by Jeff Pittman | Jan 11, 2017 | Homeowners
Cleaning Tips For A Spotless Home Most people wait until the spring to begin deep cleaning their home. However, for those of you who want to get your home back to comfy cozy after all of the holiday craziness, it’s important to focus on a clean home first thing in the new year. By taking time to clean your home now, you can make sure that you are starting the year off on the right foot. Here’s how to create space and make your home sparkle and shine like new. WIPE DOWN BASEBOARDS Sounds like a random place to start, but it’s probably something you’ve been overlooking since, well, forever. The baseboards are an easy place for dust to hide and can reduce the air quality in the home, which can lead to allergies for you and your family. That is just one reason why it is essential for you to wipe down the baseboards with a wet towel to ensure that you wipe up all of the dirt and prevent it from circulating back into the air. You also could use some general cleaning liquid or dusting supplies if you really want to leave your baseboards sparkling clean. PURGE WHAT YOU CAN To free up space in your home and make it easier to feel at ease, you’ll need to purge the home of items that haven’t been used in the last year. From old jeans to children’s toys, you can round up the items to ensure that they’re sold or donated to remove clutter that has accumulated throughout the year, according to payless.com. If you purge the...
by Jeff Pittman | Dec 8, 2016 | Homeowners
3 Ways To Upgrade Your Antique Home While Keeping The Charm Anyone who tries to renovate an antique home will quickly realize that this process is a game of balance. While you might want modern amenities and upgrades, it is vital that the house maintains its charm. This is especially crucial in neighborhoods like Old Towne Orange or Lincoln Park in Pasadena where the entire community features vintage homes with antique charm. Here are three tips you can use to strike a balance between comfort and character. ADD SPACE WHILE MAINTAINING THE STYLE One of the most common complaints that people make of older homes is that they were created without any sense of traffic flow or movement. They often have smaller hallways and rooms with sharp angles and turns. By opening up some of that space, you can change the functionality of your home without drastically altering its appearance. Before you consider your options for removing walls or adding pony walls, you will need to have a licensed contractor determine which walls and posts are vital to the structural integrity of your home. UPDATE BUT DON’T CHANGE THE KEY STRUCTURAL THEMES When it comes time to start making upgrades to your home, you should try to keep the primary structural themes intact. Instead of replacing older casement windows with double-hung or single-hung designs, you should simply update to modern high-efficiency casement windows, like the products found at Gilkey Windows. Another example of this would be replacing your roof with modern materials to prevent drafts and leaks. You should keep the original curves and shapes of your roof, but...
by Jeff Pittman | Nov 21, 2016 | Homeowners
Envisioning Your Palace Envision implies the forming of an idea, seeing something as a real possibility, visualizing the future and mentally picturing the concept. With so many different types of striking architecture and design aesthetics, it can be daunting to choose one cohesive idea for your dream luxury home. To envision you must have a clear and concise expectation of the finished product before you begin the building process. From picking the perfect location to deciding on the right functionality for your family, here’s what you need to consider in order to make your dream luxury home a reality. LOCATING THE PERFECT SPOT One obvious first step to take in the planning of your home is choosing a plot of land, deciding how much property you desire, and what your long-term goals are. Keep in mind the work involved in landscaping once the home is complete. Plan accordingly with regard to the directional position you wish your house to face, as this will influence your decision in desiring the sun rising and setting over the property. It makes for a serene backdrop for your home. Design with Style and Functionality Every room of your home should be reflective of the style you want to express, so that it will prove to be visually pleasing to the eye, as well as being functional. Consider in your house plan whether you desire an open-concept area within certain rooms such with the living room or dining room, or whether your preference is one of a cozy private retreat with surrounding walls. Design the spaces remembering there is no wrong answer when it comes...
by Jeff Pittman | Nov 18, 2016 | Homeowners
Four Ways To Decorate With Technology Technology is making headlines across the world in sectors like healthcare, gaming, and security, but what about home decor? These simple tricks show you some of the best ways to incorporate technology into your home’s design. From smart lighting to wireless phone chargers, you can easily get the best for your home. And great holiday gift ideas for the tech nerd in your life! TRANSPARENT TELEVISIONS Source: dornob.com Transparent televisions are a sleek way to show off your elegant and stylish side. It’s easy to watch quality television and simply leave the screen transparent when you’re done. Some transparent televisions even embrace the direction of modern technological interfaces with gesture-powered selection and OLED displays for a clearer image. With transparent televisions, you can easily display decorative items behind what appears to simply be a piece of glass, until it’s time to watch TV. For those not into television and movies, this transparent device still makes it easy to enjoy music and podcasts in a sleek fashion. Be entertained in style with a transparent television of the modern age. DIGITAL PICTURE FRAMES Source: petapixel.com If you can’t decide what kind of art you want to hang up in your home, don’t worry. With digital picture frames, it’s easy to create slideshows and display animations for the kind of work you like the most. Digital picture frames give you maximum customization and utility. Whether you feel like displaying a painting by one of history’s greatest impressionists or fan art from your favorite movie, you’re completely in control. The most technologically advanced digital frames even allow you to use...
by Jeff Pittman | Oct 18, 2016 | Homeowners
Declutter Your Chaotic Closet In 5 Easy Steps For some people, the thought of decluttering is enough to make them break out in hives. For others, decluttering may seem like fun and a huge relief for their inner neat freak. No matter what side of the spectrum you’re on, it is totally possible to declutter your closet with ease – and without stressing. As long as you focus on these five easy steps, you’ll be able to enjoy a clean and clear closet in no time (AKA just in time to fill it up with Christmas sweaters and decorations). MAP OUT A PLAN. Take a look at your closet and be realistic about what you want and need. Know that you want a decluttered closet. With this knowledge, it’s important to be resilient and honest with yourself regarding what you need to do. If you have too many clothes in the closet, it’s important to purge and get rid of clothes. Make a plan regarding how long it will take you to declutter. Whether it takes you a day or it takes you an entire week, make a plan and stick to it. Understand that those clothes you’ve been hoping you’ll be able to get back into might need to get donated. CREATE PILES. Create a few different piles. A few of the piles should be strictly for clothing items in the various seasons. You don’t have to get fancy with your closet design ideas as there are several simple ways to help the closet stay decluttered. Start by making sure that only one or two seasons are hanging...
by Jeff Pittman | Sep 10, 2016 | Homeowners
Good Reasons To Modernize Your Home Before Selling A home with modern features and amenities is more likely to sell at the top of its price range than one that is seen as “dated”. Unless a buyer is searching for a fixer-upper, he or she won’t want to pay top dollar for a house that needs to be renovated before moving in. It really is amazing how much of a difference modernizing your home can make when it comes to selling. And how simple the changes can make a big difference in the long run. Here are six reasons why renovating is straight up a great idea before selling your home. BUYERS PREFER FUNCTIONALITY OVER CHARM While buyers may like a little bit of charm or character from a house, what they really want is functionality. Opening up the floor plan or adding modern features such as new appliances or central air makes the house easier to spend many years in. AUTOMATION MAKES A HOME EASIER TO MANAGE Home lighting automation makes it easier to keep electric bills down while smart appliances can tell you if there is a problem before it becomes costly to fix. Since you don’t need wires, there is less mess and less of a fire or safety hazard. This also can help add a unique lighting and glow to your home which can make it really stand out. ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS A HUGE DRAW LED lights, a new furnace or natural insulation in the attic can reduce a buyer’s carbon footprint and help save money at the same time. If you want to sell...
