One of the forgotten steps in moving is the fact that physically moving your belongings from one spot to another is only part of the deal. Once you get your boxes and your mattress and your desk to its final destination, you still have to be able to find everything and put everything where it belongs. A rule of thumb when surveying your house is that no matter how many box-fulls you think you have, a good idea is to at least increase your most generous estimate by at least 50 percent. And remember, for every box you pack, that’s a box you have to unpack.
According to data from the US Census, 14 percent of all American households last year moved. That translates to somewhere around 40 million people switching addresses.
Most of us take weeks, sometimes months to slowly and painstakingly categorize, wrap and pack all of our belongings. We spend months looking at prospective houses, arguing with our real estate agent and we spend days with our fingers crossed hoping we got the property we wanted.
But once you do get your dream house, then what? You took all this time to get everything ready and then you leave yourself….
ONE
DAY
…..to move everything. Yup, it’s just about as crazy as it sounds. But fear not, there are some common sense tips to keep your head from exploding. If you have the money, there are several companies out there that will help you pack up everything, and then once the movers do their thing, they will unpack pretty much everything. They will even take the boxes with them when they go. They will hang pictures, put your toothbrush in the bathroom and put the sheets on the bed. They will even get the computer up and running.
But, as you can imagine, moving companies and their services aren’t cheap. In that case, here are some good tips for do-it-yourselfers.
• “See-through” is your friend. Stay away from opaque brown cardboard boxes and try to use as much clear packing material as you can. Clear plastic bins, Ziploc bags for small things, anything that you can think of that is clear and can hold large amounts of stuff.
• Lists! Lists! Lists! Write down what goes in every single box, so when you wake up that first morning in your beautiful new home and you want that first cup of coffee, all you have to do is grab that list and see that it’s in box 91. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula to help you organize your list.
• Have the utilities turned on before you move in. This is especially important if you have kids. Moves are traumatic enough for adults, but when little Johnny is having his universe ripped apart, it helps to be able to plop the kids in front of Dora the Explorer for a bit while you try to recover from exhaustion.
While nothing can really prepare you for the mental and physical stress of moving day, being prepared and taking a few common sense steps can help keep things from getting too out of hand. In the meantime, contact us to help you when you move in as well!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Letting the Sour Housing Market Work for You
With mortgage rates inching higher every month and the burst bubble of the real estate market, just about everyone is staying away from buying new homes. So, what reason does anyone have to buy sooner rather than later?
Incentives.
According to the National Association of Home Buyers, somewhere around 75 percent of builders are offering incentives right now.
A CNN-Money article documented this curious trend in the housing market, as things get tighter, realtors and home builders are looking for any possible enticement to get people to buy now.
For instance:
• No Closing Costs
• No payments for six months (Yes, on your house, this isn’t a car ad).
• $10,000 towards an in-ground pool
• Upgraded appliances
• Free expert landscaping
• Plasma TVs
• $5,000 gift certificates to upgrade your home.
• New Cabinets
• New Countertops (granite, of course)
• Marble baths
• Price cuts up to 6 percent
• Price cuts of 10 percent or more on new homes
• Lower mortgage rates
And those are just the incentives offered from realtors and builders. If you’re looking to buy direct without the aid of a realtor, you can still get in on the incentive deals. One couple in Colorado is offering round-trip airfare to any destination in Europe, or an expensive bottle of wine to anyone who will buy their condo.
Other offers in the same area included a month of professional massages or the use of a personal chef for a period of time.
Brokers across the country are reporting similarly strange behaviour, like sellers willing to give a 20 percent discount to anyone who bought by a certain date. Or others offering merchandise, like a Vespa scooter or plane tickets to anywhere in the US if their house was bought quickly.
One unique buyer in Rhode Island was actually offering a Lexus automobile with his property.
While it’s unknown if this trend will continue, these incentives are helping to move properties that might not other wise sell as quickly. Take it as a sign of desperation or a sign of sillyness, but as long as the housing market across the United States shows signs of slowing, incentives, big and small, serious and bizarre are here to stay.
Incentives.
According to the National Association of Home Buyers, somewhere around 75 percent of builders are offering incentives right now.
