Are Americans Overstuffed? Check In Your Closets and Garages To Find the Answer (edit/delete)
Great advice for those of us that have trouble with the excess in our lives!
Via Pat Fenn (Marketing Specialist for Cindy Jones RE/MAX Allegiance):
No this isn't a commentary on waist lines but instead on the amount of stuff we seem to accumulate. Over the last few years I have become acutely aware of the clean up and throw out process. It started when I began downsizing myself. Along the way I became friends with the folks at the Fairfax County Dump, Salvation Army, 1-800-Junk, PODS and more My new routine is if I haven't used it in a year then I can live without it forever.
Within shouting distance of my home are at least three self storage facilities. Every time I drive down another industrial road I see at least another two. So where has the need come for all of us to hoard so much stuff?
In today's "throw away" society it seems a bit odd that there should be so much of a need for storage facilities. What is lurking behind all of those locked containers? Is it stuff we really need or is it easier just to tuck it away instead of dealing with it? How much money is being spent every year to store things that really should be headed to the dump or donated to a favorite charity? Could you have a vacation with the money instead?
Need some help getting started on the de-cluttering? It is over-whelming I can admit it! So here are a few ideas that helped get me started on the stuff purging:
•Pick a room-doesn't matter where you start
•Set a timeframe-only work on the room a couple of hours at a time
•Sort through it-look at it once and decide if it is a keep, toss or donate
•Don't reminisce-high school is long over, the faded corsages have got to go
•Keep the space organized-have trash bags and plastic bins handy so that you aren't surrounded by piles
•Repeat the process on the next room-move on the next day or next weekend to another space.
•Reward yourself-trust me after you have made a run to the dump you want a reward
So take a look around and decide what you really need and what is ready to go. You might be surprised how good it feels to not have all of the stuff cluttering up your life. And don't try to pass it off on your kids. It will only come back to you when they decide to move!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Home Trends; Quality over Quantity:
As the nation continues to recover from the effects of a troubled economy, home sizes have trended downward for the first time in three decades. More Americans seem to have also adopted a longer-term perspective, as homes that are smaller in scale are generally more affordable to maintain over time and have less impact on the environment. However, they are not necessarily less expensive to purchase. Many are situated in prime locations and include more high-end features.
Findings of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey suggests that home buyers as well as renovating homeowners are choosing more efficient floor plans with less square footage. This allows them to indulge their tastes for quality details, and upgraded features with a higher degree of personalization. This key consumer survey also captured the following trends in the home market place in vivid detail.
New priorities trump old rules: The prevalence of non-traditional, open layouts with spacious kitchen and family room areas continues. Today’s homeowners are looking for ways to maximize the square foot area of the homes, so larger, more gathering-friendly casual spaces are often replacing rarely-used formal living and dining rooms.
Options create opportunities: Many builders have incorporated flexible spaces that give buyers the option to dedicate a room to meet their specific needs and preferences or to serve multiple purposes. For example, a formal dining room calls for a chandelier and open access, where as double doors and built-ins can easily create a private home office or library in the same space. It is now also more common for the owners of older homes to alter their floor plans to work better with the way they live.
Focus on accessibility, practicality, and storage: A growing number of again baby boomers drive the preference for one-level or two-story designs with a master bedroom downstairs. Storage features such as large closets and rooms with built-ins maximize the use of space in a smaller footprint.
Can you believe the average size home in 1950 was 983 square feet? In 1970 it grew to 1500 square feet; in 1990 it went to 2050 square feet, to a high of 2479 in 2007. It has been decreasing each year since to 2422 square feet in 2009, the most significant drop ever recorded.
Findings of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Design Trends Survey suggests that home buyers as well as renovating homeowners are choosing more efficient floor plans with less square footage. This allows them to indulge their tastes for quality details, and upgraded features with a higher degree of personalization. This key consumer survey also captured the following trends in the home market place in vivid detail.
New priorities trump old rules: The prevalence of non-traditional, open layouts with spacious kitchen and family room areas continues. Today’s homeowners are looking for ways to maximize the square foot area of the homes, so larger, more gathering-friendly casual spaces are often replacing rarely-used formal living and dining rooms.
Options create opportunities: Many builders have incorporated flexible spaces that give buyers the option to dedicate a room to meet their specific needs and preferences or to serve multiple purposes. For example, a formal dining room calls for a chandelier and open access, where as double doors and built-ins can easily create a private home office or library in the same space. It is now also more common for the owners of older homes to alter their floor plans to work better with the way they live.
Focus on accessibility, practicality, and storage: A growing number of again baby boomers drive the preference for one-level or two-story designs with a master bedroom downstairs. Storage features such as large closets and rooms with built-ins maximize the use of space in a smaller footprint.
