17 Ways to Increase Your Homes Curb Appeal

Even if you are not planning to sell your home anytime soon, a fresh and welcoming exterior is a wonderful thing to come home to each day. From front doors, house numbers and porch furnishings to color schemes, landscaping and basic repairs, this smorgasbord of ideas will hopefully inspire a few changes around your own home.

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by Ana Williamson Architect

1. Add big, bold house numbers. It's so easy to swap out house numbers, and this one thing can make a huge impact. Echo your house style in the numbers you choose — a clean sans serif font for a modern house, hand-painted tiles for a cottage, aged copper for a Prairie-style home etc.

Browse house numbers in the Products section

2. Paint the front door. A front door that pops can be hugely cheering. Read up on all of the options in Houzz's series on choosing a front-door color.

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Add to ideabook by Highland Homes, Inc.

3. Add fresh porch furniture. A pair of matching rockers, Adirondack chairs or a cozy glider is a must when you have a front porch that is visible from the street. 4. Swap out porch lighting. Try replacing tiny sconces with a big, statement-making pendant light, add recessed lighting beneath the eaves or install solar lights along the front walk. Private Comment

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by Nick Deaver Architect

5. Add a hot-red accent. Red has such vibrancy; a little goes a very long way. Try a bright red bench, planter or mailbox to add zing that can be seen from across the street.

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6. Do some hardscaping. Built-in concrete planters, a low stone wall or new paths are all great ways to add structure to your front yard that will last for many years to come. Private Comment

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by CON E - Construcción Integral Estratégica

7. Spruce up the side yard. Camouflage an eyesore with attractive fencing, clear out weeds and lay out a neat path to the backyard.

See how to transform your side yard

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8. Add depth with a fence. A low fence around a property not only adds a welcome boundary between a hectic street and a private space, but it also makes the front yard seem larger. Private Comment

Add to ideabook by CK Architects

9. Replace a lawn with flowers. Dig up part or all of your front lawn and plant perennials instead for a lush landscape that sets your house apart. 10. Repair the driveway and paths. Cement, stone and pavement all can split and crack over time. Repairing or replacing damaged areas can do wonders to freshen up your home's street view. Private Comment

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11. Paint the garage door. The garage takes up a lot of visual space, so it pays to make sure it looks its best. 12. Refinish the porch floor. If your porch floor has seen better days, renew it by stripping off old layers of paint and finish, and brushing on stain or paint. Private Comment

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by Lasley Brahaney Architecture + Construction

13. Add a shiny new door knocker. Gorgeous hardware (plus a glossy paint job) can make even the plainest door look very classy.

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by Kropat Interior Design

14. Try a unique front door. A really eye-catching front door can be just the thing to give a plain exterior a big dose of personality. Whether it's supersleek and modern steel or a beautifully detailed Craftsman-style door, it can set the tone for the entire house.

15. Match plantings to your house style. Let the plants and pots you choose reflect the style of your house for a cohesive look. Accent a modern home with succulents and spiky-leafed plants in simple round pots, or surround your cottage with lush beds of flowers.

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Add to ideabook by Abramson Teiger Architects

16. Echo the architecture with paths. Another way to accent the style of your home is by repeating the lines of the architecture in the paths and landscaping surrounding it. Wide, angular paths echo the geometry of the modern home here. Private Comment

Add to ideabook by Rasmussen / Su Architects

17. Create curb appeal even in the city. When you live in the city, it can be hard to personalize your home's exterior. Work with what you have by adding neat window planters, glossy black shutters, good lighting and clearly visible house numbers.   Click here to see the source article at Houzz.com

LA Weekly recongnizes one of our top neighborhood coffee Shops

This week our neighborhood coffee shop, Paper or Plastik Cafe, on Pico made it in the top 5 coffee shops to visit in the Los Angeles area!

Top 5 Places to Eat in L.A. if You Couldn't Make it to SXSW

By Farley Elliott Wed., Mar. 20 2013 at 9:00 AM

6 Comments

Categories: Food & Drink Lists, Food Fight, Top 5 Lists

• 3

Paul Bartunek

Breakfast Taco at Bar Amá

While everyone from musicians and comedians to tech bloggers, indie filmmakers and anyone with frequent flier miles was traipsing around Austin last week for the annualSouth By Southwest, there's a good chance you were stuck at home, avoiding all social media. Otherwise, you would have been inundated with tweets, Vines, Tumblr posts and Instagrams showing the rest of the world just how awesome Austin can be. And, granted, there's a lot to love about the liberal city encased in a sea of south Texas personality, but can't we all find ways to enjoy ourselves right here in Los Angeles?

