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Aging in Place: As seen on CNN—October 28, 2005

October 28, 2005 - CNN American Morning recently highlighted the expertise of NAHB and members in part of a series called “Dream Retirement: Living it.” The aging-in-place segment, originally airing on October 26, toured a home remodeled by Jeff Glass of Construction Concepts and interviewed Certified Aging-in-Place (CAPS) instructor Alan Hanbury.

“Well, the good news here is that the National Association of Homebuilders has a program, aging in place specialists. They certify them,” said Gerri Willis, CNN’s Personal Finance Editor. “You can go to their Web site at NAHB and find out details about how to hook up with somebody who knows how to do this in your area.”

During the video, Hanbury describes many of the aging-in-place features Glass installed into the home, such as a chair lift, widened hallways and an accessible bathroom. In addition, Hanbury shows some of the CAPS training by having CNN’s Willis attempt to turn knobs while simulating arthritic hands – done by grasping a tennis ball while wearing an athletic sock.

The segment also interviewed homeowner Shelley Lounsbury, who strongly advocated the positives of an aging-in-place remodel. She said, “You can't put a price tag on being in a home versus being in a facility. And that is what we ultimately wanted.”

The “Your old new home” piece ends with Willis promoting NAHB’s expertise and CNN American Morning is the latest of many media outlets to promote the CAPS designation in the past year. Stories featuring NAHB members and staff have appeared in Time Magazine, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal Online and many major daily newspapers like the Chicago Tribune. An average of one story a week appears about CAPS.

Over 800 home building and remodeling professionals have earned their CAPS designation since May of 2002. CAPS was created by NAHB’s Remodelors Council in partnership with AARP, NAHB’s 50-plus Housing Council, the NAHB Research Center, and is administered by NAHB University of Housing.

Woman’s Day® Specials: Home Remodeling & Makeovers, February 2005 Excerpt From: “Before & After: Island Style”

“The kitchen of this 1968 Dutch Colonial home in Wilton, Connecticut lacked both the personality and the functionality that homeowners, Eileen and Michael Schneidman, wanted.

The couple turned to design consultant Cathy Glass, Allied ASID, of Cathy Glass Interiors, a division of Construction Concepts Corp., a design/build firm in Stamford, Connecticut.

Eileen & Michael Schneidman...wanted more than just a new kitchen, they wanted an open, light-filled family/dining area with enough counter space for five. After working with Glass, the Schneidman’s now have the kitchen of their dreams. ‘The final result exceeded our expectations,’ says Eileen.

Glass added personal touches, transforming the space into a warm, homey environment. She completely remade the Schnediman’s old kitchen, expanding it and turning it into a bright, contemporary kitchen/family room that matches the lifestyle of a modern couple that likes to entertain informally.

From the welcoming mudroom to the standout sitting room, Glass sums up the house’s design as creating ‘one big heart-of-the-home area.’ Eileen Schneidman says, ‘Family and friends’ positive comments are great, but to live in the space is to truly love it’.”

What Was Done

• Relocated the powder room to the other side of the kitchen
• Added crown molding as an added architectural detail and to create a sense of height in the rooms
• Moved an existing window and patio doors to create an extra 9 linear feet of cabinets
• Installed a 10-foot-long center island with additional storage for books and kitchen accessories
• Replaced old patio doors with a pair of space-saving pocket French doors
• Used natural red oak flooring in the new space to visually connect the area to the rest of the house
• Closed off a terrace and turned it into a mudroom
• Built a storage seat with a drawer for gloves and scarves in the new mudroom
• Installed a slate-tile backsplash
• Enclosed the laundry room area off the kitchen

Installed new task and overhead lighting throughout the room.

More about this project

Professional Remodeler Magazine, January 2005 Excerpt from: “Selling the Interior Design Difference”

“In each new episode of HGTV’s Designers’ Challenge, three designers picked by the producers present their concepts for the same remodeling project to the homeowners. Though the scenario resembles the three-bid sales process that many remodelers prefer to avoid, Construction Concepts Corp., a full-service remodeling firm in Stamford, Conn., took the plunge and won the challenge, a $100,000 design/build project, and a marketing bonanza.

‘They called us because we have an interior designer on staff,’ says company president Cathy Glass, Allied ASID. ‘We then did the remodeling design, the interior design and the execution of all of the above. We would not have had that opportunity if we were purely a construction firm without affiliation with an interior designer. They liked the fact that we could actually do and control everything.’

