Does your kitchen look more like the set of a 1980s sitcom than the sleek, efficient, and stylish hub of your home? Maybe you’ve considered giving it a facelift, but just aren’t sure where to begin. And, given the investment required, it’s not something you want to jump into uninformed.

Before you hire a contractor and start swinging that sledge hammer, here are some things to consider.

• Budget – This may seem like an obvious starting point, and yet many kitchen remodeling projects go over budget, sometimes by thousands of dollars. Factor “surprises” into your budget, especially if you’re opening walls or changing the footprint of the space.
• Stated Reason – Are you updating to make the space work better for you or is your primary concern greater resale value? If it’s the latter, consider speaking with a real estate professional about what upgrades buyers in your neighborhood are looking for. You want to make your home desirable without going overboard.
• Use – How does your household use the kitchen now, and what more could you do if you had the space and the means? If you’re a frequent entertainer, maybe an open layout, a large French-door refrigerator, and lots of prep space would make entertaining easier and more enjoyable.
• Style – Do you prefer a modern look with simple lines and sleek surfaces or is traditional more your style? If your dream cabinets, counters, and flooring are out of your price range, look at alternative materials that still deliver the look you want for a fraction of the cost.
• Storage – Even a small kitchen can have tons of storage space if you make the most of the space you have. Upper cabinets that reach to the ceiling can hold seasonal or special occasion dishes, platters, and other items. A small rolling island or cart offers extra prep space and storage, while a small bistro table with a drop-down side offers casual dining for two.

Any time you have a significant amount of work done inside your home, it’s a signal to burglars who pay attention to such things that here is a family of means with items worth purloining. They’ll see the extra cars and vans parked outside your home, sometimes for weeks at a time. Which means that before you launch your next remodeling project, make sure your home security equipment is functional and up to date. And that the company that monitors your system is as fully responsive to your needs. For a first-time system or a home security upgrade, contact Now Security Systems today for more information or a free in-home security analysis and proposal.

If you listened to everyone who said “do this because it will increase your home’s resale value,” you’d never stop spending money on your home.  And you wouldn’t come close to recouping your total investment.

That’s why doing something to increase your home’s resale value, while generally a good idea, should rarely if ever be your sole reason for making certain improvements.

Let’s say, for example, you live in a neighborhood where no one’s heard of tankless water heaters. But you have, and you want one. Is it worth the added expense and/or will it yield a higher resale price for your home? Impossible to say with just that much information to work with. Therefore, go ahead and purchase that tankless water heater if you think it’s the best hot water solution for your family, and its impact on eventual resale value determine itself.

On the other hand, let’s say you are actively planning to sell your house and you have a set budget for making improvements before putting it on the market. According to HGTV, these are the projects that typically deliver the greatest return on investment:

1. Minor bathroom remodel
2. Landscape improvement
3. Minor kitchen remodel
4. Exterior improvements
5. Attic bedroom conversion

You know what else adds value to your home? A home security alarm system! It increases the desirability of your home and property and often is a deciding factor when a buyer is faced with a choice of which home to place an offer on.

What’s more, home security systems are considered a valuable addition to your home by insurance companies. In fact, many of them offer up to a 20% discount on your monthly premiums.

Whether you’re selling or staying put, contact Now Security Systems today to learn more about how a carefully installed and monitored security system can add value to your home, and peace of mind for its occupants.

If you have a wall that’s too small for furniture, or is positioned in a high flow traffic area but makes little if any decorative statement, maybe you’ve just given up trying.  After all, you might reason, do you really want to hang up more family photos or “whatever” just because you have a space to fill?

Well, it’s for just such spaces that gallery walls first came into being:  a place where you can make an important creative statement about who you, something that means the world to you, some place memorable you’ve visited, and so on. Here are a few tips and suggestions to get you started.

Get inspired: Half of the fun of a gallery wall is gathering and locating a collection of items you love! Not quite sure what that might be? Search the internet, Pinterest, magazines, and even your own photo albums. Figure out what strikes your fancy, and then do a little more research on the specifics.

Get personal: Once you’ve picked your theme, don’t just buy all your items at a home décor store – nothing terribly personal about that!  Instead, add personal touches, like old family photos, family heirlooms, or have the whole family pick items that represent them and their part of the story.

Get focused: Pick a statement piece, something that is on the larger side that will draw people’s attention, and make the focal point of your gallery wall. Then use other pieces to elaborate on the central theme. And don’t be afraid to think outside the box, as not every focal point has to be dead center. It can be wherever you want it to be.

Get creative: When choosing the items for your wall, try to vary them in size, type, and texture and yet make sure thy complement one another and the overall theme. Also, keep in mind that too many small items will get lost, while several larger items would tend to  make the wall feel overwhelming or busy.

Give it life: First lay out the design. You can do this on the floor or a table, or trace the items on paper and move the pieces around until your satisfied it’s just what you want. This will help ensure that once you start adhering things to the wall, you’ll only have to do it once.

If you have valuable items as part of your Gallery Wall, we advise you to not make it viewable from the outside.  Otherwise, it could serve as a neon sign to burglars, screaming “look what’s waiting here for you.”  Don’t already have a home security system?  Then today’s a great day to contact Now Security Systems for the added protection every family needs for true peace of mind.

For all the looking ahead to spring you do, you also have it in your head that the very morning after you turn the clocks ahead, you lose an hour’s worth of sleep.  Is that necessarily true?  Not if you stay in bed that Sunday morning until you’re no longer tired.  Then all you’ve lost is one hour of activity that you’ll get back in early November.

But since perception is nine-tenths of reality, even when it comes to daylight savings tip, here are some tips on how to adjust to the new spring and summer hours.

Get a head start: Instead of waiting for the time change to hit, start adjusting a week or so ahead of time by going to be about 10 minutes earlier each night.

Create a sleep environment: Creating the right environment for sleep is good advice year-round, but it’s especially important when sleep can be disrupted. Start winding down for bed an hour before you’d like to be sleeping. Turn off all the electronics, wash up and change for bed, read or meditate, have a warm cup of tea, and then turn all the lights off for dream time. Getting used to a routine means that your body will be naturally cued on going to sleep when you begin these steps – no matter what time it is.

Stop looking at the clock: For up to two weeks following the time change people are fond of saying “Yes, but it’s really an hour earlier!” The point is, the less attention you pay to the time change, the faster your spring schedule will become the new normal.

Be flexible: Remind yourself that you have no problem staying up late and getting less sleep when going out for the evening, so why should the eve of daylight savings time be different?

Soak in the tub:  Taking a hot bath is an excellent way to slow down before bedtime. Not only does it relax you, but raises your body temperature, as well. Once you exit the tub, your body temperature lowers, just as it does when you go to sleep.  Now, you’re one step closer to dream time.

With daylight savings time also comes warmer weather, and that means more open windows and doors.  Well, it’s also important to keep in mind that crime generally increases in the spring, so please be sure to lock your doors and windows before leaving the house, and to arm your home security system accordingly.  Don’t already have one?  Then contact Now Security Systems to request a free home security analysis and proposal.