Spaces for Life: Choosing a deck railing
By Lance McCarthy First, a few fyi’s. Deck railing looks really good, but it has a purpose. And that is to make sure that your beautiful 18 month old daughter that just learned to walk doesn’t walk right off the edge of the deck. Or your drunk friend Jason. Either one. Because of that, smart
Spaces for Life: Choosing a decking material
By Lance McCarthy When is a good time to start talking about decking material? Around the end of March is when those calls really start coming, and by the time May hits it has reached fever pitch. I’ll share a secret with you though. Now is the perfect time to think about that deck in
Spaces for Life: Questions for a Landscpae Architect
By Lance McCarthy One of my favorite parts of my job is being able to work with some really talented people. One of those talented people is Jason Meier of Meier Consulting. Jason is a landscape architect by trade, and helps people re-envision their property, but also is an amazing asset for land development. We
Spaces for Life: The trends coming in outdoor decks
By Lance McCarthy When I was in seventh grade, I had a horrible sense of style. (I’m actually not sure things have changed very much since then). I remember going to school with Jamz (don’t remember these? That’s a good thing) on when other kids were wearing jean shorts. I wore my jeans loose when
March Project of the month: Leawood Backyard Retreat
Do you guys do _______________? That’s one of the questions I get more than any other. The blank is usually filled with all kinds of projects…bathrooms, kitchens, new builds, office tenant finishes, decks, leaky faucets…We love it all because our real passion isn’t a certain type of project, but more a certain type of client.
Spaces For Life: Questions to ask before creating your new outdoor space
By Lance McCarthy What will we do in the space? This may sound like an obvious question, but it is still helpful to think about carefully. You’d be surprised at how often a space is created that hasn’t considered what it will really be used for. Here are some possibilities: Sitting Chairs take up a
Spaces For Life: Spring is coming, can you smell the flowers?
By Lance McCarthy This week even feels like Spring so I am ready to start thinking about it. I figure if Target can play Christmas music after Halloween, then I certainly get to celebrate Spring a month early. Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog didn’t see his shadow this year, so I think I’m pretty safe. I
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: Do you like emotional roller coasters? Preparing for the challenge of a remodeling project.
By Lance McCarthy New clients are hardly ever prepared for the emotional challenge of a remodeling project. I considered forcing them to watch the movie “Money Pit” from back before Tom Hanks considered himself a serious actor, but I thought I might get backlash. (“Two weeks”?) So instead, I’ll try to describe the highs and lows
Spaces For Life: Retaining Walls 101
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 dedicate one of my columns to illuminating some part of the house that most people might not know much about. This week’s topic: Retaining walls. Do