steve's White Mountain Blog

Is Your Kitchen Looking "Tired"?  

Let's face it, we spend a great deal of time in our kitchens, and most of us can't remodel our kitchens every few years.  So how do we freshen up one of the most used rooms in the house without breaking the bank?  Redoing the kitchen doesn't always mean removing all of the cabinets, reworking the layout and purchasing an entirely new kitchen. 

As with other areas of home decor, kitchen designers are pushing the envelope and being very creative with mixing various cabinet styles and colors.  Have you looked at any magazine articles on kitchen design lately?  You may be surprised! 

So, what are your options for sprucing up your kitchen?

Paint...We all know that painting an area is one of the easiest ways to freshen things up.  Painting the walls or backsplash is the simplest way to start, so if you have white cabinets, consider using a daring color such as a bright green, blue or salmon on the walls.  Usually there is not much wall space in a kitchen so this approach works well.

The bright yellow walls and window treatment add a punch to the otherwise white space.

Perhaps you have wood-toned cabinets.  Have you ever thought of painting the cabinet faces and doors?  I have done this in two of my past homes, and loved the result.  I painted the wood cabinets white and used my favorite color, green, on the walls; not just any green, bright emerald green!

If you prefer a more rustic or country look, faux paint your cabinets to look "worn" by painting the cabinets your  favorite color of red, blue or whatever you choose and rubbing the paint off of the edges to give an aged look.

Before 

This large kitchen could definitely use an overhaul.  The homeowner didn't want the expense of replacing the cabinets so the contractor added trim and a decorative finish to the existing cabinet doors

 After

It's amazing what a little paint can do!  The cabinets have a wonderful "worn" finish created with paint and glaze.

Backsplash: Jazzing up your backsplash with tile makes a huge difference and can totally change the "flavor" of the decor.  White subway tiles give a bright, clean look (see the kitchen just above) whereas using small random cut marble mosaics creates a very elegant look.  Tiles that have a fruit or vegetable motif can add a country or Tuscan flavor while shell or starfish motifs underscore a Seacoast theme.

The marble sink, countertop and mosaic backsplash really dress up this kitchen!

Refacing: This definitely provides a fresh look to existing cabinets, and with a well-done refacing job, one would swear the cabinets are new.  The trend now is to have several different cabinet colors in the same kitchen.  Let's say your kitchen cabinets are light colored oak.  Consider refacing the base and wall cabinets in a rich cherry tone and refacing the cabinets in the island with a painted front in your favorite color.

Other Options:    Do you have a few cabinets that are falling apart and need to be replaced even though most of the other cabinets are in good condition?  Consider removing the offending cabinets, reworking the placement of the sturdy cabinets and supplementing with cabinets in complimentary styles and colors.  

Are all of the cabinets in good shape but you want a new look without the expense of refacing?  Consider adding some type of trim to the face of the cabinet doors and then painting the doors and cabinet faces. 

This picture shows what can be done by adding trim to a previously flat cabinet door and then adding a decorative paint finish and new pulls.

 Another option might be to remove a shorter run of cabinets and replace them with a hutch or some other interesting piece of furniture that provides both storage and display space.  This is a great way to showcase special china or glassware.

Another option is to paint the existing cabinets different colors so that here the red cabinet looks like a separate furniture hutch.

While these last suggestions will cost more than a coat of paint, they are definitely less expensive that the cost of a new kitchen.  And, the results can be astounding.

If you think your kitchen is due for an update, but you don't know what options might work best for your needs, call your design professional to help guide you through the endless possibilities to a kitchen you love.

 It is essential for me to be sensitive to your needs and dreams, lifestyle, time and budget.  Your ideas plus my creative design experience and knowledge of construction techniques and eco-friendly home furnishings can make your dream of creating a beautiful, healthy home a reality.

Randy Trainor and Alpine Lakes Realty are proud to bring you these monthly installment about interior design and helpful hints to prepare your home for sale.

Commercial Condo conversion – allows new residential use, with application. This 1,464 Square foot Condo has been rough framed for a three bedroom / 2 bath garden style condominium, the building is fully sprinklered and permits have been granted for residential use in 3 or more like condos in the building. The Price is $59,900 or about $41/square foot Woodstock NH.

