2010 June — Silicon Valley Real Estate: Home Buying, Home Selling & Getting Your House Ready to Sell

A to Z Construction Contractors & Service Providers: I: Interiors & Textiles in Palo Alto CA

June 21, 2010 By Kelsey Lane 3 Comments

Listen up interior designers and anybody who is planning an upscale/high end remodeling construction project on the Peninsula or in Silicon Valley! This store in Palo Alto CA is not to be missed. I found them when looking for a very specific “green” flooring material, which is Marmoleum, a completely eco solution for flooring made of all natural & non-harmful materials. They are one of the valley’s only distributors for this product, and their showroom has many other green materials as well, including carpet. Our Silicon Valley realtor team likes their selection of high end materials, from carpet, to window treatments, to flooring of all types. They even have jute carpet. Their salespeople are actually trained as interior designers so they take great care to make sure you’re pleased with what you order & that it goes with your color palette & surrounding design elements (they will even coordinate with a contractor that you’re using if you want0. The salespeople often come to do the measuring (once, the owner of the shop Fred Wee came to measure!) and they’ll look at the house to make sure your choices will work. We’ve also been pleased with their attention to detail in the ordering process. It’s very much worth a look: Interiors & Textiles, 3960 Fabian Way, Palo Alto CA 650-493-1700

Need to find a contractor for a remodeling construction project? Get a contractor list of recommendations from The Listing Look (Silicon Valley realtor professionals) by clicking “Find a Contractor” in the top navigation.

Remodeling Construction Techniques: The Stainless Kitchen

June 13, 2010 By Kelsey Lane Leave a Comment

When designing a new kitchen on a budget, try all black appliances with the above ideas. It really gives a stainless effect.

Let’s face it – granite & stainless are still in style. I keep thinking they’ll go out, but for the moment it remains a trend. For our listings, often what we’ll do is come up with remodeling construction solutions to create a stainless look without having to buy all new appliances. It’s a trick those buying a house can employ as well. If your vent hood needs to be replaced, rather than going with white or black, put in stainless (or have a contractor install it). Then, install brushed nickel hardware on your cabinet doors. You or a contractor can hang organizers & utensil holders on the backsplash wall that are brushed nickel or stainless steel. Then, display all of your stainless untensils (keep the rest in either a drawer or in a crock). As pictured, use drop pendant lighting in either satin nickel or stainless — or any other type of lighting. Then as your appliances break down, you can replace them one by one with stainless. These principles can work for those who are buying a house or home selling — or just anyone starting their next remodeling construction project.

A to Z Construction Contractors & Service Providers: H: HPC Painting, San Jose CA

June 1, 2010 By Kelsey Lane Leave a Comment

There are many great painters and painting companies in the San Jose CA area, but few that take such great care as Sin Phoeurth and his team at HPC Painting (one of his team members is his wife). In addition to helping us with clients, they also painted my house I recently bought in San Jose CA. As a contractor, he was so patient when I picked 12 different colors! And then for the kitchen cabinets I wanted those to be three different colors – they didn’t even skip a beat. They kept track of all the different sheens. Then, when I didn’t like certain colors that went up on the wall, they repainted for a reasonable price, without complaint. We had gaps where the ceiling met the wall and they caulked and patched as part of their bid (which the other painters were not going to do & were charging more money). Their attention to detail was unrivaled. Thank you HPC! Our home buying & home selling clients have been happy with you too. HPC Painting, 408-578-5862 (San Jose CA)