Archive for month: July, 2022

You want to sell your home but you know you can sell it faster and for more money if it was just, well, in better condition 😁👍

With our RealVitalize program at Coldwell Banker that is exactly what you get! 🏡

No up front fees or interest! Pay us back when your home sells.

We work with Angi and their nationally top rated service professionals who can perform remodeling updates on time, on budget and at a great cost. 🔨 ⚒️ 🧰

“Show ready” homes are proven to sell faster and for more money. 💰

Get your home Ready, Set, Sold! Fix it up with nothing up front 😁

Interested in learning more, reach out anytime: (925) 899-0825 mobile
Jason@JasonCaskie.com

Jason Caskie, REALTOR @ Coldwell Banker Serving the San Francisco Bay Area
Sell your home smarter!
Experience. Integrity. Communication. Marketing. Cal DRE# 01347068

For the majority of homeowners today, having a large, bright kitchen could be a dream come true, but tight budgets and small kitchen spaces can be quite challenging to overcome.

Fortunately, there are resourceful methods to improve your kitchen’s appearance and feel without going over budget.

REMOVE A WALL

If your kitchen is separated from an equally small living room by a wall, consider knocking it down. In fact, knocking down a wall is one of the easiest ways to open up the space in the kitchen, especially for experienced renovators and contractors. Sure, it might be the more expensive suggestion on this list, but for the price, it makes a huge difference.

If the wall is not load-bearing, you can expect to pay anywhere between $2,000 to $4,000 to take it down. However, if the wall is bearing the load of the second story, you could be faced with a much bigger bill considering the fact that structural issues will need to be factored in. But it could well be worth the cost when you see the finished product. Homeowners spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a brand new kitchen, and sometimes tearing a wall down is all it takes to completely transform the space.

BREAKFAST BAR

Instead of completely knocking a wall down, you could just tear down the upper half and leave the lower half intact. But to make it useful, consider turning that half wall into a raised breakfast bar, which can provide the space with some great functionality and practicality for more casual meals. Making the bar counter height is a contemporary way to update  the kitchen while making it feel bigger at the same time.

PLENTY OF LIGHTING

Lots of light is always a good thing when it comes to opening and brightening up a small space. To maximize the effect that lighting has on your kitchen, consider adding layers of different fixtures throughout the room. Add a chandelier over the dinner table; hang pendant lights over the breakfast bar; install under-mounted lighting your cabinets; and brighten the inside of your cabinets with pot lights.

Keep the color of the lighting the same as the wall color and/or cabinets to boost the effect of the lighting in the kitchen. Lighter colors are always best in small spaces, as they reflect light and create a sense of space. When the same light colors are blended throughout various components, the effect of a larger space is even more enhanced.

CONSIDER THE SCALE

Having too many cabinets or an oversized dinette set will only make the kitchen look cramped. Instead, you should focus on things like a slim kitchen island, streamlined furniture pieces, and just enough cabinets to house all your utensils without taking up every square inch of the wall space. Everything that’s installed in the kitchen should fit to scale in order to avoid making the space look smaller than it really is.

CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Nothing encloses a space more than clutter. And when it comes to the kitchen, the countertops can be easily crammed with dishes, utensils, bills, and anything else that you didn’t have the time to put away. For a cleaner, more streamlined look, clear off the clutter. It’s easy, fast, and doesn’t cost a cent.

While there are invasive and expensive ways to enlarge your kitchen space – such as physically expanding your home – there are simpler, more affordable ways to do so. Use a little imagination, and play up visual illusions in your space to make your kitchen look and feel more spacious.

You want to sell your home but you know you can sell it faster and for more money if it was just, well, in better condition 😁👍

With our RealVitalize program at Coldwell Banker that is exactly what you get! 🏡

No up front fees or interest! Pay us back when your home sells.

We work with Angi and their nationally top rated service professionals who can perform remodeling updates on time, on budget and at a great cost. 🔨 ⚒️ 🧰

“Show ready” homes are proven to sell faster and for more money. 💰

Get your home Ready, Set, Sold! Fix it up with nothing up front 😁

Interested in learning more, reach out anytime: (925) 899-0825 mobile
Jason@JasonCaskie.com

Jason Caskie, REALTOR @ Coldwell Banker Serving the San Francisco Bay Area
Sell your home smarter!
Experience. Integrity. Communication. Marketing. Cal DRE# 01347068

Exterior lights have a variety of uses for a home. They light up pathways to help residents and guests see at night. They add to the ambiance of a home, casting light on landscaping and illuminating the front of a home. They also provide an element of security, since nighttime burglars tend to seek out homes that will allow them to hide under the cover of darkness.

However, setting up landscape lighting can be complicated. Hiding the cabling involves digging a trench, with the cabling connecting back to a main outdoor power plug. If you have a large coverage area, this process will involve quite a bit of trowel work. The most complicated part comes if you’re one of the many homeowners without a GCFI outlet on the outside of your house. Then you’ll need to pay an electrician to install an outdoor outlet.

Solar lighting can provide an easier alternative to electrical wiring. These lights can be installed by merely inserting them into the ground. There will be no digging or cabling and you can start enjoying nighttime lighting within a day or two. Solar lights are also more environmentally friendly and since they’re completely off the grid, you won’t have to pay your local utility company to power them. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you choose solar lighting for your own home’s exterior.

Preparation

The first thing you’ll do after pulling your solar lights out of the box and inserting batteries is to charge them fully. Unlike traditional battery-powered products, this doesn’t involve plugging them into an electrical outlet. You’ll simply place them in direct sunlight for 12 to 14 hours. For maximum effectiveness, leave the lights in full sunlight for two 12 to 14 hour periods.

As you wait for your lights to charge, map out the areas where you’ll place the light. Make sure each light will receive direct sunlight without obstruction. If an area of the yard is shielded by trees or an overhang during the majority of the day, you’ll likely find it produces very little light at night.

Enjoying the Lights

For best results, you should water the soil in each spot a few hours before you plan to install them. Installation requires merely pushing the stake into the ground and waiting for nightfall. Don’t expect 12 full hours of bright light, however. Solar lights usually produce a less intense light for a shorter amount of time than electrically-powered lights. Eight hours of direct sunlight will often produce six to eight hours of nighttime light.

Maintenance for solar-powered lights is almost as easy as installation. Simply wipe the solar panels occasionally with a wet cloth to remove the dirt that builds up over time. A small amount of dish soap can be used for more stubborn dirt buildup. This will allow the sunlight to get through the lens, making it more efficient.

Solar lights are a great alternative to electricity-powered landscape lighting. They’re easier to install, environmentally friendly, and they’ll save money on utility bills. With the right placement, solar power can provide hours of electricity-free light each evening.