Small Business Saturday Offers Support to Local Businesses in Edmond

Black Friday will truly be a busy day for any avid shopper. It is always the best time to buy gifts, household necessities, food and almost any other commodity at bargain prices. There will a number of huge discounts in stores across the country, creating the perfect environment to save money on gifts before the holidays.

In order to offer support to local businesses during Black Friday, the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce will be supporting a national program by the American Express. Small Business Saturday is a national program started in 2010 in order to support small businesses. 

The Fifth Annual Small Business Saturday is set for November 29th. During this time, the organization is encouraging shoppers to allocate a portion of their shopping budget to local small businesses in their community. That way, there will be more people buying in small businesses and not spend all of their shopping funds in large, commercial establishments.

The Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce has supported the program while advocating for small businesses in Edmond. They offer several events and programs in line with promoting local commerce, such as the Edmond Locally Owned, an awareness program for locally-owned businesses, and monthly workshops and luncheon for small businesses.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Save Space in Your Kitchen

Having more space in the kitchen can boost your home value by making it more appealing to home buyers. Increasing kitchen storage makes the kitchen feel more functional and organized, which most people appreciate.

If there are areas in your kitchen with unclaimed wall space, adding additional shelves can create more space to store kitchenware, food, and cleaning supplies. If you install new shelves, just be sure they are within easy reach; otherwise, they won’t be practical. For wine lovers, mounting a wine rack on the wall can also be a functional and attractive addition to the kitchen.

If you think you have enough kitchen cabinets already, consider whether or not they could benefit from some updating. Changing the hardware or painting your cabinets a new color can instantly transform them. Incorporate high tech kitchen gadgets into your cabinet designs. If you want a more modern look, remove the doors from your cabinets and make them open shelves that display your dishes and other items.

Finally, clear all the clutter from your kitchen and organize your items in a functional way. Get rid of empty cleaning bottles. If you like coffee, create a coffee station, where all of your coffee filters, mugs and coffee beans are in one place. If you bake a lot, keep all of your commonly used ingredients and bowls in one spot, so you can pull everything out at once.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

What You Need to Know About Exterior Wall Insulation

The exterior walls of your home are those that directly separate the inside of your house from the outside. Because they are designed to protect you against the elements, they are usually insulated to help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Exterior wall insulation offers several benefits. First of all, it is important for maintaining energy efficiency in your home. Not having the right kind of insulation can cause inside air to leak outside and outside air to sneak inside. This effects your ability to control the temperature inside your home, which can be frustrating and also cause your utility bills to be higher because your air units have to work harder to compensate for the lack of energy efficiency.

Insulation can be installed without disrupting the interior of your home. Adding insulation is a process that takes place inside the exterior walls, so it in no way affects the size of your living space. If anything, insulation can improve the appearance of your home because it can also involve exterior techniques like filling cracks in bricks.

Filling your external walls with insulation is not a difficult talk and can be achieved pretty quickly. If your insulation materials are too long for the walls, you can cut them to retrofit properly and avoid doubling over or compressing. Use sharp, high-quality knives with straight edges because smooth cuts on insulation help it be more effective. Cut insulation about one inch bigger around the edges than it needs to be, so it will form solid seams.

Limit or control air leakage as much as possible by applying foam or caulk sealants to open spaces in your house like gaps in window frames, around your doors, and perforations where wires and pipes normally pass.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Revamping Your Decorating to Increase Your Home Value

When you decide to sell your home, there are many things you can do to increase its value, and they are sometimes as simple as aesthetic adjustments. There are countless home staging and home improvement techniques you can use to make your home more desirable in the fast-paced real estate market, so it sells faster and at a higher price.

Knowing what home buyers want is the important first step. Home buyers look for a home where they can envision themselves living comfortably on a day-to-day basis and that they will be proud to show their loved ones. Revamping the interior design of your home helps connect the dots for them because they don’t have to imagine what a house could feel like – they can see it firsthand. There are certain decorating patterns, colors, textures, and furnishings that can maximize the first impression you give to buyers.

