Articles Tagged "Home improvement tips"

As we approach the warmest time of the year, adjust your outdoor space to match the summer. Your outdoor space is more valuable during summer, and you need to get it ready in anticipation of entertaining your friends and family. Hosting a festive outdoor party filled with fun and laughter involves more than moving your indoor party to your patio. Our real estate agents recommend these tips to get your outdoor space ready for summer entertaining.

1. Up the Ambience by Adding Outdoor Lighting
   Most outdoor events begin in the evening and transition into the night. Therefore, it's important to have adequate lighting. Create some ambiance by adding outdoor lighting like garden stake lights to light up pathways. Backyard uplighting or pool lighting will light up the night and add a beautiful aesthetic. You can choose to add the tiki torches, a summer classic, or the battery-operated candles. Light some citronella candles around the seating area to keep bugs away.

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A galley kitchen can seem small and dark if not utilized properly. In reality, it's actually one of the most functional designs for a kitchen since everything you need while you cook is at most a few steps away, if not right in arm's reach. How, then, to make this design look more welcoming? The difference is all in the details, as our real estate agents will show you.

• Clear the Way
  Having a lot of stuff in the way as you traverse the kitchen will make it feel more cramped. Avoid a lot of clutter, such as too many rugs, and for reaching upper cabinets, invest in footstools that will fold up and stow neatly out of the way. If you have a bar, make sure that bar stools can tuck neatly under it when not in use. Galley kitchens look best without a lot of visual interruptions.

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While whole-house renovations make your house more attractive to buyers, they are expensive and will eat into your profits. Fortunately, there are DIY upgrades that can boost your home's value. DIY Day is the perfect time to try your hand at these projects recommended by our real estate agents.

1. Repaint Your Walls
   Walls in a lived-in home often have visible stains, scuffs, or writing in households with children. A fresh coat of paint hides these imperfections, refreshes your home, and makes it more impressive to buyers. Additionally, painting is reasonably cheap, and you can quickly repaint your walls over the weekend.

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Home decorating trends are constantly changing, and staying up to date with home designs is essential for anyone looking to sell. The last two years have brought substantial changes to how we live. As life eases back to normalcy, new home trends are popping up while designers retire other designs. Our real estate agents have the exclusive scoop on the hottest trends to refresh your decorating style below.

What's In?

2022 is an exciting year for home designs, thanks to trends like the following.

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When you're decorating your new home, it can seem like there are so many style choices and decorating rules to follow. One choice that everyone seems to have an opinion about is ceiling fans. Even though some people feel they're outdated, ceiling fans do serve an important function, and our real estate agents can affirm that plenty of buyers and homeowners appreciate having them. There are plenty of on-trend designs and updated finishes available so ceiling fans can look great in any style of home. 

Benefits of ceiling fans

If you don't have ceiling fans, here's why you might want to add them, even if you're selling soon. And if you already have them, you may want to update them rather than removing them completely. 

• All-year temperature control. In warm weather, run the fan to circulate the air and create a breeze to cool down the room. In cold weather, when the heat is on, running the fan in reverse helps push the warmer air down, making the room temperature more comfortable and allowing the heating system to operate more efficiently. They're also a great addition in places like Long Island, where you'll get a few unseasonably warm days before you really want to switch on the air conditioner for the season. It's much easier just to switch on a fan for a few hours.

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A lush lawn can be a real booster when it comes to your home's selling price, as our real estate agents will tell you. That's good news, but attaining a beautiful lawn requires some work and commitment. Here are some tips that will guide you toward creating the lawn of your dreams.

1. Improve the soil
   Lawns need good soil to look healthy. Be sure that your soil's pH (the measure of the acidity or basicity of the soil) is right for the kind of grass you want to grow. Soil test kits can yield the pH, and you can use amendments to fix it. You may need to till the soil if it is exceptionally hard, and perhaps adding some good quality soil.

