Antiquing for Small Spaces

Many beach homes are smaller... It's the sacrifice we make for having that incredible view. However, small spaces can be a little challenging to decorate especially if you are used to having plentiful storage and enormous furniture. First of all, it's always a good idea to start with one piece to use as your inspiration for the rest of the room. I recommend starting with a killer rug and there is no where on Earth I would go than Aja Rugs at 955 Prospect St. in La Jolla. They have new and antique, in every size and style you can imagine. They have a beautiful selection and it won't take you long to fall in love.  For other inspiring pieces, you can find amazing accessories and smaller items at Etcetras at 7503 Girard Ave. and their website is www.shopetctras.com.
 When you are buying furniture for a small space look for pieces that have hidden drawers, ottomans that have hidden compartments or tables with room to place a basket underneath. Armoires are big but if you can fit one large piece this is definitely the thing you would want to invest in, rather than an overstuffed sectional which is a major faux pas. Plastic storage bins belong in the garage or hidden in a closet. They tend to add a level of tackiness that your home never needs. One of my favorite places to look is at Ark Antiques at 7620 Girard Ave. in La Jolla. You can check them out online at www.arkantiques.org. This is the greatest place to find dressers, armoires, storage benches, and anything else your heart desires. Storage benches are convenient to use as a window seat or in a small space and all you need is to add a cushion and a couple pillows.
If you are looking for something particularly nautical, go to The Faded Awning at 7464 Girard Ave. in La Jolla, on the corner of Pearl. Smaller furniture is a must and you can find many comfortable pieces out there. ..If you prefer new, I recommend Pier 1 located in UTC or check out their website at www.pier1.com. If you feel like going on a long drive, Santa Barbara has many incredible antique shops that can be found along State Street but if you are looking for something for a baby or child's room, stop by Mon Petit Bijou at 1014 State Street. They have a great collection to turn your child's room into a little wonderland. Antique Rugs and More at 410 Olive Street is also a must see. Have fun and always remember to enjoy the journey!


For help with all of your real estate needs in San Diego County up to Santa Barbara County, please contact me anytime at lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com! www.lajollaluxuryhomefinder.com BRE# 01946447

Baby Boomer Options

As our country's baby boomers reach retirement age, the question of what on earth to do with that big empty house becomes more of a pressing issue. It's imperative that you choose wisely so here are some alternatives to make your transition as easy as possible.

1) Downsize! Living in a home with excess space causes many empty nesters to feel lonely and even depressed. Downsizing has many benefits including lower utility bills, easier maintenance, and lower price which will provide a nice cushion for your retirement. La Jolla, Del Mar, and UTC have several 55+ communities, smaller homes, and condos throughout each community with close proximity to doctors, shopping, and restaurants.

2) Investment Property- After downsizing, you may have enough capital to invest in an additional home closer to the city or university that you can use as investment property. Rentals offer great tax benefits and the steady flow of income is another great addition to your retirement portfolio.

3) Reverse mortgage- Although these popular, I believe they are a bad idea and you would be much better off without it. Reverse mortgages can have higher upfront fee's, they can impact need based assistance from the government should you ever need it, may be due with payment in full if certain terms aren't met, and will provide less equity to be left to your heirs and it can provide you with less equity to liquidate in the future.

For a free home valuation and to discuss these options further, please call Kristin Benedetti BRE#01946447 of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices of California anytime at (858)900-5578 or at lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com. I am here to assist you with all of your real estate needs!

Beach-Proof Your Home

Every day exposure to sand, sun, water, and wind can pose a threat to the beach home you love so much. Here are some tips to prevent/ correct damage from continuing to effect your property and lower the value.

Flooring/ Foundation
 1) Cover your floors with abrasion-resistant ceramic tile which will be your best defense against sand and salt.
  2) Use area rugs but never ever carpet because carpet is a sand trap and an invitation for mold and mildew.
  3) Make every attempt to keep sand out.. The best way to do this to store all beach toys and beach equipment outside, place doormats in front of each door, and have a foot shower, outdoor shower, or even just a hose outside before entering.
  4) If you are getting ready to sell, you should also get a foundation report. Cracks and settling in the foundation can cause some minor problems that are easily corrected.

Siding
  1) Although wood siding is more popular because it has a great look, cement siding is completely wind resistant and has some other perks that are worth checking out.
  2) To prevent algae, mildew, and mold growth, keep your siding clean by using a pressure washer. A power washer won't quite do the job.
  3) To prevent water damage, caulk gaps and cracks.
  4) Keep your gutters clean...  If you have never cleaned a gutter (it's ok, neither have I) here are some lovely step-by-step instructions http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-gutters/


Painting
  1) Steer/ Walls clear of textured paint indoors which can be prime real estate for mildew. Use semi-gloss or gloss throughout because it can be cleaned much easier.
  2) Although you can usually expect your paint or stain to last two to three years, it is still a good idea to go to the effort of priming all wood and apply an extra coat on top to extended the life of the paint.
  3) Use premium acrylic latex for color fastness. Read instructions very carefully.
  4) Most beach homes are wood frame, so it is very important to get a termite inspection and have any problem resolved even if it seems very small...

