It’s all about the kitchen. They aren’t just for meal prep and storage, either. They’re for families. For gathering. For entertaining. For time spent together. These homeowners were lucky enough to spend their quarantine in a kitchen constructed for that very purpose. Once tucked away into the back corner of the 100-plus year old home, the kitchen is the new centerpiece of the home, opened up to a cozy living area filled with original woodwork and details.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

The cook now gets to be part of the action and the family gets to gather around an island so large that it seems unfair to call it an island. An island, by definition, is a piece of land surrounded by water, and is often thought to be isolated, separated from the mainland action, where space is at a premium. That’s why this structure is called The Continent.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

Once you see the details of this kitchen, you’ll want to swap out your kitchen island for a continent too. The Continent is the focal point not only of the kitchen, but of the living space of the home. It’s a place to dine. A place to sit and work (especially now). A place to gather. And it offers plenty of storage, too. The countertop has enough overhang to accommodate comfortable seating and underneath is a ton of hidden storage. Can your kitchen table do that?

With a palette of black and white, this kitchen is clean and bright. Upper cabinetry was eliminated to keep everything feeling open and airy. Plus, all that wall space gives the chance for this backsplash tile to make a statement. The geometric pattern of the tile is reminiscent of a modern Art Deco stye. The metallic black and brass light fixture only adds to that motif.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

We’d be remiss not to mention this open shelving, custom made for the space and mounted directly over the new black-framed window. This corner nook is the perfect place for some shelves and we love how the homeowner accessorized them with rose colored glasses. What a beautiful display of a collection that only adds to the Art Deco feel.

The countertops in this space are another element that add interest, while continuing with the neutral palette. White cabinetry is topped with a beautiful, black leathered granite. The Continent, on the other hand, has a base of grey cabinetry and is topped with a sparkly white quartz.

The Continent, however, has utility beyond seating and storage. It’s equipped with hidden outlets that appear at the touch of a button, convenient for cooking tools and charing a smart phone, but it also makes this surface turn—presto, change-o, into a conference table.

The sink, too, is worth mentioning. The elegantly-shaped brass faucet so beautifully coordinates with the lighting and cabinet hardware. The elongated, stainless steel sink is fitted with a removable cutting board, providing additional work space, and, in a pinch, to hide a stack of dirty dishes.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

Architect: drawing dept

A kitchen that was once an after thought, hidden in the back of this older home, is now the crown jewel, adding modern style with an Art Deco aesthetic. And following the pandemic trends in home design, this room serves many purposes: meal prep, family gathering, entertaining, and work. At a time where so many of us are spending more time in our own homes, a room like this is quite the antidote for quarantine living.

Has the extra time spent in your home revealed the need for a renovation? We’re just the people to call. Projects in the works now need some extra lead time for materials to be sourced and delivered, so now’s the time to get started for mid-year projects.

Quarantine caused a lot of us to change our plans. Working from home, stockpiling supplies, with frequent hand washing and face masks as the new norm, life looked a bit different. Without a commute to the office and free time spent at home, it was also a time for people to take up new hobbies. Some learned a new language. Some started baking bread. Some purged every closet and drawer.

And some people’s productivity put us all to shame. Like this homeowner, who designed and renovated an entire home. We were proud partners in the process and are still in awe of her style and design sense.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

The English Contractor team was originally tasked with a simple kitchen remodel and we were well into that project as the world slowed down. With proper precautions in place, we just kept going, until this house was entirely transformed. We’ll take you through this project in three parts over the next few weeks: kitchen, dining and living area; bathroom, and basement. Prepare to be inspired.

You might describe the house in its “before” state as a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In a dish. No cone. No whipped cream. Certainly no rainbow sprinkles or a cherry on top. It looked just fine. It was in good working order. But when you have a vision and a team with a talent, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is not for you.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

The new space is a vision to behold, in each and every corner. Gone is the small breakfast bar in favor of a wide opening into the newly repainted dining room. Hughes of pale blue and brass accents repeat throughout the home. These are at the same cabinets, repurposed with a coat of light blue paint and door knobs and pulls from Restoration Hardware.

