NRVLiving - Real Estate. Simplified.

Paint - It Makes All The Difference

Watch a home improvement show on TV, or read an article in a magazine, and one of the recurring themes you'll find is that changing a room's paint color can have profound effects.  Recently, I was reminded of this when a client shared photos with me of a kitchen they just painted, and the results are dramatic.

When Ron and Laura bought their home last year, the walls throughout the house were just a boring white.  White everywhere, and it hadn't been cleaned in quite some time.  While they're working their way through the house, putting their own touches on it, Laura surprised me with some photos of the kitchen "makeover" that cost less than $100 worth of paint supplies.

The Before (wish we had better photos of the before so you could see the complete package):

And the after:

So ... is their a simple home improvement project you're taken on this President's Day?  Send me the before and after photos so we can show off your handiwork!

Deck The Halls ...

Last week I asked how you decorate for Christmas.  My wife and I decorated for Christmas this year for the first time in a very long time, and we were excited to have the chance to do it again.  Some people decide to decorate a little, others go over the top, and a lot of folks fall in between.  So I asked ... how do you decorate? 

I received several emails from readers, and comments on the blog - thanks for sending your pictures along!  Here are some of the highlights:

• Jason wrote ... "Well I didn't get around to it this year because I just didn't have time, but I usually put up any where from 20,000 to 30,000 lights on my parents house.  I have all the parts to make it a computer controlled display, just have to find time to solder and wire up the controllers and sync it all to music. I plan on having it all ready to go for next Christmas though."  Wow.  30000 lights?  That's Griswald.
  
• Katy wrote ... "We used to move constantly, so I painted my own Christmas ornaments on circles of heavy watercolor paper. All my decorations fit in one little margerine tub. We're still using them even though our nomadic lifestyle ended when I retired and we moved to Radford, the beautiful New River City!"
  
  
  
• Darla sent some pictures from her daughter's home in New Jersey:
  
     
• And from our own home:
  
  
  

I know, the tree is pointing the wrong way.  I promise ... it's still upright.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

How Do You Decorate for Christmas?

How do you decorate your home for the holidays?  Do you even decorate at all?

My wife and I were out in Blacksburg the other night and came across a house that - let's say they REALLY get into the Christmas spirit.  We call them "Ho-Ho Houses" ... you know, the homes that'd give Clark Griswald a run for his Christmas bonus money.  I didn't have my camera with me, but I'll snap a photo next time I'm over that way. 

I started wondering how other people decorate their home for the holidays.  I know I've seen several people talk online about how decorating the house reallyhlp them get int the mood of Christmas, and I wonder how you decorate your house?  Are you a garland-and-lights, simple and classic decorator, or do you go all out - the more lights and candy canes and dancing Santas the better? 

Post your style in the comments below, and feel free to post a link to pictures if you'd like.  In a few days, I'll post pictures of some of the things Natalie and I have done this year.

Happy Holidays.

Sellers - How To Make Money In Today's Market

Are you selling a home, or about to sell your home, and you're worried about the market?  Let me take a minute to introduce you to Revisions Redesigns, a home staging and redesign company based in Blacksburg.

Revisions Redesigns  uses the items already in your home to design rooms that maximize their potential.  Don't think this can make you money when you go to sell your home?  Check out some of these statistics from Home Staging Resource:

Remodeling doesn't always make sense ... thanks to Tom Markiewicz for sending that article.  Home staging, however, almost always pays, because it sets the home apart, as well as creates the environment for buyers to feel themselves in the home.

Are you ready to call Revisions Redesigns now?  You can find Machelle online, make sure to tell her you heard about her here!

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