6 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME’S SECURITY WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK

You’ve spent countless hours and energy getting your home just perfect. You’ve labored over the right paint, the best furniture and even invested in some art. But have you put in enough thought about how you are protecting your home? While you can invest in a state-of-the-art system, there are plenty of ways to improve your home’s security without breaking the bank. Here are six that we recommend.

1. Install a surveillance systemWhile it may seem like it would be expensive, there are deals to be had on DIY home security systems. If you’re willing to spend a couple hundred dollars, you can outfit your home with a camera system that you set up yourself that constantly monitors your property. If peace of mind is your biggest priority and you have a little cash to spare, this is one of your best options.

2. Trim back the bushes

If your property has thick bushes or tall hedges, it offers more places for a burglar to hide. By keeping your trees and bushes trimmed        and tidy so that you can see your neighbors, it also means that they can see you if anything suspicious happens on your property.         While it’s nice to have a little privacy, don’t completely wall yourself in.

3. Light it upDon’t give a criminal a leg up by providing lots of dark places in which to hide. Strategically place exterior lighting around your home, concentrating on walkways, entrances and garages. If you don’t want the expense of installing new lighting, considering swapping out some of the bulbs with motion-sensor lights that will alert you if there’s any activity in the area.

4. Beware of dogThere are plenty of reasons why dogs are man’s best friends. One of them is certainly because they tend to be protective of their owners. Dogs will often alert you if anything seems out of the ordinary and will deter most would-be thieves from breaking in for fear of being bitten. Don’t have a dog? You can still post a “beware of dog” sign in your window or on your gate or put a large dog bowl by your back door. Sometimes the suggestion itself is enough to scare off a potential burglar.

5. Make friends with your neighborsWhile having a nosy neighbor can sometimes be a headache, use it to your advantage. Neighbors are usually the first ones to notice if something is amiss, so make sure to tell them when you are going to be out of town. It also helps to know your neighbors so if someone unfamiliar is snooping around they can be easily identified. If your community has a neighborhood watch program, join. Neighborhoods are stronger and safer when people come together and are all invested.

6. Use common senseThe best home security doesn’t cost you a dime – it’s good, old-fashioned common sense. Be sure to close your garage door when you aren’t inside. Lock the gate to your backyard when not in use. Don’t leave valuables sitting outside unattended. Close and lock windows when you leave. Stop mail and newspaper deliveries when you are out of town so they don’t pile up. The best defense is always a good offense.

HOW TO SELL YOUR HOME WHEN YOU HAVE PETS

Nobody wants to smell pet odors when they’re looking at a potential new home. Nor do they want to see piles of pet hair on the carpet. But are there ways to actually use your pet to your advantage when selling your home? Here’s a look at how best to deal with pets when your home is on the market.

Minimize the negative

Not every potential buyer is going to feel the same way about your pets as you do – especially if your beloved pet is something other than a dog or cat. Follow these tips to best minimize any negative consequences of pet ownership while you’re selling:

• Repair any damage caused by the pets, including carpets, hardwood flooring, walls, furniture and outdoor areas. Your home is not ready for showing until these issues are addressed.
• Remove pet stains and odors by having carpets and floors professionally cleaned.
• Tidy up the yard, especially if you have a dog that spends a lot of time outside.
• Relocate your pet during showings. Ideally, your home should be shown by an agent while you are away, but don’t leave your pets behind. Either have them boarded during the duration of the selling process, or at the very least take them with you when you leave for a showing. This is doubly true if your pet is something like a snake or lizard that may potentially scare a buyer.
• Clean, clean, clean. It cannot be emphasized enough – if your pet is not being boarded while you are selling, be sure to thoroughly clean and vacuum the house before each showing. Potential buyers could have allergies, or there could be lingering smells that you don’t notice because you’ve lived with them for so long. Smell has a powerful effect on our emotions, and you don’t want to lose a sale simply because the odor in your home left a buyer with a negative feeling.
• Remove litter boxes, food and water bowls, and pet toys while the home is being shown.

Maximize the positive

Conventional wisdom has always been that evidence of pet ownership put off potential buyers. But many experts are now challenging that idea. Sellers are beginning to find ways to use their pets to their advantage. After all, many people today share their home with their pets,and knowing that they’ll be able to do that in their new home could be a selling point. Here are some ways that you can maximize the positive:

• Pets can help make an otherwise sterile home feel cozy and lived in. Sometimes including a cute and well-behaved pet in a photo will help make a space feel more livable. If strategically placed, a pet can even draw attention to a home’s best feature, such as a fireplace or picture window.
• If your pet is exceptionally well-behaved (like a therapy dog), they can boost the perception of your home during a showing. But the pet needs to be calm and reassuring, and you should limit it to one pet.
• Dogs and cats should be the only pets you might consider including. It is not advisable to include snakes or other types of pets that might make buyers uneasy.

THE TRUTH ABOUT…STAIRS

Getting older isn’t something most of us want to think about. We like the idea of always being active and youthful. We even think of our parents as remaining healthy and spry.

