When it comes to window treatments, personal taste, style of home and privacy are considerations for selection. As a professional stager, I’m usually suggesting my clients remove heavy window treatments and layers of coverage before listing their home for sale. Why? Those layers hide the architectural features of the home. Read more
Life is messy. Our homes are our own reflection and if we are worn out and tired; our homes may feel that way too. Actives lives and families can lead to a house that looks lived in. There is nothing wrong with the ‘lived in’ look unless you are trying to sell your house.
Definition of Patina: A surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use. Or a green film formed naturally on copper and bronze by long exposure or artificially (as by acids) and often valued aesthetically for its color.
The 3-day Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck has become my annual trek. The fair is filled with antiques, vintage, flea market, rustic and handmade items. The pages of Country Living Magazine come to life beautifully.
“Curb appeal is super important!,” says Janis Borgueta of Key Properties. “It starts with the buyers falling in love with the home before they even walk into the front door. If you can’t get them inside, then no sale happens. How does a home welcome a buyer? Clean up the yard is the first step. Paint if you have to, or power wash vinyl siding. Get rid of the weeds, and trim the trees and the bushes. Simple things like a clean welcome mat and a doorbell that works can say … ‘I’m home.’”
Surrounding yourself with things that you love is what makes a house a home. Seashell and beach glass from beach vacations adorn a mirror. A collection of handkerchiefs, once framed, becomes a work of art. The laundry room pays tribute to the family business. Check out Nancy’s handy work as she explains the story behind the craft. Yes! Their home is for sale.
The shell mirror is a collection of shells and glass collected from Fire Island, NY and Florida beaches. Happy childhood memories of endless walks on the beach hunting for sand crabs, and splashing in the warm pools formed during low tide. Looking at the mirror brings back memories of ferry rides, crabbing at night off the ferry dock, clamming in the bay, walking barefooted with the red wagon on the boardwalk. My siblings and I often painted some of the shells collected and sold them at the dock to visitors. These memories were enjoyed by a second generation and continued after our parents retired to Florida with its beautiful beaches.
The many handkerchiefs belonged to my husband George’s mother. They were given to her as gifts from her many business clients over the years. As a resident buyer in the garment industry she purchased merchandise for clients both domestically and overseas. She really was the E.R.A. before the “Feminist Movement” became a household name. Our recollection of her was always in a dress, heels, hat and gloves. “Hankies” were always in her handbag. These beautiful handkerchiefs are displayed in the frame and adorn the wreath.
My husband and I owned two Laundromats in New Jersey for 15 years. Nancy’s Wash and Dry Cleaning was our flagship store in Little Ferry, NJ. Sunrise Wash & Dry cleaning was in Palisades Park, NJ. George was so proud to say that he put my name in lights, not on Broadway, but on Washington Avenue. At one time we were the largest in Bergen County. I thought it would be a nice tribute to our hard work that I adorn our laundry room with memorabilia of that time in our lives.
I belonged to a small craft group called the “Crafty Critters”. We four women met in the evenings to work on various projects that we sold at numerous “Juried” craft shows. Items included ribbon & grapevine wreaths, ornaments, birdhouses, hand decorated mailboxes, and garbage cans. We made our own version of the cabbage patch doll. The eyes were embroidered, the body was sewn and stuffed & hair was created with yarn. Each were dressed and assigned names. Of course our kids got dolls as well.
The Builders Association of the Hudson Valley held a Mini Home Show on Saturday. A full house of homeowners joined in as Claudia Jacobs presented “Fall Back in Love with Your Home”. Charming and knowledgeable, Claudia gave an hour presentation of tips on how to get your home to look and feel special and new again. Have you ever felt that you were loved by your home? Claudia revisited this concept with some simple changes to rekindle the love again, like when you first moved in. Read more
Recently featured in the Town Of Montgomery Chamber of Commerce!
Claudia Jacobs of Claudia Jacobs Designs LLC presented “Fall Back in Love with Your Home” at the Hudson Valley Builders Association on Saturday April 6, 2013. The turnout for this event was amazing with a full house and additional seating needing to be pulled out. She spoke about simple changes you could make to your home that are extremely cost efficient such as changing the hardware on your cabinets, replacing your light fixtures, painting your cabinets, etc…
The event was very informative with professionals on hand to talk to you about low cost options they may be able to assist you with if you are not a DIY type of person. On hand were Lisa-Ann LaBue of Wells Fargo Bank, Scott Santarpia of Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling, Michael R Berta, AIA Architecture & Planning and Janis Borguetta of Key Properties of the Hudson Valley LLC. All had amazing ideas and offered answers to the many questions that were asked.
Hat’s off to Claudia and congratulations on a very successful event. All who attended took a lot of good information away with them.info@claudiajacobsdesigns.com
