The $8000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax-Credit Explained

Historic Seattle Bungalow Fair

Historic Seattle Bungalow Fair: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27, Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle; admission $5 to $10; see antique and new works of metal, tile, glass, textiles, ceramics and lighting; speak to antique dealers, architects and interior designers; 206-622-6952

If you're looking for a historic Seattle bunglow for sale, please give me a call for a complete list of Seattle real estate listings for sale and homes for Sale in the Seattle area.

AIA Home of the Month: A Mercer Island Remodel

The public is invited to tour this month’s featured home, designed by David Foster of David Foster Architects, located on Mercer Island at 7404 91st Ave. SE, on Sunday, September 20, between noon and 3 p.m. To see the floor plans for this home, please visit nwhome.com. For more info on the Open House program, visit aiaseattle.org or call 206.448.4938.

The home was originally a 1950's home that the owners wanted to "modernize", which they did with dramatic results. The interesting thing is the owner served as his own construction manager. The price for the remodel worked out to $166 a square foot, which is pretty reasonable.

You can read more about this home in Seattle Magazine.

Open House at Method Pre-Fab Green Modular Homes

Open Houses Sunday September 20th

Method is having open houses at both of their Model Home located near Mt Baker and their shop in Ferndale Washington on Sunday, September 20th. They are about an hour apart so it will be possible for people to see both and make a day of it.

The model home will be open from 11am to 2pm and is located at 7476 Olsen Drive, Deming WA 98244. Directions from Bellingham can be found here: Directions to Cabin

The shop will be open from 1pm to 4pm. It is located at 6819 Northgate Way Unit D, Ferndale Wa 98248. It doesn’t always show up on a map so:

From I-5 North, take the Grandview Exit, Left onto Grandview, Go through a light and over tracks and make the first left onto Northgate. We are the last building on the right and there will be signs.

New DWELL Color Palette with Ralph Lauren paint

If you love DWELL Magazine, then you're going to love this new color palette featuring Ralph Lauren Paint created by DWELL Magazine founder Lara Hedberg Deam.

You can revitalize your home with simplicity and style using this new palette an the 100% acrylic latex, low-VOC paint is rated EXCELLENT by independent testing.

View VIDEOS of the new color palette on the DWELL Magazine website.

Paul Kirk house remodel

In this months Seattle Metropolitan Magazine you'll see this incredible remodel of an original Paul Kirk split-level home built in 1952 in Seward Park.

The remodel was designed by Bjarko Serra architect Chris Serra and his partner Valerie Wersinger and you can see more photos and read about the remodel on the Seattle Met website.

Amazing artist-created rooms at City Hostel Seattle

Here's a chance to see 47 different hotel rooms painted and decorated by 47 different artists.

City Hostel Seattle a new Hostel, in Seattle’s vibrant Belltown neighborhood, is featuring 47 Seattle Artists that will paint a wall mural in each room to showcase Seattle’s talented artists. The grand opening will be on Belltown’s Second Friday Artwalk August 14, 6pm-9pm, open and free to the public.

This Open House will be a great way to view each of the different rooms decorated by these talented artists.

Palm Trees in the Pacific Northwest?

Yes! At Ballard’s Palm Room, palms and tropical plants abound. Inside a lush environment that blends an industrial aesthetic with a lovely woodland quietude, there’s a palm and tropical wonder every place you look. Behold a giant, bird’s nest fern or tiny, green marimo (rare, ball-shaped algae harvested in Japan and Iceland), or some uniquely beautiful bling by way of chem-lab beaker terrariums created by resident green thumb Lisa Haglund. The Palm Room, 5336 Ballard Ave NW, Ballard, 206-782-7256; www.thepalmroom.com

Plant a container garden

One of my favorite places to go for plants is the City People's Garden Store in Madison Valley. They also have one in Sandpoint.

Open 7 days a week all year long, City People’s Garden Store has plants and garden supplies for every season. Find a great selection of trees, shrubs, and perennials, plus colorful annuals and tropicals.

The City People's in Madison Valley has really great garden art created by local artists.

Lovely gardens in Seattle

Seattle Parks and Recreation's special gardens are some of Seattle's most beautiful and inspiring places. They offer respite from the city's noise, quiet places to sit and reflect, and a riot of color and fragrance in the spring.

