For Sale/Rent

Dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, these antique dwellings are chock-full of characterand they're beautiful to boot.

Photo via Howe Allen Realty/John Maciel Photography

A Victorian on the South Coast of Mass.44 Summer St., FairhavenPrice: $399,000Size: 2,672 square feetBedrooms: 4Baths: 2Open house: Saturday, December 7, 12 1:30 p.m.

Photo via LandVest

A Farmhouse with an Attached Barn60 Washington St., SherbornPrice: $1,849,000Size: 5,171 square feetBedrooms: 5Baths: 6Open house: Saturday, December 7, 1 p.m. 2:30 p.m.

Photo via Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

A Lovely Estate Abutting a Trustees Site28 N Main St., PetershamPrice: $539,000Size: 5,125 square feetBedrooms: 8Baths: 5Open house: Sunday, December 8, 1:45 3 p.m.

Photo via Gelhaus Realty Group

A Connecticut Colonial Built in 1792240 Green Hollow Road, Killingly, CTPrice: $367,500Size: 3,318 square feetBedrooms: 4Baths: 2.5Open house: Saturday, December 7, 11 a.m. 1 p.m.

Photo via Howe Allen Realty/John Maciel Photography

A 140-Year-Old Single-Family92 Green St., FairhavenPrice: $525,000Size: 2,868 square feetBedrooms: 5Baths: 2.5

The Boston Home team has curated a list of the best home design and home remodeling professionals in Boston, including architects, builders, kitchen and bath experts, lighting designers, and more. Get the help you need with FindIt/Boston's guide to home renovation pros.

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Five Gorgeous Old New England Homes to Tour This Weekend - Boston magazine

Last month we talked about moving your holiday fun outside. Regardless of where the festivities will take place at your home, there are a few areas you may want to inspect and fix before the guests arrive.

Fix Leaky Faucets: Shut off the valves supplying water to the house. Remove the faucets handle (not the faucet). The leak usually stems from the on-off handle. If you have two handles, see if the drip is hot or cold and remove only the problem handle. You might have to pop off a button on top to reveal a screw or some pins. Unscrew the screw or remove the pins and a cartridge will come loose. It should have a rubber ring (or washer) inside that is causing the leak. Remove that washer and take it to the hardware store for the right replacement. Install the new washer and put the handle back on. Turn on the water. If you have trouble with the handle or cartridge, you may need to call a plumber.

Stop running toilets: When the toilet is flushed, the flapper opens to let water into the bowl. When it closes, it creates a seal to keep the water in the tank until the next flush. Because the flapper is rubber, it can decompose, warp and harden, all problems that prevent it from sealing properly. Thats why water keeps running out of the tank into the bowl.

Shut off water to the toilet. Pull the flapper valve out of the clips holding it in place, take it to the hardware store and find a matching flapper valve. Replace the valve, making sure its sealed tightly. Clip the new valve chain on the trip arm. Turn on the water and test the valve. If the water keeps running, adjust the flapper so the seal is water-tight.

Clean the oven: A years worth (or more) of crusty food burned inside of your oven can smoke and create unpleasant odors in the kitchen and dining area. It can also alter the flavor of your food.

If you have one, run the ovens self-cleaning function. If not, spray on and wipe off an oven cleaning product. Keep in mind, these can be very corrosive if not used properly.

For a greener option, wash the oven racks in a sink filled with hot water and vinegar. Soak them while you mix baking soda with water. Spread the paste over the surfaces of the oven. Spritz vinegar on top and let it sit for a few hours or overnight before wiping down and rinsing off. Rinse and dry the racks before placing them in the oven. Be sure to clean the microwave and outdoor barbecue too.

Repair sticky sliding closet doors: Remove closet doors from their tracks. Place them on the floor and inspect for damage. Clean out debris inside the tracks. Straighten the tracks by holding a wood block against the track and tapping it with a hammer. Then lubricate the tracks. Tighten the screws in the overhead track as well. Reinstall closet doors; test them to be sure they are sliding smoothly.

Test smoke alarms and replace batteries: A critical safety measure. If you cant remember when you replaced the batteries, do it now. Otherwise, you and your guests may be woken up at 2 a.m. from the incessant beeping reminder.

Install path lights leading to the front door: Lights can make your home look more inviting and theyre a good safety measure.

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Sketch and measure the area you want covered to estimate how many lights you need. Take that information to the hardware store.

There are many solar options available which you simply dig a small hole and insert the light. If you choose electric lights, use an outdoor GFCI or ground fault circuit interrupter outlet. There are probably several outside; if not, have some installed by a licensed electrician. If you have existing GFCIs, make sure they work properly.

