E REAL ESTATE SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM INDEX Barry Stone 7E Permits 9E HOUSE PLAN The Caspian The compact contemporary cottage has a sleek footprint. PAGE 8E LISTING OF THE WEEK On golf course The Listing of the Week is on a 0.35-acre lot on the course at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. PAGE 5E EQUITY LINES OPEN UP The tools that al- lowed homeowners to pull out money during the boom years — equity credit lines of credit and second mortgages — are making a comeback. PAGE 3E IN BRIEF DESIGN CHALLENGES Candice Olson knows all about the challenges that can come with deco- rating a room: ceil- ings that are too high or too low, spaces that are too big or too small, couples who have different tastes, families who have different needs. Those are the kinds of obstacles she overcame in deco- rating the rooms in her newest book, “Candice Olson Fa- vorite Design Chal- lenges.” Olson, who rose to fame on HGTV, shares the process of restyling 24 rooms, from a basement suite to an attic guest room. She includes swatches and sam- ples, floor plans, photos of the rooms before her makeov- ers and plenty of “after” pictures. The book is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and sells for $19.99 in softcov- er. RECYCLED GLASSES Wine bottles are getting a sec- ond life as Glacier Glass glass- ware. Glacier Glass was created by Paula Sansone- Johnson, a designer with Rolf Glass in Mount Pleasant, Pa., who called on her knowledge of glass cutting and manu- facturing to turn the bottoms of used wine bottles into glassware. The glasses are etched with designs created with diamond-wheel engraving tech- nology. A set of four 12-ounce tumblers in antique blue costs $57.50 at www.Classic Hostess.com. Ship- ping is extra. MCT INFORMATION SERVICES Real estate experts call them “leftover houses.” They’re avail- able properties in well-regarded neighborhoods — but while other homes fly off the market, they sit unsold, seemingly indefinitely. “These oddballs are sitting be- cause they don’t speak to any buyers,” said Mark Nash, a long- time real estate broker and the au- thor of “1001 Tips for Buying & Selling a Home.” Sometimes the reason a home languishes is due to what real es- tate people refer to as an “incur- able problem.” “Maybe your home is a white elephant because it’s a contempo- rary in a sea of traditional houses. Or maybe it backs to a McDo- nald’s,” Nash said. But other more common expla- nations are that the property was overpriced when it hit the market or that it badly needs to be cleaned, repaired or redecorated. “In its own way, the market screams out reasons why a house doesn’t sell. But the owners just aren’t listening,” Nash said. Here are a few pointers for home sellers: I Look into hiring a “stager” to make your place more appeal- ing. Even a house that’s been well kept in terms of the basics can be held back because of an outdated decor or excessive clutter. The cost of hiring a professional stager for a full level of services can run $500 or more — a stretch for sellers struggling to score a low-cost sale. But the expenditure could be well worth it. He said one way to find a skillful stager is through relatives, work associates or friends who’ve re- cently sold a home. Another way is by visiting the website of the Re- al Estate Staging Association (www.realestatestaging association.com). I Plan a home-selling party with friends. After it’s gone unsold for a leng- thy period, the excitement that may have accompanied your home’s debut likely has drained away. “Bad house karma sets in and you have to reverse the situation fast,” Nash said. To do so, he said one idea is to call in friends for a home-selling party. “Your friends will probably tell you, in a way that’s not insulting, the main reasons your home isn’t selling and what to do about it,” Nash said. I Update your online photos. Ashley Richardson, a real estate agent affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (www. crs.com), said it’s critical for all home sellers to have very good photos of their property on the In- ternet. “Nowadays, buyers look at photos of 15 homes for every one they visit in person,” Richardson said. “Don’t use photos taken with a cellphone. Your listing agent should have a top-quality camera and the skills to take pictures.” I Tell your listing agent to burn up the phone lines with calls about your home. One key marketing skill your listing agent can use is to “talk up” your place to other real estate agents with homebuying clients of their own, said Lisa Atkinson, an agent whose specialties include short sales and marketing fore- closed properties. “When I list a house, I push hard to bring it to the attention of other agents. The more agents who know about it, the more showings,” she said. I Give your home the beauty of blooms. It’s a lovely touch to have fresh- cut flowers on display throughout your home’s interior. But Michelle Minch, who heads a home staging firm called Moving Mountains Design, says the need to repeated- ly replace cut flowers for the length of the showing period is unaffordable for many sellers. One less pricey option — espe- cially easy during the summer months — is to display flowering, potted plants indoors and to in- stall such blooms in your outdoor gardens, or in front of your place. To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at [email protected]. UNIVERSAL UCLICK Don’t let your home get left behind Ellen James Martin SMART MOVES If you’re in the market for a new home, you’ve probably heard this time of year called “spring buying season.” If you’re a homebuilder, when the redbuds pop and the last winter storm blows through, you see the other side of that coin — it’s “spring selling season.” Either way, ’tis the sea- son — and the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association is celebrating. Builders are welcoming prospective buyers to the inaugural Parade of Homes Spring Festival, which continues Saturday and Sunday and then again next weekend, April 26- 28. Homes are open free to the public from 1 to 6 p.m. each day. The spring parade showcases 96 homes from 51 builders across the Oklahoma City metro ar- ea. For maps and informa- tion on Spring Festival homes, go to www.parade ofhomesok.com. Event chairman Jack Evans, managing partner of TimberCraft Homes, said he and other builders are eager to show buyers their handiwork and craftsmanship. Evans said builders cre- ated the spring parade so that buyers could experi- ence the quality, work- manship and “individual touches” that go into their homes day in and day out. He characterized the an- nual fall Parade of Homes, now to be called the “Fall Classic,” as a stage for builders’ “showcase houses.” The spring festival fea- tures homes built “ready to move in,” Evans said. The Parade of Homes Spring Festival is the brainchild of Caleb McCa- leb of McCaleb Homes in Edmond, and Jim McWhirter, president of Gemini Builders in Del City. McWhirter, who for years has served as chair- man of the springtime East Area Festival of Homes, said he was looking for- ward to the “experiment.” “We always see such great foot traffic” in the New Spring Parade of Homes showcases 96 metro houses Timbercraft Homes is one of 51homebuilders with 96 new homes in the inaugural Parade of Homes Spring Festival this weekend and next. This Timbercraft home is at 8440 NW 142, in Pleasant Grove addition in Okla- homa City. The event was organized by the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association. PHOTOS BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN BY TIM FALL For The Oklahoman [email protected]Jack Evans, chairman of the Parade of Homes Spring Festival and managing part- ner of Timbercraft Homes, shows the kitchen of the Timbercraft model home at 8440 NW 142, one of 96 new homes open free to the public from 1 to 6 p.m. Sat- urday and Sunday and again April 26-28. SCAN IT For a related vid- eo, scan the QR code below or go to NewsOK.com SEE PARADE, PAGE 2E Kenneth Harney THE NATION’S HOUSING
Transcript
EREAL ESTATESATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
INDEX
Barry Stone 7EPermits 9E
HOUSE PLAN
TheCaspianThe compactcontemporarycottage has asleek footprint.PAGE 8E
LISTING OF THE WEEK
On golfcourseThe Listing of the Week ison a 0.35-acre lot on thecourse at Oklahoma CityGolf & Country Club.
