Tips on Remodeling your Kitchen

We know the economy is up but it still is not a good time to sell your home. But it is a great time to invest in your home and one of the best investments is to update and remodel your kitchen. The kitchen is the hub or heart of the home let's face it besides your bedroom it is the second most used room in the house not counting the bathroom.

If you are up to it you can do the remodel yourself, I do suggest that you sub out things like electrical and plumbing. Be realistic about the time frame of the project if you think it will be six weeks it is probably going to be closer to ten.

So lets start with cabinets. Purchase good cabinets from a reputable manufacturer with a guarantee trust me in the long run it will keep you sane and married. Buy stained cabinets rather than painted ones. You can save money by eliminating the bells and whistles. Many items cutlery dividers, extended drawers, a trash bin, and utensil dividers are now standard, so you can easily include these and skip the other add-ons.

Need a budget-friendly alternative to expensive stone slabs? How about butcher block warm to the touch and durable and only requires periodic maintenance.

To add some detail to your cabinets that will make them look more expensive then it really is add a bun leg on each corner of a cabinet or in front of the toe kick, so it looks like a freestanding piece of furniture. Bun legs are about $25 each, and you can paint or stain them to match your cabinets.

For your back splash create a focal point by choosing simple 4-x-4-inch tiles with just a few accent tiles to add pop. It will give your kitchen a whole different feel by adding a focal point. These are just a few tips this interior designer can give you for remodeling your kitchen remember sometimes getting a professional designer can help save time and money.

The Color YELLOW

YELLOW Is the best color to draw attention
It is thought as being joyful, outgoing and friendly. It is the ideal color for dark or dreary rooms. Does not darken with saturation, but becomes brighter
It is the fastest color the eye sees
It is thought of as being cheerful.
Interiors will be luminous, glistening & joyful
Shades & Tints
Light Yellow - Cheerful, happy, soft, sunny, warm, sweet
Bright Yellow - Enlightening, sunshine, cheerful, friendly, hot, luminous, energy
Greenish Yellow - Lemony, tart, fruity, acidic
Golden Yellow - Autumn, flowers, harvest, rich, sun, warm, wheat, comforting, sun-baked, buttery
Gold - Warm, opulent, expensive, radiant, valuable, prestigious

Kids Going Back to School

For some of us women, our kids going back to school is a relief from a long summer. It is time to get back to a routine and to have time for you. It is that peace in the morning at about 8:15 AM when everything is quite and all is right with the world until 2:25 PM when they get home.
For others it can be the empty nest syndrome. It can be having your only son or daughter leave home to start college. I know a women who became so lonely she went out and bought two little dog’s to keep her company. She has to know that her kid will only go to school for 4 years and most of them come home. But a dog can live 15 to 20 years it is like raising a kid all over again go figure.
I know it is easy for me to say I still have my two boys at home. Even when my oldest might go off to school I will still have the younger one at home. So I guess the best solution would be have them go to a local college, first of all it will be less expensive and they won’t have to ever leave home. OMG what am I saying.

If you are having difficulty with your child going back to school drop me an e-mail I would love to hear from you.

Color of the week is Orange

First of all it appeals to a great number of people it denotes affordability and it makes you think of the fall season also such holiday’s as Halloween and Thanks Giving. It can also stimulate the appetite.

Combines the heat from red and yellow to make it the hottest color

Interiors will be glowing, vital and energizing

Shades & Tints
Orange - Fun, whimsical, childlike, happy, glowing, vital, sunset, harvest, juicy, tangy, energizing, gregarious, friendly, loud
Peach - Nurturing, soft, fuzzy, delicious, fruity, sweet, inviting

Some Fresh Ideas on Better Networking

Let me ask you these questions in order to prompt ideas for taking new contacts from Business Acquaintance to Business Relationship status:

1. Do you really understand this person's business? Have you asked the right questions in order to be listening for an opportunity on this person's behalf? Do you truly know who and what they are looking for?
2. Whom do you know that this person might like to meet, and might generate an opportunity for both of them? I am suggesting you THINK deeply about who you know that could really help this person in their business.
3. If you can't offer this person a referral or a new piece of business, what else might benefit him/her? Would it be an opportunity to speak publicly, or maybe an opportunity to be on a panel?

