Adding Color To Your Condo

“What’s your color?”

According to experts in fields ranging from therapists to dietary specialists, that might be a more perceptive question to ask on a first date, rather than the tired, “What’s your sign?” Color preference or aversion tells a lot about a person, and can be used to boost your mood, make your home more welcoming, or even improve your health. Ultraviolet light and color therapy is one of the newest and most promising forms of medical therapy being researched today. So why not incorporate some of your favorites colors in new ways throughout your home for a fresh perspective and new outlook on life? This will not only boost your mood if you plan on living in your current condo or house, but also help to entice buyers if you are trying to sell your home. In a competitive real estate market, any edge you can give your condo is a plus and could make or break a sale.

Everyone has a favorite color, or at least tends to gravitate towards certain shades or tones. Take a look at your car’s paint, the clothes in your closet, the comforter you chose for your bed, or think back to grade school and that first box of crayons. Does blue calm you? When you see yellow does it make you smile? Consider each room of your home and decide what feeling you’d like to evoke in that room and which colors encourage those desired emotions and atmosphere.

If you browse though Chicago real estate listings, particularly the higher end http://www.bestchicagocondos.com/luxury-condos/index.html then you’ll notice that professional designers try to maximize both space, light and color. Color psychologists theorize that the colors of the rainbow have individual character traits or personalities. Using those traits as a general rule of thumb, along with your favorite color choices, you can customize each room in your home to create a certain feel.

Bedrooms should be calming and restful to insure quality sleep and comfort. Shades of blue and indigo are conducive to relaxation and rest. If painting the walls isn’t an option, simple accents can make a huge difference. Try changing your sheets, comforter or bedspread to a soft shade of sky blue with darker toss pillows. New curtains or window blinds can change the entire tone of the room, filtering the light in different ways. Even putting down a throw rug or two in matching shades of blue can make a difference in your bedroom.

For a children’s or young adult’s room, violet and shades of purple are good choices. These colors are said to inspire creativity and imagination. Use purple accents in the same ways as blue can be used in an adult’s bedroom.

For a bathroom, green and coral can be a refreshing change of pace. Green, in lighter shades, evokes images of the sea. The color promotes harmony and balance, which can make for a relaxing shower or bath experience.

Redecorating your bathroom can be as simple as a new shower curtain, towels and wash cloths, or as complex as installing new tile and flooring. But easy splashes of color can be accomplished by green cucumber candles or a small mirror trimmed in coral or green.

The living room or family room often seem to come alive when natural earth tones are incorporated. Deeper greens, warm tones of orange like peach or terra cotta, along with tans and sienna are all calming colors that connect to nature and have a sense of freedom about them.

Again, major changes to your living room can be made by installing new carpet in one of these colors as a base, then accenting with throw rugs. If new furniture is an option, pick a single color as a material choice and build around that will toss pillows, fresh artwork on the walls or new drapes in a complementary matching shade.

Speaking of walls, painting is the most common way to refresh a room. If you don’t want to repaint the entire living room, pick a single wall and give it a fresh coat in one of the earth tones mentioned above and trim it with a darker shade of the same color. You can then hang a selection of family photographs in matching frames to create a picture wall.

Hallways, entryways and basements can benefit from a touch of yellow. The color works well in dim or poorly lit areas. It gives a feeling of welcome, openness and creativity that can greet you as you enter or brighten a dark space. Paint walls, change floor coverings or hang artwork or pictures with shades of yellow.

The kitchen is often as much as a gathering place as the living room, but the primary function will always be associated with food. Building on that, red tones are often good choices for kitchens and dining rooms because that color stimulates your appetite. Again, natural colors found in foods that promote health work well in decorating your kitchen.

We are automatically drawn to the red of tomatoes, green of peppers, broccoli and cabbage, and orange of pumpkins and carrots. Incorporate these colors into your kitchen with new cloth napkins, place mats, table cloths, dish towels, dining seat pads or dish patterns. Walls and cabinets can be painted in these shades and new curtains can frame the windows in fresh colors. With a few easy changes, you can spice up your meals without adding a single calorie.

Whether you decide to make a major decorating change to your home or just add a few subtle color accents, there are some basic tips to remember:

* When choosing a color theme, a room should be divided between 75 percent warm colors and 25 percent cool colors or just the opposite. Every room needs to have a definite theme or message, so giving one color or shade (light or dark, warm or cool) is a must. Otherwise the room will look disorganized and cause you to feel uncomfortable or restless.

* Try to limit each room to three colors with one being dominant and the other two as accents. Any more than that and it becomes overwhelming. Any less and it becomes bland. Also try to coordinate colors in adjoining rooms.

* Paint always looks lighter in the store or on a sample card or chip. When you get it home and on your walls or cabinets it will often look much darker or stronger than it did in the store. Try painting a small area to see how it looks when dry rather than painting a large surface all at once.

Remember, it’s all about what works for you. Not everyone’s rainbow ends in a pot of gold. Yours might be blue or green or red or…well, you get the idea.