PAGE 5E
EQUITYLINESOPEN UPThe tools that al-lowed homeownersto pull out moneyduring the boomyears — equity creditlines of credit andsecond mortgages— are making acomeback.
PAGE 3E
IN BRIEF
DESIGNCHALLENGESCandice Olsonknows all about thechallenges that cancome with deco-rating a room: ceil-ings that are toohigh or too low,spaces that are toobig or too small,couples who havedifferent tastes,families who havedifferent needs.Those are the kindsof obstacles sheovercame in deco-rating the rooms inher newest book,“Candice Olson Fa-vorite Design Chal-lenges.” Olson, whorose to fame onHGTV, shares theprocess of restyling24 rooms, from abasement suite toan attic guest room.She includesswatches and sam-ples, floor plans,photos of the roomsbefore her makeov-ers and plenty of“after” pictures. Thebook is published byHoughton MifflinHarcourt and sellsfor $19.99 in softcov-er.
RECYCLEDGLASSESWinebottlesaregettinga sec-ond lifeasGlacierGlassglass-ware. Glacier Glasswas created byPaula Sansone-Johnson, a designerwith Rolf Glass inMount Pleasant, Pa.,who called on herknowledge of glasscutting and manu-facturing to turn thebottoms of usedwine bottles intoglassware. Theglasses are etchedwith designs createdwith diamond-wheelengraving tech-nology. A set of four12-ounce tumblers inantique blue costs$57.50 atwww.ClassicHostess.com. Ship-ping is extra.MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
Real estate experts call them“leftover houses.” They’re avail-able properties in well-regardedneighborhoods — but while otherhomes fly off the market, they situnsold, seemingly indefinitely.
“These oddballs are sitting be-cause they don’t speak to anybuyers,” said Mark Nash, a long-time real estate broker and the au-thor of “1001 Tips for Buying &Selling a Home.”
Sometimes the reason a homelanguishes is due to what real es-tate people refer to as an “incur-able problem.”
“Maybe your home is a whiteelephant because it’s a contempo-rary in a sea of traditional houses.Or maybe it backs to a McDo-nald’s,” Nash said.
But other more common expla-nations are that the property wasoverpriced when it hit the marketor that it badly needs to becleaned, repaired or redecorated.
“In its own way, the marketscreams out reasons why a housedoesn’t sell. But the owners justaren’t listening,” Nash said.
Here are a few pointers forhome sellers:
I Look into hiring a “stager” to
make your place more appeal-ing.
Even a house that’s been wellkept in terms of the basics can beheld back because of an outdateddecor or excessive clutter.
The cost of hiring a professionalstager for a full level of servicescan run $500 or more — a stretchfor sellers struggling to score alow-cost sale. But the expenditurecould be well worth it.
He said one way to find a skillfulstager is through relatives, workassociates or friends who’ve re-cently sold a home. Another wayis by visiting the website of the Re-al Estate Staging Association(www.realestatestagingassociation.com).
I Plan a home-selling partywith friends.
After it’s gone unsold for a leng-thy period, the excitement that
may have accompanied yourhome’s debut likely has drainedaway.
“Bad house karma sets in andyou have to reverse the situationfast,” Nash said.
To do so, he said one idea is tocall in friends for a home-sellingparty.
“Your friends will probably tellyou, in a way that’s not insulting,the main reasons your home isn’tselling and what to do about it,”Nash said.
I Update your online photos.Ashley Richardson, a real estate
agent affiliated with the Councilof Residential Specialists (www.crs.com), said it’s critical for allhome sellers to have very goodphotos of their property on the In-ternet.
“Nowadays, buyers look atphotos of 15 homes for every onethey visit in person,” Richardsonsaid. “Don’t use photos taken witha cellphone. Your listing agentshould have a top-quality cameraand the skills to take pictures.”
I Tell your listing agent toburn up the phone lines withcalls about your home.
One key marketing skill your
listing agent can use is to “talk up”your place to other real estateagents with homebuying clients oftheir own, said Lisa Atkinson, anagent whose specialties includeshort sales and marketing fore-closed properties.
“When I list a house, I pushhard to bring it to the attention ofother agents. The more agentswho know about it, the moreshowings,” she said.
I Give your home the beautyof blooms.
