Check out this photo-log of some of the coolest sinks.
http://www.houselogic.com/photos/kitchens/kitchen-sink-pictures/slide/the-transformer-of-sinks/
January 16, 2013
January 15, 2013
2013’s Color! Emerald?
Pantone says emerald green evokes a sense of balance and harmony. Image: Andrea Monath Schumacher, A.S.I.D. Allied, O Interior Design/Emily Minton Redfield, photo
Goodbye Tangerine Tango. Hello emerald, Pantone’s 2013 color of the year.
Why emerald, or as Pantone’s swatch names it: 17-5641?
“Green is the most abundant hue in nature — the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, a color consultant to corporations.
Eiseman says emerald sparkles, fascinates, and “brings a sense of clarity, renewal, and rejuvenation, which is so important in today’s complex world.”
Tangerine Tango, last year’s color queen (and my new favorite hue), was a pinkish orange that packed an energy punch. 2013’s emerald is a vivid, verdant green that “enhances our sense of well-being … promoting balance and harmony,” Pantone says.
Expect to see the color on everything from kitchen colors to gas grills to $25 commemorative mugs.
Emerald green: love it or hate it?
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/blog/painting/pantone-color-of-2013-emerald/#ixzz2I062r4Cf
January 15, 2013
Outdoor Pillows
Here in middle Georgia, the weather the last couple days have been absolutely gorgeous! It has given my family a nice taste of the spring weather to come and a desire to get outside. All of this warmth, while I know it won’t last, has really got me thinking about my outdoor decorations. One of the things I love to change out about every 2 years, are my outdoor pillows. Check out this beautiful and colorful photo album of outdoor pillows.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/products/outdoor-pillows
January 11, 2013
Promise Place – Fayetteville
Domestic Violence in Georgia
- Georgia is ranked 6th in the nation for the rate women are killed by men.
- In 2010, 132 Georgia citizens lost their lives due to domestic violence. Firearms were the cause of death in 76% of these fatalities.
- In 2010, police responded to 65,485 family violence incidents in Georgia.
- In 2010, 2,636 victims and their children were turned away from a domestic violence shelter due to lack of space.
- 23,013 family violence protective and stalking orders were issued in Georgia in 2010.
- 52% of Georgia fatality victims were between the ages of 16 and 24 when they began relationships with the partners who killed them. 5 of these victims were 15 years old.
- 85% of domestic violence is committed by men against women.
Please join with McLeRoy Realty in supporting Promise Place shelter for domestic violence victims. You may drop off used cell phones at our office at 8945 US Hwy 19, Zebulon, GA. You may learn more about the services of Promise Place and donate financially by going to their website.
January 10, 2013
Kids’ Rooms: Storage Solutions for Every Age
Cradle crawlers
Transformer cribs. An ordinary crib accommodates baby for two to three years — until he learns how to escape over the rail. Boost storage with a convertible crib with storage drawers ($145-$350) that’ll convert and adapt to your toddler’s needs and beyond.
Some convertible cribs change into toddler beds, daybeds, or full-size headboards, giving you options as your youngster gets older. If you can’t find a crib with storage below, use the space between the legs for stowing bins or baskets for diapers, toys, and more.
Pimping the closet. Remove the door on the nursery closet for easy access, and install a variety of cool storage features. Drawers, bins, and shelves can round up onesies, booties, baby towels, diapers, and toiletries. A simple wire rack storage system is $90-$350 at home improvement centers.
Install lower rods so baby, as he grows, can easily latch onto duds (and maybe even hang them up). Expandable hangers ($14 for a 3-pack) fit tiny baby clothes but open up to accommodate larger sizes when needed.
Toddlers and elementary age
Look ‘em in the eye. Stow books and puzzles on a low magazine rack or shelving unit so toddlers and elementary-age children can grab a good read or brain teaser on a whim. As children grow, paint the shelf to suit changing tastes and use it for teen magazines, framed photos, and school books.
Cornering the market. Young kids love nooks, so create a cozy hideaway by arranging storage units — open shelves, a desk top, and cabinets — so they (mostly) enclose one corner of your kid’s room. Bookshelves and kids’ desks range from $50 to $200.
