A house is just a structure which you utilize. A home is a place where you feel like you truly belong and in which you are happy.
We at The Wills Company are grateful this season for clients who desire beautiful, safe, and well-cared for environments in which to create memories. Thank you for trusting our company with the care of your house. We hope this Thanksgiving will be full of blessings and reflect the warmth of your home.
Whether your family is more Norman Rockwell or Modern Family we wish you a worry-free holiday season enjoying time with the people you love the most.
From the people who believe your house should be warm, safe, beautiful and most of all enjoyed…Happy Thanksgiving!
f you’re like a lot of Nashville families reading this you have a lovely living and dining room filled with your best furniture, rugs and art. You spent hours decorating it and you love going in there on holidays and Sunday and when company comes over. After that you retreat back to your kitchen, family room and bedroom where you love to read, relax, watch television and spend time truly living with your family. So…remind us why we call that big fancy room the living room?
Did you know the average American family with a house 2500 square feet or larger spends eighty percent of their time in just thirty to forty percent of the square footage of their house? Doesn’t it seem like we should be enjoying more of our homes?
At least they actually use their formal rooms at Downton Abbey.
Home updates don’t have to be huge! Take small bites out of some of these projects to get the most out of your home and budget.
Move all the furniture out. Rent storage. Find another place to live. Kennel the pets for months. Endure the permit process. Deal with trucks and workmen in your driveway for month. HOLD ON! Does the thought of all this remodeling chaos send you into a tailspin? Or do you just put it off year after year after year? What about taking SMALL BITES with just a few high-impact/high-return projects right now?
(Are some of these possible before the holidays? You bet.)
Change your kitchen countertops.
Remodel one bathroom.
Paint one side of your house exterior each year. Smaller bite: Paint just the exterior trim.
Wallpaper one room. Smaller bite: Wallpaper one wall in one room.
Change the faucets and taps on kitchen or bathroom sinks.
Paint the walls in one room a bright color. Paint a ceiling in glossy “boat” paint. Smaller bite: Paint a piece of furniture in an unexpected color.
Change knobs and pulls in your kitchen or bath.
Add bookshelves to a wall between windows or both sides of your bed.
Change your kitchen appliances. Smaller bite: Change just the appliance you rely on the most.
Add a portico or awning over your front or back door to keep the rain off when digging for your keys.
Paint an interior door a bright color. That’s right IN-terior.
Paint the risers on a staircase a fun color. If it goes to children’s rooms add words or saying on each riser
Mirror an entire wall in a dark room. Increase the size of mirrors in bathrooms. Smaller bite: Hang a mirror over your kitchen sink or stove.
Build a wet bar or beverage center out of a closet or corner.
Change your kitchen backsplash – paint it, wallpaper it, tile it.
Add dimmers to your lights. Add dimmers to your lamps. Change your lampshades.
Replace the windows in just one or two rooms at a time.
Paint one room a vibrant color. Paint just the moulding. Smaller bite: Paint just the doors.
Repaint or resurface your kitchen cabinet doors or have entirely new doors installed.
Change a light fixture, or two. Add recessed lighting down a dark hall. Smaller bite: Hardwire a picture light over your favorite piece of art.
Toss the shower curtain and get a glass or frosted glass door installed.
Have your tile floors professionally cleaned.You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes.
Install oversized, interior-lit medicine cabinets installed in a bathroom with lots of counter clutter.
Improve your basement. (First get it dry!) Add paneling, recessed lights, flooring. Make it a bar, a playroom, a “Man Cave”.
Considering a kitchen island? What about a big farm table instead?
Remove the upper cabinets in your kitchen completely or install open shelving if your dish ware is very attractive. Smaller bite: Take off the upper cabinet doors (but don’t toss them in case you find this doesn’t work for you).
Change your carpet in one room or have a room sized rug made for it.
Put an interesting focal point at the end of a hall or landing.
Wallpaper or paint the back of your bookshelves in something graphic and bold.