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Is it time for a spring makeover for your front yard? It is the "face" of your home, and to passersby, it is an indication of what the inside of your home looks like. An unkempt yard gives the impression of a home that is just as messy and disordered, while a well-maintained one builds the expectation of an orderly, tidy home.

Along with spring cleaning your home, consider doing a spring makeover for your front yard. The weather is perfect for it, and so are the bright, uplifting plants and flowers that come with the season. The following guide will take you through how to do your makeover:

• Take stock of what you need
  When you get started, you want to keep going without stopping to get supplies. You can do that by taking stock of what you need and getting everything before starting. Start from one corner of your yard and work toward the other, working from the top down. Start with the exterior walls of the front of your house and decide what you would like to do here: Would you like to plant climbing plants or vines, and would you like them to be flowered or not? Perhaps the exterior walls could do with a fresh coat of paint.

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Ask any of our real estate agents, and they'll tell you the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home. If you want to enhance your kitchen space, adding some under-cabinet lighting is one of the best ways to do it. This easy and relatively inexpensive project can completely transform your kitchen! Here are a few tips to help you get started.

• Evaluate Your Space
  Before you begin your lighting project, you need to get a feel for how much space you have under your cabinets. You'll also want to consider the type of lighting you'll use and the location of your workspace. Make sure you think everything through and take careful measurements. Armed with this information, you can start planning out your project.

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Pools, spas, and meticulously manicured lawns are lovely but few backyard amenities are as exceptional as an outdoor kitchen. An outdoor kitchen is a staple of luxury living. Whether it's poolside, atop a patio, or used to create the transitional indoor-outdoor space that so many homeowners desire, the outdoor kitchen is a fantastic feature. Unfortunately, it's also one of the easiest luxe renovations to botch.

When you're transforming your outdoor space with luxurious upgrades, it's important to make sure your investment is protected before, during, and after the project is completed. Our real estate agents have identified five of the most common mistakes homeowners make when installing an outdoor kitchen and how you can avoid them.

1. Mistake: Not Planning the Project Professionally
   Solution: Hire A Consultant
   
   How do you turn the outdoor kitchen of your dreams into a reality? You're going to need some help. Even if you plan on completing most aspects of the project yourself, you should still consult a team of professionals before you begin. This project will involve the installation of ventilation, electrical, gas, and water lines, all of which aren't elements an amateur should attempt to handle alone. Bringing in a professional consultant to help you detail the logistics of your vision will help you avoid mistakes.

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When that "For Sale" sign goes up in your back yard, you may be ready to say farewell to your house. You may have already begun packing. So it may seem a little odd to consider remodeling at such a time. Why go through the process of hiring contractors and paying for repairs that you may never enjoy? But when you sell your home, you aren't just saying goodbye to your house. You're hoping to convince someone else to call it home for the first time. Here are the remodeling projects our real estate agents recommend considering when preparing your home for sale:

• Fix It, Don't Forget It 
  Materials in poor condition should be at the top of your list for repairs or replacements. If surfaces are chipped, peeling, or cracked, it doesn't matter if they're in a style that's currently en vogue. Surfaces that show signs of water or mold damage, even if the underlying cause has been addressed, will prompt buyers to be wary of problems beneath. If you have a material that is rare or old, have an expert examine it to determine the best course of action. Some original materials might need to be preserved or restored by specialists.

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Spring has sprung, and many homeowners will soon be updating their landscaping to make the most of it. Our real estate agents at Laffey Real Estate are all about curb appeal, and there are few things that can refresh a home's exterior like all-new landscaping.

Apart from that, landscaping gives you the opportunity for more fun around the home. Whether you are planting a tree or setting up a garden, there's nothing else quite like watching things grow. And getting ready for a new outdoor adventure isn't all that hard.

In just a few steps, you can have your home ready for fresh landscaping. Here's how you do it all the right way.

