Friday, June 26, 2009

Beat Recession Depression- Start With Your Powder Room


The powder room is the crown jewel of the home. For those of you that are lucky enough to have them- they are just swell! They serve the purpose of giving visitors to your home a place to relieve themselves when they've shared too many maragitas to hold in. Then they get to wash their hands in your lovely little sink and vacate without having to see your many toiletries and the contents of your shower that you have in your main or master bathroom. Yes, the powder room, it's like the builder's little gift to us creatives and those of us too exhausted to clean the rest of our house. How dirty can a powder room get anyway?

As a designer, the powder room can be a decorative dream. Because it is the most viewed by client's friends, family and strangers, they typically like to make a big impression by going all out in this room. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in this room (although I have done a few powder rooms over $10,000 too). I will share some secrets with you on how to make the most of your powder room for little dollars, and will also share what I do for my clients.

Tip #1:
Trash that medicine cabinet or plate mirror and replace it with a framed mirror for dramatic impact. Some of the best places to find mirrors from traditional to contemporary for little dollars?- TJ Maxx and Marshalls (the same store), Ross (for the west coasters), Lowes, Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond. I have picked up some of my best mirrors from these stores. If you are going to BB and B, go when you get the coupon in the paper for 20% off. You can save a pretty penny and typically you can get a nice, new framed mirror for between $30 and $80. (SHH! designer secret!!!)

Tip #2:
The decorative towels that you display on the towel rod should not be used for guests to wipe their hands on; not only because it's not sanitary, but because it always messes up the special way you wrap the towels with that pretty ribbon and tassel! LOL. Seriously though, I realize that we are all trying to go green and I am the first to advocate green practices, ESPECIALLY in my own home. I do have to say, with all of the viruses going around lately, unless you can install a hand dryer in your lav- stay away from regular towels. Now, there's a sustainable solution for my method of madness. Buy recycled paper towels and a decorative vertical paper towel holder. Or, for even more elegance, buy a long decorative tray and use long decorative napkins inside (preferably recycled). You now see this done in many commercial bathrooms and it will work just as well in your powder room.

Tip #3:
Replace that germ filled bar of hand soap with a decorative soap dispenser. Now, there is really NO excuse for this one. I have seen some really cute ones in Target and have even seen stainless steel dispensers at Wal-Mart. Don't just buy one for your soap, buy a second for lotion and place that on your sink counter as well. Make it a great fragranced lotion and matching liquid soap from Bath and Bodyworks, if you can. CALLING ALL BACHELORS- us women love this stuff-try Moonlit Path! While you are at it, repeat this step in the kitchen. You hands will thank you!

Tip #4:
If you have not already, and if your space allows it, replace your round toilet with an elongated. Not only will the man in your life thank you, but the seat's longer curve feels far more comfy on the toushie than the short round style.This fix can cost you as little as $69.00 with a toilet in a box at the big box store. Many times you can even find one at a building supply reseller-a big place where people take their old fixtures rather than throw them away. You can get one for a song and save the planet while doing so. A lot of times the products are in perfect condition, one might have just removed it for a particular brand or model of toilet. Trust me, my clients do it all the time!

Tip #5:
In case you have not already done this... and this is FREE... get rid of that nasty germ infested toilet seat cover with the matching wrap around toilet rug and tank cover. UUGGHH! They have absolutely No place in the world of design... enough said here.

Tip #6:
If you have a nice vanity, consider replacing your sink top. I have been to many "Liquidator" places that sell granite counters pre-cut to specific smaller vanity sizes, with the single center hole cut out to fit a vessel sink. You can also go to a granite supplier's "Bone Yard" and have them or another granite installer cut you a piece to fit your vanity and a hole for your new vessel sink. I keep saying vessel sink because they are dandy and right on trend. I found a basic, yet classic white vitreous china sink at the Low Box Store for under $100. I then found a great 31" top at a store called Construction Lots, they all have names similar to this. lol. The faucet at $99.00 and the top at $200.00 gave me a brand new look to the powder room for $400.00. If you do not want to go that elaborate, you can find adorable solid surface 1 piece counters with bowl attached for under $300.00.

