Bryan and Richard have made a lot of changes to their 1950’s 2-story home in Upper Arlington, OH since purchasing it in 2019, but hired our Remodel-Design-Build Team to add some much-needed space to complete their vision and upgrade the curb appeal. Their home is now an entertaining dream with flow, function, and amazing views.
Q & A with Bryan & Richard
What was the goal for your remodel?
We wanted to rebuild our dining/living room to feel seamless and as comfortable as the rest of the house. It was important to create a great flow to our outdoor patio spaces.
We completely remodeled the house 2 years prior to working with The Cleary Company, but this renovation did not include any physical additions to the space. During the original remodel, we relocated the kitchen to one-half of the first-floor footprint that took over the existing dining room in order to incorporate a new mud room area with laundry, coat closet and a half bath. With this change, we moved the dining room to the living room to create a “great room” concept. We love the house and enjoy all the initial renovations that also included extensive landscaping and outdoor patio areas.
Unfortunately, the living/dining room side of the house was just too tight and didn’t feel nearly as enjoyable as the rest of the house. Quite simply, it didn’t match all the other enhancements to the home. This was the reason for our recent renovation with The Cleary Company.
With our love of the outside spaces of our home, we also wanted to enhance the curb appeal of this very traditional 1950’s UA layout.
What is your favorite aspect of your remodeled space?
The natural light and flow. We love windows and we put a lot of them into the small space! While we only added about 200 total square feet but, the flow and “livability” of the space is absolutely wonderful! The “great room” now connects our front sitting area to our back patio and it’s all seamless.
Additionally, the new front and back porches and gables, with several beautiful design details, completely changes the curb appeal from a 1950’s box to a beautiful modern feeling home. We enjoy entertaining our friends and family and everyone comments on how comfortable our home is. We think that is about the best compliment you can receive!
What advice would you offer to someone who is thinking of remodeling their home?
Live in your space for a bit before starting the remodeling process to really understand what you like and what you want to change. Understand that the inconvenience of the work and mess is really a moment in time. Once done, it becomes a very distant memory while you enjoy the vision you had for your home!
The Cleary Company Remodel Difference
Why did you choose The Cleary Company to complete your remodeling project?
We saw their signs throughout the community and attended one of their NARI tour homes. We asked people who were using them directly how they felt about the work and the comments were very positive. We felt that the quality of the workmanship we saw throughout these discussions was very good.
What was your favorite part of working with The Cleary Company and why?
Their attention to detail. We felt that while we knew they were handling multiple and larger renovations they had their attention focused on our project in a way that made us feel valued. We never felt as if we weren’t getting the attention we needed throughout the process. No matter how much you know about construction, there will be things that concern you when it is your own house. We thought they did a very good job in explaining what was happening and how a resolution would come to the project.
Who from our Team stood out and how did they exceed your expectations?
Laura Watson, Rob Lindeboom and Ben Ludlow. They were all so kind and respectful of us as homeowners living through the process.
Laura was outstanding in organizing our thoughts and preferences into a final design that checked all the boxes. She is fun and you can tell she truly enjoys design and the challenges of the project.
Rob is a very good communicator. He is honest and direct and when he doesn’t have the answer he gets back to you with one in a timely manner. He really keeps things moving and always took time to keep us up to date on progress, challenges, etc. We added a few things to the project, and I felt like he was very helpful in guiding those changes for the improvement of the overall project.
Ben was fantastic—we felt like he became part of our family! He is proud of his work and helps to keep everyone moving in the right direction. He, too, is a great communicator and works to resolve things quickly. Usually by the time we would ask a question it had already been resolved!
I would also add that all the subs that work with The Cleary Company were outstanding. We had no issues with any of them. They were all very respectful of being in our home while we were living there.
I work in commercial food service and have been long involved in design build projects for large commercial kitchens. I was so impressed that when we got to the final punch list—I had nothing to put on it; I have never experienced this in my career! Rob and Ben did an outstanding job of managing the details up to the last day.
Just for Fun!
In one word why did you choose to do business with The Cleary Company?
Quality
Would you recommend The Cleary Company?
Absolutely and we have several times already!
Are you ready to remodel your home?
Get started today by visiting our website! Our Remodel-Design-Build Team is ready to help you navigate the remodeling process, upgrade your home’s curb appeal and collaborate with you to make your vision of your home a reality.