by Judy Burnett

There truly is no place like home, but sometimes that home may require a bit of a makeover to keep it looking its best. Recently, Indianapolis Woman gathered a panel of home remodeling professionals to discuss the latest trends in renovation, financing and more. Read on for advice on how to tackle your next project.

Jim Cutillo - President, Stonegate Mortgage Corp.

Geoffrey Horen - CEO, Lifestyle Group

Dan Marsh - Manager, Classic Stone LLC

Shawn Baumgardner - Store Manager, The Tile Shop

Bob Clark - Owner/President, Clark Appliance

Craig Aspin - Area Manager, Handyman Connection

Brad Beach - Manager, Windows & Kitchens of Indiana

Q. How does a homeowner determine if it's better to renovate or move?

Geoffrey Horen: I always ask them how they feel about their area. Do they like the schools, for example? In some of these situations they are on large lots with mature trees that they cannot get in a new subdivision. Frankly, sometimes they cannot get as much house in a new setting as they can get with what they have. We tell them to keep in mind that if they do sell the house, the Realtor fees and additional costs of moving need to be taken into consideration. You can easily spend $20,000 to $30,000 on just those expenses. Honestly, seven or eight times out of 10, they can stay where they are and get what they want.

Q. Is there a guideline homeowners should use to determine how much to spend on renovation compared to the value of the home? We've seen guidelines that indicate you should not put more than 30 percent of the value of the home into remodeling.

Jim Cutillo: I don't think there is a particular number. Location is always a big factor. The cost of remodel versus building new is a factor. The neighborhood has to support the project. We finance million-dollar remodels and that's OK if the location of the property supports that.

Horen: We always tell people when they do a remodel of that size and scope that they have to do it because they are planning on staying. They cannot do that as a "fixer-upper" and plan on flipping the house.

Cutillo: On the Northside of Indy we are seeing a trend of people buying a house, burning it down - and there are tax credits associated with doing that - and pretty much reconstructing the home.

Q. What are the hot trends in tile?

Shawn Baumgardner: We're getting away from the neutral decors. We are seeing a lot more color. Deeper colors are more popular too - the purples and greens that are more festive. Bigger-size tile is king right now. Tile is a permanent thing and returns its value.

Q. What about appliances?

Bob Clark: Stainless steel has taken over the market. Stainless appliances are up to about 29 percent of all appliances shipped in 2005 in the United States. We don't see any slow-down there within the next two years. Manufacturers are looking at what is the next finish - possibly pastels coming back from the '50s and '60s. They are also looking at different finishes they can apply to the stainless, where you can still see the grain but you don't see the fingerprints as much. I think you'll see deep red and deep green tints applied to stainless steel.

Q. So, stainless steel is at a higher price point than other finishes?

Clark: Yes, and going up rapidly.

Q. What about the "faux stainless" look?

Clark: It's a laminate finish that looks like stainless. It's very expensive to do. The problem is that if it scratches, there is nothing you can do. It is permanent. With stainless steel you can rub out a scratch.

Q. What is hot in appliances?

Clark: I'll be surprised if five years from now there is an oven made that is not convection. The food comes out much better in convection [ovens] and in a timelier manner. Speed-cook is the new thing. GE has the Trivection and the Advantium out, which are really neat technology.

Q. Do people still want microwaves?

Clark: Most people still today use a microwave to pop popcorn and reheat food. GE has an Advantium out, which is a microwave capable of cooking foods like it came out of your oven in a third to a fourth of the time. Convection microwaves are still extremely popular because you can use it as a convection oven or as a microwave.

Q. Are there any other important appliance trends that you're seeing?

Clark: The high-end side of the business is growing like wildfire. There are very few things that you buy and use every day for 10 to 15 years. People are getting into cooking. We have live chefs and cooking classes in our stores. Trash compactors come and go. They seem to be coming back to life in our market.

Horen: Our experience with that is that if somebody does a higher-end kitchen with a wine fridge and an icemaker and everything else, they feel like they have to put in the trash compactor.

Clark: Warming drawer sales are going through the roof right now. It's the kind of thing that people say, "I don't know if I'd use it," but once they have it, they always replace it if they remodel or move. A compactor is the same way. Once they've had it, nine out of 10 want it again.

Cutillo: What we are seeing on the high-end remodels is the move toward all professional appliances in the kitchen. That seems to be the standard. Is that in line with what you are seeing?

Clark: Absolutely. People are having fun in the kitchen with it. The men who are taking our cooking classes are saying, "If I am going to buy a $7,000 range, I am going to learn to use it." Five or six years ago, the people who bought those ranges did not use them.

Q. What trends are the rest of you seeing?

Craig Aspin: What we are seeing a lot of is retro - the '50s style. We also see a lot of the Tuscany look or the European look. High-end bathrooms are very popular.

Dan Marsh: We do a lot of stone for high-end bathrooms. It's unique for one thing, and it works with the higher-end fixtures and sinks. We sell a lot of $900 granite sinks.