Clean out a closet or a drawer. Now clean out another one.
Move the television into the living room and use it!
Is doing a whole-home renovation more cost efficient than doing projects in small bites? Maybe. But taking small bites of home improvement can get you the home you want to enjoy now.
Photos from The Wills Company Instagram gallery. Follow them at @TheWillsCo
The Wills Company is located in Nashville, Tennessee and specializes in being ONE SOURCE for home design, remodeling and handyman services. “Less house. More home.”
Is it any surprise that many Tennesseans say AUTUMN is their favorite season?
The end of summer and early fall is the perfect time to take care of projects around the house and make a list of priorities you want accomplished before the holidays. Here are The Wills Company TOP 40 Tips for Fall Home Maintenance & Improvement to get you started!
1. Make an appointment now with a professional for a full heating and air system check up. Don’t wait for the first cold snap!
2. Get your chimney professionally cleaned and checked for leaks and cracks.
3. Order your firewood. Be sure to have it stacked away from the house so as not to bring termites in contact with your walls. Pick up small sticks after a windstorm and stack them neatly near to your firewood pile for kindling.
4. Have crawlspace, attic and basement inspected for water, mold, damaged ductwork, leaking showers and plumbing lines, improperly vented dryers, visible signs of termites or animals.
5. Pressure wash and seal your porch and deck.
6. Cool weather is a great time to paint outside of your house or even just the trim for a fresh, updated look.
7. Schedule an In-Home Energy Assessment with The Wills Company to lower energy bills, lower maintenance costs and provide a healthy more comfortable home.
8. Have a professional gutter assessment and cleaning scheduled. Gutters and downspouts need to be securely fastened, and any signs of rot should be addressed right away.
9. Add a light-filled sunroom to your house; or re-think an existing room with beautiful, new windows so that you can enjoy the beauty of nature even in the depths of winter!
10. Inspect your water heater’s drain pan. Install a battery-operated water alarm to alert you when it’s full.
11. Change all air filters and vacuum all vent covers and returns. Take a photo or make a note of your unit’s filter size on your cell phone so you’ll have it handy.
12. Outdoor light bulbs should be inspected. Clean the lenses of exterior lights and re-position them if they have been knocked out of place over the summer.
13. Remove cobwebs from around your windows and nearby exterior shrubs with a dust rag wrapped around a long-handled broom. Fall is when spiders spin the most webs; so plan to repeat this task.
14. Inspect, repair, re-hang and possibly re-paint all shutters. It can really freshen the look of your house!
15. Get tree limbs that are touching or coming close to your roof professionally removed.
16. After the first bug-killing, cold snap (and gutter clean out!) take down window screens, clean off, wash, repair, label and store in a dry place. Next, schedule a professional window cleaning for outside and inside your windows. You won’t believe how it brightens your entire home!
17. Be sure all windows open and close smoothly and lock securely. If a window jamb is sagging, you may have a foundation issue that needs further inspection.
18. Remodel your basement or attic to be a playroom so that the kids have a place to go this winter inside, vs. under your feet and in your hair!
19. Schedule a review with your security professional to be sure your security system is updated and working properly. Refresh all of your passwords if you have been using the same ones for years.
20. Get an estimate on having your windows replaced. It can pay off in lower utility bills sooner than you think.
21. Cut back or remove overgrown bushes that are touching exterior walls, blocking light from windows and keeping moisture and insects too close.
22. Weatherstrip your garage door. Make sure the seal between your garage door and the floor is tight to prevent drafts and keep out small animals
23. Create a mudroom/entry space where all those backpacks, shoes, coats and daily detritus can be stored in a neat and deliberate manner, versus strewn about your house!
24. Inspect any handrails on your property, interior and exterior. Do you have handrails in all your tubs and showers? Consider adding them now.
25. Replace your mailbox or address numbers with something new – there are so many spiffy options now. Go with an oversized mailbox so that your magazines are not bent in half anymore.
