The Nester has gone and let me have run of her blog again. She’s in the midst of 31 Days to a Better Dressed Nest, and I put in my two cents… She provided the pictures!

Check it out… Nesting Place

Awhile back I took a picture of a pretty room and simply pointed out the details that I thought made a real difference. I enjoyed doing that, readers seemed to like it, and my friend and cohort, The Nester, loved it. She said I should do that every week. So I asked her to send me some pictures, and boy did she! Golly gee!

She sent so many, that for the foreseeable future I’ll take a close look at them one per week…

The Nester’s Pic of The Week!

A Beautiful Traditional Little Kitchen!

Wow! So, who has heard of a vision board? This might make a good addiction (er, I mean addition) to one! This kitchen is smokin’ hot!

Here are some of the details I love, that you can incorporate into a project of any scope (just in case you decide to scale back a tad…).

The Floor

These tile floors that are made up of various sizes always get my attention (there is a word for it, but it escapes me… modular?). But in this kitchen the colors and textures go perfectly with one another.

I’m relatively certain that this is natural stone, but the fact the even I can’t say for sure is a testament to the quality of some of the manufactured products available. If you can afford it though, I would splurge on real natural stone! It’s my favorite… or one of them!

The Window

Like, the picture says is at all man!

But seriously, you can come up with ways to get abundant natural light into your kitchen. (see recent post on Bump-Out Additions)

The Island

I’m seriously in love with kitchen islands. But not just any island, I have standards.

For me to give my heart to an island it must offer one very important thing to me: A place to sit. I love islands that you can sit around.

The feel of sitting right in the kitchen and hanging out while a meal is prepared, eating casual meals there, just laughing and enjoying time with family and friends. That’s what this island says to me.

A couple of points:

• Notice the height. It’s at standard counter height (36″) or maybe a little higher. Again, we’re talking feel, but I prefer to sit at a higher table for casual meals. And of-course, it makes the whole surface a usable workspace.
• See how they used a different counter? I wish I could see this closer because I can’t tell if this is a concrete counter, a wood counter, or a stone counter? Anybody have a counter-opinion? I just think it sets the island apart and gives cool contrast to the kitchen using different surfaces. And I like the edge treatment.
• Take a look at the detailed work under the counter on the face of the cabinet. It isn’t hard to add a little detail here when doing a whole kitchen over, and it makes a really significant difference!
• See this post for more islands (Hooked On Islands)

The Ceiling

Hang on while I gather my thoughts… this kind of thing stuns me a little bit! I’m a wood nut and I love lots of woodwork in a house. I’m a ceiling nut too! Did you know that was a thing? Neither did my wife until she started to realize that one of the first things I notice about rooms is the ceiling! Ceilings are huge canvasses, so often left blank!

This kind of thing can be done on your ceiling. Any ceiling really. I wrote a post about it. (see Beam Me Up!)

This ceiling in particular has some great detail to it. Look closely and you’ll see.

One final thought about the ceiling…see how the lights are NOT symmetrical. People argue about this stuff. Some say that you should just put the recessed cans where you need them for task lighting, others (like me) say that it should be even. Same number per square, same location in each square… Who cares, right? Just thinking out loud.

A Beautiful Kitchen Overall

So, overall, if you want to set yourself some lofty goals for a traditional kitchen, this might be a great place to start!

• great cabinets
• great flooring
• great lighting
• great details
• beautiful colors
• abundant light
• plenty of work surface
• a place to sit
• and a cute little stool!

And with that we wrap-up this first edition of The Nester’s Pic of The Week. Stay tuned and see what else she sent me!

And here is my question to you…

What are your thoughts? What do you like? Any questions for me?

Just let me know in the comments!

Hey Crew! I hope you all had an incredible weekend! We sure did! the weather here couldn’t have been better and we worked on a cool project I can’t wait to show off! You can see a picture of my growing young helper in the short post, Spring Training.

Today, I’m back over at Nesting Place where we’re talking about the interior portions of Staging your Home for Sale. The Nester has some great tips for you and I tried to come up with something original…I think I nailed it too. Change out a doorknob. Oh yeah, that’s the kind of advice you can only get from a true pro! I know, I know…send me an email and I’ll mail you an autograph!

The interior stuff is very much in the realm of colors and furnishings and decor and you know you can count on The Nester for great advice and ideas.

Go check it out!

Tomorrow…. We’re going to talk about Door and Window Casings and Frames in the continuation of the series on trim work!

I just NOW realized that messed up the title to the Chair Rail and Wainscotting post…until five seconds ago the title was Chair Rail and Crown Molding….sorry, I guess it all runs together after awhile!

I am so excited about this post!  I know the sign says “For Sale” and we’re supposed to be talking about “home staging”, but I’m telling you what…this whole series with The Nester has me ready to go out and get busy! These ideas are universal and they are more about creating a feel than they are about selling a house. The simple fact is that if you create the feelings of comfort, warmth, excitement, and happiness then you’ll have a much better chance of selling a house for sale.  So, be ye selling or staying…herein lies inspiration!

Let’s Start Outside

We all know the saying: You only get one chance to make a first impression! This is especially true with houses.  In this post, The Nester (who’s words of wisdom appear in blue) and I will show you a few simple steps you can take to give your house that curb appeal WOW! factor we all want.

There are three “snapshots” someone visiting your home for the first time will see.

Street Scene -

Oh, Nester’s gotta talk here! I’m so bossy–

Tim, This is a vital part of selling your home. People ALWAYS underestimate the drive by.  This is it, the first impression, if they drive by and don’t have that emotional connection {especially us womenfolk} they may not even choose to come inside and see what a fabulous house you have.  You need to do everything in your power to make your home irresistibly attractive to all who drive by.  Don’t worry, we’ll tell you how.