Brad Beach: The high-end appliances. The kitchen is a hot button for most homeowners. Kitchen space in homes built 15 or 20 years ago was limited. It was for food preparation; it wasn't used for entertaining or as a gathering place for the family. Now, it's trying to incorporate the appliances, ventilation systems, storage items and accommodating their lifestyles. We spend a lot of time in our kitchens. It's the first room you're in each morning and it's the last light you turn off at night.

Q. What about countertops?

Beach: Granite is the buzzword. Everybody wants it. The manmade stones are coming on strong with quartz. We're still doing a lot with solid-surface tops - not much with laminates.

Marsh: We primarily handle all high-end - granite and quartz, specifically Cambria quartz. The consumers are becoming more educated in their decision-making. Now, consumers know quartz will not have any sort of bacterial problems. It is nonporous. It is warranted against staining. There is no upkeep.

Q. What is the price difference between granite and quartz?

Marsh: Quartz countertops will come in at about the same price point as a low-end to medium-priced granite.

Horen: Concrete counters are popular on the West Coast. There is not much publicity on it around here. Consumers don't know much about it.

Cutillo: What I am seeing is floor plan changes, elevation changes, ceiling changes, loading up the audio and video. It's amazing how far remodeling has gone.

Clark: Wine cellars and wine coolers are building a whole new opportunity for us, for remodelers and for cabinet people. Wine cooler sales go up every day. They are going into the high-end home theater rooms now, and they are putting a wine cooler in there.

Horen: That creates an issue for us. Typically, they come to us first and then they go see you and come back with a different idea of what they want.

Clark: That's why our stores are changing. We try to show lots and lots of different applications. It helps people see what they can do.

Horen: We had a client last week that said, "I saw a cabinet at Clark's I want." I had to get on the phone to call your store and find out where the cabinet came from. He is showing them things that are impacting our business.

Cutillo: One comment: Depending on the expensiveness of the remodel, the return on investment on a remodel can be significant. I think dollar for dollar, remodels can be better investment of your dollar than new construction in a lot of cases. You cannot replicate in new construction what you can get in a remodel for the same money.

Aspin: People are putting the money into the remodel because it is what they want and they want to stay in that neighborhood. The return on investment is less important.

Beach: There are two different types of remodel projects. There is the one who wants to sell the house and does some remodeling for that reason. That's an entirely separate mindset.

Clark: That's where we see a lot of the stainless-look appliances. It makes the house look better and like it's worth a lot more.

Q. When you go out and evaluate a remodeling job, what is the inconvenience factor for the homeowner?

Aspin: It varies. You have to make sure you communicate with them and say, "We are going to tear up your lifestyle a little bit here."

Horen: I've found that no matter what you tell a homeowner, they are never going to be able to prepare themselves for what they are about to encounter. I had a client tell us once that it is like having a baby. The process is terrible, but 30 days later and you're in that new kitchen and you're ready to do it again.

Aspin: I tell clients the day you sign that contract is the day you are going to like me the best for the next six months because of the inconvenience. Everything is torn up.

Cutillo: My builders tell their clients to move out.

Q. Hardwood floors seem to be tremendously popular. Are homeowners also interested in laminate floors?

Horen: We just got some new laminate samples in within the last 30 days and there have been dramatic changes in the way the product is made. It looks very nice and feels completely different. They have beveled edges and better fastening systems.

Clark: We are putting laminate tiles in quite a few of the kitchens in our new Castleton showroom. It's a nice-looking product and it's easy to clean.

Horen: When you put down true tile, you're putting down a floor. When you put down a laminate, you're putting down a floor covering.

Baumgardner: Tile is almost as cheap as laminate in some cases.

Horen: The difference is in the installation.

Marsh: We are seeing a lot of people who moved into a lower-cost home five or six years ago and now they want to add some luxury upgrades, like changing the laminate countertops for granite.

Beach: People spend money initially on things they know they cannot change. They know they will change the countertop, put down new carpet, change carpeted floors to hardwood. It's a plan they have, to remodel at a point in time.

Q. What is new about location?

Cutillo: That's what it is all about.

Horen: Everyone knows about Meridian-Kessler, but there are lots of other little pocket neighborhoods.

Cutillo: Another area is Zionsville - the Hunt Club Road area. You can do anything over there and get a tremendous return on your investment.

Clark: We are shipping appliances every day to Meridian-Kessler. It's the location. They know what their surroundings are going to be for a long time.

Q. What about Hendricks County? It seems to be exploding.

Horen: Brownsburg is an area where people have large tracts of land and are choosing to remodel. The two big areas outside of Indianapolis are Brownsburg and Columbus.