Stock up with plenty of games, books, toys, and crafts supplies. Paint cabinet doors with blackboard paint to add an eye-level creative opportunity.
Corral the bling. Little girls often possess a cartload of hair ribbons, barrettes, and bows. Look for special organizers that keep them on display, orderly, and within easy reach. One option: Sort items into the pockets of a clear vinyl shoe holder ($10) that fits on the back of the door.
Tweens, teens, and beyond
A magnetic personality. A bulletin board is a great way for your tween or teen to organize and display all those photos of friends and Fido. Or, coat a vertical surface (such as a closet door) with magnetizing primer ($25/quart) and paint over the primer with a hip color. Use assorted magnets and magnetic clips and holders to display artwork, sports schedules, and homework reminders.
Making a (book)case. A bookcase headboard ($100-$200) is a grown-up way for your teen or college student to keep reading materials organized and the tablet reader handy. Platform storage beneath the bed provides room for drawers or cubbies that can hold baskets and bins for corralling small stuff.
Explore the shallows. Commandeer space between wall studs and create a shallow storage niche outfitted with hooks, shelves, or rods for organizing jewelry and other smallish gear. Add a mirrored door to keep clutter out of sight.
Lofty ambitions. For a small bedroom, a loft-style bed offers a fun spot for snoozing and space below for bookcase storage, a futon, or a study desk. Loft beds for kids’ rooms start at $150 and range to $3,000 or more.
Keep rolling. Give your tween or teen a rolling caddy ($25-$80) for storing personal bath supplies, jewelry, cosmetics, and hair gear. The caddy stores in the bedroom and rolls to a nearby bath and back.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/rooms/kids-rooms-storage-solutions/#ixzz2H4YoSwyQ
January 9, 2013
Top-10 List of New Year’s Resolutions for Your Home
This time, it’s going to be different. A brand new year, brimming with possibilities, and you’ve resolved to move through your house like a whirling tornado of can-do, fixing, painting, and organizing. This year, nothing will stop you.
Welcome to your home improvement New Year’s Resolutions.
Based on the most-common top-ten resolutions gathered by Time magazine, USA.gov, and other sources, we’ve put together an inspiring list of home management goals.
Ready for the New Year? Here it comes:
1. Lose weight (cut energy use)
2. Quit smoking (purify indoor air)
3. Get out of debt (budget for improvements)
4. Learn something new (educate yourself on home finances)
5. Get organized (de-clutter)
6. Volunteer (support your community)
7. Drink less (curb home water use)
8. Spend more time with the family (share home improvement projects)
9. Get fit (exercise your DIY skills)
10. Be less stressed (use maintenance-free materials)
January 8, 2013
How to Organize Your Refrigerator
Dreaming of a clean refrigerator, but not sure how to organize? We’ve got some cool ideas.
Front and center
Give prime fridge space to priority items, says professional organizer Kathi Burns, founder of Add Space to Your Life.
“If you want leftovers to be eaten, keep them front and center on the middle rack, at eye level,” says Burns. “That goes for healthy snacks, too. If you have leftovers, don’t cram them in the back.”
For large food items, slice and store in several containers, says professional organizer Abbey Claire Keusch. If your refrigerator has adjustable shelves, you can move them around for specific items. Have a plan for the food you keep.
Not everything needs chilling
Did you know that ketchup, vinegar, jam, and even mayonnaise and butter don’t need to be refrigerated? If you’re tight on fridge space, these items and more can go in the pantry instead.
And if you have backyard chickens, the eggs you get from them don’t need to be refrigerated, although store-bought eggs do (American regulations require eggs to be power-washed before selling, which strips eggshells of their protective coating, so store-bought eggs have to be refrigerated to stay fresh).
The only items that really need to go in the fridge are meats, dairy products, and certain vegetables (unless you’re going to eat them right away).
Items that should never go in the refrigerator include:
- Tomatoes (they’ll get mushy faster if they’re cold).
- Onions (they’ll soften, plus all your other food will smell like onions).
- Honey (it’ll get too thick).
