The back yard patio is the new living room.

Let’s discuss.

If you’ve tried to purchase an outdoor, propane heater, new grill, or even outdoor seating in the past six months, this is not news to you. We’re all doing our best to manage through the pandemic while still enjoying social connections and time with family and friends. The solution that so many of us have adopted is to spend more time outside. There’s a Norwegian saying that says, “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” It’s a mantra worth adopting these days. We have a lot of customers who are ready to bundle up and enjoy their back yards as much as they enjoy their living rooms. But these lucky homeowners have had that opportunity for the past six months. Reading any further may make you pretty jealous, but we hope that it inspires you for a future project in your own back yard.

This stately Hyde Park, Cincinnati home was already a real beauty and the homeowners instantly saw its potential. The scope of our project included new paint, a new driveway, an expanded front porch with new front doors and then, the creme de la creme of a backyard, giving this home garage space, privacy, extra parking and outdoor living space—all elements that it had previously been lacking.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

The home received an instant update with a new coat of paint and a new front door. A new, enlarged porch was added that expands the entire front of the house, allowing for two seating areas. New lighting and ceiling fans make it a wonderful place to sit and watch the world go by.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

Of course, the front of the home looks beautiful from a distance, plus, the closer you get, the more stunning it becomes. The stained headboard ceiling adds a gorgeous custom detail. The composite flooring give the space low maintenance durability.

A new poured concrete driveway now extends from the street to the backyard, not only offering additional parking, but also giving an impressive gated access to the backyard. As the gates swing open, you can see an expansive paver patio—beautiful enough for entertaining and durable enough for even more parking, when necessarily. The addition of a two-plus car garage, gives a place to park cars and is large enough to accommodate additional storage.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

The backyard provided a blank slate and the perfect spot for a new two-car garage, a rarity in a community of older homes. In addition to adding more storage and lighting, the new structure gives more privacy from neighbors for the new entertaining and outdoor living space.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

If you were to look up “outdoor oasis” in the dictionary, this picture would surely be right there. What used to be an empty back yard is now a multi-level living area, with easy access to the street, house and garage. But why would you ever leave this cozy little nook. The paver patio includes a grill and refrigerator, plus a gas fire pit. Custom built planters add an extra bit of privacy and some seasonal color.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

The composite deck extends this entertaining space and is maintenance free, to boot. Instead of railings, it includes beautiful built in planters and a built in bench. Take note of the outdoor television. We’re sure this family doesn’t miss going out because they have it all right here.

And you can too. Give us a call to get on our schedule to upgrade your own backyard.

There’s a certain beauty to a work-from-home day. Not only can you throw on a load of laundry between phone calls and emails, skip cafeteria lines when it’s time for lunch, and stay cozy in your slippers all day long, but you also keep to take a break from harsh overhead lighting, uncomfortable furniture and the buzz from the photocopier. If you’re spending the day at home to get some work done, why not make the process a little bit fun, just like these homeowners did. 

 You may feel like you know these homeowners already, since this is our hattrick project for them. Remember that amazing outdoor room? What about that spring-like bathroom? Kind of makes you want to meet them in person so you can be invited over for drinks. This space won’t change your opinion of them at all. 

We’re not interior designers, but we sure do get to have some fun when our homeowners pick out some extra special finishes. That isn’t a really precise gallery wall—it’s wallpaper! Wallpaper is back and it is more fun than ever. We had a blast installing this wallpaper, which gives that English hunt feel with the dark, subtly patterned wallpaper, filled with ornate gold picture frames.  But the animals inside each frame, all dressed in their Sunday best, show a bit of whimsy and a good sense of humor. Look up from your laptop to see this view, and you’ll surely smile. And, if you remember from their bathroom project, this family wants to update their space, while paying homage to the home’s history. This fun wallpaper certainly does the trick, that takes an antique-look and presents it in an entirely new way.

 The hunter green painted walls add to the English hunt feel, with a collection of framed photos and artwork to complement the playful adjacent wallpaper. 

 No industrial carpeting in this office. This home office was completed with new hardwood flooring. The combination with the oversized chair and tufted ottoman that the homeowner selected could help this space swing into happy hour as a comfy den for after work drinks. And isn’t that how we’d all like to end the work week? By putting up our feet, and relaxing with a beverage of choice. If you’re going to work from home, might as well do it in style? 

Do you have a space in your home that is need of some sprucing up? Give us a ring? From cosmetic touches like painting, wallpaper installation and hardwood flooring, to bigger renovations, home additions and new builds, we can help you transform your home room by room. 

You may have fallen in love with the whimsical bathroom that we just shared, a beautiful melding of modern aesthetic with the historic bones of an older home. We loved working on this project, in part, because it was such a fun challenge. But we have a special place in our heart for these homeowners, who called us back into work on this space a year after we completed another project for them: an outdoor room.