It’s a lovely touch to have fresh-cut flowers on display throughoutyour home’s interior. But MichelleMinch, who heads a home stagingfirm called Moving MountainsDesign, says the need to repeated-ly replace cut flowers for thelength of the showing period isunaffordable for many sellers.
One less pricey option — espe-cially easy during the summermonths — is to display flowering,potted plants indoors and to in-stall such blooms in your outdoorgardens, or in front of your place.
Don’t let your home get left behindEllenJamesMartin
SMARTMOVES
If you’re in the marketfor a new home, you’veprobably heard this time ofyear called “spring buyingseason.”
If you’re a homebuilder,when the redbuds pop andthe last winter stormblows through, you see theother side of that coin —it’s “spring selling season.”
Either way, ’tis the sea-son — and the CentralOklahoma Home BuildersAssociation is celebrating.
Builders are welcomingprospective buyers to theinaugural Parade of HomesSpring Festival, whichcontinues Saturday andSunday and then againnext weekend, April 26-28. Homes are open free tothe public from 1 to 6 p.m.each day.
The spring paradeshowcases 96 homes from51 builders across theOklahoma City metro ar-ea. For maps and informa-tion on Spring Festivalhomes, go to www.paradeofhomesok.com.
Event chairman JackEvans, managing partnerof TimberCraft Homes,said he and other buildersare eager to show buyerstheir handiwork andcraftsmanship.
Evans said builders cre-ated the spring parade sothat buyers could experi-ence the quality, work-manship and “individualtouches” that go into theirhomes day in and day out.He characterized the an-nual fall Parade of Homes,now to be called the “FallClassic,” as a stage forbuilders’ “showcasehouses.”
The spring festival fea-tures homes built “readyto move in,” Evans said.
The Parade of HomesSpring Festival is thebrainchild of Caleb McCa-leb of McCaleb Homes in
Edmond, and JimMcWhirter, president ofGemini Builders in DelCity.
McWhirter, who foryears has served as chair-man of the springtime EastArea Festival of Homes,said he was looking for-ward to the “experiment.”
“We always see suchgreat foot traffic” in the
New Spring Parade of Homesshowcases 96 metro houses
Timbercraft Homes is one of 51 homebuilders with 96 new homes in the inaugural Parade of Homes SpringFestival this weekend and next. This Timbercraft home is at 8440 NW 142, in Pleasant Grove addition in Okla-homa City. The event was organized by the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association.
Jack Evans, chairman of the Parade of Homes Spring Festival and managing part-ner of Timbercraft Homes, shows the kitchen of the Timbercraft model home at8440 NW 142, one of 96 new homes open free to the public from 1 to 6 p.m. Sat-urday and Sunday and again April 26-28.
SCAN ITFor a related vid-
eo, scan the QRcode below or go toNewsOK.com
SEE PARADE, PAGE 2E
KennethHarney
THE NATION’S HOUSING
2E . SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
BUSINESS
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East Area Festival, he said.McWhirter said he, McCa-leb and others are eager toexpand a “system thatworks” to include homesacross the greater metroarea.
Evans said TimberCraftand other area builders areriding a boomlet of buyeractivity.
“Right now we have 33homes” in some phase ofconstruction, Evans said.“Last year at this time, wehad 22.”
New home permits inthe metro area were on theincrease in 2012, pushingpast levels last seen in2007.
Builders “want to usethe Spring Festival to showbuyers the advantages of anew home,” Evans said.
Chief among those ad-vantages, he said, is theenergy efficiency and util-ities cost savings with newhomes.
The four Spring Festivalhomes offered by Timber-Craft are all “Positive En-ergy” homes, as recog-nized by the OklahomaGas and Electric Co. ener-gy-efficient home certifi-cation program.
One of the Timbercrafthomes, at 8440 NW 142 inthe Pleasant Grove addi-tion, is a “teenager-friendly” 1,950-square-foot layout featuring alarge downstairs mastersuite, two upstairs bed-rooms and a “flex space”bonus room.
The clean lines and fin-ishes give the home a con-temporary feel. A vaultedliving room ceiling and awall of windows in the
kitchen brighten thehome, creating a spa-ciousness and flowthroughout the central liv-ing area.
The two-story home,with its reduced footprint,leaves plenty of backyardspace — a vanishing fea-ture, according to Evans,in an area where tradition-al 55- and 60-foot lots are
in short supply.With TimberCraft’s
“TimberCreek Plan” alsoshown in the PleasantGrove addition, Evans hasmarried “traditional prai-rie style” with contempo-rary lines and finishes.
“We think this clean,crisp look is where themarket is going,” Evanssaid.
LEFT: Natural light illuminates the large corner tub inthe TimberCraft model’s master bath.
PHOTOS BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
The TimberCraft model, one of 96 homes by 51 builders in the Parade of Homes Spring Festival, features anupstairs bonus room.
Parade: Energy-efficient homes
A detailed tile backsplash adds texture and style tothe kitchen of the TimberCraft model home at 8440NW 142.
A vaulted ceiling adds volume to the living area ofthe Parade of Homes Spring Festival entry at 8440NW 142.
The 1,950-square-foot TimberCraft model home has a spacious master bedroom.
FROM PAGE 1E
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 . 3ETHE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 . 3EREAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON — Using yourhome as an ATM no longer is afinancial option, but the toolsthat allowed owners to pull outmassive amounts of money dur-ing the boom years — equitycredit lines of credit and secondmortgages — are making acomeback.
Banking and credit analystssay the dollar volumes of neworiginations of home equityloans are rising again, signifi-cantly so in areas of the countrythat are experiencing post-re-cession rebounds in propertyvalues. These include most ofthe Atlantic coastal states, thePacific Northwest, California,Arizona, New Mexico, Texas andparts of the Midwest.
