Archive for the ‘Refurbishment’ Category

Step By Step Procedure To Sell A Home

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Steps to consider before placing your house on sale especially FSBO:

Many people believe that one needs to choose right time to sell and they prefer spring/ summer for the process. It is especially helpful for families that have children so that moving may be completed during summer vacation and get settled prior to new school year starting. One can not say that market is not at all busy during fall but traditionally these are slow months. Primary reason being holidays other reason is many people don’t prefer showing houses during winter months maybe because:

- Showing house during winters gets messy as people move in with boots covered with snow/ mud/ salt that may damage the carpet/ wooden floors.

- Buyers don’t see accurate landscaping and beautiful yards always add up to the price.

It is very important to get your house ready for sale. First impression that your house gives is very important in order to attract more customers and getting it sell quickly giving you more benefit in terms of price also. Prospective buyer must feel good about your property. Some easy and quick tips that would also not cost you big must be implemented as buyers may be picky or seeking perfection. Let’s be proactive and get your house read to be shown to prospective buyers. Even if it does not sell away right out, you would certainly enjoy the compliments flowing in.

- Ensure to mow the lawn; pruning and weeding are not expensive and make a remarkable difference.

- Get your house a fresh coat of paint in case your house is an old construction (before 1978); the law requires to check for lead based paint. Get inspection done and save time.

- Clean each and every corner of your house before showing it. It again does not cost anything and make a great difference. Don’t forget to clean windows and bathrooms.

- Soothing smells can certainly raise value of your home. Set an ambience by playing soft background music or light candles to make it look cozy and inviting.

Your house is worth the amount that people agree to pay. You can estimate value of a property by its appraisal and comparative market analysis; perform both of them and then compare and contrast. You may hire a certified appraiser to do appraisal. He estimates value based on sq.ft. area, quality of construction, year of construction of house, design, floor plan, neighborhood, transportation, shopping facilities, schools, topography, view from house, landscaping, and lot so many factors. Comparative market analysis may be done by real estate agent. It is free service provided by your agent once you are listing your home with them.

You must be careful and not start at very high price. As market is very fluctuating, assure that price you are asking is based on recent appraisal/ comparative market analysis. Cosmetic defects must be repaired prior to showing your house. It is very important especially in buyer’s market as buyers are picky and can easily get turned off. If your house is in good condition it would sell faster. Good price or condition would not be able to sell it if your property does not get proper exposure. Advertise in newspaper or get it listed in flat fee MLS.

Tags:
Posted in Refurbishment | 7 Comments »

Home Improvement Decorations

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

We all have our means of making our home presentable in our own way. We tend to create simple yet very interesting beautifying ideas in our home. And one way of promoting home improvement is by gardening. Gardening does not only improves the physical aspect of our home and surroundings but it also helps clean the air that we breathe and support a healthy lifestyle. Either indoor or outdoor gardening, there are now available tools we can use including flower window boxes, raised bed gardens, conventional gardens and indoor container gardens. All these products are specifically designed to compliment any modern or classical house design. Whether the place is within a rural or urban area, gardening is very feasible as long as you have the right tools.

Aside from gardening, we can also add a wall décor to give our home a new accent. There are different types of wall decor including wooden, metallic and steal wall décors. We can check out the nearest local home store in our area to seek for some designs that complement our household theme.

Water features as a part of our home decor need not be limited to the kitchen or bathroom. They can also be equally ideal in any room or setting including indoors or outdoors. We can also add fountains as one of the main spot attractions of the home. It would be an elegant touch and a dominating home accent feature in our home.

Outdoor fountains are very appealing to place in ponds and can be made much more vital with water spouts. Another example of outdoor fountain is a Birdbath. It is a water feature that is perfect for the garden or the back yard as well and can provide a welcome invitation to area wildlife.

Indoor fountains can be the dominating home decor feature in a room, quite literally providing the commanding feature with a majestic wall fountain or waterfall.

To make our décors stand out, we can add some lights that go well with the interior home decoration. It would be amazing how beautiful the entire décor be to have the lights focused on them. It will bring out the best to whatever additional stuff we have at home.

Home accents are easy to find and add to our home but we need to be more creative to have perfect ideas in mind. We have so many options of what to add to make our home more pleasing and enjoyable to visit. The above mentioned things are only suggestions. I bet you can make your own and create a much better home improvement decoration. Can you think of something and share it to us?

