WESTSIDE WAY OF LIFE is our weekly newsletter where you'll receive valuable information on upcoming events on the westside, along with home improvement tips, real estate activity, and more. Be the first to know about the latest market trends, hot buys, cool happenings and neighborhood buzz.
Rising home prices from everywhere reflected this key market fundamental as home prices hit record highs. On the Westside, Brentwood’s average sales price for single-family homes increased 41 percent to $6.3 million. The average sales price for Culver City condos rose 26 percent to $863,763. The good news for sellers is the equity in their homes grew at unprecedented rates.
You may not be aware of it, but many paint and pigment companies choose colors that they think will be hot in the coming year. Shades of green seem to be an overwhelming favorite for 2022, with almost every company choosing some green hue as either their top pick, or part of their overall range of choices. In fact, green is so well-represented this year that there’s really only one company that seems to be bucking the green trend entirely, but it’s a big one.
Nobody likes a small bathroom. Unfortunately, a lot of houses have them. If you live in a home with a bathroom that makes you feel a bit claustrophobic, you might think that there isn’t much you can do without some major (and majorly costly) renovations. This may not be the case, though. There are actually a number of small changes that you can make to your bathroom to make it not only appear bigger, but possibly even give you some more space to work with.
Maybe you’re adding an expansion onto your home, constructing a standalone storage building in the back yard, or undertaking some other major construction project. Whatever it is that you’re building, you likely already know that big construction jobs can carry big costs. If you haven’t budgeted for the job correctly, though, you might end up surprised at how big some of these costs can be.
Day to day life has a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes it a little too easy to misplace some of those things that we use every day. This can be a real hassle, causing you to spend time looking for the various things you need instead of using them. Most smartphones come with a “find my phone” feature, so wouldn’t it be great if everything else had a similar function?
It goes without saying that your doors are an important part of your home. They provide security, help to control the temperature, and even play a big part in the overall look of your home. Your front door is one of the first things that people notice when coming to your home, and the state that your door is in can have a noticeable impact on the impression that people have of your house and property. Stop and think about it for a moment: What sort of a message is your front door sending?
So-called “smart” devices are increasingly popular, adding new features and functionality to just about every room in your home. One room that you might not consider for a smart upgrade is the kitchen, but you should. There are a number of sensors and connected devices that can transform your kitchen into something special. One great option that’s often overlooked is the addition of a smart faucet to your sink.
When the last of the brightly colored leaves cling tightly to otherwise bare trees, you know that winter is coming. It’s a sad state of affairs, but happens every year, just like clockwork. The sleet, the snow, the ice, the cold, it all comes in a cycle, and because of that, you need to be paying particular attention to your furnace this time of year. Even if it hasn’t yet started raining down frozen apocalypse upon your head where you live, being ready for the day you’ll have to kick the heat on is a good idea. After all, you don’t want to find out that your furnace isn’t working properly when there’s a foot of snow in the forecast.
First impressions go a long way. This is applicable to not only when you meet someone new, but also when somebody sees your house for the first time. Regardless of whether it’s a friend or colleague coming over to visit or a prospective buyer looking at a property you’re trying to sell, the importance of curb appeal shouldn’t be underestimated.
Your thermostat plays an important role in keeping your home comfortable throughout the year. After all, the thermostat is the central hub for controlling the temperature you want to keep your home at regardless of whether it’s hot or cold outside. Unfortunately, the thermostat that you have now might not be doing as good of a job as you think, which could be costing you money. If you want to get the most out of your heating and cooling and save some money in the long term, it may be time to upgrade your thermostat to a model that’s a little bit smarter.