WE MOVED!

We just wanted to let everyone know that our new blog location is now established and running. We will no longer be posting to the “Blogger” site and all of our post will come from the main Coach House Accents website. Click the link below to be direct to the new blog location:

www.coachhouseaccents.com/blog

Thank you for being part of our community.

Sincerely,

The Coach House Accents Team

When Selling Your Home: Put the Best Photo Forward

We've concentrated our curb appeal message to this point on what to do to your house to improve its curb appeal. Today's post is about how to best show your house to make it standout against others on the market.  Understanding that we live in a digital world where a buyer can sit at a computer all day looking at homes online how can you make your house the house he or she tours?  We learn one idea from Melissa Dittmann Tracey in an article she wrote for REALTOR® Magazine titled Put the Best Photo Forward: Rethinking That Winter MLS Photo.  Considering winter is fast approaching this topic seems very timely.

Is this really putting your best photo forward?

That main photo you post of your listing on the Internet–you know, the one that always pops up first and often depends if a buyer will click on it to see more–needs to make a great first impression. But in winter, will that exterior property photo really look inviting under gray skies and snowy mounds?

Some experts will argue that you want your main MLS photo to be seasonally appropriate. If it’s fall, you want the exterior photo of the home to reflect fall. If it’s winter, you don’t want a summer photo because buyers will know it’s a stale listing that has been sitting on the market.

But at a time when more properties are sitting on the market for longer periods of time, will buyers overlook the seasonal disconnect?

I decided to break the “rule” when I sold my row home last year. It was January in Chicago–cold, snowy, gray, and bare trees. When my real estate agent said she wanted to take a photo of the exterior, I was hesitant because the home as covered in snow. So I asked her to reconsider using a photo I had taken from the summer, showing the exterior of the home with flowers and landscaping, all cast under a bright blue summer sky.

Other row homes on my block that were also for sale had a seasonally appropriate wintery photo on the MLS. Ours stood out in the mix. We were flooded with showings, and the home sold in a month.

While I hardly credit that main MLS summer photo for selling the home so quickly in winter, I do believe that photo–along with others–helped to generate a more competitive first impression on the Internet that got more buyers in the door. (My real estate agent also used a professional photographer to capture the interior, and we mixed in more exterior photos taken from the summer of the home’s backyard and the neighborhood’s courtyard to have several photos available for viewing online.)

Designer Michelle Molinari, founder of Curb Appeal Concepts and co-owner of Feature This.., a design and staging company, says you want to put your best shot forward on that main MLS photo and if that means using a spring or summer photo during the winter months, do it. After all, she says, when buyers show up on the doorstep, they’ll see the home in the winter–so show them what it looks like during the spring and when the landscaping is in full bloom.

“I really think it does a great injustice using a photo from the winter when buyers can’t see what you’re selling,” Molinari says. “Every shot they see on the MLS may be a snowy photo, and it all starts to look the same. Then if there’s a house that actually shows the house in spring conditions–which one do you think looks better?” Many home owners likely have photos of the exterior of their home or the neighborhood taken from better days, if the listing is a new one.

(You can read some of Molinari’s ideas for generating curb appeal at anytime of year in this month’s REALTOR® Magazine or online: 3 Ways to Get Instant No-Cost Curb Appeal.)

Show off your DIY Projects!

As I was looking for new and creative DIY projects I came across a great website that is focused on the home owner and DIY projects. It is a source for ideas, directions and a gallery of completed projects by Do- it- Your- Self minded people.

The site is from True Value Hardware so many of the items you may need for your projects can be purchased from the local hardware store close by. I wanted to pass along the site information to all of you.

 Let us know next week what projects you may have been inspired to kick off.

 Enjoy and have a great weekend!



Just go to the link below to get started!

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/

Check out this Garage Door Project before and after! WOW



National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Take it Seriously

I mentioned previously that we will sometimes go off topic and today’s All Things Women post is off topic.  October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month dedicated to increasing awareness of the importance of early breast cancer detection.  Unless you live in a cave you are already aware of this and have participated in or are planning to participate in some type of activity supporting this cause.  Thank you.

