Recent Blog Posts by CENTURY 21 Leading Edge Realty Inc.

Choosing art for your home

Adding a splash of colour to your home in the form of art can be both inspirational and an easy way to change up the look of each room. There’s a quote by Roy Adzak about the individuality of art; “Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us.”  Art is choice, and more often than not an expensive one at that, and can change the vibe of your space. Make sure each ...

Historic Charm

There’s something about a home that tells stories of yesteryear through its creaks and carved mouldings, in its worn bricks and scuffed floors. It’s not just a building, but also a part of our social and architectural history. Lyn and Dick Mullen know all about historic charm. They welcome visitors into their 19th century home on a regular basis to experience the history and stories ...

Shooting Home Interiors

You’ve tried to show a home in its best light. You’ve taken photos of all of the rooms and features, but they just lack that wow factor. There are a few key factors to consider when shooting interiors that can mean the difference between a dark, dingy, lackluster home and a bright, inviting, sharp interior. Set up the shot The room or vignette has to look good before the camera can record ...

Return on Renovations

So, your bathroom is beginning to look a little too similar to grandma’s and your baseboards have really taken a beating over years of kids playing, pets scratching and furniture being moved. Maybe you’re looking into creating that kitchen you saw in a magazine a couple of months back or that red paint in your dining room is making you twitch. Whatever the  renovation may be, you’re ...

Top 10 Home Staging Tips

Each of us wants to show our home in its best light. We want guests to be wowed by it and prospective buyers to choose it out of all the homes they tour. Luckily, a few simple steps can help move your abode to the top of the list.  According to  Moneysense Magazine, home staging can bring in six per cent above a home’s asking price. 1. Curb Appeal Statistics say potential buyers will ...

Is going green worth the green?

The earth is suffering from the population’s carbon footprint. You can feel it in the heat of the summer. You can see it in the natural disasters clogging up the news. Between 1990 and 2003, Statistics Canada reported greenhouse gas emissions increased by 24 per cent. Many would like to make a difference in their own household through the use of green energy. Popular choices are solar or geothermal ...

How to make your home seem WARMER with out jacking up the heat! Cozy design tips for this winter!

When you first walk into a home, you want it to feel warm and inviting...Especially over the holiday season. To create this "cozy" atmosphere everyone yearns for after  coming in from the cold, here are a few little design tips from LHL DESIGN  to help you and your guests stay warm this winter! Warm colors + inviting accents + a few decorations here and there +and textured fabrics= a lovely ...

Selling a loved one’s home

It’s the last thing you want to think about at such an emotional time, but when a family member passes away the house legally changes over to care of the executor and it’s time to make some hard decisions. With more than 400,000 Canadians born between 1947 and 1966 in the baby boom, more and more families will be dealing with aging family members. There are a few steps the family and ...

Increasing your curb appeal

It’s all about first impressions. Your home has a personality. Let it shine with simple updates that can take your home from nothing special to eye-catching. First, head out to the driveway or street and look back at your house. Is it aesthetically pleasing? Would you be interested in buying your home with its current outside appearance? Your home’s  curb appeal is what sparks ...

Fire Safety and Your home.

    Fire Safety and Your home. The week of October 2 – 9 is fire prevention week.  You need to check all your smoke detectors. Canadian researches show that  50% of people who tamper with their smoke detectors, forget that they did it. So replace batteries, push the test button, and replace any smoke detector  10 years or older. A working detector doubles your chance ...

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LIGHTS FOR YOUR KITCHEN

The kitchen is an area in a home that is used A LOT. We all know that if the kitchen is conducive, the party will end up there all night! Lights can keep the mood up or down, they can make you feel invited or unwanted. In a kitchen, there are so many options even as to where to put the lights; let alone the type and style of light. In a kitchen there can be under cabinet lighting, top of the cabinet ...

Post Earth Hour Energy Savings

This first Saturday of April you may have participated with millions of other Canadians in Earth Hour and sat in the dark from 8:30 to 9:30 to do your part in helping the Earth by saving energy. Each year more and more people worldwide participate in this enlightening event sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation. Earth Hour does a lot to raise awareness about climate change and aims to help each ...

Is it Time to Downsize Your Empty Nest?

Is this the fall that your home becomes an empty nest? Every September as students head off to college and university, parents are left behind. Once the youngest child leaves they are left in what has come to be known as the  empty nest. Some parents mourn and some celebrate their time alone and with each other. However you feel about it, moving to a smaller home may be a good option to consider. ...

Selling Your Home this Fall

It’s hard to believe that the summer is coming to an end for yet another year and autumn is already dropping hints of its arrival everywhere we look. The tips of leaves are starting to change colour and kids are  back at school. This time of year is typically a bit slower for house sales as families are closing up their cottages, storing the camping gear and settling in for a busy few months, ...

Add Character to Your Home without Losing Value

Your home is the place you’ve decided to open your eyes to every morning as you get ready to take on another day. It’s where you can escape the rest of the world and relax with the people you love the most; so you don’t want to feel that your home is bland, you want it to reflect who you are and the personalities of your family. You may worry that adding too much character to your ...