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Ce Up Your Home Without Busting Your Budget
ce Up Your Home Without Busting Your Budget
by: ARA Content
Do-it-yourself tips for summer remodeling projects
(ARA) - Ah, summer. Between neighborhood softball games and trips to the community pool, it’s the biggest time of the year for moving and home remodeling.
While many of us turn our thoughts to upgrading our homes, our budgets may already be tapped. Here are some simple do-it-yourself ideas to spruce up your home, specifically the kitchen and bath, without breaking your budget.
Jazz up cabinets with snappy new drawer pulls.
One of the simplest ways to add pizzazz to the kitchen is to install new cabinet hardware, says home improvement expert Don Vandervort of www.hometips.com. “At your local hardware store you’ll find a wide array of drawer pull designs - from painted ceramic or metal knobs, to whimsical designs shaped like knives and forks. Simply unscrew your existing cupboard hardware, replace with the new, and presto, you’ve completed a quick an inexpensive update for your home.”
Pour on the charm: upgrade the faucet.
A beautifully designed faucet can change the look of your sink area and the way you feel about your drinking water. Simple faucet design lines can make a clean and modern addition to the kitchen or bathroom sink, while some faucet models can even improve the taste of the water coming from the tap. “Not everyone likes the taste of their tap water,” says Vandervort. “For those who choose the filtration route, an attractive, yet practical solution is the ClearTap Water Filtering Kitchen or Lavatory Faucet, made by American Standard. It removes contaminants, retains fluoride, and produces clean, good tasting water with the turn of a faucet handle.”
Kids climbing the walls? Try scrubbable paint.
Ketchup, food, scuff marks, mud all these things can just be wiped clean with some of the new high-performance paint finishes available today. “Interior paints have a scrubbability rating, established through standardized testing,” Vandervort says. “Though this rating may not be posted on the can, a paint retailer should have information on the rating.”
“One problem with using a flat paint on interior walls is that it doesn’t take kindly to scrubbing,” he says. “If you scrub it with a damp cloth, you’ll remove the dirt or smudge, but the exposed pigment particles can ruin the finish. To avoid this, choose a high performance paint (not flat), that can stand up to a good washing.”
Expand space with drawer organizers.
Is a small-sized kitchen or bath cramping your style? Try adding drawer organizers to increase your storage space. These days, you can find a nice range of inexpensive racks and slide-in baskets at discount and hardware stores. Whether you store cleaning utensils, Grandma’s vintage pie pans, or your favorite bath salts you can create new nooks and crannies for all of your stuff, and get the clutter off the counter.
Gain a foothold on more attractive flooring.
Flooring makes a huge difference in the appearance of a kitchen or bath. “Oftentimes vinyl flooring is dated and worn,” Vandervort says. “But the good news is that you can go ahead and lie new vinyl or laminated wood material right over the old flooring. Many of the items available today give the look of ceramic tile or natural wood at a lower cost.”
Brighten it up.
For an easy and inexpensive way to brighten up a kitchen, install under-the-counter lighting. A small purchase at the hardware store is all it takes to completely change the way the light hits the surfaces of a room. You can also save energy dollars by choosing the right lighting. “Switch from incandescent light bulbs to highly efficient compact fluorescents, and you’ll use about one-quarter to one-third less energy to produce the same amount of light,” Vandervort says. Another tip: move natural light further into rooms by bouncing it off the ceiling. A window located close to the ceiling works for this, as do louvers or operable blinds that can help direct light.
Make a tiny bathroom look larger.
Even a bathroom the size of a phone booth can look larger with a little ingenuity, according to www.americanstandard-us.com. Try using lighter, cooler colors: they feel airy and trick the eye. Wallpaper with a smaller pattern also helps expand the space. Try some on the ceiling, or emphasize horizontal lines with a coordinating border. Or try installing bath tile that contains a subtle pattern and then repeat it onto the floor. If your bath is really petite, try using a trim pedestal lavatory or wall hung fixtures - both free up valuable floor space. Also, remember to go heavy on the lighting and choose reflective surfaces, such as a shiny marble vanity.
For more easy and inexpensive tips on sprucing up your home this summer, visit www.americanstandard-us.com or www.hometips.com.
Model Home Secrets To Getting Your Empty Home Sold In Six Weeks Or Less
If you are trying to sell an empty home, you may have found this to be a blessing and a curse.
An empty home is easy to show. Buyers might like that fact that they can move right in. Potential buyers might even have an easier time seeing themselves in the home.
On the other hand, an empty home may feel cold and impersonal. Buyers are looking for a home that they can fall in love with. Even if your home is the nicest home that they buyers look at, if they don?t ?feel the love?; they will probably buy someone else?s home.
