Thursday, June 27, 2013
Free Concert on Daufuskie Island This July 4th!
Melrose on Daufuskie Island is putting on a free beach concert with American Idol finalist, Casey Abrams. What a great way to spend your 4th of July! At 6 pm, there is a poolside cocktail party with a DJ then dinner is served at 7pm. Traditional American cuisine will be served featuring BBQ chicken, baby back ribs, pulled pork, ham biscuits and all the sides. Bring a blanket and catch the concert, then the Harbourtown and Savannah Fireworks. They even provide you with the red and blue accessories. All you have to do is wear white.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Picnics on Hilton Head Island
Summertime is meant to be spent outdoors with family and friends. In the Lowcountry, so many of us spend our weekends at the beach or even on a remote river sandbar. Continue Reading
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Are You Still Sitting On The Fence?
Are you still sitting on the fence about purchasing real estate? You may want to consider making a move!
Check out this article from Bloomberg. One consistent trend that we are seeing in the real estate market is this… once a well-priced, nicely updated home hits the market, it’s gone within a week or two. Buyers take notice that this year’s real estate values on Hilton Head have increased 11.1% from the first 5 months of last year. Hilton Head and Bluffton prices ARE on the rise. If you’re shopping for a new home and you find one you love, DON’T WAIT. Chances are someone else has seen it and is getting ready to put in an offer today. Even the second home buyers seem to be returning. This morning, we were helping clients find their million dollar vacation home on Hilton Head.
Leslie and Scott Tyree backed out of a contract in 2011 to buy a weekend place in Hilton Head, South Carolina, fearing they’d be anchored to a sinking market for second homes. This year, the West Virginia couple pounced on a listing in the same resort town without visiting the property.
Check out this article from Bloomberg. One consistent trend that we are seeing in the real estate market is this… once a well-priced, nicely updated home hits the market, it’s gone within a week or two. Buyers take notice that this year’s real estate values on Hilton Head have increased 11.1% from the first 5 months of last year. Hilton Head and Bluffton prices ARE on the rise. If you’re shopping for a new home and you find one you love, DON’T WAIT. Chances are someone else has seen it and is getting ready to put in an offer today. Even the second home buyers seem to be returning. This morning, we were helping clients find their million dollar vacation home on Hilton Head.
U.S. Vacation Home Rebound Lifts Hilton Head to Hawaii (Click Link To Continue Reading at Bloomberg.com)
By Prashant Gopal & John Gittelsohn - Jun 14, 2013 9:29 AM ET
Oceanfront Still Prime in Hamptons, Nigro Says
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
1,000 Downloads!
The Hilton Head Happenings app for Android just hit 1,000 downloads, and the iPhone version is not too far behind!
Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the app and uses it while here on beautiful Hilton Head Island, SC!
Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the app and uses it while here on beautiful Hilton Head Island, SC!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
3 Tiny Homes That are Living Large
3 Tiny Homes That are Living Large
Published: December 26, 2012
You can get a lot of living out of a tiny house by including things that make you happy.
Small is the new big when it comes to micro-living.
If you think a tiny home would crimp your way of life, check this out. We found three weensy abodes that feel like much larger homes. The trick is that each place maximizes space to compliment the resident’s lifestyle.
1. A home that doesn’t skimp on traditional elements
This 500-sq.-ft. home was built in Vancouver by SmallWorks Studios. Despite its diminutive size, this mini-mansion was designed with plenty of traditional elements that make it feel like a much larger home. It packs a sleek small kitchen, a bedroom balcony, and a one-cargarage.
Plus, its tiny footprint helps it be energy efficient.
In Vancouver, a home similar to this starts at around $200,000 and takes 16 weeks to build.
2. A place built for entertaining
A woman in Barcelona remodeled her tiny apartment so she can have parties.
Although her bedroom eats up a quarter of her 128-sq.-ft. dwelling, she didn't like the idea of installing a loft or Murphy bed to create more floor space.
