WAYNE COCHRANE’S REAL ESTATE
INSIDER January 2014
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Avoiding 3 Common Mistakes When Choosing Art 4 Tips for Effectively Staging Your Home for Sale 9 Easy Ways to Go Green Incorporating Radiant Orchid, The Pantone Colour of the Year, Into Your Decor Home Design and Modeling Trends for 2014 Everybody’s Talking About Vancouver’s Doorknob Ban
Wayne Cochrane...www.mooving.ca Your Neighbourhood Real Estate Professional
JANUARY ISSUE
Avoiding 3 Common Mistakes When Choosing Art Written By Yohanna Jessup In the realm of interior design, the works of art you choose should frame your decor and go beyond matching the furniture, being "cool," or displaying status symbols. Consider these tips for choosing art for your home. Mistake No. 1 Choosing artwork to match the sofa Find work that compliments your mood and the style of your dĂŠcor. To that end, here are some important questions to consider.Does the art make your energy feel light or heavy? Try experimenting. Grab a National Geographic or some other magazine with a wide variety of images and take a look through the pictures. Become aware of the photographs that weigh you down and those that create an effervescent effect in your energy. Once you learn to recognize these feelings, have a look at the pictures on your walls. Give away or donate the ones that weigh you down. Find others that bring you the greatest joy. Position them in locations with the greatest visual impact. What do the images evoke? If
you
are
single
and
want
a
relationship, surround yourself with images of pairs and lovers. If you want to increase prosperity, surround yourself with images that create a sense of wealth and abundance. If you are going through a career change, surround yourself with images that bring a sense of enthusiasm, success. Consider portraits of role models in your field.
relationship with art. Take it a step further and find art that really resonates through you. The most powerful experiences from art come from finding work that speaks to your most primal essence.
Do a little home work and then choose Surround yourself with images that work that you love. Love love. Love are symbolic of who you are, who that makes you feel all shivery, like you want to be. that first high school crush. Love that lights you up on the inside so much Why do you like the images that you that you glow on the outside. Love that fills you with a sense of wonder, like? inspiration, awe.What if every time you walked in your front door, you were Sometimes we choose images that met with an experience of love? What inspire us and make our energy hum if being at home meant you were with delight. Other times we choose surrounded by love? How would that images that make us feel change in your life? comfortable in a way that is not productive, but locks us into unconscious habits and self-limiting Mistake No. 3: Choosing work by an beliefs.Dullness does not inspire you artist to give yourself status to be the vibrant, exceptional. Become aware of why you are drawn For some who collect, art is an to a particular image. Consciously investment, but investing in art does choose images that will support you not have to be empty and soul-less. in becoming all you can be. Find artwork and artists that you love Mistake No. 2: Choosing art that and whose work you joyfully want to 'looks cool' support. Art that looks cool or is created with If the artist is a living person, see if interesting materials is a good place you can cultivate a relationship with to begin. But you can have a deeper them. It's not hard to find personable artists. They are everywhere - high schools, colleges, nursing homes, local galleries, and at your fingertips on the amazing internet.The more you learn about a piece of art and the artist who created it, the more value you'll find in the work. In the process of purchasing art, the experience of getting to know the artist becomes embodied in the piece. As an artist, I love talking to people who are interested in the art I create. Having a collector or client contact me and purchase a piece of work is the highest compliment.
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WAYNE COCHRANE’S REAL ESTATE INSIDER 4 Tips for Effectively Staging Your Home for Sale Written By Realty Times Staff You've accepted the job offer, met with the REALTOR, and are starting to get bids from moving companies.
that enters a room.
It's official—you really are selling your home and moving away!
As HGTV notes, bathrooms have been known to help sell a home, but old and shabby tile will definitely steer potential buyers away faster than you can say "avocado and almond tile." Because replacing tile can be on the costly side, sellers can repaint them. After coating the tiles with a primer (be sure you purchase one that is marked "high adhesion"), paint the tiles with a ceramic epoxy coating. This relatively easy and low-cost job can really help update the look of the bathroom without having to spend a ton of money on new tile.
