Lifestyle Builders Blog

As the summer comes to a close, many families are planning last minute vacations to escape the reality of fall around the corner. As you leave your home unattended, there are a multitude of things that can be done to protect your property. I have included a few I believe are key factors in protecting your home.

It is best to have your home look occupied. Buy a few timers and set certain lights to turn on throughout the evening. Lights typically deter burglars who are looking for dark entry areas.  Be sure to either have a friend or family member collect your mail and pick up your newspaper; or call your post office and local newspaper and have them put on hold until you return. A pile up of mail or newspapers is a sure sign of your home being unoccupied.

Your valuables are called your valuables for a reason. Whether it is sentimental or monetary, nobody wants to part with their valuables. Either take them with you or leave them in a safe or safety deposit box.

Making sure you have set up a service or a friend to care for your yard while on vacation is very crucial to protecting your home. Leaving the yard unattended can give signs of a vacant property. In this market a burglar might even think that the home may have foreclosed, and is hoping to find belongings left behind.

I hope everyone finds these reminders helpful while planning your last minute getaways. Enjoy your last weeks of fun in the sun. Just remember the old saying. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Several years ago we saw consumers of all ages beginning to give up the formal living room.  For some, it morphed into a study; others opened it up to the first floor bedroom and used it as a private sitting room for the owner’s suite.  The first time buyer omitted it entirely from the floor plan in favor of saving money and the move up buyer moved the square footage into a fourth or fifth bedroom to serve a growing family.

What about the formal dining room?  Is it going the way of the formal living room?  The answer depends on what buyer demographic you ask.  For example, many of the first time buyers in the Gen Y group have opted for no formal dining space whatsoever.  Instead, they have chosen to have a larger great room with a generous informal dining space occurring at the kitchen.  Baby Boomers, moving down in size, usually keep the formal dining room to accommodate holiday dinners with the extended family.  In smaller condominiums targeted at first time buyers, a breakfast bar in the kitchen may be all the floor plan can accommodate.

Usually the area designated for formal dining is in the front part of the house just off the foyer but not always so.  In Florida, for example, single level plans tend to be more open and informal.  In their case, the single dining area is completely open to the kitchen, great room, and sun room and have few, if any, walls separating the spaces.  Many of the Federal and Colonial house built in the Northeast have both the formal living and dining rooms off the Great Foyer in the front of the home.

Perhaps formal dining rooms have more “staying power” today because they represent more than just a place to eat.  For many of us, there is an emotional component attached because this is the room we use to entertain family and friends.  We make fond memories on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Birthdays by celebrating them around food served in this room designated for such “special” occasions.  Dining rooms help us commemorate the present and have a way of fondly anchoring us to our past.