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6 Sneaky Ways to Make Your Home Look Expensive

November 12, 2015

Want your place to look like those home design website images you drool over? Of course you do! Problem is, your budget may not match your design aspirations. Fear not! Making your home look high-end isn’t always about spending tons of cash.


It’s a matter of taking the time and care to arrange things in an eye-pleasing way—and making small, inexpensive updates that have a big impact. In other words, it’s about being sneaky.


Here are a few tricks to pull if you want to add the illusion of luxury.
1. Declutter
Nothing says “this home ain’t worth much” like tons of disjointed knickknacks, piles of books, and other miscellaneous items that should be tossed or stored.

No, you don’t need to go full Marie Kondo, but going through your rooms and getting rid of anything that doesn’t mesh with your personal style is a great first step toward transforming your home from average to exceptional.

Walk through each room of your home and edit items. Make some tough decisions. Sure, you love your grandma’s vintage Chinese vase, but does it really jibe with your West Elm look? It might be time to store it or let it live in another room with similar family heirlooms.

Next step: Tackle any stuff that piles up—toys (if you have kids), shoes by the door, mail on the dining table. At the very least, find places for your stuff to live in a more organized way; an upgraded closet with beautifully sorted nooks and crannies looks luxurious. (Pro tip: We love Pottery Barn’s build-your-own pieces.)

2. Eliminate grunge
You may not have time for intensive cleaning on a weekly basis, but a once- or twice-yearly deep clean is an easy way to make your home look far more luxurious. After all, you rarely see a mansion with dirty baseboards.

Go through your home and search for overlooked areas that have become dirty and downright gross. You’ll want to pay special attention to the grouting, says designer Young Huh.

“Having old tile cleaned and regrouted makes a huge difference in having your bathroom look sparkly and fresh,” she says. Best of all: The process is simple and inexpensive.

Get sparkly new floors–minus the refinishing. Try steam cleaning wood floors for an immediate lift to the finish.

3. Add—or rearrange—lighting
Designers use lighting to define spaces and separate rooms, making a small space grand.

Think of your living room—where you might have a reading nook, sofas and chairs for company, and a television. Visually differentiate among the areas by using different kinds of lighting: Add a table lamp beside your cozy reading chair and sconces behind your couch for conversation. Consider a dimmer for overhead lights. Architects and lighting designers swear by them. Installing is a relatively simple DIY.

Bonus cheapskate tip: Use warm-colored lightbulbs, Huh says. Cool tones are a “sure-fire way to make your home look down-market,” she says. Daylight bulbs work best for reading nooks.
4. Upgrade your hardware
Don’t have a kitchen renovation in the budget? You can get a similar effect for much less by swapping out old, dated hardware for new.

Tired of your brushed-steel drawer pulls? Try gold, bronze, or even crystal—or make an adventure of it and scour your local thrift store for vintage hardware that screams your style.

It’s not hard to find attractive options in any decor style for next to nothing (a drawer pull, for instance, might start at just $3 or less). For hard-to-find designs, search etsy.

Changing the countertop and faucets is another change that can make your home look much pricier, Huh says. If you have the budget, exchange your dated sink accessories for something fresh that matches your brand-new hardware.

5. Repaint
There’s no simpler way to make an old home feel new than painting.

“This is the most important part,” Huh says. “Repaint and choose beautiful colors for an instant makeover.”

You can’t go wrong with classy neutrals. Minimalists might love a bright white combined with a bold accent wall; DIY decorators might enjoy a tasteful, sandy tan tone, which pairs well with any number of woods.

Paint isn’t just for your walls: Add some color to your front door, window trims, or even the floor, if you’re brave (hardwood can look amazing when painted white).
6. Focus on the devil in the (decor) details
Does your home feel a little meh—and you’re not sure how to change it? Try vignettes—combine decor items (e.g., vases, frames, and objets) that add visual interest to an otherwise bland area—perhaps a shelf or console table.

Organize your vignette around a theme so that the decor items are unified and tell a visual story. Go around your house and cull items you love that need a new home (see tip No. 1 on decluttering).