Not only have owners’ equitypositions grown substantially ona national basis since 2011 — upby an estimated $1.7 trillion dur-ing the past 18 months, accord-ing to the Federal Reserve — butbanks increasingly are willing toallow owners to tap that equity.Unlike during the credit bubbleyears of 2003-06, however, theyaren’t permitting owners to gowhole hog — mortgaging their
homes up to 100 percent of mar-ket value with first, second andeven third loans or credit lines.
Now major lenders are re-stricting the combined total offirst and second loans against ahouse to no more than 85 percentof value. For instance, if yourhouse is worth $500,000 and thebalance on your first mortgage is$375,000, you’d likely be limitedto a second mortgage or creditline of $50,000.
Contrast this with 2007, thehigh-point year of home equitylending, when many lenders of-fered so called “piggyback” fi-nancing packages that allowed100 percent debt without privatemortgage insurance. A buyer of a$500,000 house could get a$400,000 first mortgage and asecond loan of $100,000.
That ultimately didn’t workwell for the banks. During thethird quarter of 2012 alone, ac-cording to federal estimates,banks wrote off $4.5 billion indefaulted equity loans, often insituations where homeownersfound themselves underwaterand behind on both first and sec-ond loans. In such a situation,
second mortgages become es-sentially worthless to the banksince in a foreclosure, the holderof the first mortgage gets paid offfirst. On underwater foreclo-sures, the second loan holder isleft holding the bag.
Lenders this spring are alsomuch pickier on credit qualitythan they were as little as sixyears ago. If you’ve got a delin-quency-pocked credit history,and you want to pull out a sub-stantial amount of equity using acredit line, don’t count on get-ting anywhere near the best ratequotes or terms available.
To illustrate, say you own ahouse worth $600,000 in LosAngeles with a $400,000 firstmortgage balance, and you wanta $100,000 equity credit line.Wells Fargo’s online equity loan
calculator quoted a floating-rate“home equity account” for 10years at 4.75 percent in mid-April for borrowers with “excel-lent” credit. The site defines ex-cellent as essentially meaning nomissed payments, no delinquen-cies on your credit report, spiffyclean. For a borrower with “aver-age” credit seeking the same$100,000 credit line, by con-trast, the rate jumps to 7.5 per-cent. The term “average” meansyou’ve got a credit history withdelinquencies and perhaps otherproblems.
Matt Potere, Bank of Ameri-ca’s home equity product exec-utive, said in an interview thathis institution has no specificcutoffs for FICO credit scores,preferring instead to look atmultiple factors simultaneously— combined loan to value(CLTV), full credit history of theapplicant and the location of theproperty.
Location factors into pricing,Potere said, because some mar-kets have historical patterns ofhigh volatility — prices spiral up-ward for a while, then plummet.This raises the potential costs to
the bank if a borrower goes de-linquent during a period whenvalues are in decline.
Some jurisdictions also havespecial add-on costs that factorinto quotes, such as mortgagetaxes, and these can raise pricingquotes slightly.
Despite the multibillion-dol-lar losses that Bank of Americaand other large lenders haveracked up on their equity loanportfolios from the bust and re-cession period, executives suchas Potere are convinced that thistime around, things will be dif-ferent thanks to smarter under-writing.
Bottom line: If you’ve got eq-uity in your house, have a needfor cash in a lump sum or creditline and can get through the un-derwriting hoops and snares setby loss-leery lenders, go for it.Rates are low and the bank win-dows are opening again.
U.S. homebuilders are concerned that limited land andrising costs for building materials and labor will slowsales in the short term.
Still, their outlook for sales over the next six monthsclimbed to the highest level in more than six years — sug-gesting the obstacles could be temporary.
The National Association of Home Builders/WellsFargo builder sentiment index fell this month to 42 from44 in March. It was the third decline since January. Mea-sures of customer traffic and current sales conditionsboth declined from March’s reading.
Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment aboutthe housing market. The last time the index was at 50 orhigher was in April 2006.
The recent declines come after the index had beentrending hirer since October 2011, when it was 17.
Steady job creation, near record-low mortgage ratesand rising home values have spurred sales over most ofthe past year. New-home sales fell in February afterclimbing to the highest level in more than four years theprevious month.
In response to the improving demand, builders havestepped up home construction. They broke ground onsingle-family homes at the highest annual rate in 4 ½years in February. Still, the sudden rise in home con-struction follows a severe and prolonged downturn. Andthe effects of the crisis are now crimping the recovery.
During the roughly six years since the housing bubbleburst, some 1.4 million residential construction jobs van-ished, while land development — when raw land is pre-pared for home construction — slowed sharply.
In addition, suppliers of building materials sharply re-duced their stockpiles and have been slow in adjusting tothe resurgent demand for lumber and other goods.
As a result, homebuilders are facing higher construc-tion costs and heated competition for ready-to-buildland. They’re also paying more for labor, because manyof the subcontractor firms that builders rely on arescrambling to find experienced workers, many of whichhave long since moved on to other types of jobs.
Many smaller builders also are having a difficult timegetting loans to buy land.
“Supply chains for building materials, developed lotsand skilled workers will take some time to re-establishthemselves following the recession, and in the meantimebuilders are feeling squeezed by higher costs and limitedavailability issues,” said David Crowe, the buildersgroup’s chief economist.
Despite the hurdles, builders have grown more opti-mistic about sales this year. In this month’s confidencesurvey, builders’ outlook for sales over the next sixmonths rose three points to 53. That’s the highest readingsince May 2006, when it was 55.
In the near term, builders’ confidence dimmed sincelast month. A gauge of current sales conditions fell twopoints to 45, the lowest level since October. A measure oftraffic by prospective buyers fell four points to 30, back towhere it stood in September.