Feng Shui Energy Mapping

Feng Shui Compass Reading

The first feng shui compass reading is taken while inside looking out. Basically, you are inside directly facing the front door. Now, it is very important to take several feng shui compass readings, as often the reading varies because of the interference of electromagnetic fields.

 Move closer, or away from the front door, take the compass reading from inside the house, then take it from the outside (this is where you will have your back to the front door.) See if there are slight variations in the reading.

 If there is a strong presence of iron and steel objects close to you, as in the door hardware, for example, or if you are wearing a heavy metal watch or a belt with ornate metal work, this will disturb the compass reading. You will need to take off your watch and belt or move away from the door for a more accurate compass reading.

So, the reading is taken while you are facing out your main door, because you want to know which direction your house is facing.  Once you have the feng shui compass reading you will need your floor plan. This will help you accurately find the center, or the heart of the space, often also called the yin-yang point.

From there you will define the Ba-Gua, or the feng shui energy map of your space, and will start the journey of changing your life with feng shui!

 For assistance with any of your  real estate needs contact Kristin Benedetti at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 1299 Prospect St. La Jolla, California 92037, BRE # Lic 01946447 , Cell: 858-900-5578, lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com , www.lajollaluxuryhomefinder.com.   I can also provide you with referrals to reputable contractors throughout Southern California, if you need any help with home improvements. To get pre-qualified or if you have any questions about financing, please contact HomeServices Lending, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage at (858) 436-3483.

Feng Shui Color Basics

Feng Shui Color Basics

Color is like music for the soul- providing an uplifting harmony and that natural essence of color and tonality is rooted in the elements, which are strong focus in the art of feng shui. Let’s take a look at the elements, their significance in the home and corresponding color palette. These elements are expressed in different areas throughout your home according to your energy map. See the energy map/ compass instructions to determine their precise placement.

FIRE ELEMENT - PASSION AND HIGH ENERGY

A balanced fire feng shui element in your home or office will bring supporting energy to all your career efforts and will help achieve recognition. Fire element also nourishes one's sexual energy and inner warmth.

•Fire is the dominant feng shui element of South bagua area of your home or office.

•Northeast and Southwest feng shui areas also benefit from good fire element energy.

•Fire feng shui element colors are: Red, Orange

EARTH ELEMENT - NOURISHMENT AND STABILITY

A strong and harmonious feng shui earth element in your home or office will help create stability, nourishment and calm protection for all your relationships. The earth element is also needed to maintain one's health and inner balance.

·         Earth is the main feng shui element of Northeast and Southwest bagua areas.

•     The Center of your home and office is also governed by the earth feng shui element.

•      Feng shui earth element colors are: Yellow (light shades such as Honey Cream by Valspar, Cornmeal by Olympic, or Lemonade Slush by Better Homes and Gardens), Sand, Brown,

 

METAL ELEMENT - CLARITY AND PRECISENESS

Feng shui metal element brings the qualities of sharpness, precision and efficiency; its balanced presence will help you live with clarity and lightness. A good presence of metal element in your home or office will help sustain the energy of calm, crisp clarity and eliminate distractions. Scultptures, mirrors, and metal hammered tile panels in copper, silver, gold, or bronze are a beautiful way to accent a wall with this element in mind.

 •Metal is the dominant feng shui element of West and Northwest bagua areas.

•North bagua area of your home or office also benefits from the presence of metal element.

•Feng shui metal element colors are: Gray, White

 

WATER ELEMENT - EASE AND ABUNDANCE

A harmonious feng shui water element will bring a refreshing energy of calm, ease, purity and freshness. Water element is also the ancient symbol of abundance, thus a potent feng shui cure for wealth. (Read about the use of fountains and mirrors as wealth feng shui cures.) •Water is the feng shui element of North bagua area of your home or office.

•East and Southeast bagua areas also benefit from a strong Water element.

•Feng shui water element colors are: Blue (I have never seen a shade of blue I didn’t like but for selling your home steer towards deeper shades like navy, Prussian Blue or subtle shades. To add a pop of interest to a room, you can also spray paint a wicker chair in a complementary shade of blue or paint an armoire a distressed/whitewashed blue, Black (used sparingly, as an accent in wallpaper print, or in sculpture, black and white photography, or other artwork)

WOOD ELEMENT - GROWTH AND VITALITY

Lush and healing, the feng shui wood element brings the energy of vibrant health, vitality and growth. Wood element is also an expression of abundance, thus it is used as a feng shui cure for wealth and prosperity. As I mentioned before, use plants such as fern, English Ivy, Ficus, palm, and rubber plants to purify your indoor air, add texture, and their natural beauty.

