Does Your Home Reflect Your Personality?

Do your guests seemed surprised when they visit your home for the first time? You know the look. As soon as they step in the door they look around, then they look at you and glance around again, finally uttering, “Wow. I like your house.” It’s not that your home is a mess, or even poorly decorated. Your guests are sensing a disconnect between the person whom they know and the visual that your home presents. In our next issue we’ll talk about solutions to this problem, but first it’s important to recognize some of the subtle (and not so subtle) signs of a home that doesn’t “fit.” Here are some signs that your home may need a personality makeover.

Did you have a designer create your home’s “look”( or did you create one out of a magazine)?
While most designers say they create a style that reflects the client’s personality, some are more successful than others. Most designers do a lovely job making a home look beautiful, but often it’s more of a reflection of the designer’s taste not the homeowner and magazines certainly go for the more “one size fits all style.” Is there any part of the interior design of your home that’s nice, but just doesn’t feel like “you?”

Do you feel like you’re walking into a hotel?
Many homeowners strive for that “spa” look, but what’s achieved instead is the look of a nice hotel. Clean and neat, with absolutely no flair. If your living room reminds you of a small version of the local 4 star hotel lobby, it may be time to add some personal touches. If your home has no special or personal items on display this may be a symptom of “hotel-it is.”

Aztec white – it’s no longer what goes on the walls
If your walls are STILL that funny color of white, you probably know how outdated they are. Nothing says “I don’t want to think about color” than white walls. If today’s trends of bold bright colors with accents of neutrals frighten you a little, that’s OK. Trendy isn’t for everyone. If you’re wondering what kinds of colors would look good on your walls, ask yourself, “what colors do I like?” If you’re still at a loss, open up your closet and look inside. The colors you’re naturally drawn to in fashion are what you like – and will probably look good on your walls too.

Is everything on your walls square?
If you’re the matchy matchy type this may work for you, but if there’s something bothering you about all of those angles, perhaps your wall décor needs a change, Or if the “art” on your wall was something cheap you bought in college to take up wall space, but you don’t love it, maybe it’s time for something new.

And speaking of purchases from long ago, have you gone old couch blind? Often when furnishings are nearing the end of their lifespan, we don’t notice because we see them every day. Grab a note pad and pen. Take a walk around your home looking through the eyes of a stranger. How is that chair holding up? Is it looking tired? When did you buy that table? Is it still to your taste or are you just tolerating it?

Spend the next few days gathering your thoughts and observations. In our next issue we’ll give you some ideas for bringing more personality into your home. Meanwhile, while you’re thinking, did you find anything that needs repair? What about that broken cabinet door or that toilet that runs in the middle of the night? The Fix-It Professionals love doing those little “honey-do” jobs that you keep putting off.  

Call us today to get those bothersome problems taken care of so you can focus on more important things. Read on for our April 16 – 30th Special.

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Is that SUPPOSED to Happen When I Turn on the Dishwasher?

What year was your home built? When many of the homes in the Bay Area were built, “cable” was the thing that attached the “rabbit ears” to your television, an “entertainment center” was a record player with a built in radio and kitchen gadgets were mainly operated by hand. 

If your home was built before plugs had three prongs, it might explain some of the odd things that happen when you turn on an appliance. We like to call homes like this “Houses with Character.” Recently a client called because the light in her kitchen had gone out yet again. She was tired of having to get the ladder to replace the florescent lights and decided it was time to upgrade to LED lighting. Little did she know how much of a character her home would turn out to be!

While we were replacing the old light, she mentioned that she was concerned about the wiring because the house was old and had a reputation of being “remodeled by a maniac.” This wasn’t our first visit to re-repair her home. Problems like the sink being sealed to the counter with white glue, and kitchen cabinets that were incorrectly installed (and pulling away from the walls) had become “normal” and we had fixed quite a few of them. 

Shortly after we replaced the light, she was greeted with “that electrical smell” so back out we went. It turns out when the kitchen was remodeled, the “maniac” decided to move the location of the light to the “new center” of the room – away from the safety box and with wiring that’s not up to today’s code. Oh and did we mention the insulation they used was newspaper? (Yes you read that correctly) In essence, her home is an outdated firetrap that needs to be entirely re-wired. Better that she find out now than when there’s a fire.

Does your home show any of the same symptoms that hers does?

• When you turn on the dishwasher the cable reception becomes pixilated
• Cable boxes keep “going out” and need to be replaced
• You can only have two appliances running in the kitchen at once or you blow a fuse
• You have fuses (instead of a breaker box)
• When you turn on your modern entertainment center the lights in the adjacent room flicker
• When you run the washing machine, the lights in the upstairs bathroom flicker.
• When you turn on the light in the bathroom, there’s a 2 to 3 second delay before the light comes on.

We see problems like this in older rental homes all the time. The tenant calls the landlord because the expectation is when you rent a home all of their modern electronics and kitchen gadgets will work. When the home is your own, it could be that you’ve learned to live with inconveniences like this because it’s part of the home’s character.

You don’t have to put up with it! The Fix-It Professionals are expert electricians and can help you with everything from minor wiring problems to re-repairing what the last handyman did. If you’re ready to stop putting up with those nagging problems with your home, just give us a call! Our new March Special was created with you in mind. Read on for our April 7-14 special.

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