More and more pools no longer have to stand on their own . It is becoming more popular in Southern California to enhance the enjoyment and ambience of the pool setting with creative thought out décor which reflects or  reveals the pools owner and taste. One intriguing means of accomplishing this is the use of colorful poolscape design.

Over  the last 60 some odd years many studies have been conducted with regards to color and ones personality.  I myself have conducted my own personal study and found that often the effect of the color goes hand in glove with the object. For instance;

    Piles of GREEN paper ( as in money)  -  excited, hopeful, independent, balanced

On the other hand,

Piles of GREEN  peas        ( needing hulled) - listless, lack of spontaneity, distracted,

RED liquid  ( as in mercury going up and pool is accessible) - eager, athletic, sexy, playful

On the other fin,

RED liquid (as in my blood leaking out) - frantic, erratic, unreliable, dead

BROWN (as in chocolate) - joyful, consumed, good - natured, cheerful, gluttonous

At the other end,

BROWN ( as in smelly) - apathetic, non-committal, aloof, avoidance

However, if you want a more formal analysis let me refer below to Barbara Richardson's ( director of color marketing services for the Color Design Studio, part of ICI Paints, in Strongsville, Ohio) summary  as found on the Fuller Obrien Web site,  http://www.fullerobrien.com/NUSFOB/colorfeatures/colorpsychology.jsp

Color Psychology

  I love doing open houses! Sometimes they are very lively with lots of screaming kids. One time a collage aged girl screamed when the light suddenly turned off while she was looking in the cold,dark cellar.  Some open houses are very ordinary.  Not long ago I was holding a open house in Cerritos Ca. As you know, the concept of an open house is simple. You set your signs out, open the door and you greet prospective buyers. What would be more routine?Just about anything. As I was saying, I was at this lovely 2 bed 1 ba condo w/fireplace in Cerritos Ca. It has a decent size sq footage and is all 1 level. I would greet the buyer at the door, show the living room and kitchen then I would send them down the hall to the bedrooms alone.

  It was nearing the last hour of the open house when in walked (let's just call her "Grace". The names were changed to protect the innocent) "Hello, My name is Windy from Tarbell Realtors. Welcome to my open House" I stated as I was shaking her hand. Then I began the tour with the kitchen and living rm. Soon I sent her down the hall to the bedrooms.      

      As I am waiting, I can hear her progress. She walks down the hall,.. She pauses a moment or two looks into the bathroom,..She moves into the bedroom,.. "Make sure you look at the closet organizer" I called from the front room. I hear the closet door being slid open the next moment I hear....

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM !!!!  WHOOSH! A black streak flies past my feet followed by a wide eyed breathless women with her hair standing on end making a "bee-line" for the front door.  Running after her I asked her what happened.  "As soon as I opened the closet door a Giant Black Cat leaped down from the top-shelf right on top of my head, You didn't tell me there were more Cat's! " she exclaimed.

     "Oh, I am very sor.." too late! She was down the stairs and on her way to a nervous breakdown. It's probably a good thing she was so rushed into leaving since I don't think I could have convinced her that the tears I had were those of sympathy, and that rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter was a common practice among Realtors at the close of open houses. Well anyways, I still have this lovely 2 bed 1 ba condo for sale in Cerritos, Ca. If anyone has a buyer please call. OH, by the way did I mention the flying cat ?! 

       Have you ever had one of those days when something wasn't quite right but you couldn't put your finger on it? It isn't like anything is going wrong, something just doesn't feel right. 

                                                 Well, I remember one of those days as I was preparing to meet a client.   I drove to their home in Orangecrest a subdivision in Riverside Ca. As I am walking to their door I get that something isnt right  feeling. I ring the doorbell while going through a mental checklist . (1) Presentation Materials - Check - (2) Listing Agreement - Check -  (3) Business attire - Check - (4) Barefeet - Check - (5) On time -   check-  (6) Camera -  Check -  BARE-FEET !!!! No Not Bare-feet !! SOAKING BARE-FEET with Grass-blades stuck to them !

What was I going to do?? I already rang the bell. here they come... 

  "Hello Oh, What a beautiful Home You Have" I'll say    

"Thank you"  My client will say "please come in. Do you hear a splish-splash? "They'll say                                   

      "No 'I'll reply,  "What is that interesting art piece UP THERE on that shelf?" 

No good, I need a different plan.

 "Hello, I am Windy of  Barefoot Realtors of Riverside. You know our slogan                                                    "If we can walk barefoot in it we can sell it, because it is not just a house it's a home that's comfortable lived in feeling...

 No, I need a different plan.

 DING DONG DITCH'EM Yeah that's it!

And That is exactly what I did.

 I ran to my car............. jumped in........................ drove away before they answered the door..........As soon as I rounded the corner I grabbed my cell  called my clients......... explained something unexpected arose and I would be a few minutes late. 

 Well, let me tell you ever since that day   I have had a new preperation list and at the top  SHOES !!

Although ....I woooonnnnder.. Does  Barefoot Realtors of Riverside have any openings?       