Zoning: none Rooms: 5 Year Built: 1985 Bedrooms: 3 Color: brick wh Total Baths: 2 Taxes: $ 1,570.00 Full: 2 Taxes TBD: No 3/4 Baths: 0 Tax Year: 2009 1/2 Baths: 0 Monthly Assoc.$: $190 Garage Capacity 0 Lot Acre: .00 Garage Type: None Lot SqFt:   Total Fin SqFt: 1,464 Common Land Acres:    Apx Fin Above Grd: 1,464 Road Frontage: No   Apx Fin Below Grd: 0 Water Frontage:   Foot Print:   Water Acc Type:   Flood Zone: No # of Stories: 1 Style: Conversion Water Body Type:   Water Body Restr.:   Surveyed: Unknown Seasonal: No Water Body Name:   Current/Land Use:   Land Gains:   Owned Land:   Parcel Access ROW:   ROW for other Parcel:   ROW Width:   ROW Length:   Public Rems: Condo conversion -partially framed for a residential condo with town water/sewer. Ranch style, 1 level living with approvals for 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths. Affordable and a great location, convenient to town, skiing for Cannon and Loon, golf, hiking, snowmobiling and all the great summer attractions. Directions: I-93 to exit 32, right onto Rte 112 to traffic light, right onto Route 3 N (Main St) approx 1 mile, Alpine Lodge will be on your left. Also only 2 miles south from Exit 33 Approximate Room Dimensions ROOM DIMS LEVEL ROOM DIMS LEVEL   FLOOR BR FB 3/4 1/2   Living Rm     Master BR       1st           Kitchen     2nd BR       2nd           Dining Rm     3rd BR       3rd           Family Rm     4th BR       4th           Office/Study     5th BR       Bsmt           Utility Rm     Den       Other Rm 1     Other Rm 3       Other Rm 2     For Condo Use Only Condo Name: Alpine Lodge Condo Unit #: 6 Floor: 1 Building #: 1 # Units/Building: 12 Limited Common Area:   Condo Assoc Fees: $190 Special Assessment: Unknown Features Assoc Amenities:  Snow Removal Possession: At Closing Interior Feat.: Exterior Feat.: Basement: Slab , Other Equip./Appl.: Driveway: Common/Shared , Paved Electric: Circuit Breaker(s) Construction: Masonry Exterior: Brick , Wood Financing: Foundation: Concrete Floors: Other Heating/Cool: Hot Air Garage/Park: Lot Desc: Business District , Landscaped , Level , Trail/Near Trail , Village , Walking Trails Heat Fuel: Gas-LP/Bottle Occ. Restrictions: Roads: None Roof: Other Sewer: Public Water: Public Suitable Land Use:   Fee Includes: Landscaping , Plowing Water Heater: Gas-Lp/Bottle Disability: 1st Floor Full Bathrm , Access. Parking , Zero-Step Entry Building Certs: Negotiable: Docs Available: Association Docs , Deed Excl Sale:     Tax Rate: $15.55 Assmt:    Assmt Yr:   Tax Class:   Unadjusted Taxes:    Tax Reduct: Unknown Elderly:   Veteran:    Other:   Covenant:  Yes Source SqFt: Muni County: Grafton Recorded Deed:  Trust Book/Pg: 2073/ 0600 Plan/Survey:   Map/Blck/Lot:  204/ 003/ 213 02E Property ID:   SPAN # (VT): -- Devel/Subdiv: Alpine Lodge Const. Status:  Pre Construct Home Energy Rating Index:    District:  Lincoln-Woodstock Cooperative High Sch: Lin-Wood Public HS Jr./Mid Sch:  Lin-Wood Middle Elem Sch:  Lin-Wood Public Elem Cable: Time Warne Electric Co: NH Elec Co Fuel Co: Fran Gas Phone Co: Fairpoint Resort:   Timeshare/Fract. Ownrshp:  No # Weeks:   Timeshare %:    Auction:                      Auction $ Det. By:    DOM: 4 Prepared by   R.Stephen Loynd Email : steve@alpinelakes.com Alpine Lakes Real Estate/Lincoln Off. Ph# : (603) 745-3601 PO Box 1135 Agt. Ph# : (603) 745-3601 ext. 11 Lincoln, NH 03251 Cell Ph# : (603) 381-7898 Lister:  R.Stephen Loynd of Alpine Lakes Real Estate/Lincoln  Fax Ph# : (603) 745-8403 www.alpinelakes.com   Subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice. The agency  referenced may or may not be the listing  agency for this property. Copyright 2010  Northern New England Real Estate Network, Inc. 10/16/2010 12:54 PM  Printed By: R.Stephen Loynd
Photo Gallery MLS#  T4028903A   Alpine Lodge 1 st floor   framedfor 3 bedrooms   front entrance       proposed floor plan Subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice. Copyright 2010  Northern New England Real Estate

Most sellers are thinking net proceeds when they start talking about listing.With the advent of staging, has come the next level of conversation…should we remodel in order to sell? Five years ago no Realtor in their right mind would have suggested spending good money, in order to dispose of a property. Hell that would be like having a tune up, brakes, exhaust and new tires put on a car before trading it in. Give it a wash and a vacuum and haggle as best you can…and be done with it. Right?...maybe not?