Photo : Ross Van Pelt

This cozy kitchen once had a second opening into the hallway. In the reconfiguration, that doorway was closed off in favor of some contiguous counter space, a luxurious marble. The backsplash is marble, too, adding a layer of richness. New new range is from Samsung, topped with a custom wood ventilation hood. The dishwasher and refrigerator were reused in the remodel.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

A door once separated the kitchen from a steps leading to a back door and the home’s basement. With the door now gone, the kitchen is washed with light and the basement seems less like a basement and fully integrated into the flow of the home. The existing flooring remains, with the kitchen floor patched where cabinets were removed and reconfigured.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

The new sink is an elegant white porcelain, sourced from Wayfair. It’s paired with a Kohler deck-mounted, bridge kitchen sink faucet with level handles and side spray in a polished nickel. Here you get a close up of the marble counter and backsplash. Under cabinet lighting is paired with a flush mount from Circa Lighting to further brighten this rejuvenated kitchen.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

The kitchen flows into this elegant dining space. The blue hues from the kitchen repeat here, thanks to a gorgeous Sisal wallpaper from Schumacher. The texture and color add to the richness of this space. The ceiling was painted in an Alabaster semi-gloss with matching crown molding. The floor trim was installed and painted in Stonybrook from Benjamin Moore, an unexpected detail that adds to the elegance of the room.

Photo: Ross Van Pelt

The dining room opens up to this beautiful living space. We can’t take much credit for this room, beyond some paint and crown molding, but we wanted you to see the new flow of this home, made possible both through the kitchen reconfiguration and the home owner’s sense of style. If she ever decides to open up her own design business, we want you to remember that you learned about her from us!

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The front of the house came together so beautifully that we all just kept on going. The project was small enough that only one or two (socially distanced) team members were ever on site at a time. Quarantine has added on some delays to product sourcing, but luck was on our side when it came to ordering. So we kept on going. There’s more to come and you won’t want to miss how this whole home remodel came together.

In the meantime, if you’re inspired to start renovating your own home, send us a message today. Many suppliers are still experiencing product delays from the shut down this spring, so extra advance planning is necessary to keep projects moving smoothly. We’ll walk you through the process, every step of the way.

If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, you have more to think about than new appliances and countertops. You need to plan for several months living through a renovation. If you decide to stay at home during your renovation, you’ll need to think about daily life without a kitchen. Keep on reading for some tips on managing daily life during a kitchen renovation.

• Check That Calendar.

  Most kitchen remodels take about 12 weeks, although sometimes that timeline can be condensed or expanded based on the extent of your remodel or any underlying issues that are uncovered during demolition. You might want to time your remodel for a time that fits into your family’s schedule, keeping in mind holidays, celebrations and plans for entertaining. One of our customers planned a kitchen renovation during soccer season, knowing that her family spends a lot of time eating on the go and traveling for tournaments, making it a little less painless to go without a kitchen for a few months.

• Purge, Baby, Purge.

  Before a kitchen renovation can begin, those cabinets have to be emptied. Invest in some clear, plastic containers as you clean out your kitchen, so you can see exactly what you’re stashing away. Be sure to label, too, so you can easily locate any items you might need to unpack during your renovation. This step, while time consuming, will help when it’s time to load everything back into your kitchen, following the remodel. Think of it as your first step in organizing your new kitchen.

• Set Up A Temporary Kitchen.

  No matter what, you’ll need some type of temporary kitchen during your remodel. A coffee pot is enough for some of our clients. Others use a small microwave and hotplate. Still others get more creative, making use of their Air Fryer and InstaPot. Many of our customers rely on paper plates and disposable cutlery to make clean up easy. A dishpan is helpful to collect dirty dishes, since you may have to transport them into another room to get them washed.

• Make Your Plan B.

  Come up with an overall meal plan for how you’re going to prepare meals without a kitchen. With a new Whole Foods opened in Kenwood, Cincinnati, many of our clients are making use of their prepared meals, along with those from nearby Fresh Market or Trader Joes. A quick zap in the microwave, and you’re good to go. Another option are prepared take out meals, with The Wheel, Daveeds Culinary and La Soupe offering some great meals here in here Cincinnati. But bringing prepared meals in is not your only option. Going out to dinner will seem like a very special treat, so make the most of it.

  You might find that you miss cooking after a while. See if you can enlist a friend to help. You do the cooking and cleanup in their kitchen both your family and theirs. Win win!