I wanted to take just a moment of your time to provide a brief glimpse into the family impact resulting from breast cancer.  I do this in memory of my mother and in honor of my wife. 

My wife Rita was diagnosed with breast cancer when our daughter was very

young.  We did all that we could to keep her shielded yet informed of what was happening to her mom.  We thought she was too young to fully understand what was truly taking place.  As we told the kids what was to come our daughter immediately asked “Mommy, since you have the cancer will I get it too?”  What a shock those words were to us.  We will never forget the destroyed expression on her little face.  We had no idea all the information that she had absorbed.  We also were not prepared to answer a question that is “yes.”  Over the next several days and weeks my wife worked out how to best tell our daughter about cancer, what it is, how it grows and how a person comes to have cancer. And that yes, she has a greater possibility of having this disease as a result of her family history.  To this day, as a result of those conversations my wife and daughter share an uncommonly close communication about nearly everything but especially health issues.

Take the time to educate yourself about your own breast health and how to help and serve others who are working through it.  The following are several resources you can reach out to for more information:

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month:          www.nbcam.org

Susan G. Komen for the Cure:                               www.komen.org

West Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen:        www.komenwestmichigan.org

Gilda’s Club:                                                          www.gildasclub.org

American Cancer Society:                                      www.cancer.org

Breast Cancer Support and Community:                www.breastcancer.org

The Breast Cancer Resource Center:                     www.bcrc.org

National cancer Institute:                                      www.cancer.gov

Breast Cancer Support:                                          www.bcsupport.org

                                               

What side of your house are you paying more attention to?

As my wife and I are in the market to purchase our first house, we have taken into account the curb appeal and how we would want to dress up the outside of a potential home for future resale value. We both enjoy being outside and have always wanted some sort of water feature in our backyard that we can relax by, however I realize the most important aspect when looking should be on the other side of the house. An article I found from curbappeals.com basically talked directly to us about what we wanted to do with our new home versus what we should actually do not only for better curb appeal but also for resale value down the road.

Project 1: Curb Appeal

FIRST IMPRESSIONS, AS anyone in the dating game will tell you, are key. So before you start designing that luxurious backyard koi pond, get the front of your house in order: mowing, weeding, trimming shrubs, putting in fresh sod if you need to. If you have a budget, it’s important to focus your landscaping around key areas. Something that’s going to be viewed a lot — like the front of the house.

When the no-brainers are done, you can start getting serious. The hot trend at the moment: beautiful pathways, made of brick or concrete pavers, winding from the street to the front door. You have to eliminate the ‘garage walk,’ or that 3-foot-wide path that routes visitors from the garage to the front door. Make the path slightly staggered or curved to give it some character. Place a wooden “pergola,” or archway, over the path to define an entranceway; one can be purchased at a home-improvement store for a few hundred dollars. Flank the path with Mediterranean-style pots featuring flowering container plants.

Next, add some light. Low-wattage ground lighting to sandwich the path is fairly easy to install and will boost the effect immeasurably in the evening hours (do-it-yourself kits are available from around $100). For showstopper trees, add one higher-wattage lamp beneath. It gives the whole front yard a soft glow.

Redoing the front of your home can have spectacular effects. But for landscaping to be a real asset to your house it has to have enough time to grow into something special.

Low-maintenance plant material is best. Buyers want the yard to look great, but they don’t want it to be labor-intensive. Otherwise, you may turn off buyers — particularly downsizers. Also keep in mind that trees and shrubs are going to grow by leaps and bounds, so you want to give them the space to do it. The biggest single mistake people make is overplanting, crowding two majestic oaks within 10 feet of each other. Plants grow. If you want instant impact, be prepared to have maintenance problems in a few years.

Since it is our first home we are in the market for, we are looking for some sort of fixer upper that we can improve the value and potentially make money on the house down the road. In going several open houses we have now switched gears from looking at what we could do to the back of the house to how we could improve the curb appeal for a nicer look. Depending on which house we end up purchasing this article will be something that we will look back on as a refresher on what we could do and also to help us stay focus with our goal of generating more curb appeal and enhancing the value of our home.

