FSBO Jane

Recently, I visited a local farmers’ market, planning to come home with bags of fresh produce to stock my fridge with. Instead, I carried away an unexpected find. Numerous local artists had set up booths with original artwork. And when I say original, I mean it! We’re talking paintings on framed slabs of glass, patterned cloth material stretched around pieces of wood, woodcarvings of decorative chairs and yard signs, wind chimes, bird houses, molded candles, and objects that have no name but that looked aesthetically interesting. Was I alone in not knowing that you could find original artwork at a farmer’s market? I went home with a painting of bunnies on glass that I plan on displaying outside on my front porch. Bunnies just love my yard.

It got me thinking, where else can people find original artwork without knowing it? Craft fairs are always a good place to start. At craft fairs, you can collect artist’s cards, websites or phone numbers so that you can contact them at a later date or find out where they’ll be going next. From this, I found out that artists travel to farmer’s markets, seasonal festivals, local events, community garage sales and more! Sometimes, they’ll even set up a time and day to just display their work on the side of a busy street.

There’s also websites where you can find original artwork. OriginalArtOnline.com is a website that allows artists to promote their work in a professional manner while allowing buyers to search for original art from artists and emerging artists. ArtistRising.com categorizes original art by subject, style and medium, such as photography, painting or digital. Best part? The prices are completely reasonable!

You can find individual artists by using social networking sites. For example, search Twitter for a certain subject or for artists in general. Numerous artists advertise their work that way and lead you to their website where you can check out more work and contact them for a purchase. Some artists will even offer to create a piece of art specific to your desires, such as a painting of your beloved puppy.

Don’t get me wrong, I can stand in Bed, Bath & Beyond or Target for hours staring at the beautiful artwork that they sell. It’s everywhere! But there’s just something rewarding about buying it right from its source. I was proud of my new find.

Know of somewhere else that is ideal for finding original artwork? Let us know!

Do you want to upgrade an area of your house but are not sure which area to choose? Want to know what potential buyers are most looking for in a new house? According to this Buy Owner Blog post, the Lansing State Journal stated that home buyers find improvements in the kitchen and bathroom to be most important.

With this information, you can upgrade areas of your house that you know most home buyers are looking for! The blog throws out some ideas of aspects to improve, such as upgrading appliances, adding a kitchenette, upgrading a bathroom with a double, his/her vanity and separating the toilet from the rest of the bathroom. The blog even links to past articles that offer advice on upgrading cabinets, countertops, sinks, lighting and décor in these rooms. It’s basically a how-to article for every aspect of your bathroom and kitchen!

Once you make these upgrades, if you’re advertising with Buy Owner, you can upgrade your ad to include these new aspects of your home. Home buyers will see that your home was recently remodeled or upgraded in the rooms that matter most to them, they’ll check it out and the rest is history. Blogs that supply all necessary information are the most helpful tools in the world, at least from a fellow blogger’s perspective!

You might not believe me, but fashion experts are claiming that the next big trend to take over home furnishings is going to be corduroy! Lots of retro 60s and 70s styles have resurfaced in the fashion world, and corduroy is no exception. Levi announced early in 2010 that they were releasing an all-new, all-corduroy line of clothing. As I’ve mentioned before, home decorating trends follow clothing trends.

The trend will probably take off by the end of summer or early fall, so to get ahead of the crowd, start thinking about how you’ll incorporate corduroy into your home decor. Start small, such as covering a chair with a corduroy slipcover or adding throw pillows with corduroy pillow slips. Incorporate a thin strip of corduroy into your draperies, or cover a picture frame with corduroy fabric.

How do you prevent your corduroy from looking outdated? Buy the version available now rather than finding old corduroy furnishings at a flea market. Like every type of old fashion that comes back around, the new version is tweaked in some way to make it look modern and sleek. Also, bright colors will complement contemporary decor, such as corduroy in pure white or vibrant yellow. Good luck!

