Kuhn Construction

On being creative | St. Louis Church Remodeler

In this economy I think you have to try to stand out from your competition in simple and easy ways. We've been revamping our marketing materials to make them look more "boutique" so that our clients like receiving things from us. It's the little things right?

Recently I've been playing with other designs also in an attempt to stand out and make people slow down to notice us. Here is an example... we are about to start working on refinishing and replacing three doors at a local church so for a few days here and there people will need to enter at other places. We decided that spending a little extra cash to make directional signs would be a good idea to help people from getting confused and I decided it would be a good place to have a little fun!

(click the image to enlarge if you can't read the small print!)

And lastly....

What do you think?

Progress | St. Louis Kitchen Remodler

I have dreams of being on each job we're doing every day and taking "in progress" shots to really capture how a job moves from beginning to end. But then boring important office work pops up and I'm strapped to my chair.

So pretend like this kind of stuff happens on the blog weekly instead of rarely ok? Ok. Thanks.

And to see where we started... the "before"

The guys have been hard at work demoing and now working on installing the floor and cabinets. I can't wait to see this kitchen finished!

 Another "before" and now...

Ok, it kind of looks like one huge mess but trust me, magical things are happening here people!

See Mike working hard? Hi Mike! We're so happy to have you on the team!

Ok, back to all the VERY important desk work I have for today! I'm going to keep working on capturing the progress though!

meet Mike.

A big welcome to our newest team member, Mike! He has over 25 years experience and is a great addition to our awesome team of guys!

A finished kitchen | St. Louis Kitchen Remodeler

I am obsessed with this kitchen. And not just because it has shelves with yard sticks but because you walk in and immediately want to sit down to share a cup of coffee. It's huge but incredibly cozy. It's light and airy but so so warm and inviting. The perfect kitchen for this century+ old home in Webster Groves!

Creative use of found objects! | St. Louis General Contractor

One of my FAVORITE KCCI clients let me come over last week to take "after" shots of her GORGEOUS Webster Groves kitchen and while I will share her entire kitchen soon I just had to share her incredible use of found objects! A GREAT idea for any DIYers out there!

Just off her kitchen is the tiny room (an old porch KCCI enclosed) that leads to her backdoor and in there she has all of her cookbooks.

The shelves are cheap store-bought ones she had in her old kitchen before the renovation but do you notice anything interesting?

She glued antique yard sticks, dice and dominos to the edges for some added interest! It totally works with her fun folk-art she has smattered throughout her home but even if you didn't have a lot of folk-art-type pieces you could find something else that works with your decor to add interest to your shelves! I just LOVE this idea!

 

our guys are awesome | St. Louis General Contractor

The Hoarder Gives Back. | St. Louis General Contractor

My dad is a collector. We jokingly call him a hoarder but really he isn't, he's just a lover of all things old. Pieces of history that have a story. Tiny pieces that once made up someone's home. He has SO many things crammed organized nicely in his shop, it's really a treasuretrove of items and one that I've used many times to find something cool!

Recently, a local artist, Ashley Drissell, came by and dug through everything to find some pieces to use for her artwork. Rick and Ashley are kindred spirits in that they both create beautiful art from discarded items.

Here are some examples of items Ashley was interested in...

I've used pieces of his old trim for projects around our house, we have an awesome old window hanging in our hallway and my kids LOVE "working with PawPaw" out there with all of his odd bits!

BUT none of us are professional artists in the same way Ashley is and we can't wait to see what she creates using the things she pulled from the Kuhn Shop! We'll be watching her website (LINK) to see if anything we recognize pops up!

Also, I just had to share Ashley's kind words for my dad...

Dear Rick,

I want to sincerely thank you for sharing your work and your passion for turn-of-the-century homes with me. As an artist I value craftsmanship, quality, and nostalgic respect for the past. I can see that you share these qualities for your work, home, and family. Your contribution of salvaged and recycled home items from your own personal collection is not only magnanimous, but will help me greatly in the preparation for my graduate M.F.A. thesis show. My art explores notions of family, memory, nostalgia, and tangible and intangible connections to my familial past. The pieces you gave me will serve as placemarkers for memories- or a tangible evidence of a past which might otherwise be remembered by photographs or stories. I can't wait to see how each piece will evolve into a more visceral narrative as I begin to layer, sculpt, and build.

I am grateful for your generosity.

Art on the Town

Rick loves to be involved in Webster Groves and coming up on October 29th there is a really neat event taking place you should check out!

Art on the Town is a day filled with ART in Webster Groves! There are over 65 artists and 25 performances taking place throughout downtown Webster. Family friendly for people of ALL ages!

Rick is working with them to get everything set up so if you come down try to look for him!

We recycle | St. Louis Home Remodeler

My dad, Rick, is a HUGE recycler... when we were kids and it wasn't even popular yet he recycled. Actually, I guess back then it was more about reusing then recycling, which he still is great at, but the second Kirkwood Recycle opened he was driving our trash up there every weekend. I remember the smell (NOT my favorite smell!) and the chore of it all but mostly I remember how fun it was to go with him! My sister and I loved throwing the glass bottles in the bins and hearing them crash!

Now, of course, the recyle gets picked up at the curb (we've come a long way haven't we?) but recently the office was being overrun with recycling after a mass purge effort and he needed to make an extra trip. He ended up taking my two youngest kids with him and they had a blast... seeing the images he snapped brought back a lot of memories!

 

60 ft in the air | Episcopal Church Remodeler

 

St. Paul's Episcopal Churc in Ironton, MO is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. It's over one hundred years old and has the most amazing painted roof... it's just seen better days. Years of sun, wind, rain, snow, etc. has caused some rot and the paint to peel. Over the years they've repainted and repainted and repainted (by HAND no less) but now they've hired us to look into other options.

It's an exciting project and one we're thrilled to take on, but so far I think I've had the most fun!

Do you see me up there? 60 feet in the air?

Luckily I'm not afraid of heights!

I even climbed on the side to get just a little bit higher! HA!

We can't wait to share images as this project gets started!