As anybody who has ever sold a home knows quite well, it takes a lot more than sticking a For Sale sign in the front yard and hoping that potential buyers will love it as much as you did. In order to get the best price for your home and pique the interest (and bidding power) of buyers, you need to take some time to stage your home so that it looks and smells—yes, smells—terrific, inviting, and worth every dollar of your asking price. The following four tips can help home sellers effectively and attractively stage their home: 1. Consider new window treatments Take a look at the various window coverings in your home and ask yourself if they look new, clean, and in excellent condition. If the answer to any of these questions is an honest "no," then consider getting some new window treatments. Home window treatments are available in a variety of textures and colors, and can make a huge difference in the quality of light
Give me a call... Wayne Cochrane EXIT Realty Metro wayne@mooving.ca (902) 830-4761 (902)
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2. Upgrade your tile with paint
3. Tone down an old fireplace Sure, that brick fireplace in the living or family room looks great during the holidays when it's festooned with stockings and the various trimmings of the season, but the rest of the year it really doesn't do much for the look of the room. To lessen its visual impact, try adding a thin coat of paint to the bricks. In order to avoid the mortar, you do have to paint one brick at a time, which can be time-consuming. But the pay-off of painting your fireplace is well worth your patience when you have a new neutral focal point in your room. One additional tip:
fireplace is well worth your patience when you have a new neutral focal point in your room. One additional tip: to make sure the fireplace blends in as much as possible, choose a color that closely matches the surrounding walls. 4. Simmer some apples Nothing will turn off home buyers faster than a musty, moldy, smoky, and/or any other type of undesirable smell. Even the cleanest home can often benefit from the addition of a nice aroma. Shortly before your open house, place some sliced apples and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan on the stove, and let them simmer. The delicious smell will be sure to tempt potential buyers to spend even more time— and hopefully money—on your home. Written by Realty Times Staff
JANUARY ISSUE 9 Easy Ways to Go Green Written By Jaymi Naciri So, you've decided you want to go green. Time to ditch everything leather, along with all the meat in your diet, buy a bike, and turn your backyard into a composting garden. You ready? You could make all these drastic changes - go "cold turkey" eco - or you could make these nine small changes that make a big eco-friendly difference. 1. Being eco - friendly will not only lower your carbon footprint and allow you to do your part for the environment, but it can also pay you back financially, said Better Homes and Gardens in their "10 no- or low cost ways to lessen your impact on the planet, create a healthier house and garden, and even fatten your wallet." Start with your light bulbs. "Installing a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) is the quickest, easiest way to save energy - and money," said BHG. "Unlike incandescents, CFLs convert most of the energy they use into light rather than heat." That translates to less cost over the life of the bulb - a savings Better Homes and Gardens says can be $83 for one 75-watt incandescent bulb swapped out for a 25-watt CFL. That's big when you consider that Energy.gov says energy for lighting accounts for about 10% of the average family's electric bill.
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average household -savings of about $570."
an
annual
3. Do a home audit. A home audit can give you a close-up look at your home's energy usage and identify areas that could be more efficient. But Fox Business estimates an audit would cost between $300 and $500. If you're just trying to shave a few bucks off your electric bill in the summertime, it might make sense to go another route, like a self-audit of the most likely suspects. (Energy.gov recommends starting by making "a list of obvious air leaks (drafts)," because the "potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5% to 30% per year.") But if you're about to spend $15,000 on new windows, a few hundred bucks of before-hand checks won't hurt. 4. Talk about simple. Improving your eco-friendliness and removing toxic substances from your house is as easy as buying a spray bottle and a bottle of vinegar. If you really want to get crazy, get a couple of lemons and some olive oil, too. "As many as a third of Americans have an adverse reaction to common household chemicals. Safer products can save you money, too," said Martha Stewart. "While furniture polish will set you back about $4, cleaning with 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar and a few drops of olive oil costs mere cents.