• Bradner Gardens
• Japanese Garden
• Katie Black's Garden
• Kubota Garden
• Parsons Garden
• Volunteer Park Conservatory
• Washington Park Arboretum
• Woodland Park Rose Garden
• Woodland Park Zoo

The gardens display a diverse and unique collections of plants, landscape features, and culture heritages. They reflect the human effort to create a harmonious blend of nature and art.

In addition to beauty and comfort, these gardens also provide education and conservation opportunities. They are the sparkling jewels within the Seattle Parks system.

Pre-fab living appeals to many in the Pacific Northwest

Pre-fab has been a dream of many an architecture student, yet the realities of this kind of housing is sometimes elusive.

Often, the homes are more like mobile homes than cozy cabins, but Method Prefab located in Mt. Baker builds the kind of homes that those in the Pacific Northwest love.

Seattle Met recently had a great article on Pre-fab homes called Prefabulous.

Danish architect Lene Tranberg discusses "The Spirit of Place" at the Seattle Public Library

Tuesday, May 19, 12:00 pm
Brown Bag Lecture
Microsoft Auditorium, Seattle Public Library

Wednesday, May 20, 6:30 pm
2009 Mahlum Endowed Lecture, "The Spirit of Place"
Johnson Hall 102, University of Washington

Lene Tranberg is the principal partner of Lundgaard & Tranberg
Architects, one of the most influential architecture firms practicing
in Denmark today. Her office produces exemplary work at several
scales, from lighting design to building in the urban context of
Copenhagen and other Danish cities. Recent work includes a student
dormitory for Copenhagen University (Tietgenkollegiet), the Copenhagen
Business School ("Kilen") in Fredericksberg, and the Playhouse for the
Royal Danish Theater located at Nyhavn. These buildings have received
numerous prizes in Scandinavia and Europe including a prestigious RIBA
(Royal Institute of British Architecture) Award for the Playhouse this
past June.

Record-low household moves continue into 2009

New Census Bureau figures showing Americans moved last year at the lowest rate in 40 years is consistent with industry data compiled by the American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA), which also finds the trend continuing into 2009.

Data from the Census Bureau's "Geographical Mobility: 2008" showed the national mover rate declined from 13.2 percent in 2007 to 11.9 percent in 2008 — the lowest since the bureau began tracking the data in 1948.

AMSA's figures show household goods shipments down by nearly 20 percent during the first quarter of this year, continuing the downward trend tracked by the non-profit trade association since 2005 when the nation's home mortgage crisis began to build.

"There's no doubt that many Americans -- and as a result, our members -- have been hard-hit by a triple-whammy," according to Linda Bauer Darr, AMSA president and CEO. "A virtual halt in new home construction, followed by a tightening of the mortgage market, is still being felt and is likely to continue well into 2009. In addition, the scarcity of employment nationally removes a traditional reason to relocate -- finding a better job."

Green Product Information Available on WeBuyItGreen.com

Creating a greener, more socially responsible world motivated a Bellevue teacher to launch WeBuyItGreen.com, a compendium of information for consumers. Founder-owner Jay Kilby says his website “recognizes the power of the marketplace.”

“We want businesses to sell environmentally and socially responsible products, and we want consumers to choose them,” explained Kilby, a social studies teacher at Interlake High School.

In a section labeled the “Meaning of Green,” Kilby explains it is not always an easy task to determine which products qualify as "eco friendly" or "socially responsible." He notes there is no attempt to "certify" products listed on the site, but it does outline a series of guidelines that are followed to determine which products to list.

The site encourages green and socially responsible consumption in three ways: a Green Neighborhood Center, an Eco-Library and through its Green and Fair Trade Directory.

The Green Neighborhood Center provides consumers with ideas on coordinating their own actions with those of their neighbors and communities in order to reduce their collective carbon footprint. “By communicating with one another and acting together, we can make positive economic and political changes that are difficult to achieve when we are isolated from one another.”

Seattle bank offers real estate loans below 4%

Banner Bank is hoping to boost sales for builders who owe the bank millions by offering mortgages to new homebuyers at less than 4 percent interest.

In announcing the "Great Northwest Home Rush" program, Banner subsidiary Community Financial Corp. said borrowers with good credit and 20 percent down payments could qualify for 30-year fixed-rate loans with a "note rate" of as low as 3.875 percent.