This project began as a concrete slab. And while that makes a fine place for holding a barbeque grill and maybe a table and some chairs, at the end of the day, it’s just a concrete slab. These homeowners wanted to extend their living space and transform it into an outdoor room, complete with all of the comforts of the indoors. 

A roof both adds protection from the elements, but also makes this space look like a natural extension of the house. To us, that’s a barometer of a project well done—one that, once it is complete, you can’t imagine what the house looked like without it. 

 But it wasn’t enough to add just a roof and screens. The tile flooring is both durable and stylish. A gas fireplace with wall mounted television above it gives another taste of the indoors. 

The grill still has a place in this space, with an inviting table nearby. Add some good friends and you have an instant party, all in one space.

See more of this beautiful space and hear more about the specifics of this project from The English Contractor himself, Craig Russell. 

Do you have an outdoor space that could use some attention? Are you imagining an outdoor room all your own? Give us a call today.

“You may think that spring showers bring May flowers. But in this case, spring showers brought us very happy homeowners.”

Don’t you love those beautiful spring mornings? The ones where you wake up to beautiful sunshine. Flowers are in bloom. The birds are singing. The kind of morning where you just can’t wait to leap out of bed and greet the day? 

 For some lucky homeowners, with a creative vision all their own, that’s every morning, every season of the year.

 The English Contractor was contacted by these Milford homeowners to remodel their bathroom, after we’d successfully worked with them to create an outdoor room, that you can see here. Of course, one of our most frequent requests is to help refresh and renew a bathroom. But this one was special and our task was specific: remodel this bathroom to make it modern and new while paying homage to the legacy of their historic home. 

 If you’ve ever lived in a historic home, you know you are much more than a homeowner. You are a steward of a domicile that was home to many families before you. And, thanks to your caretaking, will likely hold many other families under its roof for decades to come. A house like this has a personality, even a spirit, all its own. Your job is to keep this home a representation of the time period in which it was built, while gently and carefully welcoming the modern era in. 

 We wax poetic, but it’s true. 

 Take a look at these photos and see for yourself. This free-standing soaker tub with elegant claw feet is reminiscent of another era. The original home likely had a bathtub just like this. It makes a statement. It screams personality, acting as a piece of furniture in this perfect nook. The deck mounted faucet with cross hatch handles screams vintage, while at the same time gleaming shiny and new. Both the bathtub and the faucet are from our friends at Signature Hardware.

 We’re so in love with the tile floor from Ann Sacks, a chevron pattern given a new look with an elegant curve from the Benton Mosaic collection. The shades of gray add some interest to the area and are a beautiful, modern juxtaposition against the stately, vintage-look bathtub.   

 But let’s talk about that shower. The subway tile here, with grey grout, adds a nice, neutral backdrop for the rest of the space. Three recessed shelves add plenty of storage. It’s the brass shower fixtures that really makes this space sing. We love it when the most functional item is also beautifully decorative.

And when we say sing, we mean sing like the birds on that cheerful wallpaper. Talk about bringing the outside in. So many of our homeowners have embraced the “everything old is new again” wallpaper trend. We particularly like this one, selected by these clients. It’s so cheerful and happy, a modernized toile that once again takes a vintage space and makes it more current, with a slight nod to the home’s heritage. The stained-glass window is the icing on the cake, letting in plenty of natural light while beautifully reflecting the design of this space, both inside and out.

This sweet pedestal sink is just so perfect for this space, with the brass faucet with cross hatch handles reflecting this mix of new and old, both from Kohler. The white chair rail and detailed paneling lend a crisp and clean feel to the space. And isn’t that just how a new bathroom should feel.

Is your bathroom ready for a transformation? We’d love to tell you more about this project, as well as some of our other recent bathroom remodels that you can preview here and here. Give us a call. We’d love to show off our latest work—and talk about how we can help you.

When touring the HGTV home, many people ask us specifics about the finishes and furniture. From working on the project from the beginning to end, we can answer a lot of these questions. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of the HGTV Urban Oasis home, we can take a lot of credit for the craftsmanship of the project. But our job was really to bring the vision of the designer, Brian Patrick Flynn, to life.  And while our project managers receiving training from all different suppliers—from Subzero, Wolf and Cove to Marvin Windows—and have exquisite taste to match, our job is to our job is to listen carefully and lend our expertise to give structure to a designer’s or home owner’s plans. 

That’s the beauty of working on a team of contractor, architect and designer. All of us have the goal of ultimately making the homeowner’s dream come true. As contractors who specialize in high end home renovations, we are constantly exposed to best practices in kitchen and bathroom finishes. We can make recommendations on a counter surface—marble, granite, soapstone, or butcher block—depending on your kitchen use. We’re up to date on the latest technology in the loo—from electronically controlled showers to touchless toilets. By attending trade shows and training, we know what’s coming down the pike. So it’s not all about swinging a hammer. We can certainly work with you and your designer to help you build your dream home—from the studs down to the paint.