- Potatoes (cold temperatures turn starches into sugars, giving your taters a sweet flavor when you cook them, and not in a good way).
Go against the flow
Today’s refrigerators are designed to be organized a certain way — condiments in the door, vegetables in the crisper, gallon of milk on the center rack. But it doesn’t have to be that way, Burns says.
“For busy families, I recommend a ‘lunch bin’ that you can pull out,” she says. “Keep the mayo, mustard, pickles, meat, and cheese in there, so you can just pull it out and make a sandwich. It’s easy for kids. You can create a bin for healthy snacks, too, or a breakfast bin with bagels and cream cheese.”
Pulling out one bin instead of many individual items is faster, too, so your refrigerator door doesn’t stay open as long. For smaller refrigerators that don’t have drawers, long, rectangular bins can be used for easy organizing.
“Same goes for the freezer — just use a Tupperware bin for frozen veggies, so you can pull out all the bags of veggies in one fell swoop,” Burns says. “It works really well.”
Hip to be square
Refrigerators are more efficient when they’re fuller, but that doesn’t mean you should cram as much stuff in there as possible. Square or rectangular containers are the way to go for leftovers — they’re easily stackable and fit into corners neatly.
“Stay away from round containers,” says Burns. “That’s just wasted space.”
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/appliances/how-to-organize-refrigerator/#ixzz2H4VJ7B6H
January 7, 2013
How to Organize Your Kitchen So It’s Easy to Cook In
Tip #1: Get rid of unnecessary stuff.
Treat your kitchen like you treat your closet: Every year or so, look at each item and ask yourself when you last used it. If the answer is “never” or “seldom,” it’s time to sell, donate, or toss it.
“Gadgets exist for just about every function, but that doesn’t mean you need to purchase all of them,” says organizer Dawn Falcone of Dawn Falcone Lifestyles in New York City. “It becomes clutter.” (Did you know clutter is a factor in depression?)
Couponers, remember: Today’s great deal can turn into tomorrow’s hoard.
You might be surprised how liberating a minimalist kitchen can be. And even foodies struggle with kitchen storage.
Tip #2: Relocate seldom-used items.
Holiday dishes, large roasting pans, and the good silverware — these items can all go on the highest shelf of your tallest kitchen cabinet, assuming you have the space. If you have space atop your cabinets, stash the items up there in a decorative basket.
If not, move these items to a dining-room buffet, the spare room closet, under the bed, or the basement — anyplace where they won’t be in the way of your daily cooking and cleaning.
Tip #3: Keep the things you use most close at hand.
Pastry chef and food writer Katherine Sacks has several suggestions: “We have a hanging rack and a wall knife strip. I also keep a jar near the stove for wooden spoons, my thermometer, and a small offset spatula that I use for everything.”
Tip #4: A place for everything, and everything in its place.
“Just like in a professional kitchen, if you always put something in the same place, then you’ll always know where it is,” Sacks says.
So, where are those places and where are they not?
Tip #5: Avoid hot locations for food storage.
Outside of the fridge, food should be stored in a cool, dry location. I once stored my wine in the cabinet above the fridge. I had a small kitchen and didn’t want to accidentally break the bottle. Instead, the wine soured from the heat of the refrigerator compressor and coils. Oops.
Mounting a spice rack on a wall by the oven or in the sun, where it’s exposed to light and heat, is the most common food storage mistake kitchen designer Kelly Morisseau, author of Kelly’s Kitchen Sync, sees.
“Herbs and spices should have a scent. And green herbs shouldn’t be beige,” Falcone notes, with more than a hint of sarcasm.
Tip #6: Keep items near their place of use.
Store pots and pans, cooking utensils, potholders, and spices and herbs near the oven or cooktop.
But, per tip #5, put spices in a drawer or on a rack inside a cabinet rather than directly near the heat source. Also, you can store bulk spices (if you go through a lot) in the pantry, and just keep a small amount in a jar near the stove, then replenish as necessary.
Dishes and silverware should be near the dishwasher or the table, for serving.
Keep cleaning supplies near the sink.
Tip #7: Heavy things don’t go in high places.