How I got started staging homes
I started staging homes several years ago. I had gotten my real estate sales license during a dreadful buyers market. The market was so bad that most well priced homes were taking six to twelve months to sell.
I started staging my new empty home listings after selling a home that had been staged by the owners. It was the owners second home and the decorations were perfect. This home sold and closed in six weeks! Not only that, but I had other buyers in the wings ready to buy, if the first buyers failed to close. I realized I was on to something.
I bought and studied a book called ?Dress Your House for Success? by Martha Web. Her book helped me to figure out how to repeat the ?six week home sale?, over and over again. The fast sales made my clients happy! The fast commissions made me happy!
I bought staging items which cost me about $300. Then I staged and empty home that I had listed for sale. Shazam! The home sold in six weeks despite the buyers market.
Home staging doesn?t always work as expected, but if the home is priced right and has enough showings, six weeks is my average time to sell an empty, staged home.
How you can easily stage an empty home so that it sells quickly
First of all, I make sure the home is sparkling clean. You want everything to look as close to new as possible. All chrome must shine. All stains, from every surface, must be removed. Windows, the window screens and window sills should sparkle. Touch up paint or repaint as needed. The flooring, including tile and carpet, must look and smell clean. Dust and cobwebs must go! Clean like you?ve never cleaned before!
An empty house can be staged without moving any furniture into the home. To stage my listings, I only have to move in four plastic boxes of light-weight decorative items plus several silk or plastic plants.
What I am trying to do is to create a ?model home? look, but without the furniture. If you?re not sure what I mean, visit a few model homes. Model homes are a wonderful and quick education in staging. Ignore the furniture in the model homes, and instead concentrate on the decorations. Take a camera with you, to take pictures, if you want.
The following is a room by room description of the items I use to stage a home. You can decide where each item should be placed, and how many to use. Don?t over do it, but ?stark? is not a good look either. All staging items must be new or look new. No exceptions! Make sure the silk plants are cleaned regularly.
Staging the front door:
? Place a brand new, fun door mat in front of the door. I buy a new one for each home I stage.
? If the door has a hook to hang seasonal items on, do so when appropriate.
? The front door area has to look neat and clean. Sweep the steps and side walk and wipe down the door if needed. Make sure the front door light and doorknobs shine. First impressions count.
Kitchen staging items:
? Place exciting and interesting kitchen towels and oven mitts that match the towels on the kitchen counter.
? I place veggie / oil filled decorative glass jars, grouped together on the counter.
? Silk plants and silk plants in baskets: one for the top of the fridge, more for on top of the cabinets, and if appropriate, one for the counter top.
? Decorative (empty) soap and hand cream dispensers.
? I have put together a gift basket (for decoration only) which I put on the kitchen counter. It includes all sorts of fun kitchen items, towels and knick knacks. I do this to add emotional appeal to the kitchen and home.
? Other interesting items to suit your tastes.
? I also replace any burned out light bulbs.
Bathroom staging items:
? Big, soft, fluffy new towels, large and small, tied up with raffia or decorative cords.
? Decorative soaps
? Matching soap dishes, toothbrush holders, cups etc. Buy some that are fun for the guest baths, and buy some classy, romantic ones for the master bathroom!
? Lots of candles and candle holders. Don?t be cheap on these. Get the nicest you can buy.
? More silk plants
? If you feel it will help, buy and use a new rod and shower curtain. I have done this before. You will know when and where to use these.
? I replace all burned out light bulbs. If the bulbs wattages are too low, I will replace them with brighter lights.
Items for the living room, the family room and bedrooms:
? Large and small silk plants placed to enhance nice areas or placed take the eyes of the buyer away from areas that you don?t want the buyers to concentrate on.
? More silk plants for any plant shelves.
? When ever possible I use classy wall art: framed pictures and posters, etc.
? I have also used rocking chairs, wooden rocking horses (kid?s room), pottery, and vases filled with dried plants.
? I have rented live plants for larger homes. Ten large, beautiful plants cost me $150/month. The plant company took care of the plants. This was well worth the cost. I can highly recommend this for adding to the emotional appeal of a large, empty home.
? Make certain that the curtains or window coverings are open and the windows are clean. I want the home to be bright and inviting. This helps to create a positive feeling to the home. In addition, the ?drive the neighborhood? homebuyers can see in and decide if they want to get into the home! Every potential buyer counts.
The items mentioned are just a starting point for staging. I am continually adding more items and getting rid of items which have ?aged?. So far over the years I have spent about $1,000 on staging items and now have enough items to stage two homes. I have made my investment back many, many times over.
I can highly recommend staging to both homeowners and real estate agents. Your home or home listings will sell faster and for more money.
About the Author:
Don Glasgow is a real estate agent in St. George, Utah. Don has been selling Washington County real estate since 1999.
