Archive for June, 2009
Email Answer: Know When To Hold ‘Em
Q: Do you ever wonder if you’re pricing your house out of the neighborhood? There are so many things I’d like to do with our cute little house but then I think, “don’t do it, you’ll spend too much and never get your money back.” And it’s definitely too small to stay here forever. For instance, does a full kitchen reno make any sense for someone who might be moving into a bigger and better home in a year or two. Or, do you just bite the bullet and spend the money so you can fully enjoy what you have now? Sorry, I’m probably rambling but I have a love/hate relationship with our home. One day I love it and want to stay and make it better. The next day I’m looking on real estate sites for a new one. -Molly
A: Good question Molly! Our little home is a modest 1350 square feet and we’re hoping to stay here forever… even if we have a gaggle of little ones someday. We’re just confident we can make it work. I think different people have different ideas about what big is and how much space you really need (I can’t imagine cleaning a bigger house so I’m very happy about the quaint casa we settled on). And coming from Manhattan where I had a closet sized room for a jaw-dropping $1200 a month (here’s a funny old video tour) our little ranch is a palace by comparison! I mean even the fancy people in the Upper East Side don’t usually have over 1000 square feet- and plenty of families live in NY, so that really helps me to keep things in perspective. Here’s my cute & tiny NYC apartment (circa 2005) that couldn’t even accommodate a couch. Guests had to sit on the full-sized bed to watch VHS movies with me on my 13″ TV. Cringe. Sidenote: look, there’s my little egg-crate-turned-jewelry-organizer on the makeshift side table! In a small space you only have room for the things you love, right?
As for the pricing-your-house-out-of-your-neighborhood concern, the usual recommendation is to get the worst house in a great neighborhood if you plan to do a lot of work on it (since getting the best house in a terrible neighborhood doesn’t help you when it comes to renovating – you’ll end up with an even nicer house surrounded by unappealing properties that look even worse by comparison). We were sure to get a total beater of a house (in case our before pictures didn’t make that obvious enough- hehe) so we would be able to do some major upgrades without feeling like we went overboard.
For example, every other house on our street was set back from the road with a spacious and lush front lawn while ours was set back just as far but had a curb-to-house mulch bed and a veritable forest out front. This was the first of many signs that there was some room for improvement when it came to our property. In short: Our house was a giant zit on our sweet neighborhood’s otherwise beautiful face, so anyone else with this affliction has permission to get to work. Of course you want to consider the purchase price of your home (ours was around 35K cheaper than all the other houses we looked at of the same size and in the same general area, which helped us determine how much we could “put into” it without feeling guilty).
On the other hand, if you already think your house is nicer than all the neighbors’ homes I would definitely pull the plug on any additional renovations (especially major ones like a kitchen redo). And of course you can always befriend your neighbors and take them a pie to check out their digs- or even call on a realtor to come over and tell you about the comps in the area and suggest what you should and shouldn’t do to maximize your profit when you sell in a year or two (they might veto a pricey kitchen remodel off the bat, which would be nice to know before whipping out your wallet).
That being said, our point of view is a little different than most when it comes to our own house (since we want to live here til we’re old and gray, we wouldn’t care if a realitor recommended against certain switcheroos, like trading our formal dining room for a third bedroom). We affectionately call Casa Petersik our “forever house” so we hardly think about resale value and all that when we pick up a hammer or a roller. But if you’re planning to sell in a year or two it’s a totally different ballgame (especially in this sluggish economy) so anything major would definitely be a lot more of a risk than the smaller projects that you can take on for less loot and effort.
The verdict: we would suggest making as many inexpensive upgrades as you can (switching out light fixtures, installing a programmable thermostat, getting a new bathroom vanity or painting the dated one you have, changing out kitchen and bathroom hardware and upgrading all of your home’s doorknobs from brass to chrome or nickel). And of course we can’t forget the number one way to freshen up your home in an afternoon on the cheap… why it’s paint of course! Here’s our dark and dated den before paint:
And here’s the same space after a few gallons of creamy goodness:
It’s almost unbelievable, eh? The paint really made the room. We didn’t drywall the paneling, we just left it and rolled right over it- and even though two walls are painted brick and two walls are painted paneling the whole room feels light and cohesive. Oh and the entire transformation only took about seven hours total and we did it with under $100 worth of paint. The lesson? A few cheap tweaks may be all that it takes to have Molly falling in love with her house all over again- without having to worry about paying the price.
What do you guys think? Can you think of anything else that might help Molly with her property predicament? Any other inexpensive upgrades that you’ve done on your just-for-now house that made it feel more like a forever-home? Any tales of hating your house and wanting to sell only to fall deeply and inexplicably in love with it (and ten years later you’re still there)? Do tell.
