Tuesday, December 9, 2014

A Home Away From Home

How many people dream of owning a beach house?  I had the great fortune of staging a beautiful home in Long Beach Island New Jersey.  I fell in love with this home.....I could just picture myself entertaining on the multi  level decks that this house has.
This is 9309 North Susan Lane Long Beach Township NJ
Sunday after noon bloody Mary's ready and waiting for you in this beautiful kitchen fully equipped.

This house is turn key ready! All of the furnishing inside and out come with this house.  Enjoy the tour...

Multi Levels 

Open Floor Plan which is great for a crowd

Lots of prep space 

Plenty of extra seating

Comfy seating all brand new
French doors lead into the wicker room - great for reading or watching some TV 
Second level deck....plenty of seating...comes with red comfy cushions
Imagine strolling outside to smell the salt air on a summer morning
We choose  SW Rain - SW6219 although we never want to see rain down the shore


We added new fixtures and mirror mates to this bathroom 

Queen size bed for an extra couple~  painted in SW Sea Salt SW 6204

How much fun would your kids have in this light house room.  Painted in SW Take Five SW6513

This room can be set up with two twins or two sets of bnnks...for the extra company that you will have

Full bath all new fixtures

Sun set over the bay on the top deck 

Sunset off the master suite 

Staging by Harmonizing Homes


Resources
Pictures by Motion City Media -Motion City Media
Listing by Van Dyke Group- rob@vandykgroup.com
Paint by Sherwin Williams 
Design  By Harmonizing Homes - Harmonize Homes, LLC 
Visit us on Facebook -Face Book Harmonize Homes





















Tuesday, July 8, 2014

How to move your self 6 times...

I am not an expert by any means...but I have moved a few times in my 42 years of married life.  Our first home was a two bedroom starter home in Landing New Jersey.  We had one child and the second one was born while we were living up by Lake Hapatcong New Jersey

The house was getting tight with two children and it was time to move on....we were there for 5 years.....We decided to head south to the Jersey Shore (Toms River)...homes were a bit more affordable.. We purchased a beautiful three bedroom ranch...where we lived for 21 years.  After the kids were grown we were bored and purchased a 1850 farm house in Silverton section of Toms River.....Where we almost divorced over the amount of work that went into restoring the home. Now think about this; a huge farm house to an apartment...I gave everything away...

I was working in NYC at the time and thought it would be a great idea if we rented in NYC and purchased my mother's cottage on the Toms River.  We did it....we were in NYC on West 100 and Riverside Drive...a bit edgy but so much fun..

Cottage
We loved NYC and the fact that we could head down the shore on the weekends...So we then bought an apartment on the upper west side 320 West 83rd.... all 700 square feet one bedroom.....we literately would wheel our belongings from  100 to 83rd...Instead of loading the care,.as it was so difficult to find parking...

We were so happy and then I lost my job....we couldn't afford to live here any longer.... So we moved into...(oh yeah...forgot we bought another house)...This was on one of my husbands long runs as he was training for the marathon...since the cottage has not heat we moved into the house below and sold the apartment....Oh, and gave all that furniture away...
I had to reinvent my self as I decided I wasn't going back to the corporate world of non-profit......any time soon...So I started design, home staging and custom painting furniture....It was something that I had been trained in...and has always been a passion....so why no....Don't get me wrong it took two years of  sitting around gluing shells on various things..mirrors, jars etc.. before I got out of my shell....or off my ass.... Now..its time to move again as I need space for my growing business.... Sold our home in 22 days and closed in 30 days....oh no...the place that we bought is not available until November.....So we are renting a home from the buyer for which we are purchasing her home... That is a story for another day....

So like I said I am not an expert but I have experience...  One tip that I would like to share is the following:

If you are moving into a interim situation it is most important to make a packing list of what is in each box along with a corresponding number.  This will allow you to store you boxes....and retrieve only the items that you need.  For an example we were fortune to move into a furnished home...so I only needed boxes that had towels, sheets, and my favorite cooking pots...  I will keep you posted on the next stage of the move which will be in November....

I have a lot of stories to add to each move...this is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak.....



