With our community effectively closed down and most households staying home, some people’s nerves may be fraying. There’s a thing as too much togetherness. There’s not enough room for everyone to be working from home, doing school work, exercising, doing craft projects or puzzles with their extra time, cooking every single meal at home, and on and on. We get it. Tempers get short and there’s isn’t even a place to escape to and cool down.

Having personally just completed an extensive remodel and addition project to our own home, there hasn’t been a day during the stay-at-home orders when I haven’t said, “Thank God we finished this project before the pandemic hit.” I look forward to spending time at my house. That’s because I have a fantastic new spacious living room filled with natural light; I have a studio space where my son and I have been working on our paint by number projects; I have, for the first time ever, front and back covered porches to enjoy; I have a new laundry/mud room with a window, abundant storage that isn’t in the rafters of my garage and a new master bedroom with “his and her” walk-in closets. I love my new and improved home because it was recreated for our current stage of life and customized to how we live and what is important to our family. 

If staying in your house much more than usual is driving you nuts, it’s a good time to remodel. Interest rates are historically low for refinancing and lines of credit, and easy to get for people who are longtime home owners in Teton County and who have seen their property values rise in the last few decades.

As in past recessions, our real estate prices may plateau but because only 3% of Teton County is available for private ownership, supply and demand and Teton County’s history has shown us that prices will inevitably go up. For most of us, our homes in Jackson Hole are our greatest asset. Now is a great time to leverage the equity in your property and turn your house into your dream home. Upgrading and adding on allows you to add to the value of your investment and your home’s livability. You’ll be able to physically and intimately enjoy your investment, rather than nervously watching your money fluctuate in an account. For our household, our starter home has been turned into our retirement home. In troubled times, it is so nice to have your house truly be your home and your sanctuary.

Dubbe Moulder Architects cut our teeth on designing remodels and additions. We’ve reworked our own homes and can help you make the most of yours. Tell us your dreams and aspirations and we’ll help you realize them. We can guide you through the entire design and construction process, from helping you define what you want to build to helping you get the most for your construction dollar. It is the architect’s job to combine the parameters of each property, (the setbacks, CC&Rs, height restrictions, view corridors, sun angles, etc.) along with our local climate considerations, (high snow loads, high winds and seismic conditions) and our client’s program to create a successful design. With our broad knowledge of design and construction, Dubbe Moulder Architects can show you alternatives and options you might have never thought of on your own. 

Besides tourism, construction is a huge segment of our local economy. The contractors, electricians, plumbers, sheet rockers, excavators, concrete workers, roofers, insulators, etc. all have time on their schedules now to do projects. These trades have previously been booked out for a year at least. Now is a great opportunity to schedule work that can be done expeditiously and at a lower price than it has been for years. Our office has time available to devote to a project and to complete the drawings so that construction could start in the early fall. 

We invite you to learn more about our firm here or by exploring our website. We have a category specifically devoted to showing many of the remodels and additions we’ve completed. The breadth of our portfolio exemplifies our extensive knowledge of many styles and genres of architecture. We listen carefully to you to develop a working rapport, allowing us to design a project which fits your needs and in the style that you prefer. We would very much like to meet with you via phone or teleconference to brainstorm and share ideas to maximize the potential of your property. There is no charge for your first consultation. Please feel free to contact our office at 307-733-9551, or info@dubbe-moulder.com.

Stay well, stay safe.

— Jolene Moulder, Office Manager