Rising costs weighon confidenceof homebuildersBY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
4E . SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
Intrigued by the drama andinspired by the sophistication ofBritish aristocrats in “DowntonAbbey,” some fans are plotting tobring the series’ style into theirown homes, from gilded finishesto opulent upholstery to portraitpaintings.
“We’ve gone so casual in thelast decade in terms of home de-cor. I think there is a desire to bea little more formal, or a littlemore glamorous,” said KristieBarnett, an interior design blog-ger in Nashville, Tenn. “Thatdoesn’t mean it can’t be family-friendly.”
“Downton Abbey,” in produc-tion for its fourth season, fea-tures the noble Crawley family“upstairs” and its servants“downstairs” in a sprawlingcountry estate. The charactersare struggling to bring the estateand their traditional sensibilitiesinto the 1920s, a time of socialand political ferment.
Ornate drawing rooms, flow-ing boudoirs, vibrant gardensand crisp, clean servants’ quar-ters make the gorgeous backdropfor the PBS Masterpiece melo-drama.
So how do you bring some ofthat aristocratic look into a com-fortable modern home?
Gilded for glamourOne of the simplest ways to
achieve the “upstairs” look of“Downton Abbey” is to applygold metallic paint for a gildedfinish on wood furniture, pictureframes, mirror edges and otherdecorative items, includingbookends and lamp stands.
In her living room, Barnett,who blogs at TheDecorologist-.com, used gold paint to make abarley-twist coffee table appearworthy of nobility. Golden can-dlesticks and a crystal doorknobatop piles of books finish the
look. “Gilt was all the rage during
the British Edwardian Age,” Bar-nett said. “And it’s all the rage inmy house.”
Furniture with flourishRichly upholstered settees,
footstools, chaise lounges andBergere chairs can add a touch ofbygone beauty, but you shouldallow plenty of space for morelivable pieces such as a tradition-al sofa. If you can’t afford newfurniture, consider adding silk ordamask throw pillows.
Tapestries and oriental rugscan be affordable and add thefeel of affluence. Check out Et-sy.com for “Downton Abbey”-style fabrics and textiles.
Lovely lightingAnother easy way to achieve
the upstairs style, while keepingthings practical and comfort-
able, is to hang an ornate lightfixture or chandelier.
Affordable plaster or stencilmedallions placed around lightfixtures can be another eye-catching element.
Or use candlelight, which willbounce off mirrors, glass andcrystal, creating the sort of warmglow that makes the Crawleys’multicourse dinners look so en-ticing.
Wonderful windowsThe return to detail and deco-
ration includes opulent uphol-stery, drapes and wall coverings,said Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan,founder of ApartmentTherapy-.com.
“People seem to be ready formore and more luxe materialsand dramatic finishes,” he said.“Even wallpaper, which wastrending modern, is back to clas-sic floral patterns and English
traditionalism, but often with abit of a twist.”
Painted walls are darker, witha gloss finish. You can create theupper-crust feel with bold jeweltones, including emerald andsapphire.
Also in the traditional “Down-ton Abbey” palette, said MaryLawlor, manager of color mar-keting for Kelly-Moore Paints,are refreshing pastels andcreams. One of the mansion’sexpansive drawing rooms, forexample, features a pale greenwallpaper further softened withrichly upholstered furniture in amix of rose and classic ivory.
The British nobility takes itsheritage seriously, and there arepainted portraits and landscapesthroughout the show’s castle. Ifyou’re at a rummage sale or con-signment shop, pick up similarart and create a small groupingon one wall. You don’t have to bedescended from these somber-looking subjects to bring theirsophistication home.
Lure of the libraryWhile many elements of
“Downton Abbey” style have afeminine appeal, there’s no mis-taking the bold, masculine feel ofLord Grantham’s library. Addjewel-toned leather furniture orleather throw pillows to yourreading areas for a twist to themuted espresso brown that hasbeen popular in recent years.
Consider turning a little-useddining room into a study, usingthe table as a hearty desk fit forthe lords and ladies of yourhome.
“People are wanting to dosomething different in their din-ing rooms, so a lot of diningrooms are being filled withbookcases,” Barnett says. Sheadvised painting bookcases thesame shade as walls, but in agloss or lacquer finish.
Simple sensibilityContrasting with the rich de-
cor of the show’s upstairs roomsis the neutral palette and textureof the downstairs staff’s livingand working quarters.
“Think natural materials likelinen, cotton, raw wood, and asimplistic farmhouse-type aes-thetic that is influencing DIYprojects,” said Becki Speakmantrend and design director for Mi-chaels Stores.
One way to fashion the look isto use washed and softenedpainter’s dropcloths for inex-pensive curtains and slipcovers.
Lawlor recommends a paletteof grounded grays and varnishedivory.
Creating flourishes of“Downton Abbey” stylethroughout a home can add in-terest and refinement. But givejust a nod to the era — don’t tryto replicate it.
“The idea is to incorporatesome of the glamour of that timein our modern-day setting,”Barnett said, “without creating amuseum in our homes.”
Casual decor meets ‘Downton Abbey’ style
This photo from The Decorologist shows Downton Abbey-in-spired decor in the salon-style art grouping in the dining room ofKristie Barnett’s home. Intrigued by the drama and inspired bythe sophisticated lifestyle of British aristocracy, many "DowntonAbbey’’ fans are plotting to bring the PBS series’ style into theirhomes. AP PHOTOS
"Downton Abbey"-inspireddecor with vintage portraitsand gold finishes is shown inthis living room by The Deco-rologist..
