Home Remodeling in Tempe, AZ

Home Remodeling in Tempe, AZ — South Tempe Specialists

Tempe is two cities in one. North Tempe — the dense urban grid around Arizona State University, Mill Avenue, and Tempe Town Lake — is one of the most active urban cores in the state. South Tempe is something different entirely: established suburban neighborhoods with mature trees, good lot sizes, and a quiet residential character that is remarkably different from the college-town energy a few miles north.

Our Tempe remodeling work is concentrated in South Tempe. Homeowners in the Kyrene Corridor, the streets around Tempe Diablo Golf Course, the neighborhoods near the Chandler border, and the established communities along Warner Road and Elliot Road are the Tempe homeowners who call us most often. These are people who have been in their homes for 15 to 25 years and are ready to make the improvements they have been thinking about.

South Tempe Neighborhoods We Serve

Kyrene Corridor — The Heart of South Tempe

The Kyrene Road corridor through South Tempe runs through some of the most consistently valued residential areas in the East Valley. Neighborhoods like Tempe Royal Palm, Lakeshore, and the streets east and west of Kyrene between Warner and Elliot have a mix of late-1970s through 1990s homes that have aged well but are ready for updates. Kitchens and bathrooms in these homes are the primary targets, and we see a lot of multi-room projects where homeowners are doing the kitchen, two bathrooms, and flooring all at once. When you have been thinking about it for 10 years, you tend to want to do it comprehensively.

Hayden Hills and West Tempe

The Hayden Hills area and the neighborhoods west of Rural Road in South Tempe were among the city’s first master-planned developments. Homes here date from the late 1970s through the late 1980s and have the characteristic features of that construction era: original tile countertops or early laminate, compact kitchen layouts, bathroom tile that shows its age, and single-hung windows that let the Arizona heat in more than modern homeowners would prefer. We complete full kitchen and bathroom remodels in this area regularly and are familiar with what these homes need.

South Mountain Area and the Chandler Border

The Tempe neighborhoods south of Elliot Road along the Chandler border are among the city’s newer residential areas, built in the late 1980s and 1990s as South Tempe expanded to fill available land. Homes here are comparable to those in adjacent Chandler neighborhoods: open-concept layouts, larger primary suites, and the full set of 1990s builder finishes that are now ready for replacement. Garden tubs, laminate countertops, standard-height vanities, and hollow-core doors are the most common starting points.

Tempe Kitchen Remodeling

South Tempe kitchens from the 1980s tend to be smaller and more compartmentalized than their Gilbert or Chandler counterparts from the same era — Tempe was fully developed before the open-concept floor plan became standard, so the kitchens are often separated from the main living area by a wall or half-wall. The question in these cases is always whether a layout change is feasible and worth it. Opening the kitchen to the family room — removing a partial wall, adding a structural header — changes the entire feel of the home. We evaluate this structurally during the free consultation and discuss it honestly before the estimate is written.

South Tempe kitchens from the 1990s have better layouts but dated surfaces. Quartz countertop replacement, semi-custom cabinetry, tile backsplash, recessed LED lighting, and under-cabinet task lighting are the standard scope items. Island additions are popular where the floor plan supports one.

Tempe Bathroom Remodeling

Primary bathroom renovation is the most common project we complete in South Tempe. The bathrooms in Tempe homes from the 1990s follow the same pattern we see throughout the East Valley: garden tub in the corner, separate shower that is often too small, standard-height vanity, original tile. Converting the garden tub to a custom walk-in shower is the highest-impact single change in these rooms. Pairing it with comfort-height vanity replacement, updated fixtures, new flooring, and improved lighting creates a bathroom that genuinely transforms daily life.

We include grab bar blocking as standard on every Tempe bathroom remodel. The cost is negligible during tile work. The value when grab bars are needed later — or immediately — is significant.

Aging-in-Place Remodeling in Tempe

South Tempe has a large population of long-term homeowners who bought in the 1980s and 1990s and have built their lives around the community, the schools (Kyrene School District is one of the most consistently regarded in the Valley), and the access to downtown Tempe and Phoenix. These homeowners are in their late 50s and 60s now and thinking seriously about the next phase. Zero-threshold walk-in showers, grab bars, comfort-height fixtures, lever hardware, and better lighting are the modifications that make staying practical and safe.

Tempe is also one of the markets where we see homeowners adding these features not because they currently need them but because they are folding them into a bathroom remodel and want to be thoughtful about the long term. That is exactly the right approach and we are glad to help with it.

Interior Remodeling in South Tempe

Interior remodeling throughout the home — flooring, painting, lighting, trim — is common in South Tempe because so many homes were finished in the same era. Replacing carpet throughout the main living areas with large-format porcelain tile or luxury vinyl plank, adding recessed LED lighting on dimmers, painting the interior in a contemporary palette, and updating baseboards and door casings transforms how the home feels without touching a single kitchen cabinet or bathroom tile.

These are often phased projects — kitchen and bathrooms first, interior surfaces second — and we plan them as a coordinated whole so the finishes connect properly rather than looking like two different renovations done at different times.

Why South Tempe Homeowners Stay — And Why They Remodel

Tempe is one of the few cities in the East Valley that was fully built before the master-planned community era. The neighborhoods have a maturity and a genuine character that is hard to replicate in newer construction. Mature trees, walkable blocks, proximity to everything, and the energy of a university town nearby without the noise of living inside one. South Tempe homeowners tend to be deeply committed to their neighborhoods. When they decide to remodel, it is with the understanding that they are investing in a home they plan to stay in for many years to come.

Tempe, AZ Zip Codes We Serve

We primarily serve South Tempe in zip codes 85283 and 85284, which cover most of the residential areas south of the 202 and south of the main ASU campus area. We also work in parts of 85282 in the Kyrene area. Call (480) 900-0072 to discuss your specific location and schedule a free in-home estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions