Home Decoration Theme Ideas To Let Your Quirks Shine. Just because more people keep their homes as conventional pieces of architecture doesn't mean that you have to. If it's your forever home, you should be able to make it look like what you want. Home decor ideas often focus on colour schemes and the right pillow covers that fall in line with current trends. However, if you're trying to break free of neutral colours and traditional living space layouts, here's what you can experiment with and take into account. Can you really do anything you want? Here come the three dreaded letters: HOA. Homeowners Associations are sometimes required when you move into a new neighbourhood and have some strict requirements when it comes to what is and isn't allowed with the exterior facet of your home. They can't tell you what to do with your interior design, however. Fighting with an HOA is often a painful and possibly costly affair. It's a very popular idea to 'take on the HOA' and it usually means fighting back against people abusing their power but, some HOAs are actually beneficial for your neighbourhood as a whole. Living in a historic building also comes with restrictions that seek to preserve the historic value of the home. You would also need to get a permit before renovations, even when it comes to the interior design of your home. If you're free of these constraints though, it's all up to you to express your personal style. Some key things to remember. While you're free to do what you want with your interior design, you still need to abide by some security practices to make sure that you live long enough to enjoy your home. There is a lot of value and style in nuance. There's also a big difference between garish and quirky. Common interior design tips and tricks are still applicable. If you intend to sell the home in the future, then remember that mint green kitchen cabinets are easy to 'fix' but adding a rope installation on the side of your home to make it look like a shape is not. The people who will buy that home will either buy it at a very low price or you will have found some new best friends who have the same expressive style as you. A floor lamp is easier to pack up but wood panelling painted to reflect scenes from your favourite movie can be a hard sell. Logistical concerns. It's easier to get completely lost for ten minutes and then find your way back to something more realistic when it comes to outlandish interior design ideas. Let's take a jungle or natural theme for example; adding a great number of plants or turning parts of a room into a little indoor garden sounds like a nice idea at first but you need to consider all the things that will need to be done in the long run to keep that idea looking as beautiful as the first day. If you have exposed wooden beams in a very humid room, like what you would have if you were to invest in an indoor garden, then you need to have a well-managed routine aimed at making sure that those beams are healthy and will last a long while. Humidity makes it easier for an intricate light fixture to grow mould in its crevices as well. When it comes to the layout of your house, can you let that indoor garden close to the kitchen? It makes it easy for the dirt from the garden as well as possible insects to get into the kitchen and contaminate your cooking or food storage areas. Style on a sliding scale. Maybe you don't want an actual tree growing through your dining room table or an entire room where, aside from a narrow pathway, the room is covered in dirt. There's nothing wrong with a large living room sofa and a TV after all. Essentially, you need to decide just how saturated your style is going to be. Instead of adding thick ropes and encasing the bottom of a massive aquarium in driftwood, you could pick up blue roman shades or other kinds of window treatments, and fill up the drab space on empty walls with paintings or a few key pieces that are reminiscent of the ocean. The sliding scale exists in a few forms but the easiest way to visualize it is when you go from obvious to understated. A console table made entirely out of wood reclaimed from old ships, sculptures of mermaids made from driftwood, turquoise accents in curtains or other fabrics can go a long way. If you want to add visual interest to a small room, there's no need to cram it with imagery. Work with colour. If you want to create a cohesive whole for your home's interior design, you don't actually need to be an interior designer. From the entrance hall to the powder room, you want to create a mood using colours throughout the home. Look at examples online of colour families and complementary colours - remember, it's not cheating to look things up online and take inspiration. If we're sticking with our nautical theme then your hardwood floors are already perfect the way they are. If a fresh coat of paint on your walls doesn't do enough to mask your empty wall space then you can add small accents of colour here. When it comes to big surfaces it's unwise to stay in the middle ground; either go all out with a mural full of bright colours or go with a simple pattern. Since we're thinking about ways to break from tradition and the norm here, paint is an inexpensive way to experiment, not to mention that it is relatively easy to revert back to something more subdued. It's also important not to let elements of the room get lost in each other. This is why you want dining chairs and a dining table as a set that doesn't blend in with the floor or the walls. Throw pillows are a good example of how to add splashes of colour with low risk as well. A patterned brown and green area rug can do wonders to accentuate an earthy theme, it helps bring the whole room together and area rugs in general help provide a lot of focus for defining points of interest. Define focal points. One of the key things that make a space feel put together is the presence of a clear focal point. If you're feeling the pulling toward a certain theme then you probably have an item that embodies that theme already in your home. A focal point is meant to draw the eyes of anyone within a room toward it - it doesn't matter if you're working with a small space or a big open-plan living room. It could be a coffee table on which a model plane rests or an accent wall adorned with picture frames in the empty spaces drawn by the branches and leaves of a painted tree like a gallery wall. Maybe it's an end table where a drawer pulls out to reveal a stack of old photo albums that tell your family's history. The idea is to create an ambiance in every room from the moment someone walks through the front door. They don't all have to be paintings or mirrors or incredibly fancy or old, these items serve double duty as both decoration and guides throughout your home. Try to weave stories using them, create a narrative supported by the rest of the room but that exists because of the item serving as a focal point. If that's suitable, use them to draw attention to high ceilings which can make any room appear much bigger. Experiment! It's your home, if you have a big effusive love for something, make it as evident as you want it to be. There are ways to be tasteful and have a beautiful home all while following what makes your heart sing. A home library that takes over the whole house, why not? Family photos from different eras with rooms that add interest to specific little factoids? Very classy, tough to pull off, but very classy. As long as you and your family feel at home and not like you're all walking through a museum or an exhibit room in a theme park, you're sure to win over the hearts of the people exploring your home. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Make The Most Space Out Of Your Apartment. Trying to make the most out of a small apartment feels like a rite of passage. Everyone goes through the tiptoeing to get through small spaces, dinner parties with laps to rest plates on, and hidden storage all over the place. Still, you don't have to deal with hosting guests in a small space that feels like you're all crammed like sardines. With a few quick tricks, you can reclaim additional space from your apartment and even make it feel spacious. Storage. This is the big one. More storage space is one of the first things to go in a studio apartment. To keep a pantry organized without having to go to the store every other day is a challenge - especially when the pantry is proportionally tiny to your tiny apartment. So how do you solve the issue of storage in a small apartment? Double duty furniture. By definition, a small apartment will be missing out on extra space but you can multiply the value of your furniture without it taking up more of your square footage by choosing pieces of furniture that fulfill multiple purses. A coffee table with extra storage space below the surface can be a great place to store things like board games, video game controllers, and more. You can even store books in there if you're not the type to have company over often but love to create some cozy moments for yourself with a good book by a window. In the bedroom area, for example, you can invest in a storage bed to keep some extra items under the bed. Think warm quilts in summer and light clothes in the winter. Maximizing space doesn't have to come with the bed itself, you can claim the additional storage under your bed with crates pr a custom storage unit made to fit in the cramped space below your bed. Speaking of beds, you should look into a murphy bed if you live in a studio apartment. Instead of giving in to preconceived ideas of what they 'mean' or signify, adding one to your small apartment can make a big difference. It means extra seating for parties, more room for activities, and more floor space if you want to work out inside. Before you opt into using some unorthodox storage solutions, make sure that your kitchen cabinets are well organized. A little bit of real-life Tetris can go a long way. Vertical storage one very underrated trick to save space is using wall space. Your bathroom sink could be completely overwhelming with skincare products and a useful but bulky electric toothbrush set but if you manage to add some sort of vertical storage - like a shower shelf but next to your mirror. It's a great spot for extra toiletries and it also makes it so much easier to clean. Since you're dealing with an apartment, it's important to pick something that works with adhesives and not screws but that's definitely possible. Some extra sturdy floating shelves or ways to use your closet doors to store things like shoes can save more space than you thought was possible. For small apartments, precious space is everywhere and you don't need a professional organizer to maximize space. Taking full advantage of your walls and vertical space through hanging storage can make a massive difference. Still, covering every wall is not the best idea. It's important to know where the limits are. If your vertical solutions are making it harder to move through a room then maybe it's time to think about getting a storage unit instead. Making the space feel bigger. Just because you have a small apartment doesn't mean that you should give up on home decor. In fact, small spaces benefit the most from clever interior design. It probably won't get you a bigger sitting area but it can help your living room or bedroom feel more spacious. Light. Our bodies and minds absolutely love natural light. If you can find ways to add reflective surfaces to scatter natural light throughout your living area can have a hugely positive effect on your mood and health. Floor-to-ceiling windows or mirrors may be out of your budget but doing what you can to create the illusion that your apartment is flooded with light will go a long way. Studio apartments sometimes have to deal with only one room having a window capable of taking in enough sunlight. This is why mirrors on a front door or clearing up as much stuff as possible from the windows as possible is important. When you're dealing with small spaces it's always worth it to make your furniture do more than one thing - that also applies to mirrors. Dark spaces or den-like environments may seem attractive but, in a small apartment, it can make the place feel far more stifled and smaller than it is. It's not just a question of style. Creating something that fits your personal style is super important, but not as much as making sure you're treating yourself to enough light. Elements of Style. Whether you're staying in that small apartment for a little while or a long time as you save up to move somewhere with more space, it's never too early to start defining your own sense of style. This can steer easily into decoration tips but creating a focal point in a room is essential. A focal point in decoration is something that draws attention. They come in multiple sizes and types; a nice TV, a beautiful but small painting, a moss wall, and so on. You then go ahead and design the rest of the space around that focal point. The real tip among all the tips though is that you want to set that focal point a little higher than the average eye-line to get people to look upward. For small apartments, this works wonders to create the illusion that the space is bigger than it seems. Take advantage of your tall ceilings if you have them, but don't stack storage items on top of tall furniture, that will help create a claustrophobic atmosphere instead. Use high-up empty wall space for decorative purposes instead and leave the open shelving for your books lower to the ground. If you find that you need a room divider, to create some office space, for example, think of something collapsible so that you can stow it away when not in use. This can be very useful for remote meetings so that you don't have to carve out a tunnel of space behind you that's presentable at a moment's notice. A final note. Small spaces aren't a curse and they teach you some extremely valuable lessons about how to care about your personal items and your personal space. The skills you develop after living in a small apartment transfer over when you, hopefully, find a better living arrangement. Instead of running out of space constantly, you'll learn how to create extra space instead. Now it's time to roll up your sleeves and figure out what to do with all the clothes that are only taking up space in your closet.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. 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Tips To Make The Most of Your Tiny Backyard. Not everyone has a huge backyard. The option of having an outdoor living room or being able to frolic around a large green area might not be one at your disposal. But instead of just leaving your limited space as a point of shame, here are some tiny backyard ideas to help you make the most out of the space. Even a tiny outdoor space can be used to entertain guests, grow plants, and give you extra space to relax on hot summer days. Maximize your space by using vertical gardens. Vertical gardens are a great way to make the most of your small backyard. By growing plants on walls or fences, you can free up more space on the ground for other activities. Not only do they look beautiful, but they also provide shade and can help cool down the area. You can set up fences and hang potted plants from them or use the fence's structure to create some lush greenery with vines. Small backyards can't afford unused space and that's why vertical space is one of the most important parts of backyard space to take advantage of. If your budget permits it, you can also invest in a moss wall to make living, breathing walls. Just be sure to place it properly so that the moss can soak up all the light it needs. If your outdoor space is particularly small, you can go all-in on this idea to make space for an intimate dining area, a small herb garden, or some chairs and a bar cart. Green walls don't necessarily need a fresh coat of paint, but it's a good idea to inspect whatever is holding up your vertical garden to make sure that the materials are not deteriorating too quickly. You can use trellises, those vertical structures make specifically to have vines grow onto them, to make upkeep easier but be mindful of what you use them for. A pergola is a wooden structure with slats at the top that will make it easier to hang plants to or grow vines on. Combined with trellises you can then free up enough room for things like folding chairs or a small water feature. Some pergolas also come with built-in benches so that takes care of your extra seating space needs. Add a repurposed coffee table and your small space became a romantic little dining spot. With some clever arrangements, you can create an outdoor room covered in vines and plants. It will help with privacy and create a beautiful atmospheric space for the house. Start the garden in the home. This one needs a little explaining: basically, you want to use the room that leads into the small backyard as a way to make the outdoor area feel bigger. Hang some air plants in the room leading to the small backyard. These plants require very little upkeep and add greenery to the indoor space to provide a smooth transition into the outdoor space. If you can open the door leading to the outdoor spaces wide then that's great, but even better is having glass floor-to-ceiling windows to reduce the strictness of the barrier between interior and exterior. That way, your seating areas can remain inside the house - a sort of semi patio. Of course, the first thing anyone will think of is what kind of mess this will create but by using an outdoor rug creatively, you can minimize the amount of cleaning needed. What if your small backyard is the result of a new swimming pool? It happens all the time. People add a swimming pool that's a little bigger than they actually thought it would be. Suddenly, the square footage of your small yard suddenly shrunk. Patio furniture is all cramped in one corner of the yard and there's not much left for people to just walk around in. The most important thing to keep in mind in that situation is that the small backyard is not doomed. The seating area might have to get smaller but it's also a chance to bust out the gardening tools to trim the trees to create more walking space around the pool. If you find yourself needing to trim a neighbour's tree that overhangs on your property, then the very first thing you should do is talk about it to your neighbour. Property lines are a complicated Just like with a small backyard in general, you want to favour plants and outdoor furniture on a smaller scale or that have a small footprint. This will not only help you reclaim some space but also prevent your pool's drain system from being overworked. Things you shouldn't do with a small backyard. While you can do a lot with a small backyard, some things are just bad small backyard ideas. The first one is adding in a fire pit. It depends on the size of the pit itself and just how small the backyard is but you need to think of more than just the fire pit itself. It will require a seating area and a good distance away from the plants in your garden unless you're a fan of buying new plants after nearly burning the neighbourhood down. It might be tempting to try one of those more daring small backyard ideas and try to create multiple outdoor 'rooms' but for that to actually work, your small backyard can't actually be small now, can it? An outdoor room or a small patio can be the focal point of your small backyard but trying to create multiple spaces like a dining area and another separate outdoor room for entertaining is the stuff reserved for much bigger yards. Have some fun with it. Magazines may make you think a small backyard can't be a great space for entertaining or that it's just dead space but even a small balcony can add oodles of charm to any property - provided that these small outdoor spaces are well taken care of. Creating your perfect little getaway in your small backyard can be as simple as buying string lights and running them along trellises or simply spreading them through key areas of the backyard. You could even look around for local woodworkers that can create pieces specifically adapted to your garden, be it collapsible patio furniture or a custom trellis that makes the most out of your small space. No matter how much of it you have, making the most out of your green spaces will help your property's value and also your own mental health after long days of work.     