26. Have your roof checked for missing and loose shingles. Ice, rain, snow and wind combined with rapidly changing temperatures and humidity wreak havoc on roofs. It is better to proactively deal with repairs than to discover a leaky roof in a rainstorm.
27. If your basement has a sump pump, test it by dumping a large bucket or water into the basin. This should activate the pump. If it does not switch on and pump water, it needs to be professionally serviced.
28. Don’t wait for a clogged drain or power failure to figure out where your house’s inner workings are. Locate shut-off valves, fuse boxes or power sources for your utilities. Then make a House Emergency Floor Plan for electrical, gas and water shut offs. Include where fire extinguishers are placed and smoke alarms are located. Keep this map handy and be sure to provide it to house or babysitters.
29. Test all carbon monoxide detectors. (You have them, right?)
30. Go ahead and add that garage to make getting in and out of the car during the cooler months more comfortable and much less of a hassle!
31. Remove ivy from walls. Any plant strong enough to climb and hang onto a vertical wall is going to wreck havoc on your brick or siding. Ivy harbors insects and even rodents. Yikes!
32. Order spring bulbs. If they need to be pre-chilled (tulips!) for a month, now is the perfect time. Try the English method of placement for a natural look: throw them over your shoulder. Plant them where they land.
33. Change all the batteries in your smoke detectors when time changes on Sunday, November 2nd. Make this a habit every time clocks spring forward or fall back.
34. Check that all your oversized mirrors and paintings are mounted properly. Nothing worse than returning home or waking up to broken glass!
35. Schedule buffing of waxed hardwood floors before the holiday rush.
36. Check caulking around all showers, tubs and sinks and have it replaced if it’s cracked or peeling.
37. Replace regular switches with dimmers. You will love the ambiance it adds to your rooms.
38. Drain all garden hoses before the first freeze. Then wind them up to store in a dry place.
39. Mulch around trees and shrubs after all fall leaves are removed. Don’t build “wells” around trees which can actually drown and kill them.
40. Throw a party! There is nothing that gets you motivated to get your house in tip-top shape like company coming.
Happy Fall!
Whatever handyman projects or design/build items are on your FALL list, let The Wills Company help. Call us at (615) 352-1228.
A new season is upon us and while it’s not exactly sweater weather yet, back-to-school is the perfect time for a re-evaluation and clean out of your closets and storage.
Psychologists estimate that fully 80 to 90% of the stress in our lives comes from managing our possessions. (Not our teenagers and mother in laws!) Clutter causes stress, frustration, steals time (trying to find keys? that overdue bill?) but is something we can control. Clearing clutter is very similar to going on a diet or starting an exercise program. The process is the same…break the task into smaller, simple steps.
Ask yourself: Are your things working for you or are you working for your things?
We interviewed two professional organization experts that The Wills Company has had the pleasure of working with: Jane Haggard, who has been helping people organize and de-clutter their home and work spaces for 20+ years, and Tina Adams, of Tina Adams Wardrobe Consultants. Tina shares tips and wardrobe strategies on her often witty blog. Both experts shared with us a plethora of great tips on how to get started on a closet or room clean out, what the tools are that you should have at your disposal and what some steps and follow-through are for clutter-free living.
“Do not start by running to the Container Store and buying a bunch of cute wallpapered boxes. Those are only a place to hide more stuff. The buying of boxes comes AFTER the hard work of honing down.” warns Jane Haggard. “Plan on no distractions while this process is going on.”
The answer is NO. Do not start with a run to Container Store to get pretty boxes.
“If we’re tackling a kitchen, for example, the first thing we do is take EVERYTHING out of the cupboards, drawers and shelves, leaving them completely empty and bare. A good cleaning of the shelves and drawers should happen next.”
Idea: Have the interiors painted a contrasting color or wallpaper the back something fun. Decide this ahead of time and have your contractor scheduled.
“Make 4 piles – Throw away, Donate, Keep, “Relocate” (Keep but it doesn’t belong where it currently is.)
