CasaSugar

Open House: Eco Upgrades

CasaSugar — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:19:12 -0700

According to CitizenSugar, Al Gore has spent $16,533 on eco-upgrades including solar panels, a geothermal system, new light bulbs, and better windows — and his "house uses enough energy in a year to power 232 regular houses for a month." Yikes! Not to brag or anything but, if you remember correctly, my utility company named me one of 1.5 million residential and 80,000 business customers who had conserved natural gas this past Winter. I may not have solar panels but there's a chance I may still have out-eco-chic'd Al Gore in terms of energy use! What eco upgrades have you made to your home? Solar panels? CFLs? Sustainable materials? Reclaimed wood furniture? Wind power? Planted a tree? Tell me by commenting below!
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Your Most Coveted Outdoor Home Upgrade

CasaSugar — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 10:14:24 -0800

As part of our Best of 2007 polls, you chose a swimming pool as your most coveted outdoor home upgrade. Garden, patio, and porch were all close behind swimming pool, and I'd have to choose garden as my most coveted outdoor home upgrade. This Spring I'll be putting in a bunch of raised garden boxes in the backyard, and I can't wait to show you how to do it yourself! Unfortunately, though, I don't think I'm quite as adept at planning or implementing a backyard swimming pool. My skill set is only so large!

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Your Most Coveted Indoor Home Upgrade

CasaSugar — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:20:51 -0800

As part of our Best of 2007 polls, by a landslide you chose a professional kitchen as your most coveted indoor home upgrade. I completely agree with you on this one. Although it's certainly not a necessity, and I feel a bit bratty for hoping to have one, a professional kitchen would certainly be nice to have. And, since I love to cook, I'd definitely use it. Plus, think of all the home entertaining you could do . . .

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House Tour: Kim's Beaux Arts Beauty

CasaSugar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0800

I've been reading the cheeky blog Thank You For Asking, written by the very glamorous Kim, for a few months now, and after seeing a few extremely chic sneak peeks into her home, I asked if she'd be interested in giving us a house tour. Thankfully, she agreed! Kim lives in a 1920s Beaux Arts home in San Francisco's posh Pacific Heights neighborhood with her husband and three sons. It is no doubt one of the most gorgeous houses I've ever seen. More impressively, she decorated it herself!

Before moving to SF, Kim lived in London for seven years, where she sharpened her stylistic skills taking Christie's Fine Arts course. She says she picked up a lot of her furniture and artwork there, and on subsequent trips back. She also scours San Francisco's vintage furniture shops for a lot of her furnishings. She says they renovated their home with the help of architect Ken Linsteadt when they moved to SF in 1997. Their goal was to keep the beauty of the original architecture while upgrading some of the renovations done in the '70s, and they have no doubt done just that. Come take the tour, and prepare to swoon!

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What Is Your Most-Coveted Indoor Home Upgrade?

CasaSugar — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:00:24 -0800

As part of our Best of 2007 polls, we asked you what your most-coveted outdoor home upgrade was. Now, it's time to let us know how you'd most like to upgrade the inside of your home, assuming you could afford it.

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What Is Your Most-Coveted Outdoor Home Upgrade?

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:00:52 -0800

Whether you rent or own, have done a full renovation or none at all, there's got to be one thing you wish you could improve about your home. For the green thumbs, maybe a garden would be a nice upgrade. For the aquatic types, a swimming pool or hot tub. And the crafters, a work shed. As part of our Best of 2007 polls, chime in and tell us what your most-coveted outdoor home upgrade is this year.

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What's Your Most Coveted Home Upgrade of 2008?

CasaSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:15:10 -0800

Right now, I'm totally coveting a cute little KitHaus for a guest cottage. I'd also love to install a water feature in our backyard, get a cedar hot tub, upgrade our kitchen . . . my home wish list is definitely long! What do you want at your casa?

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:44 -0800

Cover up dings in wooden furniture. - AT:SF
Read up on Zac Posen's foray into interior design. - ShelterPop
I love these cool kitchen timers. - Shelterrific
Upgrade your table with this pretty table runner. - PointClickHome
Try these tips for buying on CraigsList. - Charles and Hudson
Here's a non-toxic way to remove paint. - Re-Nest

Before and After: Lattice Mirrored Coffee Table

Casa Community — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:00:04 -0800

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member ckim8120 from the Su Casa group:

What do you get when you combine a mirror and a table?

Find out when you read more.

The most affordable mirrored lattice coffee table!

As most of you know, I have another blog called A Sweet Concoction. I haven't updated in a while since I've been focusing most of my free time on this blog! That was my first blog and I'm still very much attached to it. I offered DIY interior decorating tips that anybody can do! One of my favorite entries was this bathroom makeover. I have decided for now to only update this blog regularly, but will also offer interior decorating tips as well! I want to say upfront that I do not have ANY experience in design. It's something I do for fun and that I enjoy very much! I think style and design go hand in hand so hopefully my tips will inspire some of you!

With that said, this entry is a perfect example of how I like to decorate. I try to look at pieces that I already own and "upgrade" them some how to create something new and improved. I quickly fell in love with this lattice mirror that I found at Home Goods for $99. I originally bought this for my old bedroom but decided to go out on the limb and make a mirrored coffee table out of it! It fit perfectly onto my coffee table that I bought to Philadelphia. It was a match made in heaven.

Enjoyed this entry? Please check out my DIY section from A Sweet Concoction.

Have you been doing any of your own before and after projects lately? Be sure to post photos and tales in our Su Casa group!

Celebrities List Their Haciendas at a Loss

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:00:22 -0800

It's still a buyer's market in the real estate world these days, and average American homeowners aren't the only ones bearing the brunt of it. In the last week, two celebrities have listed their homes on the market expecting a loss. Scarlett Johansson's 4,352-square-foot, four-bedroom, 5.5-bath hacienda in Los Angeles, listed at just under $5 million, is the most painful one: she purchased the property only three years ago for $7 million. What's even worse about the $2 million loss (at least - it hasn't sold yet!) is that she spent a lot of dough restoring it. According to the listing, she made "massive system upgrades" including solar electric, as well as all new windows and doors. Ouch!

Meanwhile, Ashley Olsen's 2,332-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bath hacienda in Los Angeles was just listed for $1.4 million. She also purchased her property back in 2007, paying nearly $1.6 million for it. Olsen's expected real estate loss tunes in at $200k, a far cry from Johansson's $2 million bloodbath. Maybe these pennies are small change for these ladies, but for most homeowners $200k (or even $2k!) can make a world of difference in a bank account.