According to this article from the Chicago Tribune, 40 percent of home sellers in the Chicago area took a loss in March. That means that even though home sales increased because of the end of the home buyer tax credit, 40 percent of sellers still sold their houses for less than they paid for them. Nationally, 23.3 percent of single-family homeowners had mortgages underwater at the end of March, which means they owe more on their mortgages than what the house is worth.

With the continued decline of home values, it is not proposed that the real estate market will bottom out until the third quarter of this year, which was initially proposed to occur by the end of the second quarter. Then it will slowly improve from there.

What do you current home sellers and buyers have to say about this? Do you think the market will finally hit rock bottom later this year, do you think it’ll continue to decline or do you think an improvement is coming?

I know the housing market is difficult now, to say the least. Stick with me and my posts. I’ll offer you as many helpful tips as I can so that you can gain the most value from your sale or purchase as possible. And I’ll lend you support, which is what a community of bloggers with common interests is great for.

Builders, take note: Single women are buying more homes than ever. New home builders and home sellers will want to know about this demographic. Gone are the days of women just being passive spectators in a home purchase, so don’t ignore them. Smart, driven, professional females are in the market, and they don’t show signs of leaving, so be aware of how you’re marketing to them.

Here are the facts, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article: In contrast to 20 years ago, when single women accounted for 10% of home buyers (as did single men), in 2009, unwed women made up 21% of home buyers. In fact, single women have held the 20% mark for the last five years.

What’s changed that more single women are buying real estate? According to the article, some of these young, house-buying women make more money than their male peers, are looking to safeguard their net worth and often have thrifty mindsets. “‘Men are much more interested in consumption,’ said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the National Association of Realtors.”

To read the complete article, click here.

Fashion experts have named turquoise the shade of the new decade. So whether you’re shopping for clothes, furniture or bed sheets, chances are you’re going to notice shades of turquoise. As a lover of the bright blue hue that reminds me of the ocean or a cloudless summer day, I’m a huge fan of incorporating the newest trend into my décor!

That isn’t to say that you should cover every wall with turquoise wallpaper, every cabinet and countertop with turquoise paint and every floor with turquoise carpeting. Think of it more as an accent color that beautifully corresponds with neutral colors that you already display. Tans, grays, browns, whites and blacks all agree with turquoise. If you match it with light shades of beige or cream, turquoise creates a calm, tranquil atmosphere. Matched with dark grays or browns, turquoise will really pop and create a bold statement. There are also numerous hues of turquoise itself, such as a grayed version that looks sophisticated and historical, or a bright lagoon hue that is full of energy and vibrancy.

Turquoise also holds many different meanings around the world. In some cultures, turquoise is believed to be a protective lucky charm, while other cultures see it as a color of deep compassion, healing, faith or inspiration. You can choose what turquoise means to you and work from there. In the bedroom, it can bring balance, harmony and calmness. In the kitchen, it can bring energy and entertainment.

For wall colors, decorating experts recommend combining turquoise with warm, rich colors, such as olive, amber or coral, or with bright colors, such as light greens, bright yellows or cobalt blues. You can paint one wall a solid hue of turquoise, blend turquoise with other colors in a designer wall pattern, paint moldings turquoise, or even paint the ceiling turquoise, like the sky.

Aside from painting, accessorizing with turquoise offers endless possibilities! In the dining room, you could set the table with turquoise dishware, table settings, napkins or a flower vase. In the kitchen, find turquoise appliances, which are readily available right now, such as coffee pots and toasters. In any room, add patterned curtains, throw rugs, pillows, blankets or artwork that incorporate the color turquoise. Accessories can be added or replaced at any time, so get creative!

If you’ve already experimented with turquoise, the color for 2010, let us know what you’ve done with it!

Whether you’re staging your home to sell, hosting a dinner party or finding ways to spruce up your interior, one change you could make is to permanently set the table. Why store your clean dishes in a cabinet if you’ll be using them again in a few hours or the next morning? You’ll be far more apt to purchase stylish dinnerware if you get to show it off on a regular basis.

