Emmanuel Fonte | Music | Art | Leadership
If music be the food of love, play on. Emmanuel Fonte website is about music, art, real estate, architecture, design and decor. Occasionally, I talk about my other passion, hockey.
There may be no two people who agree on the best way to load the dishwasher other than Mom and her favorite child, but it’s time to put that argument to rest with this helpful video from CHOW that shows exactly how it should be done and why.
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Don’t go calling the Ghost Hunters folks just yet if you’re hearing strange noises around your house. There’s probably an earthly reason for what’s going bump in the night. In fact, sometimes the noises in a house are a warning to prevent something really scary from happening — like a backed-up sewer line. But it’s all about knowing what you’re hearing and who can help. If you’re hearing any of these sounds, it might be time to call a specialist.
GlassTileStore.com and www.nkba.org reveal the year’s trends in kitchen and bathroom design. The pretty pastel infographic has sections showing which color schemes, surface preference, counter surface material, and style preference decreased and increased among homeowners in recent years. There is also a feature on the how much the average homeowner spent or spends for remodeling in the years 2010 to 2013. Readers can also learn about this year’s trends in kitchen and bathroom renovating projects, including which cabinet finish, backsplash tiles, lighting, faucets and their finishes, flooring, and lavatory sink, are generally favored.
A shower is one of the first things you notice when you step into a bathroom, so make sure your enclosure not only matches your style but also accentuates your bathroom.
We’ve all seen or lived in a home with the ever-so-famous enclosure framed in polished brass, but there are tons of other options with which to surround your shower. Whether you go for framed or frameless, or with no enclosure at all, choose your style wisely.
The energy efficiency of homes is often measure using the Home Energy Rating Score (HERS Index), a measure of a home’s relative energy use that spans from 0-150.
Today’s clever kitchen designers have storage solutions to fill every nook and cranny in all sorts of kitchens. These handy helpers can help you take advantage of every square inch.
When you’re grappling with backsplash material decisions, consider something that can help you snag some extra storage, too. This stunning kitchen has a secret that amps up the storage possibilities without taking away from its clean look.
The new Wemo Light Switch is another great device by Belkin, it allows you to turn lights on and off from any place in the world. All you need to do is replace your existing light switch with the WiFi-enabled Wemo and you can control your lights remotely via the free app on your smartphone or tablet. You can customize schedules like turning on your porch light after dark, or program your lights to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise. Works with both Android and iOS. watch the video below
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No detail is too small for a home buyer. And while you’re making sure the kitchen counters are decluttered and sparkling clean, you might want to take a closer look in the fridge too, particularly if it’s staying with the house. The buyer likely will be. And what will they see when they open the doors?
Over-stuffed, sticky shelves? Expired veggies that are growing a friend? Vile smells?
The contents of a seller’s fridge may say a lot about a home owner. It may even have the potential to leave a potential buyer with a negative impression.
The New York Times recently devoted an entire article to a place often overlooked in real estate showings: The fridge.
When writer Richard Samson with The New York Times was getting ready to sell his apartment, he suddenly became alarmed at the contents of his refrigerator. “From the perspective of the nervous buyer, I realized that my freezer contents alone had the potential to terrify and repel: vodka; century-old, virtually empty ice cream containers; more vodka, and then those mysterious foil-wrapped parcels of who-knows-what.”
Samson realized he needed to clean up his ways. When prospective buyers opened his refrigerator, he wanted to send a sophisticated vibe: He filled his fridge with freshly squeezed orange juice; 9-ounce glass bottles of Ronnybrook milk; bright red watermelon chunks; black olive Tapenade; and two bottles of champagne strategically placed on the bottom shelf.
OK, but there’s limit to just how far he would go. He realized that when contemplating buying burrata for $8 for a small container. “There’s a fine line between appearing cosmopolitan and actually looking like a fool,” Samson wrote. “Besides, I can’t risk buyers’ thinking I have money to burn on mozzarella, unless I’m prepared to attract an array of low-ball bids.”
What’s inside your sellers’ refrigerator? Do your sellers need a fridge intervention? Ask them for a drink and then sneak a peek!
It may be a good time to remind your sellers that if the refrigerator is staying with the house, buyers often will take a look inside, and impressions count. Encourage them to clean out their refrigerator. Toss out the expireds and those items that may have been hiding in the back. Clean off the shelves so they sparkle. And possibly even add a few touches, like a bowl filled with colorful fruit or gourmet mustards and condiments. After all, presentation is everything, even inside the refrigerator.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR(R) Magazine