View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Money-Saving and Money-Making Ideas For Your Home. It can feel like the only way to get more out of your house is to knock down all the walls and start again. Thankfully, that's not the case. There are lots of small things you can do that can increase the value of your home quickly. If you were wondering, "what are some easy ways to increase the value of my home?" you're in the right place. Go full LED lights for energy efficiency and lower power bills. Let's start simple. LED lighting is super energy efficient. Making sure you're using LEDs through your house can do wonders not just on your utility bill but on the look and feel of your home. The low cost of LED bulbs compared to how much they bring out the richness of your home's interior almost feels like cheating. The softer lighting throughout the property makes it feel warmer and more welcoming. This will not help your home's equity values but the energy efficiency will help you save more money over the years, money that you can invest in bigger renovations over the years. Add smart devices. To save money, you have to spend money. Adding smart devices like an automated thermostat brings so much added value to your home that it would be crazy not to consider it. On top of helping you stay on top of your utility bills, some of these devices can even help find irregularities in your home like a gap letting in cold air during the winter. Being able to keep heating costs regulated, just like the inside temperature is something many potential buyers will note as a huge positive. Finish the basement, but don't personalize it. An unfinished basement is a liability to buyers, but a basement that has been finished and painted is more square footage, a flex room, or anything else the new owners want it to be. The process to finish the basement has a different price tag depending on its current state but it's a worthwhile investment. First impressions during open houses and home inspections can make the difference between a reasonable and someone willing to shell out top dollar for your home. The reason real estate agents advise against personalizing too much is that if you're planning to move out already then leaving the space as neutral as possible allows the buyers to create their own image about what they might do with the space. Work on the home's curb appeal. Future buyers are going to make a series of complicated judgement calls before making the decision to put an offer in for your house. One of them saying that your porch is where they want to spend their golden years can greatly sway the scales. A square foot in a well-kept front yard matters almost as much as one inside the home. To get the most value out of your landscaping, opt for something clean but still alive. While some people would love to live in front of the equivalent of a golf course, a charming garden that's not too hard to maintain can boost your home's value significantly. A fresh coat of paint on the home's exterior can do wonders to make people feel more confident in their purchase. A lot of people forego the outside of a home when it comes to home improvements, that's why a beautiful garden and some care and attention to the little touches can entice future homeowners so much. It's not just about first impressions but about the care that went into the home. Routine maintenance is better than emergency repairs. Speaking of care, it needs to come in steady increments. This is not something that will boost home values but it is definitely something that will help you keep the costs down over the years. Steady maintenance might feel like something preventing you from reaching your financial goals in time but when you need to sell and sell quickly, being confident that your home is in great condition can help you once you come to the negotiating table. A water heater treated well over the years, a new bathroom that was waterproofed correctly, hardwood floors handled well - these are all things that help your resale value without costing you chunks of cash just before putting your house on the market. Small renovations can go a long way (knockdown only one wall). Fine, if you want to knock down a wall there's nothing wrong with that. As long as you own the wall and have a plan for what to do next. Even knocking out parts of a wall can make a massive difference. Imagine that you have a dining room with beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows and lots of light and an adjacent kitchen with a good amount of light but not nearly as much. Creating an opening in their shared wall will not only let in a lot more light in the kitchen but that new opening also creates a much more convivial atmosphere. Open floor plans are becoming more and more popular because they allow people to converse and see each other even if they are in areas that fulfill different functions - the dining room and the kitchen in our example but that can extend to any non-private area. Bonus tip #1: Use your Home Equity Line of Credit to finance renovations. This works even when you're planning to stay in the home but the trick that makes HELOCs great for increasing your home's value is that you can repay the amount borrowed at any time. This means no prepayment penalties once you decide to pay it all back and put the home on the market. Don't confuse this with a home equity loan where you take out a big lump sum that must be repaid over a set period of time. Bonus tip #2: Be wary of good ideas with bad execution. Solar panels are great, but if they sit on your roof with unsightly cables and rust visible from the street, they will be seen as a detriment to buyers. A pool can be useful for active families or those who like to have pool parties but if it's surrounded by trees that shed leaves, twigs, and bugs directly into the water then the buyers might be thinking more about the cost of pool maintenance than anything else. You can't simply dump money into a property and expect the home value to trend upward. New flooring in the bathrooms is a great idea but not if you turn it all into one giant moisture-retaining carpet. There's nothing wrong with being quirky but if you're planning to sell the home at some point, then you should be ready to spend the money for renovations that more conventional people will appreciate. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

The Hard Truth About Flipping Houses. Flipping houses for a living seems attractive at a glance. You buy a house, embellish it, and sell it for a profit. You're your own boss, you get to use your hands, and you work on your own timeline. Still, is it for everyone? House flipping can yield a huge profit but it's a risky business. The time investment and the market's situation when you decide to sell contribute to thinning profit margins if you're not used to the business so what are some key things to think about before taking the plunge? Don't go by the average cost to flip a house. When stepping into a money pit, it's better to have more money than you thought you would need. The truth is that in order to make money, especially in house flipping, you need to be ready to lose money. You are essentially turning yourself into a real estate investor when you buy a property with your main intention is to turn a profit from it. There is a significant financial risk that you will be paying for a long time. Flipping properties involves large sums of money and if you calculated an average of what it would cost to shape up a house to sell it, you need to tack on an additional 10% at the very least. The amount you plan for, of course, depends on what kind of market you bought the house in and the condition of the home at the moment of purchase. It's still pretty easy to underestimate what the price of all the needed repairs will be. Problems may crop up over time despite all your best efforts to properly evaluate the cost of the materials and manual labour. What is the 70% rule? The 70% rule states that you should not be paying over 70% of the value of a property minus the repair costs. Take the value of the home after the repairs, multiply it by 0.7 and subtract the estimated repairs from the result; that is what you should pay at most. Is the after-repair value tied to the market value? Not always. Fluctuations in the market can drown out your profits which is why you want to give yourself a good margin with the 70% rule. The eventual resale value will depend on external factors that you cannot control so it's best to focus on what you can have an effect on. For example, you can lower the repair cost by doing more of the work yourself, building up some "sweat equity". What is sweat equity? Sweat equity is the labour or work done in order to increase the value of a property. It reckons that one's own sweat is worth some portion of the property. It's an important factor to consider when you want to get into the business of flipping houses. How much of the work are you willing and able to do on your own can have a significant impact on your profits. Flipped or not, you still have to pay the mortgage. House flipping is more often than not done by people one house at a time. Real estate investing can take many forms and when flipping a house there are a few different ways to go about it. If you have enough money to buy the house outright then that's great and flipping it will almost always guarantee a profit. However, if you need a loan to purchase the home in the first place then you need to be aware of the monthly costs that you need to shoulder. Buy low, sell high is easy for stocks but for houses bought with a mortgage, it's a little more complicated. If you ask your local real estate agent they will tell you that most houses get sold in a few weeks if not less. The right property will fly off the market easily but until it does get sold you are still responsible for the payments to your mortgage lender. If you can, hunt down mortgages with low-interest rates to finance the purchase of the fixer-upper and keep an eye out for mortgages that offer lower pre-payment penalties. When you eventually sell, you want to keep most of the money you invested and with a lot to go on a mortgage that can be complicated. It can take years before you break even. Following up on the previous point, you need to take the time this entire process takes into consideration. Real estate is a great investment but it is not liquid. For real estate investors, a very quick profit operates on a time frame of two years at the very least. You have to take into account the mortgage term, the number of repairs you can do to a house within that time frame, the time it takes to find potential buyers, and more. More time spent flipping a house might not always result in more profit. You can spend the cash needed in the process by remodelling an old kitchen, adding a pool, and redoing the wiring throughout the house but see the returns on your investment drop because the neighbourhood deteriorated while you were making those changes. The amount that you owe on the home and the details of the pre-payment penalty alone could be enough to incur a loss in the end. And both of those things only get better with time (or refinancing your mortgage). You must have the financial resources for this type of investment or it won't work out for you. Agent commissions, closing costs, and more are common in home sales that you have to account for. If you intend to flip houses for a living and have that be your only source of income then you need to either have rock-solid budgeting skills or be prepared to live in the house you are going to flip. Without a plan, to start flipping houses is the equivalent of slowly burning your savings. Getting in touch with real estate agents in your area and asking them about the potential of flipping houses is a good place to start. If you have paid off your mortgage on the house you already live in, you could take out a home equity line of credit to finance the purchase of a fixer-upper and the repairs but you risk putting your own home in jeopardy if the purchase price of the house flip doesn't match expectations. If it's your first time flipping a house then it's a good idea to talk to some professionals and the people for whom you're responsible. House flipping is a stressful process and the investment needed is in sweat, time, and vast amounts of money.     View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

6 At-Home Recycling Tips. Even though it's tiny compared to big companies, there are still ways to reduce the size of your carbon footprint. It's not just good for the environment, it can help you save some money at the same time too. Recycling, repurposing, and reusing isn't something that takes a lot of energy or time either so read on for some tips on how you can save some extra money while making the most of what you have at home. Repurpose old clothes. Old t-shirts are things we have since the day we are old enough to clothe ourselves. They appear out of nowhere after a deep clean of your drawers, they materialize out of old relationships in silence, or you just stare at them one day wondering where they had gone for a few years. They're not all fit to wear. All the branded goodies from corporate retreats or received from giveaways eventually get worn out as pyjamas. Sometimes a t-shirt snags in a doorway and becomes unwearable. Instead of letting old clothing take up closet space, how about finding a better use for it? Nothing in life is free but an old t-shirt turned into a dust rag can feel like it. You can turn a single t-shirt into three dust rags or more or different sizes. If you don't mind them being a little ragged, this can be done with a knife (pointing away from you at all times) and within a minute but if you want something neater then a pair of fabric scissors will go a long way. You can turn more things into cleaning rags like old towels or even an old pillowcase. They're reusable, machine washable, and just like old t-shirts, you'll always have a good supply of them - somehow. The idea here isn't just to not throw things away but to reduce waste throughout the supply chain by not buying things that you can easily make yourself. By repurposing old clothing you're preventing the use of fuel, water, and other materials needed in the creation, shipping, and selling of the products. There's also the not-so-obvious tip for the not-so-crafty to turn old clothes you don't wear anymore into new clothes. This can take some experimentation for your first time but you can turn an old t-shirt for a grown adult into a dress for a kid. You can also turn old jeans that don't fit anymore into jean shorts - just look up a video on YouTube before you get started, many people cut higher up than needed for the final length. Store rainwater - and use it. When life gives you free water, don't waste it. If you have a yard then setting up a simple barrel to collect water on rainy days can help you so much whether you're a burgeoning gardener or an old (green) hand. Rain collection is one o the most economical ways of watering plants in the long run. You can watch your water bill deflate as your plants continue to flourish. You don't even need a full barrel in a vast yard. If all you have are small plants that hang on your small balcony then you can set up a little receptacle on the same balcony to trap some water. Be sure to empty out the containers and use up the water when you can. Several days' worth of water is enough for bugs to get comfy. While some insects are essential, you don't need a cockroach infestation to prove how green you are. Recycle what you can. The obvious one. The timeless classic. The one people get wrong. Glass bottles, sandwich bags, old furniture - three things that need vastly different recycling methods. The state of plastic these days is alarming where plastics are on pace to outnumber the number of fish in the ocean. Before getting to the point where you need to recycle the plastic, find a way to not use it in the first place. It's the small things that will add up. Grocery bags don't always have to be plastic bags; a great way to re-purpose old clothes is to turn them into bags. You will need to wash them thoroughly, not with the collected rain, and get crafty with how you cut and sow but it's doable! Not all plastics are made equal and while it's tempting to just throw some of it in the trash, separating out recyclable materials can make a huge difference. A little research goes a very long way because different cities might have different guidelines. What should you not recycle? One of the most important at-home recycling tips is that if you're going to put things in recycling bins, they need to be rinsed out and free of residue. Given that paper is biodegradable and, well, paper, don't try and wash out paper-based food wrapping for example. Spend your time instead on cleaning out things like a jar of peanut butter before putting it in the recycling bin. Bonus tip: before you start cleaning out the jar, fill it with ice cream and mix it around the jar. You get the patches of peanut butter you couldn't reach before because of the jar's shape and you get to eat a delicious ice cream and peanut butter combination too. If you have multiple jars then it's time to invite your friends for a movie night to complete the experience. Pizza boxes are often a point of confusion because of the material they're made of but they do obey the same rule as plastic. They tend to be covered on the inside with grease and cheese and other organic waste. These can form bacteria and contaminate other recyclables in the bin. The solution then is to flatten the boxes as best you can and stuff them in the trash bin. Create your own compost. You can turn food scraps into fertilizer for plants, flowers and trees around the house. Even if you live in a small space, you can set up a system for composting that uses a few containers, a plastic box can work, to collect organic waste material so that you can boost your plants' growth. When you're using a container be sure to poke holes in the bottom so that the compost can "breathe." How to optimize your compost. A layer of soil on top will help keep the moisture in - and increase the chances of attracting earthworms, which are a good sign for your compost pile. If you're using a pile method, make sure to turn it over every week or so and add a bed of brown materials (leaves, twigs) to balance out the green materials (fruit and vegetable scraps). One of the best ways to make sure you're composting properly is to have a mix of "green" materials (fresh) and "brown" materials (dry). Green materials provide nitrogen while browns give carbon, so try to have a good balance when you're collecting scraps. You don't need loads to make your garden resplendent and booming with life and it will help you fully use up some of the kitchen and gardening waste you create. It's almost like recycled food - but let's not say that because it sounds terrible. Donating is underrated. One of the big issues the world is dealing with is the amount of stuff being thrown into landfills. You've no doubt seen pictures of seagulls over an ocean of garbage or read an article about how a plastic bag takes hundreds of years to degrade even in those conditions. What you might think is trash, like old furniture missing a leg or a broken set of rollerblades, can be an amazing opportunity for other people. Woodworking amateurs or kids looking for a cheap entry-point into a sport they might love could make use of things you think are useless. People often think of clothes first when it comes to donating - there are only so many t-shirts you can turn into rags at once - but there are many other things that can work too. Collect glass bottles, weird-looking but clean jars, or even quirky but unloved containers or boxes - these can be used for craft projects for kids. Donating is a solution that benefits everyone but it's important to understand that donating is not just offloading things. After you create a list of the things you could donate, get in touch with a local charity to ask what they could use. Don't limit yourself to charities or non-profits. Ask your friends and family if they have any need for some of the things you don't need anymore. One great way to recycle a glass bottle is by turning it into a painted piece of art. A pillowcase can make for a great Halloween costume base. Before you toss something in the trash, think of the uses for it and if you can't figure it out, look beyond the room you're in and think of the people in your life who could make use of it. Compound your recycling. If you're using old clothes to create cleaning rags, why not take an old plastic container and turn it into a rag dispenser? You can cut out part of the bottom, hang it from a hook and you have a recycled way to store your recycled cleaning rags. Are you keeping all the plastic bags you ended up with? Why not store it in a bigger plastic bag? If you have a lot of plastic bags, you can use them to store other recyclable materials like newspapers. Newspaper takes up a lot less space when it's compressed and if it's wet, the ink will run - something you don't want to happen when you're trying to recycle it. When it comes time to take your recycling to the curb, you can just gather it all up in one big bag and go. There are many ways to recycle and reuse the things you would normally just throw away. By composting, donating, or compound recycling, you can help make a difference for the environment without too much effort.