I am now going to give you 3 direct tips and the benefit to following up and becoming a magnet for better business relationships:

1. Ask someone to speak at an event or maybe have a casual gathering at your home
Benefit: You've helped this person gain visibility in the right arena.
2. Ask someone to contribute to your newsletter or another newsletter you know about that would be relevant to their business.
Benefit: You've helped this person gain visibility and credibility.
3. Ask them if they'd like a recommendation on a professional networking site such as Linked In.
Benefit: Who doesn't want people to be recognized favorably and publicly?

It does take some effort to come up with ways to take a new business relationship to the next level. Getting to know a person on a social level helps to gain trust and credibility. You are more likely to do business with someone you know then someone you don’t. Doesn't it make sense to optimize that investment by taking a little extra initiative and proactively making these relationships rewarding and even productive?

Let me know what you might add to better networking.

Color RED

Red Causes the most diverse reaction of all the colors. It signals excitement, danger and sex. Can causes sense of smell improvement & increase in appetite. Speeds up the perception of time. Evokes physiological response in increased heart rate and rapid breathing

Interiors done in red will be dramatic and provocative

Shades & Tints

•Bright Red - Exciting, energizing, sexy, hot, dynamic, stimulating, provocative, dramatic, aggressive, powerful
•Bright Pink - Exciting, happy, hot, attention-getting, energetic, youthful, spirited, fun, trendy, wild
•Light Pink - Romantic, soft, sweet, tender, cute, babies, delicate
•Dusty Pink - Cozy, soft, subtle, dusky
•Mauve - Soft, subdued, quiet, sentimental
•Burgundy - Rich, elegant, refined, tasty, expensive, mature
•Fuchsia - Bright, exciting, fun, hot, high energy, sensual
•Brick Red - Earthy, strong, warm, countryTerracotta - Earthy, warm, wholesome, country, welcoming

Designer tips on Staging

First I want to say that I am not a stager I am an interior designer. There are many differences between a person who stages your home and a designer who designs your home. Someone who stages usually carries an inventory of furniture, accessories and art work to select from. Home Staging is the art of styling your home for the buying audience. A designer is someone who helps you after you are in the home to give it a custom personal look.
I just want to share a few tips on what a home owner can do to make their property more attractive to prospective buyers.
CLEAR CLUTTER -- Begin by clearing away the personal clutter, including everything from paperwork to photos to collections. Remember that the potential buyer needs to visualize themselves in the space, and your particular brand of "lived-in" may not match up with theirs.
CHECK FURNITURE FLOW -- There needs to be enough in place to suggest proper scale and capacity within each room, but not so much that traffic flow is hindered and architectural elements are obscured.
TONE DOWN -- Neutralize walls and floors to create a backdrop for buyer imagination. Replace patterned wall coverings with off-white paint, and install low-grade tan wall-to-wall carpet.


Any Questions or Comments

A Little Info on COLOR

Color is the single most important factor in creating the mood of a room. It is the element that everyone understands and has been proven to be a psychological stimulus. Color can unify furnishings that otherwise seem unrelated. Color can minimize architectural faults such as cracked walls or poorly placed windows. It can also make a small room seem larger or large rooms seem smaller. Research suggests that colors have "temperature"; they are either warm or cool. Warm colors, on one side of the color wheel are yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange and red. They are cheerful and powerful. Warm colors can be used in rooms with Northern exposure. They can also be used to put life into activity rooms. Children love warm colors best. Adults who like these colors tend to be outgoing and active. The Cool Colors, on the other side of the color wheel, are purple, violet, blue, blue-green and green. More soothing and restful than warm colors, they can be used in rooms with Southern and Eastern exposure to create a calm ambiance. People who prefer cool colors are usually reserved and introspective. In the bloggs to follow I will be giving more information on COLOR.