Category Archives: House and Home

Neat kitchen designs

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Most homemakers, including myself, dream of having a beautifully designed kitchen. There are people who invest a good sum in repairing or redecorating their kitchen to achieve the desired appearance they want. Kitchen is where we spend a great deal of time preparing the best meal we can serve our family, so it’s fitting to have an organized and spacious corner to inspire us to cook more. I love to have a neat interior design although I don’t have the talent and resources to decorate my own home for now.

Here’s some lovely kitchen designs that I want to have in the future. How about you, what is your idea of a good kitchen design?

floral-influences

coming-up-roses

elevated-eating

raw-ingredients

what's-old-is-new

Photo credits: ivillage.com

Common Mistakes When Buying Homes for Sale

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house for sale

As a kid, I remember spending long hours playing with my Barbie dolls and their magnificent doll house. Even at that age, I already dreamed of having a house just like that when I grow up. Having my own dream house was one of the items on my bucket list then, and that pretty much hasn’t changed until now. Before I plunge into the pool of Missouri homes for sale though, it’s best that I, or anyone seriously considering acquiring property for that matter, arm myself with the knowledge of the common mistakes people commit when buying a home:

Not having a set budget. Before anything else, anyone who is thinking of buying a home must set a budget. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’ll be able to pay off the mortgage for that billion-dollar house if you’re a mere minimum wage earner. Also consider the additional expenses you’ll incur after purchasing the home.

Not completing the home inspection. Common sense would dictate you to carefully inspect anything you wish to spend your hard-earned money on. Enlist the help of an experienced home inspector to do the job.

Forgetting about resale value. Truth be told, nobody lives in any house forever, so there is a probability that at some point, you will have to resell your house. So when buying a house, do ask your realtor about its resale value.

Now that the “home-buying” bug has bitten you, tread carefully and don’t get caught up in all the excitement of getting a new home.

Image courtesy of Vlado at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Work Well With a Contractor During a Home Remodel

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Remodeling a home can be very rewarding. In addition to adding value to the home, the remodel will also give a homeowner the opportunity to spruce up their living environment and add certain amenities that they might not have been able to afford when they first purchased the home. Hiring the right contractor, reviewing home remodeling leads, and knowing when to give input and when to stay out of the contractor’s way goes a long way in guaranteeing a project’s success.

remodel

When doing a home remodel, it is best for the homeowner to be decisive. As they sit down with the contractor, it is likely that the contractor is going to walk them through a few problems that might arise during the course of the job. But it is not these little decisions that usually hold up the job. Instead, it is decisions about things like the color to paint the trim or the plumbing fixtures to put in the bathroom or the kitchen that cause delays. Having all of these decisions made beforehand will allow the contractor to have a full picture of the entire project and will allow them to coordinate the work and prevent things like installing a faucet that is so large that it does not allow the medicine cabinet door to open or something like that.

Once a decision has been made, as much as possible, homeowners should strive to stick with their decision. Every single time they change their mind, it will lead to increased costs and will delay the remodel project. Every contractor who is working on the project will need to be informed of the change to make sure that no one is working based on the old plan. Of course, throughout the course of the project some changes will be made, but they should be kept to a minimum.

In most cases, it is best for a homeowner not to purchase their own materials. Some homeowners do this thinking that if they purchase the materials themselves, they will pay less than what the contractor will charge them for the same materials. And while it’s true that a contractor may mark up the price of the materials, it is also likely that they will purchase the materials for a lot less expensive price than a homeowner could. So with the markup, the homeowner is paying the same price they would’ve paid at a retail store.