Buy a kit that includes lights, 100 feet of low-voltage cable and a transformer to convert your homes current into low-voltage current for the lights. Get a high-quality transformer thats slightly bigger than the total wattage of the lights you will use. You may want to buy two smaller transformers instead of one large one.

Follow instructions on the kit. The hardest part of the job will probably be digging a shallow trench for the cable that carries power to the lights.

For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 35 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8 to 11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and from 7 to 10 a.m. on KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.

Link:
Rosie on the House: Simple repairs before holiday guests arrive - Green Valley News

With prices climbing in Montreal and fewer homes on the market to choose from, buying a fix-and-flip or a handyman special may seem like a good strategy to get into the market. Although HGTV makes it all look so easy, the reality can be complicated, expensive and risky.

Here are five money-losing mistakes homeowners make when they renovate:

Even professional appraisers recognize that home renovations arent just about return on investment (ROI). According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada, renovations pay off in three ways:

Increasing the selling price of your home

Increasing your enjoyment of your home

Maintaining the worth of your property

If your goal is to increase the value of the home enough to make a profit on a quick flip, gutting the kitchen, building an addition or replacing all the floors may actually end up losing you money in the end.

Likewise, if youre renovating a house you intend to stay in, you may regret cheaping out or cutting corners on the finishing if it sours your enjoyment of your home.

How much should you spend? According to home stager Gabrielle Grawey, it depends on the overall value of the home and what is typical within your neighbourhood.

The budget of someones house dictates the value of the renovation, Grawey said. If youre gutting your kitchen or bath and replacing with luxury when the current value of house doesnt match that, you can expect you will lose a good part of that investment.

Its not an investment unless you can have a reasonable expectation of making a profit. Some upgrades are more likely than others to boost your selling price.

According to a homeowners guide produced by the appraisal institute, the renos with the best payoff for sellers are kitchen and bath upgrades, repainting, cosmetic updates to dated or worn finishings, and decluttering.

The association notes that the renos that bring more joy than ROI are things like finishing a basement, adding a garage, sunroom or deck, along with fencing and landscaping. Better not to sink your money into these upgrades unless youre planning to stay a while and enjoy them.

A rule of thumb: the longer you intend to stay in a home, the more reasonable it is to spend money renovating it. Even if the renos dont increase the value of the home by enough to cover what you spent, if you experience greater happiness while living in the home, that may be enough payoff to justify the cost.

According to Remodeling Magazines annual survey measuring return on investment on home renovations, pretty much every major reno will probably be a money-losing one. The U.S. magazine compares the average cost for 22 common remodelling projects with the typical return upon the sale of the home in 136 American markets. In the 2019 survey, the highest ROI was for a garage door replacement, which recouped 97.5 per cent of the investment on average in other words, losing only 2.5 per cent.

That doesnt mean theres no way to make money on a flip. If you do some of the work yourself, theres more room to profit. Local market conditions will also have an impact. In a hot housing market, a renovated house may sell more quickly or be more likely to get multiple offers, which could also boost ROI.

If your goal in renovating is to spruce up a home for sale, your best bet is to start with the essentials: take care of basic home maintenance, repair whats broken, get the house professionally cleaned, and give the house a fresh coat of paint in neutral colours. Leave major renovations to the next owner.

Weve all seen those older homes with vintage mid-century tiles in the bathroom (that now seem kind of awesome), different shades of cheap laminate in each bedroom, real hardwood in the hallway, carpet in one room and a brand-new IKEA kitchen. It makes you wonder, what is this houses identity, anyway?

When it comes time to sell, patchwork renovations can be worse than no upgrades at all, said Tanya Nouwens, a RE/MAX Royal Jordan realtor and home stager.

According to Nouwens, its crucial to keep renovations in context with the home and neighbourhood. If the whole home is in a 1980s time warp, upgrading only the kitchen or bathroom can make everything else seem shabbier.

If the whole house is dated, renovating the kitchen draws attention to other parts that are shabby, Nouwens said. If a home is in a time period, I leave it in that time period.

Its fun to go shopping for tile, upgrade kitchen countertops or pretty up your yard with new landscaping. Yet if you blow your budget on cosmetic upgrades and neglect essential repairs or maintenance, youll not only end up scaring away potential buyers, but you could potentially face frighteningly high repair bills later on.

When it comes to maintaining the worth of the property, replacing the roof, updating climate-control systems, replacing windows and doors, updating electrical systems and repairing structural defects are the most important priorities, according to the appraisers institute.

Make sure these unsexy but essential aspects of your home are in good order. Buyers will often be willing, even keen, to update an old kitchen or repaint rooms to suit their taste, but no homeowner looks forward to replacing shingles or shoring up a buckling foundation.