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If you've suddenly found yourself among the many remote workers around the country, you can easily create brilliant work-friendly spaces from a spare corner, a few feet of wall, or even in your basement. To help you create a dedicated workspace that is welcoming, smart, and functional, our real estate agents recommend the following tips:

1. Ensure Comfortable Seating
   Comfortable seating doesn't mean bringing in a sofa, beanbag chair, or other furniture that can make you dose off. Simply get a decent office chair that you can comfortably sit on for a few hours. An ergonomically designed chair with back support will help promote good posture and keep you comfortable and fully alert.

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With homebuyers placing a high premium on space and flexibility, a bonus room can be a definite advantage if you're selling your home. But rather than leaving them virtually empty or using them for storage, sellers should stage bonus rooms to show them off to their maximum advantage.

Our real estate agents suggest the following ways to help prospective buyers feel inspired when they see your bonus room:

• Consider your likely buyer
  Tailor your bonus room to the type of buyer who is likely to be interested in your home. If it's likely to appeal to a family with young children, consider making your bonus room into a nursery, playroom, or extra bedroom. But if your neighborhood attracts a lot of young professionals, your bonus room may be more appealing if it's transformed into a home office.

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Springtime is almost here and that means prime real estate season is right around the corner. If you're thinking about selling your home, you're in good company. Our real estate agents are already working with many sellers who are preparing to list their homes in the coming months.

Want to make sure your house stands out from the crowd? You'll need to put in a bit of extra effort. Start with these six tips. 

1. Update Your Curb Appeal
   After a long, hard winter the outside of your home is sure to need a bit of TLC. Make sure you put your best foot forward by sprucing up your landscaping and adding some extra touches to make your outdoor space more appealing. This includes:

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Our real estate agents often get asked for their best tips to help sell a home. Staging a home to sell is an important step, and one that will pay off in the end. If you have to stage one room in your home make that your living room. It's normally one of the first things people see when they enter the home, so it's your chance to make a great first impression.

• Get rid of the extra stuff. This should be going on throughout your home. In the living room remove extra, unmatching, or furniture that is the wrong size for the room. Rearrange what's left or replace with something more appropriate. Remove and store collectibles, family photos, and any extreme décor choices. Reducing the amount of stuff in a room immediately looks better, allows more light to shine, and helps buyers imagine how their own stuff will look in the room.
  
  
• Patch and Paint. You should already have been at least thinking about repainting everywhere, but if not, do the living room before you stage it.  Fresh paint will make the room cleaner and brighter, a must for staging success.

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When it's time to sell your Long Island home, you know you need to get it shaped up and ready to shine. Your first concern should be curb appeal, or how appealing your home is to a potential buyer driving by. Some experts even say good curb appeal can help you get 10% more in the final price.

You might think of asking a friend to give you an assessment of how your home looks. Make sure you get the honest friend; not the one who tells says you look great after that awful haircut.

Our REALTORS® offer these six tips of where to start to make your curb appeal pop:

1. Mailbox
   Start at the curb and take a good look at your mailbox. Is it scuffed and dinghy, looking as though it is apathetic about holding the mail? Give it a good cleaning, or if it is too far gone, consider replacing it. At least re-paint the post and replace the house numbers with a style that matches your overall house.

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Your home reflects the love and attention you have poured into it over the years. Colors and furnishings that make you feel at home may not be as attractive to a prospective buyer. When you prepare for an open house, consider how it looks from a buyer's perspective. You can easily augment what you have or make minor adjustments to improve its marketability.

Our real estate agents have compiled a list of six straightforward steps to spruce up your Long Island home for an open house.

1. Clear away the clutter
   This can be an excellent opportunity to begin purging in anticipation of a move. Pack up your personal trinkets, photos, and other items that you don't use on a daily basis. Clear off the countertops and coffee table. You want buyers to see the home, not the stuff. Store the boxes neatly in a closet or the garage.
   
   

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