Page 4 Friday, December 18, 2020
THE GARDEN ISLAND
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UPGRADE YOUR INTERIORS
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4 ways to instantly make huge appearance impacts
Color your world What is the color palette of the room? Is it an eclectic mix, reflecting years of adding elements that don’t go with the walls? How recently was it painted? Especially if you’re not prepared to invest in new furniture, simply painting a room can make an enormous impact. Z Is the room on the small side, or doesn’t get much light? Paint a shade or two lighter to brighten the space. Z Does the room seem cold or impersonal? Choose a warm color, from yellow through red, to make the space feel more welcoming. Z Prefer neutral colors like whites or grays? Consider one colorful accent wall to make a statement.
BRANDPOINT There’s a simple reason for the recent boom in home improvement: Everyone’s spending more time at home. Staying at home more makes it clearer what areas are lacking and reveals opportunities for upgrades. Fortunately, there are many ways to make a huge impact on the appearance of those rooms - instantly. Here are four ways you can easily enhance and refresh your existing interiors. Start with the foundation If your room feels uninspired, refreshing the flooring can instantly transform it. Recent design trends favor using consistent flooring throughout the home, or at least on each floor, for a more continuous feel - especially for homes with an open plan. While hardwood flooring is still the top choice, many other quality products mimic the look of hardwood flooring, like vinyl, tile and porcelain flooring, often for a much lower price point. Area rugs are also trending for use on any kind of floor. Rugs can add a pop of color or provide a focal point, while also helping to protect the floor underneath. For a quick and easy fix involving zero installation, a high-quality area rug instantly upgrades your space.
improved lighting is most strongly felt in the kitchen and bath. “Decorative lighting has become a way to easily personalize a space,” said Erin Hoover, director of design, Kohler Lighting. “Years ago, matching suites were very popular, but as bathrooms and kitchens reflect more individual personality, more design elements Light up your life are being added. Lighting can help Lighting is an often overlooked you update these spaces without a home improvement. While the lot of investment and effort.” light itself brightens the room, the Here are two collections from lighting fixture can also add a strik- KOHLER Lighting to instantly uping visual accent or focal point. grade your kitchen or bathroom. In terms of utility, the impact of Z Kitchen: The Hauksbee Collec-
tion reinterprets rustic lighting from industrial farms and factories of the 1920s and ‘30s. Smooth glass and cool metal combine with mixed metal finish options and vintage details, along with decorative elements like a domed metal shade with a cage detail and ribbed glass shade. The collection is available in a range of singular and mixed metal finish combinations. Z Bathroom: The Arendela Collection is inspired by 1960s designer Vistosi, and the exquisite glassworks rendered through the art of briolette gemstone cutting and spun glass rondelles. Arendela
Adjust your window dressing Updated window treatments can boost the appearance of a room, while also providing more privacy and insulation. Consider not just the color and style as it affects the look of the room, but also the funcreflects sophisticated style with tion. How much privacy and light jewel-like, multifaceted and spun glass shades and cast metal works is needed? Options for window treatments today are more numerranging from a strikingly singular ous than ever. Blinds, shades, cursconce to show-stopping multilight designs. The collection’s time- tains or drapes all make distinct visual statements, while also poless sophistication complements tentially enhancing the room’s livamodern and traditional interiors. Complementing modern and tradi- bility. Updating a space doesn’t retional interiors, Arendela is available in polished chrome, polished quire a complete redesign, a lot of time or a lot of investment. Design nickel, brushed nickel and elements like lighting, window brushed brass finishes. treatments and color provide the Thoughtfully choosing lighting perfect tools to transform any fixtures to complement your current aesthetic can take your room room into the home of your dreams. from ho-hum to amazing. Visit
US long-term mortgage rates fall; 30-year at 2.67% ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates declined this week to record low levels for the 15th time this year against the backdrop of an economy ravaged by the pandemic. Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate home loan fell to 2.67% from 2.71% last week. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.73%. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans eased to 2.21% from 2.26%. The housing market continues as a rare bright spot in the stalled U.S. economy, as home-loan rates have trended downward through most of this year. That has bolstered demand from would-be homebuyers or people looking to refinance existing mortgages.
Building permits rise 6.2% in November, despite pandemic ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The number of newly issued permits to build fresh housing rose 6.2% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis. Housing starts rose 1.2%, and are 12.8% higher than a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, to an annualized rate of 1.547 million. That’s a bit slower than October figures, when housing starts increased 4.7%. Building permits, a good barometer of future activity, rose to 1.64 million annualized units. he figure remains up 8.5% from a year earlier, as the housing market remains one the strongest parts of the U.S. economy despite the widespread pandemic and increased lockdowns.
Is now the right time to refinance your mortgage? Consolidate your debt with a lower payment. You can get some of the lowest rates in the state, plus your money stays on Kaua‘i.
Visit us online at www.kgefcu.org to learn more. Anyone can be eligible for membership with KGEFCU