With that in mind, we've compiled a list of the five tasty things that people at South By Southwest are looking to eat in Austin, and our own seriously delicious Angeleno versions.

T. Nguyen

Handsome Coffee Roasters

5. Coffee:
After a night of hard drinking downtown, most SXSW'ers wake up jonesing for a pair of sunglasses and a cup of strong coffee. Most flock to Jo's on Congress, a quirky green shack that will pour you a strong cup in the morning, or ice your beverage if you happen to not roll out of bed until the sunny afternoon. More serious coffee hounds may head for Caffe Medici down the street instead for their powerful espresso and more relaxed setting. In L.A., Handsome Coffee Roasters downtown hits the hardcore spot, with any of Intelligentsia's locations not far behind. For everyone else, there's Paper or Plastik Cafeon Pico, or the funky G & B Coffee inside Sqirl on Virgil Avenue.

Flickr/MyLastBite

Kogi BBQ Tacos

4. Asian-Inspired Street Food:
For late-night Asian-inspired dishes from a truck, Austinites undeniably head to one of theEast Side King trucks peppered across the city. They're all run with flair and attention to detail by chef Paul Qui, Austin's hometown cooking hero and the recent winner of Top Chef: Texas. Each truck's daily fare is a little different, but you can always expect pork buns, a few deep fried chicken options and some seriously flavorful rice. Back in Los Angeles, you couldn't throw a pile of kimchi without landing on an Asian fusion food truck.Kogi is still the clear front-runner, but other long-running gourmet loncheros includeDon Chow Tacos and Komodo, which still operates a daily truck despite branching out to their own cafe a few years ago.

Flickr/scani

Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

3. Boozy Movies:
OK, so Los Angeles doesn't really have anything quite as awesome as Alamo Drafthouse, although you can spring for the 21+ seats at Arclight. Still, there's something so satisfying about combining full meals and booze with first-run features, or the occasional throwback screening. Out west, we're partial to our late night Cinespia screenings in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, thank you very much, and we'll bring in as much booze as we damn well please. Or, for something really cool, head down to the old Million Dollar Theater on Broadway for a Saturday night screening of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, which was actually filmed on site. There will be DJs spinning before and after, plus a full bar complete with mixologists, which all sounds very SXSW.

Anne Fishbein

Frito Pie at Bar Amá

2. Tex Mex:
Los Angeles gets the Mex part of the Tex Mex equation -- we do Mexican food better than perhaps any other city in America, and probably a lot of cities in Mexico while we're at it. But slathering heaps of cheese and sour cream onto your bowl of chili con carne is an entirely Texas phenomenon. South-by goers tend to head to Trudy's, Chuy's or Maudie'sfor their sloppy, cheesy fix, but Los Angeles isn't much known for the stuff. Now, at least, we've got Bar Amá downtown. While it's not exactly street cart fare, Josef Centeno's grandmother-inspired Tex Mex eatery on 4th Street serves up supremely puffy tacos, gooey green enchiladas, and a $6 sausage and egg breakfast taco so big, you could share it with a friend and still leave some on the plate.

To see orignial blog please visit: LA Weekly

Forbes Magazine has 10 Tips for a Great Home!

Original Souce:  Forbes.Com

Buyers spend a lot of time looking at properties online, touring homes on the Sunday open house circuit, and talking to their real estate agent. They’re laser-focused on finding the best home that meets their needs. The problem is, buyers sometimes don’t take the long view of a property. They’re only looking at a home as a potential buyer — and not as someone who, years down the road, may also have to sell the property. Given that homes are such a big investment, there should be a little inside your head, picking away at your options and decisions.

As the home buying market starts to heat up again, here are ten things you should consider when choosing your next home.

1. Location, location, location

Perhaps nothing is more important than the three L’s, and there’s a reason why it’s said three times.

Location is extremely important when it comes time to sell. You can have the worst house in the world with the ugliest kitchen and bath. But put it on a great block or in a good school district, and your home will be coveted.

Location location location matters on so many different levels. At the highest level is the town where the house is located, then the school district, then the neighborhood and the block — right down to the location of the lot on the block. Keep all of this in mind when shopping. Also remember that while real estate markets rise and fall, no one can take a great location away from you.

2. The school district

The school district is right up there on the list of what’s most important to many buyers. It’s not uncommon for buyers to start their search based solely on the school district they want to be in. Parents want their kids to go to the best school, which can drive up prices of homes in those districts. Even though you might not have children, buying a home in a good school district is always smart. If the schools are desirable, homes tend to hold their value. As a homeowner, you should always be aware of how the schools are doing, not unlike being aware of your roof’s condition, the neighborhood development or city government.

3. The home’s position on the lot

Where the home sits on the lot in relation to the street or the overgrown oak are key elements in picking out a home. In the case of a condo, an end unit vs. an interior unit is a key consideration. You may have chosen the most beautifully renovated home in the best school district and figure all is good. But if the main living areas are shaded by a neighbor’s extension or the master bedroom looks into the neighbors’ family room, you may have a location problem. Light or privacy may not be a hot button for you, but chances are, they might be concerns for a future buyer.

4. Crime

It’s a good idea to check the latest crime figures for a neighborhood. It can give you a good snapshot about the number and severity of crimes over a time period. So much information is online nowadays that when you find your perfect home, a quick Internet search on the area should provide you with the much-needed information.

Most municipalities post their police blotters or crime statistics online these days. Don’t freak out if you notice more crime than what you’d have expected. Crime, especially petty crime, is everywhere. If you’re new to the area, consult with your real estate agent if you have concerns.

5. Walkability

More than ever, ‘walkability’ is becoming a key factor in the search process. There are entire websites, apps and algorithms that help people figure out how walkable their future home is. As a matter of fact, Zillow even has a Walk Score for most homes. As people get out of their cars and slip into their Keds, they want a home in a walkable neighborhood. People put high value on the ability to walk to a store, school, work or public transportation. The more we move away from cars and the more we see invested in public transportation over the coming decades, the more of a huge value-add walkability will become.

6. The neighborhood’s character

You may have found the absolute most perfect home, on the best block, in the best school district and on a great lot. But there could be circumstances outside your control that may give you pause — specifically, the character of the surrounding neighborhood.

Check out the area late at night, early morning and in the middle of the day. See if there are any odd weather or traffic patterns and try to observe some of the neighbors. You may even go so far as talking to some neighbors. It’s important to walk around, open your eyes and ears and make sure there isn’t anything you’re overlooking. That next-door neighbor practicing drums in the garage at 9 p.m. could be a source of immediate neighbor conflict. Go into it with eyes wide open.

7. Don’t buy the best house on the block

Simply put, avoid buying the best house on the block because there may not be any room for your investment to grow (unless you physically have the house moved to a better neighborhood). It’s better to buy the worst house on the best block, because you can improve the house to add value to an already great location.

8. Is it a fixer-upper?

If you’re buying a fixer-upper, make sure you understand what you’re getting into. Did you set out to buy a home that needed work? Or does the home just happen to be in the most desirable neighborhood, the block of your dreams?

Do your homework upfront. If you want to build an extension or add another story to the property, make sure it is within local zoning or building codes. Have the property inspected so that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Sometimes, what appears to be a simple kitchen needing cosmetic work turns out to be a huge project. Ask yourself repeatedly if your life can support a home renovation. Not only does a renovation take money, it takes time, energy and emotional stress.

9. Will the home hold its value?

A good real estate agent who’s been working the neighborhood for some time can vouch for the long-term value or investment potential of the property. But be sure to find ways to add value, or at least be certain the home will hold its value.

The market may be strong when you purchase, but ask yourself, “Am I in a seller’s market?” “What would happen to this property if the market changed tomorrow”? Check out the median home value in the neighborhood as it compares to neighborhoods around it. The Zillow Home Value Index gives you one, five, and 10-year snapshots of how home values have gone up or down in neighborhoods and cities.

10. Taxes, dues and fees

Many people overlook the monthly fees associated with homeownership. Nearly every property will have taxes, and any sort of planned community or homeowners association (HOA) will have regular assessments.

Be sure that the amount of property tax and assessments are clear from the get-go. If in doubt, go to city hall or do research online. If you’d be buying into a condo complex, be sure to get your hands on the meeting minutes, financials of the HOA and the condo documents. Any mention of changes coming down the pike? Does the HOA seem well funded? It could take one quick $10K assessment to immediately affect property values if you need to turn around and sell your new home. And any uncertainty about the building, its integrity or the financials could scare off buyers when it’s time to sell.