4 Things Proactive Homeowners Do in September

Ah, September. The weather is changing, and we're getting back to our normal, post-summer routines. It's also a great time to give the house a little extra love and maintenance.   1. Stain the Deck     Help your deck field what winter throws at it by re-staining it this month. September's cooler temps and lower humidity make it the ideal time for this project.     2. Check Fire Extinguishers       According to the Red Cross, fires increase in the fall and winter. Keep your home fire safe by getting your fire extinguishers checked by a certified professional. Fire extinguishers do break down and malfunction. In fact, after six years they need to be emptied and reloaded. If you haven't already, buy one for each floor — and the garage.     3. Spruce Up the Yard       Aerate your lawn, reseed or fertilize it if needed, and plant perennials and shrubs (often on sale now). Your lawn will green up faster after winter, and the shrubs and perennials will have a chance to establish roots before the first freeze.     4. Inspect Your Home's Exterior     Spending money on roof repairs is no party, but neither is handing out buckets to the family to catch leaks in a winter storm. Inspect your roof — and other big-ticket items, like siding, grading, and gutters — before you've got problems. You'll cut costs by fixing them now and stay dry and warm all winter long.     Article By: House Logic   Photos By: Mark and Luzy Gunter-Smith CSA Images/Mod Art Collection/Getty Kate McMillan of Cultiverity, LLC Merrill Interior Resources roof by Tile Pro Roofing, Inc.

View more

7 Essentials to Consider When Choosing a Paint Color

Color can be highly personal, especially when it lines the walls of your North Shore home! Pouring over paint chips when trying to choose wall colors can be one of the best parts of moving into or freshening up your home—it can also be the most frustrating. With so many choices, finishes, and combinations, where do you start? The good news is that choosing a paint color can and should be fun... and relatively painless, too! Here are seven things to consider before you start painting: 1) Start small, and test first. If you're starting with a blank slate but aren't sure where to start adding color, experiment in a small bathroom or hall area first. If you're doing the painting yourself, try to choose an area you’ll be able to complete in a day or two so you can assess and enjoy the results sooner. To begin, pick one of your favorite colors, or look for some inspiration from a painting or piece of furniture. Purchase a small test can for your color of choice (or even a few test cans with different colors) and apply the paint in the room you’ll be painting. Let it sit for a few days if you’re not sure how you feel about it before using the same color elsewhere in your home. 2) Will you be selling anytime soon? While you might love that fiery red accent wall in your living room, new North Shore homebuyers might not feel so hot about it. If you’re planning on selling your Arlington home within the next year or so, you might want to consider sticking to a fairly neutral color palette. Big, bright, and bold color statements might turn potential buyers off. If neutral walls just aren’t your style, try using that bold color in a bathroom or focusing that bold color into your room accessories that might be more easily adjusted for staging. 3) Coordinate with your furniture first. It’s easier to choose a paint color that goes with the furniture you already have than it is to paint your walls first. While searching for décor, it's okay to aim for a selection of colors you already have in mind, but attempts for an exact match can get pricey. If you're aiming for a cohesive look and simply cannot budge on your wall color of choice, find a swatch from your local home improvement store and bring it with you while you shop-- you may find furniture of a similar shade that you like better! If you're having a tough time coordinating major furniture pieces, try using neutral tones and wield your power colors in the form of accents. 4) Think through the flow of your whole home. Consider your walls as planes of color, and take note of how they interact as your gaze may catch more than one room at a time. Start by walking around your home and observing the colors you see as you turn each corner. While selecting paint colors, think about how each will flow from room to room and what your Arlington home will look like in full. 5) Consider different lighting. Pairing with the first consideration of starting small and testing first, observe your paint at different times of day and consider where the light is coming from. You may find that you love a color on a sunny afternoon but, when the sun sets, it turns a bit gloomy. Keep in mind these lighting effects: Natural daylight will show your color in its truest form. Incandescent lighting brings out yellows and warm tones. Fluorescent lighting will cast a bluish tone. This means that a bold color might feel overpowering when used on all walls or next to a window, but it might actually look perfect when used as an accent wall with more indirect light. 6) Create the right mood for each room. Do you want your dining room to feel bright and stimulating, or would you rather it feel more formal and subdued? Warmer, contrasting, and somewhat brighter colors add to a stimulating ambiance, while deeper blue-greens and neutrals will create a more formal feeling. Would you like your bedroom to feel peaceful and soothing, or vivid and warm? Soft, cool colors and neutrals usually create a more soothing feel; stronger colors create more drama. Regardless of your taste or style preference, be sure to make a conscious decision and remember that the purpose of the room should also match the feeling your paint evokes. 7) Choose the right sheen. If you want to mask any structural flaws or unevenness, use a paint with as little sheen as possible. Likewise, you'll want to consider a different sheen for ceilings and baseboards, too. Here are some guidelines for the different finish choices: Flat (Matte) – No shine and works great for ceilings and low traffic areas like living rooms and bedrooms Flat - Has almost no shine but is a little easier to clean than flat paint. This is also a good choice for low traffic and if you have kids or pets. Eggshell - Has a tiny bit of shine and is perfect for moderate traffic areas like living rooms. Satin - Has a bit more shine and works in high traffic areas that are prone to mess or have moisture like kitchens and bathrooms Semi-gloss - Shiny but not like a high-gloss. Use this for cabinets and trim, or in really high moisture areas. Hi-Gloss – The shiniest of them all. This finish gives an almost glass-like finish and is perfect for high use surfaces (like a railing) or furniture. These seven essential considerations will help guide you throughout the painting process, but be sure to check in with your local realty expert for extra tips, tricks, and resources (especially if you plan to sell your North Shore home soon)!

