6 Best Bathroom Remodeling Trends for 2017

March 8, 20173 Comments

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Dreaming of that spa-like bathroom, but not sure if you should drop the money into a remodel? Springing for a new bath is typically a sound investment, often returning more than 100 percent of the cost. So go ahead and design the bathroom of your dreams! To help get the ideas flowing, here are our 6 best bathroom remodeling trends for 2017:

Increase the Size – Most bathroom renovations focus on increasing the room size to give the space an open and light feel. Adding square footage to the bathroom frees up area to install a separate soaking tub and shower, maybe a master closet space, and room to add much desired storage.

Heated Floors – Add a touch of luxury and comfort with some extra-added warmth. Radiant floor heat can make all the difference on a chilly winter morning, and it will warm you from the bottom up. If you can’t afford a new heating system for your floors, install a towel warmer so you can wrap yourself in warmth.

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Upscale Shower – Start with a beautifully tiled shower and then up the ante to create the ultimate spa experience by installing multiple shower heads and body jets. If you can fully enclose your shower, add steam and a built-in bench to sit and relax as you sweat your cares away.

Cue the Music – Who doesn’t love singing at the top of their lungs in the shower? Wireless speakers are being incorporated into bathroom mirrors, showerheads, and vanities. Put on Pandora’s spa station and take a relaxing soak in the tub, or pump up the jams to get your morning going. Check out Kohler’s Moxie® Showerhead for a super easy way to add a speaker in your shower.

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Smart Storage – Storage never goes out of style! Take advantage of vertical space and install floor to ceiling cabinetry. If built-in cabinetry is not an option, bring in an interesting piece of furniture like an antique armoire. Open shelving is still a popular trend that works in the bathroom – install floating shelves and neatly arrange extra towels and toiletries.

Go High-Tech – If you love smart home technology, don’t forget the bathroom! You can buy toilets with seat warmers and motion sensors, digital faucets with touchless technology, and soaking tubs with mood-enhancing lighting.

Revamp with Paint!

August 16, 2016Leave a comment

Feel like your home could use a little update? Or maybe you are just looking to change things up … either way, the simplest way to make an inexpensive change is with paint! The walls are an obvious choice, but you can spruce up almost anything with paint, from fixtures and objects to floors and furniture.

Not all surfaces are alike, here are some guidelines for painting 5 different surfaces:

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Wood: Probably one of the easiest surfaces to paint, wood will easily soak up paint. Clean the surface, removing any buildup. If it has a glossy finish, you will want to lightly sand it first so the paint will adhere. You can use a primer, but it’s not often necessary, and most paints these days have primer already built-in. Stick with eggshell paints for interior wood projects, it’s more durable and has a slight sheen.

2. Metal: The first step in painting metal is to remove any rust using sandpaper or a wire brush. Next comes the primer to protect the surface and provide a good base. Choose a paint with rust inhibitors or spray paint – they make spray paint specifically for metal. You will need to apply multiple layers for a nice finished look.

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3. Concrete: Yes, you can totally paint concrete! Floors should be sanded and the surface must be clean and completely dry before painting. You will need to prime and then opt for a floor or epoxy paint. They make kits to paint garage floors that include decorative chips to give a speckled effect.

4. Tile: Have some dated tile or are you just sick of the color? Instead of ripping out your existing tile and replacing with new, which could be quite expensive depending on the tile, refresh the look with paint. Tile must be cleaned and then use a special glass or tile paint, other paints will easily chip or scrape off.

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5. Drywall: If you are starting with a newly dry-walled wall, make sure you’ve sanded down the seams so that the surface is smooth and then clean off any dust. Primer is not required, but recommended on new walls. The type of paint you choose really depends on the room – satin or eggshell finishes are fine for bedrooms and living spaces. You will likely want to go with a higher-gloss finish for kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways that can easily be wiped down.

Staging With A Purpose

May 16, 2016Leave a comment

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When a buyer steps into your house, you want them to be able to easily envision living there – not trying to figure out what to do with that tiny bedroom that seems to be your storage room.

If you are using a room in an odd way, maybe you turned the dining room into your children’s playroom, it may work for your needs but will likely leave potential buyers feeling bewildered, and moving on to the next house.

