FSBO Jane

Whether you are cooking a meal on the stove, washing the dishes in the sink, or loading up that handy dishwasher, you’re going to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, facing the wall. Adding a backsplash not only makes your kitchen appealing to others, but it gives you something to look at, as well, instead of staring at a boring, neutral-colored wall.

Forget installing high-end granite, stainless steel or glass tile backsplashes! Try something affordable. You don’t even to install a faux backsplash. All you have to do to create a unique feature to your kitchen is grab some paint, along with a few tools, and get to work. Some of the most desired options for faux painting including tile, stone and wood.

Tile

You can easily achieve the look of a tiled backsplash by using stencils or by measuring/taping off sections of the wall. Either way, you want to make sure that your stencil/tape is at least 1/4 inches, as that is the width of most grout lines between wall tiles. The height depends entirely upon how big you want your faux tiles to be.

To achieve a sparkling tile look, mix three parts clear glaze with one part of the paint color of your choice. Once applied to the wall, the mixture can be dabbed with a sponge if you want to create a different texture other than a flat finish. Remove the tape when you are done, and let everything dry. Boom! You’re done!

Stone

Start with a base coat of white latex enamel, and apply it with a sponge brush. Let it dry, and then coat half of the wall with an earth-toned or neutral-colored glaze (with a different sponge brush) in random spots on the wall. Repeat this step with an even darker glaze, applying it to the rest of the wall, on the places in which you skipped over when you applied the neutral glaze.

After everything has dried, the next step is to wash. Use whitewash in some areas and another earth-tone wash in other, the same way you applied the glaze. The more random the pattern, the more natural your wall will look.

Before the wash dries, crumple up a piece of newspaper and dab the wall, like you would with a sponge. Repeat this process until you achieve your desired look.

Wood

Apply a yellow base coat, preferably mustard or ocher, and let it dry. To create a glaze, mix one part white vinegar with six parts burnt umber/sienna water color paint. Apply the glaze to the wall.

If you want a grainy type of look, drag a comb across the glaze before it dries. You could also dab the wet glaze with a sponge. Each object gives the wood-like wall a different finish. Experiment! You can always change your mind.

After the glaze dries, apply one coat of oil-based varnish so that your faux wood backsplash shines as if it were the real thing.

Rumor has it that we learn something new every day. Recently, I learned how popular media rooms are becoming in average-priced homes. I also learned that a large number of home buyers actually specifically search for homes that include media rooms. This was news to me.

I visited an old friend over the weekend, and we enjoyed a movie night in her high-tech, private media room. I was amazed at the flat-screen TV and the surround sound speakers, I was confused by all the remotes that went with the TV and sound system, and I nearly fell asleep on the comfy leather recliner that showed off cup holders, a leg rest and even a massager! The craziest part of it all was that there were no wires to be seen! She explained that they were all hidden behind the walls and in the closet.

Turns out, her media room wasn’t as amazingly rare as I had initially thought. When I got home, I did some research on media rooms. As it turns out, the Chicago Tribune just wrote a recent article about their gaining popularity, which you can read here.

The article states that according to the National Association of Home Builders, 16 percent of mid-priced homebuyers consider a media room critical to their purchase, while 72 percent of upscale homebuyers consider it critical!

Then, I found an article at the Buy Owner Blog from last October, , which offers a detailed description of how to create a media room (or, if you’re as naïve as me, it explains what the exact definition of a media room is). To create the perfect media atmosphere, you need the right technology, lighting, sound, paint and more.

According to the Tribune article, media rooms have been gaining popularity since the 1980s and are at their peak of fame now. If you’re currently buying or selling, you might want to familiarize yourself with this latest trend.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you are well aware that I promote Buy Owner on a regular basis. Here’s an old post from October 2008, , where I go into a detailed explanation of why I support Buy Owner after using their service. Not only did I have no complaints with the company, but also I thoroughly appreciated the professional writing and photos, the convenience of virtual tours, the friendly customer service, the simple step-by-step guidance, the fast response I received from potential homebuyers and so much more.

However, I realize that I’m just one person, with one opinion. Therefore, I insist that you go read the testimonials from other users of Buy Owner, viewable here. These are examples of real testimonials given by real customers.

Typical responses from sellers include that Buy Owner helped bring a large sum of potential homebuyers to their homes, that they received a fast response from homebuyers who found their homes online, and that many of their homes sold within days!

So don’t take my word for it - let the testimonials speak for themselves.

One of the best tips I could give you about selling your home is also one of the simplest. It’s so simple, in fact, it goes back to basic elementary school. Kindergarten, even.

When something is cool, you talk about it.

Think back to recess, when you and your friends bragged about whose dad could beat up whose.

Were you planning ahead of time the arguments you’d make? Did you bring visual aids? Of course not.

You were so honestly excited about your topic—be it your dad or otherwise—that it flowed out of you.

That’s what needs to happen in your home sale.

Follow the logic: You think your home is gorgeous (and because you’ve staged and decluttered properly, it is) and you’ve found the best advertising money can buy to showcase it (BuyOwner.com is my favorite). What is the next step?

You talk about it.

To your family. To your friends. To the checkout person at the grocery store. You put up flyers in free places, you include a link to your ad on free Web sites like Craigslist. This should be coming natural to you. It’s so simple. It’s so basic.