Tags:
Posted in Refurbishment | 7 Comments »

Refurbishing your Bathroom the Easy Way

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Along with the kitchen renovation, the bathroom is just as important a room to boost the value. As with any area you are going to revamp there are some things that you need to look at. Here are some hints to help you revamp your bathroom and add value:.

A second bathroom is one of the trusted ways of adding extra to the value of your property. Look around at houses for sale and observe how much more they sell for and how much quicker they find a purchaser. Even if you don’t want to move property at the moment, a second bathroom will still make monetary sense. A bathroom off the main bedroom is the most desirable for any second bathroom and that is shown in the house value. Whoever is in the main bedroom is going to enjoy having their own separate space and the kids will love having their own bathroom as well. One thing to remember though, is never take away a bedroom to make it into a bathroom, as this would make little monetary sense and not boost the price of your property.

To increase value to your property then you need to be looking at decent quality flooring for this room. Making the wrong choice can make your bathroom look cheap and unappealing. Choose the flooring with care, what you like may not be what other individuals like, so choose with care.

For the bathroom, there are several flooring types. Ceramic, porcelain or stone tiles are considered the best flooring to enhance your property and add value. Flooring such as laminate is classed as a covering, so not the best choice if you want the area to look and feel good. Keep in mind floor materials such as wood are vulnerable to water damage.

The toilet is an essential part of the bathroom, both in shape and purpose. Change the toilet so it complements the rest of the bathroom furniture, if you don’t it will stand out and not for the right reasons.

Another bonus for a bathroom, especially to a bathroom attached to the master bedroom, is a whirlpool bath. These great tubs are wonderful to relax in, and their presence can add luxurious and tasteful touch. You can purchase a jet bath for a very reasonable price if you shop around and keep your eyes open for a decent price.

When working on the bathroom, make sure everything matches and is not a clash of different styles. The bathroom decor should match the rest of the house, a modern looking bathroom in a farmhouse style property is going to look out of place. Choose a single style for the bathroom and stay with it.

Tags:
Posted in Bathrooms, Refurbishment | 13 Comments »

The Perfect Way to Update & Decorate on a Budget

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

When it comes to decorating, the process can be overwhelming for many people. The question of where to begin and how to create a beautiful space can be stressful enough but the added factor of a tight budget can leave homeowners in a dilemma: do I redecorate my home or live with it the way it is?

If you find yourself in a design dilemma where you’re not sure if your budget will allow you to make the changes you want, I have some good news. Decorating does not have to be expensive; it can be done on a large budget or a smaller one. A little bit of money and a lot of creativity can transform your home from a space you live with to a space you really love.

Oftentimes, what most people require is a little help from a professional to guide them in the right direction. A redesign expert is just the person to help save you time and money in both renovating and decorating your home. Redesign is a branch of Interior Decorating that focusses on using much of what a person already owns in a new way. This can be done by simply re-arranging your furniture and editing your accessories to updating your kitchen in a budget-conscious way. Combining items you already own with a few new elements is a cost effective and eco-friendly way to transform your home without spending a lot of money.

Hiring a redesign expert is also a great way to avoid costly renovation mistakes. The costs of renovating a home should be viewed as an investment. Consequently, every home decorating or renovation project should always start with thorough planning and development of a detailed budget. Most people who try to renovate or redecorate on their own don’t end up with the desired results because they fail to effectively plan the process. This lack of focus often leads people to spend money on items they don’t need to replace which limits their budget so they can’t spend money where it really should be spent.

A redesign professional can give you pointers as to where to shop and what products to combine to create a custom, stylish look on a shoestring budget. Oftentimes, stores such as Home Sense, Superstore, Wal-Mart and furniture clearance centres are great places to find exceptional deals. Having expert guidance will help you choose pieces that are stylish and well-priced to elevate the look of your home instead of items that clutter and lack in appeal. You will be directed as to how to combine items from a variety of different stores to create a unified look that excites your senses without hurting your wallet. In addition to offering expert updating advice, a redesign professional will often have connections with trades and suppliers who are willing to pass on a discount to clients referred to them by a designer. To these businesses, offering a discount is a very cost effective form of advertisement. Oftentimes, these discounts alone can save a client more money than it cost them to hire the redesign expert.

Updating and decorating your home on a budget does not have to be stressful. It can be a fun and rewarding experience. Many times, all that’s needed to improve your space is a trained set of eyes and a little creative guidance. A redesign expert will assist you in putting together a combination of colours and finishes, furnishings and accessories that reflect your personal tastes, while at the same time creating a unified sense of style that will add value to your home. This service can give a person ease in knowing that the money and time that they are investing in updating their home will translate into a well-designed space.

