How To: Stenciled Wall Treatment

Stenciling is an inexpensive and easy (although not necessarily quick) way to add a fun design element to your new home. With stencils you can create a custom "wallpaper" look using any colors of your choice and for a fraction of the cost of real designer wallpaper. Here are some easy tips I learned while trying out this project over Memorial Day Weekend.

• Choose a matte or eggshell finish for your base coat. These finishes absorb the second layer of paint better, reducing smears and making the project move along faster. My base coast is Piper by KWAL Paint in an eggshell finish.
•  You can be more creative with your top coat (the one you use when stenciling). I chose a Metallic Masters paint called Smoke. I love that the sheen looks different when viewed from different angles and in different light. It looks especially AMAZING in the evening and morning. It also dried surprisingly quickly.
  
• If you want a "wallpaper" look, make sure you choose a stencil that is designed for that type of use. They come with registration marks: little triangle holes in the corners so that you can make marks and line up each subsequent stencil. I picked mine up at the local craft store but you can find hundreds of options online too. I chose a damask-look for my stencil. I tried to find one that wasn't too girly since this room is for my husband too. (I think the dark grey colors also made it appear a little more masculine.)

• The instructions say to start in the top left corner of your room. However, this was my very first time stenciling so I started somewhere less visible (the area of the room that is covered up by my bed and future headboard). 
• Make sure that your first stencil is perfectly level. All your other stencils will be based on this, so go for perfectly level. When I was starting I checked the level on each subsequent stencil, but realized that as long as I line up my registration marks, this was really unnecessary. 
• In order to avoid smudging the design, I worked in a random pattern, not a straight line. I didn't want to tape right over the area that I had just painted, but I also didn't want to wait several minutes between each stencil. This worked fine as long as I remember to mark the registration points and line them up with each new stencil.

And my two biggest tips for stenciling a wall...

1. Accept that your stenciling will NOT BE PERFECT but that it will still look AMAZING. There were plenty of times when my stencils didn't line up exactly or I had to fudge around the edges. However, the overall wall still looks perfectly amazing. With all that's going on, you really can't tell where the mistakes are, so don't sweat it!
2. Expect to spend A LOT OF TIME on this project. I did a fairly large, vaulted wall and I planned on spending several hours on this project. Unfortunately I was way off base. My small pattern and large wall added up to a total of about 8 hours just doing the stencil (not counting the base coat, clean up etc). About 3/4 of the way through I really did just want to quit and leave it half done. Luckily I stuck with it and now LOVE the results (and you will too if you try it for yourself!)

Here's my completed wall. My total cost was under $40! The overall design of the room is still only about half way done. My next big project is a large upholstered headboard. If that goes well I'll post it here in a few weeks! Then I'll be searching for new nightstands and wall sconces.

So happy stenciling. And to any of you stenciling pros out there... I'd love to hear your tips and tricks or see your work! Email me at kristi@mcarthurhomes.com

10 "To-Dos" That Will Help Your Home Sell Faster

So you've found the perfect home builder in Utah and you can't wait to get started building your new home. What's the hold up? For many people, it's selling your current home.

Many new homeowners that I've worked with at McArthur Homes need to sell their old home and they want it to sell quickly for as much money as possible. What they aren't sure of is how much they should spend getting it ready to sell. Here are some great tips that our preferred lender, Scott Smith found:

From an advice piece in the Wall Street Journal, we learn of 10 basic home improvement projects that will help your home have better showings. The advice requires almost no technical skills, and the projects can be tackled in a weekend.
The theme? Handle your home's delayed maintenance.

1. Repair or remove screen doors with holes and tears
2. Pressure wash windows, sidewalks, and siding
3. Paint your front door and polish the doorknob
4. Pull weeds, seed bare spots, and lay down mulch
5. Touch up holes, dings and cracks in paint
6. Clean grout and re-caulk sinks, bathtubs and showers
7. Buy new cabinet hardware
8. Fix leaky faucets and toilets
9. Spray lubricant on squeaky doors
10. Get clutter into storage and out of the way

Now, you'll notice that none of these projects can be considered "major". By contrast, each is minor; they're the items you'd add to your to-do list for work on "another day". However, they're extremely important for a home that's about to be listed.

Here's why. A prospective buyer doesn't notice that the above repairs were made. He only notices if they weren't made. When a buyer sees ripped screens or chipped paint in your home, it makes him wonder what else hasn't been cared for. This is the why you should also hire an exterminator prior to selling your home. If a buyer spots a trail of ants in your home, it's unlikely you'll get an offer.
You don't need to spend big bucks to get your home ready for sale, but you may have to apply elbow grease. The good news is that time spent up-front can be worth it in the end. Homes that show better tend to sell faster, and at higher prices.


If you have questions about this post, or you would like to be pre-approved for a new home, please visit my site, my online loan application, or call Scott Smith at 801-209-3850 for a quick phone consultation.

Happy fixing!

Scott

2011 Home Sales Up 360% at McArthur Homes

At McArthur Homes, sales in the first four months of 2011 have increased 360% over the previous four months! And that's not all...