A CNN-Money article documented this curious trend in the housing market, as things get tighter, realtors and home builders are looking for any possible enticement to get people to buy now.
For instance:
• No Closing Costs
• No payments for six months (Yes, on your house, this isn’t a car ad).
• $10,000 towards an in-ground pool
• Upgraded appliances
• Free expert landscaping
• Plasma TVs
• $5,000 gift certificates to upgrade your home.
• New Cabinets
• New Countertops (granite, of course)
• Marble baths
• Price cuts up to 6 percent
• Price cuts of 10 percent or more on new homes
• Lower mortgage rates
And those are just the incentives offered from realtors and builders. If you’re looking to buy direct without the aid of a realtor, you can still get in on the incentive deals. One couple in Colorado is offering round-trip airfare to any destination in Europe, or an expensive bottle of wine to anyone who will buy their condo.
Other offers in the same area included a month of professional massages or the use of a personal chef for a period of time.
Brokers across the country are reporting similarly strange behaviour, like sellers willing to give a 20 percent discount to anyone who bought by a certain date. Or others offering merchandise, like a Vespa scooter or plane tickets to anywhere in the US if their house was bought quickly.
One unique buyer in Rhode Island was actually offering a Lexus automobile with his property.
While it’s unknown if this trend will continue, these incentives are helping to move properties that might not other wise sell as quickly. Take it as a sign of desperation or a sign of sillyness, but as long as the housing market across the United States shows signs of slowing, incentives, big and small, serious and bizarre are here to stay.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Design Ideas for a Beautiful Bedroom
Your bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. It is the sanctuary away from the troubles of the world, the ultimate escape from day to day life.
To create a setting for restful slumber, think about what colors and styles produce the greatest happiness and peace of mind. In your bedroom, you can have the “off the wall” decorations you’ve always wanted. The bedroom is private, so the design is all about you. Your bedroom does more than just serve the need for a place to sleep.
It accommodates you at all times of day, providing space for reading, studying, watching TV, talking on the phone, eating, and using the computer. Because of this, the bed is no longer the primary piece of furniture in the bedroom. Bedroom desks, large nightstands, or a television might be a better focus for your design. If you watch a lot of television in your bedroom, you might want to consider a chair and ottoman for more comfortable viewing.
If you like to read in your bedroom, pay special attention to the lighting there. Dim, moody lighting may be restful, but it will cause eye strain when reading.
The lighting should be at a level where you do not accidentally shade it, and tall enough to shine light on the book or magazine. When using lamps in the bedroom, the lower edge of the lamp shade should be around eye level when seated.
Remember to choose colors that you find restful when decorating your bedroom. Exciting colors such as red should be avoided unless you personally find them comforting. Strong colors have been said to promote insomnia. Designing your bedroom interior with a splash of a bright color will liven up a room, but it should not be allowed to dominate. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for a color consultation.
Layered curtains in the bedroom are an excellent design choice. This allows you to wake up to filtered light, open the curtains for full light, or black out the room for naps and sleeping in. Blackout lined draperies will protect you from morning sun, whereas sheers or thin blinds will filter light for a gentle glow in the morning.
Bedroom design has many options, and can be tailored to your personal preferences. The bedroom should be your sanctuary, and it is important to feel comforted and restful when you are there.
To create a setting for restful slumber, think about what colors and styles produce the greatest happiness and peace of mind. In your bedroom, you can have the “off the wall” decorations you’ve always wanted. The bedroom is private, so the design is all about you. Your bedroom does more than just serve the need for a place to sleep.
It accommodates you at all times of day, providing space for reading, studying, watching TV, talking on the phone, eating, and using the computer. Because of this, the bed is no longer the primary piece of furniture in the bedroom. Bedroom desks, large nightstands, or a television might be a better focus for your design. If you watch a lot of television in your bedroom, you might want to consider a chair and ottoman for more comfortable viewing.
If you like to read in your bedroom, pay special attention to the lighting there. Dim, moody lighting may be restful, but it will cause eye strain when reading.
The lighting should be at a level where you do not accidentally shade it, and tall enough to shine light on the book or magazine. When using lamps in the bedroom, the lower edge of the lamp shade should be around eye level when seated.