  If you’re a lover a kitchen gadgets, now’s a time when you’re Air Fryer and InstaPot are going to shine. Both of these small appliances have some great utility in these situations and are real powerhouses in preparing great meals without a lot of space. If weather permits, commit to the grill. Every night can be a cookout during a kitchen reno.

• Dream!

  At times, a kitchen remodel may seem to drag on forever. But it’s only temporary. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and take a minute to dream of your new space. Before you know it, you’ll be back to your regular life, this time in a sparkling new kitchen.

Are you ready to take the next step in your kitchen remodel?

Here’s a home that now checks all of the boxes, inside and out. Chef’s kitchen with ample storage, an enviable mudroom, a sunroom outdoor living, not to mention new siding, windows and doors. The list goes on and on, including phase two of our project, which includes a grand master bathroom renovation.  And that’s before we even get to the brand new garage. The coup de grace. The icing on the cake. The feature that made us feel so especially lucky that we got to be the home builders who got to bring it all together.  These homeowners are really happy with their new space. But you know who else is happy—we are because this space takes our portfolio to the next level.

 Let’s start outside and then work out way in. (We’re saving the garage for last, so keep reading!) This Hyde Park home got quite the facelift, as well as a spacious new addition. It went from white to grey with siding from LP Siding, for renewed curb appeal in an instant. Our partners at Marvin provided the new windows and doors from their Marvin Essentials line. The good bones of this house really shine through with new windows and siding—all the character and none of the “old house” maintenance. A stroll around to the back of the house reveals a new, low-maintenance, IPE deck. The stone accents, provided by Semco Outdoor, and the deck railing, from EADS Fence Company, makes this outdoor space seem more like a roomy extension of the house than a run-of-the-mill deck. The steps of the deck lead to a new patio, perfect for grilling and dinner al fresco.

But be careful when you walk through the Marvin Essentials doors. You’re going to have house envy. The new deck leads to a brand, new kitchen. And it is a stunner to say the least. Custom cabinets, finished in a crisp, clean, white, reveal tons of organized storage, with pull out drawers and an appliance garage. The central island is painted with a custom Sherwin Williams grey, which makes the apron front farmhouse sink from Kohler really stand out. 

Glass-paneled upper cabinetry flanks the impressive ventilation hood, for a modern farm house look. The commercial-look range is from Thermador, as well as the paneled dishwasher, which beautifully blends into the cabinetry. The granite countertop from Ohio Valley Stone ties the grey of the center island and the white of the surrounding cabinetry together perfectly. 

A special nook in the kitchen can become a bar for entertaining—just add an ice bucket! The undercounter beverage refrigerator from Thermador is nestled in this corner next to a pull-out cabinet, which houses libations now, but could also store glass drinkware or serving pieces. The lighted cabinet above makes this corner is a great detail, making it a focal point during parties or special occasions. 

 From the kitchen, the layout of this addition flows into a cozy, light-filled sunroom. Serving as a connector to outdoor living or family space, this kitchen now truly is the heart of the home. If you can pull your eyes off the kitchen long enough, check out the room’s vaulted ceiling with exposed beams. We love adding these types of custom detail to our homes.

 People always say that a kitchen is what makes a house a home, but we all secretly know that it’s really the mudroom, right? With a spare refrigerator, washer and dryer and plenty of cabinetry that complement the kitchen, this room really keeps this house in business. The secret here is that this room used to be the kitchen. We modified the homeowner’s existing cabinetry to continue the look and feel of the kitchen. The additions of new countertops, a sink, cubbies and a built-in desk make this room a real workhorse. 

Pretty much a dream house, right? 

And we haven’t even gotten to the garage yet.

The English Contractor team built this new structure from the ground up. It’s a 3-car garage that actually can fit 6 cars. How can that be? Magic? 

It’s magic, all right. The magic of car lifts. Just when you thought the garage space couldn’t get any better, take a look at the epoxy floors, courtesy of American Sealing Experts.

The lush landscaping so beautifully accentuates the details of this home. We wish we could take credit for that, but this homeowner is a talented landscape architect—and it shows. New home amenities with real character.

 It may look finished, but we’re still working away on this home. It could be that these clients love us enough that they never want us to leave. Or it could be that this house has such a special place in our hearts that we’ll keep taking new projects. Either way, this project continues. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better.

Are you ready to turn your house into your dream home?

There are lots of options to think about when preparing for a kitchen remodel: appliances, countertops, lighting and flooring. These are the big picture items that make up the total aesthetic of your remodeled space. 

