redesign

Withstanding the Test of Time

October 30, 2020 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

Fads and trends come and go. Many homeowners in Indianapolis can remember when avocado-colored kitchens were all the rage or when pastel paint dominated design thinking. While it is tempting to look at what’s trending when renovating your kitchen or bath, our showroom advises selecting products, styles, and color schemes that can withstand the test of time.

White Cabinetry

There’s a good reason why more than 50% of kitchen renovations feature white cabinets. White cabinets offer a blank canvas for the remainder of the kitchen. They provide a classic, clean look and match any design motif from European modern to traditional and everything in between. White kitchens are timeless; their reflective qualities can make a smaller space appear larger, and, due to their popular appeal, they help increase the value of your home at sale time.

Contemporary Design

Clean lines are another feature that can withstand the test of time. A contemporary kitchen offers a clean, stylish, and uncluttered look and feel. Contemporary motifs pay homage to practicality because they focus on maximizing the use of available space and light, and that also can make a smaller space appear larger. When we design a contemporary kitchen, almost all appliances, even smaller ones such as coffee makers, are built into cabinetry. Countertops are left uncluttered, and many homeowners in Indianapolis appreciate the fact that contemporary kitchens are easy to clean.

Storage

A well-designed kitchen is an organized kitchen. Lack of customized storage solutions is one of the most common regrets of homeowners in Indianapolis after renovating their kitchen. We cannot emphasize enough the need to develop a storage plan for your new kitchen that addresses how often you cook, entertain, hold gatherings, and use the space. A great kitchen must not only look out of this world, but it also must incorporate the best functionality that meets your needs.

An almost endless array of options is available to store cookware, food, utensils, countertop appliances, recycling containers and so on. A professional kitchen designer can custom design trays to exacting specifications that account for your kitchen equipment’s actual dimensions. Specifying trays for drawers to hold cutlery and kitchen gadgets to match the drawer helps avoid movement and keeps what you want in its place.

Customized storage solutions are not confined to a kitchen to make a home look, feel and function superbly. Bathrooms, laundry rooms, mudrooms and entryways all can make a home much more enjoyable if they are outfitted with storage solutions that meet your family’s needs and lifestyle.

Colors

Homeowners in Indianapolis often ask us about colors. While splashes of purple, turquoise, yellow, or green can become a focal point in kitchens and baths, we tend to favor palettes that can withstand the test of time. In addition to white, these include blue, grey, and cream tones.

If you are interested in creating a dream kitchen that will continue to be dreamy years after the renovation is complete, give us a call or make an appointment to visit one of our showrooms.

Transitioning Your Home as You Age

January 17, 2020 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

Anyone born during the years 1946 to 1964 is considered a Baby Boomer. Baby Boomers make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population. In fact, they got their unique name from the significant amount of them born after World War 2 and the 1960s. And if you do the math, Baby Boomers are currently 56 to 74 years old.

With Baby Boomers being in the retirement age bracket, remodels can be an ideal choice for many of them. In fact, there are several remodeling features that Baby Boomers favor due to their functionality and ease-of-use. Some may even find it to be the perfect time in their lives to transition their homes for their new retirement lifestyle.

To help your home grow with you, ICC Home wants to create a seamless transition for Baby Boomers. This process begins with remodeling various areas of your home. The different areas will need to be focused on safety, functionality, ease-of-use, and efficiency. With all of these factors in mind, ICC Home has put together five remodeling projects for aging in place. Let’s take a look!

Comfortability

As we age, we may have the occasional accidental slip or fall. Much like with children, it can be important to create a soft barrier for any accidental falls. Since the word accidental is operative here, we believe that you can never be too careful. That is why we recommend carpeting for Baby Boomers. It is soft enough to act as a barrier between a fall while being slip-resistant to help prevent the fall in the first place. Plus, you can even incorporate carpet in areas like your kitchen and bathroom through the use of area rugs.

Accessibility

Most seniors will agree that their bathroom‘s accessibility needs assistance. If you are planning on staying in the same home as you age, you can make some customizable updates to your bathroom. These updates will help you move throughout your bathroom with comfort and ease. They can include:

Grab Bars Next to Bathtub
Comfort-Height Toilets
Walk-in Bathtubs
Curbless Shower Systems
Additional Lighting

Mobility

If mobility is your issue, you will want to take a look at the flooring in your bathroom. In general, the bathroom can be a hazardous area for accidental falls. While carpet cannot be installed in bathrooms, you can incorporate slip-resistant tiles. These tiles help give you more traction on your floors. Plus, you can incorporate area rugs throughout your design for additional comfort.

