Fine Living at Seattle Dream Homes

Seattle condo shortage?

2008-05-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

How could that be? Everywhere you look, old houses are being torn down and condo's and townhomes are being built in their place. But two reporters Jeanne Lang Jones and Kirsten Grind write Seattle's condo pipeline expected to dry up.

How to terminate termites

2008-04-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Termites cause more than $5 billion a year in property damage, according to Terminix. Worse even, the company warns, the damage is usually not covered by homeowners insurance.

Winged termites or discarded termite wings often found near doors and in windowsills are signs of a possible termite infestation. Other signs include mud tubes, which are hollow, drinking straw-sized roadways for termites, and wood that makes a hollow sound when tapped.

Termites are rare in the Seattle area, but we do have them and powder post beetles and other pests. Always have an inspection when buying a Seattle home or real estate

How to terminate termites

The push for greener homes in the Pacific Northwest

2008-04-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

As Earth Day approaches, remodelers are leading the charge to provide eco-conscious solutions for home remodeling projects, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

Faced with mounting scientific evidence that climate change threatens the health of our planet, Seattle homeowners are compelled to ask how they can make a difference. Green remodeling practices have become more popular as homeowners cope with ever-increasing energy costs, health concerns and diminishing natural resources.

Earth Day is April 22, and yet many remodelers are taking the approach that every day is Earth Day as they help homeowners choose eco-friendly solutions for their remodeling projects year-round.

The push for greener homes

5 steps to remodeling your Seattle home

2008-04-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Spending on remodeling is expected to reach $316 billion this year alone and the number is still climbing, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute. So make sure you know exactly how big a renovation you can afford and whether it justifies the time you intend to spend in your revamped home.

5 questions to ask before remodeling

Home Trends - Outdoor Living in Seattle

2008-04-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

A Seattle homeowner’s experience doesn’t stop at the back door. With leisure time and entertaining moving seamlessly from indoors to out, creating an outdoor “room” remains high on the list of must-haves.

As the passion for outdoor living continues to grow and evolve, many Seattle and Bellevue-area homeowners have upped the ante on their desire for al fresco design and style. This very lifestyle-driven trend, borne from a marriage between the love of all things natural and a natural affinity for creature comforts, has blurred the line between inside and out-in every market and every climate zone-as the craving for creating a “whole home” experience and harmonized outdoor spaces ramps up. Just as for the inside of the home, an outdoor space plan should be driven by the family’s needs and activities-typically cooking, dining and relaxing-and of course, the budget and expected ROI-both financial as well as emotional.

Outdoor living

Do you know the difference between linoleum and vinyl?

2008-04-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

Linoleum is made of environmentally friendly, natural materials, such as linseed oil, wood, jute and cork, which makes it a favorite green choice.

Linoleum naturally repels dust, and cleans up with little fuss.

While linoleum and vinyl both are a great value initially, linoleum can last 30 to 40 years.

Vinyl is a good choice for busy households because it's softer and easier to stand on, plus it doesn't absorb liquids, so it's ideal for the kitchen or bathroom, where liquids tend to get spilled.

More flooring hints here.

Going Green in 1 Year

2008-04-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

The Seattle P.I. has a great list of 52 tips for Living Green. Going green all at once may be too much for almost anyone to accomplish. Instead, they suggest making just one new change or adding one new habit or resolve each week. You'll be surprised at how it adds up after just a year.

Living Green in 52 weeks

Seattle home sellers getting smart with "Green" remodels

2008-03-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Homeowners finding it difficult to sell their homes in a changing market are looking to remodel their homes using a "Green" approach. Not only is this great marketing, it's the right thing to do.

Green Remodeling for Smart Home Sellers

Modern Furniture Design Competition in Seattle

2008-02-25T11:50:00.000-08:00

M+D+F 2008 is a juried exhibition to uncover and promote innovative modern furniture by emerging designers in the Pacific Northwest.

Organized by Design Within Reach Seattle and juried by local creative professionals in the design, architecture and art worlds, M+D+F provides an opportunity for peer, public and professional recognition for up-and- coming designers and firms.

