Art For the Budget Conscious: 5 Places to Buy Affordable Art Online

Painting by Samantha Carrell

The high price point of original art and prints can be challenging if you just moved into a new home, but that doesn't mean you can't deck your place out in great art without breaking your budget. In fact, you don't even need to leave your couch if you use these sites to buy affordable art online. 

Etsy

Etsy is the largest handmade marketplace, with over one million independent sellers offering their goods. You can find originals and prints at very affordable prices and support artists directly by purchasing through their storefronts. Some Etsy sellers offer Art Card Originals and Editions, or ACEOs, which are 2.5-inch by 3.5-inch playing card-sized pieces. 

Everything But the House

Everything But the House is an estate sale website that allows you to bid on pieces online, rather than showing up for an in-person auction. You'll find a wide variety of styles, as the art comes from personal collections. In most cases, they are framed so they're ready to go up on your walls. 

Society 6

Society 6 is a marketplace entirely dedicated to artists. They have thousands of unique styles, offered on everything from canvas to duvet covers. If you want to create coordinating looks in your new home, you have plenty of flexibility through this website. 

Tiny Showcase

Sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming when you're trying to figure out your home's unique style. Tiny Showcase curates a small selection of prints every week, with new options going up Tuesday. The site mixes up emerging artists with well-established names while maintaining an affordable price point.

1000 Museums

Ever see a painting at a museum and wish you could bring it home with you? 1000 Museums lets you do exactly that, by offering a platform that features a well-organized print collection revolving around specific art styles, museums and famous artists. You get multiple print size options, allowing you to mix and match based on your available space.

You don't need to lament over bare walls any longer. Use these websites to create a personal gallery that brings a smile to your face every single day. 

Don't Forget About These Homeowner Tax Breaks

One of the many perks of homeownership is big tax breaks. So whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or getting help from a professional, it’s important to take advantage of those breaks!

Mortgage Interest Deduction: Before buying a home, a standard deduction may have made the most sense when you prepared your taxes. But homeowners can deduct the interest portion of their mortgage payments, and the earlier you are in your mortgage, the greater the percentage of each payment that goes toward interest, so take advantage right away! Contact your mortgage servicer if you need a copy of your 1098, which will have the total amount of interest paid for last year.

Home Office: This deduction is often overlooked, which is unfortunate since one of the items Buyer's are looking for is a dedicated home office space. Utilizing a home office is the trend as computers connect us more each day and allow us to avoid a commute one or several days each week. There are specific criteria that have to be met in order to deduct home office expenses, but it can lead to a very large deduction. In general, your home office has to be used specifically for business purposes. Check with a tax professional to see if your home office qualifies for a deduction—it’s a little extra work, but can make a big difference in your tax burden.

As always, if you need a referral for an excellent CPA, or any other help, please let me know. Happy to share my vendors with you.

What Buyers Are Searching For In Their Next Home

Thinking about selling your home? That's great! There is very little inventory in the Denver market and if your home is well priced, modestly updated and well maintained you will sell quickly and for top dollar.

Buyers today have high expectations. The internet and reality TV has created a demand for updated homes in every price point; from first time home/condo buyer all the way up to luxury real estate purchase.

The brokers in Kentwood City Properties were recently queried about the features buyers are seeking today in the Denver real estate market. Below is the compilation of that list. Home Sellers take note. Many of these items can be easily accomplished for modest sums and in a short amount of time. Little updates bring major financial rewards. Below, in no particular order, is the list:

• Gourmet "Cooks" Kitchen
• Tidy Garage with Organized Storage
• Closet with Built In Storage Space
• Stellar Master Bath
• Walkability ~ proximity to a coffee shop, restaurant, etc.
• Close to Public Transportation/Light Rail
• Out Door Living Areas (fire pits, patios, ponds/fountains)
• Secondary Building (loft over garage, studio space, workshop, etc.)
• Views 
• Open Floor Plans
• Roof Top Patios
• Modern Finishes (if it was updated ten years ago it is dated)
• Grey tones. Grey is our neutral palette today.
• Smart thermostats (Nest is one ~ there are others). Xcel is currently rebating on this one!
• Smart Home features ~ can control systems, lights, etc. from phone
• Energy efficiency (solar panels, new windows)
• Private Yard
• Reasonable HOA fees (amenities are great, but HOAs rivaling mortgage payments are not).
• Stone countertops (soapstone, quartz, etc. Granite is taking a backseat here.)
• Lots of Natural Light
• Nicely Finished Basement
• Efficient Square Footage. People are looking to use every bit of their space. Especially nice are rooms that can be used for dual purposes (i.e., office with a Murphy Bed for guests). No formal living and dining rooms that sit empty most of the year.

Reach out to me if you need a vendor recommendation to assist you in any of these projects. In fact, why not tackle some of them now, before you are thinking about Selling! That way you get to enjoy the project results too. I'm happy to help you figure out what to do to make your home even more appealing.

Whenever we change the clocks for that lovely hour of extra sleep, I know it's time for my husband and me to get through our list of items to prepare our home for the winter months. While its not the most enjoyable of projects, we're always so very grateful come spring time to have done the work. In my world of selling homes, I see countless inspection items that could have been easily (and inexpensively) avoided by a little proper maintenance. So here's my list ~ feel free to comment with items that you tackle too!

Fall Home Maintenance Checklist:

1. Have the sprinklers blown out and winterized. It's about $55-$65, takes but a half hour or so, and can save you hundreds in repair costs on your system should water freeze in your lines. I like Earthservices, 303-935-7193; but there are lots of others out there as well. Drain your outdoor hoses and store in your garage or basement. Cover your outdoor spigots with a foam insulated cover. You can find one in our neighborhood Ace Hardware store at 3758 Osage St.

2. Call your HVAC vendor to come out and clean and service your furnace. Mine does it for under $150. An annual clean and check is one of the most important things you can do to keep your furnace in good shape. While you're at it, have the tech show you how to change the filter, and go and purchase a half dozen or so. Change the filters on the first of each month. It will keep your furnace working more efficiently and your home cleaner. My fave vendor is Rodney King, The Heat Guy, 303-432-9100. 

3. Clean your gutters. As my favorite home inspector likes to say, "www stands for Water Will Win, all day everyday." Water is destructive to the exterior of your home, so make sure that it has a swift path to flow away from your home. Start by cleaning out the gutters of leaves and debris. Visually inspect the gutters to ensure that they are secure and don't have holes or corrosion.

4. Check and seal any gaps around your windows and doors. Weatherstripping and caulking is inexpensive and easy to install ~ even for novices. It will save you money on your heating bills, and in the case of caulking around entry points for cable, gas, and such, will help keep heat-seeking critters out of your home.

5. Change the batteries in your smoke and CO detectors. By now I think we are all trained to to this when we change the clocks, but it really can save your life. And there seems to be an immutable law of nature that if a detector battery is going to fail, it will happen at 3:00 am when I am not at my best.

6. Fireplace Flue Cleaning. If you are lucky enough to have a wood burning fireplace (they are becoming less common in Denver), then by all means have a Chimney Sweep come and clean your flue, check on the operation of the damper and ensure that no wildlife has decided to make your chimney their home.

7. Outdoor Patio Spaces. If you are lucky enough to have storage space indoors, your furniture will last much longer. If that's not you, then furniture covers are a wise investment. If you can move your furniture under a covered space, even better.

Once I've worked through the list, we like to enjoy a little treat ~ perhaps a libation at Ernies Bar & Pizza or a warm sweet beverage at Common Grounds?