B4 • Friday, November 4, 2022
thegardenisland.com
THE GARDEN ISLAND
Got House?
Julie Black, Principal Broker & Owner (808) 652-6174 with daughter Kela Caspillo, Realtor Sales Person (808) 652-6173 kauaidreams.com
Featured Property
THE ‘ME SPACE’ Kim Cook ASSOCIATED PRESS
Koloa
Lau Nahele Street Lowest priced lot in Kukui‘ula! Overlooks/boarders a stream, waterfall and koi pond. Ownership includes: Private 18hole golf course w/ clubhouse, world-class spa featuring indoor/ outdoor treatment rooms, outdoor lap pool, steam rooms, fitness studios, fine dining in the Plantation House, community hiking trails, The Lodge at Kukui‘ula, and 24/7 security services. Private Club Membership - $75,000 initiation fee paid by buyer at closing. MLS # 665149; $925,000. Call Julie Black, RB-14203 (808) 652-6174 Kauai Dreams Realty.
It’s not a “she shed” or a “man cave.” More of a “me space.” It might be a little nook beside a stairway. Or along a wall with a nice window. An enclosed balcony. A basement alcove. Even deep inside a roomy closet. In a home full of roommates or family members, there are times when we want to be by ourselves. A good walk is restorative, but if the weather’s bad or you don’t want to put shoes on, it’s nice to have a little place at home we can call our own. After the rise of work-from-home and remote learning, interior design experts see a shift: While homeowners still like openconcept living spaces for some parts of the home, they also are asking for private spaces and a way to compartmentalize their personal lives, away from their working ones. Parents, caregivers and pressed careerists want somewhere at home that alleviates stress — a “refuge,” however small, where they can unwind and rejuvenate, according to the American Society of Interior Designers’ 2022 Trends Report. So how do you create this little den of privacy? First, think about what you want to do there, says Monique Valeris, senior home editor at Good Housekeeping. “Maybe you’d like a meditation room that’s set up with a great floor cushion or hanging chair,” she says. “A quiet reading nook in a hallway, with a storage bench. Or
Finding small spots at home to call your own
renovation work, so instead she worked with designers from California Closets to decorate and build out a small, windowed passthrough to the closet. They created a built-in dresser and hanging area, then wraparound seating with roomy drawers. With a calm palette of blush-toned neutrals, it also has a pendant light made of wood beads, and a framed artwork that says “AH.” Another option: Create a glassed-in space. Sliding doors installed in a room can section off part of it. Or, to delineate a personal area more simply and affordably, consider creating a feature wall with wallpaper or JOHN GRANEN VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS murals, or a different color paint. Find your comfiest toss pillow This image shows a spare room that was converted to a reading and softest throw, and add warm room with climbing shelves and cubbies for cats to enjoy, in ambient lighting and perhaps Redmond, Wash. The space was designed by Anna Popov. some aromatherapy with a diffuser own pace,” she says. a space designed around one of or scented candle. For a cat-loving client, designer your hobbies. Think about your If nature is your de-stressor, add Anna Popov in Redmond, lifestyle and the activities that collected rocks, shells or greenery. Washington, created a “me and the bring you joy and a sense of calm Some people prefer silence, but pets” space. A spare bedroom at home.” if music soothes you, bring in a became a reading room for the During a conversation with a wireless player or even a humans, and Popov installed client who’s a professional writer, turntable. climbing shelves and several Los Angeles designer Anne Sage Finally, if there’s no other room says she asked what the woman’s cubbies for the feline ones. She for a little refuge, the bathroom says the space is now referred to dream home office looked like. can become the ultimate “me as the “everybody wants to be a “She told me she’d love the space.” option to step away from her desk cat” room. There are waterproof, wireless, Amy Azzarito, author of and read, recharge, take a nap, let voice-activated speakers in the “Elements of a Home: Curious ideas percolate.” bathroom marketplace. Or for a Histories Behind Everyday Sage created a bookshelf-filled really immersive bath experience, Household Objects” (Chronicle space, and enveloped the walls there are shower installations Books, March 2020), bought a and sofa in a textural stripe house in Marin County, California, available with a rainshower head, upholstery fabric. LCD touchscreens, prein 2018 that had a generous “The whole room feels like a programmed sound and light, and bedroom and a tiny closet — very chic and comfortable hug, visuals like waterfalls, sunsets — “more of a step-in than a walk-in.” one where my client can be even a crackling fireplace. She didn’t want to do any productive and creative at her
Hawaiiana Management Company, Ltd. Serving Kauai’s Condo & Community Associations with award-winning service
Average long-term mortgage rates back under 7% in U.S.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dipped back under 7 percent this week, one day after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark borrowing rate to its highest level in 15 years as it tries to squelch four-decade high inflation. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the key 30-year rate fell to 6.95 percent from 7.08 percent last week. The rate was 3.09 percent last year at this time. The rate for a 15-year mortgage, often used by those refinancing their homes, fell to 6.29 percent this week from 6.36 percent last week. One year ago, it was 2.35 percent. On Wednesday, the Fed raised its short-term lending rate by another 0.75 percentage points, three times its usual margin, for a fourth time this year. Its key rate now stands in a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent. “We still have some ways to go,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, suggesting more recent data suggest that officials might have to raise rates higher than the 4.6 percent they forecast in September. Consumer prices remained stubbornly high at 6.2 percent yearover-year in September, the same as the previous month. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate topped 7 percent for the first time in more than two decades this week, which combined with sky-high home prices, have crushed homebuyers’ purchasing power by adding hundreds of dollars to monthly mortgage payments. Sales of existing homes have declined for eight straight months as borrowing costs have become too high a hurdle for many Americans already paying more for food, gas and other necessities.
Sunshine Ruiz Hatto Vice President Kauai Operations
awaiiana currently serves over 60 residential and commercial associations on the Island of Kauai, with a staff of nine management executives, three local support professionals and the property management industry’s most experienced accounting and technical personnel. Kauai native Sunshine Ruiz Hatto serves as Hawaiiana’s Vice President of Kauai 2SHUDWLRQV IURP LWV RIŅFH LQ /LKXHģV .XNXL *URYH ([HFXWLYH &HQWHU +DZDLLDQD 0DQDJHPHQW &RPSDQ\ /WG LV +DZDLLģV FRQGR DQG FRPPXQLW\ DVVRFLDWLRQ management company, with over 750 association clients throughout the state.
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99% retention rate among clients /RFDO YV PDLQODQG EDQNLQJ All employees are in Hawaii Serving over 60 associations on Kauai
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