So far this year Old Man Winter can't really make up his mind. Here in North Texas we've gone from freezing in the morning to wearing short sleeve shi

 MG designnews

So far this year Old Man Winter can't really make up his mind. Here in North Texas we've gone from freezing in the morning to wearing short sleeve shirts in the afternoon. But there's a well-known saying here: "If you don't like the weather in Texas just wait a minute." Please note my new e-mail address: mark@mcreynoldsdesigns.net.

Last month I had quite a few projects going at once and this month doesn't seem to be any different. The Wesson project is nearing the end of the bidding process and I can't wait for ground to break on that. This was a project that I featured a few months ago in the September issue of Design News. We made some adjustments to several of the rooms but the overall concept remained the same. Upcoming projects include: a kitchen remodel; a cabin house in North Texas and another one on a 900-acre property in southern Oklahoma; a lake house in Greenville; two custom homes in the Dallas suburbs; and a new home in Dallas.

Now is a good time to go through your house and see what needs updating. Check the caulking and weather stripping around all doors and windows and replace any materials that are loose or wearing thin. Have an A/C contractor come out and prepare your system for the warmer months ahead. If you don't run your irrigation system during the winter months it would be a good idea to give each zone a quick blast and make sure that all of the heads are intact. Sometimes large animals can trample and break off a piece of them. In our case that would be Chevy.

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This is Chevy.

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The Bejcek Residence

The project featured this month is a remodel to the Bejcek residence. This family lives on several acres in a house that is a true log home. The kitchen was a very small galley kitchen that had a small eating area next to it, and the owners wanted to expand both spaces to accommodate frequent visits by family and friends. The Bejceks also wanted to expand the existing laundry room and connect it with a hall bath so they'd have easy access to the outdoors.

The original oven was not quite large enough for all of the family's cooking needs and there was only about eighteen linear feet of counter space to work on. We pushed the entire rear wall out a total of ten feet and expanded the kitchen, eating, and laundry room areas into the new space.

Because the family has a business that is run out of the home they wanted easy access to the detached office space via a new mud room. An open kitchen/living concept was not desired in this instance and so we designed a sliding barn door to cover the opening to the kitchen for when things got noisy in the living room. The owners told me that last Christmas they were able to host a gathering of at least two dozen people in the dining area by adding another table to that space. Even thought it was a tight fit they said they were able to achieve their goal of not having to split their family and friends between various tables throughout the first floor.

Original Plan

Original Kitchen

 
New Plan

Remodeled Kitchen

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Kitchen - Before

 
Kitchen 9

Kitchen - After

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Kitchen - Before

 
Kitchen 12

Kitchen - After

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Kitchen - Before

 
Kitchen 2

Kitchen - After

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Dining Room - Before

 
Dining Room

Dining Room - After

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Kitchen - After

 
Dining Room 2

Dining Room - After

Barn Door

Barn Door Entry

 
Mud 1

Mud Room

Rooster

The family "guard dog"

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On the Lighter Side

Gary Larson's "The Far Side"

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Janet ad for newsletter
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Current or former member of the military?

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If you or someone you know is a current or former member of the military I would like to offer my design services at a discounted fee in appreciation for your service to our country. I also would like to extend discounted design rates to policemen and firemen.

God bless you for your service!

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ReStore NCC

Located at 2060 Couch Drive in Southeast McKinney they offer donated merchandise for sale at a discount. The store is open to the public and the proceeds help to fund the various Habitat projects in the area.

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