Curbside Garden

Tired of cutting grass? Add a garden in the parking strip instead. Here is a great one using rocks and shrubs. The plantings  are set back far enough to get a car door open and the rocks provide a place to walk when exiting the vehicle. Very low maintenance.

Weird bonus areas in Portland bungalow attics. How to use them.

How many Portland bungalows have a weird attic bonus area with the staircase in the middle of the space and a walkway to one side? It would seem there is not much you can do with the space. However, someone came up with this great solution! In this photo, you can see they placed a twin mattress on one side of the staircase and added an interesting bedspread. They hung some shades for privacy, punched up the color on one wall for pizazz, and decorated with interesting collectibles. It makes a great reading nook to curl up with a book. It can also function as a guest room. (If you plan to use it as a sleeping area, check with your local building officials to make sure there are escapable windows that meet fire regulations.) (Photo: Re-purposing an Attic from Dyanne Wilson Photography on the houzz.com site.)

Handrail for front steps

 Add an interesting, quirky handrail to your front steps for a little pizazz on the exterior. These were made and installed by Portland artist and metal worker Todd Littlehales.

Renovating a bathroom sink-- Before and After

Before:

This dated, do-it-yourself, bathroom sink area needed an overhaul. There were mixed sizes of tiles and funky, 1950's era, mirrors and fixtures.

 

After:

A new porcelain sink is supported by a furniture style cabinet. There is white wainscoting on the wall. A partition between the sink and the toilet was removed to open up the room. A wood framed mirror (actually an old window with the glass removed and mirror panels installed) and a small wooden cabinet, for storage, complete the look. Now the bathroom compliments the rest of the 1914 vintage home.

Beautiful Fence Details

This great fence has a unique pattern in the top and I love the two colors of stain which gives it even more pizazz! It takes an ordinary backyard and transforms it into the extra ordinary.

Refurbished fence with rock wall

This is a nice two tier system. The rock wall brings the grade up to yard level and the fence gives privacy. Recessing the stone wall and the fence allows for interesting plantings and breaks up the mass. In this particular case, the fence had been an older, taller, 6 foot, straight, vertical slat fence with dry rot in the bottom and tops of the slats. The slats were removed, the dry rot cut off both ends and then the shorter slats were re-nailed back onto a new frame. The lattice portion was added to the top to bring it back to the original height. There is still plenty of privacy since the yard is high up from the sidewalk. Add an arbor to the  gate with a grape vine, some white paint courtesy of some high school age friends, and the result is beautiful landscaping for a private backyard.

Staging Your Home to get more money! Before & After

     Here are some photos of a home I listed. We took a very boring, ordinary basement room with 1960's fake wood paneling, an exposed water supply line, and an old linoleum floor with rust stains on it and turned it into a warm and inviting family room.

    The plumbing line was boxed in. The walls and ceiling painted a warm color. The stained floor was professionally washed, waxed, and buffed. Then a stager brought in family room furniture and an area rug. WahLa!

    This now adds good livable square footage to the home.The home sold in a short period of time and for a higher price than if the work was not done. Call me if I can help you with your real estate needs to get you a higher price. (The colors in the third photo are truer colors to how it really looked.)

Great paint colors and street appeal!

I was walking down the street and saw this home. Wow! It really sparkles! Great street appeal with new wide steps and entry walkway. Beautiful color scheme. Interesting plants. Very beautiful and fresh!

 

Artistic Fence

 I love this fence! I've never seen one like it. Great texture and composition. It breaks up what could be a long and boring expanse of typical vertical slats enclosing a corner lot. Cool and special! Low maintenance landscaping. Someone has an artistic flair.



Wire fence with wood frame

 Here is a really cool fence I saw in Northeast Portland when we went out for dinner last Saturday. Light and airy. It gives some separtation to the front yard without closing it off to the rest of the neighborhood. Could maybe keep small kids in and miniature deer with a bum leg out so they won't eat your fresh veggies.