Source:

http://curbappeals.com/?page_id=6

Lawn Thatching and Life's Little Lessons

DIY Friday is probably an odd spot to do our first product review; however, considering the emphasis on lawn appearance and maintenance from our previous curb appeal post it seems appropriate. 

The fall season brings colorful leaves, pumpkin carving, pruning plants back for the winter and lawn thatching.  I don’t know about you but I hate this back breaking, time consuming, immensely tedious job so I’m always looking for ways to make this easier.  Granted I typically hire this out but considering we are promoting DIY I decided to do this myself this year.  Big mistake.

I visited my local big box hardware store looking for mechanical solutions that I could afford of which there were several.  I settled on a product that replaces the blade on your lawn mower called the Arnold Power Rake™.  In fact I went with Deluxe Universal Fit Dethatching Blade which claims to dethatch and bag.  My God, this was the answer to my prayers.  An all-in-one tool to make my life simpler, save me some money and keep the lawn looking great what more could I ask.  If only.

Before I go any further, let me state emphatically that I EVEN READ THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING.  I didn’t feel less manly doing this but I did close the garage door so my neighbors wouldn’t see.

I replaced my lawn mower blade easy enough.  I adjusted the blade to the height recommended by the manufacturer “To dethatch, adjust the mower height so the nylon lines are approximately ¼ inch above the soil. (Use your mower’s bagging feature for easy cleanup as you work.)”  Then I went to work on the lawn.  I should have written, did a job on my lawn.  The first pass absolutely shredded my lawn with virtually nothing left but dirt.  And it didn’t bag.  So I did what any sane person would do I blamed myself and raised the height 1 notch roughly ½ an inch.  Started my second pass…same results including not bagging.  Still my fault I thought let’s try again…same result.  I was looking at my shaved lawn with huge clumps of shredded grass and thought to myself…this sucks! 

The next day I was out breaking my back while my wife laughed her butt off which I acknowledge was thoroughly deserved. 

Here are the simple lessons from my misadventure:

1.       Don’t use the Arnold Power Rake, it doesn’t work.

2.       You get what you pay for.

3.       There is no substitute for hard work.

4.       A penny saved is a penny earned.

5.       Eat your broccoli.

Yes Dad I was listening.

Enjoy your weekend.

The Garage: Man Cave or not it needs a women’s touch!

The past week it was apparent that something in the garage had to give. With the recent move still a part of the garage and STUFF scattered throughout it was time for my wife and a detailed plan to be put into action; an action involving all the men in the house to clean and organize.

I found the following plan at www.doityourself.com  website which was a great guide to planning and attacking the garage. So I decided to share it.

Get Your Garage Organized

by Murray Anderson

Garages are like Rodney Dangerfield, they just don't get any respect. Got some old sports equipment – into the garage, leftover paint, into the garage, same for power tools , garden equipment and virtually everything else that doesn't have a defined space inside the house. Before you know it, your garage is a disorganized collection of 'stuff' and there is no place to park your vehicle or use a workbench. Getting your garage organized may seem like a monumental task, but in truth, if you approach the job in small steps getting it organized is an achievable goal.

Keep it or dump it

• Probably the hardest thing to do when getting your garage organized is making deciding what to do with a lot of the 'stuff' in there. Many things end up in the garage, because there is no space for them in the house, but you might want to use them – sometime. You need to make some realistic decisions about things like those old golf clubs you haven't used for four years.

• Organize the things in your garage into a couple of groups – things you will keep and things you can dump. However, before just throwing things away, think about whether they can be donated or perhaps you could have a garage sale and pick up a few dollars.

Categorize the things you're keeping

• Once you know what you're keeping, sort it into categories that make sense to you such as power tools, sports equipment, yard tools and yard furniture.

