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Summer days are definitely upon us and with them, our usual Northern Virginia weather: hot, hazy, and humid. Yet, like every year, fall will soon be here. We welcome cooler weather, shorter days, school, holidays, fall sports, and family gatherings.

With that in mind, fall is a fantastic time to consider home remodeling projects with Moss Building & Design, Northern Virginia’s top home remodeler. Here are our top three recommendations for projects this fall.

Remodeling Your Mudroom

Mudrooms are a great way to slow down the traffic coming through your home. It gives your family (especially the kids!) a place to take responsibility in storing their shoes, backpacks, and sports equipment. There’s also a satisfying feeling of “out of sight, out of mind” with a well-designed mudroom. Items are stored neatly, the rest of your home is kept less messy and dirty, and you can enjoy the lack of clutter! 

This remodel in Oakton, Virginia, features a mudroom with built-ins and associated baskets and hooks for each family member.  

Kitchen Pantry Organization

Getting out of the house every morning can be a race against the clock for busy families. An organized and neat kitchen pantry, where the kids can grab snacks and lunchbox food quickly, is a crucial element to a well-oiled morning machine.

This home remodel in Fairfax Station, Virginia, included a kitchen pantry that is an organizer’s delight. The ability to walk in and visually see everything can make even the most stressful days easier! 

Entryways

With the holidays approaching, early fall is a good time to think about updating your front porch, sun porch, and/or entryways (side doors, for example). The weather is still comfortable enough for work to happen, and it’s a lovely time to research ways to add outdoor decor for upcoming festivities.

Have you been thinking about fixing the front steps? Worried that someone could take a misstep on a loose stone? Is the lighting dated? Fall is a great time to update any or all of these. 

This Oakton home’s screened porch is a perfect example of a well-designed backyard with a beautiful back entryway into the home. 

Interested in starting a home remodeling project this fall with MOSS? Call us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com for more information. You can also download our guide to home remodeling, if you’re a little new at this project. Click on the button below to get started:

Preparing Your Northern VA Home For Fall

After many hot, and humid days this summer, we all anxiously await the cooler temperatures of fall. While you and your kids might be ready to jump into the next season, is your home properly prepped for the change?

Moss Building & Design is the perfect remodeling company to get those handyman items off of your honey-do list. We’ll take care of prep items, too, before the weather gets chilly.

Here are specific maintenance and remodeling items to prepare your Northern Virginia home for fall.

Painting & Basement Remodeling Projects

‘Tis the season for a good interior paint job. The winter is too cold to shut all the windows, and dive into large-scale interior painting projects. The summer is too hot, but fall offers the perfect time to spruce up those rooms that need a little extra TLC.

Make sure your basement is in tip-top shape for all the indoor time ahead. If you’ve been thinking about remodeling your basement, now is the time. Turn your basement into the perfect playroom, home theater, or extra bedroom. Add a kitchen and bar area for that extra entertainment space.

This basement remodel in McLean, Virginia, completely transformed to update a living space, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. The dark birch cabinets in the wet bar create a coziness in the basement. The tile choice makes for easy spill cleanup. This basement definitely has what it takes to become a home for the family in the winter and a house for out-of-town holiday guests.

Exterior Repairs: Gutters, Roofs, And Windows Need Extra Attention

You also need to tend to gutters, roofs, and windows this time of year. Clear out gutters and keep them clean as foliage begins to drop. Now’s the time to repair any damage that occurred from summer storms. If your gutters clog or break come winter, ice buildup could damage your home’s framing and drywall. Avoid this at all costs!

Seal any roof leaks before freezing rain and snow piles up. Don’t forget about the chimney, as well. Annually inspect chimneys for critters, cracks, and soot buildup. You may stoke a fire sooner than you think.

Check doors and windows for cracked or frayed caulk and weatherstripping. Air leaks cause the heating bill to rise as the weather turns colder. It’s an easy fix you or a handyman can catch.