Upscale master suite addition

Job cost: $271,470

Resale value: $136,820

Cost recouped: 50.4%

Mid-range backyard patio

Job cost: $56,906

Resale value: $31,430

Cost recouped: 55.2%

Upscale bathroom addition

Job cost: $87,704

Resale value: $51,000

Cost recouped: 58.1%

Mid-range master suite addition

Job cost: $130,986

Resale value: $77,785

Cost recouped: 59.4%

Upscale major kitchen remodel

Job cost: $131,510

Resale value: $78,524

Cost recouped: 59.7%

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Planning to fix-and-flip? Here are five home-renovation mistakes - Montreal Gazette

The holiday cooking season has kicked off. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Holiday meals are not the best time to try a recipe for the first time. Work a recipe in advance to find out how complicated it will be, time involved, cooking accouterments, and how it tastes.

Never walk away from an active stove.

Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, dont use the stove or stovetop.

Stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food.

Check food regularly and use a timer.

Keep anything that can catch fire oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains away from your stovetop.

Vegetable oil by itself is not flammable. However, once it reaches a flashpoint around 600 degrees F, it releases vapors that can catch fire and burn intensely. Autoignition can occur when the oil reaches a temperature of about 700 degrees F.

Heat the oil slowly to the temperature you need for frying or sauting.

If you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and carefully remove the pan. Smoke is a danger sign that the oil is too hot.

Add food gently to the pot or pan so the oil does not splatter.

Keep a lid nearby when youre cooking to smother small grease fires.

In Case of a Cooking Fire

Get out! Close the door behind you to help contain the fire.

Call 9-1-1 after you get outside to a safe area.

If you fight the fire, be sure others are getting out of the house and you have a clear way out. (See below regarding fire extinguishers.)

Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan completely cool.

For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed, If the fire does not go out or you dont want to fight it, get everyone out of the house. Call 9-1-1 when you are outside.

NEVER Use Water On a Grease Fire. Water contains a lot of oxygen. Instead of cooling down the fire, youll have powered it up.

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NEVER Attempt to Move The Burning Pot/Pan Outside. The burning oil could spill, burning you and other flammable objects.

Never Swat The Fire With A Towel or Apron

Youll be fanning and spreading the flame. The material could catch fire. Do not to place a wet cloth over a grease fire, it will only charge it.

Fire Extinguisher: Keep an extinguisher in the kitchen. Tom Louis (ret.), Green Valley Fire District Battalion Chief and now Business Development Analyst with Emergency Reporting, notes that is very important to look at the UL rating on the extinguisher. A and B ratings are for home use. The number that accompanies the letter is the expected square footage the fire can handle. For example, a 10B rated extinguisher can cover roughly 10 square feet.

Louis recommends Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray. This is a great extinguisher for older homeowners because it is so light at easy to use.

Hood Canisters: Hood canisters will protect a stovetop from grease fires. The tuna can-sized canisters are magnetically attached under the hood or microwave and deploy automatically when the flames from a cooking fire make contact with the fuse on the underside of the canister. The canisters open and drop a fine, dry powder over the flames below, suppressing the fire. Canisters cost between $56 to $200 and can be found at the hardware store.

Cook Top Systems: Mounted under the hood, an alarm will sound when the heat gets too hot. If the heat is not reduced and fire erupts, the system will immediately deploy and, if it is connected to a security system, alert the fire department. City permits and inspection are required. Products and installation of the system generally run less than $2,000.

After a fire, hire a reputable appliance repair company to inspect the appliance to ensure it is safe to use.

For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert since 1988, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8 to 11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and from 7 to 10 a.m. on KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.

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Rosie on the House: Follow safety guidelines to avoid cooking disasters - Green Valley News

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hausera, a new kind of online kitchen & bath specialty retailer that is launching this fall, today released the findings of its first annual The Truth about Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations survey. With the goal of uncovering facts, trends and challenges about kitchen, bathroom and laundry room renovations, the survey, conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Hausera, found that most homeowners have renovated or remodeled recently and plan to make more updates or upgrades with a specific budget, purpose and style in mind.

Homeowners love to renovate and they want to do more

The survey shows that homeowners across the country and across all age groups have been highly active in renovating and remodeling. Eight in 10 homeowners have renovated a kitchen, bathroom or laundry room in the last two years, and six in 10 have specific plans to do more in the next two years.

Top challenges: Staying on budget, finding the right pros

Among homeowners who completed renovations during the last two years, staying on budget and finding the right professionals were selected as the top challenges when remodeling. Among homeowners ages 18-30, nearly one-half said their top challenge was finding the right professionals for the project.

