February 16 and I fell firmly out of love… with my house. I was sitting on my couch noshing on these amazing chocolate truffles my friend Adrienne gave me and I took stock of my surroundings – Ugh, my house looks as chaotic as our life has been lately. My house right now is like my favorite bra. It’s reliable and very comfortable but not something you’d want anyone else to see.
I’m a Realtor, I know how to live like I’m selling. It’s time to take my own advice. So here are 10 simple and relatively inexpensive things to do to fall back in love with a house that could use some loving.
- Paint the Front Door
I painted the decks a couple years back. This is the year I finally paint my door to match (I know I said that last year but I mean it this time!) I’ve scoured the design magazines and I think I’m going with Deep Blue. A spiffy entrance makes an impact on visitors and potential buyers. It’s worth my time to make it happen. - Tackle The Entrance
When I get home from work and running kids, the last thing I want is to walk into a messy house. Coming in the front door and tripping on someone’s boot does not make for a welcome home.So I’m going to start with the entrance. I have a client who’s a wonderful seamstress – I’m going to ask her to make a washable cover for my entrance bench that pops with colour. In Alaska, we really need to favor function over fashion in an entranceway. A new colour, fancy new coat hooks, and a few canvass photo prints will go a long way to making us feel welcomed home.
- Add Colour to the Living Room
I bought these lovely grey couches last year for my living room. They came with neutral colored throw pillows. I think I’m going to put my seamstress to work again to create throw pillows that do more than blend in with their surroundings. Covers can be replaced so when it comes time to sell, I’ll recover them back to a neutral so that buyers can imagine their own colors in the house. - Refresh Artwork
After 10 years in Alaska I still have yet to bring all my stuff North. What I miss most are the paintings that I left behind. I’ll bring them home next trip. I also think this is the year I buy an Apayo Moore piece in remembrance of our time living in Bristol Bay. I’m also going to put some of our photography on canvass to remind us why we live in this amazing state. - Refinish Furniture that Needs it
While my back was turned my youngest took a pen to all of our living room side tables. Amanda in my office put me onto Miss Mustard Seed and I’ve scoured the Web site and found some great ideas for fixing those up. - Pay attention to the Greenery
I like plants in a house. New pots for my plants and new places for them and I’ll make them look new again. - Do some Simple Repairs
I changed the lightbulbs in our kitchen a few months ago and it was a huge improvement. So I’m going to do the same for my bathroom. While I’ve got my tool belt on, I think I’ll fix the towel rack the kids keep pulling out of the wall. - Clean it!
I think Bill and I are at a place where we need a cleaner. But it can wait. I’m going to put on my grubbies and get rid of the grubbies that are plaguing my house. I might wash some windows, too. - Light it up!
More and more I’m finding myself reading in bed. Then I realize I’m not really spending time around my husband. Because invariably I end up falling asleep early only to wake up at 2am with my face mashed in a book. Some living room lighting will solve that. So while Bill catches up with Game of Thrones on his headset, I can find out what that 100 Year Old Man who Climbed out the Window did next. - Tackle my window Coverings
A set of curtains is an inexpensive way to add some colour to the house. I think I’ll have something custom made to match the colour scheme I come up with.
With all that, I bet my heart will fall back in love with my home. Maybe then I’ll show it off and have some friends for dinner. Or list it 🙂