The Little Realtor

  As it gets colder and you break out those winter coats, its a good reminder to make sure your home is also warm and dry this winter season. Here are some home maintenance reminders, and local suggestions for help, as we head into colder weather: Have your boiler/furnace serviced Climate Care HVAC Clean your gutters ‬ Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning Have your chimney cleaned and checked Lou Curley's Chimney Services Alliance Chimney Check the trees on your property McFarland ProTree Additional suggestions: Remove AC units and seal windows Shut off and drain exterior water lines Test sump pumps Reverse ceiling fans to circulate warm air Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors Get snow blower ready and purchase pet safe ice melting compound Winterize (blow out) your sprinkler system Let me know if you have any questions or need additional resources! Have someone else you have loved working with? Please tell me! I love passing along other tried-and-true contractors.

 Posted a few years ago but still a go-to list, don't forget to give your home some love this Fall too!  Fall Maintenance Check List

 Its all about the gardens this week!  First, something near to my heart - the shade garden!  Around greater Philly, we have our fair share of heavily wooded and tree-filled yards. We aren't in the state of Penn's Woods for nothing!  My own yard is covered with great, gorgeous oaks that leave over half of my yard space in dappled or full shade. Its very beautiful, but does provide its own issues with growing plants and flowers.  If you go into any Home Depot or Lowes and look for plants, you'll see most of whats for sale needs full sun. So what can you plant in those shaded corners or dappled lawns?  Here are some of my own favorites that have done really well in my own garden!  Hostas  Via My favorite plant ever. The are big, incredibly hardy, grown like a foot a day in the Spring, are full of color and shape and LOVE the shade. The only downside is they leave nothing behind in the winter so the 3 ft they take up in the Summer is empty in the win...

 Bright white and moody colors will likely never go out of style but we are seeing more and more mid-tones come back on trend (last time mid-tones were cool were probably around 2000 when Pottery Barn was THE word).  One of the ones I am seeing most often is a gray-green. Its a friendly color that pairs well with more modern tones (think the grays, blacks and whites we have been seeing) but warms nicely with wood tones and natural materials.  Apparently SW sees this too as their color of the year (and the month of Jan) is Evergreen Fog.  Want to see some of the best ways to use it?  Loving these cabinets in green!  Again, working well hear with both bronze/black and earth tones  Love this more traditional-eclectic look. Looks much more saturated in a dark space!  But also a great pairing for a mid-century boho look  Great combo color - bold but not overly so. Here looking more truly green against the dark blue Whatever your style, this is ...

 If it wasn't obvious from the pumpkins everywhere.... its Fall! Its one of the most exciting seasons here on the East Coast but its also the entry to one of the toughest seasons on our homes. So take a minute to read-up on what you should do to protect your greatest investment!  Photo by allison christine on Unsplash Its all about the drainage as we move into the wet seasons so working to keep water at bay is paramount.  - Store all of your outdoor hoses towards the middle or end of Fall and turn off outdoor spigots  - If you have a sprinkler system, time to drain it as well!  - Clear out your gutters, maybe twice..... having large amounts of leaves in your gutters can cause damming and leakage  - Double check that all of your downspouts are angled away from your home and install new drainage where necessary  - Seal windows and doors where necessary  - Check your roof (you can have a professional do this as well!)  - Have your HVAC serviced...

 If I feature a fixer-upper here, I don't like it to be over $500,000 but this is an exception. An incredible Tudor home with 3 beds, 1.5 baths and 2000 sq ft right in the heart of Lower Merion, 647 Sussex is a gem of a home. Its surprisingly secluded in a Wynnewood neighborhood, off a long drive and on 1/2 an acre. But its walkable to Ardmore And while almost every room needs some cosmetic work, the home already sports things like central air and newer utilities!  The first floor sports a series of additions, such as an enclosed porch (maybe a future dining room?!), a carriage-style garage and a den off the back of the kitchen (maybe a future inside-access laundry room?!). The first floor offers endless possibilities to keep the charm but allow for modern flow. The upstairs has 3 good sized bedrooms and a large bathroom.   For full details, please visit the property website  Listing courtesy of the Damon Michel's Team  The property won't last long, though...

This year I am happy to present real-life examples, from my wonderful clients, of people making houses their own. In many cases that I will share here, that goes beyond decor and paint. I have been fortunate enough to work with many wonderful clients who saw potential in a home and realized all or some of that potential in their homes so far. Its great to see people making less-than-perfect homes their own, earn some equity in the process and, of course, share their story! ---  For our first Renovation Story we have the wonderful Kevin, who is remarkable with the work he does on homes. (He's also a talented musician and you can follow him on Instagram !)  This is actually his third home I've seen him work his magic on. When I helped him buy his current place almost 4 years ago, it was a typical South Philly row home. It wasn't awful, but it was a little bland and dated everywhere and the kitchen smelled remarkably of cooking oils. But Kevin had a vision a...