SEPTEMBER 2021
Real Estate Guide to Pontotoc County & the surrounding area
Beth Walker - Crye-Leike Realtors PAGE 12
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 3 5 7
Mossy Oak Properties
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First Choice Insurance
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First Choice Bank
Patty Turk Properties, LLC Mossy Oak Properties Follow form and function when outfitting your dorm room Pickens Pest Control Dennis Cox, Tommy Morgan, Inc. Signs it is time to overhaul your kitchen Southern Hills Realty & Appraisal, Inc. Conti Realty
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Crye-Leike Realtors, Beth Walker Popular renovation projects during the pandemic
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Follow form and function when outfitting your dorm room
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ollege campuses are a home away from home for much of the year for students who go away to school. According to Azusa Pacific University, many universities, APU included, require students to live on campus during their freshman and sophomore years. Doing so provides many students opportunities to fully immerse themselves in their school communities and enjoy a little independence at the same time. Dorm rooms afford students a chance to impart their own unique touches on their living spaces. A dorm room need not be drab. In fact, with a little creativity and some design tips, a dorm room become a space to be proud of.
COORDINATE YOUR VISION Once you meet your roommate, discuss how you see the dorm room evolving. Choosing a color palette is a great place to start. If you can’t agree on bedding patterns, work with a color scheme so your side of the room and your roommate’s will coordinate. INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY LINENS AND BEDDING Focus your attention on making the one area of the room where you’ll spend most of your time as comfortable and attractive as it can be. Look for high thread counts on sheets and pillowcases. HGTV recommends a duvet cover that can be swapped out to change the look of your bed when the mood strikes. Throw pillows and a throw
blanket are ideal for lounging in style, and they can be arranged to make a tradition XL twin bed look like a daybed or chaise. OPT FOR MULTI-USE FURNITURE If your dorm room only has the basics and you can add a few pieces, maximize space and function with items that serve multiple purposes. Storage ottomans can keep belongings organized and also serve as extra seating for guests. A mirror behind your desk can serve as a vanity for getting ready when the shared bathroom is occupied. SET ASIDE A KITCHEN AREA While you may not be cooking a four-course meal inside your dorm room — and most schools limit
which types of cooking can take place in dorm rooms — set up a kitchen station with some essentials. According to the storage and organizational company Spacewise, a rolling utility cart equipped with a coffee maker, small microwave, mini fridge, and some cube storage containers is the perfect place to have snacks and beverages at the ready. MAXIMIZE STORAGE Shelves over a bed, underbed storage, bedskirt organizers, closet caddies, and additional organizational gadgets can keep rooms tidy and functional. Dorm rooms can be customized with some simple additions to make these spaces feel more like home.
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SIGNS IT IS TIME TO
Overhaul Your Kitchen
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emodeling a kitchen adds value to a home. Remodeling Magazine’s “Cost vs. Value Report” indicates mid-range kitchen remodels cost about $66,000, and homeowners can expect to recover about 60 to 80 percent of that cost at resale. Homeowners may wonder if remodeling their
kitchens is worth the investment. But homeowners should not just consider cost, but also the current conditions of their kitchens when deciding if a renovation project is the right move to make. These signs indicate it may be time to renovate a kitchen. Kitchen renovations can add instant appeal and help address issues that tend to plague outdated rooms.
Signs that it is time to renovate your kitchen BREAKERS ARE TRIGGERED
needs of the family that resides in that home. A remodel can add space as needed. On the flip side, when a couple becomes empty nesters, kitchens can be redesigned and downsized to reflect their new needs and desires, such as the addition of a wine chiller or espresso station.
LACK OF STORAGE
Task lighting is essential in a kitchen, but older homes may not be equipped with lighting where it’s most needed. A carefully designed remodel can improve lighting with under-cabinet lights, pendants, overhead lighting, and even natural light to make the space attractive and more functional.
If the lights go dark from a tripped circuit breaker every time you try to microwave and run the toaster oven at the same time, your wiring is likely not up to the task of handling the workload and could be out of date. A kitchen remodel will assess wiring load needs and an electric overhaul may be necessary.
One of the biggest hassles homeowners encounter in their kitchens is a lack of storage space. If making a meal involves a Jenga-like stacking and rearranging of kitchen tools, or if an avalanche occurs whenever you search for an item, you might need more storage. A carefully planned redesign can achieve this, even in a smaller kitchen.
OUTDATED APPLIANCES
Even if your appliances are not avocado green or mustard yellow relics of the 1970s, they might still need to be replaced. According to CRD Design, appliances are only expected to last around 10 to 15 years. If appliances have become unsafe or energy hogs, it could be time for a remodel.
FAMILY IS EXPANDING (OR SHRINKING)
POOR LIGHTING
FREQUENT RUN-INS
The notion that you can have too many cooks in the kitchen refers to having too many people trying to pitch in or offer their opinions. However, it also can apply to when too many people are gathering in a small space. Redesigning a kitchen can improve the efficiency of a space and make the room feel larger.
AESTHETIC APPEAL
Many kitchen remodels have been inspired by unsightly kitchens. Cosmetic changes can lead to big improvements.
Kitchens often are the heart of a home. They need to meet the
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Popular Renovation Projects
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DURING THE PANDEMIC
pending so much time at home during the pandemic led many homeowners to spruce up their homes. According to HomeAdvisor’s 2021 State of Home Spending report, spending on home improvements increased by an average of $745 per household in 2020. In the face of travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines, many homeowners pivoted in 2020 and spent money they initially intended to use for vacations on home improvements. Though many such projects required the services of a professional contractor, others, including the most popular project among the 5,000 homeowners who participated in the HomeAdvisor report, were do-it-yourself endeavors. That not only gave homeowners’ homes a new look, but also gave them something to do during quarantine. The following are the five most popular home improvement projects of 2020 according to the HomeAdvisor report. As the world gradually emerges from the pandemic, many homeowners who caught the renovation bug while in quarantine also will be emerging with what feels like an entirely new home.
Renovation projects to do while in quarantine INTERIOR PAINTING
Just under 35 percent of participants reported taking on an interior painting project in 2020. Interior painting projects can be perfect for DIYers, but homeowners also can trust this task to skilled professionals.
BATHROOM RENOVATIONS
Real estate professionals routinely report how much prospective buyers love updated bathrooms, so it’s no surprise that roughly 31 percent of homeowners who took part in the HomeAdvisor report indicated they renovated their bathrooms in 2020.
FLOORING
Floors took on a lot of extra traffic during the pandemic, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that flooring projects were popular in 2020. More than one-fourth of participants told HomeAdvisor their homes were updated with a new floor during the pandemic.
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LANDSCAPING
With nowhere else to go to escape the daily grind in 2020, many homeowners took to their yards. Twenty-four percent of those homeowners reported making their backyard retreats more appealing by repairing or upgrading the landscaping outside their homes. In fact, the average homeowner reported completing 3.4 landscaping projects in 2020.
KITCHEN
Another project that makes sense given the circumstances, kitchen renovations were the fifth most popular home improvement project in 2020. Restaurant closures and social distancing guidelines led many people to dine in more often than they otherwise would, and just under 23 percent of homeowners reported renovating their kitchens in 2020.
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