Are you ready to tackle a major renovation? The team at The English Contractor is here and ready to help. Let’s connect to discuss your plans. We’d love to be part of your dream team to make the magic happen.

In home building and interior design, bathrooms used to be after thoughts. Necessary, but not showcased. Minimally functional, but not beautiful. But times have changed. Bathrooms have style! Here’s a place to let your design style shine. Essential considerations like layout, lighting, functionality and other aesthetic elements can result in a beautiful space that is both attractive and useful. This year, we’ve been lucky enough to take on several different bathroom remodels, which means we’ve seen a lot of the latest trends that homeowners are embracing in a bathroom remodel. If you’re considering a bathroom remodel this year, you’ll want to read on to see some of these details.

Neutrality

Lots of homeowners are drawn to a neutral palette because of its staying power. The look of a neutral bathroom can totally change with paint, towels or artwork, accessories and décor elements that can easily be swapped to give the space a seasonal or refreshed look.

Catch the subway.

The subway tile trend is here to stay. We love it for its affordability and the stylish impact it can make. The change of grout color totally changes the look. These four bathrooms recently renovated by The English Contractor couldn’t be any more different, yet each makes use of subway tile in a way that makes a big impact in each space.

Natural wood.

We love the look of natural wood in a bathroom. It takes some colder materials, like tile, ceramic, and metal, and makes them seem warmer, sometimes even spa-like. Wood doesn’t have to be rustic. It can still be used in a modern and elegant space. Natural wood also becomes like a pop of color in an all white bathroom, adding texture and visual interest. In each of these bathrooms, the wood became a real focal point, a beautiful and natural element that made each of these spaces come to life.

In the tub.

According to a 2018 Houzz survey, 80% of homeowners planning a bathroom remodel planned to upgrade their tub, with nearly 70% planning a soaking tub. We’ve seen this trend too. A stand-alone tub can make quite a statement. Our clients are loving them for their function and their aesthetic. There are a range of styles and colors for freestanding tubs that are a design element as much as they are a special touch of luxury for a newly renovated bathroom.

Pop of color.

As much as we love the trend of neutral bathrooms, we also enjoy a pop of color. We think you can expect to see more color coming into the bathroom space, with blues and greens staying really popular. This cheerful powder room, featured in the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018, gave new meaning to the term pop of color with yellow painted woodwork and statement wallpaper, yet another trend that homeowners are really loving right now.

Technology for the Throne.

Are you a technology junkie? Bathrooms aren’t technology-free zones any more. Heated floors and heated towel racks are popular options. And technology-enabled shower, like the one pictured here from the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018, have control panels to easily adjust water flow, multiple jets, and temperature for a spa-like experience in your own home.. The possibilities are endless. 

Going Green.

You can follow a trend and save money. Water saving showers are an easy addition to any bathroom remodel and can save you money on your water bill in the long run. Dual-flush toilets are another option. The water flow can be adjusted for each flush to save money and benefit the environment. This hall bathroom features a touchless toilet that flushes with the wave of a hand. A subtle glow lights the way for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips.

Tile Trends.

Of course, there’s more to tile than the subway tile workhorse. We’re seeing lots of shapes, textures, colors that add tons of design appeal to a bathroom. It’s not just color and shape—placement says everything. We love a tile accent and tiled bathroom walls. In this HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 hall bathroom, the tile around the vanity and walls has looks like wallpaper, but it’s really a durable and beautiful tile.

Let’s Get Started.

Do these images have you dreaming of renovating your bathroom? Visit our Pinterest page to explore more of our favorite bathroom renovation projects. Or drop us a line and let’s get started!

Tackling a major remodel requires a fair amount of juggling, especially one like we managed for the HGTV Urban Oasis in Cincinnati, Ohio.. There’s a linear nature to a project like this, one foot in front of the other. There’s an order in which projects have to be completed. It can be a challenge, even for the best of us. And that’s the beauty of being a custom builder. We understand the order, how to manage it, and, more importantly, how to juggle it when things don’t go quite as planned. But add a television camera and a celebrity’s schedule to the mix and you have one heck of a project. It was a balancing act, to say the least, but we couldn’t be prouder of the outcome.

We’re proud to say that we completed the remodel, including the two-story addition, in 6 months and three days. For a house that was stripped down to the studs, this is quite an accomplishment. But for a house that was stripped down to the studs, rebuilt, and given a two store addition, along with a complicated TV production schedule. . . our timeframe is nothing short of a miracle. 