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Make Your Home Cozy For The Winter. Your HVAC system works fine, you're not overspending on your energy bills, and your light bulbs all work fine. So how do you make your home the ultimate cozy space during the winter? Creating a cozy home is more than just warm air, so keep reading for some ideas on how to stay cozy at home, winter ideas edition. Add plants indoors to keep the air fresh and clean. Whether you have a green thumb or need to resort to some faux greenery, plants add texture to a room. They give a room a cozy feeling by softening the hard lines of furniture and adding a touch of life. In the colder months it can be harder to keep plants looking healthy but it's not impossible. Keeping your house warm against the cold weather is something both you and your plants will appreciate. Proper insulation, lots of warm natural light, and some care will go a long way. Adding natural elements to your interior will not automatically help you stay warm in terms of temperature but it will help with the feeling of warmth that comes with a home. Plus, plants help to clean the air by removing toxins. Despite the lack of leaves on the trees too, the signs of life inside can help your mood as well. It's best to put plants in places where you spend a lot of time like the living room or the kitchen so that you get the most benefits from them. While fake plants won't require the same upkeep, they can still create a cozy atmosphere when placed judiciously. Add a throw blanket in the most used rooms. A throw blanket is an easy way to make a space feel cozy. Throw blankets dispersed all around the house can provide some extra warmth when temperatures shift unexpectedly. Having something soft and warm within arm's reach will make any room feel cozier. It doesn't matter if you have a small studio apartment or a six-bedroom mansion, a warm blanket goes a long way. Sometimes people will forget to close windows, it happens, and making your way through that stream of cold air is a lot more bearable with something draped around your shoulders. Use rugs, plenty of them. Hardwood floors are great with how they retain heat but not everyone has those. While carpet is nice to have in some rooms, in a bathroom a carpet is a disastrous choice. If you like to walk bare feet in your home in the winter months, soft rugs can make a home feel cozier all throughout the day and night. Area rugs in the home office make a massive difference to your morale, for example. No one wants to walk on a cold floor for any amount of time, especially in their own home. Add heavy drapes. This is more of a long-term solution but using heavier fabric in the winter, combined with some bold warm colours, does a lot to create a comfy feeling. The thin white curtains that you use during the summer are great then to give the room more air and space but in the winter, even just the visual plushness of the heavier drapes will help to make your home feel warm. That some of them come with a thermal lining is a huge bonus too. Also, as a bonus, if you have old windows you forget to take a look at before the winter, the heavy drapes can buy you some comfort while you wait for repairs. They will retain the hot air inside the home a lot better than curtains. Use different lights. Since it's darker sooner in the winter, we are very sensitive to light. Light has therapeutic benefits and getting enough of it in your daily life is essential. But that doesn't mean sharp harsh light all the time is a good idea. Warm white lights from floor lamps instead of harsh overhead lights add an extra layer of coziness to any room. More subdued, with some dark areas can help your ease relax after hours spent in front of a computer screen. Essentially, you want to try and emulate candlelight as much as possible with the risk of molten wax on your coffee table. Use different lighting sources to create extra layers of half-light to achieve a warm feeling throughout the house. If you like them or have children, you can even set up string lights in some areas. They liven up places like reading nooks and, when used right, can create a great romantic atmosphere. Using less light also means you get to save money on your hydro bill. Of course, living in the dark is far from cozy, so it's a balancing act. Use scented candles or automatic air fresheners for an inviting atmosphere. When you walk through your front door, soft lights and a blanket within reach are great but a warm comforting scent elevates your whole experience. It's a terrible idea, and a fire hazard, to just leave candles burning all day long. Still, during the winter when you need to keep your windows closed so that you keep all the warm air inside, it can feel like you're stuck in a box. Your HVAC system might be doing a great job but the scent of lavender or mandarins can help you quickly forget the snow and slush. If you have ceiling fans, set them on the lowest setting and place the automatic air fresheners near them - this will make it easier for you to feel the effects without turning the setting on the dispenser too high. The extras. The world doesn't need more magazines, it needs more pillows. It's time to give throw pillows credit. In the colder months, plopping down on the couch after a long day and using the pillows to make yourself snug while unwinding is unparalleled. Though it can make it hard to get out of bed in the morning, investing in good cotton flannel or fleece bedding will create a cozy bed beyond belief. Try to pick items that will add texture to your house. A nice warm white decor can feel like a cloud at sunset but adding some patterns or different materials can make a big difference in terms of comfort. Even if you're only seeing it, you can instinctively tell what something feels like to the touch. Knit items like pillows or throws create a homey feel. The general guiding principle. You don't need to be an interior designer to find something that will make your home cozy during the winter months. Whether it's the living room, the bedroom, or the rest of the house, go towards things that give you a warm feeling of belonging. Aim for tactile feeling first, just because something looks good doesn't mean that it will give your space a feeling of warmth and comfort. It's not just about keeping a house warm in the winter, it's about making the blankets and the warm floor feel like home.     View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. 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How Rain Damages Your Home. A lot of people love rain. It's calming, it makes plants almost glow with greenery in the spring, and it's a great reason to curl up with a book in hand. But everyone hates wood rot, standing water, and mould growth. Every homeowner should be aware of how well their property deals with potential rain damage. Heavy rain should be something a well-maintained house can withstand with no issues but if it's been a long time since you last looked at whether your home is properly sealed to prevent water damage, it's time for a little catch-up session. Rain damage within the home. Mould. Rainwater can slowly build up within your walls even from a small leak. The reason why you don't want water entering your home, especially in places where you cannot see it, is that the ambient moisture creature is the perfect environment for mould growth. Mould is dangerous because it can cause respiratory problems and other health issues. If you have young kids or someone in the home with conditions like asthma, mould can create and worsen lasting health problems. Everyone is cautious after a flooding or a big issue with the roof but mould spreads fast even with just a little bit of water. Sagging ceilings. This is a crisis situation that will sometimes only reveal itself during heavy rains. Water leakage can build up in the ceiling boards and while that water may drain off somewhere else during light rainfall, heavy rains will cause a build-up. In extreme circumstances, the bubble created in the ceiling will grow and grow until it bursts. No one wants to clean that up. It's a mess of debris, stagnant water, and bits and pieces of whatever ended up stuck there. If tackled early, sagging ceilings can be dealt with to prevent costly damages in the future. They're alarm bells that water leaks might be impacting your home in ways you didn't envision. Bugs love stagnant water. Stagnant water is a breeding ground for all sorts of bugs, so it's important to take care of any water leakage immediately. Some of the most common bugs that can be found in stagnant water are mosquitoes, fruit flies, and cockroaches. All three of these bugs carry diseases, so it's best to take care of any leaks as soon as possible. An infestation of any of these bugs can create a nightmare in all weather conditions but the root cause can be found in rainwater pooling in between the walls. Foundation damage. This one is very dangerous. Of all kinds of rain damage possible, this can cost homeowners thousands to fix - at best. It doesn't matter if the home's attic is intact, rainwater can still make its way down to your home's foundation and destroy it slowly. Water can erode parts of the home's foundation, or it can make the soil around the lowest points of the house expand which applies enough pressure to create foundation cracks. Rainwater creating pools around the house. Having long-lasting wet patches around your home after rainfall should sound the alarm bells. The stagnant water can create bug nests, but more pressingly the water can seep underground and create those expensive-to-fix foundation cracks. Your first line of defence when it comes to water damage like that is a way to direct water away from the home. Usually, that means gutters; angled properly and well-maintained. Small things like twigs and pine needles can collect in the gutters during dry periods and then even properly installed gutters can have their downspout clogged up. Rainwater damage doesn't just mean that you have to protect your roof or the house's siding but it means looking after the property as a whole. What are the problem areas with rain? Unfortunately, when it comes to pinpointing rain damage to house sections, there's no quick and easy way to do it unless there is some visual indicator. Still, it pays off to pay special attention to certain parts of the home during routine maintenance. Your basement should be a dry environment, unusually high levels of moisture in the air can indicate a problem further up. Doors, windows, and other openings can also be cause for concern. If you notice that the siding of your home is getting more degraded around a windowsill or a doorway then that means that something is building up in the walls of the house. During heavy storms, gutters can get misaligned and their downspout point toward the home instead of away from it - creating a situation where what was supposed to help is actually making the problem worse. The roof, left last here because most people would look there first, is definitely an area that you want to have good control of. Water damage is insidious because of how much confidence we have in things like our house's roof. In reality, a good roof requires yearly maintenance and a good look every six months at the very least. Mould growth in attics is common and often overlooked. While it can be annoying, it is a good practice to keep the attic in good order and not let clutter overtake the space. Clutter makes quick check-ups of the walls tough for anyone. What can you do to fix things? Other than routine inspections, you can save money by doing a few simple things. Planting trees, far from the house's basement or foundation, and smaller plants are an amazing long-term solution. The plants will soak up rainwater and cool off your home in the summer. If surface water around the house is on an incline then a good idea would be to build an exterior french drain. These are basically drains that line your house's perimeter and redirect the water in another direction to prevent it from affecting your home. If you find an exposed leak or crack, you could use some foam sealant as a quick fix. However, if you suspect deeper damage, more immediate damage, it's best to contact a professional. Construction issues may have left you with internal issues that could require heavy-duty fixes.       View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. 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The Elements of "Modern" House Design. Modern architecture is sometimes synonymous with strange, cold, and unfeeling interiors made for robots to live in but the truth couldn't be further than that. The perception of modern architecture is the result of both personal taste, of course, and expectations about what a house should feel like. The truth is that a lot of modern house design images that people see are staged to appear as neutral and clean as possible. This isn't done to make you feel bad about the cleanliness of your home but to emphasize the modern aesthetic in a way that highlights its benefits. Crisp lines. Interior design reflects a mood, and the modern house wants to emphasize the crispness of its lines. These lines are an integral part of the style language, whether they're in the living room or adorning the exterior walls, there is little space for soft curves or fuzziness. It's not a war on curves, but rather one on rounded edges. Whether you like that is up to you, but modern houses espousing the idea of crisp lines do so to create an environment that feels clean and polished. Built-ins. To clear up even more space, built-ins do away with the centimetres lost to being unable to push a piece of furniture flat against a wall. A lot of modern design is about reclaiming space taken up by the superfluous. This applies to every room in the house from the bathrooms to the bedrooms. Instead of filling empty space with plush cushions, it's left for the owners to wander through and live in. Built-ins are a natural off-shoot from the ideals of modern design. Minimizing space requirements, adhering to a clean and simple style, and letting the entire room shine instead of pulling the attention. Simplicity. You won't find crown moulding along the top of the walls or excessive details on the chairs or stairs. Modern home aesthetics steer away from features that break up lines excessively. Flat surfaces are left uninterrupted for as long as possible while furnishings with big tassels or furniture with intricately carved wood are left in a storage unit somewhere. It's all about making a space that's easy to understand quickly without too many, as some architects or interior designers would put it, distractions. Of course, that's not for everyone. Sharp corners and the lack of plush patterned chairs can invite a sense of unease or 'catalogue-living'. Still, modern aesthetics are not necessarily 'cold' because of that simplicity. If you're looking for visual texture, instead of finding it in embroidered patterns on chairs or rugs, you'll find it in the touch and feel of the fabric used for a sofa, for example. The contrast that people themselves bring to the simple and clean lines will immediately make a space feel far livelier. While it might seem like a quick job for the architect involved in the construction of a new house, there are a lot of things to take into account for modern home projects. Built for light. The simplicity and crisp lines are not stylistic choices that stand alone. Both of these contribute to making the home feel bigger by optimizing the amount of natural light the home takes in. When you look at modern house design, it might feel jarring to see rigid lines for the exteriors or how windows fill an entire facade. In that instance, modern architecture can feel alienating but there's a reason why those spaces are designed the way they are. Large windows mean more light, and sunlight plays a huge part in how a room feels and our physical and mental health. Neutral colours. You could easily make the joke that the modern home is built on five shades of brown and grey. The truth though is that you will find many modern homes with dashes of yellow or blue, rooms with a cohesive colour palette tastefully shattered by a wonderful painting or a moss wall as a focal point. A dining room in a modern house can be an exercise in counting colours but that can easily be remedied by taking a look at another part of the modern design aesthetic. Emphasis on materials. It would be a little plain to just have muted neutral colours all over the place, and that's why emphasizing the materials used in the building of the furniture is one of the key aspects of modern design. While traditional design will often have carved and painted wood, modern design will feature materials cut in clean lines without an added layer of paint. Materials like concrete, aluminum, glass, wood, stone, and steel get to shine through without being covered up. Wood adds colour variation and a warm touch to any room. Free of paint, it stands out from the other materials inside the home and on the outside brings some much-needed contrast with the concrete and steel. Open-floor plans. Like we mentioned before, in modern house designs, a flat surface keeps going uninterrupted until it needs to stop - and what better way to fulfill that key element's need than having an open floor plan? An open floor plan is a design in which all the common living spaces of a house are connected to one another, with no walls or doors separating them. This allows for greater flexibility in how the space can be used and can make the home feel larger. All those clean lines help with creating distinct spaces by using the furniture and furnishings with their straight sharp lines to frame specific zones. The neutral colours make it easier to coordinate where the splashes of colour should land. And taking down those walls means that it's easier for light to spread throughout a room. But it's not for everyone. Modern architecture gets a bad rap more often than not. For good reason sometimes, it's hard to see a warm family home with all that edge and beige. That doesn't that the concept is flawed. If you're interested in what life could look like in one of those houses, it won't hurt to talk to a real estate agent in your area. Whether you're already all aboard the modern design train or unconvinced about it, maybe a walk through a sun-soaked home with clean, open spaces will be what you need to pull the trigger.     View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