Follow these 3 tips to stage each room with a purpose:

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Make it simple. Stage rooms for their original or most obvious purpose – a bedroom should have a bed, a dining room should have a table and chairs, etc. If you have a large finished basement, carve out a space for a rec room, theater room, or exercise room.

Spell it out. If your home has an undefined or awkward space, stage it with your suggestion for how to use it. For example, a small alcove or under the stair nook could be staged as a home office just by adding a desk, lamp, and chair. Stage each space so there is no question what it’s for.

P: stagemyownhome.com

Lay it out. Open floor plans are popular, but can be confusing to a buyer trying to figure out how to arrange the space. Don’t try to cram too many uses into one great room – stick with the basic dining area and family room.

If buyers have to guess how to use a room, they may leave thinking the house won’t fit their needs. Make the purpose of each room clear so that buyers can visualize where they will put their own furnishings and accessories in the house.

5 Landscape Projects That Make Sense

April 14, 2016April 29, 2016Leave a comment

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Warmer temps and sunshine have us itching to get out and enjoy the outdoors. When Spring hits, it’s prime season for yard work – you don’t want to be slaving away in the gorgeous summer weather when you could be sipping lemonade (or a margarita!) in the shade of your perfectly manicured outdoor paradise.

But where do you start? What projects are really worth it? Here are our top 5 landscape projects that offer the best return on your investment:

Spruce up what you have. Start with a spring yard cleanup – pull out the weeds, prune trees and bushes and rake up any leaves you may have missed in fall. Freshen up your mulch by flipping and fluffing with a rake, once you’re finished you may not even need to buy new mulch for the season!

Renew your deck. A wood deck will take a beating being exposed to our crazy VT weather. If your deck is looking a little worn, start by power washing to get a completely clean surface. Once dry, you can stain and then follow with a waterproofer designed for unsealed wood to protect your deck.

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Plant flowers for a pop of color. Choose some colorful perennials to dot your yard, these plants will last for years so you will not need to replant every spring/summer like an annual. Cone flowers, daylillies, and hydrangea are good choices for VT. Annuals come in so many pretty varieties, you can add them in to your landscaping or plant in window boxes and colorful pots. Choose a variety of flowers that bloom at different times, as well as a mix of heights, colors, and shapes.

Plant some trees. As trees grow, they appreciate in value providing fantastic ROI. Trees also provide privacy, which tops most buyers’ wish lists. Emerald Green Arborvitae are a great option for privacy, and are perfect for VT as they resist snow and ice damage. Other trees that thrive in VT include spruce trees and of course the sugar maple.

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Create an outdoor living space. Pick out some stone pavers that complement your house and landscape to build a patio and/or fire pit. Permeable paving and fire pits rank high in outdoor elements that buyers desire. Learn how to lay a paver patio on Lowe’s website.

6 Home Staging Don’ts

February 16, 2016February 17, 2016Leave a comment

We talk a lot about what to do to stage your home, but what about what NOT to do? Here are 6 staging mistakes to avoid:

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Don’t go over-the-top with decor. Less is more in home staging – keep decor simple and neutral to appeal to a variety of buyers.

Don’t make your home smell like the department store perfume counter. Any type of overwhelming scent, whether something good or bad, will send buyers running for the door.

Don’t stuff all of your junk in the closet. Buyers will open every door to check out the storage space in the house, a messy stuffed closet will give the impression that there is not enough storage space.

Don’t do major renovations. Finishes and fixtures that you love may not appeal to every buyer. Limit any work to essentials like replacing old flooring, small repairs, updating old fixtures, and minimal painting.

P: Retro Ranch Revamp

Don’t misuse rooms. A bedroom should be staged as a bedroom, not that ‘extra’ room where you store your odds and ends.

Don’t defer yard work. If you have overgrown shrubs, an unruly lawn, and a broken fence, chances are that potential buyers won’t take that extra step to look inside.

Our Top 5 Home Trends for 2016

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016Leave a comment

Thinking about a home renovation project or just want to spice up your decor for the New Year? You want to be sure that the items and projects you invest in will stand the test of time, and are not dated fads of years past, especially if you are planning to put your house on the market.