10700 KATY LINE DR, YUKON2544 sq ft, acre lot, 24x36
building. 405-706-1772
5401 SE 85 One owner, built in1990, Moore Schools. 1724’ 3/2/2$130,000. Owner will carry withlarge down until buyer can getpermanent financing. 650-7667
OPEN SUNDAY 2-4512 SW 156th St. 2296SF. 4/2/2Completely remod., open flr plan,strm shltr. Michael KW 684-5531
NEW on 1/2 ac 4bd 2.5bacomplete in July approx 2278'
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Assoc 373-2494
Double Your Tax Refund up to$5,000!! Use refund & receiveVisa gift card with new homepurchase. No refund, use yourland/family land ZERO down. E-Zqualify by phone. WAC 631-7600
Double Your Tax Refund up to$5000 w/new home purchase.Don't prejudge credit. E-Z qualifyby phone. New & repo homesavailable 405-631-7600 WAC
Needed ASAP used 3bd 2ba MHfor storage. Del & blocking nec. toremodel-relocate later $5000 tops
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2011 Solitaire REPO 18x80 3bd2 bth as low as $410mo 787-5004
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 . 5EREAL ESTATE
CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. —At the Fellowship Com-munity’s adult home,workers are paid not ac-cording to what they do,but what they need.
Aging residents are en-couraged to lend a hand atthe farm, the candle shopor the pottery studio, andboisterous children arewelcome around the oldfolks.
It’s a home for the elder-ly in a commune-like set-ting, 30 miles from Man-hattan, that takes an un-usual approach, integrat-ing seniors into thebroader community andencouraging them to con-tribute to its welfare.
“It’s a great place to live,and I think there’s proba-bly no better place in theworld to die,” said JoanneKarp, an 81-year-old resi-dent who was supposed tobe in her room recoveringfrom eye surgery, but in-stead was down the hall atthe piano, accompanyingthree kids learning to playthe recorder.
The 33-bed adult homeis at the center of Fellow-ship Community, a collec-tion of about 130 men,women and childrenfounded in 1966 that offersseniors — including theaging baby boom genera-tion — an alternative toliving out their final yearsin traditional assisted-liv-ing homes or with theirgrown sons and daughters.
At most adult homes, aresident in decline wouldeventually have to go to ahospital or nursing home.But Fellowship has an ex-emption from state lawthat allows dying residentsto stay there because“people have wanted tostay, and we have wantedto keep them,” said admin-istrator Ann Scharff, whohelped found the commu-nity.
“We provide a space inwhich people can prepareto die in a way that is ac-cepted and nourishing tothem and fraught withmeaning,” Scharff said.“It’s not something yourun away from, but it’s partof the whole spectrum of
life, just as birth is part oflife and is prepared for.”
Situated on a hilltop insuburban Rockland Coun-ty, Fellowship looks a bitlike a village out of thepast. Besides the farm andthe pottery and candleshops, there are a dairybarn with 10 cows, a printshop, a metal shop, a“weavery” and a woodshop.
The 33-acre farm goesbeyond organic, runningon “biodynamic,” or self-sustaining, principles, asmuch as a small farm can,said Jairo Gonzalez, thehead gardener. Solar pan-els sparkle on the barnroof, and cow manure be-comes compost.
Most of the adult homeworkers live in buildingssurrounding it, as do about35 independent seniorswho don’t yet need theservices but plan to live outtheir days in the commu-nity. At meals, elders,workers and children dinetogether.
“We don’t subscribe to‘Children should be seenand not heard,’“ Scharffsaid.
Caring for the elderly isthe main activity, but allthe workers also have oth-er responsibilities.
“In a typical workweek,someone will be insidehelping the elderly, mean-ing bringing meals, bath-ing, meds,” said WillBosch, head of the com-munity’s board of trustees.
“But they’ll also be doingbuilding and groundsmaintenance, planting,harvesting, milking.”
Organizers decline tocall it a commune but con-cede the spirit is similar.The philosophy behind it iscalled anthroposophy, “asource of spiritual knowl-edge and a practice of in-ner development,” accord-ing to The Anthroposoph-ical Society in America.
Karp teaches music andentertains the communityat the piano. Other resi-dents, or members, asthey’re called, have foundsimilar niches. Gwen Ei-senmann, 91, a retired po-et, leads poetry discus-sions and likes to set thetable before meals. LarryFox, 74, a psychologist,treats patients at the Fel-lowship’s medical office.
It’s difficult, Bosch said,to find people to sign upfor the communal life andwork. It appeals to “peoplewho are dismayed with thematerialism of the worldand are trying to get aboveit,” he said.
When elders come in,they pay a “life lease” of$27,500 to $50,000, de-pending on the space theywill occupy in the adulthome or the “lodges” sur-rounding it. In addition,they pay $700-$1,500 permonth in rent, and up to$3,000 a month for care,depending on what theyneed.
This is the garden at the Fellowship Community inChestnut Ridge, N.Y. It takes an unusual approach tocare of the elderly, and seeks to integrate aging resi-dents with other group members, including co-work-ers and their children. AP PHOTO
New York elderly havecommune-like alternativeBY JIM FITZGERALDThe Associated Press
The Listing of the Week is a large, two-story stonehome on a 0.35-acre lot on the course at Oklahoma CityGolf & Country Club.
The 5,880-square-foot home at 6400 OutaboundsCourt has four bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, three living rooms,two dining rooms and an attached three-car garage. Themain living room has a fireplace and cathedral ceiling.The commercial kitchen has eating space and an island.
The master suite, downstairs, has a fireplace, full bathand built-ins. A second downstairs bedroom has a fullbath and ceiling fan. Two upstairs bedrooms have walk-in closets and full baths. The home has views of the golfcourse, including the lake and fountain. The home has a2010 tile roof, balcony, covered deck, storm shelter,built-in grill, central vacuum system, security systemand underground sprinkler system.
The home, built in 2001, is listed for $2.35 million withLaura Terlip of Covington Co. For more information, call834-0805 or 840-4141.
Nominations for Listing of the Week are welcome. Send a copy of the MLSinformation sheet on a single-family home to The Oklahoman, Richard Mize, P.O. Box25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125. Nominations may be faxed to 475-3996.
