Winter took a toll on your home’s exterior this year. You’ve been noticing the cracking paint for months, but you don’t want to shell out the big bucks to hire a professional. Don’t fret! With the weather warming and the nice summer weekends, it’s the perfect time to tackle that project of painting your home.

While this might seem like an insurmountable project, especially if you have a multi-story home, it’s not. It just takes the right tools and a bit of hard work. Below are step-by-step instructions to having the outside of your house looking shiny and new.

Test for lead.

Homes built before 1978 could have used lead paint, so be careful if you have an older home. They make kits that test for lead paint. If your home tests positive, then ensure…

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When it comes to buying a Santa Cruz house, should you be looking toward a brand new recently built property or considering an older historic home?

There are many advantages to either option and the best choice for you will depend on what you are looking for in a home. If you are wondering whether buying an older property is right for you, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are You Willing to Invest in Renovations?

A historic home will be more likely to need upgrades when it comes to electrical wiring, plumbing and central heat or air. When you are making your choice whether to purchase in the home, don’t forget to factor in the costs of the upgrades that need to be made.

Do You Have the Time for Maintenance?

Buying an older home…

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One of the biggest improvements that you can make to your Santa Cruz home is to bring in more natural light. Sunlight is a powerful mood enhancer and a home design that brings in a lot of natural light will automatically look and feel much more pleasant. Not only will it boost your mood, bringing in natural light will also increase the value of your home.

So how can you shed some light on your home’s interior? Here are a few ways:

Add More Reflective Surfaces

Whenever you add a light and reflective surface to your home, you increase the number of times that daylight bounces around inside the room. Try painting your ceilings and walls with light or off-white colours. Matte finishes are actually better than glossy surfaces, as they reflect light in…

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Does your Santa Cruz property have a guest bedroom? A guest bedroom is an excellent room to have, as it means that you will easily be able to host friends and relatives when they come through town. Having your guests sleep on the fold out sofa can be disruptive for both you and for them, so letting them have their own space is ideal.

Decorating a guest bedroom can be a challenge, because you want to create a bedroom that will appeal to a wide range of guests and will be practical during their stay. Here are some tips to keep in mind when decorating your guest bedroom.

Consider Using Two Twin Beds

One idea for decorating your guest bedroom is to using two twin beds rather than one large bed, as this is more applicable for a wider range of guests.…

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One of the important aspects of owning a Santa Cruz property is having the knowledge of how to keep it maintained to avoid costly repairs and serious damage. Over the years weather and use will wear down both the interior and exterior of your property. If you are able to practice preventative care on your home, then you will prolong the life of all of its systems and components. At least every six months or so, you should be performing an inspection of your property so that you can ensure that it is still functioning properly and safely.

Preventative Home Maintenance

What should you be looking for when it comes to preventative home maintenance? Here are a few of the important pointers to keep in mind:

Pests and Insects

Check your home…

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You’re absolutely sick of looking at the popcorn ceiling of your 1980’s home — it’s time for a change. However, behind the façade of a ceiling is a mess of plumbing, wiring, joists and structural beams, so you have to be careful and creative when updating your home.

Whether you’re dealing with an older home, a tricky duct system or an unfinished basement, below are several ceiling solutions to brighten up the space above your head.
 
Bring back wood paneling.
The 70’s are making a comeback. If you have a flat or slanted ceiling, wood paneling is easy to affix and can create a cozy cabin-like feel. This works well in living rooms, bedrooms and basements where you want generate a warm, comfortable atmosphere. 

Create an industrial vibe.
If you like the…

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Making a commitment to go green in your home not only helps the environment, but also your wallet. The federal government and many states are offering tax breaks for upgrades made in 2013. So, take an interest in Mother Nature and advantage of the tax incentives by making your home more energy efficient.

1. Invest in a tankless water heater.
On-demand water heaters heat your shower or washing machine water as needed, so they are not constantly working to keep a large amount of water continually hot. Electric tankless water heaters can sometimes be twice as energy efficient as standard water tank heaters.

2. Install ceiling fans.
Ceiling fans help circulate the air in a room to make it feel cooler. This reduces the need to turn on appliances that…

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Everyone knows that first impressions are important. By carefully staging your Santa Cruz home, you can positively influence the feelings your potential buyers have when they are viewing the property.

Staging is the art of decorating and arranging the spaces within your house to make it more appealing to buyers. If you can adapt the rooms to create an attractive and welcoming zone that homebuyers can see themselves in, they will be more likely to buy your property.

One of the most important rooms to stage is the living room, because it is such a central part of the house. This is where a lot of the social activity occurs, so it should appear comfortable and welcoming. Here are some tips to keep in mind when staging your living room before the next…

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In almost every Santa Cruz home, there are awkward spaces that are difficult to utilize. In older houses especially there are rooms, closets and nooks that once had a purpose that is now outdated. So before you try to cover it up or fill it with junk, take a look at the smart solutions below to see how you can revitalize those problematic spaces and turn them into something useful.

The space under the stairs
While this is likely to be more of a hiding spot for dust-bunnies than teenage wizards, it is valuable space that you don’t have to board up. Use it for storage! Create cabinets, or if it’s near the kitchen, build in a wine refrigerator or display shelves for china. Build in a coat or shoe closet if the stairs are in the front entryway.

The…

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Buying a Santa Cruz home can be a great investment. And growing that investment by making it more valuable before you sell means more money in your pocket. While a lot of projects can be expensive and time consuming, there are a few quick and easy upgrades to make your property worth more to buyers.

Update Kitchen Cabinets
You don’t need to completely replace kitchen cabinets to make them appealing. Switching out the doors and drawer fronts can make them appear new. You can also add a fresh coat of paint and replace the hardware on the front of the cabinets to create a new look.

Replace the Front Door
The entry point of your Santa Cruz home is the first and last thing potential buyers see. If your front door is old, outdated or looks like it has…

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