Manufactured Cabinet Styles And Colors And Extras - Details
Not all cabinets for the house are made the same. Different cabinet makers have different layouts of design.
Hinges supplied by cabinet makers come in many layouts and colors. The different types are Half Wrap Hinge, Screw on Concealed Hinge Cup, Compact Screw-on Face Frasme Concealed Hinge, Inset Hinge, Overlay Knife Hinge, Overlay Hinge, and the Dowlled Concealed Hinge Cup with wrap around.
Cabinet and counter top door hinges come in several colors like Nickle and antique nickle, brass and antique brass, white and black and shiny chrome colors.
Doors for the cabinets come in several wood species wide grain wood like oak, narrow grain wood like pine and ash and poplar and fine grained wood like like cherry and birch.
Various door styles are available such as Square top, Crown Top, Round top, Valance top, and Arch top series.
There are a lot of decorative hardware options for pulls and knobs such as Beveled Knob, Classic Colonial, Ceramic White Mushroom knobs, Oak Leaf pulls and knobs, Large forged pulls and knobs, Twist pulls and knobs, Cristal knobs, among others
To spice up the kitchen there are plenty of accessories to purchase. Here is a partial list, Drawer Inserts, Wine & Stemware Racks, Appliance Garages, Tall Cabinet Fittings, Ironing Centers, Cabinet Lighting, High End Chrome, Susans & Corner Carousels, Base Cabinet and counter top Organizers, Lighting, Pantry Fittings, Custom Drawers, Under Cabinet and counter top Pull-downs, Pullout tables, Appliance Lifts, Trash, Waste & Recycling, Tambour Appliance Garages, Corbels & Ornaments, Stemware Racks, Television Extensions, and don’t forget the following, Countertop Supports, Pole Systems, Spice Racks & Door Organizers, Closet Organization, Drawer Inserts, Door Organizers Towel & Toaster Storage, Hampers, Computer Accessories, Table legs and Bases, Drawer Organizers,
That is a pretty good list that anyone should be able to pick at least one item from.
This is a partial list of things in a kitchen or bathroom idea to plan for. When you get your pencil and paper out just look here and see what else to shop for.
You can hire a contractor to help you decide or you can go to a retail cabinet store to get information.
About the Author
Bob McGuire is a staff writer for http://www.expertcarpenter.com and http://www.expertwaterproofing.com
Texas Knobs N' Things
Name Brand Gift Ideas for the Handy Man
There are many great name brand gifts you can give the handy man for any occasion - holidays, birthdays, or as tokens of appreciation. You might be wondering where to shop or how to find unique items that he doesn’t already own. Luckily, you can shop at an online shopping mall that carries name brand outdoor items, electronics, or sporting goods, and find enough gift ideas to last for years! Here are some helpful tips to get your wheels turning.
Name Brand Outdoor Products at Cheap Prices
One advantage to shopping at an online mall is you can pick and choose from thousands of name brand products at low prices. There are usually great “handy man” items such as multi-purpose tools, sheaths, flashlights, tool kits, and tool adaptors.
To assist with camping or working outdoors, there are binoculars, headgear with a built-in flashlight, knives, and camping items.
Help Him Stay Warm while Working
Anyone who works outdoors for long realizes how important it is to have the right clothing and accessories. The clothing should be warm, comfortable and flexible. The shoes should be protecting and comfortable. Gloves should be insulated, but still flexible, and also waterproof if working in or around moisture. At online shopping malls, you can sometimes find great bargains on durable clothing for the handy man. Name brand clothing gifts might include jackets, gloves, sweats and tees, durable shoes, and more.
Light to Illuminate the Work Area
Another great gift idea for the handy man or outdoorsman is indoor/outdoor lighting. Every handy man needs good lighting for the areas where he works. At an online mall, you can choose from a great selection of name brand lights and accessories for his shop or for the area where he works the most, indoors or outdoors. There are propane lanterns and lantern carrying cases, electric lanterns, lantern generators, and even convenient lantern sacks if he needs to carry the lantern to different places.
Handy Man Help Books
Every handy man or outdoorsman needs great books to get ideas and instructions. For many, that’s how they learn all their skills because they don’t have time to take off work and attend classes at a college. So, books for the handy man would make a great gift that he can use for years to come. You can find great deals on books online.
Gifts for the Auto Mechanic
If he enjoys working on automobiles, there are many great name brand gifts that will come in handy, like automotive tools or unique parts such as car hoods, grills, pedals, headlight eyelids, spoilers, and shift knobs. There are also paint sprays and lighting items or new floor mats.
Use online resources to find the “handy man” gifts you need. At an online mall, you can shop for him and pick up other great name brand items such as electronics, jewelry, games, As Seen on TV products, painted glass and more. It’s a convenient way to find gifts for those you love!
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