But another aspect to consider when preparing to renovate your kitchen: functionality and organization. 

And while we love Marie Kondo and the idea that every object has its place, we take it a bit further when helping our clients plan a kitchen renovation by considering mis-en-place.

Mis-en-place is a French culinary term. It literally means “put in place” and is a term that chefs use to have everything at hand to prepare a meal before the cooking begins. In a commercial kitchen, where hundreds of meals must be prepared quickly with streamlined efficiency, without sacrificing flavor or appearance, mis-en-place ensures that the chef has everything prepared and within easy reach.

The basic concept of mis-en-place is that planning, preparation and organization ahead of time results in a better finished product. To make that concept a reality at the dinner table, The English Contractor worked with these homeowners to create a kitchen that is a model of efficiency and functionality.  Kitchens are in our wheelhouse for sure—but not just designing cabinetry on the outside, but also what they will look like as well as what they will hold on the inside. We go beyond the hailed work triangle to really think about every inch of functionality within the kitchen.

On the surface, you can see that these homeowners wanted a kitchen that was an elegant extension of the house and a model of efficiency. Designed to allow easy access to the primary dining area and the family room, this kitchen allows multiple people to work while still having access to the action in the rest of the house, ideal for family dinner and entertaining larger parties. 

That’s not where it stops. This room has been transformed into a chef’s kitchen with tools and ingredients close at hand, without sacrificing design or style.

Between two SubZero refrigerators, both beautifully concealed with antique white wood panels, lives a custom-made appliance garage, with the drawer microwave located conveniently below.

No more searching in a deep, dark pantry for ingredients. This narrow cabinet was created to keep everything in view, making the most of this corner of the kitchen.

But not everything in this kitchen was designed to be immediately visible. Electrical outlets were placed underneath the upper cabinetry, out of view so as to not disrupt the tile backsplash.

The dishwasher was given a custom-made wooden panel to look like drawers to balance with the drawers at the other end of the cabinet run. Now you see it, now you don’t. The only downside of this symmetrical design is that the children in the household have a valid excuse for not loading the dishwasher if they can’t find it. 

In addition to offering abundant storage and counter space, the center island also houses a Wolf warming drawer, to make every day cooking and more formal entertaining a breeze. 

From continues to follow function in this remodeled kitchen. The Wolf range is surrounded by all the necessary cooking and meal preparation supplies, neatly organized so beautifully in drawers that each one is a work of art in itself. From spices to cooking tools, each drawer is customized to both organize and display its contents. 

Peg organizers in deep drawers give the homeowners a way to store dishes that keeps them well organized and close at hand. In every inch of this space, these clients have maximized storage space. Upper cabinetry allows some storage, but also glass doored shelves allow for display of decorative items.

Stylish organized continues in the adjacent dining area with coordinating custom cabinetry. 

This panoramic view of the kitchen highlights the gorgeous cabinetry in antique white and stained cherry finishes. Looks beautiful, doesn’t it?  The kitchen is the heart of the home. But now you know hidden behind those beautiful cabinets are the organizational bells and whistles that make this space a workhorse, too. 

Are you ready to add custom organization to your kitchen?

Give us a call.

You may have fallen in love with the whimsical bathroom that we just shared, a beautiful melding of modern aesthetic with the historic bones of an older home. We loved working on this project, in part, because it was such a fun challenge. But we have a special place in our heart for these homeowners, who called us back into work on this space a year after we completed another project for them: an outdoor room.

This project began as a concrete slab. And while that makes a fine place for holding a barbeque grill and maybe a table and some chairs, at the end of the day, it’s just a concrete slab. These homeowners wanted to extend their living space and transform it into an outdoor room, complete with all of the comforts of the indoors. 

A roof both adds protection from the elements, but also makes this space look like a natural extension of the house. To us, that’s a barometer of a project well done—one that, once it is complete, you can’t imagine what the house looked like without it. 

 But it wasn’t enough to add just a roof and screens. The tile flooring is both durable and stylish. A gas fireplace with wall mounted television above it gives another taste of the indoors. 

The grill still has a place in this space, with an inviting table nearby. Add some good friends and you have an instant party, all in one space.

See more of this beautiful space and hear more about the specifics of this project from The English Contractor himself, Craig Russell. 

Do you have an outdoor space that could use some attention? Are you imagining an outdoor room all your own? Give us a call today.

“You may think that spring showers bring May flowers. But in this case, spring showers brought us very happy homeowners.”

Don’t you love those beautiful spring mornings? The ones where you wake up to beautiful sunshine. Flowers are in bloom. The birds are singing. The kind of morning where you just can’t wait to leap out of bed and greet the day? 

 For some lucky homeowners, with a creative vision all their own, that’s every morning, every season of the year.

 The English Contractor was contacted by these Milford homeowners to remodel their bathroom, after we’d successfully worked with them to create an outdoor room, that you can see here. Of course, one of our most frequent requests is to help refresh and renew a bathroom. But this one was special and our task was specific: remodel this bathroom to make it modern and new while paying homage to the legacy of their historic home. 

 If you’ve ever lived in a historic home, you know you are much more than a homeowner. You are a steward of a domicile that was home to many families before you. And, thanks to your caretaking, will likely hold many other families under its roof for decades to come. A house like this has a personality, even a spirit, all its own. Your job is to keep this home a representation of the time period in which it was built, while gently and carefully welcoming the modern era in. 

 We wax poetic, but it’s true. 

 Take a look at these photos and see for yourself. This free-standing soaker tub with elegant claw feet is reminiscent of another era. The original home likely had a bathtub just like this. It makes a statement. It screams personality, acting as a piece of furniture in this perfect nook. The deck mounted faucet with cross hatch handles screams vintage, while at the same time gleaming shiny and new. Both the bathtub and the faucet are from our friends at Signature Hardware.

 We’re so in love with the tile floor from Ann Sacks, a chevron pattern given a new look with an elegant curve from the Benton Mosaic collection. The shades of gray add some interest to the area and are a beautiful, modern juxtaposition against the stately, vintage-look bathtub.   

 But let’s talk about that shower. The subway tile here, with grey grout, adds a nice, neutral backdrop for the rest of the space. Three recessed shelves add plenty of storage. It’s the brass shower fixtures that really makes this space sing. We love it when the most functional item is also beautifully decorative.

And when we say sing, we mean sing like the birds on that cheerful wallpaper. Talk about bringing the outside in. So many of our homeowners have embraced the “everything old is new again” wallpaper trend. We particularly like this one, selected by these clients. It’s so cheerful and happy, a modernized toile that once again takes a vintage space and makes it more current, with a slight nod to the home’s heritage. The stained-glass window is the icing on the cake, letting in plenty of natural light while beautifully reflecting the design of this space, both inside and out.

This sweet pedestal sink is just so perfect for this space, with the brass faucet with cross hatch handles reflecting this mix of new and old, both from Kohler. The white chair rail and detailed paneling lend a crisp and clean feel to the space. And isn’t that just how a new bathroom should feel.

Is your bathroom ready for a transformation? We’d love to tell you more about this project, as well as some of our other recent bathroom remodels that you can preview here and here. Give us a call. We’d love to show off our latest work—and talk about how we can help you.

In home building and interior design, bathrooms used to be after thoughts. Necessary, but not showcased. Minimally functional, but not beautiful. But times have changed. Bathrooms have style! Here’s a place to let your design style shine. Essential considerations like layout, lighting, functionality and other aesthetic elements can result in a beautiful space that is both attractive and useful. This year, we’ve been lucky enough to take on several different bathroom remodels, which means we’ve seen a lot of the latest trends that homeowners are embracing in a bathroom remodel. If you’re considering a bathroom remodel this year, you’ll want to read on to see some of these details.

Neutrality

Lots of homeowners are drawn to a neutral palette because of its staying power. The look of a neutral bathroom can totally change with paint, towels or artwork, accessories and décor elements that can easily be swapped to give the space a seasonal or refreshed look.

Catch the subway.

The subway tile trend is here to stay. We love it for its affordability and the stylish impact it can make. The change of grout color totally changes the look. These four bathrooms recently renovated by The English Contractor couldn’t be any more different, yet each makes use of subway tile in a way that makes a big impact in each space.

Natural wood.

We love the look of natural wood in a bathroom. It takes some colder materials, like tile, ceramic, and metal, and makes them seem warmer, sometimes even spa-like. Wood doesn’t have to be rustic. It can still be used in a modern and elegant space. Natural wood also becomes like a pop of color in an all white bathroom, adding texture and visual interest. In each of these bathrooms, the wood became a real focal point, a beautiful and natural element that made each of these spaces come to life.

