360renos - Home Improvement & Decor

How to make your home stand out when selling

We can help your house sell quickly and at a good price -- even in a slow market.

It takes a lot more than sparkling windows, scented candles and chocolate-chip cookies to sell a home in today's market.

Improvements should be made so that the property shows well, is consistent with the neighborhood and does not involve capital investments.

Beyond any doubt, the best investment you can make is new paint. Painting can make a room or an exterior façade look brand-new, and totally transform the look and feel of a room or the entire residence. It is always wise to be somewhat restrained when choosing colors for a home-staging paint project. Avoid choosing colors that are too individual or flashy and favor neutral colors and schemes. This does not mean painting everything white, however.

Use subtle color schemes to accentuate the home's strengths and minimize weaknesses. Dark colors, for example, tend to make a room feel smaller, while lighter colors and pastels can make a room feel bigger.

There is another benefit to painting as well: the process of preparing the interior or exterior surfaces of a home for painting automatically allows us to go over the entire area receiving paint in great detail, and this can often expose items or areas requiring repair. It seems you always discover where the caulking has let go, where the wall is dinged.

It is always preferable that we discover and deal with these items before the real estate agent (or worse, the prospective buyer) points them out to you!

Dave - 360renos




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Friday, November 26, 2010

Bathrooms - Without the Eye Popping Price Tag

How to find the wow factor with out breaking the budget.

Updating the bathroom does not have to be an expensive under taking.

Some times a fresh coat of paint on the walls, baseboard and trim or just replacing light fixtures and towel racks will give the space a whole new look. Replacing the shower curtain can quickly change the look of the room, as can painting the cabinets in modern colors and replacing the pull knobs with decorative new handles. For a personal look add photos or art in simple frames. If the bathroom has a window replacing the shades are an economical way to enhance the bathroom. Look for honeycomb shades which reduce heat loss through your windows by up to 50%.

If you want to conserve water and reduce water heating costs you don't have to replace the bathtub or sink. Switch the shower head and faucets to ones with low flow aerators. Check out the impressive array  of designer styles in the latest low-flow toilets. There was a time when this range of products was limited and not very appealing. Now they are both effective and attractive.

360renos 
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000 
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca

"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Paint is hot, waste is not

Have some leftover paint? Whether it's a little or a lot consider ....
  • Recycling: Only a bit left? Decant it into a small glass jar to use for touch ups. Allow can residue to dry then put it out with your Blue box.
  • Upcycling: Give that old dresser a fresh coat of paint. Voila: "New" furniture, no waste!
  • Free cycling: Donate extra paint to Habitat for Humanity, ReStore or for sale to raise funds for community housing projects.
  • Returning: Before you buy, check if your paint store takes leftovers back for safe disposal. Most Home Depot, Lowes and Rona stores do.
360renos 
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000 
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca

"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
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Monday, November 8, 2010

Interior Painting - A Quick Fix to Your Home for the Holidays

With the holidays fast approaching, so are your holiday visitors. Is your home company-ready? If not, there's still time to do something about it, according to Debbie Zimmer, spokesperson for the Paint Quality Institute.

Why is it that we tend to spot deficiencies in our décor just before family and friends are due to arrive?

"In the throes of day-to-day living, most of us become somewhat blind to the condition of our rooms, including their color. But when it really counts, we take a harder, more critical look. All too often, we don't like what we see. When that happens, we are left with a couple of options: We can panic. . . or paint," says Zimmer.

Nothing changes the appearance of a home interior faster, or more effectively, than a fresh coat of interior paint, she says. And, giving a room an entirely new appearance at holiday-time can help lift your spirits and that of your guests.

What's especially nice about painting just prior to the holidays is that you can even choose colors that are appropriate for the season. . . as long as you'll still love them when the day is done.

Zimmer, an expert on color, offers some suggestions: "At Thanksgiving, fall colors that mirror the time of the year are most attractive -- harvest gold, ochre, brown, beige, and rust, for example. And nothing is cozier and more inviting at Christmas or New Year's than a special dinner set in a beautiful dining room decked out in a deep shade of red or green paint."

If you are really pressed for time, you can paint just an accent wall in a holiday-appropriate color, says Zimmer. "Painting even one wall can make a big difference in the appearance of a room and it can be done in a just a few hours. If you fall in love with the color, you have the option of painting the rest of the room at a later date, and if you happen to tire of it, you haven't invested much effort," she says.

Assuming that your pre-holiday painting is focused on rooms that will be filled with people, keep in mind that paints with higher sheen levels will be more stain-resistant and easier to clean. To make cleaning even easier, be sure to use durable top quality 100% acrylic latex interior paint.

And keep in mind that top quality latex paint offers another nice advantage: It has very low odor; plus, any minor odor it may have will dissipate very quickly. Even if you paint only a short time before your guests arrive, no one will catch a whiff of it!

So think about giving yourself and your family an unexpected gift this holiday season – the gift of color. The cost is very reasonable, and a beautifully painted room will provide pleasure not just at the holidays, but throughout the year!

For more information on color selection and interior painting for the Holiday season please contact 360renos

360renos
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca

"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
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Article with excerpts from Earth Times

Friday, November 5, 2010

Bathroom Wall Tile Updating

A main bathroom that was in need of a fresh new look from some tired old tiles.

We removed the old tiles and drywall down to the studs. Great news all was perfectly dry behind the old walls! Re-locating the plumbing to accommodate the new bath fixtures


Installed cement board for the new walls. Cement never goes mouldy so it is a great choice. Remember to use specialized screws for the installation of the cement board so they will not rust because you could have possible wall failure in the future.


New brushed nickel tile edging and 4"x4" tiles


Silicone caulking to complete all of the seams. New fixtures round out the updated style of this bathroom.





Dave - 360renos