2. That gorgeous French door refrigerator you've had your eye on? Here's another great reason to buy it: It could actually save you money! Older appliances can be energy suckers. Check EnergyStar.gov and take their test to see how much energy you could be saving by upgrading your fridge.
5. Switch to showers. A typical bath takes 30 to 70 gallons of water, while the average eight-minute shower uses only 17 gallons, said Stewart. If you just can't bear to can't give up your weekly soak, installing low-flow shower heads and toilets will help offset the greater water usage.
According to Energy Star, "a household with Energy Star products uses about 30% less energy than the
6. Recycle your water. It's far easier (and way less disgusting) than it sounds. "For many areas of the
United States, rainwater harvesting systems could probably provide at least 50% of our water needs, saving the huge amounts of energy required to process the water and transport it to the home," said Live Green. All you need is a 50-80 gallon rain barrels that you can connect to your downspout, and rainwater collected can be used for gardening. 7. Recycle‌your clothes. We all know about recycling paper, plastic, and glass. But what about clothes? Donating your unused clothes has an impact on the environment, and on the individuals who receive your items." "By some estimates, for every item of clothing donated, 27 pounds of carbon emissions are reduced based on the fact that you don't have another item being produced while one is headed to the landfill," said Real Simple. You can donate to a local charity or list your items on Freecycle.org. 8. Hold on to that holey pair of sweats or the t-shirt you never got rid of from your college ex and turn it into a rag to clean with. "13 billion pounds of paper towels are used in the U.S. every year. If all Americans used one less paper towel a day, 571,230,000 pounds of paper would be spared over the course of the year," said Earth 911. 9. Go Meatless on Mondays, says RealSimple.com. Think you can handle a day a week living like a vegetarian? "Raising livestock produces a large amount of greenhouse gases, so cutting back, even one night per week, makes a big difference. How big a difference? "Adding one meat-free meal per week (for a family of four) has the same impact as driving a hybrid car," they said. Written by Jaymi Naciri
WAYNE COCHRANE’S REAL ESTATE INSIDER Incorporating Radiant Orchid, The Pantone Colour of the Year, Into Your Decor Written by Jaymi Naciri a few colorful on-trend accents, we HGTV is more your speed. have a few easy ways to incorporate radiant orchid into your home. Looking for something a little less labor-intensive? Hang a piece of art that offers a vibrant counterpart to Paint more muted hues or plays off of According to Pantone, "Radiant Paint is typically thought of as the opposites. orchid reaches across the color biggest yet most affordable change wheel to intrigue the eye and spark you can make in a room. For under "In home interiors, Radiant Orchid the imagination." It "inspires $100, you can alter the whole look pairs well with many colors, such as confidence and emanates great joy, and feel of the room, if you do it turquoise, teal and light yellows. It love and health. Purple was once the yourself. also livens up neutrals such as gray, color of "Roman Emperors and beige and taupe," said magistrates, and later by Roman ApartmentTherapy.com. Is radiant orchid a little too strong a Catholic bishops," said Wikipedia. color for a entire room? Elle Décor doesn't think so. Accessories Since that time, purple has been commonly associated with royalty "Purple is divine as an accent or as a One of the easiest ways to and piety." wall color," said New York designer incorporate a new color into your Alex Papachristidis in Elle Decor. "I home - especially a color as bold as So how much radiant orchid will we think of purple as a neutral - it looks radiant orchid - is with accessories. see? wonderful with mossy green, a bit of A cool ottoman gives an instant pop. yellow, red, and aqua blue. Purple is Lest you think radiant orchid is a rich and lush, and has an incredibly Still too much work? Head to the flash in the purple pan, the Chicago regal quality." flower mart and pick up a bunch of Tribune says we should "Look for the the color or the year's namesake hue to carry deeper into fashion and If radiant orchid is a little too much flowers: orchids. There: instant beauty items, including nail and lip pinky-purple for you, "Deeper update! color, and to infiltrate home shades of purple have been on the furnishings and paint." upswing as well," said the Wall Check out Houzz.com or Street Journal. "Sherwin-Williams ApartmentTherapy.com for more Adds the L.A. Times: "At the recently announced its 2014 Color of great ways to use radiant orchid in International Contemporary Furniture the Year is a murky violet called your home. Fair in New York last spring, 'exclusive plum.'" Emerald - Pantone's color of the year for 2013 - could be found Multiple shades of purples can also Written by Jaymi Naciri seemingly everywhere: Bernhardt work together, especially in a girl's furniture, acoustic wall textiles, Ikea bedroom, because the "typical" rules Follow velvet sofas. Bottom line: Prepare of design are more easily bent - or WAYNE COCHRANE’S yourself for purple furniture, pink broken. twitter page poufs, fuchsia bedding and perhaps Radiant Orchid gowns at this year's @RUMooving One Big Punch Oscars." The Pantone color of the year for 2014 has been announced, and the winner is: radiant orchid. So get ready for a purple reign all over the retail and home design worlds soon.
