flooring to your condo, you will see a major difference in functionality and beauty.

Create an entertainment room

If you are thinking of doing a small condo remodel, don’t overlook the family room. You can turn your boring, unused family room to a complete entertainment room with just a couple of additions to the furniture, flooring or lighting. Many times, an entertainment room can be equipped with surround sound or movie theater-like attributes. In cases where there is a view, take advantage of the Florida atmosphere by adding updated windows. Windows often recoup around 60-70% of their value in a home sale, which allows you to turn heads from the TV to the windows! Not to mention, if you add black-out curtains, you can really get that home theater feel. When doing a condo remodel, create an entertainment room that lives up to its name.

Redo the bedroom

The bedroom is perhaps the most personal and unique room in the home. For a small condo remodel, take advantage of the little things in the bedroom that makes it comfortable and stylish. People always say, “If your bed is made, your room is half clean,”. By that logic, if you get a new bed, your bedroom is half remodeled. Updating your comforter, bed frame or headboard can completely change the look and feel of the room. Condo bedroom remodels may even include expanding the closet. By borrowing space from another room and by working with the right contractor, a small shoe closet can be turned into a walk-in closet to brag about.

Small Condo Remodel | Varian Construction

Take full advantage of the lanai

A selling point that many homeowners dream of and a staple of many Florida condos is the lanai. The lanai is unique to Florida condos, because it gives the owner an area to enjoy the Florida weather without leaving the comfort of their home. Lanai remodels can begin anywhere from adding a bar and seating area to adding an elevated pool! By updating the screen, flooring, lights and layout of the lanai, you can enjoy the sun without missing a beat.

A condo remodel in Florida is not a DIY project. When dealing with condos, often times the HOA has specific rules and guidelines that must be followed when going about a remodel. Many associations have restrictions on noise, hours, blackout dates and debris removal guidelines, just to name a few. Plus, according to the Florida Building Code, section 104, “any owner, authorized agent or contractor who desires to construct… must obtain a required permit to work.” This is why it is important to hire a knowledgeable, experienced and licensed contractor.

For more information on Florida laws pertaining to contractor and construction regulation visit Florida Code of Ordinances. If you are in the Southwest Florida area and thinking of doing a condo remodel, look no further than Varian Construction. Varian Construction has over 30 years of experience and is committed to making sure each and every client is taken care of. For more on Varian Construction call 239.514.0103 or visit Varian Construction.

Looking at Home Renovation Trends in 2021

Home Renovations | Varian Construction

2021 is already looking like a great year for the housing market. With Florida real estate on the rise in December of 2020, the housing market is only expected to keep improving. So too, will home renovation projects. Here is a look at expected 2021 home renovation trends from the experts at Varian Construction.

Redefining work from home

It is no secret that 2020 brought a new set of challenges to us. Many people have made the switch from the office to working from home. For home renovation trends, this has led to homeowners remodeling rooms to serve different functions. For functional designs, people have shifted toward creating spaces with dual-purpose furniture for both work and play. COO and cofounder of DecorMatters, Jing Xue, stated that homeowners “Will spend more time and effort creating a unique workspace to maximize their concertation, motivation and productivity.” This may lead to opening up rooms with light, new colors and maximizing space in other rooms.

Many people have converted spare bedrooms, large closets and sunrooms into home offices. If you are interested in repurposing a room, consider hiring a contractor. A contractor can turn your ideas into reality. When looking for a contractor, keep timeframes in mind. An experienced contractor will know that you need to get back into your office ASAP, which is why you should trust the professionals.

Home Renovations | Varian Construction

Short-term rentals

After being stuck inside, many people are planning getaway vacations. A major trend that the hospitality industry is seeing is that people want to a stay in secluded and personal spaces. Instead of hotels and cruises, people are choosing rental vacations from such providers as AirBnB. According to STR and AirDNA, short-term rentals have outperformed hotels in the past year, presumably from fear of COVID-19. With over 7 million listings in 220 different countries, AirBnB reinvented what it means to vacation.

This trend has affected home renovations, because people creating additions to their homes to accommodate short-term rentals or sprucing up investment properties for short-term usage. Homeowners have added bedrooms, outside casitas and little vacation rentals to their properties. This can be very beneficial for places in southern states.

Bathroom getaway

One of the most classic home renovations is resurfacing once again. Maybe you found yourself like the 41% of homeowners that said they “Escaped to their bathroom” for alone and quiet time during the pandemic. As many people seek to relax in their bathtub, many people have upgraded their bathrooms. A bathroom upgrade may encompass new flooring, new shower or tub, storage and others. If you are planning on doing a bathroom remodel, check out these tips from Varian Construction.

After 30+ years of doing home renovations, Varian Construction knows and understands the upcoming trends. Varian Construction is a trusted, qualified and licensed owner-operated company in Southwest Florida. If you are looking to do a home remodel, join the thousands who have trusted Varian Construction by calling 239.514.0103 or visiting Varian Construction.