Lifestyle changes drive renovations

Across kitchen, bathroom and laundry room renovations, homeowners said adapting to a lifestyle change, such as a changing family size or accommodations due to a disability or aging, was the biggest reason for a renovation.

For kitchens and bathrooms, modern is the word

A majority of homeowners said modern is their preferred style for their kitchens and bathrooms. When asked what they want their kitchens and bathrooms to say about them, about one-half want them to say Im modern.

Smart products and green features are hot

Nearly one-half of homeowners said they plan to buy smart internet-connected products for their kitchens, bathrooms or laundry rooms in the next year, with smart lighting systems the most popular product. More than one-half also said they plan to buy products with green, environmentally-friendly features in the next year, with energy-efficient lighting the top product on homeowners wish lists.

Strong demand for home design expertise

Nearly seven in 10 homeowners have hired a design/build professional for their kitchen, bathroom or laundry room renovation, with six in 10 having hired an interior designer.

When hiring a professional, project portfolios, personal recs and online reviews matter most

When choosing a contractor or interior design professional for home renovations, homeowners said a professional portfolio that shows examples of past projects matters most. They also highly value recommendations from friends or family members and online ratings and reviews when choosing a design/build professional for their renovations.

Nicole Curtis tops the list of favorite designers

From a field of 20 celebrity home designers, homeowners named Nicole Curtis as their favorite, followed by David Bromstad and Nate Berkus.

Designing a home is full of big decisions with none more intimate than a kitchen and a bathroom, said Wesley Ward, vice president of marketing at Hausera. The Truth About Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations survey sheds light on a number of key attitudes, challenges and trends as a way of heading off frustrations that often accompany home remodeling projects and helping homeowners bring their creative visions to life.

To download an e-book with the surveys full results, go to https://www.hausera.com/media/2226/hausera_annual_remodel_survey_2019.pdf.

Survey Methodology

Commissioned by Hausera, The Truth about Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations survey was conducted by OnePoll, a marketing research company specializing in online quantitative research and polling, between July 25, 2019 - August 6, 2019. Feedback was obtained from 1,000 U.S. homeowners.

About Hausera

Hausera offers a new kind of online kitchen & bath shopping experience designed to empower homeowners and design pros with a curated shopping experience. Created specifically for the home remodeling market, Hausera is founded on the twin concepts of pride and joy the pride one feels by acting on inspiration and executing a remodeling vision, and the joy of achieving that vision on budget and taking pleasure in the result for years. With deep kitchen & bath product expertise, Hausera provides a tailored and curated shopping experience that helps homeowners and design pros find the perfect products for bringing their design inspirations to life. For more information, visit https://www.hausera.com/.

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Hausera Unveils Results of First Annual The Truth about Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations Survey - Business Wire

Dinner has long been an occasion for family and friends to come together and not only share meals, but make memories. The kitchen, therefore, has always had a special place in our homes and our hearts.

But not all rooms are the same when it comes to safety. And while kitchens might not be as dangerous as bathrooms, they still pose some distinct risks, which often lands them in consideration for the second most dangerous room in the house. For those choosing to remain at home as they age, this is something to look out for.

There are some steps some simple and inexpensive, while others remain more complex and quite pricey that can be taken to make the kitchen a more accommodating place for people planning to age in place.

The two primary dangers surrounding the space, according to certified Aging in Place specialists Ernest Gilbert and Richard Acree, boil down to falls and fires.

If you have an area where youve got to maneuver a bit and its too tight, that can be a danger, said Gilbert, president and CEO of Bradenton and Sarasota-based remodeling firm Gilbert Design Build, which specializes in kitchen and bath remodels, along with aging in place home modifications.

The kitchen is a common area for falls, which is why having clear and distinct pathways through the area, along with ample space to move about freely, is an essential first step to making the room safe. This also means designing your kitchen with passageways that are wide enough to potentially allow for a wheelchair or walker. You might not need it or think about it much now, but years from now it could become essential to your aging experience.

You should also look at flooring. As always, avoid throw rugs, which can become the catalyst for all kinds of accidents. Consider something like nonslip tile, vinyl, linoleum or wood flooring something that prevents slipping and would allow a wheelchair or a walker to roll over it smoothly.

Remodeling isnt a feasible option for everybody, but when it comes to floors there are affordable slip prevention textures you can apply which may help.

Fires are also a common danger in the kitchen, and those over the age of 65 have more than twice the risk of dying in a kitchen fire than the general population, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Burn hazards and falls are really the two primary hazards you need to look out for and be mindful of, said Acree, owner of the consulting firm ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Inspections Nationwide. He recommends an electric cooktop device without raised burners, which he says makes it easier to clean while reducing the likelihood of spills or grease fires.

