Top 10 Must-Have Features in Your Palo Alto Home Remodel + Bonus

The home remodeling industry is constantly changing and evolving, but one constant remains true: California is consistently on the cutting edge.

You want your home remodeling project and general contractors to make your house more beautiful and functional and make those updates and upgrades good for your bottom line.

You want this unique blend of influences to be reflected in your home remodeling project.

The experienced team of remodeling contractors, general contractors, and project managers at Clever Design & Remodeling are at the forefront of home renovation projects.

Rest assured that if you work with our talented team of designers, builders, and general contractors, any remodeling projects you invest your hard-earned money into will be well worth the finished project!

The Hottest Home Trends For 2024

1. A Wide Open Floor Plan

Open floor plans have been a top trend in California homes for several years, and according to top home remodeling contractors, this is not expected to change any time soon!

Home remodeling contractors and your trusted general contractor have recommended tearing down walls and partitions to create a truly open floor plan.

Why? Open-concept homes are perfect for entertaining and enjoying an ideal flow.

They are a safe bet for anyone considering hiring a locally-owned company to finish a kitchen remodeling project.

If you have kids, imagine being able to keep an eye on your little ones playing in the living room while you are making dinner in the kitchen.

Your general contractors and the great team of construction experts at Clever Design can make this a reality!

Avoid These Common Open Floor Plan Mistakes!

You’ve concocted a construction plan with your general contractors and cannot wait to start demolishing your first-floor walls to enjoy an open floor plan’s increased light and positive flow.

Don’t get ahead of yourself because, unfortunately, while there are several benefits to open-concept planning, there are several mistakes that can derail your remodeling project, including:

• Mismatched styles: Nothing disrupts the flow of an open floor plan like competing styles; instead, choose one type and continue it throughout the kitchen and living areas.
• Choosing oversized furniture to accommodate the space: Furniture, from end tables to couches and other accent pieces, that are clearly too large will look out of place and disrupt the natural movement between zones.
• Focusing on one finish or material: Create zones or natural divisions between spaces by mixing finishes – For example, if you use natural stone throughout the kitchen, soften the living areas by introducing wood and other softer, raw materials.

2. A Stunning First Floor Master Bedroom Suite

First-floor master bedrooms are accessible, convenient, private, and more sought after by potential buyers, making them a wise investment!

Smart project managers and home construction pros recommend adding a master bath adjacent to the primary bedroom.

A stunning ensuite construction project will increase the value of your home and provide you with the joy and privacy that come with not sharing one bathroom with the kids!

Include These Features in Your San Francisco Bay Area Master Bathroom

The fantastic team at Clever Design & Remodeling can assist you with the new construction of a master bath ensuite – But it is up to you to determine which features will benefit your lifestyle!

Here are some of the hottest trends in master bathrooms that you should consider including in your own construction project:

• Ditch the soaking tub: Reclaim precious floor space by eliminating your freestanding tubs and opting for walk-in showers – Consider transforming all that extra space into additional storage!
• The perfect balance of color: Avoid bright shades in favor of a classic combination of gray, white, and black.
• Mixing wood and stone: Pair a natural wood vanity with stone countertops – Marble, slate, quartz, and granite can withstand the natural temperature fluctuations and high humidity in bathrooms.

Outdated Master Bedroom and Bathroom Remodeling Features to Avoid

Quality workmanship and good service never go out of style, and that is what you can expect when you hire the talented professionals at Clever Design & Remodeling.

Want to know what outdated trends you should avoid in your custom home or construction remodel project?

Skip these archaic projects when planning your master bath and bedroom remodel:

• Oversized vanities: Avoid taking up precious floor space with an outlandish vanity, and instead, talk to your contractors about the space-saving advantages of floating vanities.
• Inadequate storage: Shift focus from decorative finishes to ensuring your growing family has enough storage.
• White subway tiles: Subway tiles are inexpensive, making them one of the biggest trends in home renovations for the last several years, although once popular, subway tiles are overutilized and instead remain on-trend with geometric tiles.

3. An Updated Kitchen Complete With Statement Custom Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen remodels have always had a fantastic return on investment, a trend that isn’t going to change any time soon in the construction industry.

What has changed is the increased focus on quality materials over ostentatious finishes, and when it comes to your kitchen, increasing the square footage is always a wise investment!

Design Solutions for a Smaller Kitchen

Considering a kitchen remodel? Expect to budget around 5% to 15% of your home’s value on the project.