Organize your things by season or function

• Create a work space /work bench so you'll have space to work on your projects.
• Allocate the storage space in your garage by season or function so you'll know where to find everything and won't need to hunt around the entire garage looking for the kid's basketball when the weather warms up, just don't forget to leave enough space so you can get your vehicle inside.

Decide how you are going to store your things

• When it comes to garage storage options you have all kinds of choices. At minimal cost you can build open shelves from wood by yourself, and simply install nails or hangers into the garage framing to keep tools up off the ground. Alternatively, storage cabinets available from home stores do a great job of storing things out of sight while protecting them from moisture and dust or open wire shelving can help store your gear in plain sight and easy reach without creating a dirt collection area.   
• It's best to use multipurpose storage solutions rather than single function solutions so your newly organized garage can evolve over the years as your storage requirements change. For example once the kids leave home will you really need that bike storage rack or would ceiling hooks be a good place to store bikes when needed, but also provide a way to hang a canoe or some skis later on?

Murray Anderson is a veteran freelancer whose work has been appeared in books, newspapers and newsletters as well as on numerous web sites in both the United States and Canada. He writes on a wide range of topics including home, consumer, and personal subjects as well as general business and Marketing specific topics.

  Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/get-garage-organized#ixzz1Z57adPBX

Most of us guys know that the women in our lives are much more organized and efficient at projects such as organizing the garage and could have wrote an article just like the one reposted here. Take that quality and experience into any project that involves organization and better use of the space we have in our homes. The new wall shelves, shoe storage cubes and bench area made a huge difference and all had a women’ touch to them.

Improving Curb Appeal through Landscape

As we discuss the different aspects of curb appeal, generally the focus is on the house and the accents that can be added to boost the value and appearance of your home. Landscaping is an important feature that shouldn’t be overlooked when evaluating the appeal. An article posted on HouseLogic.com by Pat Curry discusses several areas of the landscaping design and elements that can contribute to an improved curb appeal and value. Several categories should be focused on when beginning to landscape your home, remember a poorly maintained landscape can be as much as a 5 to 10% deduction in home value.

1.       Green up the grass - If your house has a front yard, make sure it's neat and green. You don't want bare spots, sprawling weeds, or an untrimmed appearance. Weather it is just going to your local hardware store and fertilizing the yard every six weeks or maybe you need to invent in some sod if you have a scruffy lawn, doing your own labor can be another alternative that is not too costly. Depending on the area in which you live, turf grass is becoming more popular due to its low maintenance and durable materials.

2.       Add colorful planting beds-Flower beds add color and help enliven otherwise plain areas, such as along driveways and the edges of walkways. In general, annual flowers are a bit cheaper but must be replaced every year. Perennials cost a bit more but come back annually and usually get larger or spread with each growing season. If you're not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they'll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area.



3.       Add landscape lighting- For homeowners who have made a sizeable investment in landscaping, it makes sense to think about adding another 10% to 15% to the bill for professional lighting. Those looking to purchase a home do not always look in the middle of the day, once it reaches dusk having some lights can really help with the homes appeal. The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you're doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs.

4.       Plant a tree- The value of mature trees is particularly difficult to determine. In a relatively average market, mature trees contribute as much as 10% of a $100,000 property's overall value. In addition, a properly placed shade tree can shave as much as $32 a year on your energy bills. Expect to pay $50 to $100 for a young, 6- to 7-foot deciduous tree. You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property's trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator (http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/index.cfm). For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, Ga., would add $70 to the property value this year, according to the calculator.

These are just four key areas to give some extra attention to when evaluating the curb appeal of your home and determining what aspects to invest in. Keep in mind the importance of curb appeal and when a potential home buyer sees your house, this will be the first impression and may even determine if they end up calling a realtor for a look inside.

Source
http://www.kingsmillrealestate.com/articles/?article=19

Glass Bottle Sculpture

With the summer finally over and the cooler weather rapidly upon us, I find the outside of my house losing some of its curb appeal due to the flowers dying off and the leaves on the trees beginning to fall. My wife and I were away on our honeymoon to come back to our house that seemed so dull and lacked the color that was previously there due to bare flower pots lining the front of our entry way. As we looked at different products or ideas to increase the curb appeal and bring back the color, we came across a simple and rather cheap DIY project. Not only could this project be done in a short time frame but we already had half of the materials which would cut the cost even more. Rather than storing the flower pots away in the garage, we kept the leaves and soil in them and began to collect glass bottles for our new plant sculptures!