The Winter and Your Heating System. When a few cold days add up to months, it's time to start thinking about your heating system. A home's heating and cooling systems are essential and they're built to last. Still, the wear and tear of long winters, especially here in British Columbia, can have a lasting effect on your home's ability to keep the heat in. Take a look at your records to see when your HVAC system was maintained and, try to dig through old energy bills to figure out if there could be a growing cost that has to do with possible heat loss or a deficient heater. You even may need to check whether or not your thermostat is working correctly. This isn't just about astronomic heating bills or windows with air leaks but also the possibility of a breakdown of your heating in the winter. If you need to replace your furnace, the best time for that to happen is not when the cold air feels like it's biting your face. Check your furnace filter or heat pump and make sure it is clean. Heat pumps and furnaces fulfill the same purpose in the winter: creating warm air to make your home livable. For a heat pump, cleaning out filters from the indoor part of the pump is something you need to do once a month - or at least in preparation for a coming blizzard or storm. Be prepared though because that will mean turning the pump off, taking out the filters, and cleaning them out before being able to use it again. Proper cleaning is a good idea to keep your pump efficient over time and reduce how much energy it needs to use. As for the outdoor part of the unit, it's important to keep it clear of snow and ice. Depending on the type of heat pump you have, the cleaning and maintenance can be very different but generally, you want to keep the outdoor part of the heat pump clear of debris (branches, leaves, pebbles). Many heat pumps use air to do their work and obstructions can become a very expensive problem. For a furnace, the process is very similar. First, you will need to turn off your furnace, let it cool, and find out if the filters are reusable by checking if it has a plastic frame. If it does, then you will be able to clean it and place it back. To make sure everything is where it needs to be, there should be an arrow on the frame of the filter and one on the surrounding area to indicate the flow of air. If the arrows are not there, get a pen or marker to draw it on. Next, you can simply remove the filter with your hands and clean it with just water. No need for anything special, you're getting dust out. After it's dried, place it back in. Done. It's not rocket science. Though you may want to save money by using the same reusable filter forever, they also have their own lifespan. Keep a spare one around so that you can swap it in should your old filter fail so that your furnace can keep running smoothly. If you're unsure about how to go about the cleaning process, there are many video tutorials out there on YouTube and undoubtedly one that applies to the system you have installed - unless you inherited a property with a special custom-built heating system. In that case, you're better off contacting a professional. Have a professional check out your system. Efficiency or safety are the keywords when it comes to heating and cooling in a home. Even if you want to save money, the need to keep the heat on during a storm is far stronger. Every year at least, you should have professionals look at your HVAC systems. After an especially harsh winter or a summer that was too warm for comfort even in your living room, these visits can help you resolve problems with both your energy use and how to add or remove a few degrees for the comfort and safety of your family. The song and dance aren't just so you feel warmer, a professional can tell you if there are things you can do to your home that may greatly help keep a handle on the indoor temperature. They can give you recommendations about insulation, ductwork, and may even be able to save you a pretty penny when it comes to your heating bill. Heat loss unrelated to your furnace or heat pump. Whether you have a gas furnace, use solar panels, or rely on heat pumps, heat and cold move around and through your house constantly. A window or a door without proper weathering can let cold air in while leaking out warm air. It's almost like leaving all the lights on all night long and complaining about a higher than usual electricity bill. Take a good look around your house to find out which of your rooms are letting the wrong kind of air inside or if new windows built in the summer are driving your thermostat up the wall. Fixing leaky ductwork for example could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Adding weathering strips can do a lot of work to prevent cold air from getting into inside spaces. Even your fireplace can lead to some heat loss (and become dangerous) if it's not cleaned properly and regularly. A fireplace creates "creosote" inside the chimney and if it's not cleaned up can create home fires. There's such a thing as too hot, even in a Canadian winter. Don't ignore your attic or crawl space. Consider getting some insulation installed in areas of your home where heat tends to escape easily, such as the attic or crawl space. One of the most overlooked areas of your home is not a room or a window, your money sink could be right above your head. When it comes to heating, make sure that the insulation of your home is up to pay. You might have a top-of-the-line furnace but windows without weathering or a room where the insulation in the walls has been worn out by a leak are going to take what's inside your wallet and you even get to see it coming. What is insulation? Insulation is one of the best ways to keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It's a material that is installed in walls and roofs to help keep the indoor temperature comfortable while also saving you money on your energy bill. There are many types of insulation, but the most common is fibreglass. It comes in rolls or batts and can be easily installed by a professional. Another type of insulation is spray foam. This is a more expensive option, but it is very effective at stopping heat loss. It can be installed in walls, ceilings, and attics. Both fibreglass and spray foam insulation are available in R-values, which is a measure of how well they insulate a space. The higher the R-value, the better insulation you will get in your home. Water leaks from the roof can damage your insulation and open up gaps where heat can escape. If you suspect that your attic or crawl space may not have the proper insulation, consider having a contractor come and take a look. Even if it appears to be doing its job, there may be places where water is penetrating through the roof and causing damage to your insulation. Heating issues left by the previous owner. If you bought a fixer-upper then you need to be aware of your rights. Reserved for only the direst circumstances, you can talk to your real estate agent if you feel like you were deceived by the previous owner for what is legally known as a "material latent defect." A material latent defect is a problem with the property that was not disclosed to the buyer by the seller. It can be a physical problem with the property, such as a leaky roof, or it can be a problem with the title or ownership of the property. If you can prove that the previous owner knew about a cold air leak or issues with the windows that create a money pit for you, a problem that could not have been detected by a home inspection before your bought the house, then you may have cause to sue. Be careful though, the cost of the legal fees for something that's hard to prove can be a lot more costly than what you would have to pay for a day of work on your home. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Mental Health and Your Home. If you had a broken leg, you would make adjustments to your home to make things easier and promote healing. The same goes for your mental and emotional health. Mental illness comes in a vast array of different types with differing levels of intensity. The following isn't meant to replace the work done by a professional therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. The following is simply a series of little tips and tricks to improve the home environment around you or that of someone you care for. Psychological well-being is a complex topic but mental health and real estate a closely linked on a few different levels. Here, we'll look at housed individuals trying to better their situation. What role does your home play in your mental health? This does not apply to all neurodivergent people but your inner state of mind can manifest in your surroundings. Depression can make it hard to care for the space around you and removing clutter can actually mean making the floor visible and taking out long overdue trash. The disconnect that accompanies many forms of depression creates an environment that reinforces stress and anxiety. Taking out the trash and doing the dishes won't solve everything and it would be irresponsible to suggest that it would. But, doing those things, taking care of the space around you can help you feel calmer and more in control of the space you occupy. This is actually reflected in brain chemistry: people that live in chaotic environments tend to create more of the stress hormone cortisol. It's easier to build up your self-confidence when you don't have to skirt around mounds of clothes to make a cup of tea. Deep breathing and an uplifting song have their place to help improve your mental health but so does being in a home where you can breathe deeply without smelling undone dishes and maybe even sway around to that uplifting song. Practical tips to keep your home clean and usable if you have mental health issues. A lot of tips out there feature tips that work toward a nebulous idea of feeling good. Though well-intended, they don't provide practical tips and tricks to help people function on a daily basis. Many tips and tricks articles stress the importance of a "brain-healthy diet" but not many deal with how to remember to use ingredients before they spoil. The quick and simple option is the one people gravitate to when they feel overwhelmed but when that happens too often it means that ingredients go bad and thus to waste. The actual trick to having a diet full of fatty fish, fresh fruit, and leafy greens is twofold. Energy levels of neuro-atypical people can vary wildly depending on the condition and its severity. One of the most effective ways to combat food waste is to streamline the preparation process. A little bit of preparation and easily realized recipes can create a simple, almost automatic, process to make meals for a long period of time. Prepared meals can then be refrigerated for days where stress levels are higher or when the ability to focus is a problem. Your pantry can also be rearranged to create a simple order of operations for meal preparation or for quick snacks. Another part of your home that can suffer is cleanliness. Dust and hair accumulate, dishes pile up - but how can you make it easier to tackle these things? Remove barriers; place the vacuum in the room you use the most, change its position so it blocks the door if you have to, place your phone on the kitchen by the sink while it's playing something on Netflix so that your hands wander to the dishes. The solution differs from person to person - keep trying to find ways in which you can trick your brain to perform a task by removing the barriers leading to said task. Put the trash bin in front of the door you need to use to get out, get big colourful post-it notes that get in the way of you performing the daily tasks that you can do so that you're forced to pay attention to them. How to make your home a healthy and happy place to live. Joy is not out of reach for the neuro-atypical. The current trend right now is telling people to practice mindfulness meditation - and if it works for some, good but it's often not enough or does not work at all. A stress ball will help your average stressed-out person but to boost moods in the long term there are other things that can have a greater effect. Whether you have a green thumb or not, an easy to care-for plant will have lasting positive effects on your mental health. One thing to keep in mind though is that different plants have different textures. People that have an overtuned sensory input cannot stand certain textures and smells, so the stress-busting plant may have the opposite of the intended effect for example. This is also a reason why simply flooding an area with bright lights is not a good idea. It's not being picky or difficult, for some people with mental health issues, it's just the way their brain works. The importance of natural light. Pulling back the curtains is a legitimately good thing to do, especially in the winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects people who live in colder climates because of the lack of sunlight. Quality time in the sun does not just help out your immune system, it can boost your mental health. The mood-boosting power of sunlight has to do with vitamin D. It stabilizes your mood and helps lessen the effects of depression. Two hours a day of sunlight absorbed by the skin is usually enough to boost someone's mood and calm their feelings. Of course, it's sadly not a cure-all. So, how do you make the best of sunlight in your home? Place your desk in the path of the sun's natural course and roll up your sleeves. At first, it may not feel like it but after some time, the benefits start to become noticeable. If you plan to sit at a desk all day in your room, you might as well do something to get on the track to a better mental health state. Speaking of tracks and sitting at a desk all day. Regular exercise, how to make it possible. Exercise has a plethora of health benefits but actually getting exercise done can feel like pulling teeth, especially for neuro-atypical people. It can relieve stress, helps you gain control over your body and body image, and you can even reward yourself with a warm bath after - what's not to love? Well, the overwhelming sense of pointlessness that accompanies many mental health issues. Whether you're hyperfocused on something because of ADHD or ruminating on the pointlessness of owning tennis shoes because of depression, taking steps to improve your life through exercise is a strange notion. The way to overcome the unfortunate natural barriers in your way is to remove as many barriers as possible from the other aspects of your life. Lay your workout clothes on your bed the moment you remember to do so, hide your work shoes somewhere impractical and keep your running shoes by the door. Exercise can make such a big difference in the life of everyone especially neuro-atypical people that no tactic is too silly if it works. Creating a peaceful and relaxing environment at home. To enjoy life doesn't just mean pushing yourself to do uncomfortable things. Sometimes a softer approach is the better approach. Sensory overload, for example, is something you can combat by delineating an area of your house as a quiet zone where it makes it easier for someone with ADHD to feel calm after being overstimulated. Of course, maintaining good relationships between family members and friends doesn't mean overtaking shared spaces but things like quiet zones can help relieve stress for everyone. Mental and emotional health is something that has been often overlooked by many people and misunderstood by many more. Being able to talk to others and confide about anxiety, relationships, or just forming bonds is something that can help you manage stress. Simply voicing your concerns and bouncing ideas back and forth does feel good, and it works to improve your mood. A peaceful living space is a way to boost your mental health and that of others around you. Lower stress levels are key to things like sleep and help improve memory function. While these tips help... The tweaks that you can implement can have a huge boost on your well-being and your nervous system, but they don't replace professional care. Natural light, space, exercise will boost your mental health but if you are not diagnosed with a mental health condition yet and feel like these are not helping as much as they should, seeking professional help is a great idea. Sadly, many professional services are too expensive for many people. That's why starting with the home environment can help bolster your well-being either until a bad episode passes or you're able to see a mental health professional.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

