Tomorrow our new counters will be installed!  This is great news, since the appliances are out and the new ones can’t go in until after the counters go in!  Well… except the new fridge.  We just couldn’t wait! I mean… check this thing out!

Hello Lover...

So, anyway… when I got home tonight Brent informed me that we need to remove the counters and the sink to get ready for tomorrow morning.  Of course, I panicked internally and said he never told me that.  He said yes, he did, and he probably did but I blocked it out of my head.  For some reason Home Improvement projects just FREAK ME OUT.

 

So, here’s what my Kitchen looks like tonight.  Kind of a far cry from the photos the other day:

 

No counters... no backsplash... no sink...

 

 

Here’s a shot looking the other way – with my new Stove, Microwave, Dishwasher – just sitting in the Family room waiting for me!

 

Hello Chaos...

 

 I am excited about tomorrow and a little nervous, as well.

 

I still need to go to Lowe’s and buy a new Kitchen Faucet before they get here tomorrow morning.  I haven;t been able to choose one yet, so now they are going to have to cut thru the slab here at our house – just to be able to accommodate my choice.  Did I mention the fact that I get so scared doing this stuff, I sort of freeze up?  Ugh.

So, recently Brent and I decided that perhaps we should start looking for a new dishwasher.  Our current dishwasher is loud as f@&# and I swear people in Anchorage can probably hear it running.  Shopping in a Big Box home improvement store for appliances is really tricky, because the next thing you know… you start seeing all the new details they have added to modern appliances since the last time you shopped for them.  We bought ours 8 years ago when we built our house.  Yeah… things have changed.

So, the next thing I know Brent decides he is sick of our Formica counters.  Ok.  I have been proudly defending and downright bragging about having Formica counters in a Granite world forEVER.  It’s kind of been my street cred, you know?  Anyway, after lots of discussion, I finally agreed to granite counters because otherwise I thought he might go for the all-one-piece poured into place stuff.  The Corian stuff?  Yeah… it creeps me out.

Then, we decide to go look for a new dishwasher at a professional dealer of appliances.  We only buy TV’s and iPods at Best Buy, kids.  Just as we pull into the parking lot, we start discussing style, price, etc.  I say to Brent, “I’m not going to cheap out on this dishwasher.  Jeffrey always goes full-tilt boogie when he buys stuff – in order to insure he gets exactly what he wants and can enjoy it for a longer period of time.”  I had NO IDEA how far this statement would go with Brent!

Next thing I know I am getting the fridge of my DREAMS, a new stove with gas cooktop and convection oven, the quietest dishwasher MADE and a new microwave.  SCHWING!!!  All with a contractor’s deep discount – thanks to my friend Jerry Reese. 

Tomorrow they are delivering the new appliances and Tuesday they are being installed.  Then the new counters come on Saturday!

Brent has begun  tearing apart the Kitchen, in order to get it ready.  Here’s what my Kitchen looked like a few hours ago:

Stay tuned for photos of the demolition!

Rule #4 in the Real Estate branding bylaws is “Put a look to your brand”.

Someone please contact my Nephew and have him put me in a nice retirement home with no internet access if I ever get this desperate:

Their Designated Broker must be so proud...

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

It’s been a month now since I joined my new office at Bainbridge Homes Real Estate and I’m starting to find my groove.  So far, we have been working on getting more serenity on the website, new window flyers, new property photos, new property flyers and adding new advertising like Homes and Land Magazine and the video screens onboard the Seattle/Bainbridge run of the Washington State Ferry.  I’ve also completely changed the look of the print ads in the Bainbridge Review.

The first couple of weeks were a little strange for me, emotionally speaking.  I talked about and compared everything to Dennis and the way he & I had always done everything.  Constantly. 

I suppose I had to talk it out in order to get past all the old feelings, hurt feelings and all that icky emotional stuff that goes along with it.  I had to get my head into a space where I realized that I am an individual and I can create something completely new again - just like I did when I created the Island Living logo for Dennis. 

I love my new office and the location.  I actually walk to get coffee and lunch!  Walk!  With my feet!  ha ha

The people I am working with are fun and smart and now that I’ve got my groove back – I’m starting to kick some a$$ and should be taking names any day now.

Next assignment – NEW LOGO.

Bainbridge Homes Real Estate - my new home away from home.

After working for Dennis nearly 7 years and Sotheby’s for a little over a year – I have decided to make a big change in my life by going small.

No more International Luxury Homes and constantly chasing the Dragon of Perfection.

Starting December 1st, I will be working at a home town, independent real estate brokerage: Bainbridge Homes.  They have hired me to be their Marketing Director and I’m so excited!

Recently they had decided not to renew their licensing agreement with Prudential Real Estate.  I think this was a brilliant idea, as Prudential doesn’t carry a lot of clout on the West coast and people on Bainbridge prefer shopping with local businesses than big box brands.

My first list of things to do is to sharpen up the logo and print marketing, get more online exposure and general visibility.

Then, I want to begin working with each of the agents individually, to help them establish more visibility for themselves, as well.  Agent Branding, if you will.

I’ve been having a lot of fun doing logo brainstorming.  Check some of these out:

I wanted to have some fun with different script fonts.

Logo Idea 3

 I think breaking up the fonts is sometimes good… sometimes, not so much.

