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At last night’s STAR awards, all of Wood Wise’s entries won the highest award in their categories! The four projects were rated best porch, best bathroom, best kitchen, and best whole house renovation. The STAR awards are conducted annually by the Remodelers’ Council of Home Builders Association of Wake County to recognize the best of the best remodeling projects. WW owner Hank Wall was asked to speak in honor of the 20th anniversary of the STAR awards. He and fellow remodeler Eddie Casanave entertained the crowd with fun memories of the humble beginnings of the awards all the way to…

Most of the great photos you see on our website have been taken by Stuart Jones. Stuart is equipped with a great eye and a great camera, both essential for taking winning photographs. He loves to find the angle that best shows the good design and good products used in Wood Wise remodeling projects. Stuart’s friendly disposition and great smile help to make the photo shoot enjoyable for the homeowner and WW staff. Here is a photo of Stuart doing what it takes to get the right shot.

Hank Wall and designer Kathy Walker have worked together at Wood Wise for nine years. After designing hundreds of kitchens, bathrooms, outdoor living spaces, living rooms, family rooms, laundry rooms, and much more, they have fine-tuned their design process and work well together. They both have a great sense of style and knowledge of the best materials along with having a fresh eye for a home’s potential. For each client, Kathy creates an as-built floor plan and both she and Hank work together to develop two to three design options. They make the client’s journey to a final plan with…

Years ago, the typical steps to remodeling involved homeowners engaging an outside architect or home designer to help them develop the plan for their project. They would then take it to several remodelers to price out and from there, choosing one to do the construction. Often the estimate for the designed work was much higher than the homeowners wanted and resulted in Wood Wise working with the homeowner to redesign the original to bring it more in line with their budget. Hank realized early on that this model did not serve the homeowner well. He decided to bring the design…

Guests and family alike seem drawn to kitchens with large islands. There’s something about the expanse of counter space and the openness that causes people to gather around. When homeowners come to Wood Wise to remodel their kitchen, they ask for an island – or maybe two – to be included in the designs. Our kitchen designer Kathy Walker understands optimum island sizes, distance needed between cabinets, and what shape looks best in a space. She works with clients to choose the best cabinet configuration for good storage with additions of shelves, good lighting, and countertop. Our kitchen gallery features…

“We need more light in our kitchen!” is a refrain we hear from many homeowners who choose Wood Wise for their remodel. Hank and Kathy have several tools they use in their designs to provide better lighting: Recessed lights are the #1 tool used to increase the lighting and are spaced out to cover the whole area. Under-cabinet Xenon puck or strip lights are fully dimmable and give warm lighting to work areas. Island lighting can include pendants, chandeliers, or other kinds of decorative lights. Solatubes bring in natural light. Enlarging windows or adding transoms over existing windows can dramatically…

 This is one of the big questions homeowners ask us when remodeling their master bathrooms. We have found that one bathtub in the home (usually located in the hall bath) is sufficient for resale. Some homeowners want to get rid of the large garden tub and replace it with a smaller slipper tub. Often a larger walk-in shower (no door or frameless) is the goal by removing the existing tub. Whether including a tub or not, Wood Wise designers can suggest the best configuration of your space and help achieve the fresh new look you are wanting.      …

Cooking outside is easy on this beautiful Wood Wise porch. It features a built-in grill with an exhaust hood that is vented to the outside so wet weather doesn’t interfere with the plans. The grill’s stone base is topped with granite and the wall behind is a glass mosaic. The well-designed space ensures many happy gatherings of family and friends for these homeowners.     Give us a call and we’ll build an outdoor living space that works just right for you.

When you choose Wood Wise to remodel your home, one of the many benefits is our beautiful cabinet showroom. Samples of both of our cabinet lines, KraftMaid and Waypoint, are beautifully displayed. You can see the many finishes including stain, paint, glazes, distressed, and more. You can open the full-extension drawers and experience the wonderful feel of soft-close hinges on the doors. You can explore the newest storage options that include roll-out tray shelves, adjustable drawer dividers for dinnerware, spice storage, novel ways of using every inch of storage in corner cabinets, to name a few. Our designer, Kathy Walker,…