Putting Your Money Where Your House Is

By Tony Seideman

They call to you, these imperfections in your home, the pieces that are outdated, or worn, or which simply don’t touch the style and feel you want for the place where you live. Yet fixing them—scratching the home improvement itch—is never cheap and always complex. This is especially true in an uncertain economy in which real estate prices are dropping and every choice is a hard one. Questions that could be shrugged off in another time must now be answered. Where should the money go? What will provide the best return? What materials will not only stand up to years of enjoyment, but will avoid seeming trendy and clichéd just a few years down the road?

One thing that’s certain is that many of the traditional answers no longer hold. Where for decades a house seemed like an IRA with doors, windows, floors, and bathrooms, that’s no longer the case. More than ever before, homes are shelters, places where we can seek rest from a harsh and stressful outer world—and places where we may wind up staying far longer than we originally planned.

When homes are losing value, are home improvements essentially a waste of money? Is this a case of throwing good money after bad? We asked real estate agents, architects, and other home improvement experts and they told us that renovations and remodeling remain a sound investment—but now, more than ever, choices need to be made wisely and with great care.

“People really need to stop being scared,” says Fred Mastroianni, founder and owner of Elemental Design Concepts (EDC) of White Plains. “It’s not like they’re going to Neiman Marcus and blowing $150,000 on clothes,” he says. Prices have declined less in Westchester County than in many other areas of the country, he says, and well thought-out investments in homes will almost certainly pay off.

The WAG reached out to people on the front lines of the home improvement battles. We asked them what steps and strategies they thought were best in these difficult, tumultuous times. Here’s what they suggested:

Evaluate Your Home
First, walk through it as if you were a potential purchaser. See what you think works and what you think doesn’t. Are there things that would make you buy this place, or run away? What are they? Next, walk through without that filter. Forget about investments and return and what other people might think of your home. Think about what makes you comfortable with this shelter and what doesn’t. These two experiences should help guide your decisions. And what should you do if your conclusions on the second tour are at odds with the first? “Home is where the heart is and you should certainly surround yourself with a design you love,” says Lauren Cherkas, president of Artistic Tile, an upscale Manhattan company with a location in White Plains.

Get a Sense of Your Neighborhood’s Style and Values By values, we don’t mean money. Different places have varying aesthetic standards. We found an online chart from a home remodeling magazine that purported an 80 percent return on the addition of vinyl siding on upscale homes in New York. In fact, it was the highest “cost recouped” project on a long list of other possibilities including “major kitchen remodel.” We’ve got one thing to say to this chart: Ha! If you install vinyl siding on an upscale home in Westchester, you will probably seriously erode rather than improve your house’s value. High-priced homes are expected to utilize traditional materials—a fact you can verify from a simple tour of the neighborhood. If all the other homes in the area have clapboard, bricks, or genuine stucco, vinyl siding simply won’t do. Just as important, many Westchester homes are superlative examples of some of the most venerated architectural styles in American residential history. Putting a mid-century modern interior in a 1930s Tudor could prove a fairly serious mistake if you’re looking to get your money back.

Figure Out What Will Make You Feel Good
Unless you’re a developer or a flipper, you’re going to live amid your decisions. That means any work you do should have a goal of satisfying you first and others second. Doing your kitchen in a style that you’re not fully comfortable with, but which might benefit some unknown person years and years down the road, is almost certainly not the best approach to take. Instead, figure out what you like, stick with it, and understand that the traditional equations still hold. For years, experts have said that kitchens and bathrooms provide the best return on your dollar. That’s undoubtedly still the case. “Whether you’re looking to spruce up the house for your own enjoyment or you’re looking to update your home with future resale in mind, those are the two best places to put your money for current owners and prospective buyers,” says Paulette Gambacorta, a senior designer with Bilotta Kitchen Design.

Going Green Can Pay
Fresh caulk isn’t as sexy as an exotic new countertop. But green investments can pay off twofold, saving you cash now and adding value to your property later when it’s time to sell. “Insulating, weather stripping, putting in appropriate new windows and upgrading your heating system—all those small-scale, energy-saving interventions are good for the pocketbook as well as the planet,” says Stephen Tilly of Stephen Tilly, Architect of Dobbs Ferry. Energy-efficient windows aren’t that sexy either, but a lot of experts are saying that when the economy gets back on track, energy prices may well shoot right back up again. At a time when the monthly heating bill for a decent-sized home during the colder winter months can reach into the four figures, anything that reduces expenses is a good investment. Geothermal heating and cooling systems can be very costly to install, but can also reduce your heating bills to almost nothing. Significant tax benefits may also be available to people who install such systems.

