Spaces for Life: How hidden agendas can hijack remodeling projects
By Lance McCarthy I heard a story recently about a young woman who was making dinner for her friends. They asked her why she cut both ends off the ham as she was preparing it. She said, “I don’t know, that’s the way my mom always prepared it.” The next day she called her mom
Spaces for Life: Communication tips to help you survive a remodeling project
By Lance McCarthy I just finished a really good marriage book by John Gottman called The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Excellent read, and I learned a lot that I hope will make me a better husband. (You’ll have to ask my wife if it is actually working). As I was reading, it occurred
Spaces for Life: Ways to work with a contractor
By Lance McCarthy There are many ways to work with a contractor that are swirling around out there in Constructionland. I thought it might be helpful to give a brief overview of those different methods. As with chess pieces or Marvel Superheroes, there are strengths and weaknesses to each type. In case you were wondering,
Spaces for Life: The Secret to a successful construction project
By Lance McCarthy My 6-year-old has been honing his comedy skills, and discovered the impatient cow joke. You know this one? ***Spoiler alert*** I’m telling the joke now… “Knock Knock” “Who’s there?” “Impatient Cow” “Impatient C–” (before the other person can say “who”) “MOO!” I consider myself a humor connisseur, and this is still
Spaces for Life: Get the down-low on basement finishes
By Lance McCarthy Basement finishing – it all comes down to this… As you may know, I am a book guy. One of my favorite books is “At Home” by Bill Bryson. In this book the author walks you through his old house room by room explaining amazing facts and history of the rooms. I
Spaces for Life: Organizing Ideas Continued…
By Lance McCarthy Last week I asked my friend Mary Ellen Vincent to write about some of the ways she uses IKEA products in her home organizing. She started her business OrganizeME around the time I was starting ReTouch, and we have enjoyed a cooperative relationship over the years. She has helped my clients prepare
Spaces for Life: Universal Design Frequently Asked Questions
By Lance McCarthy I have asked one of the other members of the ReTouch community (we have a number of companies in the construction and real estate industry that office together and work collaboratively) to write for this week, and I think you might find it interesting. Bryon Sunday owns Accessibility Remodeling, and they specialize
Spaces for Life: Organizing Hacks using IKEA
By Lance McCarthy Organizing with IKEA Products Part I This week I have asked my friend Mary Ellen Vincent to write about some of the ways she uses IKEA products in her home organizing. She started her business Organize Me around the time I was starting ReTouch, and we have enjoyed a cooperative relationship over
Spaces for Life: What you should know about interior doors
By Lance McCarthy Do you find your house mysterious and perplexing? I have decided to bravely serve as tour guide to the home. Each month I will dedicate one of my columns to illuminating some part of the house that most people might not know much about. This week’s topic: The Doors Not the
Spaces for Life: Where should I buy the material for my home project?
By Lance McCarthy One of the big questions in any remodeling project is where to get the materials. Do we get the tile from one of the tile stores in town? Do we order our lights online? Should we save some money by buying our cabinets at Home Depot? There are so many opinions, I