I learned this lesson after storing a set of glass mixing bowls on an upper cabinet shelf, then nearly knocking myself unconscious trying to get them down when I wanted to bake. Now they go in the bottom drawer of a base cabinet.
Tip #8: Place like with like.
As a baker, Sacks keeps flour, sugar, and baking soda on one cabinet shelf; spices on a second; and nuts, raisins, and syrups on a third, so she has everything she needs in one place. For you, this might mean keeping all bowls on one shelf and all plates on a second, or keeping all the canned goods together in one area.
Tip #9: Customize your cabinets.
Not everyone has a pantry. And while storing food in lower cabinets might work great for some, designer Michelle Drenckhahn of Spacial Adaptation in St. Louis Park, Minn., points out that could be disastrous for those with small children.
She likes to add cabinet storage by adding more shelves to fit in shorter items like coffee mugs and tumblers or a stack of plates. Hanging storage racks on doors is another option.
Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/kitchens/how-to-organize-your-kitchen/#ixzz2H4QZkgBm
January 4, 2013
The Moving Target That is 2012 Taxes
Like the rest or the country, we’re waiting to see what Congress and the President do, or don’t do, to affect our tax bill. What we do know is that some tax breaks could go away, some have already gone, and one newish tax is wildly misrepresented.
Transfer tax that never was
Misinformation abounds about the 3.8% Medicare surtax, part of the Affordable Care Act. It does impose a tax on, among other things, some capital gains you get from selling your home. But it applies to very few people. For instance, to be affected, you must have an adjusted gross income that is either:
- $250,000, in the case of a joint return or surviving spouse
- $125,000, in the case of a married individual filing a separate return
- $200,000, in any other case (i.e., individual or head of household)
- AND you have to make a substantial profit from a home sale of more than $500,000 (joint return) or $250,000 (single return).
So, the vast majority of home owners will never notice this tax because most gains are well below those thresholds. The tax isn’t a transfer tax and the amount paid will depend on a formula.
Items that may be going …
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation gave you a tax break if you did a short sale or otherwise had mortgage debt forgiven.
Briefly, a short sale means you don’t have to pay back some portion of your mortgage. So if you’re forgiven $50,000 of your loan, for example, the IRS would ordinarily consider that $50,000 as taxable income. The expiring relief provision allows you to disregard that $50,000 for income tax purposes. The provision is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2012.
The 15% capital gains tax expires Dec. 31, 2012, and could go up to 20% (again, depending on the deal Congress cuts). That means if you sell your house next year rather than this year, you pay 5 percentage points more. But the floor for this tax remains high: As noted above, cap gains for a home don’t kick in until $250,000 in profit — double that for a couple.
Medically-necessary home improvements aren’t disappearing entirely, but the deal won’t be as good in 2013 as it was in 2012. Until the end of this year, anything you spent on these improvements above 7.5% of your AGI was deductible. But starting in 2013, you have to spend 10% of your AGI before claiming deductions. (However, if you’re 65 or older in 2013, the old rate of 7.5% still applies.)
… And items that are gone
Other tax changes that affect a wide range of home owners, however, have disappeared. When you file your 2012 income tax return, you won’t be able to deduct private mortgage insurance (PMI) premiums. Those ended in 2011. So if you have a chance to cancel PMI, you should.
At the same time, some energy-efficiency tax credits also disappeared; you can’t declare them when filing your 2012 taxes. These include energy-efficient windows and doors; certain kinds of hot water heaters; eligible HVAC systems; and specific types of roofs. None of these credits are available for changes made in 2012.
There are still some tax credits available — through 2016 — for big ticket energy-efficient systems like geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines, and solar panels.
Business as usual
The first-time home buyer tax credit ended a few years ago, but one thing that hasn’t changed: paying it back (if you took the credit after April 8, 2008, and before Jan. 1, 2009). You owe the government 1/15th of the credit each year over the next 15 years. If you took the $7,500 maximum, that’s $500 a year.
The home office deduction also remains, and although the rules haven’t changed, continued high unemployment may mean more people are taking advantage of it. If you’re new to the deduction this year, keep in mind that the rules are subtle and IRS oversight can be extensive.