Don’t Neglect Curb Appeal
Since we live inside our houses, it’s easy to forget that a relatively small amount of money put into the exterior of a residence can improve its appeal dramatically. “Freshening up the outside of your house would be an immediate return on your investment,” says Barry Grazziano, branch manager of Prudential Rand Realty’s White Plains office. “If your house is tired on the outside, it could be a $10,000 paint job or a $25,000 refacing or residing,” he says. Either option sounds like a significant outlay of cash but, Grazziano says, both should at least pay for themselves and probably give a good return as well. Moving away from white can be a good step. Color, especially if chosen and applied by a professional who knows how to make a house look its best, can transform a wallflower into a standout. “Color is a very personal choice but people tend to be guided by what’s prevalent in their neighborhood as well as their home’s architecture,” says Anthony Uzzo, owner of Artisan Partners Inc., a painting contractor in Katonah. “Colonial-style homes often look best in beiges, yellows, creams, and reds. The historic standard for Victorian houses is a different color for each architectural element (shingles, trim, fretwork, etc.).”

Explore Color on Your House’s Interior
Beige has its appeal if you’re putting your house on the market, but it is also both bland and overused. Judicious application of strong colors to the interior of the house is one of the most cost-effective ways to dramatically change your indoor environment quickly, economically, and relatively easily, says Tilly, who is a nationally recognized expert in historic preservation and restoration. “If you’re painting rooms in different colors, using the same trim color throughout helps unify the look,” suggests Uzzo. “And instead of painting a large room all one color, which can make it look like a big box, try painting an accent wall. For example, in a big master bedroom, paint the wall behind the headboard.”

Landscape
Whether you’re planning on staying in your home indefinitely or are remodeling with an eye toward selling, it pays to pay attention to what’s outside your front door. “Landscaping is like a jacket cover of a book,” says Donna Gravenese, a real estate agent with Vincent & Whittemore Real Estate, Bedford. “It’s what a client sees first, creating an immediate impression, which they could carry throughout the house.”

Landscaping can create undeniable visual appeal with planting and “hardscaping” features such as patios, walkways, and stone walls. To make the most of any outdoor space, consider adding a retractable, motorized awning. “UV ratings are a big issue,” says Gregory Sahagian, owner of Gregory Sahagian & Son, an awning company in Hartsdale. “A retractable awning gives you shade when you want it and sun when you want it. It helps mothers of young children create outdoor living space for kids and it provides significant energy savings. Rooms with patio doors see a 20 percent savings on heat gain or heat loss.”

Landscaping can also add recreational amenities to your house. Jan Johnsen of Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, Bedford Hills, says her firm can transform steep terrain into a level lawn that’s perfect for family fun. To make your home into a relaxing retreat, Johnsen suggests a “Japanese-flavor garden with a water element like a pond or waterfall.” If you dream of a pool but have a small property, petite “cocktail” pools can be the answer. And if you’d like a vegetable garden but worry that your property isn’t big enough to hide it out of sight, take heart. “Even a practical vegetable garden can be transformed into a design feature,” Johnsen says.

The days of sticking the vegetable garden in the back of the house under a tiny patch of sun are passé, according to landscape architect Daniel Sherman. “As of mid-April, we already had four or five requests to design ‘Obama Gardens’—all-organic vegetable gardens. They’re definitely taking precedence over traditional cutting gardens, which now seem so wasteful. We’re even being asked to design compost piles so that our clients can also mulch and fertilize their gardens organically.” Sherman notes that his Valhalla-based firm is also noticing a drop in requests for outdoor open fire pits and fireplaces. “They were all the rage, last year. But this year, I’ve received only one design request, so far.”

Master the Master Bath
These days, the hottest additions are those that enhance hygiene as well as enjoyment. “Lately, people are doing air tubs, which blow bubbles with air, instead of Jacuzzis, which use jets,” says Ramesh Bersaud, sales manager for Fenimore Plumbing Supply in Mamaroneck. “With the air system, after your bath, the pump comes on and blows water out of the tubes. In a whirlpool, however, the water is still in the jets and after three or four days of disuse bacteria grows. The next time you turn it on, black stuff spews out.” Better hygiene is also behind the popularity of toilets like the “Washlet” by Toto, which features a built-in bidet.