Not so easy…and not so fast these days.

In a remodel you will not get all your money back for years. Why do it? With plenty of inventory and buyers feeling no pressure to make a decision…selling faster is a big win. As buyers compare apples to apples, what feature lose in the scale tipping contest? Kitchens and Baths, these are big ticket items and if they are out of date your score card can show up in the loss column (or the trash).

Sellers want to spend the least amount possible, but appeal to a big crowd.

In the Kitchen the cabinets are the most costly, and rearranging them can add to the cost of plumbing and electrical changes. So first step try to leave the cabinets, work on counter tops, draw pulls, wall color, and appliances in necessary. In bath rooms the same idea applies moving or changing tubs and toilets get in to serious money, but faucets, fixtures , mirrors, draw pulls and the old pink wall paper coming down can be very cost effective and cosmetically can be a big improvement.

The Basic Assumption is this…Don’t be at a market disadvantage if there is clearly something you can do about updates. Ask your Realtor what should I do to help you sell my home? It is not all about price…unless you are giving something away. Bare in mind “Neutral” may not win an auto race, but it has never lost a real estate race. When your daughter was 12 and wanted a purple room you said yes, it is now time to return the powder puff girl to a neutral Nancy.

Other Tips to consider in a remodel to update and be competitive to other homes being offered in your market.

• If your second bath is only a half bath, steal some space from a closet or adjacent room and make it a full bath (buyers will disregard your property on that alone).
• Adding a deck can grow your usable space outside of the walls.
• Finishing a basement, it is far easier than an addition; it’s already there and needs less work and material to add square footage to your floor plan.
• Neighbors have a fireplace but you don’t, a gas fireplace on an outside wall built as a direct vent style is very affordable, and take very little changes to the structure to support, insulate and enclose the new feature.

Lastly, still have it staged or at least do a few simple things with the eye of an outsider. Harry homeowner wouldn’t see the clutter, knick-knacks and bowling trophies as a turn off. They walk by them everyday and hardly notice them anymore. Open every door, cabinet and closet…remove the clutter, your buyer will be looking in all these places too. Then, clean…clean…clean, yes a buyer will pull back the shower curtain if your tub has a story I don’t want to know it.

Remodeling is not out of the question, if your house is outdated and not competitive to others offered in the market (at your desire price point). We don't want you to spend money when it is unnecessary, but we don't want to still be showing your place next year either.

  Remodeling is not a dirty word and in terms of time on the market it still may save you money in the long run .Or shorten the time you have to hold on to a property that is keeping you from moving on with your life.

All photos are from our in-house custom home builder / remodeler, for more information see their site: www.cargillconstruction.com

The Early Bird Gets the Work, Many clients wishing to build think time and the current economy is on their side when it comes to deciding to start construction projects. Not true, site work contractors are lining up their spring work and have signed contracts to begin projects when the road bands are lifted…or the frost is out of the ground which ever comes first.

Planning for a fall moving date, you may have already missed that window. If you are thinking of building you will need to have a firm set of plans by now to get your state and local permits. We typically have 50 items on the “schedule of values list”; these items include multiple quotes for everything from Masonry work to roofing materials. The home owners choice of Cabinets, counter tops to window styles and siding colors all have to be in the bag before a realistic quote can be targeted.

Construction Delays are inevitable, try as any good builder will hold ups occur and nothing but time can fix those issues. When you hit ledge during your site work the cure is blasting…when your roofing materials are out of stock or three squares short of the order all you can do is wait. When your electrical is held up on another job all the work scheduled after him is held hostage (you can’t sheet rock if the walls aren’t wired).

Seriously if you want to be in your new house before next winter, your should be ready to pull the trigger on that project before the end of this winter. A Custom 4,000 square foot home with extensive site work and special order materials will take 9+ month to complete after breaking ground. Many home product manufactory are not warehousing the back stock like they use to. It is expensive to have all your choices sitting on the self while you are deciding. So many companies have slowed down their manufacturing process to save money while construction start is slow. But when everyone wants to turn on the faucet at the same time everyone will only receive a trickle…even if you are a good customer.