 •Wood is the main feng shui element of East and Southeast bagua areas of your home or office.

•South bagua area also benefits from a strong presence of wood element.

•Feng shui wood element colors are: Brown, Green

If you have any questions or if you would like to discuss your real estate needs, please contact Kristin Benedetti at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 1299 Prospect St. La Jolla, California 92037, BRE # Lic 01946447 , Cell: 858-900-5578, lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com , www.lajollaluxuryhomefinder.com.  I am very pleased to assist you. I can also provide you with referrals to reputable contractors throughout Southern California, if you need any help with home improvements. To get pre-qualified or if you have any questions about financing, please contact HomeServices Lending, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage at (858) 436-3483.

 

Sell Your House With Feng Shui

Knowing how to sell your house with feng shui will save you time, money and help avoid useless effort. The ancient art of feng shui has many "how to" tips that can help sell your house the easy way.

 So, if you plan to sell your house, or have been trying to sell your house for a while now, here are some easy feng shui "how to" tips to get the energy moving.

SELL YOUR HOUSE WITH FENG SHUI TIP #1:

 Less is More. De-clutter using the steps in the previous post “De-Clutter Your Chi”. When preparing to sell your house - the less personal, or used you make your house look, the better. Show to the best of your ability how the space can be used, but do not overdo it with personal touches.

 Create a spa feel in the bathroom with candles, crystals or stones, and decorative touches, but do hide all your personal items (buyers do not need to know which toothpaste brand you prefer); make the kitchen smell and look good. A bowl of assorted fresh fruit in a variety of colors is an auspicious symbol of longevity and wealth. You get the idea.

 

SELL YOUR HOUSE WITH FENG SHUI TIP # 2:

 Go Outside. You duplex, your condo, your house, whatever it is that you are selling, and look at it from a bit of a distance. Better yet, do this little feng shui exercise with a friend who has not seen your house for a while. Quickly jot down all the thoughts and first impressions about your house that come to mind in the first 2-3 minutes.

 Do not censor the information or get defensive; the more open you are to criticism, the better off you will be when presenting your house. You might think the big purple frog looks cool by your front door and is even good feng shui (no, it is not!); potential buyers, however, might not appreciate it. As with every sale, knowing how to sell your house is about selling a specific emotion, rather than the commodity itself. Be very mindful about the quality of energy at your main entrance; make it look fresh and inviting.

 

SELL YOUR HOUSE WITH FENG SHUI TIP # 3:

 Go Fresh and Go Green. If you own a house, definitely invest in some landscaping; this will increase the value of your property, as well as attract better quality energy to your home. If you live in a duplex or a condo and there is not much "outside" to work on, focus on the main entrance and bring vibrant Chi, or energy to you main entry. Invest in a tall lush plant or bring a vase with fresh cut flowers, have good lighting, beautiful art; create a feel of spaciousness and expansion with the strategic feng shui placement of mirrors, refresh the wall paint color, etc.

 Natural light is a must for creating a natural flow of energy. Also, invest in certain plants that detoxify the air indoors such as rubber plants, ferns, English ivy, and Ficus tree’s to name a few that remove a variety of toxins including formaldehyde from the air. While fresh cut peonies, hydrangea, or roses are the best choices for floral arrangements and creating vibrancy, silk flowers, framed prints and paintings will have a similar effect.

SELL YOUR HOUSE WITH FENG SHUI TIP # 4:

 Go for Good Energy. Most importantly, be aware of the very important feng shui energy triangle when getting ready to sell your house. The energy in the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom is either making or breaking the house sale. Buyers need to know they will sleep well, eat well, and well, unwind well if they choose to buy your home. Treat the imagination of your potential buyers with respect: know how to ignite it, know how to sustain it throughout your home, and also know when to step back and let them take it from there.

 

If you have any questions about selling your home, home valuation, or for any of your real estate needs please contact Kristin Benedetti at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
 1299 Prospect St. La Jolla, California 92037, BRE # Lic 01946447 , Cell: 858-900-5578, lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com , www.lajollaluxuryhomefinder.com.  I can also provide you with referrals to reputable contractors throughout Southern California, if you need any help with home improvements. To get pre-qualified or if you have any questions about financing, please contact HomeServices Lending, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage at (858) 436-3483.

 

De-Clutter With Feng Shui

Feng Shui De-Cluttering

This is the first and most important step to applying feng shui to your life.First, please be sure you read the  preparatory feng shui clutter clearing steps, as they create the solid foundation for your success in eliminating clutter.

 STEP 1: Be Brave, Identify ALL Your Clutter. Focus first on removing the clutter and then clean, but don’t try to both at the same time or you will get sidetracked. Remember 30 minutes of de-cluttering and then clean to your heart’s content… but not at the same time.