Logo Idea 1

 Right now the mixed fonts are really popular – which makes me wonder if it’s too trendy of an idea.

Logo Idea 8

 I think #8 is probably the best one.

Just for fun!

 I just couldn’t resist!

 

 So… what do you think?

 

6801 NE Bergman Road ~ NWMLS #271753

Patio and View

 The style and charm of this house is so cozy and has a casually French feel to it, as well.

Dining & Living room

 

Dining room and View

 

Kitchen

Kitchen with Honed Granite counter

Breakfast Nook

Family room - Kitchen

The fireplace in the Family room was designed and installed by a local artisan.  It is gorgeous.

Family room

The Master Bedroom is really sweet and romantic, as well.

Master Bedroom

I can’t imagine being able to get out of bed if this were my bedroom!

Master Bedroom

 Except maybe to soak in this tub:

Master Bath

 The magic port-hole in the mirror is difficult to describe… but  it’s super cool and you have to see it!

Master Bath

 The red dinghy you see in the photo below is your transport to the registered deep-water buoy that will moore your boat for you at the mouth of Manzanita Bay.

Master Bedroom View Flagstone Path

Water-side Deck

Stairs to the Beach

View from the Deck: Manzanita Bay, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountain Range

 

There’s a lot more to this house than I have psoted here.  To see how much this home offers you can go to the listing link here:

Casual Elegance On Manzanita Bay

I’ve been out taking photos for other agents again, trying to make some gas money.

It’s tough out there for an assistant these days!

Beautiful waterfront lot on Henderson Road.

MLS #266550 ~ courtesy of Bill Hunt and Mark Wilson

A few weeks ago I was hired by Barb Huget and Randy Taplin of Windermere Poulsbo to photograph a beautiful listing they have in Hansville.

41385 Foulweather Bluff Rd NE ~ NWMLS# 247458

 If you have never been to the Hansville area, it really is quite beautiful.  The views are expansive!

Panoramic ~ 41385 Foulweather Bluff Rd NE ~ NWMLS# 247458

41385 Foulweather Bluff Rd NE ~ NWMLS# 247458

Front exterior and grounds

The “water side” of the house is beautiful but the back side has charm, as well.

Trellis covered Patio and Walkway

Living room

 The Living room is defined by the dramatic 2-story windows and the sweeping view.

Living room

Living room with wood-burning fireplace

Living room with Loft off of the Master Suite

The Dining room and Kitchen are located just off of the stairs from the Living room. 

Dining room

 The Dining room area is really nice and open and filled with sunlight.

Dining room & View

 It also shares the same view as the Living room!

Kitchen and Breakfast Nook

 On the other side of the Kitchen, is a Breakfast Nook that overlooks the beautiful back side of the property with the Trellis-covered patio and walkway.

Kitchen with Butler's Pantry

 The Kitchen is also equipped with an impressive Butler’s Pantry and a gorgeous hood-vent over the Range.

Kitchen

Butler's PantryButler's Pantry41385 Foulweather Bluff Rd NE ~ NWMLS #247458

This is an awesome property ~ check it out if you can!

Dennis and Sonja took a new listing recently – a commercial listing!  It’s a building right in Winslow on Eagle Harbor and it has it’s own private Dock, as well.

Water's Edge ~ NWMLS #257740

Water's Edge Office Building ~ NWMLS #255740

Water's Edge Office Building ~ NWMLS #255740

Private Dock and Water's Edge Office Building ~ NWMLS #255740

Private Dock & Water’s Edge Office Building ~ NWMLS #255740

So, after I was done taking pictures of the Water’s Edge building… I started looking around and I noticed how beautiful the landscaping is right around the Harbour Pub. 

Winslow Waterfront

The Harbour Pub is an AWESOME local. 

The Harbour Public House ~ http://www.harbourpub.com

 A beautiful place to eat and drink amoungst your neighbors and kin…

The Harbour Public House ~ http://www.harbourpub.com

 PS: Don’t bring the kids here – it’s a 21 and over establishment only.  If you do have the kids along – go down a few doors to Pegasus Coffee House.  They have booze, good food and a similarly nice atmospere!

Recently I noticed that the photos of one of my favorite homes on Bainbridge were just a tad lackluster.  So, I contacted the agent and suggested he hire me. 

10326 NE Country Club Rd

Because I had done a good job for him before – he said yes!

 

10326 NE Country Club Rd

I love the Cape Cod architectural style of this home and the landscaping is amazeballs gorgeous!

 

10326 NE Country Club Rd

There is not one bad angle of this house – I could literally take pictures of it all day!

 

 

10326 NE Country Club Rd

 Look at that huge lawn… it’s a pretty rare find to have this much grass and room to play on a waterfront lot!

 

10326 NE Country Club Rd

 The back of the house is also really beautiful with it’s own huge lawn and flagstone patio!

10326 NE Country Club Rd

10326 NE Country Club Rd

10326 NE Country Club Rd

10326 NE Country Club Rd

 Call my friend Norm Barquist at Coldwell Banker if you want to see this house!

View at 10326 NE Country Club Rd

 Listing courtesy of:

Norm Barquist
Coldwell Banker/McKenzie Associates
NWMLS #42226