• In February we completely sold out of homes at our Thanksgiving Village neighborhood!
• From March to April, Herriman Towne Center had a record breaking 14 new sales, making it our fastest selling new neighborhood!
• In April, McArthur Homes had a total of 15 new home sales, our best selling month in over a year!
•  Our newest neighborhood, Point Lookout was just announced and already has had 4 new home sales without having a model home on site!

So why the sudden increase? We attribute our success to increased buyer confidence and beautiful neighborhoods including, Point Lookout in Eagle Mountain and Herriman Towne Center.

INCREASED BUYER CONFIDENCE
Now really is a fantastic time to buy a new home in Utah, and we're not the only ones who think that. Buyer confidence has increased as the economy and housing market have stabilized. Plus, increasing interest rates on the horizon mean that your buying power will probably never be greater than it is right now. Many new homeowners are taking this opportunity to build a beautiful new home, and they're choosing McArthur Homes as their new home builder in Utah.



NEW NEIGHBORHOODS
Many of these new homeowners have fallen in love with our newest neighborhoods. Point Lookout, in The Ranches of Eagle Mountain, features large, deep homesites that are perfect for entertaining or play space for the kids. Plus, affordable home prices mean that you could own your brand new home at Point Lookout for as little as $164,000. Click here for mortgage calculators to estimate your monthly payment.

Herriman Towne Center is another brand new community that features unbelievable amenities such as the largest recreation center in the State, JL Sorensen Recreation Center, the brand new Herriman City Library, new schools, the future Herriman City Hall plus planned local shopping and dining options. Homes in this beautiful neighborhood start in the low $200s. Click here for mortgage calculators to estimate your monthly payment.

McArthur Homes Receives 2011 GuildQuality Award for Outstanding Customer Satisfaction

For the third consecutive year, McArthur Homes has been recognized as a Guildmaster by GuildQuality, Inc., the leading firm offering customer satisfaction surveying and measurement to the home building industry. Only 154 home builders, remodelers, developers and contractors throughout North America received this award which recognizes businesses for their exceptional customer satisfaction.

See what our homeowners are saying about McArthur Homes!

The GuildQuality Guildmaster Awards celebrate service excellence among home builders, remodelers, developers, property managers, home services contractors, and real estate professionals. Once a year, GuildQuality bestows upon a handful of its members an award for exemplary quality and customer service. Award winners differ in their types of work and price ranges, but all have a lengthy track record of exceptional customer feedback. In granting awards, GuildQuality considers two primary metrics for each candidate: the percentage of customers who would recommend and the percentage of customers who responded.

Upon being notified of the award, Dave McArthur remarked, "We would like to thank all of our homeowners for participating in the GuildQuality surveys. We couldn't have achieved this great recognition without your help. We are so proud to hear our homeowners say time and time again that they would recommend us to their friends and family. We couldn't ask for a better award or recognition than that!" 

McArthur Homes is a local, family-owned home builder in Utah with neighborhoods in Eagle Mountain, Lehi and Herriman. For more information, visit our website www.mcarthurhomes.com or email kristi@mcarthurhomes.com.

More Parade Pics

The Parade of Homes is getting closer and we can't wait for you to see our Cordova home. Here are a few pics from the recent cabinet installation. These cabinets are beech with an espresso stain in a shaker-style panel called "Ashton." I love the clean lines. What do you think?

Oh, and I can't forget to show you the great built-ins in the stair landing. You are not going to believe all the storage we fit into this new home! More pics coming soon...

Photo Update- Parade of Homes 2011

Our Utah Valley Parade of Homes entry is coming along beautifully! I hope you will all be joining us in June to see the completed home. In the meantime, here are some more fun pictures of the progress.

This new home is our new Cordova design, which was designed specifically with our McArthur Homes homeowners in mind. For instance, check out this great mud room. Wouldn't you love to have a place to keep all your kids' stuff that is tucked away from the rest of the house?

I am loving the fun wall paneling. The best part is, this is something easy you can do in your own new home! Check out this post with how-to instructions.

Below, you can see the open great room. The new hardwood floors are covered with protective paper, but let me tell you... they are amazing. Plus, they are only a level 3 hardwood at the McArthur Homes Design Studio. So affordable!

 

This master suite features a separate retreat area. What would you do with this space? I imagine it as a cozy reading nook, or maybe a place for my spin bike... hmmmm....

What do you think of this octagonal tile in the master bathroom? I can't wait to see how it looks with the cabinets installed and the white cultured marble on the tub and shower.

Here's one final picture for now. Isn't this a fun tile treatment for the laundry room? I love how the Cordova plan has an upstairs laundry room so you don't have to haul big baskets of dirty clothes up and down the stairs!

Well, that's it for our Parade of Homes tour for today. Next week... cabinets get installed!

Still want more info? Click here to view this new home design on our website. The Cordova is available at ALL of our new home neighborhoods so you can also visit any of our model homes to find out more.