So, with the help of a few clever storage built-ins that concealed extra chairs and an expandable kitchen table, the Spanish hostess is able to seat 12 for dinner.
FYI, when the party moves into the living room, she uses foldout cardboard stools to create more seating.
3. A man cave that includes more than a few conversation pieces
J. Michael Moore (who happens to be 6’4”) filled his vibrant, 225-sq.-ft. home with furniture and kickknacks he likes to look at.
Moore avoided using a monochromatic paint scheme and went with color blocking — a method that pairs opposites on the color wheel. Although the colors are bold, color blocking helps tie all his stuff together so his space doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.
A loft bed and moveable furniture helps Moore maximize his square footage and lets him rearrange the space to serve many purposes.
If you think a tiny home would crimp your way of life, check this out. We found three weensy abodes that feel like much larger homes. The trick is that each place maximizes space to compliment the resident’s lifestyle.
1. A home that doesn’t skimp on traditional elements
This 500-sq.-ft. home was built in Vancouver by SmallWorks Studios. Despite its diminutive size, this mini-mansion was designed with plenty of traditional elements that make it feel like a much larger home. It packs a sleek small kitchen, a bedroom balcony, and a one-cargarage.
Plus, its tiny footprint helps it be energy efficient.
In Vancouver, a home similar to this starts at around $200,000 and takes 16 weeks to build.
2. A place built for entertaining
A woman in Barcelona remodeled her tiny apartment so she can have parties.
Although her bedroom eats up a quarter of her 128-sq.-ft. dwelling, she didn't like the idea of installing a loft or Murphy bed to create more floor space.
So, with the help of a few clever storage built-ins that concealed extra chairs and an expandable kitchen table, the Spanish hostess is able to seat 12 for dinner.
FYI, when the party moves into the living room, she uses foldout cardboard stools to create more seating.
3. A man cave that includes more than a few conversation pieces
J. Michael Moore (who happens to be 6’4”) filled his vibrant, 225-sq.-ft. home with furniture and kickknacks he likes to look at.
Moore avoided using a monochromatic paint scheme and went with color blocking — a method that pairs opposites on the color wheel. Although the colors are bold, color blocking helps tie all his stuff together so his space doesn’t feel cluttered or overwhelming.
A loft bed and moveable furniture helps Moore maximize his square footage and lets him rearrange the space to serve many purposes.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Small Baths
10 Inside Tips From a Designer Who Specializes in Small Baths
Published: December 27, 2012
A New York City designer shares secrets to making a small bath both functional and beautiful.
Got a small bathroom to renovate? Go wild with texture and colors if it’s a rarely used guest bath, but stick to clean and simple in a master bath.
That’s the word from designer Jamie Gibbs, who transforms incredibly small New York City bathrooms into beautiful spaces. “I liked being shocked by details in a little space, especially if it’s not going to be used much,” Gibbs says.
His small-bath secrets:
1. Avoid textures in bathrooms that get daily use. In a heavily used bathroom, anything with texture becomes a collection spot for mold, mildew, and toothpaste. Say no to carved vessel sinks or floor tile with indentations.
2. Be careful with no-enclosure showers with drains right in the floor. These Euro showers allow for a feeling of openness, but the average American contractor doesn’t know how to waterproof the floor for them, Gibbs says. The tile seals can be compromised if not installed correctly, causing the materials to decompose, and water to leak underneath.
3. Use opaque windows and skylights to let light filter into all parts of the bath. A long skinny window with frosted glass means you don't have to burn high-wattage light bulbs. Make sure water condensation will roll off the window into an appropriate place (i.e. not the framing or the wall) to avoid future maintenance issues.
4. Look for fixtures that have a single handle rather than separate hot and cold taps. “Space-saving gearshift faucets are a very good choice in small bathrooms,” says Gibbs. You’ll also save money by not having to drill holes in the countertop for the hot and cold taps.