With that said, here is what’s cooking in the dinnerware industry. Though people still opt for style and elegance, they also steer toward convenience and affordability. People are eating at home more often because they have less disposable income. Therefore, the dishware market is shifting. Since 2008, quality casual dinnerware sales soared above fine china sales during bridal season, according to Home & Design magazine. This means that people no longer want two sets of dinnerware. They want one quality set that can be cleaned in the dishwasher!

If you’re looking to spruce up your table setting, instead of purchasing a whole new set of dishes, purchase a few new accessories, like a water pitcher or a patterned tray. Or, decorate the table with a patterned tablecloth, vibrant napkins in turquoise or gold, or placemats in bamboo or wicker. These inexpensive features add contemporary color and style without breaking the bank.

For culinary enthusiasts, food creations should be displayed on basic white dishes, which can look formal or casual, but show off food in the best light. Sur La Table’s Nangle, a dinnerware company, stated that white dinnerware has always been a best seller and now it’s even on the rise. Colored dishes and glasses are also in style, and plates now come in a multitude of shapes, such as squares or triangles. People like optimistic, bright colors and patterns right now, making trendy dishware full of possibilities.

To finish off the table setting, opt for a few small centerpieces instead of one large centerpiece. Large, focal centerpieces block views and have become outdated. A row of candles or small bouquets look much sleeker.

So next time you host a dinner party or stage your house for an open house, now you know that quality causal dinnerware with some vibrant colors thrown in will make your table look stylish and you look smart! Why wouldn’t you want to show off that kind of intelligence on a regular basis?

If you still think all kitchen and bathroom faucets turn on with a knob, think again. The faucet industry doesn’t even design faucets with knobs anymore. Now, faucets look futuristic, sleek and curvy.

For example, there is the single-hole lavatory faucet that displays two square handles and a smooth, enclosed disc cartridge that curves down from the handles and toward the sink bowl. Then there’s a lavatory faucet that displays a popup handle and a flat plate where the water flows from. Some of these faucets produce a rounded, more direct flow of water, whereas others produce a wide, flat waterfall of water. Aside from the actual faucet, some of the sinks that come with the faucets contain a bowl that rests above the countertop instead of inside of it.

According to the senior product manager of Kohler, the shift came from the shift of how people view water. Instead of homeowners viewing a sink as a place to wash dishes or teeth, they now see a sink as a source of water, which can be soothing and tranquil. The modern style of faucets displays sleek, smooth surfaces and curvy, sculpted shapes. The water flows with more elegance and calmness, offering a sense of peace and tranquility.

Don’t believe that a faucet could create all that? Take a look at these “modern and luxury faucets” from FaucetLine.com, Kohler and Signature Hardware, and decide for yourself.

Caught this recent article in The Globe & Mail, which brings out four key reasons for selling a home for sale by owner (fsbo).

Essentially, this piece shows that if you’re willing to invest in your own home sale—with your time, knowledge, availability for showings and creativity in marketing efforts—there’s no reason you can’t sell it for yourself.

I’d add that when you use a fsbo marketing company (such as BuyOwner.com), you arm yourself with even more resources and tools to sell without an agent.

Check out the complete article here!

Beyond its kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, living area, dining area and laundry, what specific spaces does your home feature?

• Maybe it has a lower level space that you call a multipurpose room, ideal for a rec room or a family room media room or for accommodating an office nook or workout area.
• Maybe it has an office/den off the foyer, where you’ve been keeping all your boxes while you prepare to move.
• Maybe it has a bonus guest room that you tell buyers could be used as a craft nook or a sitting area.

Here is what you need to do: SHOW IT TO SELL IT.

What do I mean by this? Simply put, you want to set up the spaces in your home to feature their potential. If a room could make a sitting room, set it up as one. If there’s a great nook for a computer area, use it as such.

Here’s a great example: Over at HGTV, you’ll see this bonus room has been turned into a showcase-worthy arts-and-crafts room, as lovely as one you’d see in a magazine.

Think a buyer will notice? You betcha.

So what rooms in your house can you show to sell?

Maybe