Renting A Chicago Condo Versus Buying One

Are you someone who regularly finds yourself visiting the Chicago area? Whether you are traveling for business or for pleasure, do you regularly find yourself spending a fairly large amount of money on overnight accommodations? If you think that you are spending too much money to stay at a traditional hotel, you are urged to examine condos. In the Chicago area, Chicago condos come highly rated and recommend. For that reason, they may be the perfect arrangement for you, whenever you decide to visit the Chicago area.

When it comes to arranging a stay at a Chicago condo, you will find that you have a couple of different options. One of those options involves renting a Chicago condo for the length of your stay and the other involves actually purchasing your own Chicago condo. While you might automatically assume that renting a Chicago condo is the best way to go, you are advised against making your decision on an impulse. Renting a Chicago condo is not a bad choice, but after a close exanimation, you will likely see that it wiser to actually buy your own.

Despite it commonly being wiser to purchase a Chicago condo, instead of renting one, there are still a number of benefits to finding Chicago condos for rent. One of those benefits is the ability to come and go as you please without any worries. When renting a condo, you just need to make your reservations in advance, pay for those reservations, and you are good to go. You have no other responsibilities, aside from keeping the condo in a presentable condition. Not actually having any responsibilities is nice because it allows you to come and go as you please, with out having to worry about keeping up with your condo insurance policy or paying all of your utility bills.

While being able to come to Chicago do what you need to do and then leave without any worries is nice, it may cost you a fairly large amount of money to do so. The amount of money that you end up spending will all depend on how often you come to the Chicago area and how long you stay while there. For instance, if you find yourself traveling to the Chicago area at least once or twice a month, you could expect to pay around two thousand dollars to rent a condo, each trip. In the same aspect, if you are able to find a condo for sale for one hundred thousand dollars, your condo could easily end up paying for itself in around two or three years. Yes, renting a Chicago condo will save you money upfront, but you are advised to think long-term. When you do, you may see just how much money owning your own condo can save you.

Owing a Chicago condo is perfect for many travelers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is right for you. However, with that in mind, you are at least urged to examine Chicago condos that are for sale. Above, one hundred thousand dollar was used as an example of how much a Chicago condo may cost. In all honesty, many Chicago condos cost more than that, upwards of three hundred thousand dollars, but with a little bit of research, you should be able to find affordable priced Chicago condos for sale, some of which start out at around one hundred thousand dollars. Thanks to the internet, that research can be done in as little as a few minutes or a few hours, at the most.

If you would like to look more into owning a Chicago condo, you are urged to examine Condodomain.com. They have a large amount of information on Chicago condos, including condos that are currently available for sale. As previously mentioned, even if you decide that buying a condo isn’t right for you, it still advised that you give available for sale condos a quick glance. Should they still not be right for you, you can further examining rentals.

Condo Insurance in Chicago

Chicago ranks third in the nation in terms of condos that are expected to be completed this year, with 8,533 more units to hit the market. A condominium or condo for short is a legal term describing a type of joint ownership of real property in which portions of the property are commonly owned and other portions are individually owned. The condominium consists of units in a multi-unit dwelling where each unit is individually owned and the common areas like hallways and recreational facilities are jointly owned by all the unit owners in the building. Condo insurance protects the owner from expenses that may be incurred because of this joint-ownership aspect, as well as other common things related to home ownership.

Condo insurance in Chicago is different than any other type of insurance, because you have both common and individual insurance needs. The condo association is responsible for insuring the exterior, while you have to cover your personal property and liability damage.

The responsibilities of your condo association are described in the master insurance policy. Usually covered are the outside of the building’s structure, including the roof and common areas such as pools and sidewalks. The master policy does not insure the inside of your unit or any of your personal belongings. And this is exactly why you need condo insurance in Chicago.

Chicago condo insurance covers your personal belongings, personal liability, additions, alterations, wall fixtures, floor and ceiling of your unit. Have in mind that all condo insurance policies are not alike, so you must have a good understanding of the matter.

Condo insurance provides two types of coverage-actual cash value and replacement cost. With the replacement cost coverage the contents of your condo are covered up to the amount that it would cost to replace your belongings with items of like kind and quality. Of course, this type is more expensive. With the actual cash value coverage, your house or property is covered for the depreciated amount, based on the actual value at the time of loss.

The important thing is to make the right choice between thee two types of coverage. The idea is to hit the correct balance because don’t want to be under-insured, but at the same time you don’t want to pay for insurance you don’t need. Consult with an insurance company, ask them for assistance with determining how much condo insurance you need. Check what parts of the interior are covered by your condo association’s insurance and what items are your responsibility. Liability coverage is always needed, because the master policy does not provide any liability coverage for your unit or your personal exposures.

The purpose of condo insurance is to cover the gap between your condo association’s master policy (which insures property owned by all unit owners) and your property and personal liability protection.

A condo insurance policy can include:

-Personal property coverage-furniture and personal possessions

-Optional property coverage-such as special coverage for important items

-Personal liability protection-in case you are sued for accidentally causing other people distress or damaging their property

-Additional living expenses-covering the expense if you have to move out of your condo while it is being repaired.

-Additions and Alterations-for changes you have made to the condo

-Loss assessment coverage-if commonly owned property is damaged

-Deductibles-applies to property losses only.

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