Before & After: Serving It Up in St. Albans

For those who don’t know, St. Albans, Queens was a bit of an epicenter for the jazz movement and, in general, of African American music. James Brown, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Fats Waller all called it home for substantial parts of their lives, and it was the birthplace of A Tribe Called Quest, arguably the best hip-hop group to ever exist.

We weren’t doing anything nearly as important out in St. Albans this past week, remodeling a kitchen and installing windows, but to the family we were working with and for, I imagine it meant quite a lot. Brand new cabinets were installed, along with those lovely granite countertops. We replaced the near-ancient oven with a brand new stovetop oven, and we added new pendant light fixtures that I'm particularly proud of. There was some major wall work and a little tiling work and we replaced all the light switches in the kitchen. The customer decided to keep her old fridge but we made a nice recessed space for it to help with the décor. Unlike most of the pictures I post, these were taken after the customer had settled into the new space. Nice, homey kitchen, don’t you agree?

Before and After: BK Bathroom

I’ve been a bit of a slacker with uploading pictures – a common sin for those who are chronically busy. I had a free moment earlier today, however, and got to put up these photos of a bathroom we are almost finished with. New tile work both on the floor and walls, plus a new backsplash, tub and shower. We also installed brand new vessel sinks, light fixtures, vanity mirrors and toilet. Very nice design overall, heavy on tans, blacks and dark and light browns. We’re doing some very minor finishing touches on the shower today but this is the essential look of the place. What does everyone think? 

Click and Improve at the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo

Last weekend, our boys were in midtown for the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo to spread the word about Click and Improve. It was a great time and we met a lot of parents who were excited by and engaged with our hassle-free approach to home improvement. The kids had fun too: we gave out pet goldfish and helped them put on Click and Improve fake tattoos. A lot of fun was had and we’re looking forward to more events in the coming weeks, including Mommapalooza next weekend. Our friends at Macaroni Kid were nice enough to send over some photos of our booth and the droves of moms and kids that stopped by. Enjoy! 

Home Visit: Bringin' It to Brooklyn

I’ve been waiting for these pictures to be uploaded and just finally got some time this morning to get them up and sort through them. We finished 98% of the work on this Brooklyn home earlier this year but have been working on some exterior wiring problems the last few weeks. Regardless, the interior work is completely finished and here’s a look at what we’ve been up to in BK.

Home Visit: Victory Lap in Baldwin, Long Island

Back in late February, I posted some shots of a house out in Nassau that we were finishing up. Well, the job is done and here is the finished project. Just as a reminder, this was a huge renovation of a dining room, kitchen and bathroom, including installation of new electrical and plumbing fixtures in all three rooms. And, for the record, the family we were working for were ecstatic with the results. I'm particularly proud of the creamsicle-orange paint job in the dining room and the tile work in the bathroom. More important is what you readers think.

Room for Ideas: Jasmine's Seuss-inspired Bedroom

Our office manager, Jasmine, has been redoing her 18-month-old son's bedroom and been giving us weekly updates on the project. Earlier this week, she was nice enough to show us the remarkable job she did, decorating the walls with characters and creations from the works of Dr. Seuss, including The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch and Green Eggs & Ham. We liked the end product so much that we decided to share the pictures here as well, giving out a little creative inspiration before Easter weekend. Isn't Shel Silverstein overdue for some wall space somewhere?

Before & After: Rockin' the Rockaways - Part 2

Last week, we took a look at the basement and bedrooms of the East Rockaway house we've been working on for the last two months. Clearing out the basement was more like an archaeological dig than a gutting, and the upstairs, as evidenced by the bedrooms, was not much better. Today, we're looking at the kitchen and bathroom which were perhaps even worse than the bedrooms when we arrived.