PR November 2006

We live in a fast-paced society with e-mail, instant messaging, microwaves and hydro mulch. Society keeps speeding up, and often we take on more than we can do. It is easy to lose sight of some basic truths that never change, like using the words please and thank you. The temptation is to cut short all unnecessary words in our communications because we have such busy lives.

KITCHEN $51,000 – $100,000 Residential designer: Stimmel Consulting Group, Ambler, Pa. General contractor: Emerald Designs, West Chester, Pa. Creating a new kitchen for this turn-of-the century Victorian castle provided residential designer David Stimmel with one of his most interesting and challenging projects to date, he says.

How is your company culture? If you've got happy, productive employees, satisfied customers and feel like every day presents a new opportunity for success, congratulations. If this is not the case at your company, take heart in the fact that you're not alone. There's a lot you can do to change your company culture for the better, and it doesn't require you to hire an expensive consultant or fir...

KITCHEN UNDER $50,000 Remodeler and designer: Michael Nash Custom Kitchens, Fairfax, Va. Adding storage, seating and cooking features in a kitchen as restricted as this townhouse in Alexandria, Va., was no simple task, says Sonny Nazemian, president of Michael Nash Custom Kitchens. But ultimately, the Fairfax, Va.

With baby boomers continuing to fuel growth in the residential remodeling market, it's no wonder their penchant for high-end luxuries, amenities and design details have come shining through in this year's winning Best of the Best Design Awards projects. This year's award winning projects — more so than any previous year — exhibit the type of upscale flair boomers require in their ho...

Professional Remodeler's 2006 Best in Class Survey asked top remodelers in the residential and commercial sectors to rate the qualities that attract them and keep them with a manufacturer and their products. Though most of the respondents named products from top manufacturers, our survey showed that the appeal's not all in the name.

Connect these dots: Aging-in-place remodeling is the fastest growing segment of the residential remodeling industry. About 20 percent of the U.S. population will be elderly by 2030, and in 50 years, the percentage of retirees will more than double, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

  Hitachi       The H65SD2 40-lb. demolition-style hammer from Hitachi has a 10.8-amp motor that delivers 31 ft./lbs. of direct impact energy yet…

EXTERIOR Remodeler and architect: Feinmann Inc., Arlington, Mass. Using a treasured set of original architectural plans for their century-old Victorian home as their guide, the owners of this Newton, Mass., home realized their long-held dream of returning the exterior façade of the house to its past distinctive charm and character.

BATH OVER $30,000 Remodeler and architect: Landis Construction Corp., Washington, D.C. A dramatic, glass-tiled curvilinear wall, accented by a floor-to-ceiling water feature rather than a conventional doorway, marks the transition from the bedroom into the new master bath in this 42-year-old residence in Potomac, Md.