Weekend Warriors

Weekend Warriors battle it out over Memorial Day Weekend! We pulled up our sleeves and conquered the great "Honest John's Lumber" yard of the past. Our families beloved property north of Payson is the site of one of the first lumber yards in that region. Our Grandparents founded Honest John's Lumber (early 1970's) and ran a successful business for many years. Many of us grandchildren remember working summers at the lumber yard. Well many, many, years later we are working it again, only this time we are transforming what used to be a ghost of a business to a retreat in the woods. We reroofed part of the building, put a fresh coat of paint on the building, built a masonry firepit, and filled a 40 ton dumpster. Brothers, sisters, moms, dads, and grandparents were all victorious!

Networking Arizona

I had the privilege of promoting CC Interior Designs and BC Renovations on the KFNX radio show Networking Arizona with Carol Blonder. It was a great experience and opportunity for us. Thanks Mom for hooking me up:)

Home Sweet Home

I was so impressed with this gingerbread house that one of our clients, Jennifer Dunn, made that I just had to share it. My family does gingerbread houses every year but this one beats all! I think when it comes to houses, I'll stick with renovating them and I'll call Jennifer to bake one for me:)

Congratulations to Jennifer Dunn of Gold Canyon for being the Grand Prize Winner in the Martha Stewart Living Holiday Crafts and Creations Contest! Her gingerbread house is entirely edible, from the desert landscaping to the interior furnishings. Jennifer won a trip to New York City to attend the Martha Stewart Show and $400 towards M&M's World.

"Click Here" for Rosie On The House

Visit the Rosie website (click above to link) to learn more about BC Renovations and CC Interior Designs. Don't forget to listen to the recorded client testimony at the bottom of our page!

Listen to Rosie On The House every Saturday morning on KTAR to hear our commercials and special promotions.

Don't forget to click on our "Special Offer" on the Rosie website.

Taking it to the streets!

Wow! That was a lot of fun! We joined approximately 30 other partners from Rosie On The House to do a Home Show Booth Exhibit at the Scottsdale Pella Windows showroom parking lot. It was a beautiful Saturday morning with Cajun music (the type Rosie's listeners would expect to hear) playing in the background, free food, and a whole lot of prizes to be given away! Our booth gave a "Win Today-Remodel Tomorrow" Lottery Basket away. The lucky winners should have plenty of entertainment scratching all those tickets and hopefully "scratch it rich!"

Thanks to Meghan Rakotz and Doug Cox for their loyal support and help. Brad, I know how much you wanted to be with us. I'm sure you were thinking of us while you were at NASCAR. Ha Ha:)

Confessions of a Phoenix College Alumna

As an Interior Design graduate of Phoenix College, I was more than happy to say "yes" to a former Professor who invited me to speak with her Space Planning class. I shared my experiences as a design student and the transition that took place from student to professional. As a student, I was the Phoenix College Student Chapter President of the American Society of Interior Designers and was a strong advocate of "getting involved" in the design community. It's a sermon that I have since repeated several times to students, "Your success starts now, in school, pave a path into the design community". I guess it all boils down to having passion about what you do and wanting to make a positive difference in other people's lives. Every one has gifts and talents that are meant to be shared. Getting involved means "action" and that combined with "passion" equals "success".

Ancient Hohokam Architecture

March was the perfect time to visit the Sears-Kay Ruins in the Tonto National Forest east of Carefree. My family and I hiked the small trail to the hilltop where you could see the remnants of an ancient Hohokam village. When we arrived to the top, I could only imagine what it must have been like in A.D. 1050 to 1200 to live on that small mountain top with the great views surrounding you and the peaceful silence. That same vast silence, made me so aware of the importance it must have been for everyone to work together for survival. Hand stacked stone walls provided protection, keeping predators out and I'm sure keeping the young children safe from the mountains edges. We found small pieces of Indian pottery and was greeted by butterflies enjoying the spring flowers.