For as many exciting parts of a total home renovation that you may witness on your favorite HGTV or DIY Network show—like demo days and big reveals—there are a lot of little details that aren’t so exciting. Like watching paint dry. It’s all part of the process, it has to be accounted for in the timeline, but drying paint does not make for good television. It was sometimes a bit of a balancing act in getting work completed and making sure we hit certain milestones at specific times in order to align with camera crews and celebrity schedules. 

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A construction zone is a noisy place. And the noise is often, ahem, colorful. But when filming a family show, we had to hammer quietly. And speak politely. 

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Since our goal was to remodel a home AND have it done as part of an hour-long television show, we had to do our job perfectly and in a way that was entertaining. Usually, on the job site, The English Contractor founder and namesake, Craig Russell is our fearless leader. However, for the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 home in Cincinnati, the producer was in charge. That meant redoing a project or two, once or twice (or maybe it was 10 times! We’ll never tell!) just to make sure that the camera got the best shot possible. And we still got it all done in 6 months and 3 days!

All in all, we’re thrilled with the final HGTV Urban Oasis project—the house itself and the episode. We loved working hand in hand with our HGTV friends Egypt Sherrod, Brian Patrick Flynn and Dan Faires, watching them do what they do best while we did what we do best. We couldn’t imagine a better partnership. We’d watch paint dry with that crew any day!

This hall bathroom has been totally transformed. Take a look at these pictures and you’ll be sure to agree that neutrals and subtle details can really pack a punch.  Talk about the art of subtlety! 

We love how all of the neutral colors combine to create a relaxing and stunning space. This hallway bathroom contains a free-standing tub, a glass-enclosed stall shower and a one bowl sink with vanity. The shape of the floor tile, texture of the wood vanity and richness of the bronze fixtures really have a big impact.

This vanity, sink bowl, countertop and mirror, all purchased from Signature Hardware, lend a spa-like feel to this space. 

The soaking tub really makes this bathroom special. This tub, which is already something special, is taken to the next level with fixtures from the Trinsic Collection from Delta, all in Venetian Bronze.

Venetian Bronze plumbing fixtures make another appearance in this stall shower. Our partners at GlassWerkes provided the shower glass. 

Although it is so simple, the floor tile really makes a statement. Hamilton Parker provided the Rewind Peltro 8” x 8” hexagon tile in grey.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two neutrals really make an impact. We love the contrast of the grey hexagon floor tile with the white ice bright subway tile, both purchased from Hamilton Parker. 

The dark shower floor tile adds more drama to this space. You can find this tile, the Landmark Ceramics Shape Ancient Dark Mosiac, at Hamilton Parker. This smaller hexagon shape perfectly complements the larger floor tile. 

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Interested in learning how we can transform the bathroom in your home? Contact us today to meet with one of our project managers. We’ll walk you through the steps to take your space from drab to dramatic.

Hollywood’s got nothing on Cincinnati! And while building a new home or undertaking a huge renovation is not all fun and games, we sure had a great time working with the team at HGTV on this year’s Urban Oasis.

In many ways, the HGTV Urban Oasis home began like any other project: with a phone call. And that’s how it usually begins for us. With a phone call, an email or a message on Facebook. Because as we all know, there is a huge vetting process with hiring a contractor. You want to know if they have handled similar projects before. You want to know what problems they have encountered and how they’ve addressed them. Do they stick to their budget? Do they reasonably mange timelines? But of course, in this case, our mysterious client wanted to know if we could manage all of the above, while completing the project in complete secrecy.

The HGTV Urban Oasis home is a show stopper and its Cincinnati red curb appeal makes it a traffic stopper too.

Working in secrecy has its challenges.

When we manage a large project, the project is given a name—usually the client’s name—to help us manage our queue. We need the last name to help with our deliveries—things like building materials, or, ahem, an outdoor loo. As a nod to our English heritage, this project was nicknamed Windsor. Could be a common last name, could be royalty? Who knew? Although we know that some of our vendors, suppliers and neighbors were suspicious, we tried to explain everything away. You saw a camera? We’re filming a commercial. An HGTV celebrity sighting? Surely it must be a Cincinnati doppelganger. You must be seeing things! Although we typically take before and after photos, our crew was under strict orders not to breathe a word of it or take one picture. We stuck to the letter of the law. We know it can be difficult to keep a big secret under wraps, especially in a small city like Cincinnati. But if the secret got out early, we can guarantee, it wasn’t from one of our crew.

Of course, now the word is out. The show has aired! We’ve given televised tours of the home. And the home is frequently in the background of many an Instagram selfie. Have you been following the star of Cincinnati’s latest reality show? The HGTV Urban Oasis home is a show stopper and its Cincinnati red curb appeal makes it a traffic stopper too.  Post your picture and tag us on Instagram @theenglishcontractor.