When we’re out shopping for a new home, however, we need to take into consideration the length of time we plan on owning that home. Do we see ourselves living in this area for years to come? Will we be raising our children here? Is it possible that our aging parents would come to live with us in this house?

If we answer “yes” to any of these questions, we need to think about stairs!

When we first have children, we think about the danger to them of stairs as they are learning to crawl, climb and walk. Some families wait to move into a home that has stair until after their children are old enough to negotiate the stairs.

A great many family homes these days incorporate beautiful stairways with living areas on the main floor and bedrooms above. We don’t really think about those stairs as we are aging in place because we use them every day. In fact, the majority of the nation’s homes are built with two or more stories, or they are set over a basement. Many of those homes also do not have a bedroom or full bath on the main floor. It is only when something happens to our health … we break a leg, have surgery, an older parent comes to live with us … that we rethink having stairs.

As you age, the stairs once more become a danger zone that can slow you down or reduce your quality of life. If you are unable to negotiate the stairs, they become an obstacle in your home or even a hazard due to potential falls.

Ranch-style houses, so popular in the middle of the last century, have fallen out of favor. They do not have the curb appeal of a two-story structure and sometimes they get a bad rap for having less space, or for having a larger footprint so that there is less available yard space. For ease of living and convenience, however, a single-story structure can span the decades much more easily than a multi-story townhome or two-story home over a walk-out basement.

While you certainly should buy the home of your dreams, when you are looking for homes, consider adding in these options to your quest:

• No stairs, OR
• A bedroom on the main living floor
• A full bath on the main floor
• A limited number of stairs at access points such as the front or back entry or from the garage into the house.

If you are building your new home and intend to live there well into your retirement years, and, you love the look of a beautiful staircase, take care to design in such a way that you can add a lift to the stairway if necessary. Or, configure the design so that you have a full bath and bedroom suite on the main floor. In fact, in a program created by the builders association and AARP, builders can earn a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist designation. Certified builders can look at your home to determine if there is a way to increase the access in your home as you age.

LEARNING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE AN EMERGENCY, PART 2

As a new homeowner, you may not know what to do when the unforeseen happens. Knowing what to do in a household emergency can save valuable time and may even reduce expensive repairs to hidden damage.

Household Emergencies

From plumbing disasters to leaky roofs, household emergency tend to occur at the most inopportune times. Waking up to a flooded kitchen because the dishwasher leaked, or coming home from work during a rainstorm to find a puddle forming in the dining room, to having sparks leap from the outlet you just plugged your new lamp into, household emergencies require specialists that are available at odd hours. Having easily accessible contact information can save you valuable time during the emergency (you might have trouble searching a browser for help if you have no power).

NOTE: an emergency repair company may not be the same one you use for installing new faucets and fixtures or putting on a complete new roof. These on-call experts know how to stop the damage from getting worse and make immediate repairs. This list is not exhaustive, but includes:

• 24-Hour Plumbers: locate a couple different emergency plumbers (in case one is already responding to another call) and make certain they can deal with leaky or burst pipes, plugged toilets and other plumbing disasters.
• Emergency Roofers: Rather than reroofing your home, or even finding the actual cause of the leak, an emergency roofer will immediately place a protective cover on your roof until the bad weather has passed to stop additional damage. Once the weather improves, they will inspect the roof to determine the actual cause and propose a more permanent repair solution.
• For electrical or natural gas emergencies, your local utility provider will have specific instructions. In general, however, if it is an electrical emergency, switch off the breaker to that location in your home so that power is no longer going to it. Contact your utility and follow their instructions. You may need to hire an emergency electrician, but start with your power utility first, as they may have emergency procedures to take care of you.
• The same is true for gas leaks. If you smell weak gas in your home, open the doors and windows to air it out. Check for an extinguished pilot light (in a water heater, fireplace or your stove). Switch the pilot knob to the OFF position. Wait for all of the odor to dissipate before relighting the pilot. If you are unsure of how to relight the pilot, call your gas company for assistance. If you don’t know the source of the leak, or if the odor is strong IMMEDIATELY remove all family members and pets from the house. DO NOT us a telephone inside the home. DO NOT use a lighter and DO NOT switch on any lights. Call the gas utility from a cell phone OUTSIDE or from a neighbor’s house.

Natural Emergencies

No matter where you live, natural disasters and weather emergencies can happen at any time. Learn where the nearest shelter is if you live in a flood or tornado-prone area. If you live near the ocean, get a map for the tsunami evacuation routes for your neighborhood. Turn on the emergency weather alert app on your smart phone to get advanced warning of emergencies. The American Red Cross has free apps that give addresses and information on the nearest shelters to your location and other disaster information.

LEARNING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BEFORE AN EMERGENCY, PART 1

You just moved.

You started your new job.

You super busy unpacking and getting settled.

You get sick in the evening or on a Saturday and need to see a doctor.