Luxurious appointments are still important. High-end showers are getting ever larger and come equipped with multi-directional body sprays for a spa-like experience. If you’re looking to go over-the-top when it comes to a bathroom vanity top or even the walls, EDC’s Mastroianni notes that CeasarStone has a new line called “Concetto” that utilizes semi-precious stones sealed in a matrix. Its products include tiger eye, blue agate, and rose quartz—materials more often found in jewelry than in homes.

Tile now comes in a dizzying array of options. Two of the most important design ideas are large-format tile and shiny, reflective surfaces. (Artistic Tile’s “La Leaf” collection combines both trends in a series of metallic copper,
gold, and silver rectangular tiles that can be used in wet areas.) Because shiny surfaces add light and liveliness to dark bathrooms, glass tile and glass mosaics have become enormously popular. “They’re here to stay,” says MasMastroianni. “Increasingly, there are more options with what can be done with them. In my showroom, I have a 10-foot-wide mosaic of Van Gogh’s ‘Irises’ mounted on glass and backlit.” It might not be the most practical item in the world, but it definitely makes a dramatic statement.

“Glass has been popular and we’re seeing more and more of it, but it’s not for everybody,” cautions Dave Gasch, general manager of Terra Tile & Marble in Briarcliff. “If you want to be on the safer side of the design spectrum, subway tile for the walls of the bath and shower would be a good choice.” Of course, there’s always natural stone and even mosaics that mix stone and glass for textural variety.

Contemporary, Asian-influenced design remains a strong trend and darker cabinetry in Wenge wood and cherry are popular choices. For more traditional and historic homes, millwork such as wainscoting and crown moldings adds architectural interest. But decorating trends aside, the bathroom is primarily a functional space and keeping that fact in mind can save you both money and grief.

“Everyone thinks they need to have two sinks in the bathroom,” says Frank Branca Sr., owner of New Dimensions Remodeling Inc. a design and build firm in Mt. Kisco. “But how many times would both of you be using
the sink at precisely the same time?” Unless you both have to catch the same train every morning, your money might be better spent elsewhere. Branca also advises homeowners to ask themselves whether they need both a shower and a tub. “My wife insisted that we get a whirlpool tub but we’ve had it for nine months now and she’s used it exactly once,” Branca admits. “As far as I’m concerned, a whirlpool tub is as practical as a broken leg.”

Get the Kitchen Done Right
“The kitchen is your most important investment,” says Mastroianni of EDC. “If you spend $70,000 on the kitchen, you’re going to get $100,000 to $140,000 back. The key is to do it in such a way that in five years, it doesn’t look time-stamped.” So, what’s already “so early 2000s?”

Uba Tuba and Black Pearl granite may have been exciting in their day, but they’re definitely overexposed right now. “Uba Tuba has played itself out,” says Jim Spader, a sales representative and project manager for Millennium Stone in Port Chester. “We maybe do one countertop a month in Uba Tuba, but we used to do a lot of it.”

Although some, like Mastroianni, call granite “boring,” most design professionals agree that there’s a lot to love. Few materials offer greater variety in terms of color, style, and even texture. “We’re seeing interest in different finishes like a brushed finish, which has a little bit of a distressed, antique feel,” says Spader. Homeowners are also rediscovering the appeal of classic stone for flooring, countertops, and backsplashes. There’s a reason the ancients loved marble and limestone. They have a warmth that many modern materials lack. One of the key aspects of dealing with such materials is to let them be natural. Overaggressive application of sealants and other substances can wind up obscuring nature’s beauty with artificial sheen, thereby dramatically reducing its appeal, Cherakas of Artistic Tile says. One trend to watch for: the resurgence of white marble. “For people with grown kids who want a real trophy kitchen, using white marble is very popular,” says Spader. “We’re doing one or two a week!”

Modern synthetic countertop slabs can offer much of the beauty of natural materials with far more durability and a reasonable cost. Some synthetics even take a green approach, mixing recycled materials to add to their appeal. Tilly especially likes IceStone, which uses recycled glass mixed with cement. He also recommends Colorlith and Fireslate, two cement-based countertop products that are often used in laboratories and give a good “industrial chic” look. Mastroianni likes CaesarStone, which is made primarily of fused natural quartz, wspecially in some of the recently debuted colors.