For example, take that silver tray you’ve been wanting a use for, add a glass tumbler with a fresh flower, that postcard your parents sent from Thailand, and a white bowl filled with colorful candy. Voilà: You now have a magazine-worthy vignette!

Another way to go: Grouping together multiples of the same object (e.g., glass vases in the same color) is an instant update. Decorators often use odd numbers because they are said to be more appealing.

Before you know it, you’ll be posting pics of your gorgeous home.

Source: realtor.com ~ Author: Jamie Wiebe

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11 Things to Think About Before Renting Your First Apartment

March 14, 2016
Getting ready to move away from home and into your first apartment is super exciting. However, it can also be incredibly intimidating. After all, renting an apartment is a pretty big deal, and there are a lot of things to consider. Even people who have rented before can get caught up in the process of finding a new place – when it’s your first time, there can be enough new information to make your head spin. Here are 11 things to think about during your apartment-hunting process that will, hopefully, make the whole thing much easier: 1. Upfront Costs Even first-time renters know they’re going to be responsible for their monthly rent, but it’s easy to forget about the upfront costs of renting an apartment if you’ve never done it before. In addition to the monthly costs of apartment living, you’ll almost always have to pay up before you move in – often, before you can even sign the lease. Plan ahead to avoid new-place sticker shock. Nearly all apartment companies will require that you pay a security deposit before you move in. This protects the landlord in case you trash your apartment and skip town. As long as you don’t do that, you should get it back once your lease is up. In addition to the deposit, you may have to pay application fees, or even one month’s rent, before you can get settled into your new place. 2. Long-Term Costs Rent isn’t the only thing you’ll have to pay month-to-month, either. You’ll also have to pay for utilities like heat, gas and electricity. Different buildings have different rules about what you’re expected to pay and what is covered in your rent. If you need to pay for it, you’ll also need to set it up – be ready to reach out to utilities companies to get the services put in your name. Don’t forget renter’s insurance! Some landlords actually require tenants to get a renter’s policy, but you should whether it’s mandated or not. Insurance policies protect you in the case of accidental damage, theft, and disaster. It usually doesn’t cost all that much per month, so you should definitely fit safety net into your budget. 3. What You Need Furnishing a brand-new apartment is super exciting, and you’re probably full of ideas about how you want your new place to look. Before you go wild with your decoration schemes, however, you must make sure you have the basic furniture you’ll need to live. Eating take-out on the floor feels very cool and devil-may-care … for about a day. After that, you’ll wish you had a table. Here’s a quick list of the basic furniture you’ll have to bring in: A bed, a couch, a table, and some chairs. In addition, there are little around the house items you probably won’t have, but will definitely want. These include things like towels, shower curtains, and utensils. Cookware is a must, as well, unless you want to be perpetually tied to delivery and carry-out food. 4. What You Don’t Need You might be tempted to take every little knickknack and item you’ve ever collected with you to your new place. Although this might make your apartment feel well-stocked early on, you’re sure to regret it once you start actually decorating. All the junk you’re packing up now will feel like a complete pain when it gets in the way of having a tidy, put-together place. Instead of moving everything from back home with you when you head into your first apartment, use moving as a chance to purge. Have an honest conversation with yourself about whether you’re holding on to items because they’re useful, or because you’re reluctant to let go. Donate, throw away, or recycle anything you don’t really need – you’ll be glad you did down the line. 5. Lease Terms A lease is often the first legal document a young adult encounters. Although this does make the process a little bit stressful, it also makes it great practice for other contracts later on in life. Learning how to read complicated legal text is a valuable skill, and skimming your lease is an awful idea. Carefully read the entire document, and don’t be afraid to ask questions if there’s something you don’t understand. If you want to be extra certain about the lease before you sign it, ask the landlord if you can have a few days to look it over. Then ask someone you trust, like a family member or experienced friend, if he or she can look it over with you. If anyone in your life is experienced with legal matters (particularly housing issues), they should be able to help you fully understand any confusing clauses. 6. Roommate Worries If you’re moving in with roommates, make sure everyone you’re going to be living with is signing the lease. One or more roommates avoiding the lease spells out bad news later on – if they stop paying rent or decide to up and leave, there’s nothing you can do except pay on their behalf. If you’re thinking of living with someone who refuses to get on the lease, pick a different roommate. 7. Pets Bringing a furry friend with you to your new place? Make sure you talk to your landlord about your pet – or pets – before you sign the lease or move in. Even if you know your building allows pets, it might have restrictions about weight or breed. In addition, most pet-friendly buildings require you to pay a pet deposit, or add an extra pet fee onto your rent. In addition, make sure your apartment has plenty of room for Fido or Felix. If you’re bringing in a dog with lots of energy, it will need plenty of room to run around, and to be exercised outside regularly. Even cats call for extra space – have a plan for where you’ll put things like food, water, and the litter box before you decide on a unit. 8. Location, Location, Location Before you pick an apartment building, make sure you’ve given real thought to where it’s located. Ideally, you’ll be close to all of the essential shops and services you’ll need, like grocery stores and restaurants. How close depends on your lifestyle. If you’re comfortable driving most places, within a couple of miles should do. If you’d rather walk, try to make sure you’re no more than a mile away from the important stuff. 9. Moving Plans Moving is hard work, and you’re probably not going to be able to do it on your own. If you have a lot of friends who are free on your move-in date, ask them if they’d be willing to help you haul your stuff into your new place. This is going to be your cheapest option – traditional friend payment is pizza and beer, and the promise to help out next time they move. If your friends are busy, you may want to look into hiring a moving company. The great thing about these services is that the movers are professionals who have done this a thousand times before, so they’ll know exactly how to load the truck and handle the boxes. These may seem like small details, but they’ll dramatically reduce the time it takes to pack up your stuff and get it into the new apartment. 10. Organization Unless you’re moving into an apartment with an abundance of closet space, you’re probably going to need to come up with your own storage solutions. One of the very best things you can get is under-bed storage bins. As the name suggests, these slide neatly beneath your box springs and live totally out of sight. This is the perfect place to store out-of-season clothes and other small items. If the storage can’t be hidden away, try to find things that look good. One cool way you can sneak storage into your decor is to use on old trunk for your coffee table. It will look totally cool, and you can use it to store away infrequently used items. Bookshelves work well for storing things that are decorative on their own, like figurines, ornaments, and, of course, books. 11. Decoration Scheme The earlier you decide what you want to do, decoration-wise, the easier the process will be. There’s no better time to decorate an apartment than when you first move in – all of your stuff is already out of the way, and you still have all the freedom to sort your items the way you’d like. Unpacking things into their proper place is way easier than moving them later on. Take a look at different design schemes to build some inspiration for your new place. Do you want something rustic and earthy, or sleek and modern? Make lease-friendly changes before you unpack all of your stuff, so you don’t have to deal with a bunch of little items while you’re decorating. This way, your place will look like home as soon as you’re done unpacking.