Tip #7:
Get rid of the dressing room bulbs overhead and replace them with an updated light fixture, again- the big box store will have some inexpensive options- but so do Target and Wal-Mart, where a client once scored a decent 3 light fixture for $40.00. What a bargain!

Tip #8:
Tile, tile, tile. So many powder rooms still have linoleum in them. Why? You can find such gorgeous tile nowadays for $3.00 a square foot. If your powder room is a standard 4'x8', including an added 10% for waste- you are looking at under $120.00 for a brand new floor! Floor tile in such a small space is not hard to do, and if you must call a contractor to install it- you can find an odd job guy for next to nothing. You can even get fancier in this room than you might in your other bathrooms, because of the cost. Add a border or listello (trim or deco tile strip) to the edges of your tiled floor. This will create a custom look for little dollars.

Tip #9:
Wallpaper is back baby! If you are afraid of wallpaper in a large space but find a great pattern, this is the room to do it- and it does not take many man hours to install. Once again, if you can't DIY this, please consult a pro- but this is another project that doesn't have to cost a fortune. You can even do just one wall and paint the remaining three. I would strongly suggest that you paper the wall behind the sink, no matter where the rest of the fixtures are. This gives the most drama when washing your hands and looks smashing behind that new framed mirror you just bought! Although it is on the sink wall, the paper of today is easily cleanable and far more durable. A splatter of water, which should be stopped by your backsplash anyway, will not stain or damage the paper. This is what most high end clients prefer in their homes. We call it a jewel box bathroom because it is packaged up all pretty in a decorative little box with rich colors and vibrant patterns! Even the most demure, calm and color-phobic client will generally allow me to go a little crazy in the powder room. It's a room they themselves don't often see, never use and are not worried about ruining with a bad choice. They always love the end result!!!

Tip #10:
When all else fails, you cheapest option- outside from the soap dispensers and the FREE one- is paint. If your bathroom is small enough, 2 quarts of paint at Wal-Mart in their Color Space brand will cost you around $16.00. Don't make the mistake and think you only need one can because the room is so small. You will have to do two coats and that nearly always means 2 cans. If you have gotten good lighting for this room, meaning a fixture with several 60 watt or higher bulbs, you can even go dark with the color choice for this room. Paint the trim a nice crisp white and all is forgiven on the darkness front. If you are using warm colors, you can even paint the trim in a bright ecru, but don't go any darker.

Although there are many other more expensive ways to improve this room, I have stuck with the least expensive to provide some great options that you can use to add a little flair to one of the littlest rooms of the home and help you to BEAT RECESSION DEPRESSION!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hola Todo,
I am excited to share with you that I did an interview with Urban Latino Radio in New York City. The host of the show, Erik Rivera, is a stand-up comedian favorite in the NY comedy scene, including regular appearances at The Comedy Cellar, Caroline's on Broadway, Broadway Comedy Club and Comic Strip Live. He, together with a panel of comedians and lifestyle experts of Latin heritage, interview celebrities and talents in all aspects of fashion, home trends, music, politics, comedy, etc... I am proud to have had a great, although somewhat tongue-tied, interview with him and his panel on the radio. It will reach thousands in the Latin community and will be simultaneously broadcast on i-tunes. As soon as I know the date and time, I will fill you all in. Go Latino, Go!!!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Still Trying To Sell Your Home?- Stage It For Quicker Results

This recession has been a tough marketplace for those of us trying to sell our homes. Latinos have become empowered and are attempting to make good choices when it comes to their homes and whether or not to hold onto a bad investment. Many of us are upside down in our properties, owing way more than our homes are worth. If we are able to, with a good credit score, solid job history and a nice down payment, we can put our homes on the market and take advantage of the great buys out there for us to either downsize our mortgage payments or increase our home size for not much more than what we are paying now. El problema grande es- unloading our current home. It is truly a buyer's market and having our homes sit for months at a time, when we are trying to upgrade is bad for our wallets. One way to alleviate this stress is to hire a home stager.