Josie Bamber, Professional Home Stager and Owner of Refresh Home Staging & Redesign Inc., incorporates her knowledge of interior decorating, training as a Home Stager and experience in real estate to transform properties into what buyers want. Josie is passionate about bringing out the best in every home at the best price. She believes that every property has the potential to look good. It’s all about having the skill to make this happen.

Tags:
Posted in Interior Design, Refurbishment | 42 Comments »

7 Benefits For Kitchen Renovation

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Kitchen Renovation cost depends on a lot of factors. It depends on where you live, the age of your home, and is of course constrained on your budget. When decorating on a budget, it’s important to be creative with your purchases. The kitchen is the heart of house. It is the most versatile than any other room of the house. It is used to prepare meals, feed the family, store foods, and also used to store other household items. Kitchen is the centerpiece of the home. It is also known as the family gathering place. It’s is a major change that one takes to renovate a house .It may affect the manner in which the house looks. Therefore, it is important that every kitchen remodeling idea be taken into consideration. This is especially true when available space is limited, and kitchen remodeling cost is concern.

The process of a renovation is broken into several processes like:

  • Planning
  • Engineering
  • Structural repair
  • Rebuilding
  • Finishes

There are three basic kitchen functions that we can consider while doing Kitchen Renovation: storage, food preparation, and clean-up. A well-thought out kitchen design will accommodate each of these three functions. It is also important to incorporate more than one work center so that more than one person can work efficiently in the kitchen at one time. In case, if kitchen space is very limited than an extra work area can be created by separating the microwave, oven and the stove.

There are lots of benefits of Renovating of kitchen like:

1.The renovation cleans your house perfectly.
2.It increases the appeal of your home.
3.It restores the home to its actual style
4.It adds room for different purposes such as offices.
5.Renovation configures the home for superior living flow.
6.It orientation to sun or/and views.
7.It increase the value of your home

Kitchen renovation will ensure that the part of the house which is used the most is made comfortable and utility based. It increases the design, function and resale value of your home.

Tags:
Posted in Kitchen Fitters London, Refurbishment | 11 Comments »

Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Refacing kitchen cabinets can become necessary when you want to do a makeover for your kitchen to give it a new look. By doing it yourself with ease, you can save loads of money. But before you set about doing it, strip, and sand and reface the traditional way. You need to check out a unique wax free product that can ensure your kitchen cabinet stays perfect for one full year.

Using a wax free product can save lot so money and also much trouble as the traditional and old fashioned way of doing it is no longer a better option. As the kitchen is the focal point of your home, you need to make it look good and new by refacing to make it look new and not outdated.

For redoing your kitchen, you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars and the cabinets can look like new easily.

If you only want refacing of kitchen cabinets to be done, then it won’t take much time, but in case you want to remodel the entire kitchen, it could take time. The task is very simple and not at all difficult. If you know how to reface kitchen cabinets on your own, you can save loads of money.

Instead of removing the boxes that make up the cabinets, your best bet would be to remove the drawer fronts and doors. You can re-skin the box faces with the help of a wax free veneer surface; replace doors and drawer fronts with new ones.

Order the doors after taking new measurements Depending on your budget, you can put in new drawer boxes or any other kitchen convenience items including pullout shelving. You can take the opportunity to replace the functional hardware like knobs, drawer slides and hinges while refacing kitchen cabinets.

As cabinet doors come in different sizes, it could get difficult in finding the right one straight away. They may not be in stock and your best bet would be to order them after taking the measurements of the door frames and spaces. It will save time and money when you do the refacing.

By measuring the space with a measuring tape you can get the right sized door frame after you order it with a manufacturer or retailer. Even if you do not have high skills as a carpenter or an interior designer, you can easily get your kitchen refaced in a short time.

Do some research on the internet by checking out different options available for doing kitchen cabinets and then order the stuff online. Refacing kitchen cabinets is easy these days to turn them into something new and exciting.

Tags:
Posted in Kitchen Fitters London, Refurbishment | 2 Comments »

Notting Hill Gate – Refubisment Project

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Capital Fitters have begun a refurbishment in Notting Hill Gate, the project is a full flat refurbishment and will take between 6 to 8 weeks to complete to our high standards.

The project has been designed by Kia Designs Ltd, we’re happy to say the project consists of a kitchen and bathroom refurbishment, 2 bedrooms, a hallway and a small roof terrace refurbishment.

We will update the post with pictures once we have taken some to keep everyone updated as to the progress of the project.

Tags: ,
Posted in Refurbishment | No Comments »