In addition, several clever interior design tricks to make your modest kitchen seem bigger, including using paint or installing a larger window to let in more natural light.

Another way to create a more livable space that won’t break the bank is to add extra square footage with a micro-addition.

A typical kitchen micro-addition will provide around 20% of the room’s size in additional square footage for far less money than a new construction kitchen.

Imagine what you and your general contractors could do with all that extra floor space, including adding more storage, extending your kitchen counters, or installing a small kitchen island!

Trendy Kitchen Remodeling Projects

Design magazines have been calling the kitchen the “heart of the home” for decades because you spend much of your time as a family enjoying meals, making memories, and watching your children grow up!

The perfect Palo Alto kitchen will be warm, inviting, convenient, and functional, and on top of this, any remodeling projects should increase the home’s value!

Potential buyers will focus their attention on your kitchen, and any updates should follow the latest trends if you want a positive return on your house remodel project investment:

• Focus on storage: There is no such thing as too much kitchen storage, so if you are working with a home remodeling contractor to increase your home’s square footage, add more cabinets or open shelving.
• Install a mixture of lighting fixtures: Layering lighting is a hot trend that involves introducing several different types of fixtures, including recessed lighting over the dining area, a semi-flush overhead fixture in the central area, and under-cabinet lighting to further illuminate the space.
• Add a pop of fun or vibrant color to your all-white kitchen: Monochromatic kitchens are trendy, but if you are energized by color, find unique ways to add contrast to the space, including patterned wallpaper on a single wall or contrasting wood finish for your kitchen flooring.

4. Smart Home Technology Remodeling Contractors Recommend

You love the idea of a fully integrated, “smart home,” but the potential price tag of installing the latest technologies has you worried about the home construction budget for your home remodeling project.

Innovative technology is constantly evolving, and there are several upgrades you can make to your home that won’t break the bank, including smart bulbs and smart thermostats.

Smart home upgrades are intended to make your life easier and focus mainly on the air temperature, lighting, kitchen, bathroom, and garage.

Consider these brilliant smart home technologies that are not only very cool but will also increase your home’s value and make your life more simple, streamlined, and straightforward:

• Smart home locks: How many times have you second-guessed whether you locked the front door or fumbled for your keys exhausted after work? Make your life easier while enjoying a little peace of mind with smart home locks.
• Leak detectors: The average homeowner will spend between $150 and $850 fixing a leaky pipe. Avoid potentially expensive damage and higher water bills by installing leak detectors.
• Touchscreen control panel: Imagine controlling almost every electronic gadget in your home, from the front door lock to the lights in your upstairs two bathrooms, with a single, wall-mounted touchscreen panel!

5. A Dedicated Laundry Room

If you have kids, you know there is one universal truth: They will throw their dirty clothes everywhere.

Imagine having a dedicated space inside your Palo Alto or San Jose for all aspects of laundry!

With the help of a general contractor and the remodeling services of Clever Design & Remodeling, your dreams of having a place to store your dirty laundry and fold your clean socks can be a reality!

The Ideal Location and Layout for Your New Laundry Space

Basements are very uncommon in San Francisco homes, leaving you searching for another ideal location for your laundry room addition or remodeling project.

If you don’t have a basement, the next best location is not centrally located and, instead, should be near an exterior wall to ensure proper ventilation.

Next, consider the extra noise created by the washer and dryer.

If the laundry is constructed near the bedrooms or main living area, choose appliances with extra insulation and firm suspension, both of which will help reduce any extra noise.

6. Pet-Friendly Spaces and Materials

A whopping 57.2% of California households report having at least one pet, and 40.1% have at least one dog!

Your pet is a precious member of your family, and like many San Francisco-area homeowners, you want to completely remodel a single room or your entire house with your pet’s unique needs in mind.

Are you working with local contractors to create the ultimate pet-friendly space?

Don’t forget that you also need to choose pet-proof materials and upgrades that can withstand the wear and tear caused by curious, rambunctious pets!

Pet-Approved Flooring Options For Every Room in the House

Installing pet-friendly flooring is essential, and luckily, there are several fantastic options at almost every pricepoint, including:

• Stone: Slate is durable and nonporous, and its natural texture is slip-resistant, making it an ideal flooring for dog and cat owners.
• Luxury vinyl planks: Luxury vinyl planks mimic the look of hardwoods but are a superior option for pet owners because the product is waterproof, easy to clean and maintain, and stays cooler in the summer.
• Engineered hardwoods: A mixture of authentic hardwoods and LVP, engineered wood floors are slip-resistant and durable and will withstand the harsh punishment of pets better than traditional hardwoods.