Materials Needed for Project:

·       Colorful Glass Bottles

·       Bamboo Stakes

Step-By-Step:

1.    Collect colorful bottles and peel off the labels. If there is residue on the bottles from the labels, use Goo Gone to remove any remaining sticky adhesive. Thoroughly wash the outside and inside of the bottles with warm soap and water.

2.    Place the bamboo stakes in the flower pots or beds however you want them configured to appeal to your liking. (Remember to put the stakes far enough in the ground to hold up the glass bottles.)

3.    Carefully, place the glass bottles upside down on the bamboo stakes.

Within no time you have transformed your dull and empty flower pots into a new work of art. The color will help boost the curb appeal and make your home stand out from the rest as they lose the flowers that once lined the front of their home. Have fun with this and try different color bottles or use all the same color; the options with this project are endless!

Source

http://www.diyideas.com/quickprojects/Outdoors/outdoorprojects_ss3.html

Curb Appeal Idea Source – SkyMall??

I have been flying both domestic and international flights for the better part of 30 years.  Throughout that time (or at least for a large part of it) a constant companion has been the in-flight catalog SkYMall®.  I have probably flipped through the SkYMall catalog a thousand times or more over the years with some sense of comprehension for what it provides.  Unique and interesting products and gifts not readily available through traditional sales channels, more or less.  I have always thought the products promoted were interesting; however, I never categorized them myself into market segments other than unique and interesting.  Since my move into marketing for Coach House Accents™ I’m now forced to look at product sources such as SkYMall with a more discerning eye.

The Outdoor Living section of SkYMall has many unique and affordable ideas that will enhance the curb appeal of your home.  Address plaques, mailboxes, privacy screens and planters are just a few available that add real appeal to a home.  And yes, you can find items for your garage here as well (call this a minor plug).

The most interesting product I ran across is the Woven Self-watering Planter.  I like these for two reasons:

1.       Flowers properly placed on your porch, porch steps and in front of you garage add a great deal to the initial impression your home makes on a prospective buyer (or your neighbor).

2.       Maintaining flowers is time consuming especially if both you and your spouse work.

This is how these planters are described on SkyMall:

Self-watering planter takes the effort out of growing beautiful, healthy plants.

Our Woven Self-watering Planter does so much more than just look good in your outdoor setting. This smart outdoor planter makes it easy for you to grow beautiful, healthy plants all season long.

·         Hidden reservoir holds water until your plants need it

·         Properly waters plants for up to 12 weeks

·         Sub-irrigation system controls moisture balance and prevents waterlog

·         All-weather wicker is UV-resistant

·         Removable liner makes seasonal plant changes quick and easy

·         Attached water meter indicates when it's time to refill  

To view more ideas for your home visit www.skymall.com click on the Outdoor Living tab.

Remember to listen to our interview with the Cajun Contractor on Home Talk USA on October 29^th at 10:00am central time.  Live streaming at www.hometalkusa.com

DIY: Go ahead and ask for ideas; it all about the conversation!

I wanted to highlight a conversation I had with Linde who contacted me through our face book page. The key to this exchange is not my ideas or what comes from them but rather it is about reaching out to a community to see what might be possible to improve the curb appeal of my home.

From Linde:  Tim. Thank you for calling me, I was helping a client.  I have attached a photo of my home.  I have recently put on new roof, gutters shutters and lighting, as well as painted the lower part a taupe. The accents are in a dark bronze (lamps, and gutters) I have no idea how to paint or what to do with it to add some pizzazz.  I noticed the window enhancements you offer are for other style garage doors where the windows are higher.  What Ideas do you have for making the house pop with some character?  I don’t like the big lamp above the front door it looks pretty plain.  Also the front screen door, not sure what color to paint it as well.    

