Forget the Open Floor Plan--It's Time to Bring Back Walls

 Upgrading your home with new flooring will make your space considerably more comfortable, appealing and up to date. However, installing new floors in a furnished home can be complicated, since furniture, decor and other items must be removed before the project begins. Before the installation date, I recommend scheduling time to pare down your belongings and pack the remaining items in an organized fashion. This can be a time-consuming process, so I suggest starting several days before the installers arrive. If you are intentional about culling your possessions, your new space can be free from clutter and filled only with items you truly love. Read on for a room-by-room approach to paring down and packing up your belongings. Curated Nest Before You Start Some floor installers include furniture moving in their price, while others charge extra for this service. Generally, floor installers know how to move furniture from room to room with little disruption to your life. Other installe...

  1. High-Speed Internet and Broadband: A home office or workspace remains essential for many home buyers, but if a house doesn’t have a good digital infrastructure, work-from-home buyers may not be interested, says associate broker Lori Hoffman with   Compass in Chappaqua, a suburb of New York.   “Young buyers coming from urban areas expect it, yet it’s not always available,” she says. Her advice is to make sure high speed is available for your buyers, and if it’s not, find an alternative before they invest. 2. Quality, Quality, Quality:  Location may still be king, but buyers want quality in building materials, systems, and appliances since they know how hard it is to secure materials due to supply chain disruptions and find a contractor who’s available and can get the work done right. “They don’t want inexpensive gray and white vanities with a composition top. They prefer something like a dark navy or sleek modern dark wood with a thick porcelain top, something th...

I nflation is a red-hot topic right now, and for good reason: In October, the annual   inflation rate   rose to an alarming 6.2%. That’s the highest it’s hit since November 1990, over 30 years ago, and a steep uptick from the manageable 2% that we’ve enjoyed for the past five years. Translated to your daily life, this means Americans are shelling out more money for just about  everything , from gas for your tank to heating bills to groceries and more. Our money simply doesn’t go as far as it used to. So what’s the impact of inflation on housing? Not surprisingly, inflation is influencing the real estate market in a big way, too. According to a  Stanford University study , residential real estate has historically been an “investment safe-haven” during inflationary periods. Researchers found that during the 1970s (another moment of surging inflation), home prices rose relative to the size of the economy. This was good news for homeowners and real estate investors, sinc...

  1. Nooks and crannies Depending on its size, a nook can be turned into a small sitting area, a tea station, or put to a variety of purposes. “A home’s awkward nooks are great opportunities to be creative,” says  David Steckel , a home expert with Thumbtack. If they’re located on the floor where you entertain, they could become a perfect spot for a bar or even a coffee station. They’re also good for extra storage, if you add cabinets or shelving. A really unusual cranny can house a custom credenza with doors that open, says  Breegan Jane , a designer and brand ambassador at Legrand. “These sorts of pieces allow you to beautify your areas, while doing double duty to conceal things that would otherwise become quite unsightly,” says Jane. 2. Under the stairs The space under the stairs typically goes completely unused, given the steeply angled ceiling above it. It can still provide a functional area, though. “There are so many ways to utilize that generally awkward spac...

  With 2021 coming to a close, home remodeling and design platform Houzz has released its top trend predictions for 2022. The full list, which is compiled from a community of over 65 million homeowners and more than 2.7 million design professionals, includes kitchen, bath, and outdoor design trends and also touches on aging in place, sustainability, and efficiency. See below for the 10 trends Houzz expects to take off next year. Multiple window banks:  Thanks to the rise of hardworking pantry walls, storage-optimized island bases, and lower cabinets that allow homeowners to skip upper cabinets, Houzz pros anticipate homeowners to go with expansive runs of windows in 2022. n A casual collected look:  While the 2021 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study confirmed that all-white kitchens remain dominant, layered looks are gaining in popularity. A more casual, less-polished approach with softer paint colors, raw wood tones, and a mix of cabinet fronts and styles is predicted to ris...