Avoid carpets, even low-pile carpets, as these are very difficult to maintain, and if you have a pet, you know that a carpet is easily destroyed by a single accident.

7. An Expansive, Functional Outdoor Living Space

Imagine being able to enjoy all four seasons; well, in California, it’s really more like the warm temperatures and sunny skies from the comfort of your indoor/outdoor living areas!

Covered porches, sunrooms, and backyard decks have been popular for decades, but if you want to stay on trend, learn more about some of California’s hottest open-air living spaces.

It’s called a “California Room” For a Reason: “California rooms” are actually not a new concept, but this inventive use of your indoor/outdoor space is growing in popularity throughout the state, including in South San Francisco!

A California room is the ideal fusion of indoor and outdoor spaces that always features at least one open wall, although most homeowners opt for two walls with a roof overhang.

Imagine creating an outdoor space that functions as a fully operational family room, complete with furniture, a massive television, and plenty of sunshine and a cool breeze!

A home remodeling contractor from Clever Design & Remodeling can help you plan a California room or another outdoor living area that will work for your family and needs!

8. Project Manager Approved Eco-Friendly Upgrades

California has been at the forefront of the environmentalist movement.

So, it makes sense that many residents of the Golden State prioritize eco-friendly finishes over luxury and flash!

If sustainability is a top priority for your Palo Alto home, the team at Clever Design can help you plan a custom home project with Mother Nature in mind.

You can bask in the beauty of a newly renovated home while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with knowing the final results have left a smaller carbon footprint.

What is Sustainability?

The focus of your remodeling projects is the kitchen and bathroom, where, above all else, choosing the ideal materials that can withstand more punishment is critical.

Finding the right balance between sustainability and durability is key, so you need to hire remodeling services that understand when and where to value either factor over the other.

According to CalRecycle, the sustainability of a product is measured by its durability, the amount of energy required to harvest a natural product, if the materials can easily be recycled, and, in the case of appliances, energy efficiency.

9. Family Friendly Mudrooms

If you are tired of your kids throwing their coats and shoes on the floor after school, you are not alone.

Parents have been struggling with a lack of storage and messy kids for years, but there is a great solution: A mudroom.

Mudrooms are highly utilitarian spaces typically situated at the front or back door and act as a storage space for boots, coats, hats, and your kid’s school backpacks.

Plan For Easy Access to the Laundry and Bathroom

The storage space is called a “mudroom” because it is ideally the place where mud, dirt, and other contaminants stay put and aren’t tracked throughout the rest of your house!

The ideal location for your mudroom is adjacent to the bathroom and laundry, where you can easily toss your kids’ dirty clothes in the wash, and your little ones can wash up after playing outside instead of getting messy fingerprints throughout the rest of the house!

10. Multi-Purpose Rooms

The average California home is 1,700 square feet, and if your Palo Alto lot cannot accommodate a full home addition, you need to make the most of the available floor space.

One of the hottest emerging trends is creating multifunctional spaces, allowing you to enjoy the extra amenities you typically only find in larger homes.

Bonus Feature: Enlarged Garage

Who couldn’t benefit from a more oversized garage? A larger garage provides additional storage space, which, as you know, is at a premium for Palo Alto homeowners, increases the space’s flexibility, and allows you to safely and securely protect multiple vehicles.

Heated Garage: Palo Alto is beautiful most of the year, but there are days you wish you could step into a heated garage and jump into a nice warm car!

Talk to your general contractors about the appropriate heating source for California garages – such as a wall-mounted unit.

Wall-mounted heaters are less expensive to install and operate and ideal if you only want to enjoy the warmer temperatures occasionally rather than year-round.

Work With Your Skilled Team of Contractors in Palo Alto to Craft a Budget

Formulating a budget is the natural start to any kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, or home improvement project.

Of course, this is easier said than done, so if you are having trouble formulating a realistic budget for your project, look to professionals for assistance.

Find the Best Contractors in Palo Alto, CA

Searching for a contractor is no easy feat, and you want to ensure the professional services you hire allow you to sit back and enjoy the process rather than spending sleepless nights worrying about budget overages and material suppliers.