Check Your Deck

Summer activities take a toll on your outdoor space. Make sure you address any loose boards, nail pops, or other deck issues while you still want to be outside. Once winter hits, small deck problems are exacerbated by wintry weather conditions.

Also, consider a renovation or remodeling project to enclose your deck to make an all-season space. Build a new deck or patio for a great space prepared come spring again! For example, check out the below McLean, Virginia, porch addition.

Prepare Your Home For Fall With Northern Virginia’s Best Contractor

Do you want to talk to about renovating your Northern Virginia home? Do you need a contractor to prepare your home for the fall? Call us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@MossBuildingandDesign.com.

We’re always excited to showcase home remodel projects that MOSS, Northern Virginia’s top remodeler, completes. This particular remodel in north Arlington, Virginia, is a stunner.

Two fallen trees from a spring storm damaged this home. MOSS turned this home into a beautiful light-filled showcase. Its open kitchen concept represents the owners’ love for entertaining and family time.

The owners of this home considered remodeling for awhile. When the trees fell and damaged most of their home, they moved forward with MOSS as their home contractor. Working with our designers, this family had specific goals for their home remodel, including the following:

• An eat-in kitchen with plenty of room to accommodate all family members
• An open, informal space for entertaining with lots of light
• Maximum deck space for use in at least three seasons 

Kitchen and Dining Rooms Transformation

Before renovations took place, the kitchen was too small to accommodate this family’s needs. Making meals, hosting family gatherings, and enjoying family time felt forced and cramped. This was one of the homeowner’s main goals that MOSS worked with them to achieve.

Now, they have a space where everyone can be together but not on top of one another. The kitchen remodel offers different zones for cooking, working, and hanging out.

Deck Updates

Before the remodel, this home had ample deck space, but it wasn’t useable outside of the summer months. When MOSS remodeled the kitchen, we added interior square footage. This allowed us to add exterior space, too.

The exterior space included covered seating, a wood-burning fireplace, heating elements for year-round use, and mounted television!

This family wanted a separate dining area as part of the open concept kitchen. Beautiful lighting and an extended dining table with comfortable seating allows for entertaining and family meals.

Main Floor Mudroom

Before the renovation, this family didn’t have a central location for their young children’s belongings, sports equipment, and toys. MOSS created a mudroom near the front door that keeps this family well organized.

At MOSS, we work with our homeowners at every step of their remodel. By truly listening to you and how you plan to use your new space, we can help you improve the quality of your life in your home. The before and after photos prove how significant these changes were for this family! Imagine the possibilities for your home!

If you’re interested in MOSS and our home remodeling services, call us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@MossBuildingAndDesign.com.

Northern Virginia Contractor Receives 8th Consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Award

We are very proud to announce that we have received the Angie’s List Super Service Award for the 8th consecutive year. The award honors those professionals who have maintained exceptional service ratings and reviews throughout 2017. The Northern Virginia remodeling company is proud to have established such a reputation for excellence in the remodeling and home services industry.

The 8th consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Award marks Moss Building and Design’s superior record of service on AngiesList.com, which consumers continually view as a trusted source for home service recommendations. Each year, fewer than 5% of businesses on Angie’s List receive this award.

 “Angie’s List is an unfiltered forum for customers to express their opinion on their MOSS experience. The experiences shared on our Angie’s List profile clearly demonstrate the MOSS team’s commitment to our guiding principles of Safety, High Quality, Customer Focus, Fairness, and High Performance,” said MOSS CEO, Jason Hampel. “We love having the opportunity to improve the quality of our customer’s lives in their home and couldn’t be prouder to be recognized by these same customers for successfully delivering on our guiding principles for the 8th consecutive year.”