Many experts, Acree said, recommend magnetic induction stovetops, which reduce the chance for burns because of the fact that heat is produced only directly below or next to the pot and cools down relatively quickly after being turned off.

Placement of your microwave, according to Acree, is also essential. He recommends not placing it over your stove or oven, as many do, in order to reduce the likelihood of accidents and to also keep it in reach if you find yourself in a position where you are using a wheelchair in the future. At or below counter height is preferable.

Here are a few other fixes that can make your kitchen easier and safer as you age:

Many experts recommend using multilevel countertops as a way to accommodate everyone. Color coded, rounded edges can also provide a visual cue that can help reduce injuries.

Adequate lighting is also important; automatic light switches, rocker type switches and under-cabinet lighting are all great options.

Having accessible sinks, which might mean making them shallow or giving them toe space underneath so that those in a wheelchair can pull up to them directly instead of parallel, can be helpful.

Using lever faucet handles is also highly recommended for those with arthritis, according to experts.

Pullout cabinets that help make items reachable without bending down excessively can also be the difference between successfully retrieving a pot and pan or taking a nasty spill in the floor.

This story comes from Aspirations Journalism, an initiative of The Patterson Foundation and Sarasota Herald-Tribune to inform, inspire and engage the community to take action on issues related to Age-Friendly Sarasota, Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, National Council on Aging's 100 Million Healthier Lives and the Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition.

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Aging in the Right Place: Are you doing everything you can to make sure your kitchen is safe? - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

When Stephanie and Matt Monteith bought their 1920s Dutch Colonial seven years ago in West Hartford, they thought it was the ideal starter home with three bedrooms and 1 baths. They not only fell in love with the homes character, but also the neighborhoods charm and walking distance to downtown.

Fast-forward to two kids and plans for another, and this young couple started thinking about moving or adding on for more living space. But, unbeknownst to them, baby No. 3 was already on the way, jump-starting their decision-making process. They quickly agreed, Lets go for the addition.

The Monteiths West Hartford house, before the addition, was approximately 1,800 square feet, with three bedrooms and 1 baths. The addition brought 1,150 square feet, a family room, kitchen, butlers pantry and breakfast/dining nook off the kitchen, a master bathroom, and walk-in closet. In total, the house is now nearly 3,000 square feet, with four bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.

A speedy plan was needed to get the renovation complete before the arrival. The Monteiths primarily wanted to create a family-friendly, open living space on the first floor along with a master bedroom suite with a walk-in closet above. It was going to be a tight timeline, but the couple enlisted a design team they believed could get the job done.

Theres no changing a babys due date, says Drew Liljedahl, the fourth-generation owner of Liljedahl Bros., a mid-size remodeling company serving Greater Hartford and the Farmington Valley. Our approach was that it just had to get done. You push and you do what you have to do.

Stephanie and Matt held the same philosophy do what you need to do as they moved their family of four, complete with a 4-year-old and 1-year-old, into Stephanies parents home in Cheshire from February until May 2018.

They broke ground the week after Thanksgiving, says Stephanie, who couldnt wait to bring spaciousness to their 1,800-square-foot home. We were able to keep living in the house until Super Bowl Sunday when they needed to shut the water off to rerun the plumbing.

With the couple working full time Stephanie was a sales director for a Washington, D.C.-based tech company and Matt is an attorney in Hartford and the kids still in day care near their home, Stephanie decided to rent office space in West Hartford. This way, she figured shed be local to pick up the girls every day as well as jet over to the house to answer any questions.

The renovated kitchen has a breakfast nook, which the family didnt have before. And a kitchen island, with three big counter stools, offers another gathering spot for informal meals.

I didnt want to create any unnecessary delays on our end, she says. It was a freezing, cold winter, but the builders still showed up almost every day. Once it gets below a certain degree, the nail guns dont work. But they were out there with hammers and nails.

The only predictable thing in remodeling is that there are going to be unpredictable things, says Liljedahl, who noted that the ability to talk to Stephanie daily helped the project flow faster. They put a lot of trust in us to work within their timeline and they definitely did their part in making it a very fluid, collaborative process.

Staying true to its era and the neighborhood, the homes two-story addition blends seamlessly with the old. The design moved the kitchen into the new addition, freeing up space where the original galley kitchen used to be. With plumbing already at the ready, the area was turned into a butlers pantry and wet bar.

Its one of our favorite areas, says Stephanie, who got the idea from a similar butlers pantry at her parents house. We didnt know what to do with the space at first. This makes sense because these older homes have smaller dining rooms and theres not enough room to have a big buffet for storage.

A breakfast nook off the new kitchen offers a casual eating area something the family didnt have before. And a kitchen island, with three big counter stools with backs so that the kids dont fall off, offers another gathering spot for informal meals.