Concrete Retaining Wall with Visual Interest

When adding a retaining wall, you can create a pattern to add visual interest. On this wall, when the concrete form was being built, the contractor added the pattern by cutting out rectangles in 3/4 inch plywood and attaching them to the forms.

Changing a ranch style home to a cute bungalow

 By adding a proch to this 1950's plain Jane  home, it went from ordinary to WOW! The large cedar shigles were replaced by board and batten siding with smaller shigles above the door. The open post and beam construction adds to the bungalow look. A new wood porch deck was added above the existing concrete stoop. A new wood panel door completes the makeover. Now the home looks bigger and has major street appeal. Great job! Nice way to add value to a home.

Fence with wood and corrugated sheet metal

Here is a really cool fence in the neighborhood. Panels of wood slats mixed with panels of corrugated metal. And I love the gate and triangle arch. Haven't seen this before.

No Grass! Parking strip plantings

Are you tired of cutting grass in your parking strip? Plantings can change all of that for you and make your landscaping more dramatic. Here are two great examples using flowers, ground cover, and decorative grass to create the wow factor. (I'm thinking someone should get a teenager out of bed, get a broom, and sweep the gutter in the first photo to spiff it up.)

New Corian Kitchen Countertops

 This kitchen was updated in 1990 with white tile countertops, backsplash, and oak trim. It looked good for the times and was very functional. However the grout did not hold up well and after 22 years it was looking a little tired.

The home owner's removed the tile and countertops and prepared the cabinets for new Corian counters. In removing the backsplash, the sheetrock ripped off with the tile adhesive. This made for easy access to fish electrical cable through the wall to add under cabinet lighting.

The lights were installed, the sheetrock repaired, and the new Corian installed. With a solid surface, coved backsplash, and seamless Corain sink, cleanup is a breeze.

Dining Room- before and after

 This 1914 bungalow had been updated in the 1960's but was looking mighty tired. Some changes to this dining room add a lot of value to the home. The old wallpaper was removed. Tall wainscoting with a plate rail on top was added. The doors and wood trim were all painted white. Warm paint colors were added to the walls giving the dining room and  hall a sunny feel. The wood floors were refinished. Some art, a piece of furniture, and a table lamp were added. What a transformation!




What may look like wainscoting in the before photo was really just a piece of painted wood trim at chair rail height with two types of wallpaper above and below. The tall wainscoting in the after photo is vertical trim boards approximately 18 inches apart with trim molding on top forming a plate rail. The main part of the wainscoting is not made of wood panels. It is just the existing wall plaster, smoothed, and painted with semigloss white. All fairly inexpensive.

A great looking fence: copper pipe and lumber

 Here is a great looking fence made with lumber and copper tubing. Visually, it has a unique, attractive, open feeling. It keeps pets and kids in and passerbys out without closing off the house from the street and neighborhood.

Farmers Markets- locations

If you’re looking for some of the freshest fruits and vegetables to put on your table this spring and summer, then look no further than your local farmers market. Shopping for your produce and more at these local markets ensure outstanding flavor and freshness while supporting your local family operated farms.

Farmers markets around Portland are known for their vast variety, healthy choices and fun atmosphere. Often, you can find beautiful flowers, artisan crafts, fresh local honey, tasty baked goods and more at the market.

Just click on the link below. 

(Courtesy of First American Title)

http://www.firstamtech.com/index.php/2012/05/farmers-markets-in-and-around-portland/

Fabulous Light-filled Kitchen!

This is a very cool kitchen. How many times have you seen dark galley kitchens with a tiny window over the sink. Here they opened it up by adding a huge window to bring in the light, installed white cabinets, and a sunny room color and turned the ordinary into the extraordinary! Who wouldn't love to work in this kitchen?

Water features- fountains

 Installing a water feature in your yard can add value to your home and give it a nice outdoor focal point. The bubbling sound is soothing and the water attracts birds.

A fountain in a courtyard paired with potted plants creates a nice ambiance.

Although water features do add value to your property, one this size may be a little aggressive for the novice gardener's first time project.