Follow these simple tips to find the best contractors in Palo Alto to help you create your dream home:

• Ask questions: How long has the construction or custom home company been in business? Do they perform a criminal background check on subcontractors, and what types of insurance do they carry?
• When in doubt, rely on word-of-mouth references: Look to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers for positive reviews and recommendations for local general contractors.

Look for a company that offers a free estimate and prides itself on great service. What is the philosophy of the business owner, and what guarantees and warranties do they offer?

Our Customers Also Ask

What are some outdated Palo Alto home remodeling trends to avoid?

Avoid these once-red-hot remodeling style trends that have now fallen out of fashion in the entire interior of California homes:

• The “modern farmhouse” aesthetic
• Inadequate kitchen storage – Install floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets
• Relying on trendy paint colors
• The overuse of gray – Instead, paint your walls lighter shades of blue or green

Where should I splurge on my Palo Alto kitchen remodel?

General contractors recommend splurging on custom cabinets, quality countertops and flooring, and adequate lighting.

Solid wood cabinets will last for a lifetime, and stone countertops will attract potential buyers while providing you with a resilient product that can withstand a lot of wear and tear.

Save money on fixtures, hardware, faucets, the kitchen sink, and decorative finishing touches for the entire project.

Are heated floors a smart investment for my California home?

You are budgeting for your house remodel, but there is one bathroom remodeling trend you aren’t sure is worth the expense: radiant floor heating.

Most California homeowners don’t focus on heating their homes, that is until they are suffering from cold feet on a rare chilly Bay Area morning.

Radiant floor heating is the answer, and if you are putting your home on the market, general contractors will tell you it is a great selling point that will attract many potential buyers.

How much does it cost to build a house in Palo Alto?

Home remodeling isn’t in the cards, and instead, you are considering hiring general contractors and a project manager to help you design your dream house.

The overall cost of a custom home or new construction residence depends on several factors, including the cost of materials and labor, which constantly fluctuates.

Higher interest rates deter many San Jose and Palo Alto, California, homeowners from choosing a new construction residence.

How do you design a house remodel?

Start with hiring one of many general contractors nearby to handle your home renovation.

A general contractor is not only going to keep your home renovation project on track, but they are also a great source of information and inspiration.

Work with a locally owned company, as well, as the general contractors will have a better grasp of local trends and the unique challenges facing Palo Alto and San Francisco-area homeowners.

What is a remodeling contractor?

A remodeling contractor is a type of general contractor who specializes in remodeling projects.

Are you ready to start home renovations and need help creating a budget, finding the right materials, or determining if your money would be better spent building a custom home or updating your current residence? General contractors who specialize in remodeling can help!

What home renovation projects will raise the value of my San Jose home?

A total remodel of your outdated kitchen in San Jose is a great option, as is working with some general contractors to make over your tacky master bathroom.

Be wary of home renovation projects that don’t have a high return on investment, such as unnecessary conversions, installing an inground pool, or unnecessary landscaping upgrades.

Reviews For Custom Design & Remodeling

Best remodeling contractors in Palo Alto, CA!

“The entire home remodeling and general contractors team did an amazing job on my kitchen remodel. I am thrilled with the finished project.

Clever Design is focused on customer satisfaction and was there with me through every step of the process, from the budget to the final inspection. There is no such thing as a small project to this clever team of construction genius!”

The entire process was smooth and simple in Menlo Park!

“The pros at Clever Design did an excellent job remodeling my Hamilton Ave main house. I contacted other construction companies in the area, but Clever Design offered a better price and provided me with a free estimate and clear communication.

Always go with a locally owned and operated company if you want to work with an experienced team of general contractors to handle your home remodel.”

A Top-rated full-service general contractor in South San Francisco!

“I love my new kitchen and the general contracting wizards from Clever Design & Remodeling! Their services are impeccable, and they really do make dream homes a reality!

After working with BNO Builders when I lived in Silicon Valley, I can definitely say Clever Design is the best around! They are a great team, and I would hire them again in a heartbeat.”

These general contractors are the best in South San Francisco!

“Roy, my general contractor, is a rock star and was able to complete my construction project and remodel in a matter of days, which is a feat considering how many popular locations the company services.

I am thrilled with how the project turned out, and I would recommend hiring the general contractors from Clever Design to all my friends and family.”