Dress Your Bed on a Dime: Thrifty Shopping & Design Tips

February 29, 2016
The bed is one of the most important spots in your home, and spending time making it look a bit more luxurious is a benefit to both your bedroom decor and your mental health. That said, buying beautiful sheets, comforters and pillows can add up and might feel like something you should skip when you are on a tight budget. But, your bed doesn’t have to be basic. Here are some thrifty shopping and design tricks to help you dress a bed on a dime. Look for printed sheets and pillowcases when you thrift I’ve always loved the retro patterns and floral prints that only an eagle-eyed vintage store shopper can find. Many thrift stores don’t often carry a lot of bedding, so you might have to take the time to dig in a little deeper, but you can sometimes stumble on some surprisingly cool designs that will be just the unique detail your bed needs. Or, you could find good quality secondhand plain sheets and pillow cases to experiment with the next suggestion. Add a DIY detail You don’t necessarily have to learn how to monogram to customize your bedding. There are a lot of creative small things you can do to make your bedding unique and luxurious. You can add ribbon or other trim to the edges and surfaces of sheets, blankets and pillow cases to give them a personal touch. Try your hand at simple embroidered motifs or stamped designs. Stitch on tassels or pompoms. No matter which style direction you take, you can add a lot without spending a lot. Focus on the top layer while bulking up with basics Sometimes when a bed feels a little naked and less than luxurious, it’s just too flat or skimpy. You can easily fix that by layering in more basic elements, some that you might already own. Use extra older or inexpensive filler pillows to prop up newer, fresher prettier pillows to add structure and better show off the attractive ones. Fold and layer less decorative blankets and comforters under the prettiest topper to give your bed some bulk. Let the headboard be the show Sometimes a well-dressed bed is one of simplicity when you’ve got a statement-making headboard, which is often just a quick, affordable DIY away. Shop sales with an eye to alter If you know how to sew, shop bedding sales online and in stores with an eye to potentially alter them. For example: two or three different color twin size clearance sale bargain blankets could be cut up and restitched together to create a custom, color-blocked cover for your king size bed.a