Whether you're looking to make But if you like your colorful impact in sweeping changes to your décor or smaller, but no less potent, doses, simply want to infuse your place with maybe this graphic wallpaper from
Brain Teasers Word Scramble: What Instrument can make any sound and be heard, but not touched or seen?
What has asmiontpusa tongue that can’t taste, a throat that can’t swallow,eyes that can’t see, and a soul that will never die?
Go to www.mooving.ca - ‘Wayne’s Team’ and click on ‘Trivia Answers’ Page 5
JANUARY ISSUE Home Design and Remodeling Trends for 2014 By Jaymi Naciri The end and beginning of the year brings many things. Special time spent with family and loved ones. Presents from Santa. The promise of a fresh start. And, if you're like us, an insatiable desire to change up your environment by updating it with the latest trends. If you are feeling the pull toward renovating, redecorating, or revising your home for 2014, there are some exciting trends you may want to incorporate. We break it down for you below.
Bathroom Beauties
Radiant orchid is the Pantone color of the year, but color trends for 2014 are also feeling blue. Blues across the color wheel are predicted to be hot hues for 2014.
A recent Hanley Wood survey revealed that 58 percent of those planning to renovate in 2014 are planning bathroom updates.
Glamming It Up Another way to change up your space: inject a glam feel as a nod to art dĂŠcor or the Great Gatsby. This is another hot 2014 trend showing up in wallpaper, textiles, furniture, and accessories. "Move over white walls, in 2014 we'll be seeing rooms with a lot more drama and glamour. Dark, moody walls in black will be the perfect backdrop to the metallic accessories that we're all loving right now," said Jeanine Hays of House Beautiful. In the Kitchen When it comes to renovating, kitchens are going glam too. "The kitchen has
power devices including iPhones, gaming devices, digital cameras, Kindles and iPads... and features a smart sensor that allows it to shut off when the device is fully charged."
Floating shelves are also a hot 2014 design trend according to remodeling firm the Neil Kelly Company.
Color Trends
Navy, in particular, has captured the fancy of design experts. "Navy blue will be a big trend for 2014. I'm seeing a lot of the shade on the runways, on the streets, in editorials, in chic interiors... I actually think everyone will get it in 2014," said designer Mark D. Sikes in House Beautiful's Top Decorating Trends for 2014.
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long since become the heart of the home, and now designers are dressing it up accordingly," said Elle DĂŠcor, "with elaborate custom cabinetry painted in rich gemstone colors, and accented with gleaming brass or chrome, all lit by unusual lighting fixtures. Kitchens are becoming downright glamorous."