That translates into a 3.973 percent annual percentage rate, or APR, when the best rate available from most lenders is closer to 5 percent. Even prospective homebuyers bringing no money to the table could obtain 4.875 percent fixed-rate loans, the bank said.

The catch is that the loans are available only for properties purchased from a list of several hundred homes and lots developed by about 75 builders who have millions in outstanding loans with Banner. The list includes homes and lots in Redmond and Vancouver, Wash., and several cities in Oregon including Beaverton, Bend and Portland.

As many as $50 million in low-interest loans will be made in the Portland area through March 22, said Ken Larsen, Banner's senior vice president, real estate lending.

"We've had pretty nice success with it in Portland," Larsen said, selling 30 of 300 available homes on the first day. "We want to reach out to people who are sitting on the fence and waiting for the bottom, and help them out. Noboby will know where the bottom is until two months later."

Banner's program is not unlike a proposal put forward by building industry groups that the government subsidize mortgage rates for all qualified borrowers.

The National Association of Home Builders and other members of a "Fix Housing First Alliance" group had hoped the $787 billion stimulus bill signed into law on Feb. 17 would bring 30-year fixed-rate mortgages down to 2.99 percent on sales closed by June 30, and to 3.99 percent on closings between June 30 and Dec. 31.

Free Professional Designer Room Review

You can get personalized attention in a written review of your room from a professional designer. You can get as many room reviews from as many designers as you wish. Select from among international and domestic designers on Ava Living. The designer you choose will review your room photos and comments and then return to you their opinions and thoughts, usually within 48 hours. How cool is that?

Join Ava Living and you will instantly be connected to a world of Professional Interior Designers and they can help you design your perfect Seattle home or piece of Seattle real estate!

You can share photos of your favorite designs like you own room, talk online with friends and Professional Interior Designers, join discussion groups, browse rich design content and much more.

Coffee Log

Java-Log is the most innovative, funky new fireplace item that has quickly become the people’s choice firelog including even Ellen Degeneres’. It offers a wonderful solution to the much detested chemical smell associated often with other firelogs since Java-Log has no chemical smell, contributes positively to several environmental concerns and burns beautifully, hassle free. Protect your Seattle home and make it smell like a great cup of coffee!



http://www.java-log.com/index.htm

Rem Koolhaas film about Seattle Real Estate and Architecture at NW Film Forum

March 6-12 at 7, 9pm at the Northwest Film Forum

Rarely has an architect caused as much sensation outside of the architecture community as Rem Koolhaas. His outstanding creations-from his House in Bordeaux to our own Seattle Public Library-are working examples of his visionary theories about design and urban society. Yet for Koolhaas, provocation through a wide range of activities is more important than individual masterpieces. This playful and visually inventive new documentary takes the Dutch architect’s ideas and approach to heart.

Buy tickets

Mathew Carden's incredible art- prints for sale for unique kitchen decor

Wouldn't these prints be cute in your kitchen? And so affordable, each print is under $100.

Matthew Carden is an award winning food and lifestyle Photographer in the San Francisco Bay area. He spends his time shooting and exploring wineries, farms and restaurants throughout Sonoma and Napa. His unique imagery has been shown and collected internationally for over a decade. He works and plays side by side with his wife who is a Chef, Author, and Food Stylist. Together with their 5 year old daughter they have found their happy place within the food and wine culture of California, which he expresses in his work.

Wouldn't these photographs look cute in your own Seattle home kitchen?

Exterior Decor: Eco Grafitti

The artists, El&Abe, aims to lift itself off the paper format and into our physical environment, creating accessible artwork and design that relies upon sustainable concepts and methods. Their first collaborative project is called MOSSenger.

You can read more about their creations HERE.

Doily Ceiling

This photo was taken at the Paper Boat gallery in Milwaukee as Lisa Congdon set up her show called Life in Wonder Mountain.

What a cute idea for an unsightly ceiling. I've often advised clients to staple fabric to the rafters in ugly unfinished basements. It makes the basement room look larger and brighter, plus keeps dust from falling down from the ceiling onto any projects you're working on in the basement.

Lovely "Garland Light" for your home

Tord Boontje is the creator of this delicate light, called the Garland Light.