Stephanies friend, Jeanne Barber, who heads up her own interior design business, Camden Grace Interiors, sourced the stools as well as all of the furniture downstairs. Having just left her law career to start her new Farmington-based business, Barber was happy to take on the challenge of getting everything done before the babys arrival.

The butlers pantry and wet bar is one of homeowner Stephanie Monteiths favorite areas. We didnt know what to do with the space at first, she says. This makes sense because these older homes have smaller dining rooms and theres not enough room to have a big buffet for storage.

She knew the timeline and understood that once I moved back with the baby, I didnt want to move back to a home with empty rooms, says Stephanie, who reached out to Barber early almost as soon as she put down the phone with Liljedahl Bros.

I really needed someone to help me pull the trigger, she says. Jeanne helped with different layouts and finding pieces that fit the room. She has access to furniture and fabrics that the general public doesnt have, so she really pulled it all together. Ill look forever and never make a decision.

Stephanie trusted me, which always makes the process easier, Barber says. She originally wanted white subway tile for her backsplash, but I pushed her boundaries to do something a little bit more special. We ended up going with a tile from TileBar that looks like wet clay with a pearlescent quality to it.

When it came to designing the built-in storage in the living room, I persuaded her to go with drawers. They look more modern than cabinets and its easier for kids to clean up and just dump their toys into them.

Brushed brass pulls on the drawers correspond with the gold, lantern pendant lights over the island. Monteith found them years ago and loved them, so Barber sourced them.

Barbers motto, good design for easy living, rings true in the Monteith home. Using durable, stain-resistant fabrics, Sunbrella and Crypton; paint with an eggshell finish on the walls, so that they could easily be wiped clean; and painted wood, farmhouse-style chairs around the breakfast nook table and no rug, all keep things real, Barber says.

Its entirely possible to have spaces that are both functional and stylish, she says. You just have to know which design elements to utilize. Different lighting sources, for example, make such a difference. Its important to call us at the inception of a project so we can work with the contractor to develop lighting plans and optimize layout.

With the new 1,150-square-foot addition complete and the majority of the furniture in the home, the Monteiths moved back in on May 12 and the baby was born on the 15th.

There was a little anxiety, Monteith says with a laugh. She originally hoped to be in about a month earlier, had it not been for the frigid winter. But, once we moved back in, it was like moving into a brand-new home.

The Monteiths even called in Simsbury-based D.W. Burr Landscaping and Design to finish their outdoor space. The whole project had destroyed the backyard and it was important to them for the kids to be able to play outside that summer.

We decided to push ahead and just do everything in sequence, Monteith says. With the addition, interior design, new patio and landscaping all done, now we can just be. Its everything we imagined fresh, inviting and comfortable.

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This family's home expansion was finished just in time for their next addition - Connecticut Magazine

By Nicola Caul Shelley, Synergy Design & Construction

Nothing brings a home remodel or simple project to freshen up your home together more than beautiful paint. However, with the ever increasing number of gorgeous colors and types of paint available, it can be daunting knowing where to begin or even knowing what to use. Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Download our FREE Paint Finishes Tip Sheet to help you get started on making the right choice of paint finish for your home.

Colors, Colors Everywhere

Youve prepped your walls and decided which paint finish you want. Now youre standing in a local hardware store completely overwhelmed by the array of colors. How do you make a choice?

Using a Paint or Home Remodeling Contractor

Its important to have realistic expectations when either hiring a painting contractor or a home remodeler for a project that involves painting. For example, unless you are having new drywall or crown moulding installed, imperfections are going to show after the painting is complete. Remember that dent you put in your baseboards with the vacuum cleaner? Or that nick in the wall when you were moving a piece of furniture? Those arent going to magically disappear with a new paint job.

New recessed lighting or new lighting fixtures will also show up imperfections you just didnt realize were there because brighter/better lighting will make them more obvious. Unless you point out the areas that just plain bug you beforehand, contractors cant give you a smooth, blemish-free end result. Even with patching or repairs, it just isnt possible to give you a new drywall finish. For this reason, some home remodelers no longer include paint in their scope of work. This is because it can be a hassle trying to manage expectations about the paint finish in your home.

This months featured remodel is a McLean Kitchen remodel. The original green and blonde wood color scheme had to go! Use of Benjamin Moore Ballet White in matte on the kitchen walls and refinishing the solarium structure in the same color (but in semi-gloss) keeps the look consistent and allows the rooms to flow from one to another. It also makes the space feel much larger without being cold.