LISTING OF THE WEEK
The Listing of the Week at 6400 Outabounds Court. PHOTO PROVIDED
Ideal Homes & Neigh-borhoods said develop-ment is underway andhomebuilding will beginsoon at its latest addition,Castlewood Trails, at NW36 and Sara Road.
The initial phase willhave 62 home sites, avail-able for preview in earlyMay.
“Our homeowners tellus they look for homes andneighborhoods with greatschools and a great com-munity feel, and Castle-
wood Trails will fill thatbill,” said VernonMcKown, co-owner andpresident of sales for Ideal.
“With the neighbor-hood amenities we haveplanned and the proximityto Lake Overholser, Cas-tlewood Trails will havethe best of country livingwith easy city access. It’s agreat location. We havebuilt several successfulcommunities in this area,and we are excited to beback again.”
Ideal Homes begins workon Castlewood Trails
6E . SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
Q: I need to insulate myattic since what I have upthere is little to nothing.The small brick home isonly 1,450 square feet.What is the best stuff toput up there at reasona-ble cost? What is thebest stuff that I can in-stall myself?
A: One of the easiest andmost cost-effective waysto insulate an attic if you’rehaving a contractor do it isto have him blow in loose-fill fiberglass insulation.
If you’d like to do thework yourself to save somemoney, I’d suggest blown-in cellulose. It’s a prettystraightforward project,although it is a little messy.
Simply open up the bagsof cellulose (it’s a gray, pa-pery material, made pri-marily from ground andtreated newspaper) anddump them into the blow-
er. Direct the hose from theblower into the attic, andspray a uniform layer of in-sulation. Complete in-structions, including safe-ty precautions for protect-ing yourself and creatingair spaces around chim-neys and other heat-pro-ducing fixtures, are in-cluded with the insulation.
Blowers and bags of cel-lulose insulation are avail-able at most home centersand some other retailersthat sell insulation. Manyhome centers and largerretailers will also give youfree use of the blower if you
purchase a certain mini-mum quantity of insula-tion, so there’s a way tosave even more.
Some Home Depotstores are now also rentingblowers for installingloose-fill fiberglass insu-lation. If your local storehas that option, you mightwant to compare the costsbetween that and cellu-lose.
Q: I’m reading a lotabout lithium-ion batter-ies for cordless tools late-ly. What are they, and arethey worth investing in?
A: Lithium-ion (Li-Ion)has definitely become thenew standard for batteriesused in portable powertools, as well as many oth-er portable consumerproducts. Lithium-ionbatteries are able to pro-duce the same amount ofpower as older-technology
nickel-cadmium (NiCad)batteries but with lessweight, and they also offera longer run time percharge. They also don’tsuffer from “memory ef-fect,” so they can be re-charged at any time, even ifthey’re only partially dis-charged, without damag-
ing the battery’s ability totake and hold a full charge.
Most of today’s cordlesstools are now being offeredwith lithium-ion batteries,and the combination oflighter weight and greaterrun time makes them wellworth the cost, which, in-cidentally, continues to
drop as more and moremanufacturers come onboard with this technolo-gy.
On a related note, Mil-waukee, one of the leadersin lithium-ion batterytechnology, has just intro-duced its sixth-generationLi-Ion battery pack for usein any of its M18 18-volttools. According to themanufacturer, the M18 Re-dLithium 2.0 and XC4.0batteries now offer up totwice the run time, twiceas many recharges, and 20percent more power thanother lithium-ion batter-ies. If you already own aMilwaukee M18 tool, this isan upgrade that’s wellworth checking out.
Remodeling and repair questions? EmailPaul at [email protected]. Allproduct reviews are based on theauthor’s actual testing of free reviewsamples provided by the manufacturers.
INMAN NEWS
PaulBianchina
HANDY @ HOME
Adding insulation for homeowners on budget
Blowers and bags of cellulose insulation are availableat most home centers and some other retailers thatsell insulation.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 . 7EREAL ESTATE
DEAR BARRY: I justrented a bedroom in a five-bedroom apartment. I ini-tially put down a depositfor one of the larger bed-rooms, one that had win-dows and a closet. Butwhen I moved in, the onlybedroom that hadn’t beenrented was the one with nowindow and no closet.
I had already signed thelease before looking at itbecause I had assumedthat I was getting the roomI had initially asked for. SoI complained the Realtor,but he said he couldn’t doanything about it because Ialready signed the lease.This just doesn’t seemright, and living in thatisolated room is absolutelyawful. I don’t want to livethere, but I can’t afford tolose my deposit. Is it legal
for someone to rent a roomwith no window or closet?
DedraDEAR DEDRA: The lack
of a closet is not a legal is-sue, but it is definitely ille-gal for a bedroom to haveno window. Chapter 3 ofthe International Residen-tial Code requires that aroom used for sleepingpurposes have a windowfor light, ventilation andemergency escape. Thecode even specifies mini-mum required dimensionsfor this window.
The owner of the prop-erty, the Realtor, the prop-erty manager, and anyoneelse who was involved inrenting this room to you isbreaking the law becausethe room is not a legaldwelling, and this factshould invalidate the lease.If you or anyone else livingin such a room were unableto escape the building inthe event of a fire, thosewho rented out the roomcould be criminally liable.
I don’t know which gov-ernmental agency in yourlocale addresses this kindof situation, but you canstart with the District At-torney’s office and seewhat they recommend.
DEAR BARRY: We justsigned a purchase contractfor a home and are not surewhen we should schedule
the home inspection.Should we get it right awayor wait till we have loanapproval?
TracyDEAR TRACY: The best
time to schedule yourhome inspection is imme-diately after signing thepurchase contract. Home
inspections typically occurduring the first few days orweeks of a transaction.The time limit for havingthe inspection is usuallyspecified in the contract.Missing this deadlineplaces you at a serious dis-advantage. You can forfeitthe right to have an in-
spection, or you can loseyour opportunity to nego-tiate the inspection find-ings with the seller.
