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Home Projects – New Front Door
There are many home projects you can do that will increase the resale value of your home. One with a big impact is your front door and entry. The first impression you create to a potential buyer will flavor their whole perception of your home. That's why "curb appeal" is so often mentioned as a factor in valuing a home.
Well, our home's "curb appeal" got a boost when we replaced our front door. The old door wasn't bad, but the single-pane, clear sidelights were dated and not energy efficient. And, there wasn't a proper threshold at the bottom, letting cold winter air in. Oh, and the paint was peeling off!
So, off we went to Frank Lumber in Shoreline. They have a huge selection of doors and accessories. We choose a new door, gave them our measurements and placed the order. These guys are pros so when they give you advice, take it!
We chose to stain and finish the door ourselves – wouldn't recommend it. The process took way longer than we thought it would and, not having a lot (or any) experience, we ended up with some trial and error redos. But, it turned out looking great. We had a contractor friend do the heavy work of replacement. Word of wisdom here: unless you are really handy, hire a pro. You will spend a lot more time and potentially a lot more money doing it yourself unless you are experienced.
After having the door installed, we finished the trim on the outside and inside. Now we have a nice, new entrance to our house that's weatherproof. Definitely an improvement to the value of our house.
Next on the agenda is to take out the tile and add a new deck/front porch. Still in the design phase…..
How does an irrigation system work?
Here's a very nice explanation of how an irrigation system works from Rainbird. Who needs an irrigation system in the rainy Northwest, you might say? Pretty much anyone who wants a green lawn and non-stressed plants at the end of September – unless you're really into dragging hoses and sprinklers around your yard. Did you know the average rainfall for Seattle is only about 3" for July through September? Hardly makes up for the other nine months, but we'll take what we can get.
If you can smell it…..
As most Americans do, we recently took a family vacation. It wasn’t a long trip – just enough to make it feel good to be home again. As we opened the door and entered our house after our absence, we were struck by that familiar scent of “home.” Every house has one, you just get immune to it since it surrounds you every day. It’s that prolonged absence that lets you really notice it again.
Of course, you can smell someone else’s “home smell” as soon as you enter their house, too. And that can create a problem when trying to sell a house. Odors make huge impressions on people, as evidenced by an entire industry developed around using scent to affect shoppers’ moods and actions.
One of Barb Schwarz’s (one of the first “Stagers”) sayings is: if you can smell it, we can’t sell it. Of course, this refers to what most people would consider bad odors created by pets, mildew, etc. But it can also be an odor that you don’t even notice – either you’re desensitized to it or it just doesn’t bother you. What is offensive to one person may not be to another. However, as in all aspects of staging a home for sale, one must try to appeal to the majority of people. And that means having only nice scents in your home.
You’ve no doubt been to an open house before where the agent has baked cookies or put a pot of water on the range with cinnamons sticks in it to fill the house with yummy scents? Yes, they are trying to create a good scent impression.
There are simple things you can do to ensure that the first thought a potential buyer has when entering your home is not, "Ew, what's that smell!" First impressions encompass all our senses, including the nose. So don't let your errant "home smell" keep you from selling your house.
Ask your real estate agent to let you know if you need to deal with any odor issues before you list your home. Then you'll be you'll get more "ahs" than "ews".