At Synergy, we believe in providing a full service design/build experience. Thats why we include painting in the scope of every project we work on. We want you to have a turn-key experience, with nothing left to do after the dust settles except relax! Ready to renovate happy? Get in touch!

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Reno of the Month: When Bad Painting Happens to Good People - Reston Now

In part two of our survey that asked top VCs about the most exciting investment areas in real estate, we dig into responses from 10 leading real estate-focused investors at firms that span early to growth stages across real estate specific firms, corporate venture arms, and prominent generalist firms to share where they see opportunity in this sector. (See part one of our survey.)

In part two of our survey, we hear from:

What trends are you most excited in real estate tech from an investing perspective?

While most people think about real estate tech from the transaction perspective, I believe that every single part of the real estate value chain is ripe for disruption. On the construction and home maintenance side, we are facing an aging population of contractors, electricians and plumbers. As fewer people enter the trade, this is a great opportunity for a startup. Rentals are offline and fragmented, with the majority of renters still paying their rent with cash or check.

As low-interest rates hold, many homeowners could be refinancing their homes, but arent simply because of the lack of financial education. People want to live in beautiful spaces, but everyone needs help with the design and remodeling process. Younger generations in particular are shocked and lost when they learn how many vendors and contractors they need to interface with for a simple bathroom or kitchen remodel. At the end of the day, we end up having to go back and forth with service providers in person because there are major information gaps online, just like in medicine. Its hard for homeowners to know who to listen to and who to trust.

How much time are you spending on real estate tech right now? Is the market under-heated, over-heated, or just right?

A third of my time is spent thinking about startups tackling real estate this includes everything from construction to financing to rentals and home improvement. The amount of money spent in real estate is enormous, and the data and tools we use today are still based on insights from a decade ago.

When I polled colleagues on what they would do if a toilet broke, the answers ranged from: Google, YouTube, Yelp and calling my mom. We spend so much money on the way and place we live, and its nuts that there isnt more technology to support it. Yes, we turn to Zillow or Redfin when searching for a home to buy or rent, but what about everything that happens before and after that?

The market is not over-heated in the least. However, I do believe investors are starting to treat real estate tech companies differently than tech-enabled real estate companies. In the past few years, that nuance was less clear, but recent market events have forced investors to focus more on gross margins and softwares ability to scale.

Are there startups that you wish you would see in the industry but dont?

Id love to see more companies foster community. Decades ago we hung out with our neighbors, but today, many of us cant even recall their names. Technology can help connect residents in a building, or neighbors down the street mapping out our geography-based social networks. Id also love to find more companies that are using different kinds of signals to assess risk, whether its to replace the credit score for a rental screening or to help someone qualify for a mortgage. Chinese fintech companies in particular have been experimenting with using other signals besides a credit score to evaluate how responsible someone might be.

Plus any other thoughts you want to share with TechCrunch readers

If we think that the transportation industry is big, just wait until we realize the size of the real estate market!

How has the real estate technology ecosystem changed in the last 3 years?

When we started Fifth Wall three years ago, VCs and even prospective LPs would frequently ask us What does real estate technology mean? Isnt that very niche? How are you going to invest $212 million into real estate technology? At the time those felt like legitimate questions; in retrospect, they reflected that the venture ecosystem hadnt truly appreciated the enormity of the opportunity in real estate technology. The fact that those questions felt valid only a few years ago tells the story of how the real estate technology ecosystem has evolved, expanded, and institutionalized.

In the last three years, real estate technology has arguably created more enterprise value and spawned more unicorns than any other single industry sector in venture capital. Fifth Wall was fortunate to make early investments in many of those transformative businesses, such as Blend, Hippo, Loggi, Lime, Opendoor and VTS. In the first half of 2019, $14 billion was invested into real estate technology from the VC community. Even though Fifth Walls newest $503M fund is the largest in the category, it nonetheless represents a very small percentage of total venture capital invested into real estate technology.

What spawned this growth in real estate tech over the last 3 years?

Its not surprising that technology for the real estate industry would become one of the largest and most attractive categories of venture capital. Real estate is the single largest industry in the U.S., yet historically has been one of the lowest spenders on IT. The industry was (and to a great extent still is) known as being a late adopter of technology solutions. I would characterize the last five years as being an Age of Enlightenment for major real estate owners, operators, and developers: CIOs were hired for the first time, large IT budgets have been allocated and are growing, and almost every major real estate owner now recognizes that adoption of new technology is existentially critical to their future strategy.

In part, this realization explains the dramatic growth in the number of corporate investors in Fifth Wall: just two years ago Fifth Wall managed $212M from nine North American real estate corporates, today we manage over $1 billion invested by more than 50 corporate strategic partners from eleven countries. To put it simply, when the worlds largest industry suddenly decides to adopt technology, you can expect a lot of value to be created. And its only just begun.