These jurors will select 10-15 of the top entries to be exhibited at DWR Seattle on Thursday, April 17. A separate award will be given out to the designer whose submission best exemplifies environmentally conscious design.

This is a perfect contest for those who would like to design furniture for the Modern Home in Seattle.

Competition Rules

Spring flowers in Seattle

2008-02-25T02:03:00.001-08:00

Time to plant that garden. And make sure you plant lots of beautiful flowers for cutting!

If you've got a beautiful home, you'll want a beautiful gardent to highlight your Seattle real estate.

Here are some tips for keeping cut flowers alive longer. All cut flowers have a finite life span once harvested.

It's best to try to grown them yourself, but if not, here are some tips when buying:

When buying them, look for these signs of freshness:

• Leaves and petals that are upright and plump. Avoid wilted stems.
• Flower buds in color and blooms that are not fully opened.
• Clean, green leaves.
• Unbroken stems and petals that are neither battered nor bruised.
• An absence of slime where stalks have been sitting in water.

Once home, the flower must be quickly rehydrated by cutting at least an inch off each stem while they are submerged. This will remove the airlock in the stem's water column. Make an angled cut with clean scissors, or a sharp knife. The cut flowers should be transferred immediately to a vase of fresh, warm water.

The key to long vase life is good sanitation: Use a clean, sterile vase and fresh water as well as the powdered preservative from the florist. This should be dissolved in warm water and then added to the vase. It will feed the plants and prevent bacteria from forming. If you don't have preserver, you can add a tablespoon of sugar and two or three drops of bleach per quart of water.

With these tips, you can keep you flowers fresher longer.

Only two more days to visit The Home Show

2008-02-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

The 64th Seattle Home Show ends Sunday, closing the 600 exhibits that have been stuffed into a half-million square feet of display space at Qwest Field Event Center.

There you will find 100's of ideas for remodeling your old Seattle bungalow, modern Belltown loft, Lake Union houseboat, Queen Anne Victorian or any other Seattle real estate you may own!

Seattle Home Show

Wallpaper Madness

2008-02-22T20:07:00.001-08:00

"When Norinne DeGal opened a wallpaper showroom in Los Angeles called Walnut Wallpaper & Trim, her concept was simple: to feature the latest designs and make them available not just to decorators but also to the general public...."

There are many great places to buy wallpaper in Seattle to decorate your home. One of the first thing many people do when they buy real estate is to redecorate, and that includes painting and putting up new wallpaper.

Pushing Paper to New Extremes, The New York Times

Palace Papers

Cavern Home

"Fresh Designs Revive Wallpaper", Seattle Times

Seattleites moving to Mexico

2008-02-22T19:57:00.001-08:00

"Onward, the Mexican land rush.

Lured by beachfront vistas, quaint colonial backdrops and a historic construction boom, thousands of people who own real estate in Seattle are heading down Mexico way to snap up vacation homes, retirement villas and investment properties.

Heartened by sweeping reforms in the country's judicial and foreign-investment systems over the past decade or so and heightened interest from investors, many Americans have watched the values of their south-of-the-border properties head north in surprisingly short order"

Moving South/Seattle Times/ 3/27/05 by Steve McLindon

Home decor for kids and their parents

2008-02-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

The Kindergallery online shop offers original paintings, limited edition works, prints, stretched canvases, box art, photographic works, felt design products and wall decals. This comprehensive range includes something for every budget and is replete with gift ideas for any occasion. Each piece has been hand-picked to inspire the imagination of children of all ages. Kindergallery hopes that its collection will encourage children to acquire the visual language of art and design in a stimulating and lasting way. So if you want to add a little color, and fun to a kid room I highy suggest to take a look at the works from Kindergallery …here are some beautiful examples from them.

Locally, I love Blue Bottle Gallery. Though mostly for adults, the owners Andrea and Matthew Porter have a great gallery that features a series of art by Matthew that's perfect for all ages. His Animal alphabet series and his “Monkey World” Series are darling and both are done in a limited edition format. This is a great Seattle gallery, located on the Pike/Pine corridor at 415 E. Pine Street.

Modern Bedrooms for Kids

2008-02-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

For those who love modern furniture, here is a piece of functional & stylish furniture that would be perfect for a kids bedroom. By challenging the common norms for kids furniture Mimondo creates functional furniture in stylish imagery designs that gives an aesthetic balance in the room.