 STEP 2: Understand The Secret of Eliminating Clutter for Good. Clutter is a stagnant roadblock to your energy, sapping your ability to move forward in areas of your life that will truly provide you happiness. Yes, that old sweater your great-aunt Gertrude knitted for you is “special” and your cassette tape collection from 1985 is quite impressive… It is time to move forward.

STEP 3: Get three boxes and label them “In”, “Out”, and “Don’t Know”. Get a timer and set yourself aside 30 minutes every day until the mission is accomplished. Get some fast paced music to keep you moving along… Do not hesitate when choosing which box an item goes in. Go with your gut and keep it moving. If you are unsure, just toss it in the “Don’t Know” box. We’ll get to that one later.

 After you've read and accepted the preparatory feng shui clutter clearing steps, the current step of planning and getting the supplies for your session is a breath of fresh air!

 

 Light and easy, not much explanation is needed here, just follow the simple steps below.

 

So, let's say you are facing a big pile of items you do not know what to do about. You cannot make one decision about them all, this is impossible. Here's what you do:

Pick up an item from your clutter pile and QUICKLY place it in one of the 3 boxes. If you are taking more than 30 sec to 1 minute to decide about an item, you are not doing it right (remember you have the I DON'T KNOW box, so use it!)* The reason I say "QUICKLY place it in one of the 3 boxes" is because your initial reaction is usually accurate. If you hesitate and do not know what to do about an item, place it in the "I don't know" box, this is what it's there for.

Proceed in the same energetic rhythm with each item in your clutter pile until the session time is up. Do not slow down your pace, keep it the same throughout the whole clutter clearing session. The key is to stay with a rhythm, do it relatively fast, and end your session on time. This way you will build up a genuine enjoyment for clearing your clutter, and I assure you that with enough commitment you can be living clutter free in a very short time.

Even though it doesn’t sound like much time, do not go over the initial 30 min. Once the time is up, you're done for the day. You’ll be amazed how much you can accomplish in 30 minutes and if you go longer, you’re likely to get burned out and confused. Pat yourself on the back and go have some fun. You did great!

 Now, even if the only box that got filled during your first feng shui clutter clearing session is the I Don't Know Box, you still have done some really good work and, more importantly, have started activating and moving the stagnant, blocked energy of clutter.

 

Here are some helpful things to know: It is best to have a designated area for clearing clutter (if possible). So, instead of having piles and piles of clutter in many areas of your home, bring them all to a "clutter central" (in stages, of course!) and work from there.

 

There will definitely be items with strong emotional attachment (often entangled with confusion and guilt) that you will find difficult to deal with. No worries, just keep placing them in your "I Don't Know" Box until one day you know. (You might ask a friend for help with a particularly challenging "I Don't Know" Box).

 

Depending on the amount of clutter you are dealing with, you might sure have more than three boxes (or bags). No matter how many you end up with, you are still looking at 3 choices: the IN, the OUT and the I DON'T KNOW.

 

 Here's what you do with each box. •IN obviously stays in. However, with one condition: ONLY if you have space for each item. If you do not find proper space for each and every items in your IN box, you might have to let some of them go. After all, if you really, really needed them, why did they end up in the clutter pile?

•OUT goes out, of course. To charity, to friends, to a garage sale, whatever sounds right to you. The sooner it goes out, the better, do not keep the OUT in your home for too long.

•The I DON'T KNOW is a challenging one. It is basically your therapy box. You might find yourself going thru the same I DON'T KNOW box, session after session, with not much change.

 If you are brave enough, here's what you do: close the I DON'T KNOW box tightly, and take it to a storage place. Mark your calendar 6 months from now. If you do not even remember 6 months from now what is in that box, give it to charity without even opening it.

If this sounds too drastic to you, find a friend to help you go through the most challenging of your I DON'T KNOW boxes. You might cry, you might get angry, you might feel whatever you might feel, but ultimately clutter clearing is also a strong clearing of old emotional ties, old emotional patterns and energy residues. So, take all the time you need to do that, and then follow the steps from the paragraph above.

Allow yourself to let go of unclarity, confusion and guilt. You deserve better than that.

And now, to the best part! Out with the old. In With The NEW!


If you have any questions about selling your home, home valuation, or for any of your real estate needs please contact Kristin Benedetti at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
 1299 Prospect St. La Jolla, California 92037, BRE # Lic 01946447 , Cell: 858-900-5578, lajollaluxuryhomes@outlook.com , www.lajollaluxuryhomefinder.com.  I can also provide you with referrals to reputable contractors throughout Southern California, if you need any help with home improvements. To get pre-qualified or if you have any questions about financing, please contact HomeServices Lending, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage at (858) 436-3483.