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14 Jan 2013
Designer Wednesday, Uncategorized

Designer Emily Blonigen Tells All

January 14, 2013

Hello Castle Friends!

Let’s give a warm winter welcome as Hannah sits down with our January Featured Designer of the Month: Emily Blonigen!

Emily Blonigen received her Bachelors of Science in Interior Design from the Art Institutes International Minnesota. One thing that she appreciates from her education is the artistic approach Ai takes to the Interior Design profession. Emily is currently studying for her LEED Green Associates Certification. Her main interest in the field is to find opportunities to create sustainable and healthy environments. Design may be achieved through trends, unique styles, colors, and materials- but great design is found through considering the users experience and the continuing future within that environment. With knowledgeable design practices and smart material selections, she is opening the doors of design towards a prosperous and more sustainable future that she is excited to be a part of. Blonigen enjoys traveling and has been to South America three times and Central America once. She hopes to one day move to the southern hemisphere for the great food, sunshine, fun music, architectural history, and cheap drinks.

So tell us Emily, what do you have going on this month?

E: I’m working on a bunch of kitchen groupons at the moment which can be very fun because we get to do many of them! The groupon packages we offer are the first phases of our design process and a discounted cost. We’ve found that this first phase is very educational for the clients to see what can be possible for them. Educating clients about the remodeling process and trying to assist them with budgets is tricky and takes a lot of dedication.

I also am part of some really fun projects with Castle! I’m designing Castle’s very first full house flip! We have purchased a home in St Paul with the intent to renovate it back to its original charm, and then resell. A custom home in a great location designed by Castle! I just started drawing up the floor plans and I can’t wait to see our finished work! We are planning on doing many more house flips in the future with our main focus on older homes in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

Wow you seem really busy! Do you have a favorite designer blog, magazine, website, book, etc? Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you have a “recommended reads” for home-owners as they plan their remodel?

E: While in school my favorite website was  http://inhabitat.com/ . Their slogan is “design will save the world.”  I would literally sit on this site for hours! They focus on sustainable design in architecture, interiors, fashion, art, and technology. I submitted a recipe once for a contest they had to win a Room & Board picinic basket and Emmet outdoor lounge chair (constructed from 100% recycled HDPE plastic) and I won! The chair is awesome- check it out!

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=20310

For design inspiration with Castle, I like to use Houzz.com. It is a great site that you can select your room type and style to find inspiration! I am also addicted to pinterest! Some great magazines that I like to read for residential design are, “This Old House” (for those DIY-ers), “Lonny Magazine” (great free online magazine with a somewhat eclectic style), and “Beautiful Homes and Gardens” (they also have a great Pinterest to follow!).

What are your current favorite design trends that you see on places like Pinterest and Houzz?

E: My favorite design trend….hmmmm. It is hard to pick just one element of the design world! For me, design in incorporated in every element of your life. I guess my favorite “trend” in design, is the new use of bright colors. In general, I love spaces that feel clean and crisp but I also want something in the space to catch my eye.

Stay tuned next week to see what Hannah found out about Emily’s in home must haves, favorite home décor shops, and her tips for potential homeowners!

Castle

02 Jan 2013
Uncategorized

Happy New Year!

January 2, 2013

Hello Castle Friends!

I hope that you have had a fabulous holiday season this year! As you may have already known, the New Year always brings in a sense of refreshment to oneself as we create our list of resolutions. This year Castle has a few resolutions of our own:

  1. Be more attentive to our current and future clients
  2. Provide an even better value than we are already providing
  3. Lay off the cookies
  4. Showcase our Designers more often

It wouldn’t be a resolution without some sort of weight management thought would it?  What are some of your New Year’s Resolutions? Share them with us on our Facebook page!

What we’d really like to bring notice to is our last resolution, Showcase our Designers. Sometimes in the remodeling process, we somehow lose focus on our designers. They are the ones who are making your dreams come true; so why not give them a little more much needed attention? Each month our Marketing Manager, Hannah Lloyd, will sit down with one of our 6 designers. Throughout the month our designer posts will bring you the hottest tips and trends of the month, insight on current projects, and advice on all things home related. For the month of January, we will be featuring designer Emily Blonigen. Check out our next post to learn more about Emily, and stay tuned as she updates us throughout the month on her world of Interior Design.

Last Thoughts… With everything going digital there are so many places to find inspiration with your next home project. Our personal favorite is Houzz and this year we want to prove it to you and all the other remodelers how serious we are about sharing our inspirational thoughts; so keep your eye out for more of our projects being posted in our idea books.

 

Happy New Year!

29 Nov 2012
Uncategorized

Makeover Your Bathroom

November 29, 2012

Hello Castle Friends!

Bathrooms are known as one of the best rooms in your house to remodel, as well as most popular (right after kitchen). Whether it’s the master bath, a new bathroom to get your kids out of your space, or maybe a nice guest bath – there are plenty of reasons to give your oval office some royal treatment.

The word remodel may be a little daunting. However a makeover is a simpler form of a bathroom remodel, and normally involves saving the bathtub and possibly the bathroom floor tile. Makeovers range from replacing a bath vanity and countertop to installing new tile and accessories. Visit our Bathroom Makeover Projects page for more information.