In Seattle, a great source for modern children's furniture is Tottini. They have all kinds of furniture for the modern offspring. And some of it tends to be smaller for those raising children downtown in a condo or perhaps in other smaller Seattle real estate digs. They even have "Not made in China" for those who don't wish to poison their children with Chinese toys and plastics.

Seattle Home Show starts this week

2008-02-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Spring is just around the corner, and that means no more excuses. Need inspiration to kick off your home projects? Head to the 64th Seattle Home Show, which runs today through Feb. 24 at Seattle's Qwest Field Event Center.

More than 600 exhibits will feature ideas for the home, yard and garden — everything from the impressive Idea Street of homes (built and furnished in five days), to the latest high-tech home products, to landscaping, to dozens of seminars.

This year's show focuses on green design and efficient living — from energy-efficient appliances to sustainable materials to fully constructed Built Green and Energy Star certified homes.
Find booths and experts for everything having to do with kitchens, bathrooms, home entertainment, fireplaces, lighting, painting, outdoor living and landscaping, and more.

Some of the new products debuting include a motorized spa cover that turns into a gazebo when open; a washer that automatically dispenses detergent with each load of laundry; a new high-definition video content server that allows you to store CDs and DVDs in a single location and choose the one you want by clicking on an image of the cover art.

Show hours are 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday; and 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $6 for seniors (60+) and $3 for juniors (7-15). E-tickets are available at http://www.seattlehomeshow.com/.

Alternative cooking methods for the busy cook

2008-02-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

Is this a green or just a Seattle thing? If you're going to drive a car or use a dishwasher, why not have it do double-duty. Salmon (not farm-raised!) seems to be the meal of choice, though any other fish would work. Also, thin chicken cutlets, and of course, sliced vegetables. Driving? Try cooking on your cars engine Manifold Destiny. Or do you feel guilty about not washing your dishes by hand? Try cooking dinner in your automatic dishwasher. Dishwasher Salmon

Seattle and the coffee connection

2008-01-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

Even if you try, you can't seem to avoid Starbucks in Seattle. In fact, Seattle and coffee are now synonymous with each other. Starbucks is now offering $1 cups of coffee and it can't come too soon. Here's a few other tips to save money:

Free coffee drinks from helpful barista's

Enjoy Free movies after your double-tall non-fat mocha!

Solving the mystery of the "short" latte: Starbuck's Economics

Homebuyers Finding Bigger Selection, Less Competition in Seattle Area

2007-11-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Homebuyers may see some relief in the frenzied housing market if the latest figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service are sustained. But brokers say there is little chance of a bursting housing bubble in Western Washington.

Inventory at the end of October was at the highest level of 2005 and the 6.85 percent increase in pending sales marked the first single-digit gain all year. Prices for last month’s closed sales still rose 20 percent or more in most NWMLS areas compared to a year ago.

With more properties for sale, buyers have more choices and sellers have more competition – and “sellers are realizing there is a limit to what buyers will pay,” according to NWMLS director Dick Beeson, the manager at Windermere Real Estate/Paragon Co. in Tacoma. He describes the market as “still percolating along” and anticipates continued strength through the holidays. Beeson also reports instances of immediate sales or multiple offers for some “premo” properties.

Brokers added 10,853 listings to inventory during October across a 15-county market area to outpace the year-ago total of 9,375 new listings. With the addition of Okanogan and Whatcom counties (which were added to NWMLS reports in August), last month’s volume of new listings rose to 11,405.

At month end, buyers had a choice of 22,925 properties in 15 counties, about three percent less than a year ago. Around the four-county Puget Sound region, inventory still lagged year-ago volumes in King County (down 16.3 percent) and Snohomish County (down 7.4 percent), while Pierce and Kitsap counties registered gains. Compared to this time last year, the total number of active listings was 7.9 percent larger in Pierce County and 10.2 percent larger in Kitsap County.

Pending sales showed similarly mixed results. Area-wide there were 8,975 pending sales across 15 counties, which compares to 8,400 for the same period a year ago for a 6.85 percent increase. Eight of the 15 counties reported gains. (Comparisons for Okanogan and Whatcom counties are not available.)