5. Save space with wall-mounted toilets and bidets, but be aware that the water tank goes into the wall. That’s fine if space is such a premium that you won’t mind going into the wall to make any repairs. But if you share a wall with a neighbor, that's a different issue.
6. Use a wall-mount faucet to make a reduced-depth vanity work in a small space.“I can get away with a 22” vanity instead of a 24” vanity with a wall mount faucet,” Gibbs says.
7. Check the space between the handles and the faucet of any space-saving fixtures. “If you can only get a toothbrush in it to clean, you'll save space, but it’s functionally stupid,” Gibbs says. Make sure the sink is functional, too. If you’re using a vessel sink, make sure it’s large enough and not too high. “If it’s too high, you'll knock it so many times that the fittings will come loose,” Gibbs says.
8. A pedestal sink is all form and no function. “It’s a great-looking sink, but there’s no place to [set] anything,” Gibbs says.
9. Wall-mounted vanities seem like they’re space savers, but they create dead space between the vanity and the floor — a space that often accumulates junk and never gets cleaned.
10. If you're comfortable with it, go European and put up a glass walls between the bathroom and bedroom to create the illusion of space. Or put bathroom fixtures in the bedroom just outside the bath.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Why Declutter Your House?
Why Declutter Your House?
Published: January 7, 2013
When you declutter your house, are you choking off your life energy or soothing your soul?
When it comes to decluttering your house, do you ever want to just throw in the towel (preferably on the floor) and stop trying so hard? Maybe a little clutter is a good thing.
After all, is life really better when we sort, color-code, and neatly stack everything in clearly labeled plastic bins? Or is an uncluttered life not worth living -- antiseptic, alienated, a Stepford home that feels like nobody really lives there?
Clearly, mounting clutter stresses some folks. A UCLA study shows that cortisol (stress hormone) levels in women rise in sync with the amount of clutter in their homes.
Yet some people love their clutter and think a full house is akin to a full heart and an active brain. Lifestyle coach Jolanda Molenaar says that if you love the items around you, and you don’t feel overwhelmed, then clutter is a non-issue.
Teenagers, we know, seem happiest when sweaters and dirty dishes litter their bedroom floors. And when parents pick their battles, the clutter hill is not one many moms choose to die on.
Some adults hate clutter, but seem helpless to corral it. They turn to $150/hour professional organizers who crack the whip and force them to toss old photo albums and even the trophies that junior got for merely showing up to the pee-wee championship soccer tournament.
But I find that the more chaotic my insides, the more I must simplify and organize my outsides. Unfortunately, my clutter bug husband is the opposite; when he’s most stressed, clutter soothes him, like a security blanket of stuff.
After all, is life really better when we sort, color-code, and neatly stack everything in clearly labeled plastic bins? Or is an uncluttered life not worth living -- antiseptic, alienated, a Stepford home that feels like nobody really lives there?
Clearly, mounting clutter stresses some folks. A UCLA study shows that cortisol (stress hormone) levels in women rise in sync with the amount of clutter in their homes.
Yet some people love their clutter and think a full house is akin to a full heart and an active brain. Lifestyle coach Jolanda Molenaar says that if you love the items around you, and you don’t feel overwhelmed, then clutter is a non-issue.
Teenagers, we know, seem happiest when sweaters and dirty dishes litter their bedroom floors. And when parents pick their battles, the clutter hill is not one many moms choose to die on.
Some adults hate clutter, but seem helpless to corral it. They turn to $150/hour professional organizers who crack the whip and force them to toss old photo albums and even the trophies that junior got for merely showing up to the pee-wee championship soccer tournament.
But I find that the more chaotic my insides, the more I must simplify and organize my outsides. Unfortunately, my clutter bug husband is the opposite; when he’s most stressed, clutter soothes him, like a security blanket of stuff.
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