Before purchasing a car, many consumers like to give it a test drive to make sure the vehicle is the right fit for them. Likewise, some house hunters are asking for a “test stay” at a home before signing the sale contract. While that’s not always possible, Tim McMullen, a sales associate with Kinoko in San Francisco’s luxury market, recently offered some tips in a realtor.com® article to accommodate as much of your buyers’ request as p
From shiny kitchen cabinets to wooden ceiling beams, several home design trends aim to liven up neutral interiors in the new year. Home remodeling website Houzz recently asked designers to chime in about what design trends they expect to grow more popular over the next few months. Here are a few trends they flagged.High-gloss kitchen cabinetry. Flat-panel cabinets with a high-gloss finish are gaining popularity, Kimmie Rokahr, a designer wit
When it comes to selling a home, the small tweaks can sometimes make the largest difference. From the tile grout to the smells, Apartment Therapy recently asked real estate pros to chime in with the easy-to-overlook attributes of a home that could increase a home’s value.The often overlooked areas that can make some of the biggest difference include:Clean surfaces and crevicesTake note of those baseboards and tile grout because the cleaner they
The lights are the jewelry of a space. Swap out light fixtures to instantly update the style of a kitchen, designers say. Houzz recently featured an article offering tips on how to choose kitchen lighting. Among its insights:Layer the lights. “Light layering involves creating different shades of light, playing with shadows and using colors to highlight a room’s best features,” interior design writer Georgia Madden notes. “In the kitc
Cookie-cutter homes and apartments can look too similar to their competition, making it harder for them to stand out. But developers and designers are finding some ways that can make an abode different from the rest.“Everybody’s looking at what everybody else is doing,” Jonathan Miller, the president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants, told The New York Times. An apartment can be “really nice and spec
Some real estate pros are prepping their “spooktacular”-themed open houses to attract potential buyers this month. Here are a few tips if you decide to follow the Halloween vibe:Don’t go all “goth” when decorating: Keep the themed decor simple and especially tasteful. No tombstones and graveyards or skeletons on the front stoop to frighten buyers away. April Struhs, a real estate pro with Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Esta
Nothing ruins a bathroom like a bad hue, and the gray trend may be one of the worst offenders, designers say.“Bathrooms tend to be enclosed spaces, so greige-y muddy colors can make the space feel smaller and dingy,” Ariel Okin, an interior designer in New York City, told Apartment Therapy. “Lighter colors like bright crisp whites, powder blues, and spring greens always play really well in a bathroom, as do moodier shades such as inky navy
Homeowners can do plenty to spruce up their home and make it more enticing for buyers. But when they're narrowing their list, what are a few quick fixes that can have a big impact? Besides a fresh coat of paint, Redfin highlighted some additional ideas on its blog, including:Update the door.A new front door can be a cost-effective update that can make a big difference, real estate pros say. “Solid wood doors are always a classic style
The living room—that main gathering spot in a home—is a critical part in your showings. Home stagers recently chimed in at Apartment Therapy with their favorite tips for creating a better-staged living room.One of their biggest pieces of advice centered on the tendency to cram too much furniture into one space. Ensure the living room has proper flow with sizable walkways among furnishings. Nathan Thompson with Pavilion Broadway, a luxury inte
A master bedroom is meant to be a peaceful place to relax and recharge. That’s why designers say a lot of attention needs to go into its look: to make sure it fulfills that purpose. Design experts also say an uninviting master retreat could negatively affect resale value, so there’s more at stake in the bedroom design than a night of restful sleep.“One thing to keep in mind is that form follows function, meaning the visual appearance of you
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