Cellphone Dead Zone? 3 Ways To Boost Reception At Home

February 16, 2016
“Can you hear me?” “Can you hear me now?” If most of your cellphone conversations begin this way — or if you’ve taken to hanging out a window just to get a signal — you’re not alone. Spotty cellphone service can be especially frustrating when you have full bars in your building’s lobby or hallway but one measly bar as soon as you set foot inside your home. It turns out, there are good explanations for why this occurs (no, the cellphone gods aren’t trying to punish you for posting too many selfies) and solutions that renters can easily implement. Here’s how. Cause #1: The position of your building’s cellphone antenna “Cell carriers in all major cities position their cell sites close to the ground because that’s where most of the people are,” says Graham Caparulo, principal consultant for Diligex, a New York, NY–based managed IT services provider. “On the corners of buildings, you’ll see them 20 to 30 feet up, and they’re angled toward the street.” That doesn’t do you much good, especially if you live on the 30th floor of a high-rise. Cause #2: Building materials can block radio signals Tinted windows (especially the ones found on “green buildings”), concrete, and metal all interfere with cellphone reception — which is why you can often get more bars if you hold your phone out your window or step onto a balcony. Cause #3: You live in a densely populated area Have you ever noticed that your service is slower at night or on weekends, or when you attend a packed basketball game? The more people using a network, the slower it runs. (Kind of like the lines at your favorite coffee joint now that word about their croughnuts has gotten out.) “Each cell tower only has limited radio channels it can use,” says Caparulo. “When it’s full, you’ll have bars but can’t make a call or use data.” Solution #1: Invest in a cellphone booster “Invest” is the right word here, because a cell signal booster will typically set you back between $400 and $1,000. (WeBoost is a popular option.) “A traditional cell signal booster takes in a signal on one end, amplifies it, and spits it out on the other end,” says Caparulo, who cautions that you have to have a good signal to work with in the first place, which may mean putting the booster’s antenna outside your window — a no-no insome apartment buildings. Also, cellphone boosters need to be registered with your cellphone carrier, and the company has the right to withhold its consent for usage, especially if you live in a heavily populated area. Solution #2: Enlist a femtocell “A femtocell, also called a microcell, basically uses your Internet connection to back up your cellphone,” says Caparulo. The device plugs right into your modem or router and uses your Internet connection as a cell signal booster. The only drawback is that typically you have to buy the device directly from your cellular provider, and they cost around $150 to $200. (Note: Some consumers claim to have gotten one for free after lots of complaining.) Also, femtocells work only with your specific provider, so if you have AT&T and your roommate has Verizon, their phone may still struggle to get a signal in your apartment. Solution #3: Enable Wi-Fi calling on your smartphone This feature, available on the iPhone 6 series and many Android phones, allows your phone to use your in-home Wi-Fi connection to make calls. (On the iPhone 6, go to “Settings,” then “Phone,” and it should be the first option.) AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile all support Wi-Fi calling — and Verizon has recently begun rolling it out. Not all phones can use Wi-Fi calling, however, so you’ll need to check with your carrier to find out which devices are compatible. Source: Forbes.com ~ By: Trulia
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