And it works.

I was looking through some luxury homes the other day, and it got me thinking…just what makes a home a luxury home? There is no one right answer, as there is not a specific definition for luxury home. It’s all about your opinion, what you would consider to be luxury features.

For me, it starts with high ceilings that create a spacious, open atmosphere throughout.

Designer details like custom paint, woodwork, crown molding, wainscoting and other accents are also defining features of luxury homes.

A home’s furnishings can set it apart from all the rest.

A gourmet kitchen stocked with top-of-the-line appliances is something you will find in every luxury home.

With any luxury home, the exterior is just as important as the interior. When I think luxury, I usually think of a resort. So when trying to determine the defining features of a luxury home, my mind goes to resort-style amenities. Inground pools with spillover spas and fountains, summer kitchens with built-in grills…the list goes on and on. Plus, it’s not always all about the property itself. Location can be a key factor in defining a luxury home.

Whatever these characteristics may be, they all combine to create the ultimate in luxury living.

Image: international.ibox.bg/news

Want to really wow your potential homebuyers or just your everyday guests?
Now you can enjoy the fabrics, wallpapers and custom treatments that were once only available to the trade!

I came across this Web site and was really impressed with what they have to offer. You can search through a broad variety of textiles, wallpapers, furnishings, railings, fabrics, architectural gems, and the list goes on. You can’t find these unique accents just anywhere.

If you live in the Chicago area, you can just go to their studio when your purchase is ready, to make sure it’s exactly what you wanted. If you live elsewhere, you can still order online and have the purchase mailed to you.

The prices really aren’t too bad. If you just want to reupholster a favorite chair of yours, they let you bring small furnishings and accessories right to their studio!

Check it out for a fresh take on décor. Again, here’s the link.

Are you a lover of Disney World? Ever wished you could live down the block and walk there any time you please? Now is your chance!

According to this article from Realty Times, the home sales in Orlando surged up 47 percent from March 2008 to March 2009, mainly a result of housing prices dropping 37 percent.

Orlando homebuyers are taking advantage of lower prices, lower interest rates, lots of choices and the $8,000 tax credit available for first-time homebuyers.

If you’re attempting to sell an Orlando home right now, homes sell an average of 104 days after they’re put on the market, and they sell for 92.66 percent of their listing price. Not bad!

For a quick way to scope homes for sale in Orlando, check out listings online. Disney World, here you come!

On May 5, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recession should end this year, and that the housing market is on its way to improvement.

Though the housing market has seen a decline for three consecutive years, sales of existing homes have remained stable since last year, and sales of new homes have recently seen a slight increase. The numbers are still low, but they’re slowly rising.

With sales of homes up, builders are beginning to notice a decline of unsold new homes. And here’s the real kicker: Bernanke thinks the biggest contribution to the increase in home selling is the affordability of them. That means lower interest rates, and for sellers who are selling by owner, a lower selling price.

Should you lower your price? It’s a thought that every home seller considers, day by day. As you ponder that thought, know that Bernanke’s positive outlooks states that the housing market will continue to recover as the recession’s end slowly comes in sight.

To read Bernanke’s testimony to Congress in its entirety, click here.

Picture this: You had a long Friday night. You crash, in the wee hours of the morning, and you plan on sleeping as late as possible. It is the weekend after all! But… oh no! You just moved into a new house, and you have yet to install any coverings on your window. The sun is pouring in and you just can’t sleep. Now what?

Consider installing window blinds. Vertical or horizontal, it’s your preference.

I personally prefer blinds to curtains. Here’s why:

• Curtains can be stained, while blinds can easily be wiped down.
• Heavy-duty curtains are bulky and difficult to install/maintain.
• Installing specific curtains makes it hard to change the style of your room. For example, you once has a blue living room, complete with royal blue draperies. What do you do when you want to change the color scheme to… red?
• Curtains can be more expensive than blinds.

Now, let’s compare the type of blinds: vertical vs. horizontal.

Vertical blinds can come attached only at the top or at top and bottom. Verticals have typically two manual mechanisms that operate movement of the blinds. A rope cord opens the blinds completely, either shifting all of them to one side or parting them in the middle, with even halves separating ways to reveal an open window. If you only want a little light to shine through, you would pull the chain, which operates the slats to turn in place. Lots of colors are available to match the decor of any room!

Horizontal blinds are only attached at the top. Like verticals, horizontal blinds also posses two manual mechanisms to operate movement. A cord, usually on the right, moves the blinds up and down as you pull. A rod, usually on the left, moves the slats (in place), as you turn it.

Cord attached on left or right and a rod on the other side. Some horizontals can come with mosaic designs! A friend of mine is a huge Star Wars fan, so he bought horizontal blinds to display his adoration of the epic films.

While reading one of my favorite blogs, I came across some useful information about buying waterfront properties and wanted to point you to it. As a retired agent, I think this is a fantastic idea!

Your waterfront property could be a vacation home (take a load off!), a rental house (make some money!) or even your main residence (how beautiful!).

Whatever you choose, this article offers great advice and answers the following questions:

• Why do you want to own a waterfront property?
• What do you want to do in and around your waterfront home?
• What do you want to do in the water… swim or fish?
• How should you prepare for the worst (aka hurricanes)?