Here are our top 5 favorite home trends for 2016:

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Mismatched Cabinets – Add interest to your kitchen by pairing 2 different cabinet styles, varying in color or texture. Think a light color on wall-mounted cabinets and a darker color on cabinets under the counter. Or choose 1 color for wall cabinets and a different color for an island.
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Statement Pendant – Change the look and feel of a room just by updating the light fixture. You can find pendant lights in a variety of shapes and sizes, from brightly colored lanterns to industrial style metal-shaded fixtures.
Fireplaces – The fireplace is once again becoming the focal point of rooms. Don’t ignore
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this feature if you have it! Arrange your furniture to put the fireplace center stage. Have a non-working fireplace? No problem, you can still dress it up to make it shine. Fill it with candle holders of varying heights to cast a warm fire-like glow.
Black Stainless Appliances – Instead of shiny new silver, it
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looks like sleek black stainless steel appliances will be the finish choice of the future.
Mixed Materials – Create a truly unique space by combining a variety of styles like a rustic wood, sleek tile, shiny metals, and vintage finds.

P.S. Mason jars are so 2015, and word on the street is that the rustic chic look is on the way out.

Prepping Your Home For Sale

August 12, 2015August 7, 2015Leave a comment

Hi everyone! This is Jennie, Marketing Director for The Weaver Team. I’m always posting tips on home staging, getting ready to move, etc. but I thought speaking from my own experience might really hit home for you all. My husband and I recently decided to put our condo on the market to move on up to our first house. SO exciting, but also SO stressful!

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Just looking at all of the stuff we’ve accumulated over the years was giving me heart palpitations. And I am a total neat freak – so it probably wasn’t even that bad. I had so many thoughts going through my head, there were so many things I wanted to clean or fix up before putting our condo on the market. There was just so much to do that I didn’t even want to start.

Once we started looking at houses, we decided it was time to buck up and get our condo on the market – sellers aren’t very enamored with offers contingent upon selling your current property. We were getting ready to head out on vacation for 10 days and I thought it would be the perfect time to list, that way the condo could be shown any time and we wouldn’t have to get out, figure out what to do with the dog, or clean up after ourselves.

So now we had a deadline to get our place ready, which was just the kick in the pants we needed. After all of the homes I’ve photographed and all of the staging tips I’ve poured over the past couple years, I knew the first step would be to declutter and depersonalize. We rented a small 5 x 10 storage unit for our ‘overflow’, I highly recommend a storage unit if you don’t have a basement or garage where you can store things.

We removed all photographs of ourselves, family, and dog – including from the walls, shelves, and refrigerator. We had a few ‘extra’ pieces of furniture including a console table, wine tower, and 2 dining room chairs that we removed to make the space look as large as possible, but without making it look sparse. We have storage under the stairs, so to show how large the space is, we packed it all up and put it in storage. The same for our closets, buyers are looking for storage space so if your closets are filled to the brim it gives a sense of very little storage space. We packed up seasonal clothes and shoes and off to storage they went.

Next we washed ALL of our walls and doors, just a bucket of water and a cloth, wiping them all down top to bottom. You will not believe the difference it made! And don’t forget the kitchen cabinets which tend to get extra grimy. We also wiped the ceiling fan blades, man those get dirty.

Once everything was hauled off to storage and everything had been wiped down, I went back through and redecorated. Yes you should declutter and depersonalize, but you don’t want your home to feel cold and unwelcoming. We have a cluster of shelves above the couch where I added candles and small picture frames will cool wallpaper. I put a runner on our dining room table with some candles and added a few small colored vases to a shelf above the TV.

Finally, as an added touch, we created a flyer that called out the features of our condo and also some additional perks like being within walking distance of the Village, local events, and being near the bus line. You don’t know if the agent showing your home is familiar with the area, so why not let them know why you love living there?

Let me tell you – staging works! Our condo, listed with The Weaver Team of course :), sold in 1 1/2 weeks! If you are going to list and have a vacation coming up, definitely list before you go, it will save you a ton of hassle with showings. And hopefully, like me, your home will sell while you’re away!

Stay tuned for my next post on buying a home.

The Importance of Home Staging

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015Leave a comment

We here at The Weaver Team are strong believers in the power of staging – you only have one chance to make a first impression and it’s important to create a positive impact on buyers the moment they enter a room!

