Three Benefits of Painting Your Home’s Exterior This Fall

While the summer months are typically thought of as the best time to paint your home exterior, don’t be so quick to put the paintbrush down as autumnal weather sets in.

As it turns out, early fall can be an excellent time for painting the outside of your home, affording the following benefits:

1. Fall has optimal temperature conditions for painting. In general, autumn temperatures remain above the minimum recommended painting temperature, which is anywhere from 35 degrees F to 50 degrees F. On top of this benefit, fall temperatures tend to fluctuate less between daytime and nighttime hours, putting less stress on paint.
   
   
2. A fresh coat of paint is a great selling point. The early fall is a time period when the last influx of home sales occurs before winter descends and the calendar year wraps up. Applying new paint to your house is an economical way to boost curb appeal and desirability during this last surge of home sales, and is a way to set your home apart from other homes on the market that are vying for the attention of buyers.
   
   
3. Painting protects your home from the winter elements. In addition to making your home look fresh and bright, a new paint job adds a great layer of protection to the exterior of your home leading up to the typically harsh winter weather of Central Indiana.

Want more information about improving curb appeal and readying your Indianapolis-area home for sale? Get in touch with me, your Prudential Indiana Realty Group agent at cbreneman@prudentialindiana.com or 317.442.9786!

It's As Easy As.......

Upgrading a kitchen can be costly as well as time consuming. If you don't have the time or want to go to the expense of a total make-over try these 6 tips to give your kitchen a fresh new look:

1. Put up an open plate rack for a touch of cottage charm. This can help free up more cabinet space.

2. Coat a wall with chalkboard paint. Frame out the edges. This creates an easy spot for the grocery list, to-dos, etc.  This also works great for a walk-in pantry.  As an added bonus, it gives a spot for little ones' creativity when you need to keep them occupied while finishing up a meal.

3. Turn a piece of furniture into a center isle. A sideboard, bureau or desk works great. Top with butcher block. Extending the butcher block 12 inches past an edge can create a breakfast bar. Don't worry if it doesn't match the existing cabinetry, mixing styles and colors is very popular.

4. Swap out plain cabinet knobs - go for pizzazz!

5. Install a pull down faucet and replace the existing sprayer with an under-counter mounted soap dispenser.

6. Hang a pendant light over the kitchen sink to transform a workstation into a focal point.

Have fun and get creative this summer!  Send your before and after photos to cbreneman@prudentialindiana.com and I'll post them on our site.