Remember to choose colors that you find restful when decorating your bedroom. Exciting colors such as red should be avoided unless you personally find them comforting. Strong colors have been said to promote insomnia. Designing your bedroom interior with a splash of a bright color will liven up a room, but it should not be allowed to dominate. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for a color consultation.
Layered curtains in the bedroom are an excellent design choice. This allows you to wake up to filtered light, open the curtains for full light, or black out the room for naps and sleeping in. Blackout lined draperies will protect you from morning sun, whereas sheers or thin blinds will filter light for a gentle glow in the morning.
Bedroom design has many options, and can be tailored to your personal preferences. The bedroom should be your sanctuary, and it is important to feel comforted and restful when you are there.
What is the Focal Point in Your Room
Every room has, or at least it should have an interest point (or focal point). If there isn’t an architectural one, we’ll have to create it ourselves. But what is a focal point? A fireplace, a painting or a window with an interesting view can all be focal points. The focal point can be compared to the verb in a sentence – you need it in order to complete the room.
If the focal point doesn’t exist we’ll have to create it. Hang a painting or a valuable rug on the wall. A wardrobe or shelves with an interesting design will have the same effect. Even a television, especially a flat screen mounted on the wall can become a focal point.
Once decided upon a focal point, the furniture will be arranged in such a way that will empower it. In other words, when you are sitting in the room you want the eyes to look at the focal point in a natural and comfortable way. Let Interiors Refined by Paula redesign your room to emphasize the focal point.
The furniture placement must encourage conversation. The first step is to place the chairs, keeping the distance of 3ft “tops” between them. More than that and you won’t be able to hear yourselves unless you raise your voice. Naturally the chairs or armchairs must be placed facing the focal point. Chairs should be placed within about eight feet of each other to encourage conversation. Position a table in such a way that it is easily accessible from every chair. Keep a light source near the seating area. Coffee tables should have a clearance of about 14 to 18 inches from the sofa. Side tables should be at least as tall as the arm of the chairs or sofa to make serving easy and discourage accidental spills. When arranging furniture, make sure you provide enough space to move around the room. Read more
Each chair should have a little table placed at a comfortable distance. Coffee tables are usually placed 14-18 inches from the couch and end tables are placed right next to the armchairs.
The most common furniture arrangement is in the “U” shape, in which the open space is occupied by the focal point.
Example: focal point on the northern wall, one armchair on the eastern wall, another armchair on the western wall and a couch on the southern wall.
If various reasons keep us from placing the furniture in a shape resembling the letter “U”, we can always place it in ”L”, with a few occasional pieces on the free side of the room.
If the focal point doesn’t exist we’ll have to create it. Hang a painting or a valuable rug on the wall. A wardrobe or shelves with an interesting design will have the same effect. Even a television, especially a flat screen mounted on the wall can become a focal point.
Once decided upon a focal point, the furniture will be arranged in such a way that will empower it. In other words, when you are sitting in the room you want the eyes to look at the focal point in a natural and comfortable way. Let Interiors Refined by Paula redesign your room to emphasize the focal point.
The furniture placement must encourage conversation. The first step is to place the chairs, keeping the distance of 3ft “tops” between them. More than that and you won’t be able to hear yourselves unless you raise your voice. Naturally the chairs or armchairs must be placed facing the focal point. Chairs should be placed within about eight feet of each other to encourage conversation. Position a table in such a way that it is easily accessible from every chair. Keep a light source near the seating area. Coffee tables should have a clearance of about 14 to 18 inches from the sofa. Side tables should be at least as tall as the arm of the chairs or sofa to make serving easy and discourage accidental spills. When arranging furniture, make sure you provide enough space to move around the room. Read more
Each chair should have a little table placed at a comfortable distance. Coffee tables are usually placed 14-18 inches from the couch and end tables are placed right next to the armchairs.
The most common furniture arrangement is in the “U” shape, in which the open space is occupied by the focal point.
Example: focal point on the northern wall, one armchair on the eastern wall, another armchair on the western wall and a couch on the southern wall.
If various reasons keep us from placing the furniture in a shape resembling the letter “U”, we can always place it in ”L”, with a few occasional pieces on the free side of the room.
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