Have You Ever Considered Painting Your Ceiling?!

Have you ever thought of painting the ceiling something other than white?!  I love the look of a ceiling painted outside the "white box".  It gives an updated look and can help a large room seem cozy, a small room seem larger, or a boring room seem dressier!

You can warm up a room with high ceilings by painting the ceiling a deep color!  It can help to warm and balance a large open space!

** Picture found at Benjamin Moore.

** Picture found at Better Homes and Gardens.

You can dress it up by putting texture on the ceilings.

** Picture found at houzz.com.

** Picture found on Pinterest.

** Picture found on Pinterest.

** Picture found on Pinterest.

Make a small room seem larger by painting the ceiling a color that doesn't contrast with the wall color too much!

** Picture found at Benjamin Moore

** Picture found at Benjamin Moore.

Read this article for more great do's and don'ts regarding ceiling paint!

Benjamin Moore's Most Searched Color!

Did you know that Revere Pewter is Benjamin Moore's most searched color?  It's a perfect gray neutral with warm undertones.  Gray has replaced beige as the new "it" color!

Here are some pictures of Revere Pewter in rooms.  Tell me what you think of it?

**images and information were found on Benjamin Moore's Color Chat site!

Friday Favorites

When you have kids, sometimes it's hard to feature their artwork without making the display seem cluttered.  I love this idea!  You can paint the letters to coordinate with the room and you can get clear clip boards if you don't like the chrome look.  You might even be able to spray paint to clip boards to whatever color you'd like.  

What To Do If You Are In a Bidding War...

Don't let a bidding war make you pay more than you should!  Here are some things you should consider when you are choosing your competitive price:

1.  Consider the comps:
   Look at the prices of other comparable houses sold in the neighborhood.  Don't overpay because you are setting yourself up to lose money when you sell.

2. Consider post closing expenses:
   Does the home need repairs?  If so, and the comparables were move in ready, subtract the repair cost from the potential property to get a more accurate value of what the home is worth.  Even if the house doesn't need repairs, but you will have to buy other essentials to go in the house (refrigerator, stove, etc.), consider those purchases so that you don't go over budget and have no money to buy these things.

3.  Don't lose sight of your own bottom line:
   You probably decided how much you wanted to spend before you went house shopping, so make sure to stick to that number. The "winning" feeling is short lived, especially after you realize you "won" a house you really can't afford!
  Also, make sure to base your bottom line on your own comfort levels.  Don't make your maximum budget the amount the bank approved your for.  Lots of time, your number is much more realistic!

4.  Refuse to play games:
   If there are multiple offers, make your first offer your highest and best offer, considering what you can afford and what the home is worth.  If the seller comes back and asks everyone to increase their offer, don't!  You might already have the highest bid, and you already offered your best price, so stay put!

5.  Keep the appraisal in mind:
  No matter what you offer or what the seller accepts, your lender won't lend more than what it's worth.

If you want to learn more, read this article!

Guess who has a new collection at Target!?

Did you know that as of yesterday, Nate Berkus now has a collection at Target!!!???  You know... the same Nate Berkus who was featured on Oprah lots of times and now has his own talk show, "The Nate Berkus Show!"I love his things.  They are simple, chic, and most importantly, affordable!  Check it out and let me know what you think!

Painting Tile Grout

You can always try to clean your tile grout.  There are several suggestions you can find online (here or here, for example).  However, if the stains are too deep, you can always update your look with painting the grout.

I found a great blog post at The Yellow Cape Cod that talks you through the process.  I have a friend who did this and she said it was fairly painless and updated the area nicely!

Here's a before and after shot:

Check out her blog and follow the instructions!  I promise it isn't hard!

Color combos you can't mess up!

I know I post about color a lot, but it's a GREAT and affordable way to transform and update your home.  Houzz.com has a great article about color palettes that you can't go wrong with.  Click on the link to read the whole thing, but here is a list of the colors and a few pictures that I found on pinterest (by the way, the article has different pictures):

1.  Yellow and Blue

2.  Black and White

3.  Pink and Green

4.  Navy and White

5.  Red and Beige

6.  Orange and Blue

7.  Chocolate and Lavender

8.  Yellow and Gray

Lafayette's September 2012 Real Estate Report!