Homeowner Eileen Schneidman said she not only appreciated knowing that she had a contractor as well as a designer, she also liked the amount of time Glass spent studying how the family lived. Glass credits her 20 years of fashion design experience with helping her understand how to ‘outfit’ a room.

Construction Concepts is promoting the project on their Web site as well as through mailing to targeted homeowners. ‘The more that consumers see your logo, the more that they will eventually respond to you because you are familiar to them,’ says Glass. ‘The comfort factor comes in. They become comfortable with the name’.”

More about this project

HGTV'S DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE: THE RESULT
Cathy Glass Chosen for First Northeast Renovation
by G. Lisa Sullivan
from October 2004, The Home Monthly

"Anyone who grew up during the late 1960s can probably remember the interior fashion statements of the time: mustard countertops, chocolate brown appliances, linoleum flooring, dark pine cabinetry and matching paneling. Apparently, homeowners Eileen and Michael Schneidman can identify all too well, as they had been living with this exact scenario until they sent an e-mail to the producers of HGTV’s Designers’ Challenge, which resulted in a transformation of their outdated kitchen."

"'Dear Designers’ Challenge,' the couple’s e-mail began, 'We know you typically don’t film outside the Los Angeles area, but we hope you will consider us for an episode of Designers’ Challenge.' "

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Excerpt From: WILTON HOME TO BE FEATURED ON CABLE TV SHOW
by Susan Nova
from September 24 2004, The Advocate

"The Home & Garden network's 'Designers' Challenge' program is heading east this fall from California and will feature a home in Wilton, whose interior renovation was the work of Construction Concepts Corp. of Stamford, a design and build firm."

"On the Construction Concepts' project team were interior designer Cathy Glass, an allied member of the American Society of Interior Design, company president Jeffrey Glass, chief executive officer and one of only three certified Graduate Master Builders in the state, and Todd Forcelina, vice president and architectural designer."

DRESSED TO IMPRESS
Designers' Challenge Contender Cathy Glass Outfits a Room
by G. Lisa Sullivan
from May 2004, The Home Monthly

"Sometimes, when an interior designer begins a project, she asks to see the client’s closet. This may sound a little odd, but in fact it can provide the designer with a clue as to the client’s preferences for color and design, as well as her lifestyle. What makes a client feel most comfortable? Is her wardrobe filled with brilliant pattern or basic black? Blue jeans or ball gowns? Is she conservative, or a risk taker? While the client’s wardrobe might not translate specifically into home fashion, it may well give the designer a point from which to start, a foundation upon which to build."

"It should come as no surprise, then, that interior designer Cathy Glass spent the first part of her career in the women’s clothing industry."

"As vice president of merchandising for Russ, a sportswear division of Liz Claiborne, she used her creative skills to design clothes, from suits to casual wear, for mainstream American women. In 1990, however, she decided to make the leap from fashion apparel to interior fashion, and, with her husband Jeffrey, founded Construction Concepts Corp., an award-winning Stamford-based home building, remodeling and interior design company."

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°   Woman's Day® Specials: Home Remodeling & Makeovers, February 2004
Excerpt From: "From Dated to Dazzling: A small bath becomes a showplace"

"Upon seeing the master bathroom of this 1980s contemporary home for the first time, the homeowners had a hard time envisioning the room's potential beneath the dated wallpaper that covered the ceiling and walls.

Jeffrey Glass, CEO of Construction Concepts in Stamford, Connecticut, was called in to work with the couple on the house renovation. For the bath, he suggested they expand the room by annexing some space from the adjoining bedroom. In the new layout, Glass added a toilet room for privacy and a soaking tub, which sits beneath a skylight that brings light into the room via a 10-foot-long tunnel. Walls and floor are honed Creama Marfil marble tile that gives the room a spacious, yet relaxing feeling.

The location of a window was moved to make room for a new two-sink vanity, which features a marble top and South African anigre wood cabinets. The large unit replaced the flashy tiled counter and worn oak-plywood cabinets.

This design won both the 2002 Chrysalis Award for the Best Bath Remodel (under $50,000) and the 2002 HOBI award from the Home Builders Association of Connecticut for the Best Remodeled Bath (over $25,000)."

What Was Done

• Extended the bathroom area into the master bedroom
• Added an air-jetted soaking tub
• Replaced the old sink vanity with a new marble-topped South African anigre wood storage cabinet with two vessel sinks
• Created a toilet room for privacy
• Moved windows to make room for the longer vanity
• Installed a skylight
• Enlarged the shower stall and added two showerheads
• Equipped the oversize shower with double "rain forest" showerheads