Thanksgiving Gratitude
With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, my thoughts have been turning towards what I'm thankful for this year. Besides family, friends, and health, I'm also very grateful for my clients' business and for being able to work at what I love to do! I also have a tremendous appreciation for an invaluable business resource who works behind the scenes to help me get things done and makes my clients' experience so much richer. I have worked with my installer, Frank Campos, for a number of years and can unequivocally recommend his work.
How the Internet has Changed House Hunting!
Since the advent of the internet, buying a home has changed dramatically. Today, home buyers choose the properties they want to see in person based on pictures posted online. This also means they are choosing the properties that they do not want to see. Combine this scenario with the knowledge that 8 out of 10 people do not have the imagination to see changes or the “hidden potential” in property – ultimately, online pictures play a critical role in attracting buyers and creating a first impression of your property. The location, price, and size of a property will quickly narrow the buyers’ list of potential properties. The buyers’ emotional response to a property then takes over.
Beach House Becomes Reality III
This beach house turns into a three bedroom! This client had hoped to have enough room for groups of family and friends to come and enjoy this piece of paradise with them! They knew the best way to accommodate more guests and maximize the rental potential was to add a third bedroom but it was a challenge to rethink the original floor plan. The “before” picture shows the living room with the formal dining room visible through the archway. Just beyond the dining room is the kitchen. To the left, out of sight, is the sunroom with the view of the ocean. One of these “public spaces” of the home would have to become the new master bedroom.
Beach House Becomes Reality II
As you may remember, this couple had an entire house with dark, Colonial decor that they wanted to transform into a light and airy beach house. This was a fairly large project that would be best approached in phases. The challenge was to decide which changes would bring the majority of the property closest to the client’s vision while we considered cost and timeline. Although they had the fall and winter months to do a lot of the work, significant progress had to be made by late January to list the property on the vacation rental website for next season. In the kitchen, we determined that the counter-tops and appliances were in good shape and expensive to replace.
A Simplified Approach to Decorating
Many times clients become confused with too many ideas and decisions to change the look of their home. Some get stuck because they do not know where to begin or they cannot imagine what the changes will look like. We have found it helps to simplify the approach and begin with identifying an area of importance in a room and discuss ways to highlight it. The greater contrast between the white painted woodwork and the deep rust wall color draws us to this beautiful architectural feature of the room. This highlights the size and height of it as well as the intricate detail of the crown molding at the top and the mantle edges.
Local Salon Interior Design Makeover
New owners had two weeks to complete their interior design renovations to reopen. The flooring would take the most time to order and install and be the greatest expense. The best solution was a reasonably priced, in-stock tile. Once we had the floor tile and the seat cushions in hand, we used these colors to guide us toward granite and wall color selections. Then, with an island theme in mind, we collected art and accessories to add a bit of sparkle and color. The wall colors were chosen to coordinate with the seat cushions, flooring and granite to bring the decor together all in time for the grand reopening!