Habitat for Humanity

BC Renovations and CC Interior Designs joined with Habitat for Humanity in September of 2008 and March of 2009 to assist two families with the building of their new homes. The home owners Hodge and Ortiz-Galindo worked with us as we framed the roof, interior walls, painted, and installed windows. We had a great time, along with a few sore muscles, but count it a privilege, honor, and responsibility to give back to the community.

Seen in the photos are Brad Christensen, Christine and Doug Cox, Meghan and Eric Rakotz, and Bill Voorhaar.

Making a Splash For Your Kitchens Focal Point

The most common focal point in the kitchen is the cooking station. You want to make sure that your focal point makes a great first impression. A creative ventilation hood, beautiful appliance, and well designed backsplash will take your kitchen from ordinary to extraordinary.

Remember to keep everything in proportion. You don't want a hood that over powers your cooking surface or is too high or too low. Think outside the box when it comes to your hood, they can always be customized!

A simple cooking appliance can be embellished with decorative millwork, consider adding legs or feet to the cabinetry on either side of the slide in range. This is also a great spot for pull out spice racks. Again, make sure the size of the appliance you want is appropriate to the size of your kitchen.

No matter what, always address the backsplash, it is a blank canvas begging for attention. The splash design should be from materials that are easily cleaned and covers the wall area from the bottom of the hood down to the counter. Depending on the overall design, continuing the backsplash up the wall to the ceiling or tops of the upper cabinetry can have a great impact. The splash is also another great area to insert a couple of those high dollar embellishments without breaking the budget.

With proper planning, your kitchen's focal point solidifies your style and is an introduction that tells people you have a well designed kitchen.

VOC Pros and Cons in Paint

Since ancient times, people have colored their world with dyes made from plant and mineral pigments. Natural resources were used to enhance and decorate their dwellings and express their cultures. In times past, it was not uncommon to have paint made from items such as lime, tree resins, clay, chalk, and milk.

With the abilities of the Industrial Revolution and the WWII chemistry advancements of petroleum, milk based paints were replaced with mass produced synthetic petroleum based paints. These new paints didn't spoil and were readily available.

Synthetic paints have volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate into the air (your home) as the paint cures. With our energy efficient homes, the off gassing may become trapped within the house and dissipate slowly. If your smelling the paint, you're breathing VOCs which could affect your eyes, nose, skin, and lungs.

These VOCs are what make today's paints durable, apply smoothly, provide good coverage, adhesion, hides brushstrokes, scrubability, and long shelf life. Many manufacturers are making advancements in lowering VOCs without compromising quality.

Earth friendly paints are also available today that are made from natural products like milk, clay, plant resins, and minerals. These paints are non toxic, however; have not mastered the same performance results as paints with VOCs or low VOCs. Advancements in coating chemistry and natural paints are working to provide options that are high performing and healthy for us and the environment.

WaterSense

Did you know that according to the EPA, we could save nearly 640 BILLION gallons of water A YEAR if Americans with older inefficient toilets would replace them with the new WaterSense toilets?

Not only is that a lot of water but think of the amount of energy we could also save on supplying and treating that water. An example given by the EPA is that your faucet running for five minutes is equal to letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours!

Let us help you select WaterSense products with your next remodeling project. They are offered by a variety of suppliers in designs that will enhance your project and save our natural resources.

For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/ and search WaterSense.

NARI and Rebuilding Together

BC Renovations, LLC and CC Interior Designs pulled together with HD Kitchen and Bath to assist Rebuilding Together in restoring a much needed

bathroom for an elderly woman raising her

grandchildren.

Rebuilding Together provides free home repairs and modifications at no cost to America's homeowners with low income.

We were able to provide a handicapped toilet, two grab bars, and a new sink faucet. Other donations were made by our friends at NARI. Good job everyone!

2009 Contractor of the Year Award!

We are happy to announce that our Contractor/Designer Team is the recipient of the 2009 CotY Award from the Greater Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for the Residential Bath Category ($30,001-$60,000). Designer, Christine Cox, Owner of CC Interior Designs and General Contractor, Brad Christensen, Owner of BC Renovations, LLC received the award at the NARI dinner benefitting Angels on Call December 13, 2008.