May 30, 2002

Hi Folks!

Welcome to another issue of Better Judgements! You are receiving this newsletter because 
you have either joined at http://terriajudge.com or were invited to receive this monthly 
newsletter directly by Terria Judge. Either way, you are in for a treat. If you should 
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line.

In this Issue
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1. Article, "Making a Small Home (or Small Rooms!) Grand!"
2. Extra! Extra! See Your Home Here!
3. Article, "Making Major Changes to Make Your Home Seem Larger"

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Making a Small Home (or Small Rooms!) Grand!

Here are a few simple steps you can take if you lack the budget to knock down walls or 
--build a new home! 

1. Darker colors will instantly weight a room and therefore make your space seem smaller 
and more closed in. Just get some lighter brighter paint and you will automatically increase 
the size of your room visually. If you have a fear of Luscious Lime or Solar Yellow, then 
Neutral tones and light-patterned wallpaper will work as well. Don't forget your 
moldings--if they are dark, they will draw attention to dimensions. The same goes for those 
decorative wallpaper borders. Leave them off if you want to open the room beyond its size. 
Paint the molding a lighter shade of the walls to give the room a loftier and spacious look.

2. Okay, so you can't put in the time it takes to paint the room, but I bet you have a few 
minutes to hang mirrored panels or a large wall mirror! Hanging one directly across from a 
door or window will fool you and everyone else!

3. Like dark paint, dark window treatments tend to weight the room and the space. Lighten up 
with the new breezy sheers in lighter colors, or use Roman shades or wooden shutters. The 
point is GET IN THE LIGHT. Light opens spaces. Unless you're going for a dark look (i.e. you 
need your bedroom like a cave so you can sleep) it's best to lighten things up a bit!

4. It goes without saying that the more stuff you have, the more cluttered it will be, and 
therefore the less space you will have. Try to part with your things, or rotate your displays 
to cut the clutter.  Having too much furniture in place can make your rooms seem too small. 
Choose only the essential pieces. 
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Extra! Extra! See Your Home Here!

Terria Judge has a long list of successes! If you need an adamant seller's agent, then you 
can't go wrong with Terria. Just look at the pictures of all the homes she's helped her 
clients sell:

http://terriajudge.com/successes.html

If you want to see your home listed on this page, then call Terria right away at 620-271-2129!


Terria Judge
Coldwell Banker, The Real Estate Shoppe
1135 College Dr. Suite E
Garden City, KS 67846

620-275-7421 x 223
http://terriajudge.com
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Making Major Changes to Make Your Home Seem Larger
 
If you CAN start knocking down the walls, then you might find a few ideas here:

1. Create an open "country kitchen" area for cooking, eating, family living, and informal 
entertainment by tearing down walls between these living spaces.  Opening the kitchen in this 
way allows the cook to join in conversations with family and guests. However, do not remove 
any walls before consulting an engineer or contractor to determine whether the walls are 
load bearing. Removing a load-bearing wall could seriously weaken the structure of your home. 
It isn't always necessary to remove a wall completely to make a room more spacious. Removing 
even a small part of the wall can add visual space. This would only require opening a "window"
type portion at eye level, or removing half the wall structure.

2. You can extend the amount of space you have by creating a private outdoor living space 
adjacent to the indoor living area. A patio or deck can provide a good area for relaxing or 
entertaining. Decks can be built at either the first- or second-floor level, depending on 
where the added space is needed most. You've all seen the screened-in patios and new sun 
room structures. Lots of light and fresh air could give you the open feeling you're looking 
for!

3. Would you ever consider eliminating a small window? Sometimes a little one on the North 
side won't add a lot of light, and trying to arrange furniture is just awkward around it. 
Removing it will increase wall space and, considering it faces Nortg, will lower heating 
bills. A word of caution against removing south side windows because they capture solar heat. 
Before you remove a window permanently, cover the opening to see if the reduction in light 
and ventilation is acceptable. If possible, add a skylight to a room or hallway to open up 
the ceiling, let in light, make the interior space more usable, and give the area a more 
spacious feeling.

4. You may be able to gain living space by converting less-used spaces in the home attics, 
garages, porches, and basements - to year-round living space. Don't eliminate storage space, 
however. Luggage, lawn furniture, and other equipment must be kept someplace. In some houses, 
you can build a loft into the corner of a high-cellinged room in such a way that you gain 
another level of living area while the space below remains as useful as ever. Or perhaps you 
can open the ceiling of the room to the roof of the house and gain some visual space.

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This newsletter published by Mitone Bennett of http://mitone.com .