GUIDE
Local businesses o er home improvement tips
2022 REAL ESTATE EDITION
HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
ASK A DESIGNER
As many people juggle returning to the o ce or hybrid work, Community Impact Newspaper asked an interior designer how to decorate your space. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR A HOME OFFICE?
COMPILED BY KAITLYN WILKES & CHLOE YOUNG
Colors are very big indicators for us of happiness and help us get to a certain feeling. I like to incorporate parts of those colors in folders; could be a vase on my desk; could be a lamp. The other one I would say is to make sure you have good lighting, either natural light or even lamps tend to work in the evening. WHAT CAN RENTERS DO? [Removable wallpapers] come in so many styles and so many colors [and are] a way to in uence your rental without making any major changes. Command Strips are great. You can’t change the ooring; you’re not really going to be able to change backsplash or countertops; but you can use the walls kind of as your creative outlet. So removable wallpaper, art hung with command strips, rugs, and then you can also nd some really great fun throw pillows to add more color and texture.
ASK A HOME MAINTENANCE EXPERT
You de nitely want to nd a place in the home that can be your work area, so when you go to it, you kind of go into that mindset of it’s time to work. I would recommend something that has the most natural light. Our brain sees that kind of as cues on how to be productive. ... The other thing most people don’t think about is where you want to place your desk and your chair. Our subconscious does not like there being a door behind us and not being able to see it. That never allows us to fully relax. So pointing your chair toward the door or an easy angle to see the door will help you relax more. WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR A WORKPLACE OFFICE? Choose colors that make you happy.
For Central Texas residents who already own a home, this hot real estate market may keep them in their residence longer. As homes age, Dylan Rooney with Papasan Home Services explained how to maintain them.
exterior shell, that would be the easy answer there. WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON ISSUE THAT YOU SEE WITH OLDER HOMES? One big one would be insulation. Insulation is the real big one. Foundation issues could be one just because of settling, but they’re usually not issues. It’s just natural. I think home e ciency would probably be the biggest one, so the insulation, newer, tighter windows and doors.
WHAT IS THE NO. 1 MAINTENANCE TIP YOU WOULD RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE WITH AN AGING HOME? Starting top down, the roof is a huge one. I would say the exterior shell of the home would be the biggest one because we keep the weather out, the inside stays way better there—then you’re keeping insects and bugs out as well. It could be the roof; it can be the paint; could be the ceiling or the sealant. It could also be vegetation around the home and not having a habitat for critters around the house, too. Just the
Dylan Rooney director of operations and sales Papasan Home Services 1801 S. MoPac, Ste. 100, Austin 512-535-5839 www.papasanhomes.com
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Lynae Wood owner Rede ne Designs Co. 512-200-4255 www.rede nedesignsco.com
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COURTESY REDEFINE DESIGNS CO.
TIPS FROM AN EXPERT
Todd Jenkins, a landscape designer, provides tips on caring for plants during a heat wave. ON PROTECTING PLANTS FROM THE HEAT:
ON WATERING: It’s more e ective and it’s better for the plants long term to do less frequency, more deep water than lots of little short waterings. You should really only be watering once a week depending on what water restrictions we’re dealing with right now. Getting multiple deep watering on that day is going to be more successful than infrequent or frequent shallow water. So really soaking around those plants, you stick your nger in the soil and you’re down to the second knuckle, it should be wet all the way down into there, not just on the surface.
Todd Jenkins lead designer/project manager ADLA Studio 1205 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin 512-402-2341 www.adlastudio.com
I think that if we’re using the correct plants, we don’t really have to protect them. They’re adapted to deal with this kind of heat. Getting them established—it’s not ideal, obviously, to plant a new plant that’s been raised in a nursery in July, and then hope that it’s going to do well, but to do some planting of our native and adapted plants. The heat is not really going to bother them. If you go to a retail nursery and you look at the plant card, it’s going to give you some general basics about that plant. Adhering to the optimal growing conditions of that plant is going to take away some of the maintenance.
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“We Rock” Nature’s Treasures 4103 N. Interstate 35 • Austin, TX 78722 • 512.472.5015
Birthday Fundraiser August 8th Benefitting the American Cancer Society in memoriam Robert Cooper
Shop Online! NTRocks.com
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • JULY 2022
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