Vote Or No Vote
We’re back with our weekly reminder to vote and things over on bhg.com are getting heated! Not only is there a teeny tiny margin (only around 100 votes) between first and second place, there are less than two more weeks left for you guys to cast your daily vote. Eeks! Of course when we’re not photoshopping our heads onto other people’s bodies we’re crossing our fingers and toes and eyes for a shot at the 5K (that huge hunk of cheddar could really contribute to some pretty major home improvements).
And as is the tradition on our weekly voting reminder, we’re back to demonstrate that there’s nothing we won’t do for your support. From dancing and jousting to taking on the role of Jack and Rose, we’ve done it all to demonstrate just how much we appreciate everyone who’s taking the time to vote each and every day. This week John even gets to lose some hair a la Howie Mandel (and gain a bit in another location) while I get to sport some they’re-not-real-but-they’re-real-big “assets” (and I’m not talking about the fake nails clinging to that iconic briefcase):
So whaddya say? Is it a deal? Will you guys rock the vote and work your magic with the banker? Can you think of any other Deal or No Deal related puns that we’re missing? And while we’re asking questions, doesn’t John/Howie look pleased with himself? And don’t I look adequately stunned by my flotation devices? We sure as heck don’t know how this episode will end, but we do know it’s a nail biter! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some briefcase holding to do…
Slightly doctored image courtesy of CC2
How’s It Hanging?
One of our favorite things about Richmond is that it’s also known as The River City. Not because we have some piddly little stream dribbling through town, but because we’re actually the only city with class five rapids that run through the city limits. In short, we have a whole lotta river and it’s a whole lotta fun to swim, sun, and hang out there. It’s sort of like a beach town except think big flat rocks for sunning (and skipping across) instead of sand…
In fact, John and I can actually be classified as river rats. We have a “secret” favorite part of the river where we can always find parking and a big flat rock to call our own (it’s such a great free way to spend an afternoon and even an entire weekend). But lots of river visits lead to lots of wet beach towels and bathing suits. And it hardly feels very green of us to toss everything in the washer & dryer when we return home- especially when we plan to hit up the same rock the very next day. If only we had a place to hang our suits and towels to dry until the next river excursion. Nothing that $8 and a trip to Lowe’s couldn’t solve. Here’s the bare and boring corner of our sunroom before the makeover (note that it’s conveniently located right next to the back door):
And the same corner just minutes later after we screwed our three new brushed nickel hooks into place (snagged on sale for just $2.64 each):
Luckily since nothing is dripping wet by the time we get home (we like to lounge on the hot rocks til we’re pretty dry before hopping into the car) we don’t have to worry about water-logging the shoe basket below.
And because each of our Lowe’s hooks are actually double hooks, we can hang up quite a range of things in a pinch (in case a few friends join us or I push John into the river before he gets his hat/shirt/shoes off).
It’s actually very reminiscent of the mini-mudroom that we created in a corner of our den with an ottoman and a wall-mounted coat rack (which is super practical when it comes to wrangling purses, scarves, dog leashes, and even paper files- which are stored in the ottoman while no one’s the wiser). We’re just a-place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place kinda people, so we like creating systems that make things feel organized and automatic (since the mini-mudroom installation almost two years ago we haven’t lost the dog’s leash once!).
So what about you guys? Do you live in a city that calls for a little specialized corner for storing/wrangling specific items that you use on the regular? Scuba gear? Snowshoes? Farm boots? Is anyone else a fan of using simple coat hooks to keep things organized? Tell the river rats all about it.
Fab Freebie: Bug Off
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
We love summer (who doesn’t?) but we hate the annoying bug bites that come with it (again, who doesn’t?). We’ve tried all sorts of natural bug sprays, yard sprays, and even incense sticks because we’re definitely not big fans of putting unnecessary chemicals on our bodies (I’m actually allergic to Deet) or our yard (Burger’s hunting ground). Which is why we jumped at the chance to try out a new, natural product called My Mosquito Deleter.
As you can see in the video below, the My Mosquito Deleter is a pretty simple system. It’s a bucket of standing water with a specially designed trap that, thanks to a special tablet, encourages mosquitos to lay their eggs in the Deleter. Then the trap keeps the newborn blood-suckers from ever escaping (cue the maniacal laughter). So while it doesn’t kill existing buggers, it keeps new ones from setting up residence in your yard, thereby cutting their numbers dramatically. We put our buckets out a couple of weeks ago and so far so good. The average mosquito lifespan is 30 days, so we’re still waiting for some of the existing blood-suckers to die off. But after that we’ll hopefully be itch free for a while.
And the good news is that four lucky winners will also take home their very own 4-pack of mosquito deleting buckets. Here’s the scoop (oh and let me know what you think of our the new, quicker-to-read format for freebie details):
- PRIZE: My Mosquito Deleter (four-bucket set- retails for $29.95)
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “BUG ME”
- FUN BONUS QUESTION: What bugs you? Tell us what your personal pet peeves are.