“A true sign of success is a 20 yard dumpster in the driveway” (Yes, you heard that right!) “Consider getting one delivered ahead of time.”
Bonus: The satisfactory sound it makes when you throw things in!
“Start at one end of the room or closet and move in a deliberate path from one side to the other. Avoid bouncing around from one area or room to another. Stay focused.”
Oooh! Aaaah! Focus pays off!
“When it comes to making a tough decision about an item, I ask my clients, ‘Is this item serving you?’ If not, allow it to serve others.”
Jane’s clients often have favorite places to donate items: Salvation Army, Goodwill, ARC, Habit for Humanity ReStore for construction materials/doors/light fixtures. Two local re-use charities that Jane gives high marks to are Perenity, for donations of vases, and Spring Back Nashville for recycling of mattresses.
Regarding garage sales: “Unless that someone is Betsy Wills, I usually discourage them from holding a garage sale which usually turns out to be a lot of time and trouble for very little reward.”
AFTER the initial purge, items can begin going back into the drawers and into storage boxes. For that the ONLY storage container that gets the Jane Haggard Seal of Approval is the 66 quart, flat white top, clear, no clamping handles, Sterilite bin. “They nest easily, are moisture-proof and you can stack them 5 to 6 high and still get into the one on the bottom if you have to.” says Jane. For photos, papers, small items the 15 quart is good.
Whether they are de-cluttering a kitchen, attic, basement, getting a house ready for renovation, moving a parent or organizing an entire house, “Clients are amazed at the results for a relatively small investment of time and money”, says Jane. “It’s a passion of mine but it becomes a way of life for my clients.”
We finished by asking Jane what is the greatest characteristic of a organizational consultant is and she answered, “Discretion”. Thanks Jane!
Wardrobe and Closet Organization with Tina Adams
For getting your clothes closets and wardrobe honed for the season we always look to wardrobe expert and stylist, Tina Adams. We caught up with Tina at Nashville’s H. Audry Boutique in Hill Center where she had just found the One Perfect Item for Fall and shared it and her closet advice with us. “Fall is here and it’s the right time to clean out all those closets, get the rods and drawers redone properly and bring in the experts for help.”
Click (above) to watch a short video of Tina’s closet advice plus her ONE GREAT ITEM for fall!
Tina also advises in a recent “closet” blog starting a closet clean out by taking everything completely out of your closet and drawers. “The best way to get more room in your closet – PURGE! It’s so hard, but so true. And, it’s our specialty. Let us help you decide what needs to go, what should stay, and only add in what is absolutely necessary.”
“I cannot get enough of well-designed, gorgeous closets. I’m OBSESSED!” says Tina. “I am chomping at the bit to do a coffee table book on beautiful closets. It doesn’t exist. I get to see beautiful closets every day. You wouldn’t believe what some of my clients (with the help of designers and builders) can do with every kind of space: from teeny tiny to grand!”
a valet rod – great for airing out today’s clothes and staging tomorrow’s
stacked 3/8 inch shelves for shoes, preferably velvet lined or in glass, no need for the shelves to be slanted (as they are in one of the photos above)
good lighting; away with any overhead flourescents!
full-length mirror, at least 1/4 inch thick and hung flush to insure there is no distortion
matching hangers. preferably in velvet
jewelry safe – “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the sad story of jewelry going missing!”
the ultimate luxury – an island with drawers
Still holding onto those “Dynasty” jackets with huge shoulder pads?
More Tina Tips: “Aim to take 25% out every season by asking yourself – ‘if I had the money to buy this piece again today would I?’ If the answer is no, donate it!” “Get rid of everything that’s not perfect and fabulous.”
Speaking of fabulous…who can forget “The Closet” from Sex & the City movie? Click to watch it again (and again)
Are you looking for a mud room, basement, closet, cabinet, cupboard overhaul? Contact The Wills Company to get you started on the road to clutter-control bliss. (615) 352-1228.
Thanks to Jane Haggard and Tina Adams for their inimitable style and tips!
