More Top Tips for Selling Your House

Last week we shared some secrets for selling success. Here are five more to help you secure a speedy and successful sale.

1. Win buyers over with your photos To get buyers to your open house, you first need to capture their imagination and interest online. Photos can make or break a deal, so get five or six high-impact shots which truly showcase the best aspects of your home. 2. Upgrade your doors and windows As well as improving your home’s visual appeal, new doors or windows make your home more energy efficient, a plus for any budget and environmentally-conscious buyer. To learn more about energy-efficient windows and treatments, contact the team at Wallside Windows of Detroit at (313) 908-5243. 3. Always be show ready Keep your house looking its best while it’s on the market, as you never know when your final buyer will walk through your door. Think perpetually shining kitchens, bathrooms, living areas and bedrooms that are tidy and dust-free. Because storage space is on most buyers’ wish lists, you should also cut back the clothes in your closet and neatly arrange your cabinet drawers. You might have to turn into a cleaning general for a few months, but the vigilance will be worth it when your buyer signs on the dotted line. 4. Send the pets on holiday You may love animals, but a bowl full of dog food, whiff of kitty litter or free-floating pet hair can be a major turn-off for many buyers. Send your pets to stay with friends, family or a pet hotel before an open house inspection. Or if it’s feasible, keep your house pet free for the entire sales campaign. It might mean a faster sale at a higher price. You can remove pet hair and aromas with a thorough cleaning, including a steam cleaning of carpets and soft furnishings. 5. Let your buyers see the light As with any strategy of seduction, light has a crucial part to play. First, optimize your natural lighting by pulling back your curtains, cleaning the windows and cutting back foliage that blocks sunlight into your home. Install dramatic lighting in entranceways and opt for more subtle, diffused lighting in bedrooms. In your kitchen, use directed lighting in the places where you perform specific tasks, i.e. above the stove, island or sink. In living areas, increase the wattage in your light bulbs, use white shades on table lamps and go for floor lamps that provide lots of light and take up little floor space. Uplights and downlights are also a clever way to create drama and illuminate dark corners.

Energy Saving Tips for Your Attic and Basement

Want to save money on your energy bill this year? I could sit here and tell you all about how much help new energy efficient windows would be, but today I've got some different tips for you.

While often neglected, the attic and basement are two rooms where you can make huge energy savings with a little DIY attention. Following are some energy-efficiency tips for your attic and basement.

• If you’re installing a new roof, make sure it has good ventilation to allow heat and moisture to escape. This will cut cooling costs during summer, prolong shingle life and help ward against condensation.

• Check your attic has adequate insulation – it’s one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to reduce your energy costs. A properly insulated attic can reduce your heating bill by 10 to 50 percent, and helps to cap cooling needs in summer. If your attic has less than six or seven inches of insulation, you can probably benefit from adding more. Ask at your local hardware store about which type of insulation - loose fill, blanket insulation or recycled (a green and non-itch alternative to blanket insulation) would work best in your attic.

• Insulate your basement’s interior wall to save money on heating and create a dry, comfortable living space.

• Before insulating, seal off all air leaks. In the attic, air can get in from behind and under knee walls, and around the attic hatch, wiring, pipes and recessed lights. In the basement, common air leak locations include between rim joists and under the sill plate, and around windows, wiring holes and plumbing pipes. Don’t forget to seal and insulate any heating/cooling ductwork.

• Insulate your water pipes with heat tapes. This reduces heat loss when hot water flows to your faucets and decreases standby losses when the faucet is turned on and off.

• Recycle the old working fridge, freezer or other appliance that’s sitting around in your basement. You’ll get cash rebate and save yourself up to $150 a year in energy costs. Most energy companies will pick up and recycle your old appliance for free, and drop you back your rebate. Ask your energy provider about their appliance recycling program.

• Consider installing a whole house fan in your attic.  Whole house fans are far more energy efficient than air conditioners as they cool your house with natural air currents. Use your whole house fan at night or during the cooler times of the day to draw cool air through the house and exhaust warm air through the attic. Your home will then stay naturally cooler during the hotter parts of the day, without the fan. For extra efficiency, you could install a fan with a timer or variable speed motor.

Five Tips for Reinventing a Room

You don’t have to spend a fortune to transform a tired room. Below are five inexpensive ways to add life, warmth and style to any room in your house. 1. Paint the ceiling red…or another color We often forget about the design potential of our fifth wall. But the off-white canvass above your heads is actually an amazing opportunity to change a room’s overall ambience and layout. For a bold, elegant look, try uniting the ceiling and walls with a single color set off by crisp white trim. If your wall color is very rich, then go one or two shades lighter on the ceiling. You can also use the ceiling to inject color and personality into a plain white room. In small rooms, this is a good way to add both visual interest and a sense of vertical space. 2. Downsize your furniture Writers talk about needing to “kill their darlings” and the same is true of us homemakers, who are often sentimentally attached to items of furniture that we would do better without. This is especially true for over-sized pieces such as sofas, coffee tables and armchairs. Simply by removing one or two bulky items of furniture, you can add space and energy to a room and let it breathe again. Alternatively, substitute smaller pieces. If your coffee table takes up too much real estate, replace it with a smaller table or chest, or throw a stylish runner or mat on an unused piano bench. Transparent tables can also trick your eyes into making the space seem bigger. 3. Cultivate an indoor garden Nothing livens up a room quite like a touch of nature – verdant pot plants or fragrant flowers. And according to the ancient Chinese philosophy of feng shui, decorating with flora will create harmony in your home. Hang baskets of ferns or feathery herbs such as lavender or woolly lamb's ear in the bedroom and place broad-leaved pot plants such as peace lilies, spider plants and weeping figs in the living room. In the kitchen, an indoor herb garden is a wonderfully practical option. Buy grown plants and keep them in a brightly lit area that is out of direct sunlight, or try a windowsill planter. Also shop for some statement vases to display freshly cut flowers in. 4. Add new colors and textures You can transform a room for very little cost by introducing new colors, materials and textures. Jazz up a neutral sofa with a bold zebra print cushion or balance a bold armchair with neutral-colored throw in a different texture. Mix and match with patterns if you like an eclectic aesthetic, or choose accessories that fit tonally and use repetition if you’re more of a minimalist. Add warmth to a cool-toned room with a wood or wicker table, or create contrast in a dark room with wall mirrors and an industrial silver lamp. If you have floorboards, don't forget the statement power of a good floor rug. 5. Light up the room Good lighting adds drama and romance to even the most understated of rooms. Instead of harsh overhead lighting, use the soft, diffused lighting of table and floor lamps. Position them next to your favorite reading spots or your beloved pieces of art. Consider installing uplights and spotlights if your budget allows. Or, if you'd prefer a more natural approach, there's always new replacement windows...