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, June 3rd at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: Four!
- ELIGIBILITY: These Deleters ship internationally, so go for it whether you’re in Akron or Africa.
Beyond that, the usual rules apply: only one entry per e-mail address is permitted and the four winners will be selected using random.org and shared later in the week. Good luck and stay tuned…
Learn more about our freebies on our Giveaway FAQs page. Image and video courtesy of My Mosquito Deleter.
Closet Crashing: Our Very Own Digs
Back when we shared how we organized just about everything in our house there were a number of requests to see how we kept our clothing in check, so we’re back to crash our very own closets and share all the dirty details. The closest I got to pulling back the curtain was revealing how I keep my jewelry organized in a ceramic egg crate a while back:
But there’s a lot more than jewelry in that big Ikea wardrobe…
On my side of the bed, the wardrobe has two top shelves, a hanging bar, a shelf under the hanging bar with fabric boxes (full of socks, underwear, swimsuits, and all the other things that I like to keep wrangled in their own cubbies), and four more shelves below (one for jeans, one for pajamas and two for shoe storage.
One little trick I learned was that turning each set of shoes in the opposite direction somehow magically makes room for one more pair of shoes per shelf (since the front of each pair of shoes is wider than the back, alternating directions steals a bit of space with each pair you add).
And as for those fabric bins, here’s a better angle to check out my socks, bras and underwear. Good thing almost everything I wear is black so you can’t see much detail here…
I also mentioned that I had two top shelves above the hanging bar, one that I use for folded fabric storage (it’s kind of like clothing, right?) and the other that I use to house the purses that I’m not currently carrying (I stuff them with balled up paper bags to help them keep their shape and “sit” on the shelf) and a few rolled up scarves. Oh and matching hangers are one of the easiest ways (and cheapest- they’re super inexpensive in bulk at Ikea) to make your closet look like a little boutique- plus they keep clothes from getting all stretched out like they do with skinny plastic or wire hangers.
So that’s my side, now it’s time for J’s. His also has a hanging bar with two shelves above it, but instead of having five shelves below it he has one followed by three pull-out drawers and one more shelf on the bottom for shoes. And while my hanging bar is full of mostly black tops, John’s is full of colorful collared work shirts (since he has an entire drawer devoted to t-shirts and more casual weekend stuff).
John also uses his big shelf under the hanging bar to store jeans while he houses all of his socks, white undershirts, and boxers in one of the pull out drawers. The greatest thing about bringing in the Ikea wardrobes was that we could each customize them to work for us individually (for example, John’s hanging bar is about a foot taller than mine since I’m 5’2″ and he’s 6′). Oh and you may notice that John has more jeans than me. I’m crazy about keeping things simple, even when it comes to clothes, so I like to have just a few no-fail pieces that I can grab without confusion or internal debate. Weird, huh? I know.
Here you can see John’s awesome pull out drawers in all their glory. My wardrobe is actually a few inches narrower than John’s (our back window is off-center, so we used the wardrobes and some curtains on the back wall to make it things appear more symmetrical) which explains why his accommodated drawers while mine only came with the option for shelves (certain sizes are “standard” and have more options).
And while John might have more jeans than I do, I definitely win when it comes to shoes. I think because I keep my wardrobe pretty simple (mainly black and sometimes a pop of coral or turquoise) I use fun shoes and dangly earrings to keep things interesting. At least that’s what I tell myself to keep from feeling guilty about my abundant footwear collection. Thank goodness we still have the original closet that came with the room (can you believe two people were supposed to survive with just this in the master bedroom?) for my overflow shoes, John’s suits, my dresses, and some out of season sweaters.
We even inherited some old nails in the side of the closet, which actually serve a great function- wrangling some necklaces that don’t fit into the egg crate in my wardrobe. They’re more function than form, but replacing them with decorative hooks or knobs from Anthropologie could pretty things up in a flash.
This closet also came with two stacked wire shoe racks (it’s like our house knew I was coming!) which are super functional when it comes to storing three times the amount of shoes thanks to more usable vertical space. And you’ll notice that I didn’t use my little alternating-directions-with-my-shoes trick here, because I actually have room to spare in this closet. That, my friends, is restraint (although I did see some cute little green sandals at Target…).
And on the subject of closets, we just couldn’t forget our guest bedroom closet…. because it’s a little bedroom for Burger! Of course we never close the door when he’s in it and we remove his crate when guests come (the fact that we have an empty closet full of wooden hangers makes our little spare bedroom feel a bit more posh- it’s the little things, right?).
So there you have it. We’ve officially been closet crashed. We hope you guys enjoyed our little peek behind the curtain. And of course we’d love to know your closet tips and tricks. How do you make the most of your clothing storage? Any closet makeovers on the horizon? Do tell!
Wanna know how those big Ikea built-ins on either side of the bed came to be? Here’s the whole story.