Check out our own “BATH REMODELING NOT AS SEEN ON TV.” In this 6 minute flick, we’ve filmed an entire bathroom remodel so that you can see just what happens before you sign up for this project.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ke2ekZwF-Fw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

A popular feature to include in your new bathroom is Electric Radiant Floor Warmers! Image a cold Minnesota winter morning, and being able to keep those toes warm as you walk across the chilling bathroom tiles. However putting something electric in your floor has its risk. So before you request these feet warmers, read up on all the precautions!

http://castlebri.com/documents/electricwarming.pdf

If you’re not still convinced on why you should remodel your bathroom here are our top 3 reasons:

  1. Bathrooms are one of the most frequented rooms in the house by both homeowners and visitors; leave a good impression by having a representable bathroom.
  2. A remodeled bathroom adds value!! If you were to one day sell your house, an updated bathroom will attract money.
  3. A clean and approachable bathroom means a clean you. If your environment is old and dirty, it is harder to make sure that you are not…well old and dirty!

So if you’re convinced that perhaps you really should redo your bathroom, take a step into one of our 3 great showrooms and talk to our designers!!

 

Our designers have featured a few of their projects on our site: http://castlebri.com/bathrooms.html

House Beautiful always has great inspiration to get you thinking on what your bathroom could become:

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/designer-bathrooms#slide-31

20 Nov 2012
Events, Uncategorized

Tonight’s Class, Thanksgiving, and Small Business Saturday

November 20, 2012

Hello Castle Friends!

We hope that this week finds you in great excitement for the holidays, especially with Thanksgiving a few days away.  If you didn’t get your kitchen or bathroom remodeled in preparation for the holidays, because you know that nagging friend of yours wasn’t the real reason, then perhaps you should consider doing so for next year’s holidays. Small kitchens and tiny baths make a house full of people simply a drag! In the meantime we’ve got a more “readily available” option for you, the very exciting remodeling of your attic/ ½ story! But before we talk dirty let’s give a great shout out to our dear friends over at J.A. Geiger studio. They will be hosting an open studio on Small Business Saturday along with Tracie Thompson and Lauri Flaquer (See images below for samples of all 3 companies work).

If you’re not aware of Small Business Saturday…then get in the know! It’s a great day to support your local and independent shops, which as a business benefits your community in far more ways than any of the big box stores. Consider stopping in to your favorite local shop and begin your holiday shopping there instead of at a big chain.

In more current news, tonight we’re hosting our ½ story/attic education class at our NE Showroom. So ask yourself…do you have an attic / ½ story that you’re just not quite sure how to turn it into a livable space? Perhaps you’ve been dreaming about a new home office or a play room for the kids, or even an additional bathroom. Tonight we will be hosting a class on how you can turn your attic into the space of your dreams.

Some things to consider when remodeling your attic ½ story are the layout, space planning, ease of use, and the overall design. The layout and space planning are crucial depending on the project. You may have dreams of putting a guest space complete with a bathroom but in reality your current space may only allow for a small office and no bath. While you can consider adding square footage from adjacent spaces to increase, for some that may not be an option. Ease of use is also very important. The layout works hand in hand with the ease of use in the room; are the stairs in the center of the room? Do you have to do a lot of ducking to get to the main area? These are all things that could affect the flow of the space and cause some distress when actually utilizing the final room.  The overall design is what encompasses everything, from how the room ends up looking to making the decision to adding square footage, the overall design is the final say in what your new space will be.

There are so many more details that factor into remodeling your ½ story. If you’d like to take a jump on your dream space come into our class tonight at our NE location, registration is online. In the meantime check out some amazing attic remodels to help get you inspired!

Register for our class tonight: http://castlebri.com/classschedule.html

Get inspired to redo your attic: http://www.diynetwork.com/home-improvement/16-amazing-attic-remodels/pictures/index.html

Don’t eat too much turkey this week, and as you lay there on your couch wishing your kitchen was just a little bigger to get that one person off your back, consider us! We’ll happily turn that space into both yours and your friends dream space!

19 Nov 2012
Appliances, Bar, Homeowner Tips, Kitchen

Maintaining Stainless Steel

November 19, 2012

Stainless steel has become a popular surface material and finish that can be used in a variety of ways, including countertops, sinks, appliances and furniture. While this attractive and hygienic surface cannot be regarded as completely maintenance free, its luster and appearance can be preserved indefinitely with proper maintenance.

All grades and finishes of stainless steel may in fact stain, discolor or attain an adhering layer of grime with normal wear. To achieve maximum corrosion resistance the surface of the stainless steel must be kept clean at all times. Quite simply, clean the metal when it is dirty in order to restore its original appearance. Frequent cleaning with mild soap and water or glass cleaner and a cotton cloth is best. There are many stainless steel cleaning products on the market but sometimes these products will aid in developing corrosion or discoloration due to environmental and installation conditions.

The following is a list of common conditions that cause corrosion or discoloration of stainless steel and SHOULD BE AVOIDED:

  • Chloride containing cleansers: This includes bleach and any bleach containing cleaners
  • Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid): Commonly used to clean up after tile/concrete installation
  • Concentrated soap residue: Chemical additives will cause discoloration and some dried soaps actually look like rust
  • Water with high iron content: Can leave a rusty residue, especially if allowed to drip continuously
  • Contact with iron materials: This includes steel wool, machining chips, and iron residue/dust from installation or cleaning of other steel products
  • Trapped moisture between the product and another object: Rubber mats, metal cans of soaps or cleaners
  • Salts: They contain chlorides and can easily damage stainless steel

Any discoloration or corrosion should be removed as soon as possible. Usually, the product can be restored to its original condition with a mild cleanser (Ajax, Bon Ami) or stainless steel cleaner (Revere Ware Stainless Steel Cleaner, Goddard’s Stainless Steel Cleaner) and a Scotchbrite pad. The surface should then be thoroughly rinsed with clear water.