View more

Home Decorating Tips to Freshen Up Your Home

Hang at least one mirror in every room "Mirrors can make a space feel brighter because they bounce the light around the room," says Breining. But placing one in the wrong spot can be almost as bad as not having one at all. Put mirrors on walls perpendicular to windows, not directly across from them. Hanging a mirror directly opposite a window can actually bounce the light right back out the window. Set The Tone at The Front Door "Red is a lucky color in many cultures," says Lara Allen-Brett, a New Jersey-based stager. A red door meant "welcome" to weary travelers in early America, and on churches it represents a safe haven. If you want your house to make a great first impression, paint the front door a fun, glossy hue. Two other hues gaining favor: orange and yellow, according to San Francisco-based stager Christopher Breining. Both colors are associated with joy and warmth. One thing that should go: an outdated screen door. Get rid of it or replace it with a storm door with full-length glass that you can switch out for a screened panel. Paint Wall Colors Light and Neutral "You want to minimize jarring transitions," says Breining. Stick to colors like beige or gray, especially on the first floor, where flow is important. Neutral walls give you the greatest decorating flexibility, allowing you to easily switch up your accessories. Let The Sun Shine In Your Kitchen "When it comes to heavy, outdated drapes, a naked bank of windows is better than an ugly one," says Lynne. If your room gets a lot of sun, opt for light colors that won't fade. The most recommended lightweight fabrics for panels are cotton, linen, and silk blends because they tend to hang well. Scale Artwork to Your Wall "There are few things more ridiculous-looking than hanging dinky little art too high on the wall," says Breining.  The middle of a picture should hang at eye level. If one person is short and the other tall, average their heights. Also take scale into account; for a large wall, go big with one oversize piece or group smaller pieces gallery-style. For the latter, don't space the pictures too far apart; 2 to 4 inches between items usually looks best. Layer Your Lighting "Placing a canister uplight or a torchiere in the corner will cast a glow on the ceiling, making a room seem bigger," says Breining. Every room should have three kinds of lighting: ambient, which provides overall illumination and often comes from ceiling fixtures; task, which is often found over a kitchen island or a reading nook; and accent, which is more decorative, highlighting, say, artwork. For a living room, you should have at least 3 watts (42 lumens) per square foot. One visual trick Breining swears by: using uplights. Anchor Rugs Under Furniture Feet "In a living room, all four legs of the sofa and chairs in a furniture grouping should fit on it; the rug should define the seating area," says Breining. "At the very least, the front two legs of the sofa and chairs should rest on it," he adds. Even living rooms with less than generous proportions usually require an 8-by-10-foot or a 9-by-12-foot rug to properly accommodate a seating area. Go too small with the rug size and everything looks out of scale. Give Old Finishes The Cinderella Treatment "A 1980s brass chandelier can get a new lease on life with a quick coat of hammered-bronze or satin-nickel spray paint," says Breining. Got dated fixtures? Reinvent them with spray paint and inexpensive refinishing kits. Even outdated kitchen cabinets benefit from a few coats of white paint and new hardware. And if you thought there was no hope for Formica countertops, think again. Breining swears by Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations, a DIY counter-coating product that mimics stone, making even the ugliest 1970s counter look fresh. What's left to do: Swap out cracked and mismatched switch plates and outlet covers for updated matching ones. Says Lynne: "Nothing drags down a refreshed space like a dingy, almond-colored switch plate." Call in a Pro to Declutter The longer you live in a house, the less you see the mess over time. Sometimes you need a fresh pair of eyes. You can hire an organizer for a few hours (expect to pay $35 to $150 an hour, depending on where you live) to tackle bookshelves and closets, which stagers say are often packed with twice the amount of stuff they should hold. Breining suggests whittling down what's on your shelves by 50 percent. Then mix horizontal stacks of books among the vertical rows and intersperse decorative objects, such as bowls or vases, among them. Written By: This Old House, Michelle Brunner

View more