This scenario is quite common. Getting unpacked into your new home, getting kids situated in their new schools and you learning the best routes through traffic to get to your new dream job on time leave can set you up for unexpected emergencies.

Furthermore, you’ve been so busy at work and getting settled at home, trying out new restaurants and seeing local sights that you haven’t even looked at your medical insurance paperwork, found a doctor or located the nearest hospital or urgent care.

Here is our guide for locating the necessary things before they’re needed:

Medical Emergencies

• Pick a couple of hours to dedicate to finding the nearest urgent care (for minor crises), hospital emergency room (for major crises), twenty-four hour pharmacies (for late night medical needs), and map the best routes for getting to them from your home. You can search your favorite online maps, Yelp, or sites dedicated to the medical profession such as ZocDoc (which even offers a filter by your medical insurance).
• Now, locate and map routes from your place of employment and each of your children’s schools and activities. You may find that the urgent care facility near your children’s schools is different from the one you would go to nearest your home, so note which is which on your list.
• Don’t forget to find an emergency dentist. Sometimes, a knocked-out or broken tooth can be saved by a dentist specializing in emergency dental procedures. If tooth pain wakes you in the middle of the night, you may not be able to wait for an appointment with your regular dentist either. An emergency dentist can get you some relief.
• Once you’ve located the potential facilities, add their telephone number and address to your contacts, or create a portable document and place it in an accessible location. For digital access, think GoogleDocs, DropBox, Box, SugarSync or another file-sharing cloud server that has an app for your smartphone. Give a copy to each member of the family of driving age.
• Finally, plan to locate the actual facilities as you run general errands, while shopping, or coming and going from work or school. Specifically take time to locate the emergency or late-night entrances so that you do not lose precious time during an emergency trying to locate the emergency driveway or entrance.
• For your furry friends, locate a 24-hour pet hospital or clinic or a veterinarian that makes house calls.
• Good to know: If you believe your child or pet has ingested something poisonous, theAmerican Association of Poison Control Centers’number is 1 (800) 222-1222. Put it in your phone. Post it on your refrigerator. Teach it to your babysitters and pet-minders.

5 Key Decorating Tips to Make Any Room Better

I hate to break it to you, but designers don’t follow a secret rule book. There are no hard and fast laws governing what we do. We are creative types by nature and love to imagine, dream and explore, following our intuition. That said, there are some rough principles that guide us to ensure a great result every time. They are just tried and true things that work. And these aren’t tricks or skills that take years to master. Anyone can do them from day one. Consider this a foundation for developing your own quirky, creative, rule-breaking intuition.

1. Pick the paint color last.

There are thousands of paint colors with various tints, tones and shades. And each one looks different from home to home, because light sources vary, meaning what looks good in your current home might not in your new one. You want the color that best complements your upholstery, artwork, rug and whatever else. You can pick that color only if your stuff is actually inside your home.

2. Give your furniture some breathing room. Resist overcrowding a room. Gracious living means space to maneuver with ease. This is really great news if you are working with a tight budget. You don’t need to fill up a space with lots of furniture. Spend more of your budget on fewer but better-quality pieces, and your room will look better than if it’s stuffed to the gills with flea market finds. The high-backed chairs shown here, for example, stand out because they don’t have to fight for attention.

3. Hang artwork at the right height. Galleries and museums hang artwork so that the midline (center) of each piece is 57 inches to 60 inches from the floor. (The average human eye level is 57 inches.) And you should do the same.In a room like this, where the ceilings soar, there might be a tendency to hang the art higher. But remember: It needs to relate to human scale, not the structure’s scale.

If you’re not sure, take a picture. It’s remarkable how much a photo can reveal. Print it out or use Photoshop or an app to draw on the photo. This can give you a sense of whether a larger or smaller piece of art is needed or a tall plant might be best to fill a vacant spot.

4. Know how to arrange furniture on a rug. There are basically three ways you can arrange furniture on your rug.

All on: The rug is large enough to place all of the furniture legs on top of it. This creates a more luxurious feel. For this, bigger is better. Just be sure to leave at least 12 to 18 inches of floor surface on all four sides of the rug’s borders.

All off: If you have a small room, keeping all legs off the rug is a great cost-effective choice. You don’t want to pick too small a rug, though, or it may look insignificant, like an afterthought. The rug should appear as though it could touch the front legs of each of the seating pieces. This approach is best suited when you’re layering a pattern over a larger solid or textured rug.

Front on: Put just the front feet of all your seating pieces on the rug to tie the arrangement together visually and create a well-defined space while lending a feeling of openness.

6. Create a focal point.

There are leading roles and supporting cast members in any production. The same holds true in design. Choose your star and make it the focal point to anchor a room. Allow other items to take a secondary role. Don’t ask everything to have a leading role; it will just result in visual noise.

Your focal point might be a dramatic hood in the kitchen, a mantel and art piece in the living room or a headboard in the bedroom. Whatever it is, choose something that will draw attention. In this room the fireplace and the lighting work together as a collective focal point, bringing your eye right to the center of the composition and anchoring it there.