Unlike interior decorating that makes a home appeal to its homeowner’s unique tastes, home staging makes the home appeal to a variety of tastes. The goal is to draw the eye to the best features of the home, and improve any weaker elements.

BEFORE

AFTER

The very first rule of staging is DECLUTTER! You want prospective buyers to see how much space your home offers, not how much stuff you have filled it with. Start by removing items you have no use for, if it’s been sitting in the basement unused for a year, it’s probably time to get rid of it. Separate items into piles to sell, donate, and store. If you don’t have a basement or garage to store items, rent a storage unit.

Updates as simple as rearranging furniture or adding new decor can make a world of difference. If you have very large furniture pieces, it’s best to remove them from a room all together to make the space look as large as possible. Also try floating furniture away from the walls and arrange sofas and chairs in conversational sets – this will open up the room.

BEFORE

AFTER

In some cases, you may need to take it a step further with paint and/or installing new fixtures. You may be thinking, ‘What’s the point in painting when the new owner will just come in and paint on their own?’ Buyers are fickle, and most cannot see beyond a simple fix like paint, or even your personal decor. Remember – you want your home to appeal to a variety of buyers, and while you may love your elegant eggplant dining room, it may be a major turn off to buyers. Stick with neutral paints for your walls and update any brass fixtures that tend to make a home look dated.

Can’t get enough of home staging tips? Like us on Facebook – we post a Tuesday Tip every week!

Selling A Home With Pets

May 14, 2015June 23, 2015Leave a comment

The Weaver Team loves pets. Carolyn shares her house with a cat rescued from North Beach in Burlington and Jennie’s dog Maddie looks forward to walks every day. When you put your house on the market it’s important to consider what you’re going to do with your pets for the showings.

Even when you think your pet is calm and well-behaved, Bella or Max may exhibit other behaviors when you are gone. In one case, a good friend of mine listed her house and I was very familiar with her dog, “Buster.” Because I had visited on many occasions, the dog seemed calm and content so I told my friend the dog was no problem and could stay in the home for showings. When I arrived at the house to measure, on my own, “Buster” turned into the Tazmanian Devil. This whirling dervish followed me through the house jumping and barking incessantly. When I tried to leave the house Buster ran out and jumped in my car. Needless to say the poor fellow had just sentenced himself to a day in doggie day care for the showings.

P: shorewest.com

Other pet situations sometimes involve pets escaping when other Realtors arrive at the house. One time, an owner let us know that their cat was shy and would hide. When we arrived and opened the door, the cat charged the door (and us!) and escaped into a hedge. Unfortunately, shaking the dry cat food box and calling, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” was futile. The seller had to leave a golf game to rescue Fluffy from the great outdoors.

For those of you who know us, our team is calm and we rarely panic. Recently, though, a Buyer’s Agent texted us from one of our listings asking, “Does the owner have cats? There are two in the yard.” The house had an indoor cat and we posted a sign, “Please Don’t Let the Cat Out.” Two? Outside? Before we could process this another text arrived, “They both have identical collars.” A quick read of the collars showed that the cats were the neighbors. Our seller’s cat was safely inside, asleep on a bed. Phew!

P: franklinteam.com

The point is to have a plan for your pets. We specialize in “pet tips” that we have accrued from our years of showing homes with dogs, cats, iguanas, guinea pigs, rabbits, snakes and ferrets. One time there was an empty cage … that’s a whole other blog.

Rebate Agent Vs. Traditional Realtor

March 23, 2015June 26, 2015Leave a comment

Rebate real estate brokerages have been gaining in popularity in the past few years with offers of money back at closing or charging a lesser flat fee rather than traditional brokerage commission rates.

So why would you want to pay more for the services of a traditional Realtor when there’s a company offering to do the same amount of work at a discount? Simply put – you get what you pay for! When you hire someone to do a job for half the cost or a straight fee instead of what they would traditionally make, you receive a different level of experience.

What can this different experience level mean for you?

Your home priced incorrectly – too high or too low
Low-level marketing skills and budget
Weak negotiating skills with offers or the purchase contract
Not available around the clock

These things can end up costing you money … more money than you thought you were saving by choosing a rebate agent.

Another disadvantage – rebate real estate brokerages rely on a high volume to stay in business, and have a high rate of expired listings that eventually end up with a Realtor at a traditional brokerage.