From Tim:  Linde,

Here are our thoughts based on what we see regarding curb appeal ideas.

1. The large evergreen is overpowering for the house and draws away from other key elements like the trim, etc. Would you consider replacing that and putting in an area with lower profile, hearty plants?

2. You have 2 colors that stand out with contrast; the front door which looks like a maroon in the photo and the beige paint you have around it.

Both stand out and provide great contrast but.....

3. The balance of the trim is black and also provides a contrast but is not in harmony from our take with the front door area.

4. We would love to see you paint the shutters in a beige color as you did the front door area. Contrast but softens the lines of the home.

5. Continue with a brass or bronze theme with all of your trim pieces for lighting. (Picks up the earth tones in the brick you have and great contrast with white.

6. Your garage door if open to replacement would look great in a Clopay long panel Gallery series door with insulation. (I know Lincoln has got to be cold for a few months). Use their Sandstone color and match your shudders, etc with that color.

7. I noticed you have blinds in the garage door so how important is light to you in the garage door? You could use our overlays on the gallery door top panel if light is not an issue but curb appeal is.

8. Top off the look of the garage door with our Bronze signature set of hardware to finish the look.

I really had a gut feeling that the front door color would look great on your shutters and pewter finish on lighting fixtures would tie in great to your roof and gutter system that are black. Might be a bit bold but I offer it up as an idea. If you prefer that idea go with a white door and our pewter finish on decorative hardware for the garage.

I have included some close up images of Bronze and Pewter in our offerings so you can shop for products with true metal finish qualities as you move forward with your proj

What ever you decide to complete be comfortable with how you view your home when you pull in everyday.

Let us know what you decide and on behalf of the Coach House Accents team we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of your curb appeal improvement process.

Best Regards,

Tim

From Linds:  Tim, I have not yet read your email through, but just to tell you thank you for all the research upfront!  Wow.  Clarify that the trim, shutters and gutters are in a deep espresso brown, and does look like that more so than black.  The lower house color is a very complimentary taupe and

The roof color is the mix of the two.  Does that help clarify?  

I want to thank Linde for letting me post our dialogue on today’s blog as an example of how ideas and eventually DIY projects get done with the outcome we truly love. What suggestions might you have to share? I look forward to seeing the progress Linde makes on here great home.

DIY Resources for Women

Tim, Scott and I now have over a month into our blog which we sincerely hope you are enjoying.  Of the 18 or so posts we’ve completed this post will make the 7^th that is meant to assist women in completing do-it-yourself projects around the home.  (Authors note:  We will from time to time deviate off the DIY theme to cover women’s issues that are either timely or where providing another avenue to get the message out simply makes sense.  An example of which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month coming in October.)  What I have found in researching this topic is the general lack of specific resources or the many attempts of advertisers to hijack the topic to direct women to another product.  Not good.  In today’s post I will provide a simple list of resources including websites, blogs and forums that women can use to:

·         Get specific information for completing a project.

·         Get general tips to become more familiar with home repair projects.

·         Converse with other like minded DIY practitioners.

This is not meant to be an all inclusive discourse on the subject but more a simple starting point list from which you, the reader, can expand upon.

www.DIYHipChicks.com

www.Planitdiy.com

www.Homefixated.com

www.Barbarak.com

www.Prettyhandygirl.com

www.Hgtv.com

www.Diynetwork.com

www.Diychatroom.com

www.Doityourself.com/forum

www.Houserepairtalk.com

You can also listen to the live stream the Cajun Contractor at www.hometalkusa.com

Full Disclosure:  Coach House Accents is a vendor partner for the NHRA which runs the Planitdiy website.  We are also scheduled to b e interviewed live on October 29^th at 10:00 by the Cajun Contractor.   All other website are sources that we have used in developing our blog posts.

Remember, our topic schedule is:

·         Monday:          Curb Appeal

·         Wednesday:    All Things Women

·         Friday:             DIY

If there is a specific topic you would like to see us report on please let us know.

Thanks