Cabinetry seems to have taken a turn toward simplicity. “Recently, I haven’t seen much in the way of colorful, painted cabinets,” says Carina Farber, a kitchen designer and owner of Kitchen Design by Choice (KDC) in Pelham. “I see a lot more neutral colors and natural woods.” Dust and grease are inevitable even in the cleanest kitchen. That’s one reason why the trend a few years ago of adding a myriad of nooks, crannies and details to kitchens is now considered solidly over. Ornate moldings are both expensive and hard to keep clean, so few designers recommend them today, says Gambacorta of Bilotta. When it comes to appliances, Mastroianni is bullish on stainless. “Stainless steel may not be as prevalent down the road as it is now but it’s not going anywhere,” he says. “It’s a clean look and if you’re not going to use appliances that take panels, what are you going to use? White? That’s ugly! Cobalt blue? You’ll be sick of it in three years. Jenn-Air has bronze-looking appliances and they’re great looking now but in three or four years? I’m not so sure. Stainless is industrial and that’s never going to be dated.”

Go for the Dream Closet
You know you want a fancy closet with space to display all your shoes, but is that a wise move in this market? You bet! “I have not met a client who does not love a beautifully organized and well-built closet,” says Ghy Manning, owner and principal broker, Vincent & Whittemore. Just don’t try to cheap it out with some snap-in wire shelving. “If a homeowner is considering the investment, they should do it wisely,” says Manning. “A professional consultation is invaluable. Closets should be designed and constructed with the same consideration as the rest of their home.”

Thoughtfully designed closets make sense from both a financial and practical perspective.
“You pay the same amount of money per square foot no matter where you are in your house,” says Andreas Messis, co-founder with Stuart Reisch of transFORM,a custom cabinet manufacturer and design-build firm in New Rochelle. “In a 10,000 square-foot home that costs $1 million, you’re paying $1,000 a square foot whether it’s in your kitchen or your closet. If you have a six-by-eight foot closet that’s under-utilized, you could be throwing out $50,000 worth of value.” Aside from the investment value (Messis says a typical size custom reach-in closet starts at just $750), closets make an invaluable contribution to your lifestyle. “Having an organized closet where you can quickly and easily pull things in and out is a great stress reliever,” he says. And really, isn’t that what a home improvement is all about?

Where to Find Our Experts
Elemental Design Concepts: 197 E. Post Road, White Plains, 422-3323
www.elementaldesignconcepts.com

Artistic Tile: 65 Tarrytown Road, White Plains, 422-0041
www.artistictile.com

Vincent & Whittemore Real Estate: On the Green, Bedford, 234-3642
www.vinwhit.com

Stephen Tilly, Architect: 22 Elm Street, Dobbs Ferry, 693-8898
www.stillyarchitect.com

Prudential Rand Realty: 342 Westchester Ave., White Plains, 481-8823
www.randrealty.com

Gregory Sahagian & Son Inc.: 18 North Central Ave., Hartsdale, 949-9877
www.gssawning.com

Johnsen Landscapes & Pools: 192 Harris Ave., Bedford Hills, 666-4190

Daniel Sherman, Landscape Architect: 4 Broadway #9, Valhalla, 824-0999
www.danshermanlandscape.com

Bilotta Kitchen Design: Showrooms in Mamaroneck, Mt. Kisco, Briarcliff, and Greenwich, CT, General phone number: 381-7734
www.bilotta.com

Artisan Partners Inc.: Katonah, 232-5467

Fenimore Plumbing Supply: 313 Halstead Ave., Mamaroneck, 777-1715
www.fenimoreplumbingsupply.com

Terra Tile & Marble: 525 North State Road, Briarcliff, 923-4295
www.terratileandmarble.com

New Dimensions Remodeling, Inc.: 466 Lexington Ave., Mt. Kisco, 241-1773
www.newdimensionsremodeling.com

Millennium Stone: 1 Mill St., Port Chester, 939-0999
www.millenniumstoneltd.com

Kitchen Design by Choice (KDC): 919 West Street, Pelham Manor, 813-0988
www.kitchenbychoice.com

transFORM: 20 Jones Street, New Rochelle, 500-1000
www.gotransform.com

Captions: top to bottom: Durasol’s retractable awning. Gregory Sahagian & Son, 18 N. Central Ave., Hartsdale; Koi bathroom, Elemental Design Concepts, White Plains; Jilco, 135 Mahopac Ave., Granite Springs, 248-6100; Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, Beford Hills; The Neorest Air Bath by TOTO features an LCD touch-screen control panel. It remembers your preferences, controlling the water temperature and depth, so it can fill automatically. Fenimore Plumbing Supppply, Mamaroneck; New ceramic tile collection called Frameworks, a three-dimensional tile with dramatic beveled edges. Artistic Tile, White Plains; Kitchen. Elemental Design Concepts, White Plains.