Q. What are the financing options for the person who wants to remodel?

Cutillo: The trend has been to go out and get a home-equity loan to finance the remodel. In some cases, that's 100 percent of the value of the home. The assumption is that improvements will ultimately improve the value of the property, so that ultimately your loan is something less than 100 percent of the value. In the large-scale remodels, you get into doing construction loans, where you pay off the existing mortgage. In some cases in these high-end remodels where someone is putting more than $1 million into a renovation, they are financed like a commercial loan until it is done. Then it is appraised and we decide what the permanent financing will be. I want to say that it is important to shop first for what you want so you get enough money.

Clark: It amazes me how many people get mad at the remodelers because they went out and said, "We want to do a remodel," and then they go out and look and are mad because there wasn't enough money in the budget for the appliances they want. That's not the remodeler's fault.

Cutillo: The numbers aren't real until you do all your shopping. I send my clients to the suppliers first.

Q. Are customers generally more educated because of the Internet?

Clark: Yes, they are a lot smarter and better educated and they have more realistic price expectations.

Baumgardner: The problem we have is they go on the Internet and see a cheaper price if they order their tile, but they forget about the shipping cost. No one tells them it will take $2,000 to get that tile here.

Horen: Our experience is that people often don't know what they are looking at. We haven't seen it across the board. We do get dinged a little bit because of HGTV and things like that. People have seen Ty [Pennington of Trading Spaces] do it in a day and want to know why it takes us longer.

Baumgardner: If you buy on the Internet, the "what ifs" get worse and worse. It can be a mess.

Q. How does a homeowner select the right remodeler?

Aspin: The first thing to do is research the company - their history, their record. Find out the level of satisfaction from their customers. Getting three estimates is still a good idea. Know what the guarantee is from the remodelers - their expectations can be too great. They just need to do their homework on the companies they want to use. Check with the Better Business Bureau. Check with the chamber of commerce. Ask for references.

Horen: From my perspective, I differ on the three bid suggestion. The time we will invest to put together an estimate for somebody includes design, pricing and specifications [and] is so intensive. I would rather they do their homework, and interview people first and pick a partner. They don't have to do that for a $10,000 bathroom, but when you get into a $40,000 kitchen and up, decide who you want to use. We get a lot of referrals from Angie's List. I give people references and tell them to call the references. I tell them to ask how we handled any problems. Problems always arise and it's how they are handled. In the long run, we are trying to build relationships. I tell my customers, "I like your first project but I'll really know we're doing well when we get your second." That's the key to me.

Q. Do you all agree that a "partnership" is important?

Clark: Are you investing in your business for today or for the long run? No one ever wants something to go wrong, but it will sometimes. It's all in how you deal with it. You want the customer to say, "Yeah, I had a problem but they took care of it for me." That's expensive, but it is important to invest in the long term. I want my customers to be happy all the way to the end.

Horen: We pay our carpenters more than our competitors because we are going to put them in your house. You have to be happy.

Cutillo: I think it is critical to pick the right partner. I have a lot of clients call me to ask for a referral to a builder. I tell them to check the relationship the builder has with their subcontractors. They know how the builder treats their clients.

Clark: I tell people who ask me to "select someone you feel you trust and you can do business with." Someone who has the same vision you do. And I agree, talk to the [subcontractors].

Q. How important is the Internet to your business?

Baumgardner: It's getting more and more important. We are taking orders on it and then we ship the product. We've spent quite a bit of money this year revamping that site, so it is very important to us and what we want to do in the future.

Clark: I hired a full-time marketing manager a year ago and I thought the Web site was fine. She changed it and we are getting 5,000 hits a month. It's much more usable. It's become a very important advertising piece for us.

Aspin: Our hits have increased dramatically. Links are important. They can go to HGTV or TLC and, depending on where they are, they may get directed to us.

Beach: It is a benefit to us directly. Links from our manufacturers are very important.

Marsh: We do not have a Web site, but Cambria has a very extensive site that we promote.

Horen: We are finding that more people are touching our Web site each month. That tells me they are looking before they call.

Cutillo: Our Web site is managed actively. We put a lot of money into it to establish our brand as a private mortgage bank. We use it for branding and awareness.

Q. How important is the female consumer to your business?

Baumgardner: Oh, very important.

Clark: There is no question - the decisions are driven by the female.

Aspin: I think it is the single most important thing. She is the driver. She wants what she wants. I really believe she makes the ultimate decision in this arena. About 85 percent of the initial calls made to us are made by the woman.

Beach: In the kitchen industry, it's almost entirely driven by women. She is generally the manager of the home. It's very rare we will have a gentleman take charge.

Marsh: Likewise. The decision is driven by the female.

Cutillo: No question about it. The woman is the initiator and the decision-maker on these types of projects. I have to always talk to the husband because he is actively involved in the financing decision.

Horen: I always tell husbands and wives that if they disagree in front of me, there is no question I am going to agree with the wife.

Cutillo: There is one exception. Men will drive the audiovideo decisions. If you want to see a man get jazzed, let her tell him he can have a plasma TV above the fireplace, as long as it is not ugly.

Article appears as published in the IW January 2006 issue.