Tips for Reducing Indoor Allergens

Unfortunately spring isn’t the only season we have to be on high allergy alert. Winter brings a whole new set of hazards for allergy and asthma sufferers. We’re talking about indoor allergens, such as dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches. In winter we spend around 90 percent of our time inside, so it’s crucial that we keep our indoor air as healthy as possible. The following are some simple ways to reduce potential allergens in your home:

Move in on mold Even during the depths of winter, mold can linger in damp, humid indoor areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and basements. Attack visible mold with a diluted bleach solution and use dehumidifiers in extremely moist areas. Keeping relative humidity down to less than 50 percent will help to reduce both mold and dust mites. Fix leaks and other sources of damp, clear, moldy firewood, leaves and weeds out of your yard.

Allergen-proof your bedding Keep dust mites out by using zippered allergen-proof covers on all your pillows, mattresses and box springs. You should also wash bedding, uncovered pillows and stuffed toys in hot water and dry them on high heat once a week.

  Rip up the carpet It sounds drastic, but allergens get trapped in carpet fibers, while hard-surface flooring can be easily dusted and mopped. Bare floors and walls are best, particularly in the bedroom where you sleep. If that’s not feasible, consider washable throw rugs or low-pile carpets, and get your carpets and rugs regularly steam cleaned.

Buy an asthma-friendly vacuum Poor quality vacuums can actually increase dust in the air, so look for models that are certified to be asthma and allergy friendly. You should vacuum and dust once or twice weekly, and use a damp or treated cloth for dusting. If you suffer from severe allergies, wear a dust mask and leave the house for several hours after cleaning. Or even better, pay for a professional cleaner if you can afford it.

Evict the cockroaches Cockroach droppings can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in some people, another reason you don’t want a roach infestation in your house. Call an exterminator who uses allergen-sensitive materials. Or tackle them on your own with poison baits, boric acid and traps, rather than chemical agents, which can exacerbate rhinitis and asthma. Keep your home clean and a tight lid on your food and trash bins.

Tackle pet hair You love your pet, but not their sneeze-inducing dander. If possible, keep pets out of the bedroom. You could also have them sleep in the basement or garage if there is a spot that is warm enough. Otherwise, you’ll need to be vigilant with vacuuming and you could also consider an indoor air cleaner, such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) air cleaner which can pick up fine particles such as pet dander.

Five Ways to Dress Up Your Windows for the Festive Season

Windows are your outlook on the world, and shouldn’t be overlooked when decorating your home for the holiday season. Following are five great ways to adorn your windows in some festive cheer. 1. Wreaths for a welcoming view Your front door isn’t the only place to advertise your festive spirit. With eye-catching window wreaths, you can share the season’s cheer with your entire neighborhood. First measure your windows - as a guide, a window that is 36 inches wide will need a 24- to 30-inch wreath. Once you’ve bought your permanent wreaths, you can get creative with nature’s seasonal materials. Try fresh evergreen leaves such as noble fir, eucalyptus, white pine, or magnolia leaves, as they dry naturally and retain a subtle scent throughout the season. A rosemary or bay leaf wreath is a good option for your kitchen window. Or team clusters of red pepper, holly or canella berries with a white ribbon for a classic December wreath. You can secure wreaths to your external windows with suction cups or ribbons.

2. A festive topiary peering through Think outside the traditional topiary style with a vertical hedge or single plant festooned with festive ornaments. Consider a platted or plaited ficus, a single tropical orchid, a magnolia, a flowering topiary. Or try a topiary in a cone, spiral, triple ball or pillar shape. You can also craft your own topiary. Create a glazed green and red topiary spire from vases and foam balls. For an earthy look on a classic shape, adorn a foam cone with dried seed pods, pine cones and unshelled nuts, or with rose-blushed fruits and rustic branches. Your topiary should be positioned so the top is slightly below the window’s center. Frame it with a draping of greenery of tinsel above and around the window.

3. Candles burning brightly Light up your windows with a holiday glow using elegant hurricane lamps. Or if your windowsill is deep enough, create a rustic look with a tray of different sized candles. Use battery-operated candles inside burnt-down candlesticks for an authentic glow without the fire hazard. Only use real candles with the utmost care – don’t place them near draperies and furniture, or leave them unattended.

4. Throw up a mistletoe ball Maximize your kissing opportunities this festive season with a mistletoe ball. Cover a foam sphere (around nine to 12 inches in diameter) with mistletoe or a ribbon in red, silver,gold, white, blue or green. Attach a wired ribbon to the ball with a T-pin, and make a loop to hang it from the top of your window.

5. Icicles for a cozy winter wonderland Create an enchanting icicle display with strands of pearl beads, rock crystal or holiday lights in your window.