Can you believe the average size home in 1950 was 983 square feet? In 1970 it grew to 1500 square feet; in 1990 it went to 2050 square feet, to a high of 2479 in 2007. It has been decreasing each year since to 2422 square feet in 2009, the most significant drop ever recorded.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Top Influences in Selecting a HOME
A Richmond, Virginia neighborhood can be every bit as important as the dwelling itself – at least according those of us polled. The 2009 National Association of REALTORS ® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Reported the results of a survey of consumers and real estate agents regarding top influential characteristics in selection a home. Considered by 64% of individuals when deciding where to live, quality of neighborhood was one of the most cited factors.
Additional attributes that those surveyed deemed important are:
Convenience of Job: 50%
Overall affordability of Homes: 43%
Convenience to family and friends: 38%
Quality of the school district: 26%
Convenience to Shopping: 26%
Neighborhood Design: 23%
Convenience to Schools: 21%
When searching for the ideal neighborhood, your real estate agent can be a valuable guide. Your agent can help identify a community that you will enjoy being a part of by assessing your needs and matching them to the locations that seem to be best fit.
Additional attributes that those surveyed deemed important are:
Convenience of Job: 50%
Overall affordability of Homes: 43%
Convenience to family and friends: 38%
Quality of the school district: 26%
Convenience to Shopping: 26%
Neighborhood Design: 23%
Convenience to Schools: 21%
When searching for the ideal neighborhood, your real estate agent can be a valuable guide. Your agent can help identify a community that you will enjoy being a part of by assessing your needs and matching them to the locations that seem to be best fit.
Making a Difference at the Central Virginia Food Bank
Thanks to the efforts of our clients this summer, Virginia Properties contributed 1,185 pounds of food AND over $500 in cash to the Central Virginia Food Bank. As a result, we are able to provide more than 3,600 meals for hungry folks in our area of Richmond. This is a meaningful contribution during difficult times, and we wish to extend our most sincere appreciation to all of our clients and friends - Thank you!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Richmond’s Virginia House & William Lawrence Bottomley
Perhaps my favorite Richmond Virginia architect is William Lawrence Bottomley, although Richmond was not his true home. Bottomley designed numerous meaningful and historically significant homes in Richmond, but it is perhaps a lesser known fact that he contributed to what many might consider a modest detail of importance at Virginia House.
One of Richmond Virginia’s most interesting and historic homes sits overlooking the James River at the back of the exclusive Windsor Farms neighborhood. Virginia House completed construction only months prior to the stock market crash of 1929, and is a tale of romance and interest on its own.
It was the dream of Virginia & Alexander Weddell to construct a home from the materials of a sixteenth century English manor house. They engaged architect Henry Grant Morse, who was primarily a designer of public buildings. Morse traveled in the English countryside with Mr. and Mrs. Weddell as they looked for a model for the house they hoped to build in Windsor Farms. Virginia House is a structure still standing today. Unfortunately the house and gardens are now only open by appointment, but certainly worth a visit.
William Lawrence Bottomley designed many homes in Windsor Farms, but between the years of 1944-46 he designed a Loggia for Virginia House. He incorporated columns imported from Spain to be located on the south side of the home. The painted ceiling in the Loggia came in part from a sixteenth-century house that once stood on the site of Knole in England. The importing of materials from England was in keeping with Morse's intended design/construction concepts.
There are some additional interesting details Bottomley added on the Loggia worth noting, but we’ll save that for your tour! Virginia House is located at 4301 Sulgrave Road, Richmond, VA, Phone: 804.353.4251
Research performed through the Virginia Historical Society
One of Richmond Virginia’s most interesting and historic homes sits overlooking the James River at the back of the exclusive Windsor Farms neighborhood. Virginia House completed construction only months prior to the stock market crash of 1929, and is a tale of romance and interest on its own.
It was the dream of Virginia & Alexander Weddell to construct a home from the materials of a sixteenth century English manor house. They engaged architect Henry Grant Morse, who was primarily a designer of public buildings. Morse traveled in the English countryside with Mr. and Mrs. Weddell as they looked for a model for the house they hoped to build in Windsor Farms. Virginia House is a structure still standing today. Unfortunately the house and gardens are now only open by appointment, but certainly worth a visit.
William Lawrence Bottomley designed many homes in Windsor Farms, but between the years of 1944-46 he designed a Loggia for Virginia House. He incorporated columns imported from Spain to be located on the south side of the home. The painted ceiling in the Loggia came in part from a sixteenth-century house that once stood on the site of Knole in England. The importing of materials from England was in keeping with Morse's intended design/construction concepts.
There are some additional interesting details Bottomley added on the Loggia worth noting, but we’ll save that for your tour! Virginia House is located at 4301 Sulgrave Road, Richmond, VA, Phone: 804.353.4251
Research performed through the Virginia Historical Society
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