by Jeff Pittman | Oct 20, 2015 | Homeowners
Luxurious Bathrooms and Home Spas Ever since the Ancient Romans invented indoor plumbing, the ritual of a hot bath in beautifully appointed surroundings has been a marker of the good life. Whether it’s a master bath with spectacular mountain views, a home spa with a sauna, or a marble bathroom that exudes Hollywood glamour, these eight remarkable properties have luxurious bathrooms fit for a true spa experience. Lakefront Luxury – Chappaqua, New York Elegant Georgian-inspired architecture adorns the home’s huge master bathroom. This grand Georgian-style estate sits on 86 acres overlooking a lake in one of Westchester County’s most beautiful enclaves. Designed by architect Boris Baranovich with six bedrooms and numerous formal rooms for entertaining, this home also has wonderful recreational amenities including a gym, a pool, a tennis court, and hiking trails as well as an elegant marble master bath to refresh after a challenging workout. The marble floors are inlaid with a sunburst pattern, and architectural details like crown moldings and large windows give this roomy retreat an extra dose of glamour. Beachfront Beauty – Kailua, Hawaii Simplicity and elegance are features of this beautiful bathroom in Kailua, Hawaii. Just twenty minutes from downtown Honolulu, this spectacular estate on Kailuana Loop feels like a world apart. Surrounded by lush palm trees and flowers and with 125 feet of frontage on Kailua Beach, this seven-bedroom home is the ideal place to swim, sunbathe, and relax. The master suite features his and hers baths as well as sophisticated wood paneling and an open layout. A resort-sized pool plus spa and hot tub in the home’s courtyard are further enhanced by a...
by Jeff Pittman | Oct 12, 2015 | Homeowners
6 Finishing Touches To Complete Before Move In Day When you purchase a newly constructed home you have the opportunity to customize your property down to each light switch cover. Same goes for any new home you purchase – the property is a blank slate you can use to create your dream home. So don’t wait to make the changes and upgrades you want – do it before you even move in. Taking the time now to complete the little details you want gives you more time to enjoy your dream house plus it sets your property up as a great resale in the future. Time and money for upgrades you want now equates to happiness now and equity in the bank down the road. Makes sense, right? So consider these 6 finishing touches to your home to make it absolutely perfect before you move in. KITCHEN CABINETS Image: thekitchn.com Take your kitchen from drab to fabulous with a custom cabinet installation. Choose wall to wall cabinetry in rich woods like cherry, oak, mahogany, or pine in a plethora of styles from the clean, simple lines of Shaker and craftsman to the traditional lines of Early American or contemporary. Options could include cabinetry hardware in polished nickel, bronze, stainless steel, or ceramic. NATURAL STONE COUNTERTOPS Image: mydomain.com While granite has become the mainstay for today’s well-appointed kitchen, consider solid surface options like quartz, Corian and marble. High end upgrades like granite and marble are durable, low maintenance natural stones that add beauty, elegance and value. Slightly more expensive than granite, quartz is a manufactured stone that can be colored to...
by Jeff Pittman | Oct 7, 2015 | Renovations
7 Stellar Isle Renovation Project – Making Progress Get a behind the scenes look and be a part of the transformation during the 7 Stellar Isle Renovation Project! This renovation may be part of a new show on HGTV with New York designer Cindy Montgomery! I’m hoping to take this from a vacant house to a valued home in the community of Covenant Hills located in Ladera Ranch! Using white river rocks in the laundry room for the flooring with white Quartz counters and white shaker cabinet doors. The grout in between the rocks will be bright white and almost level with top of the rocks. Lastly there will be 2 1/2 in thick white shelves that will be mounted on the walls so they look like they are floating. Loving the way this space is going to look. Marble tile in the master shower turned out really nice. Marble slabs going in next! Family room wall all framed out and ready to install the folding doors. It will have a great indoor outdoor feel leading to the pool, outdoor living area and views. Stay tuned for more behind the scenes photos to come! Thank you for reading. Jeff Pittman, Realtor in Ladera Ranch – Orange County,...
by Jeff Pittman | Oct 7, 2015 | Sellers
5 Home Upgrades To Help You Get A Better Return As a homeowner, it’s easy to get in the mindset that improving only the aesthetics of your home. While installing a unique tile entryway or ripping out all of that old wallpaper will up the value of your home in some cases, the reality is these aesthetics only go so far. If you really want to perform home improvements that will increase the value of your home, and help you get a better return when you decide to sell, you need to think in terms of what is important or valuable to buyers. Beyond that, you need to focus on what buyers are looking for in your local community. While it can be tough to determine all of these specifics, there are a few home renovation projects that bring in more dough than any others. So, if you are planning on selling your home soon and want to make sure that you get the most return on investment (ROI), consider these top five home improvements. FUNCTIONAL INDOOR SYSTEMS While it’s more rewarding to actually see your money going to work by making cosmetic changes, those are some of the last considerations you need to make. The first thing you should focus on is upgrading all of your indoor systems including plumbing, heating, electrical, and sewer systems. If you wait for potential buyers to point out problems you’ll be paying more for the same repairs. Determine which ones are out-of-date or in ill-repair, and start your home renovations here. Sure these repairs can be pricy, but you’ll get your money...
by Jeff Pittman | Sep 30, 2015 | Events
Events In Orange County – October 2015 The month of October brings tons of fall fun to Orange County with haunted houses, Oktoberfest, autumn festivals and more. Check out the list of events in Orange County this October 2015 and start planning where to get your fright on this month. KNOTT’S SCARY FARM Now – Oct 31st Knott’s Scary Farm is the biggest Halloween event in LA and OC. This year there will be 11 mazes, 1,000 monsters, 2 shows, 3 scare zones and tons more attractions to enjoy. One of the newest mazes in Paranormal Inc, featuring ghost hunters from a TV network investigating a mental hospitals full of deranged doctors. There’s also Special Ops, a fun and unique experience where you can hunt zombies with your very own laser gun. Every year the experience gets better and better! Event website: knotts.com/scaryfarm OKTOBERFEST AT OLD WORLD VILLAGE Now – November 1st Wednesdays- Sundays Old World is celebrating its 38th year of Oktoberfest celebrations and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. The German American Brass Band will be there to get the party started on opening day plus come enjoy the best German beers, brats (voted best in SoCal!), beautiful shot girls and more. Wednesday and Thrusday nights admission is free for beer tasting, food trucks and bands, Friday and Saturdays admission is $20 and includes beer contests and Sundays are Kinderfest aka Family Day with wiener dog races, and admission is only $5 for adults and $2 for kids. Event website: oldworld.ws IRVINE PARK RAILROAD PUMPKIN PATCH Now – Oct. 31st Open daily at 10AM, the Irvine...