The trend toward creating a spa-like environment in the bathroom continues, with "clean lines, fluidity and futuristic bath fixtures. Bring a spa-like feel to your master bath by indulging in floating sinks and softer, contoured shapes that bring a serene feel to the bathroom and give a feeling of spaciousness. Add depth to the bathroom by incorporating textures in the bathroom with mosaic tiles that feel luxurious and modern. Blend in futuristic trends like a waterfall shower, modern touch faucets, and heated floors to add interest and visual splendor," said Scott Yancey from Flipping Las Vegas. Kelly agrees, emphasizing oversized walk-in showers and elegant standalone tubs as strong bathroom trends for 2014. The Tech Touch For those who are remodeling, Kelly also points out the No. 1 trend for 2014 that brings some much-needed tech help to the home. U-Socket is a wall plug that "has two built-in USB ports to
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WAYNE COCHRANE’S REAL ESTATE INSIDER Everybody’s Talking About Vancouver’s Doorknob Ban By Jim Adair
The City of Vancouver caused quite a stir recently when it approved a series of new building code regulations that, among things, requires new home builders to install lever handles rather than doorknobs. Other accessibility features in the new regulations include mandates for wider doorways, stairs and hallways; easy-toreach switches; lower drain pipes so counters can easily be lowered, lever faucets on sinks and reinforced bathroom walls so grab bars can easily be installed. But the measure that has most people talking is the decision to eliminate door knobs in new home construction. The bylaw is not retroactive, so homeowners of existing homes don't have to replace their doorknobs. "Building for accessibility is an important part of being an inclusive city," says the City of Vancouver's website. "Over 15 per cent of Vancouver residents have some form of physical disability or mobility restriction. This includes people using wheelchairs, walkers, canes and strollers. When you add their accompanying family and friends, approximately 50 per cent of Vancouver residents are affected by poor access to buildings." The site says lever-operated door handles are "easy to use with only one hand and do not require any tight grasping or wrist twisting." The idea behind accessible housing is that it's built so anyone can live there, regards of their disability. "The great thing about all these measures structural and practical - is they benefit everyone. No one is really inconvenienced when doorknobs give way to door handles, or when steps are replaced with ramps," writes André Picard in the Globe & Mail. But Picard says the building code change "has made the city the butt of
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many a quip, from the ubiquitous knock-knock jokes through to the snarky comments about bureaucracy run amok." An example is in the reader's comments section of a National Post story about the move: "The only real knobs in Vancouver are the twits who proposed and passed this bylaw. Good grief, does this government have to interfere everywhere?" Another joker writes, "Lever handles are great - until some doorknob installs one backwards." Levers make it easier to open a door, but there's also concern that it's a little too easy for small children to open when they shouldn't. Making the rounds on the Internet is a video f a rather nasty-looking snake opening a lever handle to enter a room. Another common complaint about levers is that clothing can easily get snagged on them. Those concerned about heritage preservation of older buildings were unhappy to find out that the original Art Deco doorknobs at Vancouver City Hall were replaced with generic levers. And the National Post's Jesse Kline wrote that "if the government is going to make it its business to ensure that all homes are accessible - just in case a future owner needs these features and is too lazy to install them himself why not mandate light-switch panels, walk-in bathtubs and elevators instead of stairs? Kline says every new regulation adds to the cost of a new home, making Vancouver housing already the most expensive in Canada - even more unaffordable. Vancouver Sun writer Jeff Lee says in his blog that his story about the death of the doorknob "touched a lot of nerves. I received more emails in two days about this simple change to lever
handles than I have on many subjects. The doorknob may be a utilitarian piece of equipment, but the responses showed how important it is to our lives and how people view any attempt to mess around with it." Vancouver is the only city in Canada that has its own building code. There is a National Building Code in Canada and several provinces have their own codes as well. Some of the Vancouver regulations may eventually find their way to the provincial and national codes, which are constantly being updated and reviewed. One of the other ground-breaking building code changes allows building owners the option of installing gender-neutral washrooms. This is another first for Canada. The washrooms would include increased security measures, such as specific requirements about door locks. New homes and condominiums will also be required to have plug-ins for electric cars. Previous regulations mandated low-flush toilets and banned traditional wood-burning fireplaces as part of Vancouver's Greenest City 2020 project. The initiative's goals are for all new buildings constructed from 2020 onward to be carbon neutral, and for energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing buildings to be reduced by 20 per cent over 2007 levels by 2020. The plan was recently recognized by the World Green Building Council as the "Best Green Building Policy". Written By Jim Adair
WAYNE COCHRANE’S REAL ESTATE INSIDER
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