Charming, romantic, unforgettable, the Garland Light mesmerizes with its
delicately etched floral patterns. The lamp is made from a continuous metal
strand that is wrapped around a light bulb. With a simple clip, the Garland
light secures to the base of a bulb and may be shaped into practically any form.
Intertwine multiple garlands to create larger shades!

The Grass Phone - Tech Blog - dwell.com

Wow, check out this unbelievable "Grass Phone" on the Dwell blog. The Natural Year Phone has a grass casing that disintegrates over time, leaving recyclable hardware that can be used in a new phone in the future.

The Grass Phone - Tech Blog - dwell.com

Seattle Real Estate and Wallingford Home Tour

What better way to get inspiration for your home this fall than to tour local homes and see what others have done to make their house a home?
The Wallingford neighborhood boasts some of Seattle's most interesting homes in Seattle, from quaint bungalows to regal Tudors, the streets on either side of North 45th Street and west of I-5 are lined with classic homes, many that have been remodeled and restored.
See this and nine other homes on the Wallingford Home Tour, Sunday, Oct. 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Homes are clustered so it's easy to walk between them. Tickets will be on sale at the Wallingford Office (behind Tully's at the corner of North 45th Street and Meridian Avenue North).

http://www.wallingford.org/

Seattle Real Estate Houseboat Tour

Seattle's Floating Homes Association biennial houseboat tour will be Sunday, September 7, 2008 from noon to 5:00 p.m. This year's tour will feature 12 floating homes, 9 on the east side of Lake Union and 3 in Portage Bay. A mix of quaint and eclectic cottages and larger, more modern as well as historic homes with a variety of decor have been specially chosen to give viewers a chance to look at this unique water-oriented community and lifestyle.

September 7, Noon - 5:00pm
Floating Homes On Tour
Nine Lake Union, Three Portage Bay
Free Espresso Drinks!
Tickets $25 / Person

Seattle condo shortage?

How could that be? Everywhere you look, old houses are being torn down and condo's and townhomes are being built in their place. But two reporters Jeanne Lang Jones and Kirsten Grind write Seattle's condo pipeline expected to dry up.

How to terminate termites

Termites cause more than $5 billion a year in property damage, according to Terminix. Worse even, the company warns, the damage is usually not covered by homeowners insurance.

Winged termites or discarded termite wings often found near doors and in windowsills are signs of a possible termite infestation. Other signs include mud tubes, which are hollow, drinking straw-sized roadways for termites, and wood that makes a hollow sound when tapped.

Termites are rare in the Seattle area, but we do have them and powder post beetles and other pests. Always have an inspection when buying a Seattle home or real estate

How to terminate termites

The push for greener real estate in Seattle

As Earth Day approaches, remodelers are leading the charge to provide eco-conscious solutions for home remodeling projects, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

Faced with mounting scientific evidence that climate change threatens the health of our planet, Seattle homeowners are compelled to ask how they can make a difference. Green remodeling practices have become more popular as homeowners cope with ever-increasing energy costs, health concerns and diminishing natural resources.

Earth Day is April 22, and yet many remodelers are taking the approach that every day is Earth Day as they help homeowners choose eco-friendly solutions for their remodeling projects year-round.

It's important when shopping for Seattle real estate to make sure it has been built Green.

The push for greener homes

5 steps to remodeling your Seattle home

Spending on remodeling is expected to reach $316 billion this year alone and the number is still climbing, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute. So make sure you know exactly how big a renovation you can afford and whether it justifies the time you intend to spend in your revamped home.

5 questions to ask before remodeling

Home Trends - Outdoor Living in Seattle

A Seattle homeowner’s experience doesn’t stop at the back door. With leisure time and entertaining moving seamlessly from indoors to out, creating an outdoor “room” remains high on the list of must-haves.

As the passion for outdoor living continues to grow and evolve, many Seattle and Bellevue-area homeowners have upped the ante on their desire for al fresco design and style. This very lifestyle-driven trend, borne from a marriage between the love of all things natural and a natural affinity for creature comforts, has blurred the line between inside and out-in every market and every climate zone-as the craving for creating a “whole home” experience and harmonized outdoor spaces ramps up. Just as for the inside of the home, an outdoor space plan should be driven by the family’s needs and activities-typically cooking, dining and relaxing-and of course, the budget and expected ROI-both financial as well as emotional.

Outdoor living