Kim & Kristine, Westside Los Angeles Real Estate & Short Sales westside homes & living

Home Intake with Improvemental

August 2nd, 2010 at 12:28 pm | Type:

Author: kimandkristine | 2 Comments

I’ve been following the online updates of the talented designer Laurie March & her blog “Improvemental.” Since updating a home or redesigning a home can improve your life & your pocket book, I thought her perspective would be of great value.

  We made some time out of our hectic schedules & met for coffee one morning in Venice Beach. The meeting went longer than expected. With great insight for homeowners design projects; It was very clear that Laurie is a great resource, super talented, & one of L.A.’s best designers.

If you’re looking for inspiration or design solutions for your home, this interview with Laurie will get you started.

Kim: What are the latest trends in home design & remodeling you are seeing?

Laurie: LA homeowners are all about maximizing the spaces they’ve got. Whether it’s removing old clunky drawers and retrofitting in custom hampers, carving out a sexy bar space for a bachelor, or creating hardworking ‘mudroom’ areas for busy families, the jobs we’re doing are creating specifically tailored storage solutions that match how our clients live their lives. While resale is always a buzz word, today’s client is satisfying themselves by doing updates that make life easier now.

Kim: How is this reflected in what your client’s are asking for? For example, are you able to interpret trends to any budget?

Laurie: We have seen an uptick in the calls from homeowners in the $750k – $1.25 Million dollar home range who feel that this is the time to enter the market – they’ve waited as long as they can and want to spruce up their homes to be able to list at a competitive price. With some key updates to sad looking light fixtures, cabinetry, and paint colors – we can do wonders for a property entering the real estate market this Summer.

Upstream from that price range, we’re seeing clients who are using their savings (read:cash) to capitalize on the deals in contractors’ fees and products – lots of tank-less hot water heaters, counter-top replacements, appliance purchases, and full kitchen & bath remodels.

Interestingly enough, with recent earthquakes across the globe, many of our clients are exploring retrofitting their foundations and getting buttoned up in case of emergency. It’s not design, but we’ve had several requests this month to do proper Home Inventories for their peace of mind and insurance coverage. While it’s not sexy, nothing makes you sleep well at night like knowing you’re tail is covered!

Kim: Where do you seek inspiration & beef up your design skills?

Laurie: Some of my finest inspirations come out of deep sleep. I keep a sketch pad by my bed and have woken up on more than one occasion with the answer to a particularly stubborn issue. For external inspiration you just can’t beat design blogs and Open Houses. I like a set-dressed home in a magazine just as much as anyone else, but seeing how real people live is where it’s at.

Also, my contractors are a wealth of creative design ideas. They’ve been around town and have seen and worked on some of the most drop-dead beautiful homes in the coolest neighborhoods. I love to watch them work!

For a giggle, check out this blog: Design Blahg

Kim: How do you approach helping a client prepare to sell their home?

Laurie: I always like to keep an eye on the home’s true character, and help clients understand how to work within a style to express their own taste. You can still imprint your home with your personality but keep the longest lasting elements (floors, windows & doors, tile, countertops) a little more neutral for an easy transition into a Sale Ready home.

I explore a home about to go on the market with a slightly different mindset: I’m looking for barriers to sale. What’s going to be a total deal breaker to most people? What needs to be returned to working condition or stripped of personality to entice the most buyers? Sure, you can’t read minds, but those looking to sell should have a fresh set of professional eyes (not your BFF or your Mom!) walk through and give you painfully honest feedback about what jumps out at them. Don’t dismiss their advice!

Also, nothing increases the sale price of a home like a brutal de-cluttering if your home will be occupied while you’re on the market – or a professional staging. I like to change out older light fixtures and all dated switches and outlet covers too – it’s a subtle thing, but most buyers will turn on a light switch in your home at some point while walking through. Why not give them a tactile impression that you’ve updated your systems?

You never know what exactly will be the tipping point for a buyer deciding to invest in your home, but a thorough cleaning, de-cluttering, careful repair & updating, and good professional staging are never a waste of money!

Kim: Are your clients finding you online or through social media?

Laurie: Since our style of project management is new to the marketplace, we spend a lot of time educating clients on what’s possible when working with us. Using an online forum for these discussions is just plain smart – and energy efficient.

My team just finished a full gut and remodel in Los Feliz for a client that found us online. He’d seen a comment I’d left on a Real Estate blog and called me directly. He found my phone number from my Twitter background. Our clients ‘lurk’ on our blog Improvemental and explore images, articles, and often even chat with us on Twitter before hiring us! Social media gives us a great opportunity to engage our clients in what we’re all about in unique ways.

Let’s face it: I’ve got a lot of energy – much of it goes to turning clients on to what resources are available to them as they take on the trials and tribulations of being a homeowner. Houses don’t come with instruction manuals – (would anybody even have time to read them if they did??) With many of our home prices well over a Million dollars, this is no small matter. We’re here to help.

Next month Improvemental kicks off a series of fun, informational chats with industry insiders to explore all angles of staying sane while taking care of your home, surviving remodeling without strangling your spouse, and dynamite home improvement service providers in LA. For us, social media is here to stay!

Kim: What’s the best way for our readers to find you?

Laurie: We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.improvemental.com or on Twitter at @EvangelistaLA

Filed under : Architectural, Design, Perspectives, Selling a home