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Even higher-end homes need renovation after so many years. Fashions go out of style and things get worn out. If money is not an object and the sky is the limit, you can do beautiful things with a remodel. However, if you are remodeling because you are ready to sell your home, it’s better to keep colors neutral and update carpets and flooring with easy to clean materials that will match several styles and colors. It is easier to sell a home when people can picture their personal items in the house, and they match with the current updated color scheme.
If it’s been some time since you updated the kitchen, start your remodel project there. Both bamboo flooring and natural stone are popular products that will last and that clean easily. Choose neutral colors if you are selling your home or go bold with your favorite colors if you are updating everything for yourself.
Update the appliances to energy-saving appliances. For a larger kitchen or a kitchen that you will be enlarging, consider a French door fridge with a double freezer drawer and a gas stove with six or eight burners and a double oven. If you must go with electric, consider a stovetop and purchase a double oven that is built into the wall. Add an island that also functions as a bar.
When looking at new cabinets, you might consider upper cabinets that go all the way up to the ceiling. However, keep in mind that the top shelves are harder to reach, especially for people who aren't vertically gifted. Light-colored woods, such as maple, are in and dark-colored woods are out. For the bottom cabinets, choose a set with drawers. Some manufacturers are making cabinets without drawers, which leads to a ton of wasted space and no place to store smaller items. While they may look great, they aren’t the best use of space.
If your bathrooms are small and cramped, consider enlarging them. Use adjoining closet space or add on to the house so that you can redesign the layout for the bedrooms and bathrooms. If you’re adding on, consider combining two small bedrooms into one large bedroom, den or office space with its own bathroom.
Choose natural stone tiles for the showers. They last for a long time, and if you choose neutral colors or even browns, they’ll match many color schemes and stay in fashion longer. Update the toilets to water-saving, high-pressure flush toilets. Update the vanities to something decorative instead of the typical square vanity with a single sink and cabinet, especially if you are enlarging your bathroom.
Consider adding a stand-alone shower in the master bathroom and adding a jetted tub. Large 5-foot showers with two or even three shower heads are popular. When you choose flooring, go with a natural stone tile that will withstand the humidity better. Add an exhaust fan with heat built into the fan. These are perfect for the winter months when the bathrooms always feel cooler than the rest of the house.
Consistent top listing and selling agent receiving Chairman's Club award for superior sales achievement almost every year while associated with Preferred Properties, Inc. Consistently receive the International Presidents Premier award for sales volume since joining Coldwell Banker Realty and ranked in the top 1% of agents in Connecticut and Westchester County. In 2021 I received the International Society of Excellence award for sales volume in excess of $100,000,000. I have been named a Top Five Sales Agent for customer satisfaction since 2010 (longer than any other agent in Connecticut) and listed in Connecticut Magazine. Named one of the Top Agents in Connecticut by Real Trends since 2018.
I work with sellers and buyers and also have a strong understanding to needs of those who are relocating . Background and experience in advertising, public relations and photography offer creative and innovative marketing plans for sellers.
Realtor designations include: Graduate Real Estate Institute, Certified Residential Specialist, Certified Residential Marketing Specialist, and Pricing Strategy Advisor. Served as President of New Canaan Board of Realtors (two terms), Director (three terms) and currently serve on Professional Standards Committee. Named Realtor of the year by the New Canaan Board of Realtors in 1994and again in 2022.
Married and mother of other of four children who attended and graduated from the New Canaan School System, Member of New Canaan, Darien, Greenwich and Statewide MLS systems. Areas covered include New Canaan, Darien, Greenwich, Rowayton, Norwalk, Wilton and all of lower Fairfield County.