Keep in mind also thatthe best home inspectorsare usually busy with otherclients. If you wait too longto call the inspector of yourchoice, you may have tosettle for another inspec-tor who is less experiencedand therefore less thor-ough. Top-notch inspec-tors are in high demandand are likely to be bookedup when you need them.Therefore, time is of theessence when scheduling ahome inspection. It shouldbe done at the earliest pos-sible time.
To write to Barry Stone, visit him on theweb at www.housedetective.com.
ACTION COAST PUBLISHING
Tenant rents bedroom with no windowBarryStone
INSPECTOR’S IN THEHOUSE
The lack of a closet is not a legalissue, but it is definitely illegal for abedroom to have no window. Chapter3 of the International ResidentialCode requires that a room used forsleeping purposes have a window forlight, ventilation and emergencyescape. The code even specifiesminimum required dimensions forthis window.
8E . SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
Slender sets of twinposts bound the frontporch of the Caspian, acompact contemporarycottage with a sleek foot-print. Shingle siding addsto the visual appeal of bothtriangular gables, whilemultipane windows spar-kle across the front facade.
Spacious linked gather-ing areas fill the rightwing. Sleeping areas dom-inate the left side, tuckedbehind the two-car garage.
Entering, you step into ashort foyer. Its angled dis-play shelves are ideal forsharing family photos orsmall objects of beauty.The foyer leads on into thedining area, which is total-ly open to the living roombehind and the kitchen upfront. A door to the garage,next to the coat closet atthe end of the foyer, makesfor ease of unloading gro-ceries and other householditems.
A mess-free gas fire-place nestles into one rearcorner of the living room.It’s next to wide slidingglass doors that let inplenty of daylight whileproviding easy, breezy ac-cess to a covered patio atthe rear. This shelteredspace is ideal for outdoordining and could bescreened.
Counters wrap aroundfour sides of the G-shapedkitchen at the opposite endof the gathering space,where a flush eating barfronts the dining area.Cabinets line the wallsabove and below most ofthe counters. Kitchenworkers standing at thesink can keep an eye on ac-tivities in the front yard,porch and patio outside,plus the dining and livingareas inside.
Three bedrooms, two
bathrooms and a good-sized utility room clustertogether on the left of theCaspian, along with a roo-my storage closet. Amen-ities in the owner’s suite
include a walk-in closetand a private bathroomwith a dual vanity and sep-arately enclosed showerand toilet.
A review plan of the Caspian, includingfloor plans, elevations, section andartist’s conception, can be purchased for$25 by phone, mail or online. Add $5 forshipping and handling. AssociatedDesigns, 1100 Jacobs Drive, Eugene, OR,97402. www.associateddesigns.com.(800) 634-0123.
HOUSE PLAN
Compact cottage has sleek footprint
The one job most of us do ourselves is paint. For exam-ple, I repainted the walls along the staircase after nickingthem with a Morris chair we move upstairs each winterso the Christmas tree has a spot in the living room.
I touched up a window frame here, a wall there, andplan to give the exterior of the house a fresh coat of paintin the spring. I’ve been using paints without volatile or-ganic compounds exclusively for three years now, andthey appear to do the trick.
While choosing paint should involve thought and in-vestigation, too many of us just run to the home center,pick a color, and start slapping it on.
“When choosing paint, don’t assume a leading brandyou swore by last time will do just as well this timearound,” said Bob Markovich, home and yard editor forConsumer Reports.
In Consumer Reports’ tests of interior paints, Clark+Kensington, available only at Ace, was tops in satin andsemigloss finishes.
While new formulas have improved some paints, oth-ers performed worse than they did just a year ago in Con-sumer Reports’ tests. Compared with earlier versions,the Behr Premium Plus Satin Enamel wasn’t quite asgood at hiding and became dull when cleaned.
Some paints, such as Olympic One Flat Enamel, im-proved at hiding (the surface to which it is applied). Bet-ter hiding also helped move Valspar Signature matte andsemigloss up in Consumer Reports’ ratings.
Here are some tips for choosing paint.Since colors look different in different lights, Consum-
er Reports suggests buying a sample, painting a patchand living with it for a day or two before buying more.
Here are three more things to consider:1. Go online before hitting the store. Manufacturer
and retailer websites and Facebook pages offer a wealthof tips on choosing colors, including photo galleries offinished rooms and calculators to help consumers figureout how much paint they need.
2. Find the perfect color. Certain hues are specific to abrand, but retailers can often match colors. Paint-colorformula books and color-matching computer technolo-gy mean consumers don’t have to rely solely on the skillsof a salesclerk, though one with a good eye and mixingequipment may be able to match colors, too.
3. Match sheen to surface. The best low-luster satinand eggshell paints offer easy hiding and durability, mak-ing them ideal for most surfaces.
Questions? E-mail Alan J. Heavens at [email protected] or write him at TheInquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia PA 19101. Volume prohibits individual replies.
Buy the rightpaint beforegrabbing a brushBY ALAN J. HEAVENSThe Philadelphia Inquirer
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2013 . 9EREAL ESTATE
Oklahoma CityCity of Oklahoma City, 4001 NE Grand
Blvd., clubhouse, erect, $7,500,000.Carriage Homes Inc., 1317 NW 158, resi-
dence, erect, $975,000.Crabtree Custom Homes LLC, 3309 NW
173, residence, erect, $950,000.MJM Architects, 9000 S Harrah Road, retail
sales, erect, $924,000.Craig Smith Building Inc., 13109 Endor Cir-
cle, residence, erect, $610,000.Morgan Stanley Smith Barney-Marc Mess-