The Risks of Buying a Fixer-Upper What does it mean to buy a home as-is? If you buy a house "as-is" you are usually getting the home at a lower price, but you could potentially end up repairing or doing work that would have been ordinarily completed by sellers. Buying a home as it is can require a considerable amount of work for the home to be move-in ready but it can be a great option for people who do not have great credit or want to raise the house's market value before putting it back on the market for a profit. Why would someone buy a home as-is? There are two major reasons that we mentioned above: lower upfront cost and the possibility of a good investment. Why do fixer-uppers cost less? The main reason why fixer-upper homes cost less is that they require repairs. This means that the buyer can negotiate a lower price with the seller because the seller knows that the new owner will have to put in some work to get the home up to par. Home renovations can fetch a high price and the seller may not be willing or able to do them before selling. Unless the interested buyer waives their right to a home inspection, a home inspector will likely point out all of the issues with the property that could lead to increased costs for the new homeowner. Another reason that fixer-upper homes cost less is that they are often in need of updated appliances, flooring, paint, and other cosmetic features. Not all fixer-uppers have deep issues that might fetch high renovation costs. For any house, unexpected issues can make an estimated cost feel more like a suggestion than anything concrete but the risk is far greater with a fixer-upper home. Who buys fixer-upper homes? Though it might seem like a simple straightforward answer, there are a few people that will consider something other than a move-in-ready home. It's all they can afford. To buy a fixer-upper is to move large sums of money, in the form of a downpayment and mortgages for the most part, for a great amount of risk. The simple truth is that for a lot of people, a fixer-upper house is the best that they can afford. Time constraints, financial stresses, and more mean that a fixer-upper is the right decision. The potential of the location is too good to pass up. Some buyers are not scared off by the renovation process and the discomfort is not an issue - but what they see in the property is what the house might look like in the future. These people may be able to afford something better in a different location but for one reason or another find that the benefits of the location supersede everything else. For these homeowners, more money put toward a house that won't need a slew of contractors is not a problem and the home buying process will look different for them compared to people that have no other choice. This category is further divided into three subgroups, those who will be living in the home and will sell it as soon as renovations are done, those that will stay after said renovations, and real estate investors. The third category is a little rarer but some people make it a career to tackle project after project where they pour some money into fixer-upper properties to eventually turn a profit. What are the risks? Here are some of the common things that people need to look out for in a home, beyond aesthetic issues, that can quickly become a drain that makes a credit check sound like a good idea and closing costs sound like a dream. Plumbing Issues Are you home if you can't go to the bathroom in peace? Plumbing issues can be as simple as changing some water fixtures but can be as demanding as changing the whole network of pipes in the worst circumstances. Modern plumbing pipes are designed to last a long time, usually upwards of 80 years but if you notice things like strange water colouration and low water pressure then it may be a good idea to get in touch with a plumber. If you are planning to buy a fixer-upper house always ask if you can turn on the showers and taps to check the water pressure. No one wants to deal with a down payment if they can't use the shower properly. Electrical wiring Electricity is a basic human need in modern times, but it can also be dangerous. Bad electrical wiring can cost a lot more than a slight rise in utility bills. This may not be immediately visible during a home inspection but the wiring that goes in the walls of a house can be worn down over time. This isn't necessarily a fact that only affects older houses. Faulty insulation or water leaks can damage electrical wires and cause major issues that can lead to fires starting within the walls of the new home. Updating the electrical wiring can make a mortgage look like adding insult to the injury that is the cost of rewiring a house. HVAC HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. It is a system that is used to control the temperature and air quality in a building. In a country where opening your windows in January would turn your living room into a walk-in freezer, a good HVAC system is essential. When it comes to the air you breathe, a bad HVAC system can let in pollutants and outside debris which can make things dire if you or someone you live with has respiratory issues like asthma. Everyone deserves adequate heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. A proper HVAC system is not something to scoff at but in a fixer-upper house, there is a chance that the purchase price is low because of how hard it may be to renovate its ventilation or heating systems. Roofing A roof is usually not the first thing people think about when buying a house but it is the home's first line of defence against things like rain, snow, and storms. A roof that has been damaged by neglect is almost always in this situation because no one wanted to replace it or maintain it. The repair done to a home's roof can pay off in more ways than one in the future. An issue that starts small can become very expensive quickly if left alone, though once again it might be hard to find information on this unless you know what you are looking for. Buying a fixer-upper often becomes a nightmare because of a roof that has not been updated regularly. All of the previous points about the HVAC system, plumbing and electrical wiring might as well not mean another if water seeping through the roof is causing damage between the walls that weakens all the other systems. If you decide to look into a fixer-upper one of your priorities should be to check for issues with the roof. All the money you save from the lower purchase price might just get used up to deal with the roof. Other risks There are a few risks that are associated with buying a fixer-upper. The most obvious one is the fact that the property will likely need repairs and these repairs can be costly which we just expanded on. Unexpected issues can also arise during a renovation project, which can lead to even more expenses for the new homeowner, which is why you need to get to the source of a problem as soon as possible. Another risk is that the home may not be worth as much as the new homeowner thought it would be once the renovations are complete. An appraisal considers many things like the style of the home no longer being popular or the neighbourhood changing in a way that makes the home less desirable. Finally, there is always the risk that the renovation project will not go smoothly and that the new homeowner will end up spending more money than they will make up. What are some protections for buyers? Yes, a homebuyer has several options if they feel like they were taken advantage of when agreeing to purchase a fixer-upper as is. A qualified lawyer can help negotiate a better deal for the buyer or help them get their money back. It all depends on the sale contract that was signed. Buying a fixer-upper doesn't mean that a buyer did so without conditions attached to the purchase. However, if the offer was clean, lacking conditions, and the offer waived the buyer's guaranteed protections then they may be left without recourse. There is a whole section of real estate law that deals with what is designated as Material Latent Defects, which are flaws with the home that the seller intentionally hid and that could not be seen after a reasonable home inspection. For example, if the new homeowner knew about the plumbing issues but not the dangerous foundation issues that were known and covered up by the seller then they may be able to sue. It's important to keep in mind some of the details that go into this specific situation but it's a good thing to remember. After all, a buyer will often have a mortgage and a lender that they have to pay back. Real estate agents are required to disclose material latent defects if they are made aware of them but if the sale occurred without a real estate agent present for either party then it can make litigation more complicated in the future. The bottom line. Buying a fixer-upper home is always a challenge but it can pay off in a lot of ways. Real estate is generally a safe investment but before taking the plunge, a buyer needs to decide if they have the budget for the needed remodelling and the ability to wait for the investment to pay off. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Furniture Tricks For Small Apartments. When space is something you don't have much of, every square inch matters. The thing that takes up the most space in apartments is furniture - living on a pile of pillows and having your computer laid out on the ground is a recipe for back pain, even for the most nimble young professional trying to save. So here are some tips and tricks for using your apartment furniture in a way that saves space while still looking good. Use furniture that doubles as storage. If there is something else that's often lacking in a studio apartment or your average starter apartment, it's storage space. Instead of having furniture pieces like a table that doesn't use the space beneath it to serve as double duty for extra storage, buying a table with integrated storage is a great option. If you have the requisite tools, there are other DIY tricks for adding storage to your furniture, but it takes some effort to make this type of piece yourself. Some bedframes can also come with built-in drawers. In addition to giving your extra space in the bedroom, your bed frame can be used to store bulky items like blankets, big sweaters, and more. The extra space frees up space in your closets and prevents overcrowding. In the living room, you can find a coffee table with storage space that can be used to store things like remotes, board games, and more. The one drawback for pieces like this in a small apartment is the apartment stairs they likely will have to travel up on the way in. Get creative with your furniture placement. When you're short on space, the best way to make use of every square inch is to get creative with your furniture placement. Try these tips: Place your bed against a wall to save space. If you don't have room for a traditional bed frame, consider using a platform bed instead. This will free up floor space on two sides of the bed. Having more space to walk in your bedroom means more living space, so arrange furniture in a way that helps you get going in the morning. With less space to work with, finding the right balance is supremely important. Though you may have a small space, you can still express your preferred style whether it's your first apartment or a new apartment. Taking the time to maximize space without compromising your personal style can make a rental feel like a home. There is the other side of something we talked about just above where you can use storage pieces to double up as seating. Throw a cushy pillow on an end table that sits a little low and, there you go, extra seating. Just because you have a tiny apartment doesn't mean you can't entertain. With the right furniture, you can make a space feel much bigger than it really is and if you use an area rug to delineate space then it will naturally guide guests to spread out in a more balanced way throughout the apartment. If you have a closet, use it as much as you can. Creating dedicated areas for each type of clothing item will be such an advantage when you need to sort out clothes. Pay attention to the light. Natural light is essential both for your own physical and mental health but also for the look and functionality of your living space. Arranging furniture in a way that does not obstruct windows, or using a large mirror at a key location can make your living area feel bright, somewhere worth spending time in. If you intend to keep some blank walls, try to keep them on the walls where the light will hit them directly. The flat uninterrupted surface will reflect the light throughout the space. If you have wall art, try to place it opposite of the well-lit wall to direct the light toward it. If you use a computer or television in the hours where the light enters your apartment the most, position the screens in the room in a way to prevent glare. Watching TV can be very frustrating if sunlight is obscuring the image, especially if you gathered people to watch something together. Though you could simply close the curtains so that you can entertain guests without pulling furniture around - making it so that it's unnecessary in the first place is a better idea. Choose multifunctional furniture. Multifunctional furniture is furniture that can be used for more than one purpose. This kind of furniture saves space, allowing more room for functional items. It also makes cleaning easier by reducing the number of separate pieces to be dusted. This may save money because it is used for multiple purposes and doesn't need to be replaced as often as single-purpose furniture. It can make decorating easier because there are fewer items to choose from. It may also help the environment by saving energy and material resources during manufacturing since it can be created using smaller amounts of wood or other materials. Multifunctional furniture may be used for your home office space, being able to pack a lot of what you need in a small area is a lifesaver and prevents you from getting distracted if you need to move around your apartment to look for things. Just because you have the space for a bed and a sofa separately doesn't mean that shouldn't get a piece of apartment furniture that can do both. In a studio apartment especially, this will help you create a different mood depending on the time of day. Invest in a few key pieces of furniture. Learning how to use space in a small apartment is an exercise in boiling down the excess of your wants to get to the core of your needs. As long as you have enough seating for your day-to-day life, do you really need a coffee table? To create a living space that works doesn't just mean throwing out the furniture you won't use but instead, it means investing in the right pieces of apartment furniture. Extra counter space, for example, can be life-changing and you could get a stable bar cart with a sturdy top that you can dock to your kitchen. If this is your first apartment then it's perfect, you can start with a blank slate and not carry over anything unessential with you in the future. If there is enough light in your living room, then there is no need for table lamps that would also require their own surface to sit on. Open shelves, when used right, can make your interior decor sign with style. Since you can still see the wall behind the open shelves, the space they occupy can be used to house a variety of different items while still creating an interesting and cohesive look. Sadly, for apartments, you cannot usually make changes to the apartment itself because then these shelves would be replaced by a built-in piece that clears up even more room. Don't be afraid to get rid of furniture you don't need. Table lamps? Gone, so are the floor lamps. If you're headed in that direction why stop there? Floor lamps take up space near walls and on the floor which makes small spaces feel even smaller. Think about the uses of side tables in your bedroom, can those uses be replicated by floating shelves? Think outside the box when it comes to decorating. One of the key elements of interior design is finding a room's focal point. A focal point is a specific area in a room that is given more attention than the other areas. This could be a piece of furniture, a painting, or a TV. Focal points help to create a sense of cohesion in a room and make it feel like everything has been designed with a purpose. In small spaces, you have to use focal points in a way that makes people look upwards to create a greater sense of scale. Try to pick furniture pieces that are not too tall so that your walls don't feel crowded. Every room should have its own focal point; a TV, a painting, or some other decor piece that catches the eye. Whether you live in a studio apartment or a mansion, decorating tips always bring it back to a simple thing: your own home should reflect your sense of style. If you are having trouble figuring that out while you shop or search for the right pieces, you can get in touch with a professional organizer that will give you both tips for style and for making the most out of a small space. To conclude. First apartment, tiny apartment, studio apartment - they all need the same three things. One, maximize space; with storage spaces cannibalizing living spaces, being able to jam multiple functions into one furniture piece will let you lead a full life without verging on clutter. Two, take advantage of natural light; light is what makes any space feel more alive. Keep your rooms well lit and the rest will follow. Three, creativity; whether you are decorating or finding the right way to place an area rug to direct guests during special events, your creativity will help you make the best of any small space. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Create The Best Environment For Your Plants. The pandemic created a boost in the number of people that bought plants. Whether you consider yourself a plant parent or you're still wrapping your head around the full name of the ZZ plant, let's go over some tips to help your plants thrive. Choose the right plants for your environment. Unless you plan on investing in a fully functional, zoo-grade greenhouse, it's best to pick plants that live in a natural environment you can easily re-create. This is especially important if you're a beginner that thought a peace lily could last a few months outside in our brutal winter months. Everyone starts somewhere though and the best place to do so is your local plant shop. Employees at your nearby garden centre can point you to the many plants that can grow in your local climate. As resilient as some plants are, many can only thrive in the right condition. A prayer plant, for example, is relatively easy to take care of but if you enjoy the cold then any tropical plants in your home will have to be kept somewhere warm in the winter. Or you could turn up the heat to have healthy houseplants. Start with something easy like a snake plant or a spider plant - don't worry they don't grow the critters they're named after. Think of where you will place the plants as well. If you can place a plant pot by a window then get a plant appropriate for that. Some plants, called trailing plants, grow long strands that look beautiful when their pots are hung near a sunny window. Find a place in your home with plenty of sunlight. There is such a thing as too much light. This is something that will play a crucial part in the placement of your new plants. You don't just stick all your plants in direct sunlight: some plants need just enough light, others will need indirect sunlight while some will even require low light exposure. The question isn't about how to fit all your plants into a spot of bright light but rather how much light each one of them needs. Plants grown with the right amount of light will thrive because light, even indirect light, stimulates their growth and health. Water properly. Most plants like water, you might think, so more water means happier plants you might assume. And that would be how you kill extremely easy to care for plants like prayer-plants. Beginners often commit the sin of over-watering their new plants. This causes a plant's roots to rot. Commonly called root rot, the condition plagues plants in waterlogged soil. To water plants is a relatively simple exercise though and with some precautions, you can avoid root rot. Small plants will usually come with their own pots, these should have drainage holes at the bottom that let water leave the potting soil after watering. The holes allow excess water to leave the roots' area and keep the soil moist and not drenched. Now, even with drainage holes and proper potting soil, you can still overwater your plants. Root rot is the plant equivalent of a heart attack and using too much water is a triple cheeseburger with onion rings, bacon, and a side of loaded poutine. A slight exaggeration. What you want is to make sure the soil surface is moist but not wet. The amount of water for large plants can be difficult to gauge but it's better to go for a little less than to risk destroying the roots outright. With the right amount of sunlight, water, and soil nutrients your plants will grow strong. Even with these basics in mind your little green friends still need fertilizing if you want them to blossom. Fertilizer can be bought at any local plant store but you don't have to pay for something good. With some simple ingredients like coffee grounds or banana peels, you can make your own fertilizer. You save money and you know what's going into your plants; we've all seen those horror stories of what passes for soil in big box stores. Yellow leaves or brown leaf tips are a surefire sign that you are using too much fertilizer. Even with an organic fertilizer like we mentioned above, it's important to keep things in balance. A plant dying because of too much of a good thing happens with everything, it's all about balance even with easy-to-care-for plants. Plant care. Whether you're taking care of a bunch of garden plants, a solitary indoor plant, or a combination of other plants; taking care of them involves a little more than what we talked about above. A plant thrives when its needs are met and that means pruning dead leaves and branches. It's not just to keep them looking neat but it will help you get rid of parasites like spider mites. Cold drafts can also have a great effect on your plant's health. If you can find ways to improve air quality in your home around your plants then it could show itself as more plants start growing signs of increased growth. Is there something special to keep in mind about flowering plants? Most houseplants are easy to take care of, that includes flowers. Just like for other plants, it's best to start with easy flowers in the beginning. Peace lilies and African violets are very easy to take care of, some would say they are impossible to kill. Still, your goal should be plant growth. Flowering plants like the peace lily don't require a lot of bright light or direct sunlight and can survive when you accidentally use more fertilizer than you should have. Don't be too intimidated, and keep an eye out for yellow leaves, take care to not water them too much, and prune their dead leaves. Some experimentation will go a long way to figure out the best thing for every flower. What about air plants? Sproutling indoor gardeners may wonder about those small peculiar plants that don't need soil to grow. These little plants still need care, but thankfully you don't need to worry about fresh soil for them. They need water every fortnight, but instead of letting water flow over them or directly spraying their roots (don't do that), you can take a bowl and fill it with enough water to submerge the plants. Don't push them in, gently place them on the water's surface and leave them for about half an hour. Benefits of house plants. Plants in homes and offices provide a range of benefits and scientists continue to discover new ones. If you improve your indoor air quality with plants in your home, research shows that you will significantly reduce the risk of several respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and even flu. Houseplants also add oxygen to the air, which is especially beneficial for those who are feeling low or agitated. Plants are also great for stress relief. The sound of water trickling in a fountain, the rustle of leaves, even the sight of flowering plants can have a calming influence on our bodies and minds. You will sleep better at night once you understand that plants can purify and keep your air clean. To sum things up! Most plants need balance. A few plants can survive if you routinely mistreat them but at a certain point, you should be a little worried about what you let into your home if it refuses to die. When it comes to watering plants: make sure the pot's drainage holes are unobstructed and that when you water plants you are using the right amount of water for each pot. If you use too much water you run the risk of killing the plant's roots. Give your plants adequate light. Think of the light source and how much light the plants prefer, arrange your plants according to the light that's best for them. A south-facing window will give you and your plants plenty of light to play around with. Indoor plants and air plants will generally prefer shade but not complete darkness. Examine plant leaves for early signs of disease or imbalance. Most houseplants can recover if you find the source of the problem but it's best not to get to that point. Before long you will be a master of garden and indoor plants alike and will be looking into how to care for transplanted plants and where to cut the plant's stem to ensure a viable new growth. Start easy with a snake plant or a peace lily, be wary of the winter months, and soon enough you will have your own little thriving ecosystem.   View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Decorate Open-Concept Spaces. Open-concept spaces are all the rage these days - but how do you decorate them correctly? First off, what is an open concept when it comes to your home? An open concept living space is one where there are no walls separating the different areas of the home. This can include the living room, kitchen, and dining room all in one space. This means more open spaces to move around in. All of these connected spaces make it easier for families to hang out together while doing different things in adjacent spaces. Open-concept design has won over hearts because it is a more convivial way of living. Fewer walls and more exposed beams however change the way decorating works. Not all open-concept homes are the same. While two homes can have open floor plans, the way they feel can be vastly different. Home decor is something that adapts to the living area and not the other way around. Some open floor plan houses have the same flooring throughout common areas whereas others have different flooring for different spaces. What do you do with a large open space? One decor element that almost feels like cheating is the use of area rugs. An area rug can help you carve out functional zones from wide-open spaces. The area rug essentially creates a room with no walls. On top of defining the sitting area and the dining area from one another, the rugs give direction and sense to a big space. You can then use thoughtful furniture arrangements to define an area. A coffee table for the family room, a long table for the dining space, and so on. Living rooms and the breakfast bar. You can be creative too. Great rooms are not the only thing you can do with open floor plans. If you rarely entertain at home, you can have a small breakfast bar to make meals more intimate while leaving a lot of space for the rest of the living room. Wall art and open concept living. With the lack of walls, you have to be more discerning with what you choose to put on them. With the natural light that open-plan rooms invite, it would be a shame not to make the most of it. Items of visual interest, like sculptures, paintings or other forms of art, anchor people's gaze. They create a focal point that people latch onto. In an open-plan living room, however, it might be more difficult to maintain said attention with a piece of wall art. The focus then goes to less obvious things. Still, having one space reserved for the important things can be How to make your open concept space feel cozy and intimate. The first step to creating intimacy is to select a colour palette. Choices of colours and tones can influence the mood we convey in our homes. Warm colours like red, orange and yellow create feelings of happiness or excitement whereas cool blue-greys or greens exude calmness and serenity. To go for an intimate vibe, you might opt for a palette of rusts and golds or muted blues. No matter what colour scheme you go with, it's important that the elements work together. Open concept spaces can feel intimidating if they are cold and can remind people of offices or waiting rooms if not done correctly. Home decor also plays a part in creating intimacy. Using dark furniture, upholstery with patterns, and décor that draws the eye inward will all add to your spaces feeling more cozy and intimate. Upholstered items can help soften hard surfaces while small, intimate spaces are best decorated with items that have a story or feeling attached to them. Add some personal touches to really make your space feel like home. Make your open-concept space feel like home by adding some personal touches. Whether it's a family photo on the wall or a vase of flowers on the side table, these are almost always necessary in any type of living space. After all, the decor is supposed to help us own the spaces we live in and only we know what makes us happy. While some open-concept homes have a fixed layout, others can be adapted to better suit various lifestyles. In the coming years, more and more open-concept houses will be built so it's best to understand how they work before you invest in one. Open floor plan design is about more than design. It's about building spaces in ways that make sense for the way we live. It's also about creating inclusivity by considering how to make all homebuyers—regardless of their age, family structure or mobility—feel at ease. Home decor is a big part of what makes homes feel like home and interior design can play a big part in making homes feel open and inviting. Creating a reading nook in an open-concept space. A reading nook is a small, private space in your home where you can relax and read. It can be a cozy corner of your living room or bedroom, or even a separate room entirely devoted to reading. How do you then create a space like that in open floor plans? While the lack of physical separation makes it difficult to separate 'work' and 'play', you can still have a reading nook. Creating a comfortable space for yourself will also help foster creativity. And with the right items, you can create an intimate space even in open-concept homes. A plush seating area covered in pillows, a small bookshelf, and a cute reading lamp are all the essentials for creating a nook of your own. Tucking the reading nook in a less populated area of the home will also help it be its own space. Designing around what you have. Sometimes it's not the lack of walls that make an open-concept home feel less intimate, but just the configuration of its floor plan or rooms that dictate how you use certain spaces. This can be especially true for homes with an open kitchen, where the only separation is a counter or bar between the cooking area and living room. The goal of decorating a home with an open floor plan is not to mimic a traditional home, this may sound obvious but it's a mistake many fall into. Use light right. One of the big advantages of open floor plans is how much light you can let in. One window can bring in enough light to illuminate the kitchen and living room at once. Open rooms with the right architectural details can help spread light throughout the open plan living area to make the living space feel even bigger. While natural light is important, you can also use ambient lighting to create different moods for different areas of the great room. Use something bright for the kitchen island, something softer for the dining table, and a dimmer for the open living room. Actually, the better idea would be to install dimmers throughout the living spaces. Since they are all connected, you can create a single mood for the entire area or create a special ambiance for the kitchen and dining space for example. As much as an open concept room is meant to feel like one room, during key moments, separating out one room from another using light is an elegant way to draw focus. Light, after all, is its own focal point. Open concept rooms are the ultimate entertaining space because of how versatile they are and how they promote an easy flow of movement from place to place. Great tips about what not to do with your open space. Don't cover up all over your wood flooring. If you are using area rugs to help give your great room more definition, don't cover up the wood flooring completely. Not only would it go against the rugs' purpose but it would also remove some contrast in both texture and colour that could add a lot to your room's colour scheme. Don't squander your home's unique architectural elements. While you may be tempted to use dividers that create semi-walls to make the large room more manageable, instead try to work around the open space and the architectural elements that make your home different. Having more space can be daunting but in an open floor plan, it's a gift. Don't neglect your light fixtures. Your light fixtures can provide you with enough light throughout your living spaces, no need to invest in floor lamps that can crowd out the space you can use in your living area. Install dimmers, use bulbs that don't consume too much energy, and you will have a brightly lit large open space. It might seem like there's too much room for the light to hit everything but if you see dark and gloomy gaps, then it's a better idea to find a permanent solution than to add more furniture to the room than it needs in the shape of a floor lamp. Don't leave your walls bare. While you don't have many of them and it's not a good idea for your living area to have a wall full to the ceiling with paintings and pictures, there's nothing wrong with a back wall with family memorabilia and family artwork. Don't obstruct the flow of traffic Open floor plans have a huge benefit over traditional homes because an open floor plan helps people move around a room with far more ease. If you add furniture that blocks people's path then it will make the living room or dining room like rest stops in a maze. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

How To Save On Your Utility Bills. Check your utility bills for accuracy. The first thing to do is check your meters. Make sure they are still accurate. The second thing to do is make sure the bill reflects your actual usage, not what you used last month or even last year. If you have an old air conditioner, for example, it might be running less efficiently than when it was installed 10 years ago. Compare rates from different providers. If you're able to change providers, then it's time to do some comparative shopping. Utility costs can make up a large portion of your expenses so if you can get a better deal for your home's energy usage, you should take it. If you're looking for ways to save money through your energy bills, this step is one you should revisit once in a while as utility companies can change over time, becoming better or worse. Sign up for a rewards program with your energy company. Many power companies are offering rewards for their customers. You might be able to get in-store gift certificates, travel vouchers, airline miles, etc. Take advantage of these programs to see if you can save some money on your bills in the long run. Many of them will reward customers for taking take of their energy efficiency by purchasing energy-efficient appliances. This is because it helps them prevent things like overloading the electrical network. Not only will you get lower electric bills or  natural gas bills - depending on where you are saving energy - you will help with energy consumption across the board. Look for appliances that have an energy star label, these are more efficient and save you more money in the long run. Install a programmable thermostat. If you haven't already, consider installing a programmable thermostat. These aren't difficult to install and they will help reduce your energy bills by allowing you to set the temperature in different areas of your house at different times. As part of your HVAC system, a programmable thermostat will help you start saving money almost as soon as it's installed. Energy savings are something you will feel year-round and your thermostat will help you figure out if there are issues in your heating system, your insulation, or your home's cooling systems. Turn off electronics when not in use. One easy thing to do when you're trying to save energy is turning off electronics. Laptops, televisions, and game consoles all draw a significant amount of power. Turning them off helps with not only your electric bill but greenhouse gas emissions as well. Many of these devices have modes where they use less energy to start up faster but if you want to save electricity, you're better off turning them off completely. Seal air leaks around doors and windows. Many homes' cooling costs would be far lower if they efficiently trapped hot air inside. Your heating and cooling bills may be far higher than they should be because of poor weathering. Heat loss during the winter means more cold air is entering your home, meaning that you need more energy to keep your home warm. Air leaks not only hurt you during cold weather but in the summer as well. Your energy costs could be a lot lower, so get to check those doors and windows to save money. Use LED light bulbs. LED light bulbs last longer than average, use far less energy, and can help you save a lot of money on your electric bill. You might find it's worth the investment to replace some of your old incandescent lights with LED bulbs. They are more expensive but they will pay for themselves within a few years depending on how much you use them. Unplug electronics. If you are leaving your home for a while, it's a good idea to go ahead and unplug all your electronics. The little red light on the devices when you turn them 'off' is to let you know that they can be turned back on quickly. Even if it's just for a day or two, you can save money on your energy bill by unplugging non-critical electronics. Plant trees for shade. Trees are great for the environment but they are also great for your energy bills. The shade that trees create helps with your cooling costs. Trees will soak up a lot of heat and CO2, which cools the area around your home. Use a smart power strip. A smart power strip has a lot going for it besides being 'smart'. It can automatically shut off power to devices that aren't being used. This helps reduce the amount of energy wasted, which will help you save money and save energy without any effort on your part. Some smart power strips also come with surge protection so that you can feel safer about your electronics during thunderstorms. Re-do the insulation to your home's walls, attic or crawlspace. Over time, insulation, like many things, takes damage. Losing heat, rising heating costs, and more aren't as noticeable when they happen over time. If you conduct an energy audit of your home, this is one area that you cannot skip. Good insulation helps protect your family not only against the cold but an exorbitant heating bill as well. Wash full loads of clothes in cold water. This tip helps you save energy and save money on your water bills. Many washing machines that are energy-efficient, meaning that they have an energy star label, are more than capable of cleaning your clothes with cold water. In fact, unless there's a specific reason, you should be using cold water for most of your clothes. Hot water can actually make some stains, like blood and sweat, harder to get out. Take shorter showers. While showers are better than baths, they still put a strain on your water heater and use up a lot of water. Take shorter showers and not only will you save money on your water bill but the overall pressure on your plumbing system could help you save money as well. Turn off the faucet when brushing teeth or shaving. This one is a simpler way to save on your utility bills and hot water. Unless you're running your toothbrush or razor under the water, you can turn the water off. There's no point for your hot water heater to eat up energy and, basically, money while the water is going straight from the faucet and into the drain. Keep blinds closed in the summer if your home is too hot. To save on your energy bill, try closing your blinds to direct sunlight if it's getting too hot. A ceiling fan can do wonders for you there if you keep the blinds closed. You will save on cooling energy costs in the long run. Open windows for ventilation instead of using a central air conditioner. This is another way to save money on your energy bill, especially if you live in an area where it gets really hot. A fan combined with an open window or two can help you keep your home comfortable without triggering the smart thermostat - but if you do notice it turn on, quickly close your windows to prevent a preventable spike on your electric bill. Clean your furnace or air conditioner once a year You don't want your furnace to break down in the middle of winter or realize that your air conditioner is only operating at half its potential when the summer is almost over. These important parts of your HVAC system need proper maintenance to make sure your energy costs are what they should be. Air conditioning filters get dirtier the more they are in use, so try not to overuse them. Setting your smart thermostat to a comfortable level that doesn't require constant operation will increase the device's lifespan. Turn off lights when leaving a room. This is a simple task, but one that does have a direct impact on your energy costs. By turning off lights when you leave a room, you can save hundreds of dollars per year by reducing your electricity usage. Add solar panels. You can use sunlight to generate your own solar power and use solar heat to warm up your water. There are a lot of uses for natural light beyond its benefits to your physical and mental health. This is one of the more involved ways to save money on your utility bills but if you use less energy coming from the power company in the long run then you can justify the investment. Install dimmer switches. For lamps and overhead lights, dimmers can be part of your energy savings plan. Not only do the dimmers let you regulate how much energy you use, they let your body adjust as the day goes on to a more natural rhythm. This makes it easier for you to go to sleep because of the softer lights. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Porch Decorating Tips! Why would you decorate your porch? Your front porch is the first experience people will have of your home. To improve your home's curb appeal, ideas like a fresh coat of paint won't be enough. Whether you want to wow your visitors, get ready to sell your home, or spend more time in this often neglected outdoor space, your porch is the first impression of your home anyone will get. A distinct porch can help people spot your house from the street and let you soak up the sun without too much effort. An eye-catching exterior also gives your neighbours a chance to start a conversation. Keep reading to find some porch decorating ideas because your front yard deserves some extra style too. Pick a theme for your porch. Rather than swinging down to the store and taking all of their porch accessories back home, think of the theme you want for your porch decor. You could go for a natural theme, emphasizing potted plants and colourful flowers. An evergreen wreath can also add a layer of greenery that most reserve for the holidays - nothing says you can't replace it with a festive wreath instead during the holidays. A nautical theme isn't a bad idea either, if you live in a seaside town or you are decorating your beach house, think of seashells and nautical ropes to hang up mini planters. Going with a certain colour can also make your porch pop. A vibrant purple or yellow exterior would be eye-catching especially if paired with some white pillars and railing like this beautiful home. Whether you go with a rich, dark red or something more vibrant, your porch should reflect your personality and likes. If you have a great idea that will make sure yours is nothing like the neighbourhoods' porches then you may have to get in touch with local contractors but be sure to map out how far you're willing to go before committing. Try not to pick a theme that clashes with the rest of your home's exterior, front porches need to feel like a part of the whole and create or complete a harmonious whole. Often neglected detail: the front door. The front door is one of the key pieces of your porch. Many people stick with a classic front door or just use the one that came with the house. However, the entry to your home can also add interest to your home and porch. The best porch decorating ideas incorporate the front door in inventive ways. If you're going forward with a nautical theme, for example, then painting the door so it looks like it was made out of driftwood or materials that belong on a ship will bring an extra punch to your chosen style. An easy way to incorporate the front door is with a simple paint job where you use the space to create a story inviting your guests in. If your front porch is very green and full of plants, then a dark brown front door surrounded by plants can create the idea that your guests are walking into a house that's part of a forest. The front porch space. The bulk of what we're talking about. Let's face it, not everyone wants to paint a story on their front door. That doesn't mean that you can't do something nice with your home's exterior. The front porch is something that can have more room in your life as a family. If you looked at movies envious of late-night conversations by 'porch-light', then it's time to do more than slap a welcome mat and leave the cracked pot on the railing. Whether you're inspired by the movies or just want a fun space to relax with the people in your house, you need to treat the front porch a little more like other rooms in your home. Proper seating is essential. The lightly rocking chair is a classic but you can find hanging couches that can make the experience more fun. Given that chairs like that need to hook into the ceiling and affect the weight supported by your awning, it might be best to leave the installation to a local contractor - but if you or someone in your family feels confident in following the step by step instructions that come with furniture like that, give it a shot. Just be sure to test it before sitting on it. Just like you have rugs inside, investing in a good outdoor rug can help members of your household feel more comfortable. Make sure to get something that's easy to clean and that's not eye-catching when it gets slightly dirty. To create a cozy space for you and yours, adding a lot of easily cared-for plants will make the area feel more inviting. There are links between plants and mental health - that's why almost everyone knows someone who got very much into plants during the pandemic. It's important not to overdo it, no one wants to relax in a crowded space inside, and the same thing applies to the created space outside. Chimes, feeders, and ambience A staple of North American porches, chimes add a little music to the outdoors. To some, the sparkle of the chime and the clear notes they emanate remind them of home. If that sounds appealing, then make sure you are investing in chimes that create a cozy atmosphere. A lot of people, especially recently with a push toward sustainable living, have begun incorporating bird feeders in their exterior decor. The shade of a front porch can shelter small birds from the sun while giving them a comfortable area to eat. Hanging feeders are sometimes paired with chimes but most birds actually prefer the quiet. If you plan on having both chimes and bird feeders, it's best to put some room between them. Landscaping near your porch The front porch is a great part of the home's curb appeal but no porch decorating ideas would be complete without addressing the yard. A front porch is the meeting place between the green of your garden and your home. As such, look at adding planters near the porch and have flowers full of colour matching your porch decor to enhance the whole package. Don't let overgrowth take over your front porch, keeping things neat (as much as possible with a porch) will add to its inviting nature. If you have furniture on the front porch, then it's also a good idea to make sure that it isn't obstructing the lighting for some of the potted greenery you have. Your porch decor and its style can change drastically based on the time of day. Keeping your front porch well lit is a way to keep it inviting to the people in your home. A good rule of thumb is that you should feel drawn to the porch from the driveway. Good lighting is also very important if you have windows by your porch. A brightly lit porch is more than cozy, it feels safe. After all, it's still outside and the closest part of your home to the street. To make the most out of your lighting, invest in a decor that works well in low-light environments. Not too crowded, full of natural materials, and arranged in a way not to create long shadows. What not to do Here are a couple of things that you should not do when it comes to your front porch accessories, decor, and curb appeal. Hiding your house numbers Some people get overzealous with their porch decorating ideas and end up covering up critical information for mail and package delivery. Not only would this cause you to miss out on deliveries, but it can also make it hard for people to find out if they are visiting. It's also worth mentioning that it may be illegal to hide your house numbers from the street. Being too quirky It's your house but the exterior can still come under the scrutiny of your homeowners' association. If you want to make your home look like a bar from the outside with a little neon close sign, then your neighbours might have something to say about that. Make it hard to match accessibility guidelines If you need to make your home accessible for a wheelchair after an accident or a new addition to the family, then having made too many modifications to your front porch can make future changes expensive and time-consuming. The entry to your home isn't the same as the entry to a local business with regards to accessibility but curb appeal doesn't have to come at the cost of accessibility. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

Decoration Tips to Make Your Home Truly Yours. Whether you just moved in or looked around and felt like it was time for a change, here are some home decorating tips to spruce up your home decor. Look at the room's purpose You're not going to decorate your home office the same way you would a kitchen or living room. The temptation to slip away from work is already there, no need to make it more enticing. When you're decorating, it's important to take into account the whole house. Even if you won't address the entire home in one go, keep in mind what you want to feel like when you move from room to room. When you decide on a theme or feel, everything else will follow. Let's take the dining area for example, what does the space feel like when you walk through it? What do you want it to feel like afterward? The art of decoration is the opposite of one-size-fits-all, but there are some concepts and design tricks that can be applied to help bring your vision to life. Let's take a look at those concepts and how they can guide your reshaping efforts. Play with focal points What is a room's focal point? It's the center or most important point in a room when it comes to decoration. Sometimes, it is a painting; other times, it is a piece of furniture. The focal point could be anything that draws someone's eyes to it. When you have a good focal point you can design the room around it. For many living rooms, people's eyes will be drawn to a large television screen or a fireplace. You can then orient the whole room toward the item. It will all seem to have a flow. In a dining room, for example, the dining room table will usually be the main attraction. Having a beautiful table and matching chairs is the best place to begin. A vase that matches the rest of the room's aesthetic can also further draw the eye toward the table. If you're unsure of what to do if your focal points seem bland is either to try to change the focal point or embellish the obvious one. Imagine a large dark wood dining table, you could add a thin piece of lighter-coloured decorative fabric and add some items of visual interest on display - vase, small sculpture, travel souvenir. The contrast in size, shape, and colour will draw eyes instantly. We'll talk about how to choose the right colours a little later. Your focal point could also be an entire wall. Decorating your home is also about telling your story. If you're wondering how you can do that, let's talk about what an accent wall is. There are different ways of doing it but usually, the wall you want to draw attention to is painted in a different colour or has a different texture than the others in the room. One room changed like that can become a great room used to tell your home's story by turning it into a gallery wall. Family photos tell a long and beautiful story and they don't need to just sit on a mantle or dressers. If you have a transitional with a wall of exposed brick, for example, you can place pictures of great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and children in a sequence. It's a great use of wall space and if you accent the photos with some beautiful light fixtures (like hanging light bulbs) or take advantage of some architectural details unique to your home. This wall can serve double duty as both something to draw the eyes of guests and something to remind your family that your house is their safe haven. A Fresh Coat of Paint A lot of homes play it safe with white or off-white walls. If you're one of those people who'd like to add a little more life and personality into your home, simply painting the walls is a great way to do that. Decoration can be as simple as deciding on a paint colour and going with it. There are so many different shades, tones, and hues that there's no such thing as a bad colour. If you don't know where to start, perhaps the easiest thing to do is to take your cue from nature and decorate with neutral colours like green, grey, or brown. You can even add in brighter shades of blue or red if that's what you're into. Dealing With Colours Here is a free tool that can help you visualize what kind of colour goes with what. Figuring out complementary colours is something that will help you add the right mood to a room without making the room feel like a mish-mash of clashing colours. It's also important to have some cohesion throughout your home so that the guest room and the dining room don't look like they belong in completely different houses. It's not that all the rooms need to obey the same colour scheme - that would remove their individuality - but you do want some sort of unifying theme. Colours, obviously, are not limited to walls. You won't need professional interior designers to tell you that an area rug doesn't work in a room because of how it clashes with the accent colours. Why do so many people paint walls white? White reflects light better than anything except mirrors, as such it serves double duty: it creates a 'clean' look and can make a room feel bigger. White paint is not a novelty but because of how complicated it can be to clean, white furniture is not a common sight. When it comes to home decorating tips, one thing you need to keep in mind is not just how your house will look right after redecorating but how you will keep it looking like an interior designer just left the room. Between Barebones & Crowded Unless you want to make it seem like you live in the corner of an old fantasy tavern, it's a good idea to make some room so you can move around. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to walk throughout an entire room without having to tiptoe. There's a big difference between the above and just moving everything but a few pieces of furniture to the laundry room. Balance is a core component of decorating. You can use area rugs to help you organize the space in a room. This is helpful for a small room because the rug allows you to map out the room before moving furniture in. For a larger room that doesn't have a lot of walls, area rugs can help you create mini-rooms that each have their purpose. Something else that has a strong effect on the perceived fullness of a room is whether or not you have window treatments. Curtains and other types of decorations applied to your windows from the inside (think Roman Shades, Panel Track Blinds) are things that you need to choose carefully. Big fluffy drapery can suffocate a small space but enhance a large room. Bring in Fresh Flowers & Plants Plants can do wonders for a home's decorations. If you have a yard where you garden then placing plants near windows or doors leading out (like the front door) can help create a bridge between the two spaces. Plants in good shape make a home feel alive and well-cared for. You don't need to have a garden with the same square footage as your local park or an entrance hall filled with cascading ferns; a plant on a coffee table, near a window, and in the kitchen will do wonders. Plants will also help you give your rooms some orientation and structure without feeling like things are boxed out. They do this simply by requiring light, this means that you will naturally put them closer to brighter areas. Those brighter areas will draw the eyes of your guests and there are few things more pleasing than the sight of light scattering through lush leaves and petals. Remove Clutter Wherever Possible A select few items on the end table of your bedroom will not only help you have a clearer head when you go to sleep and wake up but will also bring attention to what matters. A crowded mantle doesn't tell a story, it's a mess. Diligently choosing the best things to showcase will weave a tale for your guests and the people in your family. We use surfaces everywhere in our homes to live, a low level of clutter makes it easier to manoeuver things around whether it's items in a home office or spices on the kitchen island. You could have gorgeous colour-coordinated paint on your walls, tasteful window treatment adapted to each room's needs, and a nice well-cared-for plant, but clutter can negate all of that effort. Think of what you can store in kitchen cabinets, or under the sink in your powder room. Your well-kept furniture deserves to be seen just as much as your hardwood floors. Speaking of which, the same concept applies to items that can take up space without serving a purpose. Is a floor lamp a good idea when you already have more than enough light? Could you replace the TV stand with a built-in that could save space and turn that space into a pseudo-gallery wall? Are all the pillows necessary on the bed? Of course, don't go overboard. This is your home, not an open house with blank photo frames. No need to go with the most basic bedding you can think of either. The goal of removing clutter is something, understandably, misunderstood: the end goal is clarity. A bunch of items, no matter their value or how clean, crowded together give the idea of a mess. The harder it is for someone to quickly understand the purpose of an area, the quicker they will associate it with untidiness. To conclude... Find out what colours work for you using the free tool we pointed to, rearrange your spaces so that you can move comfortably, and make your spaces easier to 'read'. Decorating isn't just about adding pillows or looking at houses staged by real estate agents, decorating is about you feeling comfortable in your own home and feeling like your environment is resonating with you. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