Don’t forget the states
Does your state offer a home-related tax deferral? For example, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has a number of Hurricane Sandy tax relief items relating to both delayed filings and special tax provisions. Check with your local state tax department.
Do a replay
If a provision has expired, or is about to expire, there’s no way to request a do-over. However, if you forgot to claim a tax break that you were eligible for no more than 2 to 3 years ago, you can submit a revised 1040. File Form 1040X.
Now that the election is over, the president and Congress will negotiate changes for 2013. It’s safe to say that in the coming weeks, anything is on the table. Some of the disappearing tax breaks may be reinstated, at least in some form; some changes may come retroactively after Jan. 1, 2013.
Buckle up. We’ll be tracking the tax issues here at HouseLogic.
This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax pro for such advice.
January 3, 2013
How the Mortgage Interest Deduction is Vital to Housing Market
Having a tax deduction for mortgage interest makes owning a home more affordable because the deduction lowers the amount of tax you pay. U.S. Census data shows 37% of home owners with mortgages spend more than 30% of their income for housing. Paying less for housing means having more disposable income for savings and other household expenses.
Increasing housing affordability increases the number of renters who can afford to buy a home of their own responsibly; increasing the number of home buyers helps keep home prices stable for those who already own homes by ensuring a steady stream of new buyers.
How the deduction works
In general, any home owners who pay U.S. taxes and who itemize their taxes can deduct mortgage interest attributable to primary residence and second-home debt totaling $1 million, and interest paid on home equity debt of as much as $100,000.
Mortgage interest deduction threatened
In recent years, the mortgage interest deduction has come under attack. Among the suggestions for cutting it back to deal with the deficit:
* Reduce the mortgage interest deduction for upper-income taxpayers—they’d only receive 28 cents on the dollar, even if they’re in a 33% or 35% tax bracket and can now deduct 33 or 35 cents on the dollar.
* Reduce the $1 million cap by $100,000 a year.
* Change the mortgage interest deduction to a 15% tax credit.
In the past, members of Congress have suggested other mechanisms for eliminating or limiting the mortgage interest deduction. None of those has ever gained traction.
Arguments against mortgage interest deduction
Arguments against the mortgage interest deduction center on who benefits and whether the government should support home ownership. They say:
* It primarily helps the wealthy, since high-income taxpayers are more likely to itemize their deductions and to own homes. About 90% of taxpayers earning more than $100,000 itemize, while only 18% of those earning less than $50,000 follow suit, the Tax Foundation estimates.
* Taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions get to use the “standard deduction.” They do that because it gives them a bigger tax break than itemizing to use the mortgage interest deduction.
* Ending or reducing the mortgage interest deduction would create a deep source of money for reducing the budget deficit.
* In the aftermath of the mortgage crisis, the U.S. needs to rethink its favored tax treatment of home ownership.
Arguments for mortgage interest deduction
Those who favor keeping the mortgage interest deduction say it helps middle-income families, who already pay nearly all U.S. income taxes. Plus, getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction would hurt home prices.
* More than 60% of the families who claim the mortgage interest deduction have household incomes between $60,000 and $200,000, estimates the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
* A disproportionate number of those high-income taxpayers live in areas where housing is especially expensive, such as California and New York. In high-cost housing markets, lowering the $1 million cap would add a tax burden on families who already must pay high prices for homes.
* Home owners already pay 80% to 90% of the income tax in our country, and among those who claim the mortgage interest deduction, almost two-thirds are middle-income earners, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. So home owners, who are the pillars of federal income tax revenue, would have to shoulder a bigger tax burden.
* Home values could fall 15%, says Yun, as buyers discount the value of the mortgage interest deduction in their purchase offers.
* It’s faulty to link the mortgage meltdown to the country’s support for home ownership. The meltdown is rooted in lax underwriting and faulty ratings by credit rating agencies of the securities backed by the mortgage, says Yun.
Protecting the deduction promotes housing. In supporting the mortgage interest deduction, you help ensure that tomorrow’s families can follow the same path to home ownership that so many of us have already traveled.