About Northern VA’s Top Remodeler

Moss Building & Design is an award-winning remodeling and home services company that serves Northern Virginia.  We specialize in remodeling additions, kitchen remodels, bathroom renovations and basement remodeling.  If you would like a free consultation or have questions regarding how to get started call us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@MossBuildingandDesign.com

The Moss Building & Design team always keeps up with the latest design trends, from traditional to modern design styles. One common design style we’re seeing a lot of (even in modern home remodels) is rustic architectural elements. Whether it’s wood flooring, an eye-catching stone accent wall, or a complete farmhouse chic remodel, rustic remodeling elements are on the rise in kitchens, living rooms, and bathrooms.

Wooden Accents Make Rooms More Rustic

Various types of hardwoods or hardwood imitations are popping up everywhere in our Northern Virginia remodels. The wood look is no longer just an appropriate flooring option for your bedrooms and hallways. Our recent trend alert features more information on how porcelain tile and luxury vinyl tile are used in bathrooms and kitchens for a wood look with a moisture-resistant bonus, like this Vienna, Virginia, bathroom remodel.

Wood isn’t only a flooring option either. Hardwood type accents are also popping up on walls and backsplashes throughout the home. The wood look is incorporated in kitchens, even those that predominantly have a modern design style like this Oakton, Virginia, remodel with a unique wood range hood.

Sliding Barn Doors In Northern Virginia Renovations

One of our favorite design trends in rustic remodels is definitely barn doors. Nothing is more rustic than simulating the look of a barn to bring in the farmhouse style. A weathered-wood look, like this blue-green sliding door in a Great Falls, Virginia, living room remodel, perfectly matches this client’s rustic decor.

You can really go as rustic or as modern as your design style allows when choosing a door, adding personal touches and character to make your home unique. Another remodel in Ashburn, Virginia, incorporated a rustic door in-between the kitchen and dining space.

Barn doors are used everywhere, from living rooms to kitchens to offices. They don’t all have to look authentically “rustic,” though. This sliding door in McLean, Virginia, creates privacy for a side room-office space. While it doesn’t resemble a barn door, it still incorporates the visual sliding element inspired by the barn door trend.

Stone Accent Walls Add Outdoorsy Warmth To Kitchens

The expert stonemasons and carpenters that work on Moss Building & Design home remodels are equipped with the skills to really make your accent wall become a statement piece. Traditionally, stone accents are on fireplaces in living rooms, but contractors work on stone accent walls and backsplashes anywhere, especially in kitchens!

For example, this stone accent wall in a Great Falls, Virginia, remodeled kitchen perfectly matches the client’s desire to bring rustic, natural elements into their home.

For more rustic remodel design tips, read our blog on Farmhouse Chic Decor or view our top five favorite rustic inspired living rooms here.

Want to create a rustic home remodel of your own? Don’t hesitate to contact us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@mossbuildinganddesign.com.

MOSS’ Community Relations team is always looking for different ways to make a difference. Most community outreach events occur in conjunction with the school year so our summer is a challenge for our team to find sponsorship options.

Beginning a few years ago, we began to look into supporting local area swim teams — what a great way to help community families and to encourage staying healthy and active over the summer. Plus, being in the water during these incredibly HOT days makes everything better! 

For 2018, we expanded our support to several different teams, and are so glad we did. We want to wish all the swimmers at the following community pools a successful July and to most of all, be safe in the water: Pinecrest Piranhas (Herndon), Stratford Sharks (Alexandria), and the Water Wizards of Kings Ridge (Fairfax). 

If you’d like to learn more about MOSS and our community relations efforts, please contact our Community Relations Manager, Jenn Zschunke, at jzschunke@mossbuildinganddesign.com. For a free estimate for your home remodeling needs or to learn more about MOSS, contact us. 

Kitchen backsplashes have morphed from the practical designs of old to statement pieces in your kitchen. Backsplashes are meant to protect walls from spills and are now a way to express your design style.