What You Need To Know About Buying a Heritage Home What is a historic or heritage home? A heritage home is any house, usually more than 50 years old, that has special historical or architectural significance. That said, some states and municipalities have their definitions of “historic”; in some cases, structures less than 50 years old can be considered historic if they are exceptionally unique or significant—like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, which was built in 1921. That house eventually became the centrepiece of an art park. Heritage status is defined by a detailed and unique process based on local history and with the participation of municipal governments. While older homes of a certain age are more likely to be designated heritage homes, most are just old houses that don't hold up to modern safety standards. Historic buildings are formally recognized as having cultural heritage value and may not even be viable as residential properties. The heritage designation often doesn't take into account what a normal property owner would consider important details like working plumbing systems, electrical systems, or insulation. Such a property may still be available for sale but historic homes are not bought and sold like your usual piece of real estate. What differentiates a heritage property from a non-heritage property? The final decision is usually decided at a city level but it all comes down to the potential heritage homes' level of "special heritage interest". Potential properties are either put forward for assessment by the property owners - for a few different reasons we will expand on later that include tax breaks or other incentives - or designated at a municipal level by government officials. Renovation limitations This should come as no surprise if you're planning to buy a heritage property but it gained its heritage designation for its historical attributes and architectural features. Buying a heritage home doesn't just mean buying a piece of history, it means you agree to preserve the heritage value or interest of the property. To some, this is an exciting proposition, to others, it means taking possession of something that needs to remain the same. This does not apply to the entirety of the house. If you decide to acquire a designated heritage property or plan to list your home as one with cultural heritage value then you will almost certainly never be able to change its exterior looks aside from repairs - repairs which could require special expertise. Exterior changes to the home will require careful consideration from your local government. However, when it comes to the interior, you can meet today's building standards without having to deal with special permits. If the heritage property is part of a heritage conservation district then things may get a little trickier. Heritage properties are deemed culturally valuable by virtue of their rich character and link to history. If you are a prospective buyer, it's very important to discuss renovation limitations to get a clear idea of what you can and cannot change. Outdated key systems A new owner shouldn't be too surprised to find that a historical home is lacking in some modern aspects. Heating and plumbing might seem obvious but other things should be diligently checked before the purchase. For example, if the home was not used in a long time then having a contractor inspect the property to find traces of asbestos or critically faulty wiring. Keep in mind that with the older materials used, faulty wiring can also lead to more dangerous home fires should they occur. A heritage house, like many older homes, will have high maintenance costs in the beginning until renovations are done. You will need to have the heritage home's structural integrity assessed to make sure that it won't crumble from just a quick trip up the stairs. From a safety perspective, there is a bigger concern than with most other homes on the market. However, if the home was lived in more recently then that can confirm heating, plumbing, and electricity are at least in a good enough condition to move in. The buying and selling process In the same way that owning a heritage home is different from owning a normal piece of real estate, the transfer of ownership is a detailed and unique process. You will need a real estate agent as well as an experienced registered salesperson to oversee the process and can give the municipality notice about the change in ownership. A home inspection in the context of a heritage house is more thorough and will come with many caveats. It's not just an old house, heritage properties may not have been easy to maintain because of costs or delays introduced by its legal protection. What is the difference between a listed heritage property and a designated heritage property? On your local municipal register, you might find that some of the homes are "listed" properties. This means that the listed property has not been evaluated by the local government yet to determine if it meets the standards of being a designated heritage property. A designated heritage property holds higher status than a listed one. The owners can receive tax breaks and incentives to preserve the important details that give it historical or cultural value. With rising property values, a designated heritage home is an invaluable asset not only because of its ties to history but because of the aforementioned incentives. If you're looking to buy a piece of history to preserve, then the designation also acts as proof of the home's special heritage interest. What is a heritage district? A Heritage Conservation District is a plan that delineates an area where the homes need to adhere to certain standards to preserve the historical attributes and the heritage value and interest of the area. For some potential buyers, the rich character of these neighbourhoods is an exciting proposition. It doesn't mean that the neighbourhood is frozen in time but rather that there are limits on what can be done in the heritage district. Each district's specific heritage district plans are usually available through the local government's websites and resources for free. Is there financial assistance for heritage homes? Yes, throughout Canada there are grants for the upkeep of historic homes. The House Grants Program in Victoria, British Columbia, for example, gives up to $16,500 per year for ten years to homeowners assisting with restoration and repairs. There is a list of grants online but do talk to both your real estate lawyer and your mortgage lender to find out about all the current programs you can benefit from. Buying a heritage home: how do I do it? The number of special considerations may make it seem like it's not worth the trouble but buying a heritage home can be a positive experience. It's not just an old house with some stringent by-laws, taking possession of such a property is buying into the history of the area you are living in. That itself is enough for many buyers. As with most real estate endeavours, one of your first steps - especially considering the possible complexities - is to contact a real estate agent. Though you may think they only work on normal residential properties, their deep network of contacts can smooth out the entire process for you. Another key part of the team you will be working with is a real estate lawyer that can keep you informed about the legal considerations you will have to keep in mind. Once you find a property deemed culturally valuable and intend to live in it, you will have to have a contractor inspect the home and talk with them to find a way to lower maintenance costs in the long run, bring up the property's safety standards, and have the home's structural integrity assessed. After you discuss renovation limitations with your real estate lawyer; confirm heating, electrical, and plumbing systems meet your standards; and secure funding by looking over the incentives and special funds available for owners of heritage properties; then it's time to put an offer forward. At this point, this is where your agent and lawyer will guide your forward. Since much of the process is very local and operates at a municipal level in many areas, a new owner will need to get familiar with their local laws - like when and how to give municipality notice if you decide to sell. Is it worth it? That is entirely dependent on you and the opportunities available around you. Many older homes that are not on your local municipal register can have heritage value or interest. These homes will not need as many hoops to jump through initially and you may even be able to classify them as designated heritage homes if you play your cards right - but there is no guarantee. Heritage homes often fail to meet today's building codes and standards and will require special expertise to get into shape which means a lot of concessions to make during the selling process as things that would normally lower the price of a property can be justified as part of preserving an invaluable asset. From a safety perspective, some issues will take careful consideration to resolve given the limits on renovations. Unless you love the property for what it is or plan on taking advantage of the grants to eventually sell the home, then it may be best to look for another type of property. If you're up for the challenge and its rewards though, time to pick up the phone. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter

What You Need To Know When Building a House. Designing the house's layout One of the first things you need to do when building a house is to decide on a layout for your design. There are many different layouts, so it all depends on what you want and how much time and money you have for your project. Many homeowners like to have all the bedrooms on one floor, but that's not always possible. It's important to have a plan in place before you begin working because it will save money and time if done right. It can be helpful to hire an architect or designer for this part of the process. Before you dive further, take a look at what the differences are between open concept living and a traditional floor plan. Open Concept Vs. traditional Floorplan The open concept floor plan is more modern, with no walls separating the kitchen, dining room and living room. The traditional floor plan has separate rooms for these different spaces, which can make it feel like you are living in a maze or just a series of small spaces rather than enjoying all of your square footage. It's important to know what you want before you start working on your house plans because both options have their benefits and drawbacks. Open concept living leaves little privacy in common areas but allows you to maximize light if you're building a home facing south to capture as much sunlight as possible during the day. Open concept living is great if you're pressed for time and need to do chores while still being around your family but you will have to sacrifice some peace and quiet. The great thing about building your own home is that you can design it however you like, and not deal with the layout of an existing home. Production home vs Custom built home This is some terminology that's important to know before you embark on your journey. A production home is a house is built by a company and allows either a little customization or none at all. This isn't what most people think of when they say the words "building a home" but these are cheaper alternatives than custom homes. A custom-built home is one where you have a say in every little detail. Of course, this level of customization comes at a cost - usually involving an architect to make sure your house stays upright. To build a house from the ground up takes a lot of effort and money but if you're sold on the idea, keep reading. Planning for your needs and wants If you made the decision to get into custom home construction rather than dealing with the housing market, then that means you like having things just the way you like them. There are architectural firms that can help with your plans but before you get dazzled by what they propose, it's a good idea to have a good idea of what you will need and want. If you have a large family, for example, then a kitchen with a large island or with enough space for everyone to eat together is essential. More importantly, if you're looking at rural areas then you need to think about how to bring utilities over. Production homes bypass those considerations because of where they're usually located - in the suburbs. What you can and can't live without will affect costs because, unlike a home that's already built, you have to carefully deal with local bylaws to make sure that there are no added costs hidden down the line. There are many factors to consider on top of the cost to build because things like transportation costs can add up quickly. It's best to have a good idea of what you want in the new house before you even purchase the land. Budgeting for construction costs Whether you're building at the edge of smaller cities or erecting a single-detached home somewhere with poor road access, all of that will have a cost. It's not simply buying land and hardwood flooring, you have to factor in the unexpected costs that can arise, the average costs of hiring a land surveyor, and what local contractors can charge. According to the 2021 Canadian Cost Guide released by the Atlus Group, the average price of a square foot ranges between $115 to $265 in major Canadian cities for a single-family home. Many websites can help you calculate an estimate for the cost of building your dream home. Are there mortgages for building your own home? Yes, some mortgages provide financing for building your own home. These are not the same as a typical mortgage to buy a home that already exists though. You will need a loan to buy the land and another separate one to cover the cost of building materials. When it comes to the latter, then there are two types of construction mortgages. What is a completion mortgage? A completion mortgage is a construction loan where the builders receive their payment when you can start living in your home. Though you will do the usual song and dance when you need to borrow money like making sure your finances are in order, you will not have to put forward a downpayment until thirty days before you move in. What is a progress-draw mortgage? A draw construction mortgage is one where the home builders can retrieve portions of the total cost at specific stages of the construction. Out of the two types of construction loans, this is the one that builders tend to prefer. Keep in mind that you will have to pay for inspections along the way that ensure that project management is going smoothly. What are hard costs and soft costs? Hard costs are the material costs: all the materials that will end up in the home. From the roof tiles to the bathroom vanities and the air conditioning unit. Meanwhile, labour like that of the home construction company, the architect you may hire, or the land surveyor all form part of the soft costs associated with the house. The financial bottom line: The overall cost of a construction project is hard to determine and it needs to be figured out before construction begins. Usually, mortgage lenders can help you understand all the costs associated with your home construction project. Since it involves so many moving parts when it comes to cost, the loan usually requires a higher downpayment - from 25% to 30% usually. It's good to have a ballpark figure but don't pull the figure until you talk to a mortgage broker about your potential construction costs. Getting permits in order before building starts When you find land that is suitable for your house plans and you secure a construction loan, then you need to get building permits before you can start the building process. For many cities, this involves getting approval from the city planning to make sure that your home fits with their vision for the area. All the necessary permits are not always available in one place so it would be best to work with a realtor who has experience navigating these things on behalf of clients. If you're able to do some leg work on your own, then you can save yourself some money but be warned that land prices will be the least of your worries if you get the wrong building permit. Not proceeding carefully can mean interminable delays that raise your soft construction costs for your new home. Choosing the right contractor to build your dream home with you Start by asking a friend, a family member, or a real estate agent for a personal recommendation. Ask to see at least three sets of work they've done, and ask them what warranty policies they offer. Keep in mind that these days, even many contractors use subcontractors rather than doing the entire project themselves - so make sure you know who-is-doing-what. And it's always best to get several estimates before signing any contracts because sometimes there are cost differences between one contractor and another. This is not a renovation project, ask for competing bids from local contractors so you can get an accurate price of what building the property will mean. While choosing the right materials is important, the value of a good contractor per square foot can be the difference between creaky floorboards and rock-solid insulation. Keep in mind that it takes time, patience, and money when you build a house. To build a house, a custom-built one especially means a lot of control over the place where you will live for the foreseeable future. You will be choosing light fixtures and the material of exterior doors, trying to gauge the best value from competing contractors, and wondering if it's all worth it multiple times throughout the build. If you do your due diligence and responsibly approach the cost of building that new home, then you can find yourself with something that most other people can only dream of. View All Homes For Sale in Greater Vancouver >>> About Search Home Listings SearchHomeListings.ca has simplified the home buying and selling process by giving you superior tools with up-to-the-minute information including active homes for sale, sold homes, market reports, and a home valuation tool! We have a team of success managers on standby to support you with setting up your saved home search and agents ready to take you out on a tour. Tap into our industry experts from inspectors, to contractors to interior designers to provide you with the best prices and service possible. Everyone attached to our website has been rigorously vetted and is made up of caring, knowledgeable professionals that work tirelessly to help you to make your home buying experience as stress-free as possible. Contact us today to see how we can help!  Sites We Follow Google Facebook Twitter