Choosing a focal point in your kitchen:

By Mykah Larkins

Interested in giving your kitchen a face lift? Not sure where to begin? One way to start is to pick a focal point, an area of your kitchen that you already like that you can build around.

I chose to build my kitchen around the new Viking stove. I originally thought that we would be getting the typical stainless steel kind. Once we started visiting the sales floors, however, I immediately noticed they actually came in colors, lots of colors! There was a pale green that was really pretty, but I realized right away that it was very popular color at the time. Many homes I had seen were using this particular green for kitchens, bathrooms, accent pillows, you name it…it was everywhere. I thought that it might be one of those trendy colors that would become out of date rather quickly. Not the best choice for a 600 lb. stove.

The other color that caught my eye was the burgundy Viking. It was gorgeous. The color was rich and classic and I really couldn’t imagine not enjoying it anytime in the next decade. I had to have it. Once the Burgundy color was chosen for our new stove, everything just started coming together. For cabinets, there were many shades of wood that would look nice with the stove, but we could tell right away that the richer medium tones were the most complimentary. Next was the countertop, and a visit to the granite shop. So many choices, but we knew it had to have some burgundy in it. That narrowed it down somewhat. The tile for the floor was a little tougher, we didn’t want everything to be red, but it had to work with the reds we had already chosen. So, we ended up with kind of a swirly terracotta, brownish-red tile and it even has a little green in it. It looks lovely and better yet, hides all the dirt. Lastly, we had to pick lighting. Again, we didn’t want just your basic stainless steel colored pendant lights hanging from above. We wanted something eye catching that warmed up the room. After all, this was going to be a place to cook, entertain and hopefully invite some scintillating conversation. The funny thing is, it wasn’t hard to choose at all. That burgundy stove that helped us get started was also helping us complete the task in no time at all. Six months from start to finish and we had a beautiful new kitchen. And it was only after we painted it deep red, that I read an article informing me that the color red causes people to feel hungry. How appropriate. The other part I read was how red is the color of passion, love, warmth, power and excitement: Perfect for my new kitchen.

Tour this kitchen at it's Open House, Sunday April 10th

Open 2:00 to 4:00

11 Ramona Ave, El Cerrito

Offered at $695,000

3bd/2ba

This heavily upgraded split-level home is just a half block from Memorial Park. The floor plan offers terrific separation of space with two generous bedrooms and one large bathroom on the upper floor and the master suite below. The gorgeous remodeled kitchen boasts a Viking Stove & granite countertops. Creekside setting is perfect for entertaining.

www.11Ramona.com

Recurve Offers Free Home Energy Audits for Berkeley Residents Eligible for New Money for Energy Efficiency (ME2) Program

Recurve streamlines home energy remodel and rebate process for homeowners

San Francisco, CA – July 7, 2010 – Recurve, a San Francisco-based provider of home performance services that helps homeowners and contractors create healthy, energy-efficient homes through home energy audits and green energy remodeling, today announced that it will provide free audits and deferred remodeling payments for residents of Berkeley who are eligible for the City’s new rebate program, Money for Energy Efficiency (ME2), that launched on July 6, 2010. In conjunction with the city rebate offer, PG&E is offering incentives as well.

The ME2 program is an important component of the City’s Climate Action Plan and is designed to help the community achieve a 33% reduction in green house gas emissions by 2020. The City of Berkeley expects that residents and business owners will save over $100 million dollars in net energy savings by 2020 and create 19 local green jobs this year alone from implementing the new program. ME2, combined with additional rebates from PG&E, will provide up to $8,500 per unit for homeowners eligible for the program, which will be awarded by lottery from applications received by midnight on July 20th.

Recurve will provide the following services for Berkeley residents that wish to apply for ME2 and are awarded funding for home energy efficiency improvements:

Between July 6th and 20th homeowners can call Recurve at (877) 303-0977 for ME2 online application assistance
Free home energy audit and deferred home remodel payment equal to the projected rebate amount
BPI accredited services, as required by the program
Comprehensive home energy efficiency services by the Bay Area’s leading provider of energy audits and green remodels
Streamlined home energy audit and retrofit process that provides all three steps at one time (audit, retrofit, retest)

“We are pleased to see more and more incentive programs become available that will help homeowners achieve energy efficiency,” said Recurve VP of Marketing Marcia Kadanoff. “The city of Berkeley and its residents have been at the forefront of effecting positive change for the environment and we look forward to working with them in helping to achieve their climate action goals.”

For additional information about how Recurve can help you take advantage of ME2 rebates please visit: http://www.recurve.com/berkeley.

About Recurve
Based in San Francisco and founded in 2004, Recurve is the leading provider of home performance services, helping homeowners and contractors create homes that are comfortable, healthy and energy efficient. A licensed general and solar contractor, the company specializes in home energy audits and energy remodeling / retrofitting of existing homes. Recurve applies building science to quantitatively analyze a home’s performance as a dynamic system, so as to tailor its construction services to the client’s goals, budget, and priorities. The Company has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as the case study in their REGREEN Green Remodeling Best Practice Guidelines. For more information, please visit www.recurve.com or follow us on Twitter at @recurveus.

Discovering Dollars in Your Home Improvement Design

When remodeling or renovating, it is important to consider the project’s ultimate influence on your home’s worth. Well chosen improvements add value, sometimes greatly exceeding the cost of the labor employed and materials implemented. Sometimes the value added is tangible, resulting in another bedroom or additional bath. Other upgrades are more subtly nuanced. As agents, we see first hand which improvements have the greatest impact on area home buyers. Here is a bit of advice from our perspective:

1. Let the experts take the lead. Hire a designer and/or architect to be involved in the project. Good design is often the number one key to getting the highest return on your investment. Modest materials look more expensive if the design is thoughtful and well-articulated. Conversely, we have seen homeowners lose money spent on quality materials when they scrimped on the critical planning stage. When buyers are turned off by the layout or aesthetic, they will subtract the expense of future remodeling from their perception of value. Design consultants can work within all budget constraints and can be worth their weight in gold.

2. How long you plan to live in your home is an important consideration.

· If you plan only to be in the home for less than five years, improvements should be budget conscience with an eye toward splurging on a few key elements that will have the most universal appeal. Buyers will notice a well chosen focal point (like that great chef’s range), which in turn can bring up the value of remodel. Ask your agent what features current buyers are gravitating towards.

· If you plan to stay for ten to fifteen years, your emphasis should change to a more timeless design and the use of quality long-lasting materials. Now the focal points are less important because the fixtures can be changed out at a future date. In the kitchen, spend your money on high quality cabinets, good flooring and solid surface countertops that remain sensitive to (or improve on) the original architect’s design. Later, new appliances and fixtures may be all it takes to reinvigorate your investment.

· If you plan to stay for twenty years or more, you can more easily throw caution to the wind. Long range plans factor in a higher value for your years of “use and enjoyment.” Even unconventional alterations may now be worthwhile if they please you and your family. Chances are, many of today’s improvements will need to be re-evaluated at a later date.

3. Every year (in December) the National Association of Realtors comes out with a Cost vs. Value Report, which tries to reign in the areas of improvement which recoup the highest cost percentage. Such statistics can help, but are never as good as first-hand expert advice. Ask your agent to take a look at your individual project in light of the local market place.