Creative Decks

Your Outdoor Living Specialist

"Design Drawings and Construction Plans"

Framingham, MA

508-877-1060

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Is It Time for a Bedroom Addition?

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Is it good for kids to share a bedroom? The answer is yes – sometimes. And sometimes, the answer is no. There are several reasons parents choose to have a bedroom addition put on their Massachusetts home: the children are too far apart in age to share space successful, incompatible personalities – it’s hard for an introvert and an extrovert to live together, special care needs, or sibling conflict.

Adult children are living at home longer, and that has also prompted many families to build bedroom additions. Having more space means everyone in the family enjoys a greater degree of privacy – after all, while you might actually want to hear the noises coming out of your 3 year old’s bedroom, the same might not be true when they’re 33.

Master Bedroom Additions

Not all bedroom additions are for children. In the greater Boston area, there’s a lot of demand for master bedroom additions. The reason why is easy to see: it’s not uncommon for master bedrooms in New England to be dramatically undersized. If you need more space to be able to unwind in comfort at the end of a long day, a new master bedroom may be in order.

Bedroom Additions for Parents & In-Law Apartments

The other social change that’s impacting home renovations in the Boston area is the increasing number of older parents who share homes with their adult children. It’s the same dynamic we see with adult children living with their parents: everyone’s happier with their own space. This is especially true when the oldest family members share an address with the very youngest – being able to be away from a crying newborn or boisterous toddlers when you want to is very helpful.

Planning Your Bedroom Addition: First Steps

To get maximum satisfaction from your new bedroom addition, you want to begin the planning process early. The best way to keep your project on time and budget is to know exactly what you’d like to have done before the building starts. You don’t have to have every detail figured out 100%, but the clearer your vision is, the easier it will be for your Boston area building contractor to create it for you.

2019’s Must Have Home Feature: A Great Deck

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Now that 2018 is over and done with, people are starting to look ahead to a better, brighter 2019. Outdoor living continues to be a strong trend regionally, with many people in the greater Boston area choosing to focus on gathering their family and friends at home to celebrate life’s finer things.

A great deck is the natural setting for these type of gatherings. What makes a deck great? There are a number of factors to consider, from having enough space for everyone you want to visit with and everything you want to do, through the materials used to build your deck. We’re going to touch on the highlights here, but for full details, you want to talk to your Boston deck builder.

Creative Deck Design

Design your deck around your lifestyle. If you’re entertaining regularly and love to cook, your deck design could feature an outdoor kitchen – or perhaps a grill and bar, with seating arranged so everyone can watch the Pats play while having a good time.

Another popular deck design option – the fire feature. There are numerous designs to choose from, including built-in gas fire pits that deliver all of the fun and none of the work of a cozy fire. Comfy built in seating makes it super simple to enjoy a romantic evening on the deck with your special someone.

Looking for a more family-friendly deck? Talk to your Boston local deck builder about having a screen room built on your porch. These enclosed spaces are an ideal way to enjoy the outdoors with younger children. They provide shade and protection from biting insects – also a favorite of families with pets.

What type of deck lasts the longest in the Boston area?

The Greater Boston area gets four full seasons of weather.



The Principles of Creative Deck Design

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When we talk about creative deck design, we’re really talking about the joy of outdoor living. Outdoor living is something we’re particularly passionate about. There’s a reason we’ve decided to devote so much of our career to designing and building decks and patios. Being outdoors gives people joy, lifts their spirit, promotes an optimistic world view, and improves the health, yet most of us spend more than 90% of our lives indoors.

We’re a little company. We’re not going to be able to change the world works. Most people are going to keep right on spending 90% of their lives indoors. But we’re hoping, through the decks we build, to encourage at least a few people to take that first step and get out in the fresh air. Check out the clouds as they float by overhead. Listen to some birds. Wave at the neighbor as they jog by. Appreciate the space and community we live in.

Creative deck design means building spaces that work for families. We encourage our clients to choose composite decking because it can stand up to the wear and tear of kids, animals, and adventure gear. It’s also super low maintenance, so you can spend your time enjoying your deck instead of painting it. Composite decking doesn’t have the mold or mildew problems you can see wooden decks develop, especially during rainy seasons. Insects aren’t interested in it either. Lots of benefits, limited headaches: that’s creative deck design at its finest.

Your deck should suit your family’s lifestyle. That means if you do a lot of entertaining, you need room on the deck to cook – maybe a built in barbecue or an outdoor kitchen – as well a place for your friends to congregate. Have lots of little kids in your life? Screen porch options make playtime fun and easy.

The Medford Home: Top 5 Home Additions

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When you love where you live but you need more space, it’s time for a home addition. We’ve been helping families get more enjoyment out of their homes for more than 20 years now, and in that time, we’ve found that sometimes the most important room in the house is elbow room! As long as everyone has sufficient space to be themselves, life is good.

The 5 most popular home additions in the Medford region are all about increasing home owner enjoyment by adding more space.

#1: Medford Kitchen Additions

In homes where the kitchen is too small, outdated, or just doesn’t work for the family, adding a first floor kitchen addition makes sense. Very common to also include utility rooms, laundry rooms, pantries or other storage space into the kitchen addition.

#2: The Master Bedroom Addition

After years and years of putting the kids’ needs first, Medford homeowners are starting to treat themselves to better master bedrooms. These master bedroom suites can be second or third story additions, or, for couples who are concerned about aging in place, on the first floor.

#3: The Home Business Addition

Whether you’re bringing work home from the office or home is your office, you need a dedicated space to do it right. Keep your important business away from the kids, the pets, and household distractions. Enjoy enhanced ability to focus appropriately on your personal and professional lives.

#4: Living Space for Adult Children

Adult children are staying in their parents home longer, and this can mean there’s a need to change living arrangements. Medford home additions can be built with separate entrances, bathrooms, kitchens and more. This type of addition has also proven to be popular for home owners who have their parents or in-laws come live with them.

#5: The Storage Addition

Adding storage to your home means having your things conveniently accessible when you want them and out of your way when you don’t.

Converting a Screen Porch to a Sunroom: What You Need to Know

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Screen porches are wonderful spaces, but they have their limitations. Once the temperature starts to drop, enjoying the screen porch becomes challenging – and when winter’s worst weather arrives, it’s impossible. Sunrooms, on the other hand, can be enjoyed year-round. This is important when your family needs a little extra living space – a quiet area where the kids can do their homework or for you to do your morning workout.

Converting a screen porch to a sunroom is one of the most cost-effective ways to add living space to your home. By using the deck that’s already in place to support your sun room saves you money. It’s a quick and attractive upgrade that boosts your home’s curb appeal and value. When you’re talking to your local deck contractor about upgrading your screen porch to a sunroom, here are some questions you’ll want to ask:

Have you converted a screen porch into a sunroom before? It’s a good best practice to work with an experienced local deck contractor. Ideally, they’ll be able to show you pictures of projects they’ve done, so you can determine if you want that quality of workmanship brought to your home. Your home is one of your biggest investments: it’s okay to be selective about who you allow to work on it.

What type of budget would I need to convert my screen porch into a sunroom? There’s no one size fits all answer to this question, as people’s choices in screen porches and sunrooms can vary widely. However, your local deck contractor should be able to give you an estimate of what your project would cost. Bear in mind they’re going to need some information from you to answer this question, including the size and condition of your existing screen porch. Sometimes screen porches need a little work in order to be suitable for use as a sun room; this can impact your budget.

The best time to start planning your screen porch to sunroom conversion is right now. It’s a quick and simple upgrade that will add to the level of enjoyment you get from your home.