We’ve all been there. You find the perfect home in the perfect neighborhood. You have great space, but maybe it needs just a little bit of TLC. You long for an updated kitchen or bathroom to do all of your entertaining, but where do you start? I remember the task of updating the kitchen in our first home. Our children were little and the thought of ripping apart our space was terrifying. In fact, when we began, our youngest, who was potty training, completely reverted to old behavior. It wasn’t pretty! I washed dishes in my bathtub, I cooked in a crock pot or on the grill, and the dust alone was enough to send me completely over the edge. But in the end, it was totally worth it. We got the most incredible chef’s kitchen and we also got back every single penny that we put into it when we sold our home, and then some. Here are a few things to think about. According to The Department of Transportation the average amount of time we spend in our cars is less than an hour each day. We are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on […]

“Every once in a while I take a giant step outside my normal confined “kitchen/bath lady” role. I agree to take on a project that includes an entire renovation from top to bottom. That means window selection, HVAC discussions, fighting for old doors to be used and dreaming of details that would do justice to a home. The thing that these projects all have in common is not what you might think. The thread that ties them all together is the people. Really dang good people. If you have been on a journey like this with me it’s because I really like you. I also at some point along the way have fallen deeply in love with your home. I am fully invested in its happiness. These pictures were taken yesterday. The day before move-in day. It’s one of my favorite days to be on site, listening to the panicked scramble and hustle and bustle. So much happens in this day. Lights get hung, paint gets a final coat and door hardware finds it’s home. I get asked a million questions about Where? How? When? and I love to make those quick decisions that keep it all moving. It’s where […]

A kitchen can be filled with beautiful cabinets, countertops and decorative accoutrements, but if the layout and space don't work well, it's not an effective design. In kitchens, more than any other room, a good space plan is critical. The most efficiently designed kitchens are focused around a “work triangle”.

Long gone are the days of throwing a basic brick pattern tile job or 4×4 backsplash up. Tile manufacturers continue to up their game in providing the consumer with increasingly artistic ways to design their spaces. From subtle and traditional to bold and bright. You’re going to be glad you have a design team to help you wade through the countless options. Choosing which tiles to use is the hard part, loving the look after install is a given.     An old favorite that is anything but tired is the subway tile. Look for debossed, textured, glossy, extra wide or extra narrow versions of this classic look. And although the traditional brick pattern layout is still a rock solid choice, you may choose to shake that up a bit with a chevron install or by having some tiles running perpendicular around the border. There are many different install possibilities to play with.     Ceramic tiles are no longer your grandma’s ceramic. Laser cut ceramics will dazzle your eye with their patterns and design. Quilted ceramics are a way to go if you’re looking for more understated beauty than dazzle.     Laser cut glass and stone also offer […]

Nothing breathes life into a room with the impact that the right lighting does. Choosing your lighting is part science and part style. Having your Karr Bick designer by your side will make lighting selection fun and ensure that your room shines. Let’s cover the science part first and then move on to the fun stuff. Color temperature is measured in kelvins. The higher the kelvins, the cooler the lighting effect. Lumens and lux measure the output of the light fixture and how that light hits at a certain point on a surface. Why do you care? One visit to a clothing store dressing room with bad lighting and you know why you want the right color temperature and intensity in the space you live and breathe in every day.     When you position a fixture, the light spreads out like a cone. Cabinets, countertops and people can get in the way and cast shadows. This is why it is so important to have several kinds of lighting (ceiling, wall, under cabinet, etc.) combined in your space. There, now that you are practically an optics expert, let’s move on to that fun stuff I promised…     Using pendants […]

A kitchen can be filled with beautiful cabinets, countertops and decorative accoutrements, but if the layout and space don't work well, it's not an effective design. In kitchens, more than any other room, a good space plan is critical. The most efficiently designed kitchens are focused around a “work triangle”.

Water.  She’s a sneaky beast.  Most of us think of her as someone we want to vacation with, relax next to or drink to hydrate.  We don’t think about water as an enemy.  We don’t comprehend her immense and widespread power which can crush cities and destroy lives.   When I was just two weeks home from the hospital after giving birth to child number 1, Hurricane Ike landed on the coast of Texas and aggressively wreaked havoc through the Midwest, causing devastation as far north as Pennsylvania.  I will never forget that early Sunday morning in September 2008, when the rain fell in St. Louis as a waterfall might from the sky.  It never stopped. After five straight hours, we had enough rain to raise our river levels to a disastrous flooding stage, and it brought with it a shitload of trouble to my door.   At the time, my brother-in-law worked for the St. Louis County P.D;  Luckily, he was in charge of shutting down and diverting traffic around one of the main arteries in our city.  He happened to be working four blocks away from our company front door.  Realizing the area was beginning to flood with […]

Recently, I’ve been up late at night. Thinking. About you, the consumer. What can a small business like mine do to set themselves apart? How do we tell you, show you, that we are unique or different? How do we communicate to you that we are #nothingordinary? I can honestly say that some days it feels like an almost impossible feat. Right now, in fact, I can imagine it to be a little like hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) barefoot with no supplies, all 2,650 miles of it. Everyone is competing for your attention. Companies like Google and Facebook have entire armies of people dedicated to the acquisition of your attention. Entrepreneurs like me, well, we have ourselves. So here I sit, on a Tuesday night, kids tucked into bed, a full day of work complete and my job (well my second job) is to figure out what I can do for you. What can I do to be relevant and helpful? What can I do to get you to keep coming back? If I think about why you seek us out, what you need from us, the answer is easy…information. Lots and lots of information. We have to […]

Famously Sought-After Design By Grounded Professionals  In a world more and more focused on personal divides, sometimes it’s something as domestic as home design to remind us that we all have more in common than we think. Sometimes the very idea that we are each unique, and want that uniqueness reflected in our spaces, is the common thread that binds us together. So it’s not really surprising then, that the resource you and I use for design inspiration and professionals would be the same tool used by famous Hollywood actor, Jenna Fischer. When St. Louis native, Fischer, wanted to surprise her sister with a complete living space renovation, she turned to Houzz.com and local expert, Jenny Rausch, Designer/Owner of Karr Bick Kitchens and Bath, to make her unique renovation dreams come true. Fischer’s sister, Emily, and her family live in a St. Louis home that originally belonged to their grandparents. Chock full of wonderful family memories, the home was a diamond in the rough with its cramped, closed-off floorplan and outdated kitchen. Once Jenna brought Jenny from Karr Bick on board, the two were able to communicate design ideas and vision cross country using the tools on Houzz.com. Jenna wanted […]

Demo day is a distant memory, big items are in place and construction on your space is almost complete.  Don’t trip before you cross the finish line.  Final touches are the details that will take your project to the next level. By now you know that the knobs and pulls are the jewelry of your space, but what about the towel bars, hooks and toilet paper holder?  These items can add that extra heft, glamour or whimsy. Your windows can be the killer view when you contrast light casing with a darker grid. It will actually draw your eye to the outside instead of stopping you at the mullions.     Another unlikely scene-stealer….your plumbing.  Dress up an open base sink vanity or a free-standing bathtub with sparkling chrome pipes made to be seen.  Not to be outdone, a crystal adorned drain stopper becomes its own water cooler conversation piece in your wet bar. Narrow countertops in smaller areas can be maximized by anchoring the faucets to the wall rather than the tops.  A space-saving move that solves a problem while adding interest.  Continue to function in style by choosing a shelving niche above your kitchen sink to house display […]