Backsplashes are comprised of a variety of materials (glass, tile, wood, metal, and stone) and take on many different design styles, from the classic subway tile to a more intricate basketweave or herringbone pattern. Our favorite kitchen backsplash styles, designed by Moss Building & Design, highlight the range of options you have when remodeling your kitchen.

Backsplash Wows Behind Gas Ranges

This gorgeous kitchen backsplash in Oakton, Virginia, is the main focal point of the room. Behind the Wolf Pro-Style Gas Range, the backsplash is made of a beautiful pattern of interlocking white and brown Hirsch glass tile mosaic.

For a tile close-up, see below.

Glass Backsplashes Accentuate Modern Kitchens

In this contemporary-style Arlington, Virginia, kitchen, the dark and light interlocking glass tile backsplash beautifully complements the darker maple-chocolate cabinets and Whitney from Cambria countertops.

Another example of glass tile appears in this Fairfax, Virginia, kitchen. The Moscato Glass tile from Mosaic Tile runs horizontally around the kitchen with a ⅓-offset pattern, while a colorful Linea Glass Mosaic accent tile makes the backsplash wall stand out with vertical tile running behind the range up to the ceiling.

This very bright, fresh, and white McLean, Virginia, kitchen remodel also features ⅓-offset glass tile. The pattern gives a modern feel to the traditional subway-style look by moving the offset placement a third of the way instead of halfway through the tile.

Traditional Travertine Is A Long-Lasting Favorite

You can’t go wrong with a traditional look. This McLean, Virginia, kitchen in a traditional white design has a classy and polished pearl-toned Travertine backsplash to match the cabinets. The ming-green basketweave-patterned accent feature behind the range adds a nice pop of color. The blue-green accent creates a soothing atmosphere while you cook.

According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, mixing unique colors and patterns (including basketweave) into your kitchen remodel is very trendy for 2018.

This Herndon, Virginia, remodel also goes the traditional route in the Dore Royal Tumbled Travertine used throughout the kitchen. The backsplash above the range matches the rest of the horizontal bricks between the cabinets. An oiled bronze-colored tile frames the accent with four Fleur De Lis decorative squares in the corners.

Stone Makes A Statement

If glass and Travertine aren’t your design style, up your backsplash game with a very unique stone look. In this rustic Reston, Virginia kitchen, the homeowners opted to make their backsplash a whole accent wall with beautiful natural stone.

Natural Stone In Bold Patterns Shows Personality

For a more colorful look, this Centreville, Virginia, home used a combination of Mosaic Tile natural stone Centaur brick as the main tile pattern and an Oracle Braids accent border.

For more inspiration and to find your kitchen backsplash style, check out these 45 Kitchen Backsplashes on HGTV and browse our Ideabook on Houzz.

Interested in learning more about a home remodel of your own? Email MOSS at Hello@mossbuildinganddesign.com or call us at 703.961.7707.

Are you experiencing low water pressure? What about random coughing fits in your home?

Believe it or not, these could be signs that your home heating and cooling system needs maintenance right away. Here’s a list of more common warning signs from Moss Building & Design in Northern Virginia:

Your air conditioner isn’t working.

There’s nothing worse than sweltering heat in the middle of July and no air conditioning in your home. It could be a simple fix like plugging it in again or troubleshooting the thermostat.

However, it could be a bigger problem. What if there’s a faulty part? Did an outdoor critter chew through the wires? Is the air filter clogged? Did the circuit breaker trip after a summer storm? Is your garden too close to the unit?

If your A/C unit is having problems this summer, it may need some maintenance from a MOSS professional in Northern Virginia.

You don’t have warm water.

After you’ve been doing yardwork or were out at your kid’s soccer tournament all day, a shower sounds great — until you don’t have any hot water.

This is likely a boiler problem, which requires HVAC maintenance (or repair or replacement, depending on how bad the problem is).