Closed Residential Sale Lafayette Parish Only

Lafayette Parish home sales growth is continuing in an upward direction as compared
to last year.  Current market indicators show an increase in homes sold in the month
of September is up +27.93% (179 homes in 2011 to 229 homes in 2012).

Cumulative total, January – September is up +20.53% (1,646 homes in 2011 to 1,984
homes in 2012).

Average days on the market has dropped from 136 days in 2011 to 103 days in 2012.
Also indicating a stronger market. 

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the REALTOR Association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Board nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board may not reflect all real estate activity in the marketplace.

Check out this awesome blog I found!

I found this awesome blog called Favorite Paint Colors!  If you are building, buying, or remodeling it can be so helpful and useful!

She lists her favorite exterior and interior colors with loads of pictures for a visual.  She also has several ideas for spray painting and has the color suggestions to go with it.

She even has a color combinations link where she suggests several color combinations that she likes.  Here are just a FEW examples!  It was fun to see the colors that she likes because I have several of them in my own house!

If you want to paint a room a certain color, you can browse her blog by color and see several pictures with examples.  I like that she she doesn't just say, "red,"she gives specific examples of an exact color red!  You can also browse by room (i.e. bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc) and see how certain colors work in those spaces.  If you already have a color in mind you can search for that specific color to see if she has examples of those.  

Really, can you tell that I just LOVE this blog idea!  She's genius!

What is PMI?

When looking for a home and deciding on a budget, lots of homebuyers use those mortgage calculators and come up with a budget.  However, lots of times, people don't consider the extra things that are added to mortgages.  PMI is sometimes one of those things!

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance.  PMI is usually added to a mortgage if the borrower doesn't put 20% down.  It helps to protect the lender if the borrower is not able to pay off the loan and the lender is not able to recover those losses after a forclosure and sale of the mortgaged property.

Paying PMI is a good option for those that can't pay 20% down on a home.  However, it is an extra cost.  It usually cost between .5%-1% of the loan amount annually.  So based on the 1% figure, a person with a $100,000 loan will pay $1000 a year, or $83.33 a month.  Here is a link to a PMI calculator to help give you an idea of the cost for your particular situation!

Typically, once your home equity reaches 20%, you no longer have to pay PMI.

I read a very informative article about PMI at Realtor.com.  Check out the article for more details about PMI

Pumpkin Decorating!

Need some simple pumpkin decorating ideas!?

I liked these a lot because they looked simple!  Click on the name and it will bring you to the directions!

Glitter pumpkins

Mummy pumpkin

Wanna know about HGTV's October color of the month?!

HGTV's October 2012 Color of the Month is Scarlett Red!!!  

I, personally, love a room with a touch of red!  What do you think!?!

Here is HGTV's board on pinterest with lots of pictures of Scarlett Red!  If you want a sneak peak, here are a couple pictures of my favorites on their board.

Black, white and red can always make any room pop!!

 I love how this pale blue looks with the red!  I hadn't thought of that combination before!

I looked up "scarlet red rooms" on pinterest on my own and found a whole bunch of pictures of Scarlett Johansson!  Obviously, that wasn't what I wanted, so I just looked up "red rooms" and here are some other favorites!

I love how the chandelier and the drapes in the other room bring all the red together!

I just love the look of this living room!  Red can pop with these awesome accent pieces!  

 Love this red accent wall and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that chair in the bottom corner!

 What's not to love about this bedroom!  Red can be very classy!!!

Benjamin Moore Announces it's Color of the Year!

Benjamin Moore has announced their 2013 color of the year!

LEMON SORBET

Benjamin Moore's site says, "Uplifting without being overpowering, lemon sorbet complements almost any color palette and provides a unifying element for diverse spaces."