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I have been wrestling with the renovation of my home for 1 year now!! -What has been accomplished?-…Much of what you can’t see-and what you can looks(IS) half-finished. 

I think I am overloaded with information.  As a Real Estate agent, I’m constantly viewing home- DAILY-HOURLY- either in the field,on TV or in magazines. I see tons of “great ideas” and beautiful materials(like this LEATHER floor tile!-OMG). I have tons of online bookmarks,physical books, torn out magazine pages , and scrap books filled with bathroom, kitchen-home decor i.e. tiling, paint swatches, flooring material, counter tops …some “Green” renovation ideas, others very Lux… and I think I really need to get back to basics and find “What is right for MY family?”

Can we begin with paint?  Initially I was looking to go very Historic, craftsman color….I’m in a Bungalow-Craftsman home, right? So common sense, ‘do Historic’…? But really, that’s not me. LOVE the look in neighboring homes but I was not feeling the vibes AFTER I bought the paint (I wish my vibes would kick in BEFORE I carry heavy items!)  Then,  I considered going a bit more on the artistic side- color-color-color…wild,free and fun…but I guess this was me- in my 20′s…because again, I was horrified AFTER I painted a hall Olive green(and I LOVE this color…could be a bad  location).  So now, I’m going back to what usually attracts my eye…………although it seems SAFE. I can’t help but to think of NOW and future, because since this was such a chore, I know we’re not painting again until my kids go off to college!

What color? What style? What vibe?…  While on trip 200 to the paint supplies area of Home Depot, I notice that one of the swatches  had words on the top.. ”Modern”, “Classic”, “Historic”,  ”Country chic”, “World”,”Vintage,Antique” etc.. I grabbed every swatch that made me “feel good”… at the end I looked at them and came up with “Classic” , Modern and Vintage”… OK-I should have known this was my style- I DO know..just needed some color picking guidance to fit this!!!   So the colors I selected are a Mocha/or Latte brown, a gray, a soft mint, chalk-white, pale corn flower blue, Navy..  this time, it wasn’t very hard and a few days later-I still feel good about these colors.

Now, where will these colors go?  My bedroom  is already a soft pale blue (staying), my parlour is a soft tan/buff brown (staying) and my kitchen is a soft pale mint green (Not sure if this will stay or go but I like it and it may tie in to my classic Navy dining room-info on this later). I was thinking painting  my master bathroom Latte brown, hall gray, upstairs bathroom a soft mint green, guest bathroom chalk-white and navy. The rooms, halls and nooks  inbetween are still a bit unclear…

Ok. This has been  helpful. I think I’ve just made some decisions. Progress.  I’ll begin this paint project mid April- rain has been killing me.

Check out this tile. I’m looking to add these Flower Hex patterns to my bathrooms. I think this is such a classic look and item, it would add lasting value to my home.  I would hope that this is my “forever home” but even in that, when renovating I believe one should always keep in mind resale value. I understand decorating for your own personal style, taste and comfort -however, items that are fixtures should be selected  with the “what if I had to sell” mind set and “will this add value I can pull from later” . Too many sellers are now experiencing the crunch of the economy and have called me to their home to determine value and how fast it would sell…I’ll just say, sometimes there are too many personal preference renovations that we expect to gain from- but, your hexagon shaped arch entry to the kitchen is NOT necessarily someone elses “wow” factor and the buyer has already deducted the amount it will take to fix it from their offer price! 

On that note,I’m trying to do things right the first time.  Now,  time to hit the streets and sell some houses so I can begin on my bathroom renovation in a few weeks!

Check it out HERE

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…usually around this time I’ve had several joggers, dog walkers, Seniors (heading to the market) and kids to school… I MUST add a window bench.  Corner properties have always been my favorite.

The girls and I are preparing to do a major Spring cleaning- (isn’t this usually done the first week of April)?  While taking down our winter snow flakes we were disgusted by all the dirt on the inside of the windows.  I was also able to take survey of just how bad they are… they’re pretty bad and I’m afraid restoring them will cost more than I can pay…better start 1 at a time. All are missing the inside sash(either missing or popped inside the window)- on others, the wood is rotten, or the glass insert is not the original wavy glass(some aren’t the correct size.I can see caulk was added to seal and cover the gaps)- just another project for the list.

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DECORATING A 19th CENTURY PARLOR  for 21st century life can be a challenge. Brownstone parlor floors tend to be: long and narrow dark in the middle and have: no obvious place for a TV no obvious place for a sofa (the Victorians sat on nothing longer than a love seat, and very stiffly at that) So what are ya gonna do?  What seems to w … Read More

via c a s a C A R A ~ OLD HOUSES FOR FUN & PROFIT ~

Yes, it’s on my “to do” list- and it will be the very next thing I do, once the rain stops!