    I signed up with A/R last year then I went into a "twilight zone". I didn't understand the concept & awesomeness of A/R back then. I now am telling my story and saying a BIG HELLO to one and all in the A/R world. I remember as a child liking different houses. I like the shape, feel and look of my parents colonial home. I also loved my Grandparents home in Solvang Ca. The homes were copes of Danish cottages. As a teenager I knew I still liked houses but the idea of being an architect was way out of the question. TOO MUCH MATH, YUCK !!Well time does what it always does moving forward I married  had a family moved to Riverside Ca. The late 90's brought all those house shows. People buying houses, people selling houses, people fixing up houses. HOUSES-HOUSES & more HOUSES ! Sooooooo this funny idea popped in my head. I could be a Realtor. The kids are older, my husband was all for it. I decided to take the test to see what happens. I studied drank lots of coffee and studied after 10pm nightly. I heard  a lot of people fail the Ca state test, I didn't want to be in that group. YAHOO! I passed then the adventure started. I have been a Realtor for 4 yrs and have clients from $ Million Dollar homes to condo's around $200,000.I specialize in POOL HOMES in Riverside, Ca. Yes, there is a lot of paperwork. Banks in short sales frustrate me to no end! Clients can be as sweet as honey or as prickly as a cactus. But every house,every home is a new adventure. Every lockbox holds the key to a new mystery to be discovered.   

Thank you for allowing me to tell my story,

        Windy Hixson

OH MY ! What a missed opportunity ! I just found out I could have been making $10,000 a month just by DOOR KNOCKING.  I have been street walking(tee hee) & door knocking for the past 3 1/2 years and getting close to nothing. My story starts with a phone call today from a very nice gentleman who says he is a fellow CHRISTIAN like me. He had found my number from the CHRISTIAN BUSINESS DIRECTORY and explained he needed a REALTOR in the RIVERSIDE CA area.  He was able to get 40 buyer leads a month pre-approved by Countrywide. "How do you get so many leads in any given month?" I asked. His answer was honest and upfront. "I WORK HARD- DOOR KNOCKING" he replied. I agreed door knocking is hard work, especially when the temps rise over a 100 degrees during the summer. His business proposition was: 40 qualified leads a month for $10,000 up front fee and 50% of my commission when the transaction closes. Wow! maybe it's time for a career change. I probably could learn a lot working with this salesman. He had charm and a way of making sense (cents$). Now, where are my tennis shoes?

  YEP, here in the wacky west coast in Southern California, you too can go to jail for using wood logs in your own fireplace !  I heard this on the news the other day (KFIam) its a legitimate proposal.  Whats next ?Outlawing blue eyeshadow for blondes?  Now, we will have to hide the wood pile in our bomb shelters. OOPS !I DON'T HAVE A BOMB SHELTER OR A BASEMENT! I will just have to add a new basement to my husbands honeydo list. Now back to the subject of crazy stupid laws. New builders are already required to have gas fireplaces only. Classic homes with original fireplaces should be grandfathered in.I have copied below an article rebutting this inane proposal. 

 Up in Smoke: Common Sense   GuestWords
By Walter Moore
Use a fireplace, go to jail.
The Philosopher Kings of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) have decided that government must stop you from burning wood in your fireplace.

The AQMD -- which is funded with $125 million of your money each year - just made it illegal to install wood-burning fireplaces in new homes, and adopted regulations to stop you from using your existing fireplace on days they deem too polluted. In a region where massive wildfires are as routine as televised car chases, these kill-joys want to stop you from burning logs?  Are you kidding me?

We've got ten jillion cars and trucks stuck in traffic, idling, for about 18 out of every 24 hours.  We've got a governor who fires up the Gulfstream twice a day to commute from L.A. to Sacramento .  We've got
kids getting shot while minding their own business.  And yet we need a
new law to ban the burning of logs in fireplaces?  Really?

Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but I don't remember ever hearing about a coroner listing, as the cause of death, "lived in a city with wood-burning fireplaces."

Laws like this make you wonder what they're smoking at the AQMD. Wonder no more:  our city's representative on the AQMD's board is Jan Perry.  That's right:  the same City Council Member who wants to "protect" you from fast food in South L.A. because you're too fat and stupid to decide what to eat and where.

Remember common sense?  I really miss it, especially when it comes to people who have the power to tax and regulate.

People used to understand the concept of "priorities" and "reasonableness."  Now we've created so many agencies that they need to manufacture new problems to justify their continuing existence and ever-increasing funding.

The AQMD will never issue a press release saying, "The federal and state Environmental Protection Agencies, along with county and city agencies, have pretty much taken care of everything, and since we've gotten to the point of regulating wood-burning fireplaces, we recommend that our agency be disbanded."

Okay, enough ranting from me for one day.  I'll think I'll go buy a McBreakfast and light up a cigar just to spite the Philosopher Kings.

                                          HERE IS A ARTICLE FROM POOL & SPA LIVING RE HOME SALES

Pools Pay Off

Expect a higher selling price if you own a pool

Good news for the nearly 5 million inground pool owners in the U.S.: Pools pay off...beyond the fun and fitness they provide. Overall, having an inground pool raises a home's value nearly 8 percent, reports the National Association of Realtors. And in warm-weather areas such as Arizona and Florida, a backyard pool makes for a faster and easier sell.

Although aboveground pools do little, if anything, to boost property values, here's the regional breakdown on the added oomph in property value an inground pool provides compared to a similar home without one:

? Northeast - 5%

? Midwest - 6%

? Southeast & West - 7.5%

? Southwest - 11%

Thinking about installing a pool? In general, realtors say you should plan on setting roots for at least five years to reap the investment costs come sale time.

Read More...

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