Other common signs of boiler problems include the following:

• The pilot light keeps going out.
• You hear banging or kettling, which sounds like a stovetop kettle going off.
• You lose water pressure in the shower and faucets.
• You have thermostat issues, such as less accurate readings, misread temperature settings, and an HVAC system that turns on and off by itself.
• The boiler is leaking or dripping.
• The radiator isn’t hot.

You have a high heating or cooling bill.

Opening a bill is never fun, especially when it’s way higher than you thought it was going to be. What gives?!

Turns out, it could be a lack of HVAC maintenance that caused your bill to skyrocket. Not caring for your home heating and cooling system can lead to weak or damaged insulation, leaky ductwork, an out-of-date furnace, thermostat issues, and faulty window ventilation.

When these parts don’t work well, heat and cool air escape from your home, which means you turn it up (thinking that it’s not enough) and your money flies out of your wallet.

Your allergies are so bad.

You might notice that this year’s allergies are worse than ever. It could be due to the increase of pollen or ragweed in your area, but it could also be because the air filter isn’t working.

An air filter is meant to catch microscopic allergens and pathogens, which are particles of triggering germs that you cannot see. If the air filter is too full or ripped, these allergens escape and worsen your symptoms.

This is worse if you live in a home with excess dust, hair, smoke, or pet dander. Sorry, pups!

To stop sneezing and rubbing your watery eyes, replace the air filter and call a professional for regular HVAC maintenance.

When it comes to keeping your home clean and your family happy and healthy, HVAC maintenance should be taken seriously. If you don’t put effort toward this semiannual chore, appliances will break, bills will skyrocket, and allergies will worsen.

Put it on your refrigerator, garage door, or family corkboard! If you need help with this chore, call Moss Building & Design in Northern Virginia at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@mossbuildinganddesign.com for information on our HVAC Service Agreements.

This uniquely built, round house in Oakton, Virginia, presented design challenges that the MOSS team adeptly navigated with a modern touch to make it more updated and usable for the homeowners. Modern updates can be seen throughout the house with the use of gray and white paint, new hardwood flooring, the creation of ensuite bathrooms, and a general opening up of dead space.

MOSS’ team of interior designers, project managers, and skilled carpenters completely reconfigured the living areas and applied new paint and flooring throughout the house in a renovation timeline of only seven months. This room, for example, was transformed from drab living space to a fabulous guest room ensuite bathroom.

The exterior of the home also went through a transition from its original dark brown color to white with James Hardie siding. A new roof was also installed.

Living Room Remodel

The living room was given a much-needed face lift with replacement floor-to-ceiling windows, featuring stunning 17-foot by 5-foot pieces of glass; new, modern wide-plank hardwood floor; and an updated staircase. The existing frame of the circular staircase was kept in place, but the MOSS team installed new treads and rails to give it a fresh look. An updated orb light fixture and the removal of brick and wood paneling ornamentation completed the remodel.

Kitchen Remodel

The kitchen layout was completely reconfigured, and the homeowner and MOSS team didn’t shy away from moving and removing walls. To open up the space, the team took out a large stone cooktop island, changed the location of the staircase that descends into the living room, and removed a wall between the living and dining rooms. The homeowner chose to mix light and dark colors with classic white Stonebridge by Hampshire, semi-custom cabinets, a unique wood range hood, and a dark wood island. Stainless steel appliances and orb light fixtures complement the modern look.

Master Bathroom Remodel

Another hallmark of this remodel is the master bath. The rectangular, white Wyndham Collection acrylic, freestanding soaking tub is eye-catching along with the vertical brick-pattern Travertini tile that extends from the shower and onto the entire wall behind the tub. Similar to the kitchen, this room blends light and dark colors beautifully with Kraftmaid Cabinetry for a blended look.

See more of this fabulous, whole-house transformation by visiting our photo gallery on Houzz. Then, check out another stunning Before and After profile of a McLean, VA remodeled home.

Want to learn more about a home remodel of your own? Don’t hesitate to contact us at 703.961.7707 or email us at Hello@mossbuildinganddesign.com.