Utilize design psychology when addressing your home’s interior design. It is recommended to have color on your walls versus leaving them plain white because it gives a sense of warmth and comfort. While you may think that white walls would create a neat and clean impression, they end up creating a stark, impersonal feel instead. Colors affect people’s moods and feelings, so choose colors that give off a warm, cozy, or cheery feeling. The furniture should suit the style and location of the home as well. In colder climates, incorporate soft, cozy furniture throughout the house. In warmer climates, use less furniture and make it more airy. When you are staging your home, props and decor also play an important role. Flowers and artwork enhance the beauty of a room by adding depth and visual interest. If you have collected interesting art or decor through your travels, display them as well, as it will make the home feel more sophisticated and, therefore, make potential home buyers feel like they would be more sophisticated living there as well.

When it comes to selling your home, always focus on your target audience and their needs. The more you play to what people in your area are looking for in a home, the quicker you will sell your home, and the more likely you will be to receive a higher price for it.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Effective Wall Décor Ideas to Increase Home Value

Do you know that the simple task of arranging decor on your walls can immediately increase the value of your home? This is a great move to make, especially when you’re planning to sell your home. Hanging photos, posters, and art adds charm and personality to your home’s over-all look. Professional home stagers do not recommend hanging family portraits if you plan to sell, since home staging should depersonalizing the home as much as possible, giving potential buyers the opportunity to imagine themselves living there.

If you are an aspiring photographer, you can use the pictures you’re proud of to decorate the fireplace and dining room walls. Artwork is also a phenomenal choice, especially that which you have collected over the years. One factor you should remember is not to overdo the wall decorations since it may create an unnecessary distraction instead of a pleasing visual aura.

Consider securing the hangings or the postings firmly into the wall. Prevent falling pictures or artwork that may have the potential to harm people living in the house. Secure hanging with nails or wall studs for clear strength. Use screws for large or heavy hangings. To add wonderful color variations on your indoor walls, posters and paintings are the perfect choice. If you want subtle hues and colors, you can post artworks with those hues and see these perfectly blend with your home’s walls. Wall art can add either accent or contrast to your home space. For walls that are pained with bright colors, hang paintings or posters that are based with pastels colors and vice versa. There are wall décor options to choose from other than just paintings, such as candle holders, colorful wall clocks, clipboards and unique crafts.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

OETA Hosts First Annual Fall Literacy Festival in Oklahoma City

For decades, TV has been used as a tool to educate children through interactive learning programs. These shows have helped enhance children’s vocabulary and learning skills while also entertaining and enthralling them.

The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) is a statewide television network that offers various television programs, including educational programming for the kids. As apart of their Ready to Learn Initiative, OETA will be hosting a free family event that will focus on literacy for children in Oklahoma. The Fall Literacy Festival will be a one-day activity-filled event designed to offer learning and entertainment for both kids and adults.

The Fall Literacy Festival this month will be the first of its kind for OETA. The festivity will offer different forms of literary activities suitable for age groups starting from Pre-K to 3rd Grade. Kids will have fun playing and learning while also spending quality time with family. It will be a memorable day for everyone.

Hands On Leaning will be available at the Great Lawn of Myriad Gardens. Kids can roam freely and choose the activity they want to participate in. Also, there will be a meet and greet with PBS Kids characters along with the Super Why cast. Books and stickers will be given away to those attending.

If you love to sing, then sing along with Spaghetti Eddie! Story-time will be magical with special guest performer Al Bostick! The First Annual Fall Literacy Festival is set for Saturday,November 15th at the Great Lawn of Oklahoma City Myriad Gardens. The event will be from 9:30am to 2:00pm.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Basic DIY Home Staging Tips that Improve Selling Your Home

For some home staging tasks, it can be best to hire a professional home stager, who has expertise in knowing how to create the biggest impact on potential home buyers. Other, simpler things, however, can be handled by you, the home owner. Here are a few basic tasks you can do yourself to improve the appearance of your home for little to no cost.

1. Lighting Replacement. It is very important to allow potential buyers to see the greatness of the living spaces in your home, and sometimes this requires refreshing and enhancing certain things. Replacing light fixtures is a simple and effective method for increasing the appeal of a room. It also gives you the opportunity to update the energy efficiency of your home depending on the types of fixtures and light bulbs you use.
2. Cobweb and dust removal. As basic as it is, most homeowners overlook this element. The truth is that homes simply look better when they are clean, and if you want your home to have a strong impact on your potential buyers, it needs to be in tip top shape.
3. Landscaping or Lawn Maintenance. As we all know, the exterior of your home is the first thing home buyers see, and a positive first impression is crucial. It is worth the monetary investment and effort to make your home look presentable from the outside. Remove any litter or large branches that may be in your yard. Keep your grass mowed and trimmed. Add water sprinklers if your budget allows, as that makes the maintenance easier and is appealing to home buyers.
4. Remove clutter. It is totally normal for a house to accumulate clutter throughout the years. Keep in mind, however, that home buyers want to see the structural elements of your home, and clutter can conceal that. Removal general junk like papers lying around, and begin to eliminate excess items you no longer need in order to open up your drawer and closet spaces. Get rid of excess clothing. Check your kitchen for expired items and remove them from your refrigerator and pantries.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Green Homes in Real Estate

Green Homes are one of the latest trends in the real estate industry. One of the reasons why green homes are in such demand is because of the increasingly environmentally-aware society. Having a eco-friendly home is an effective contribution to the green efforts of your community. Green homes also offer great benefits to homeowners, since they save money by cutting the need for additional energy.

A green home’s flooring should be made of recycled materials. Being eco-friendly is a trait of a green home and the materials used should be safe for the environment. The installation process involved should be eco-friendly, without harming nature by releasing gas fumes or other toxic elements. The most commonly used materials in eco-friendly flooringare cork, bamboo and linoleum, all of which give off a warm, inviting and cozy appeal. Additionally, they are durable enough to last for years. These materials do not contain harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is known to be damaging to health. Unfortunately, these toxins are present in products utilized in many homes that are not eco-friendly.

One note-worth material used in green homes is salvaged lumber. Salvaged lumber can be obtained from homes that are old and beyond repair. Salvaged lumber has many advantages for your home since it is already aged to a progressive density unlike new lumber. Solar energy implementation is another efficient characteristic of a green home. This effectively decreases energy costs as well as improves energy efficiency.Make sure that the home equipment to be used, such as ovens, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, refrigerators, washers and other electric appliances are energy efficient. Otherwise, look for other green-approved appliances for your home.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Bricktown Welcomes New 13,000-Square-Foot Mural

A new attraction now resides in Bricktown, Oklahoma City. The entertainment district welcomes a massive mural that not only draws people closer, but also speaks to a rich history and deep connection between the community and its local businesses.

The 13,000-square-foot mural was painted by artist Rick Sinnet on the north side of the Rocktown Climbing Gym, A former grain silo. The mural weaves a story that unites businesses in the city with the entire community. Sinnett utilizes different bold lines and bright colors all over the 128 feet wide and 100 feet tall structure.

According to Sinnett, the mural depicts the symbolisms of the city. In the mural, you can see the state blanket, the three massive buffalo and the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, the state bird. Sinnet spent a number of days working on the mural with the help of some friends. The mural has been named This Land.

The mural, which was conceptually conceived years before, started late due to a two-year planning process. Sinnett also plans to paint the side south of the building, but with no definite start or completion date yet.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Indoor Porch Decorating Ideas

Indoor porches are a feature that will instantly increase the value of your home. They can add a unique feature to a house and are conducive to a variety of styles. Here are a few style ideas for you to draw inspiration from if you are considering adding an indoor porch or remodeling the one you have.

1. Strike a Contrast – Try mixing neutral colors like black and white with pops of color like turquoise or lime green. Contrasting colors are a great way to add energy to a room. You can also create contrast by mixing and matching different styles of furniture in a cohesive way. For example, you could have an antique or retro lounge sofa flanked by tables by modern, angular lines.
2. Cheery- For homeowners who love using their indoor porch as a sun room, there are a lot of fun ways to creative a cheery environment. Using wicker furniture topped with comfy cushions in bright colors is perfect for relaxing in a warm space. Turn an old trunk into a coffee table by adding a sheet of glass on top, and then you have the perfect place to rest your iced tea and cold drinks on a warm day.
3. Hello Sunshine – If you want to take a sun room to the next level, add a skylight. This will make your indoor porch more connected with nature, while still maintaining the comfort of being indoors. Skylights also open up a space, so if you have a smaller indoor porch, they can be perfect for creating the illusion of a more expansive space.
4. Luxe – Add a posh touch to porch living with higher end furniture and small details like fresh cut flowers in pretty vases and mirrored or metallic decor. Whites and creams are elegant colors that bring class through their simplicity.
5. Eclectic – Indoor porches are an area where you can explore the possibilities of design. For example, pair a blue painted chair with dark wood furnishings, or add a patterned area rug beneath a coffee table for a visual pop. Eclectic decorating incorporates both color and contrast to create a whimsical vibe that is one-of-a-kind.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031