Are generalist VCs investing more in real estate technology?

Generalist VCs have been pouring capital into real estate technology companies, especially in the last few years. However, not all of those investments have performed well, and theres usually one simple reason for that: distribution is absolutely everything for real estate technology startups. Getting large real estate corporates to adopt a new technology is often deterministic. In addition, generalist VC firms typically lack the deep real estate relationships and domain expertise to drive distribution and adoption of emerging technologies.

This is why Fifth Wall raised its capital from the largest partners and customers of the very technologies in which were investing. Fifth Wall wanted to be the connective platform to link new, emerging real estate technologies with the corporate partners that could serve as the commercial distribution lanes for them globally. A perfect example of this would be the strategic partnership and investment Fifth Wall orchestrated between homebuilder Lennar, one of Fifth Walls strategic investors, and Opendoor.

Are more real estate corporates forming their own venture capital arms?

There are more CVC (corporate venture capital) arms at real estate companies than there were three years ago, but they havent generally performed well, strategically or financially. Real estate organizations can be especially slow-moving and bureaucratic, making it difficult to attract great venture investment talent. CVC is inherently hard to execute well in any industry and for an Old World industry such as real estate, CVC arms seem especially challenged.

Fifth Wall is increasingly finding that real estate owners are electing to become a part of the Fifth Wall consortium as we can now offer more distribution to any startup that any single corporate investor can offer investing on their own. Similarly, public market investors also have become critical of publicly-traded real estate corporates starting their own venture arms and have instead favored large real estate investment trusts (REITs) investing in consortium-based funds like Fifth Wall and others. I would expect this trend to continue as more real estate corporates are looking to partner with dedicated consortium-based real estate technology funds as opposed to maintaining their own CVC arm.

What trends are you most excited in Real Estate tech from an investing perspective?

We think there is a profound and exciting opportunity right now at the intersection of real estate technology and sustainability. Real estate owners are incredibly exposed to sustainability risks: the industry consumes 40% of all energy globally, emits 30% of total carbon dioxide, and uses 40% of all raw materials.

There is significant and growing regulatory pressure at both the local and federal levels to make all buildings net-zero carbon: look to Los Angeles and NYCs recent legislation for two salient examples. Consumers and tenants of buildings are increasingly demanding heightened environmental standards for real estate assets. And finally, institutional investors are increasingly imposing sustainability requirements around their capital deployments.

Meeting the demands of stakeholders (regulators, tenants, and investors) is going to be an extraordinarily heavy lift for the real estate industry over the next decade, and effectively leveraging technology and innovation to drive solutions at scale is going to be crucial in order to meet these goals. Taken together, I believe the technologies to create more sustainable real estate assets represent a $1 trillion opportunity over the next decade.

See the original post:
Where top VCs are investing in real estate and proptech (Part 2 of 2) - TechCrunch

Brothers Bar and Grill will expand into the former Milwaukee Moulding and Frame shop next door.(Photo: Google)

A popular downtown Milwaukee bar is closing for around six months to undergo a major expansion that includes adding a large kitchen and full menu.

Brothers Bar and Grill, 1213 N. Water St., closed after Saturday night so it can begin remodeling and adding more space, said Marc Fortney, co-owner.

The renovations will start in about two weeks, he said Wednesday.

The changes will include blending with an adjacent building, at 1215 N. Water St., that since the 1940s housedMilwaukee Moulding & Frame. That business closed in December.

Fortney, Fortney and Fortney LLP, the La Crosse-based firm that operates the Brothers chain, recently bought the two-story, 1,500-square-foot building for $1 million, according to state real estate records.

Brothers will punch through the common wall between the former Milwaukee Moulding shop and the tavern, Fortney said.

Also, a back addition will be added on part ofthe former Milwaukee Moulding parking lot to create a full kitchen, he said.

That will allow Brothers to offer a full lunch and dinner menu similar to what the chain offers at its other locations throughout the Midwest, Fortney said.

The new food offerings will include salads, wraps, sandwiches and burgers.The Milwaukee location, which opened in 2006, had served just appetizers.

Brothers had been expanding its menu at other locations a change from when the business was mainly based on serving drinks.

"Today, we are in the full bar and grill business," Fortney said.

The Milwaukee expansion is being driven in part by Fiserv Forum's 2018 opening, as well as more apartments being built in or near downtown, he said.

"A lot has been happening downtown," Fortney said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.comand followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2019/11/13/milwaukee-brothers-bar-and-grill-closes-do-major-expansion/4181090002/

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Downtown Milwaukee's Brothers Bar and Grill closes for six months to do major expansion, renovations - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel