Contact April Hay to get Your Custom Shutter Referral Coupon!
http://www.greatmissionviejohomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
Many Mission Viejo homes like my own are situated in such a way that sun bakes in through the largest of the windows and sliding doors, creating an oven effect that wastes energy by increasing the need for more air conditioning. Selecting the right window coverings can make a noticeable difference in utility bills. As current gasoline prices skyrocket, utility bills for Mission Viejo homes are sure to follow, so if it is time to replace window coverings, while indoor shutters may not be your first choice in design, it may be time to recall the words of 20th Century archetectural guru Louis Sullivan:
"It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function. This is the law."
Wood Shutters are a functional addition to Mission Viejo homes in that they are able to morph from full window enclosure, to partial covering, to no covering at all, suiting a variety of times of day and occasions. It is a common misperception that other forms of window coverings are less expensive than shutters. This may be true if you don't shop around to find the highest quality for the best price. Being the ultimate bargain hunter that I am, I think I have found the biggest bang for the buck in the realm of plantation shutters for Mission Viejo homes.
Before you order custom shutters, consider what the choices are. Basically, there are three types: solid hardwood, solid-core vinyl, and aluminum-core vinyl. Aluminum-core vinyl have the benefit of being lighter; however, they have little endcaps on the edge of every blade that can come loose and may not give as rich an appearance as a solid-core product. The solid-core vinyl have the advantage of being suitable for installations where there may be a problem with water intrusion because they will not warp if they get soaked. They never need to be painted; however, they have the disadvantage of being heavier than wood and there is not usually a color choice, so your window trim may not match your shutters. Typically, they cost more, too. For my Mission Viejo home, I chose solid wood shutters.
Wood shutters in Mission Viejo homes give them a clean appearance. Drapes and heavy curtains are more likely to hold odors and can be expensive to have dry cleaned. Shutters need to be dusted and occasionally wiped down with a damp cloth to keep them looking fresh. If you have a rather pesky house cat like I do, you won't have to worry about her scratching and clawing them and biting of cords like she does with other window coverings.
Custom wood shutters come in a wide variety of colors. For the shutters in my Mission Viejo home, I have chosen a Dunn-Edwards Swiss Coffee, which is an off white for which I can easily buy matching trim paint. I like "easy," and off-white suits me because, in my Mission Viejo home, it doesn't grab attention the way bright white does. This way, other furnishings in my home can have dominance. Some people may prefer matching the shutters to their wall color. Having the choice of color can be important when buying shutters.
In shopping for shutters, I found a wide range in pricing. It was easy to find shutters for $35 per sq.ft., which is probably why many people think they can't afford them. On the other hand, I found a company that works through direct referrals and they sell high-quality shutters for as low as $13.95 per sq. ft., depending on the quantity ordered. I ordered shutters for two sets of double french doors with side windows (6 ft wide each) and two large (50-inch square) picture windows and two narrow (2-ft wide) windows and was able to get the lowest price. They have a person who comes to your home and measures, assuring the shutters will fit. Everything is done very professionally and the quality is great. You pay 50% upon placing the order, the rest is paid when they come to install them.
If you are interested in being one of my personal referrals to this custom shutter company, contact me , provide your name, address, telephone number and email address, and I will provide you with a referral coupon that you can use for setting up an appointment for a company representative to measure your windows. The company will sell shutters to owners of Mission Viejo homes, and to owners of all Orange County homes. While I cannot personally guarantee you will be satisfied, I can tell you that I have been extremely pleased with the shutters that were installed in my own Mission Viejo home.
Showing posts with label Orange County homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orange County homes. Show all posts
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
In Search of a Functional Family Room
Call April Hay
http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
I'm fairly sure most Mission Viejo homes have a family room that could use some decluttering and refurbishing. I just painted mine and the pale yellow walls are already lifting my spirits. Because our family room is the most used room in the house, it is crammed with all the paraphernalia of a modern middle class family.
What used to be my mantle is now the perch for a 5-ft wide flatscreen. So the flat screen really determines the seating arrangement in this Mission Viejo home. We have a very wide leather chair and ottoman on one side of the room, a recliner made for two people on the other side, and a full size leather couch on the side wall. This basically means the room is wall-to-wall seating area. Opposite the ottoman is a full stack of electronic sound equipment doo-dads that operate the surround sound, dvd carousel, tuners, etc. Then there are the two 1.5-square ft. subwoofers and some sort of partially assembled computer and a monitor that also works as a second television. There are two other black contraptions as big as the subwoofers; I have no idea what they do, but I am told they are necessary.
Everyone in the family has a laptop, so we are always on them in the family room via wireless. Sometimes we even email each other while we are sitting together in this 21st Century Mission Viejo family room. There is no coffee table because there's no room for one. There are a couple of end tables crammed here and there. My printer is on a small bookshelf near a window which is where I keep too much stuff. Mission Viejo homes come in all sizes, but mine is medium--about 3000 sq.ft. Our family room is where we do most of our living so we might as well live in a smaller home.
So how do I make any changes in this room? Well, I just moved the couch out and replaced it with the love seat that was in the music room. (Yes, we have a dedicated music room, but I never go in there.) I removed one of the larger end tables and replaced it with a cute little bombe chest I picked up at a consignment store a few years ago and which had been in my upstairs hallway. It is a painted Drexel Heritage piece in yellow and gold--perfect for the new decor. I also had a pale yellow lamp from when my company was at a larger location, and it goes great on the bombe.
My kids are both artists and we have tons of framed oils that they have done. I am thinning out the collection in the family room to de-clutter the walls. Incidentally, the paintings seem to look much better hung on the pale yellow walls. It seems to bring out their colors more. We never use the fireplace, so I am storing some of that computer stuff in there. I got the owner of the gazillion laser disks to put them in the bin for the Goodwill. The player went too, thus lowering the black stack by one. April Hay, you are making progress! In the realm of all Orange County homes, this one is a real challenge. Buy we seem to be gaining.
The book shelves need to go. I am going to pull the encyclopedias from one shelf and move them up to the boys' room. Yes, I have two teens who share one gigantic room. And they don't fight! The rest of the books can go up there too, and the board games stacked on top can go into the upstairs linen closet. We also have a nightstand in the family room, a leftover from our first set of furniture 35 years ago. That's going to the Goodwill. Today I shopped at the Goodwill and found a wonderful, country french ladies desk. The drawers were all stuck, so I brought it home and put beeswax on the drawer slides and voila! the drawers work great on this truly elegant piece of furniture. With the bookcase and the end table gone, I think I can fit my desk along the wall near the big chair and ottoman. If not, then it will need to go in the living room, in front of the bay window--a rather nice place to be.
So, as Mission Viejo homes go, this one may not end up so bad. I haven't spent much money at all, but the difference should be great.
http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
I'm fairly sure most Mission Viejo homes have a family room that could use some decluttering and refurbishing. I just painted mine and the pale yellow walls are already lifting my spirits. Because our family room is the most used room in the house, it is crammed with all the paraphernalia of a modern middle class family.
What used to be my mantle is now the perch for a 5-ft wide flatscreen. So the flat screen really determines the seating arrangement in this Mission Viejo home. We have a very wide leather chair and ottoman on one side of the room, a recliner made for two people on the other side, and a full size leather couch on the side wall. This basically means the room is wall-to-wall seating area. Opposite the ottoman is a full stack of electronic sound equipment doo-dads that operate the surround sound, dvd carousel, tuners, etc. Then there are the two 1.5-square ft. subwoofers and some sort of partially assembled computer and a monitor that also works as a second television. There are two other black contraptions as big as the subwoofers; I have no idea what they do, but I am told they are necessary.
Everyone in the family has a laptop, so we are always on them in the family room via wireless. Sometimes we even email each other while we are sitting together in this 21st Century Mission Viejo family room. There is no coffee table because there's no room for one. There are a couple of end tables crammed here and there. My printer is on a small bookshelf near a window which is where I keep too much stuff. Mission Viejo homes come in all sizes, but mine is medium--about 3000 sq.ft. Our family room is where we do most of our living so we might as well live in a smaller home.
So how do I make any changes in this room? Well, I just moved the couch out and replaced it with the love seat that was in the music room. (Yes, we have a dedicated music room, but I never go in there.) I removed one of the larger end tables and replaced it with a cute little bombe chest I picked up at a consignment store a few years ago and which had been in my upstairs hallway. It is a painted Drexel Heritage piece in yellow and gold--perfect for the new decor. I also had a pale yellow lamp from when my company was at a larger location, and it goes great on the bombe.
My kids are both artists and we have tons of framed oils that they have done. I am thinning out the collection in the family room to de-clutter the walls. Incidentally, the paintings seem to look much better hung on the pale yellow walls. It seems to bring out their colors more. We never use the fireplace, so I am storing some of that computer stuff in there. I got the owner of the gazillion laser disks to put them in the bin for the Goodwill. The player went too, thus lowering the black stack by one. April Hay, you are making progress! In the realm of all Orange County homes, this one is a real challenge. Buy we seem to be gaining.
The book shelves need to go. I am going to pull the encyclopedias from one shelf and move them up to the boys' room. Yes, I have two teens who share one gigantic room. And they don't fight! The rest of the books can go up there too, and the board games stacked on top can go into the upstairs linen closet. We also have a nightstand in the family room, a leftover from our first set of furniture 35 years ago. That's going to the Goodwill. Today I shopped at the Goodwill and found a wonderful, country french ladies desk. The drawers were all stuck, so I brought it home and put beeswax on the drawer slides and voila! the drawers work great on this truly elegant piece of furniture. With the bookcase and the end table gone, I think I can fit my desk along the wall near the big chair and ottoman. If not, then it will need to go in the living room, in front of the bay window--a rather nice place to be.
So, as Mission Viejo homes go, this one may not end up so bad. I haven't spent much money at all, but the difference should be great.
Paint Clean Up Tip
Call April Hay
http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
Have you even stood over the sink, washing out your paint brush, and it seemed like the paint just kept on coming out of the bristles. You rub it and paint gets all over your hands. It's a mess! When I painted my Mission Viejo home recently, I discovered a way to clean brushes fast.
First, wipe as much of the paint as possible on the wall you are painting. Take the brush to the sink and wet it. Pour a large amount of baking soda on the brush and work it through the bristles thoroughly. Rinse the brush and you will see most of the paint come out of the brush. Pour another dose of backing soda onto the bristles and handle and work it into a paste. Let it remain on the brush for a minute and then rinse. The brush is clean and there is no paint remaining on your fingers. Let the brush dry. The next time you paint, the bristles will be soft and ready for the job!
I have owned older Mission Viejo homes for the past 25 years have always dreaded painting. Discovering this technique of brush cleanup really makes the job a lot easier. The manager of the store in Mission Viejo where I purchased the paint had never heard of my technique, so I am assuming it is something new. If not, then maybe it's one you haven't heard about. I like it because you don't need to waste as much water and it's environmentally safe.
When I painted my Mission Viejo home, I found that the cleanup of the paint tray also was made easier using baking soda. I like to use the plastic trays that are a little smaller than the big metal ones. They have hooks that attach to the ladder I use as a paint stand.
As money gets tighter due to increased fuel prices, painting your own home may become more popular. Owners of Orange County homes are really feeling the sting of higher fuel prices, so do-it-yourself projects may become more of a necessity than ever. Make your Mission Viejo home look beautiful with a new coat of paint. Lift your spirits with a lighter, brighter shade. Mission Viejo homes that are freshly painted sell for more.
http://www.GreatMissionViejoHomes.com/
http://www.socdreamhomes.com/
Have you even stood over the sink, washing out your paint brush, and it seemed like the paint just kept on coming out of the bristles. You rub it and paint gets all over your hands. It's a mess! When I painted my Mission Viejo home recently, I discovered a way to clean brushes fast.
First, wipe as much of the paint as possible on the wall you are painting. Take the brush to the sink and wet it. Pour a large amount of baking soda on the brush and work it through the bristles thoroughly. Rinse the brush and you will see most of the paint come out of the brush. Pour another dose of backing soda onto the bristles and handle and work it into a paste. Let it remain on the brush for a minute and then rinse. The brush is clean and there is no paint remaining on your fingers. Let the brush dry. The next time you paint, the bristles will be soft and ready for the job!
I have owned older Mission Viejo homes for the past 25 years have always dreaded painting. Discovering this technique of brush cleanup really makes the job a lot easier. The manager of the store in Mission Viejo where I purchased the paint had never heard of my technique, so I am assuming it is something new. If not, then maybe it's one you haven't heard about. I like it because you don't need to waste as much water and it's environmentally safe.
When I painted my Mission Viejo home, I found that the cleanup of the paint tray also was made easier using baking soda. I like to use the plastic trays that are a little smaller than the big metal ones. They have hooks that attach to the ladder I use as a paint stand.
As money gets tighter due to increased fuel prices, painting your own home may become more popular. Owners of Orange County homes are really feeling the sting of higher fuel prices, so do-it-yourself projects may become more of a necessity than ever. Make your Mission Viejo home look beautiful with a new coat of paint. Lift your spirits with a lighter, brighter shade. Mission Viejo homes that are freshly painted sell for more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)