When we have lived in our homes for many years we tend to become immune to our personalization of our space. Us Latinos love our vibrant colors, our familia and the ten thousand photos we have all over our walls of them from when they were 8 months old ( and they are now 26). We overlook the minor things that make up who we are, but can detract potential buyers coming into our homes for the first time. A Home Stager can see our place with an objective eye, the eye of a potential buyer. They are trained in the art of depersonalization. They will turn your home into a more neutral space, opening up the view of a new homeowner to visualize themselves in your home. They take this wonderful HOME that you have created and turn it back into just a HOUSE (an impersonal space), which is important, because a potential home buyer will not invest in a place that they cannot visualize themselves in. Many homeowners do not understand that buyers are visual creatures. Most can't see past the furniture and personal items in the home as they walk around. Think back to when you made the decision to purchase your home. What attracted you to that house? Was it a new model freshly decorated or the layout of the previous owner's living room furniture? Whether it was a new build or a resale, homes are sold easiest when a buyer can understand the layout and this is done best when a home is staged.

A stager will walk through your home and show you what to display and what to store away for your next house. They might suggest a small investment in new paint for your living room or remove 70% of the clutter in your kid's room, only displaying a few key items. They might have you rent a dining room table and chairs that will better reflect the size of your eating area or tell you to invest a few grand into refinishing your kitchen cabinets to update their look to a more appealing and current style which will attract buyers. The main objective of a home stager is to help your home sell faster than a non-staged home, and they do! Most staged homes sell three to nine times faster (depending on whose statistics you read- they are all over the internet!). They are even finding that, despite the bad economy, staged homes can still sell for more money than the average non-staged home.

Real estate agents are really starting to realize the importance of a staged home as well. I would really hope that all of my Hispanic agents will jump ahead of the trend and specify staged homes for their sellers. Not only will the small investment benefit the seller, but it will increase sales in your portfolio and therefore, increase your profit margins. I love it when Latinos can get ahead in any positive way!

When considering a home stager for hire, make sure that you interview more than one, but no more than three. Too much choice is not always a good thing and can just make the decision more difficult. There is a Home Stager accreditation, but do not necessarily base your selection on whether they have this or not- as it is only a course that they need to complete after paying a third party and not a state accredited test or license. It is also not necessary in most states to be certified in this field at all, so just make sure you are happy with their work. Ask for references from 3-5 past clients and actually call a few! Also, ask to see their portfolio and hopefully it will have before and after photos of their work. Now, understand that these photos will not be as dramatic as an interior design portfolio. When you are looking at their work, notice if you are happy with the result in the "after" picture. If the "before" picture showed a cluttered bedroom, did the "after" picture look calm and inviting? If the "before" picture showed an empty living room, does the "after" picture show nicely placed furniture that shows off the best features of the space, or are they covered up by too much decoration? A little decoration in a staged home is necessary, but too much will look less like a model home and more like a decoration store.

The other important thing is to realize that you have to spend a little money to make money. A good home stager will probably charge between $80.00- 150.00 an hour. If they charge less, I would question their self worth and whether or not they know their field. If they charge more than that, know that they are not worth it. An Interior Designer with a degree makes an average of $150.00 - 200.00 per hour in most states and home staging requires far less knowledge. If the stager is charging by job, they can charge anywhere from a percentage of the the sale price of the home to a flat fee of anywhere from $250.00 for a do-it-yourself list of repairs and how to stage your home to a few thousand for their work and a possible furniture rental fee, which you will usually pay directly to the rental store. Some might see these prices and want to run for the hills, but, when you put this small price up against the amount of money you will save by your house selling quickly, it's a no brainer. The small investment in a home stager's services is ALWAYS less than the amount of money you will lose on the sale of your home with the first price reduction. You see, each month that your house sits on the market, the real estate agent is forced to reduce the sale price to entice buyers to purchase your home. If your agent does not reduce the price themselves, you will notice that the offers that come in for your home will usually reflect the buyer reducing what they feel the house is worth by how long your home has been listed, anyway. This reduction is anywhere from 5% to 20% ( usually around 10% in most parts of the country). A good home stager doing your entire home including furniture and accessories and storage fees will charge an average of 1.5- 3%, saving you a ton of money in the short and long run.

Let's make wise decisions for a bright future. Nuestro dia viene.