Nuts & Bolts Networking Luncheon & Seminar

While the national economic recovery has been underway for some time now, the housing sector is still looking for signs of further improvement. At an upcoming lunch presented by the Home Builder’s Association of Greater Kansas City, Chris Kuehl, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, will give insight into how the economy is improving, what this industry is waiting for and what housing professionals need to look for in the future during a special luncheon.

Date:        Thursday, May 6, 2010

                   11:30 Am

                    Double Tree Hotel-10100 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS

Advance reservations are mandatory and can be completed through the Calendar of events at KCHBA. Price to attend is $28.00 for HBA members and $32.00 for non-members.

For more information, contact the HBA at 816-942-8800.

The Importance of the Front Door

Everyone wants their home to be the most Stunning, Beautiful and Delightful home in the neighborhood.  The house that has that “WOW” factor!  You can build a million dollar mansion and still not draw the attention, like the little cottage down the block.  Why, because you did not finish accenting your home properly.

When decorating the interior of your home, you start with the basics of carpet, paint and furniture.  Then you move on to accessorizing.  How many home shows must one watch to see that the difference between a nice home and a showplace is the way accessories are used?  I cannot stand it when I drive by a beautiful new home and notice that no one invested in a front door that has character.  What are they thinking?  Who uses that cheap front door on a new, expensive home?  Silly me, that is the question I asked my aunt before seeing her new house with just such a door.

OOPS! The front door is the first thing that people notice about a home.  Like your landscape, a beautiful door, be it wood or glass, expresses the personality of the homeowner.  It draws you into the home with a warm welcoming hug.   Beauty is important; however, make sure that you think of practicality too.  When choosing a door, be sure before you choose that magnificent mahogany door, that you are ready to keep up real wood, before you buy it.  A wood “look” door gives the illusion of wood with the ease of a strong metal door.  The variety of accent windows to surround your door, are endless.

A home’s design needs to be extended to your window choices too.   If you are updating your home make sure that the style of your windows match.  What I mean is if you are using casement windows, continue, because a home with different types of windows does not looked balanced.  It’s like mixing ugly plaid and polka-dots.  I chose casements because they are easy to clean, they have a symmetrical look and do not have the break in the center as lift windows.

Finally, millwork is the glue that ties the home together.  Colors and the framing of doors and windows, completes a project making a home’s design look elegant or contemporary. Outside or inside, your windows are not only your view of the world, but your neighbor’s view of you!

Plantation Shutters: The Hard Window Treatment

Plantation shutters have been admired in homes for several hundreds of years. This is actually one of the first window treatment design solutions ever. Original to the south and breezy homes of the Caribbean, plantation shutters now complement even today’s more contemporary upscale homes, when selecting larger louvers. (Louvers you say? We’ve included a quick diagram with the components of a shutter.)

As early as the 1700’s plantation shutters were appreciated for their ability to block the direct heat of the sun while still allowing in the cooling breezes. In my client’s homes now, we sometimes struggle with creating a clean, uniform look without the fuss of a soft window treatment. Sometimes it is strictly a result of wanting to maintain temperature inside the home. They often act as a great insulator to drafty windows.. With the high standards set long ago, the plantation shutter has been able to transcend its original setting and lend beauty and ambiance and style to many homes today.

Taking a look deeper into the construction of shutters, here are some thoughts that may sell you on the solution for your own home. With each louver forming a perfect line, one after the other, the all-wood, custom plantation shutter provides a room with a unique combination of form and function–a beautiful design either completely open or closed. But when slighted tilted, the true beauty of the plantation shutter lies in its ability to blend the elements of the inside of your home with the outdoors without neglecting their task as privacy filtrates. Each louver reflects light at different angles in the room and offers a nice warm glow throughout your room.

In today’s fast-paced, pressure-filled world, everyone appreciates an escape from the tension of everyday life. As more of today’s homes are designed to benefit from and embracing natural light with large windows that you are sometimes left puzzled with how to make them function in your home and lifestyle. Plantation shutters are now more appealing than ever to the old home suffering from heat loss in the winter, and cool air in the summer- to Contemporary homes that need to find a clean sleek definition for the windows.

Plantation shutters are a great money saver over time. They save energy in winter and in summers. They slow the loss of heat through the glass in winter. Keep shutter window coverings open on sunny days to let the sun’s warmth in and close them at night to insulate against cold, outside temperatures. In summer energy savings result in keeping hot air out reducing air conditioning bills.

Loosing heat through windows and doors represents a significant chunk of most heating bills. Some sources estimate that loss through windows alone could account for up to 35 percent of heating bills. The upfront cost of a shutter may seem high look to spend somewhere between $300-$600 per average size window- also consider man made shutters (painted in many stocked shades of white) which is much more cost effective than natural wood and they have a tendency to be warp resistant. When you start to think about what it can do for you over time, they pay for themselves!

Here are a few things to do around your home that can help you decide if you are a candidate for shutters:

Energy Efficiency Tips:

* Check around windows and doors with a candle or a light piece of thread on a windy day to determine where drafts are. This will reveal problem areas in need of immediate attention.

* Remove and replace damaged caulk and weather-stripping. Self-stick foam and rolled rubber weather-stripping are easy to install, and can contribute greatly to your home’s efficiency.

* An inexpensive method of weatherizing windows involves attaching thin, clear plastic film to the window trim inside of the house using two-sided tape. The film is then stretched taut using heat from a blow dryer to remove wrinkles and creases.

* Decorate your windows with efficiency – closed shutters, window shades, blinds, curtains and lined draperies. All contribute to energy savings by helping to insulate windows.

* For a long-range solution, consider installing efficient replacement windows, or storm windows and doors OR TRY SHUTTERS!

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