Saturday, June 14, 2014

Color Consultation

For must people picking paint colors can be very stressful....I look at as being fun and its only paint....I spent two hours with a client yesterday that was a having difficulties picking out paint colors....So I came in with an arm full of fan decks and suggestions. We spent some time discussing what her plans were ....her likes and dislikes

The first thing that I do is look at the entire house...as you want the hues and intensity to coordinate.   As you can see by her floor plan its pretty much an open one. I thought I would share what the colors look like in an actual room rather than just on a swatch ....these rooms are not the actual rooms that we are painting rather examples of rooms painted in the colors that we choose.


The first room we did was the dinning room - I picked out Farrow and Ball Cream #44 - Her colors in surrounding area's are golds and browns - This is a classic colour based only on the addition of yellow ochre and a little lamp black. - Mid Tone undercoat..



My client is an aroma and Reiki therapist....So her office needs to have a calming feel to it.  I picked out Benjamin and Moores Mesquite #501"Mesquite is a flattering light moss green without much yellow. I love it because it doesn't shout 'I'm green!' It says, 'I'm a very beautiful color.'" 




There were two spare guest rooms and a guest bathroom upstairs that we went to next.  I picked out Heirloom Gold by Benjamin and Moore - It will be perfect with the bedding and window coverings.



The next bedroom featured blues and browns....a bit more of a country feel with cottage furniture we picked out Benjamin and Moore HC 23 which coordinates beautiful with both summer and winter bedding in this room.

Finally the bathroom upstairs - Love Love this color - It is called Tea Light #471


Sources
Color Coordinator - Harmonizing Homes
Farrow and Ball #44 - Farrow and Ball
Benjamin and Moore #501 -#501
Benjamin and Moore Heirloom Gold -#255
Benjamin and Moore Yorkshire Tan -HC23
Benjamin and Moore Tea light -#471


Thursday, June 12, 2014

Another House???

 I am starting to think that we are abnormal in the amounts of moves that we have done over the past years...is it that we get bored or is it the current situations and necessities?


I'm not sure...but we are on the move again...I think...if all goes well with final inspections and closings. We will be out of this home by the first week in July.

This is a bitter sweet move as I will miss the views and the people in the neighborhood... Its a vacation atmosphere most of the year.  Folks walking their dogs carrying a beverage at the end of the day....folks stopping by while passing on their bikes to chat for a bit....It is a close net community.  

We needed more space to grow our business....so it really is all good.  With any move there are always lots to do....we need to find a home to rent until about November before we can get into the home that we are buying....

I also always find it funny with what people want from your home.  This couple wanted our chairs in the front lawn.

And my drop leaf table...pictured below... I'll give up the chairs but I had to say no on the table...This table went from our 1850 Farm house to 276 Riverside Drive in NYC to 320 West 83rd NYC to 21 River Road Toms River to 9 Bayshore Drive.  There are only two pieces that have traveled the distance with us and this is one of them that I couldn't give up.


I'll keep you posted as to the move as it happens...for now I'm soaking in the views and enjoying our last days here at 9 Bayshore Drive..
If you are in the neighborhood stop in ....

Photos by Motion City Media - Motion City Media
Design by Harmonizing Homes -Harmonizing Homes





Friday, May 30, 2014

One Day Sale on this house this Sunday June 1st


We are having an open house this Sunday June 1st between the hours of 1:00-3:00 at 9 Bayshore Drive in Toms River New Jersey.   For this one day only there is a special price.....must attend the open house for more details.  We are located on the Barnegat Bay with breath taking views.    Our home was spared damage from Sandy...

We are moving so that I can continue to grow my business....I'm in need of a studio space...to paint and hold my inventory...

The following list is what I will miss..
  • Sun rises
  • Saturday Regatta's
  • Cocktail hour on the Adirondack chairs looking at the bay
  • Waking up to the seagull calls
  • Wednesday night summer fire works
  • Cruiser bikes
  • Friendly neighbors
  • Seeing the fishing boats leave for the day
  • The trill of catching crabs
  • Washing dishes while looking at sail boats
  • Having a lobster dinner outdoors on our gathering table
  • Morning coffee while looking at the ripples
  • The changing weather
  • Paddle Boarders sliding by with a wave...
  • The bay breeze
  • The sound of lapping water
  • A house full of people





















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For more information please call
Pat Mayer 908-309-9374 
or
Dominick Leone 732-766-3256