The first step is to just walk out and take a look! Pay attention to these details:

Yard and Landscaping – Make sure the grass is cut and clean. Depending on the size of your yard, a little bit of sod might be a good investment. Make sure all the weeds are pulled, mulch is fresh, and dead stuff is gone!
The Front Walls and Windows – In our last house, we lived under some huge oak trees and those things were messy! I was always amazed at how much difference it made just to pressure wash the house and clean all the windows. If the house is in bad need of it, It might make sense to paint it.

A word of caution here though, unless your paint is in very bad shape, you could invest money you won’t get back in painting the entire outside. Only do that if it really needs it.

The First Step

The next place people will collect a mental snapshot is when they first get out of the car. When they first touch the ground with their own feet, people will look around. See if you can set things up so that the visitor will park in the most flattering spot.

A few ideas:

Get some color and some visual interest in that first view. You can use flowers, furnishings, whatever! Just make sure they aren’t staring at your garbage cans or your lawn mower!

You might want to stand in this spot and see if there are any maintenance issues visible from here. Even tiny things such as a broken sprinkler head, a bent length of roof gutter, or a broken light fixture by the garage door, will give the impression that the house isn’t well maintained. Even if you’ve gone to great lengths to get it in perfect shape! Remember first impressions!

The Front Walk and Entry

I’ve been to The Nester’s house and I tell you what…she is who you want to hear from on this, her front porch is incredible! So, Nester, what say you?

Tim, wait, should I call you Remodeling Guy? you are completely 100% right about the exterior and the many stages in which people see your home.  Remember, you are selling a product, a dream, a lifestyle.  You want your entry to be attractive, neat, and draw people in.

The walk up to the house can also be a make or break moment for your potential buyers. Do you have a walkway up to the house?  If not, consider getting one–lay some pretty pebbles and mix it in with some large stones from the local big box store.   Get rid of weeds, sweep and draw the eye to the front door.

If you have old, over grown shrubs planted in front of your house consider pulling them out.   You’ll be surprised at how updated and fresh your yard can look.  Tie chains or rope around the base of the bushes and hook it to your husband’s truck and you can have them pulled out in a matter of minutes.  (cool, a chance to use the 4-wheel drive!)

Don’t have much money to replace them?  Spread fresh mulch or pine straw and plant a bed of flowers all in one color for impact.

If you have a front porch, emphasize it, use only REAL plants and flowers, make sure you include some furniture  {you can always find a wicker bench on sale} and  hang some outdoor drapes, put a pretty rug on the floor, place pillows on any seating–these small details really make the outdoors feel like a room which can make your home seem even bigger.  The best part, this is all stuff that you get to take with you when you sell!

She means it too! Take a look at this picture of The Nester’s front porch…and she isn’t trying to sell this house:

The front door: even if you have no porch, no walkway and no yard I know you have a door. Make sure it’s clean and that the hardware is sparkling.

If it’s dull dress it up with a fresh coat of paint in a color that pops and add a splash of color with an urn full of flowers placed next to the door.

Emphasize Strengths

By emphasizing your home’s strengths and creating a scene that is welcoming and pleasing to the eye, you can have the “stage set” for a great showing when a prospective buyer walks through the front door!

Next Monday, The Nester and I will be back at The Nest to talk about sealing the deal as people walk into your home.  If you missed the first post in this series, check it out here.  You’ll be able to see the “I swear I won’t publish them” pictures that The Nester posted.

And, of course, if your are new to the Remodeling Guy blog, please take a look around.  I think you’ll find a lot you can use!  Take a look at my far right sidebar…there you will find the place to sign up for our RSS feed or email subscription.  You’ll also find the sign-up form for our Monthly Newsletter which is a great resource over and above what you’ll find on the blog!  Check out reader comments on the March Newsletter here.

So, who’s with me on getting out there and going for it?  I think I’m going to start with some paint.  What about you?

I’m only working on about four hours sleep after a long drive home from North Carolina, but I woke up excited this morning!

The Nester and I were talking about “what to do” when making a house ready for sale and we realized that Home Staging isn’t just for sellers!

Head over to Nesting Place to read the first post in the series! I’m going to fetch some coffee first!

If you just hopped over from there, please take a look around and be sure to come back tomorrow for my quick-guide to Baseboards and Shoe-Moldings (different than shoes molding). For the intro to that series, check here.

Look!

You guys know who this is don’t you?  That’s me with my very first (and very famous) Crew Member, The Nester!

For those of you who stay around Remodeling Guy for a time will find that I tend to move around!  I’ll show up in the strangest places and I have to say that this particular stop has been AWESOME!  The Nester is even better in person than on her kickin’ blog and her family is wonderful!  We’re thrilled to be here!

Check our personal blog, ForeverWherever, to see more pictures of our trip!  Kim will have those up sooner or later if they aren’t there yet!  When we’re travl’n we tend to get a little behind on the posts!  Sorry, we do try!

Speaking of being a big behind, er, I mean a little behind schedule, for all of you faithful Crew waiting with great anticipation for the Newsletter, um, well, er… I need a little more time!  Not long, but I want it to be phat (Nester’s word) and I’m not quite ready to unveil it!  

Thanks for your patience and check Nesting Place tomorrow (Monday) to see what Nester and I have cooked up for you!

See ya soon!

Thanks to The Nester for allowing me the honor of a guest post at Nesting Place!

 For all of you who just flew in from there…

Thank you so much for visiting!  Please have a look around, and if I can help you with anything just let me know either by email, or in the comments!