What house is perfect? Even the custom-designed house is bound to fail, at some point. After all, people change, and our lifestyles and habits follow suit. What was perfect for us last year may be completely worthless this year, especially if growing children are part of the household.
In fact, the parents who have rearranged their lives for many years to accommodate their children will, when ENS (i.e., Empty Nest Syndrome) sets in, be more ready than anyone else to make changes to the house. Although things may stay essentially kid-friendly (for sake of grandchildren, of course), no longer will all decisions focus on the children, depend on their needs, wants, and dislikes. In a sense, it’s time for the house to grow up, too, to catch up with Mom and Dad, to cater to them, now. This stage of life may have come for the first time for Mom and Dad, if the children started coming early on, or it may be old hat, for those parents who had some just-us time to set up house, pre-children. One way or another, this time of life is different than any other, and the house should reflect that difference, adjusting to changed needs.
To address such a large project as home renovation, hiring a general contractor may not only reduce unnecessary expenses and avoidable frustration, but it may even make the whole project downright enjoyable! D.R. Hartman Construction, Inc. is a Bethesda-based construction company with over 30 years of experience in the field. If anyone can help Empty-Nesters design the perfect just-for-them house, it will be this company. Their experience is the foundation for being a satisfaction-oriented company, focused on helping each client end up with the house of his dreams.
To make the whole project run more smoothly, D.R. Hartman prefers to work with the Design Build solution, being involved in the entire process of the project, from the design stage through to the end of the last finishing stage. They have sources for all the necessary materials used in a home renovation and can point you toward the best showrooms to find the right products for your home. Along with their long-term involvement in your project comes the benefit of their having a better sense of the big picture and, therefore, being better able to give advice and make recommendations. As unexpected “opportunities” arise (which will happen with every single project), it can be really nice to have a voice of experience among your advisors.
Not all parents facing Empty Nest Syndrome are driven to renovate their homes, but many are, as much of necessity as of ansy-ness from cabin fever. After all, with fewer people living in the house, the needs of that house change, maybe temporarily, but often permanently. The idea can be rather traumatizing to some parents—that their home will no longer be filled with their children and their children’s friends after school every day. When their children do come home, it will, very likely, be only to visit and not to live. Perhaps making the house changes sooner, rather than later, can make those other changes a little less jarring….
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