Northwest MLS members reported 8,714 closed sales for October, a 10.5 percent increase from year-ago totals. Area-wide, the median sales price on those properties, which includes single family homes and condominiums, was $289,950, a jump of 20.3 percent from twelve months ago when the median price was $241,000.

On a percentage basis, King County experienced one of the lowest price hikes among the 15 counties in the MLS service area. The median price for last month’s completed sales of single family homes and condominiums was $355,000, an increase of $60,000 (20.3 percent) from a year ago. For single family homes only (excluding condominiums), the median selling price was $390,000. That compares to a year-ago median price of $325,000. Condominiums, which accounted for about one-fourth of King County’s residential sales last month, had a median sales price of $215,000; a year ago it was $195,000.

With mortgage rates edging up and holidays approaching, brokers expect activity to taper somewhat, while reminding both buyers and sellers that now can be a very good time to be selling a home or shopping for one.

Freddie Mac’s most recent survey (for the week ending Nov. 3) pegs the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.31 percent, which compares to a year-ago average of 5.7 percent.

For sellers, there are likely to be fewer new listings added to inventory during November and December. Therefore, each home has an excellent chance of getting much more exposure that it might during the spring and summer months when the market is much busier, explained J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate. He also noted holidays can be a great time to showcase a home with festive lighting and other seasonal décor.

A more relaxed pace may mean agents and affiliated service providers such as lenders, home inspectors and appraisers are able to spend more time with clients. For buyers, year-end transactions can also yield tax savings and incentives from builders or motivated sellers. “It’s a myth that the holiday months are an unproductive time to sell a home,” Scott remarked, adding buyers can also benefit from year-end and seasonal factors.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, based in Kirkland and owned by its member brokers, serves 17 counties, mostly in Western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state. It encompasses more than 2,000 companies with approximately 25,000 sales associates.

8 Common Hazards in Old Houses

2007-08-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

"The price of historic character can be pretty steep. Here’s what it’ll cost to remedy the most common problems such as radon, lead and asbestos..." writes Jay MacDonald of Bankrate.com.

Got your eye on that lovely two-story Victorian on Capitol Hill in Seattle? A lakeside arts and crafts cottage on Lake Washington in Bellevue? That faux antebellum Greek revival in Redmond?

Brace yourself. That old house can come with plenty of old problems, from asbestos in the attic to radon in the basement.

Such concerns don't necessarily mean you must give up your dream of buying a piece of the past. But you do need to bring along a knowledgeable architect or design-build remodeling contractor to scout out hazards common in older homes.

And keep your checkbook handy."

8 Common Hazards

Flipping Real Estate in Seattle

2007-05-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

"In December, Paul Galasso quit his Costco management job to join his wife, Evelyn, as a full-time real-estate investor.

The leap from salaried manager at a $48 billion public company to residential real-estate entrepreneur wasn't impulsive, Galasso said. The couple made more than $100,000 from five Eastside deals they completed during 2004."

Flipping by Jane Hodges from The Seattle Times, 5/3/05

"Flipper's" software

Real Estate Flipping from ABC News

Tax Consequences of Flipping from BankOne

Home prices take off in tight market

2007-04-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

"An abundance of buyers and significant shortage of sellers had King County home prices shooting up last month, with the median price of houses and condos sold on the Eastside hitting $400,000 for the first time.

People hunting for a house in the county in March had a third fewer properties to choose from, compared with a year earlier. Those lucky enough to buy a home paid 16 percent more than a year ago."

Prices Go Higher, by Elizabeth Rhodes, Seattle Times, 4/7/05

Welcome to Fine Living Seattle Dream Homes

2007-01-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

The Seattle area is famous for its outdoor activities, its beautiful scenic vistas, the mountains and Puget Sound. But there are also beautiful opportunities for gracious living, filled with creativity and charm, and we'll feature those ideas here.

Some of my favorite neighborhoods, shops and restaurants. The most interesting artists. The most glamourous homes. The most fabulous and fun events around the town.

Join us in Fine Living at Seattle Dream Homes.