Practicality

While the kitchen may not be the first place to come to mind, it is important to transition your kitchen as you age. There are simple upgrades that you can make that will make life a little easier. These upgrades include:

Shallow Sink Basins
A Microwave at Countertop Height
Increasing Your Amount of Drawers
Eliminating Barriers and Trip Hazards
Installing Slip-Resistant Tiles

Affordability

If you are looking for a slip-resistant floor for your kitchen and bathroom and do not want to go the ceramic tile/natural stone route, luxury vinyl can be an excellent option. It provides a slip-resistant, water-resistant, and durable surface that is perfect for bathrooms and kitchens alike. Plus, you can get the authentic look of hardwood or tile for a great price.

Like we previously mentioned, at ICC Home, we want to help you transition your space as you age. Be sure to visit our showroom to view our beautiful room scenes and talk to one of our sales representatives about your needs. We look forward to working with you!

Behind the Scenes of the ICC Home Redesign

May 18, 2019 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

As we remodel the ICC Home showroom, we, like many homeowners, face the many challenging and fun aspects of design. While designing and planning our new layout, we needed to focus on making the showroom convenient and easy to navigate as well as beautiful. During this time, we also were in the process of rebranding our image–this included purchasing and designing new store signage, ordering and selecting materials to set up our “room scene” examples as well as picking out what products and manufacturers we wanted to feature throughout the space.

As you may already know, designing a corporate space involves similar aspects of design that you would see in your own home design. During a redesign, you have to pre-plan a lot of features before the work can begin. We had to look at our past experiences and use them to determine what was the correct flooring amount for the project, what features would work well with the other design elements as well as what the timeframe would be. Additionally, we had schedule installers after hours and on weekends for them to install our products.

During this time, we faced design challenges that would be no different from the ones you would meet. We had to determine when to have the floors installed, and whether they should go in before the cabinets or if the flooring would go in after the cabinets. We firmly believe that as homeowners, who have designed their own homes and have been through this redesign experience ourselves, we can help you master any design project. In fact, you will find our new showroom to be very user-friendly. We hope our new showroom provides you with ease of mind while shopping and making your design decisions.

With all of this being said, we cannot wait to showcase our new showroom to you. We hope you love it as much as we do. In fact, we are excited to feature a special announcement in June, so be sure to check back weekly to make sure you do not miss it. Thank you again for your continuous support, and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you in the future.

The Design Process and What to Expect

May 4, 2019 by iccfloors Leave a Comment

Beginning the design process can seem a little intimidating at first, but it is a new opportunity to express yourself through design. Whether you are redesigning, renovating or building a home from scratch, every design comes with its own set of circumstances. That is why it is essential to approach every design with an organized game plan for a successful finished product. Unfortunately, failing to plan can sometimes lead to unpreparedness and interruptions. Our team is dedicated to creating a pain-free process to help transform your home and bring your dream oasis to life. To help you stay prepared, here is everything you need to know when beginning the design process:

Envision

What do you want your design to say? Are you aiming for a comfortable oasis to entertain guests or chic and sleek fixtures to make your guests “ooh and ahh.” Simply put, at ICC Home, we want to bring your dreams to life. To help our expert sales staff fully grasp what you want to accomplish, we recommend bringing in some of your favorite ideas. You can explore our showroom or create a mood board to gain inspiration and gather ideas you want to incorporate in your design. You can create a mood board digitally by saving pictures or pinning ideas you are looking to replicate. Just be sure to find designs that feel tailored and expressive of you because the environment you create is a reflection of yourself.

Establish and Adapt

Next, you will want to establish a style you are looking to create. There are hundreds of design themes to use as references (Minimalism, Art Deco, Rustic, Modern, etc.). Create a budget and establish what the room’s purpose will be. After, you will want to find products that create your atmosphere and reestablish your purpose. But no need to worry, because we will help guide you in selecting the perfect colors, materials, flooring, cabinets, and more.

As a reminder, some products may not work in every atmosphere so you may need to adapt some planning. For example, you may not be able to put hardwood over a slab or knock down a support wall. Adapting your vision to work with your home’s blueprint and architecture can be an essential part of the design process.

Transform and Create

Next, in the process, we will begin to create and transform your home. By providing a one-stop-shop, we hope to create a smooth design process and keep you updated along the way. We understand that the remodeling process can be stressful, but we will create a pleasant experience with an expert team. Bringing your dreams to life is our goal.

This simple three-step process is all it takes. So, start collecting ideas today, and envision your dream home. Let us establish the plans together as we transform your home into a paradise.