Curated Home & Life — VanderBeken Blog
How to Brighten Up Your Northwest Home
Snohomish County is known for the cool light of our many overcast days, and miles upon miles of deep green forests. Our Northern latitude gives us short winter days, leaving us with reduced natural daylight for part of the year. Yet, high on the wish list for many...
3 Benefits of Jobsite Cleanliness
Home renovations are notoriously dusty, dirty and debris-ridden. With framers, plumbers and electricians working around each other on a tight time frame, it is difficult to keep things clean and tidy. In fact, one of the main reasons people are unhappy during a...
When to Remodel A Whole Home
How to Determine When to Remodel a Whole Home Whole home remodels can be both exciting and overwhelming. The investment of time, energy, and money for a whole home remodel is significant, but so are the results. While careful planning and considerations are...
Design/Build Remodeling Firm or General Contractor?
If you are planning to renovate a kitchen or bathroom in Snohomish County, you probably already know it is well worth your time to research who will be the best fit for you and your project. However, deciding whether to hire a design/build remodeling firm or general...
Expressing Your Personality in a Home Renovation
With society’s ever-evolving values and sensibilities, people increasingly balk at the idea of being confined to a specific “box.” Perhaps no greater example of this shift can be seen than through examining home renovation. Cookie-cutter homes are being replaced with...
Remodeling Realities 101
The Reality of Rising Costs in Remodeling The last several months have had quite a ripple effect on almost every aspect of our lives and while there have been silver linings in figuring out ingenious and more efficient ways of dealing with these effects there are...
Remodeled Homes Tour
[UPDATED FOR 2020] Back in the day when the King Dome still stood as a feature on the Seattle skyline my family visited the Seattle Home Show almost every year. With my Dad as a builder and my Mom always looking for a new home project it was a great place to spend a...
Fun Things To Do This Summer
Here's a rundown on what’s happening in the neighborhoods we serve in Snohomish County. (Updated for 2023!) Fun Things To Do This Summer In Edmonds, WA Like long walks on the beach? Check out the sandy shores of Marina Beach. The quintessential NW beach, complete...
Home Office Remodeling Tips for the Remote Worker
According to McKinsey & Company's third American Opportunity Survey, 58% of respondents can work from home at least once a week. 35% of respondents are able to work from home every single day. As you might imagine, "when people have the chance to work flexibly, 87...
Stay at Home Ideas
March is a great month! Yes it’s the first month of the year without a federal holiday and we lose an hour due to daylight savings time… indeed it does rain quite a bit here in the Pacific Northwest so it is a bit cold and dreary… therefore, nailing the perfect March...
How to Survive and Thrive During a Kitchen Remodel
So you’ve decided to remodel your kitchen, congratulations! The question we often hear next is whether or not we recommend a homeowner move out of their home during the kitchen remodel. Most home remodeling professionals (and those who have been through a...
12 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contractor
Who, What, Where, When & How Much: Ask these 12 Questions before hiring a remodeling contractor. A home remodel can be as exciting and nerve-racking as embarking on a trip to an unknown land; but you don’t have to go into it blindly. Ask these 12 questions to...