In the tub.

According to a 2018 Houzz survey, 80% of homeowners planning a bathroom remodel planned to upgrade their tub, with nearly 70% planning a soaking tub. We’ve seen this trend too. A stand-alone tub can make quite a statement. Our clients are loving them for their function and their aesthetic. There are a range of styles and colors for freestanding tubs that are a design element as much as they are a special touch of luxury for a newly renovated bathroom.

Pop of color.

As much as we love the trend of neutral bathrooms, we also enjoy a pop of color. We think you can expect to see more color coming into the bathroom space, with blues and greens staying really popular. This cheerful powder room, featured in the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018, gave new meaning to the term pop of color with yellow painted woodwork and statement wallpaper, yet another trend that homeowners are really loving right now.

Technology for the Throne.

Are you a technology junkie? Bathrooms aren’t technology-free zones any more. Heated floors and heated towel racks are popular options. And technology-enabled shower, like the one pictured here from the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018, have control panels to easily adjust water flow, multiple jets, and temperature for a spa-like experience in your own home.. The possibilities are endless. 

Going Green.

You can follow a trend and save money. Water saving showers are an easy addition to any bathroom remodel and can save you money on your water bill in the long run. Dual-flush toilets are another option. The water flow can be adjusted for each flush to save money and benefit the environment. This hall bathroom features a touchless toilet that flushes with the wave of a hand. A subtle glow lights the way for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips.

Tile Trends.

Of course, there’s more to tile than the subway tile workhorse. We’re seeing lots of shapes, textures, colors that add tons of design appeal to a bathroom. It’s not just color and shape—placement says everything. We love a tile accent and tiled bathroom walls. In this HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 hall bathroom, the tile around the vanity and walls has looks like wallpaper, but it’s really a durable and beautiful tile.

Let’s Get Started.

Do these images have you dreaming of renovating your bathroom? Visit our Pinterest page to explore more of our favorite bathroom renovation projects. Or drop us a line and let’s get started!

Tackling a major remodel requires a fair amount of juggling, especially one like we managed for the HGTV Urban Oasis in Cincinnati, Ohio.. There’s a linear nature to a project like this, one foot in front of the other. There’s an order in which projects have to be completed. It can be a challenge, even for the best of us. And that’s the beauty of being a custom builder. We understand the order, how to manage it, and, more importantly, how to juggle it when things don’t go quite as planned. But add a television camera and a celebrity’s schedule to the mix and you have one heck of a project. It was a balancing act, to say the least, but we couldn’t be prouder of the outcome.

We’re proud to say that we completed the remodel, including the two-story addition, in 6 months and three days. For a house that was stripped down to the studs, this is quite an accomplishment. But for a house that was stripped down to the studs, rebuilt, and given a two store addition, along with a complicated TV production schedule. . . our timeframe is nothing short of a miracle. 

For as many exciting parts of a total home renovation that you may witness on your favorite HGTV or DIY Network show—like demo days and big reveals—there are a lot of little details that aren’t so exciting. Like watching paint dry. It’s all part of the process, it has to be accounted for in the timeline, but drying paint does not make for good television. It was sometimes a bit of a balancing act in getting work completed and making sure we hit certain milestones at specific times in order to align with camera crews and celebrity schedules. 

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A construction zone is a noisy place. And the noise is often, ahem, colorful. But when filming a family show, we had to hammer quietly. And speak politely. 

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Since our goal was to remodel a home AND have it done as part of an hour-long television show, we had to do our job perfectly and in a way that was entertaining. Usually, on the job site, The English Contractor founder and namesake, Craig Russell is our fearless leader. However, for the HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 home in Cincinnati, the producer was in charge. That meant redoing a project or two, once or twice (or maybe it was 10 times! We’ll never tell!) just to make sure that the camera got the best shot possible. And we still got it all done in 6 months and 3 days!

All in all, we’re thrilled with the final HGTV Urban Oasis project—the house itself and the episode. We loved working hand in hand with our HGTV friends Egypt Sherrod, Brian Patrick Flynn and Dan Faires, watching them do what they do best while we did what we do best. We couldn’t imagine a better partnership. We’d watch paint dry with that crew any day!