Home owners…Now is the time to set your project in motion before it occurs to everyone else…to do the same thing.

Maintenance-man at your service.

One of my Client's is in a Nursing home and the state will be relieving her of the money coming out of her property( when it closes). Those facts don't minimize her concern for a home she has lived in for the last 40 years. Needless to say there is no money available to shovel the roof, but after a big snow and prior to the big rain event like we are currently experiencing ( it had to be done). If your client or customer sees you driving a plow-truck...you must be good at maintenance, right?

The Key to "raking" a roof is to get the edges as clean as you can. That is where the water will start to back-up and get under the asphalt shingle and begin to leak in to the house. You don't have to shovel the whole roof, just get as much of the weight off as you can and clear the bottom couple of feet (so the water can exit the roof). Lastly, while you are raking the roof don't forget to clean the dropped snow away from the doors right away. If that heavy snow is allowed to set up on the ground it will be like concrete the next day, and you'll have it where it fell for the rest of the winter.

I Love owning a plow truck...but somehow it volunteers me for a lot of maintenance jobs...happy to help!!

                                                                                        Rake & Shovel your roof to prevent ice dams

                                                                                                You should be safe now...I hope!!

  Not all builders are busy at this stage in our economic recovery, in years past you would have a hard time getting multiple quotes for your project. Many customers were relegated too accepting the price they were able to get from the one builder that responded to the request for a custom home quote (and they put a number on it that made sense to drop other jobs).  

  Our in-house design. 

 But just because builders have more time on their hands doesn’t mean multiple quotes are going to be honest examples of competitive bids. Here are a few ways I have seen builders make a bigger profit than you are lead to believe.

   General Contracting services available.

Apples and Oranges: As many know kitchens and bath rooms are high ticket items…Cabinets, counter tops, specialty flooring, appliances and fixtures can vary in price tremendously. If your quotes vary here make sure the low bidder is using the material you specified for his quote, as an upgrade later will make the low bidder…not so low.

   Vs.  The basic Allowance Vs. what you were expecting.

Similar to the above; Change orders at Cost plus: when it turns out the cabinets you were budgeted for are inferior to the ones you really wanted, the builder will return (cost to restock) and re-order the upgrades at cost plus 10% for time and material (and builder profits and overhead charges will be based on the new over all price of the project) this could be a 25% swing.

  .... shop several lumber yards & see if the #'s are right

Builder rebates from vendors: Here is another sneaky little deal some unscrupulous builders employ to raise their profits. The materials list from the lumber yard is one of the largest ticket items on your bid. What if I told you some builders are getting 10% or more back (checks cut to the builder) as a rebate, volume discount etc… But the invoice the home owner sees has no such indication of these cash back deals. And many times these builders show a lower profit and over head figure to the buyer, who thinks they are getting a better deal…and paying less general contracting fees.

       upgrades later are costly.

Turn key is short of completion: I was asked to compare our companies estimate to a competing estimate recently, we had 63 items required to complete the project and the competitor had less than 40. I understand some items can be shared under one heading so the list in and of itself didn’t scream what the hell. But when I asked the Home buyers to take our list of items with all the prices removed to the other builder, and have him fill in the blanks…his over-all price went up…surprise it was higher than ours.

This copper roof will last 100 years, but we could have saved a lot of money on a cheaper roof and had to replace it 5 times before this one needed any work.

Low bid isn’t always the best bid: For example the licensed tradesmen we hire have a reputation for doing the job right, using the systems that are the best available for the style construction and warranty their work. The low bid from a plumber, heating contractor, or electrician, may very well mean they are going to install a furnace, service or mechanical system that is cheap or not sized properly for the application. Sure it can make the bid seem better but you will have to live with a hard to service system or outdated or inefficient HVAC system for the few dollars saved upfront.

I have been a Realtor for 25 years and have been involved in the development and construction of hundreds of homes. The list of ways to raise the profit on a building project are not easy to see on the surface...and getting only one quote is an invitation for padding the profits. Ask for multiple references from past customers, check with the suppliers on builders reputations, and ask to see the samples of the actual products being installed to make sure your quote is for apples not oranges.

 Remember Measure twice (or more) and cut once.

steve@alpinelakes.com    www.alpinelakes.com

  35 years in the general contracting business, custom homes, and design build services in the lakes and  White Mountain regions of New Hampshire.

  www.cargillconstruction.com

Kitchens, Baths and masonry work can be the big ticket items, make sure you know what you are getting when you order them. Photos of in-house designed and built homes.