The Destination of Scent | An Interview with Rami Mekdachi from Lola James Harper

On today’s episode we’re gonna take the intimidation out of a fun spring task and help you create front porch planters that wow. We have a very special guest on the show, Becky Nyman, who is Sue’s go-to person whenever she has any questions on gardening and plants. She’s a master gardener who has owned her own businesses and has been in the space for over 30 years. This time of year you see a lot of women dragging their pots into the nursery or garden shop to help them get their porch planters potted. Becky is gonna teach us how to make these decorative planters porch worthy.    Intro 0:00 Meet Becky 2:20 Picking your pot 5:55 How deep the soil should be 13:00 Paying attention to the standup tags 19:10 Do what is pleasing to the eye 26:00 Different combinations 30:00 Favorite spiller 35:30   “Picking your pot is probably the most important thing that you want to do. You want to pick a pot that has drainage in it. Water can kills your plants faster than anything, and a lot of people don’t realize that. Overwatering kills plants faster than letting them dry out.” 5:56   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

“How do you help clients make design decisions?”  “Are built-ins always a good idea?” “Can you help me decorate around my short ceilings?”  On this episode of Dear Alice, the hosts circle up to answer the latest batch of listener questions, and - spoiler alert! - there are some good ones.  Join Jess, Suzanne and Cori for your favorite conversation of the week!   What our process is for coming up with ideas 9:00 Strategy for built-ins 18:15 Incorporating millwork 22:25 Shoe molding 29:40 Strategies for a coastal home to not feel like a beach house 33:30 Decorating with short ceilings 37:45 Fireplace mantle 42:15 Keeping the integrity of specific home styles 44:30   “I like my ceilings. Like right now, my ceilings are all the same color, whatever’s happening on the wall of that room. So in my public areas, they’re white. My floor is white and the ceiling’s white, it’s all the same finish, so it just feels continuous. There’s no stopping and starting. It really stretches the eye and kinda fakes it out that I’m not being drawn to a contrasting line or a colored wall is meeting up with a flat white on the ceiling. It keeps going and is just the best trick.” 39:10   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

In this week’s episode we have again real estate guru Rob Corcoran with us. He has a high end boutique real estate firm where he relocates people all over the United States of America and he is really good, not just for Utah, but for all of you across the nation. We’ve had tons of questions come in from our social media channel and we wanted to take this second episode to be able to answer all of your questions that we have for Rob.   Intro 0:00 Return for homeowners who sell staged and furnished homes 1:10 Young married couple saving for a home, FHA loan 4:10 Update or renovate a rental as an owner? 8:45 Is it a good decision to buy a home today? 13:20 How can couples afford a home in this market? 16:15 Buying in Utah 18:00 Unique and timeless designs, white kitchens 19:45 Replace or let buyer replace floor? 22:30 Negotiating a lower price 26:00 Finding a real estate agent 27:15 Non negotiables in selling a luxury home 29:50 Gauging pricing yourself out of your neighborhood with updates 32:00 Is a rental worth it if you don’t make much? 36:30 Keeping clients in budget 38:00 Priority updates 40:10 What’s happening to Airbnb’s 44:50   “Selling a home is all about how someone feels when they walk into it. Does it feel clean? Does it smell great? Is it bright? Am I gonna have to redo–we just sold a home recently that we had the entire, I told you the doors were painted. We also painted the entire inside of the house, had all the flooring done. They had lived there for 15 years, and it sells like that…selling a house is not just how you feel. It’s your senses.” 23:03   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

This week we have Rob Corcoran on the podcast, who is a real estate expert and has been a resident real estate agent for 24 years. One of our most successful podcasts of 2023 was one where we had a real estate expert come on, so we felt it would be great to do it again as people love it. The market is constantly changing, so Jess called Rob. He built a high end boutique that he sold in 2015 and kept the relocation division of the company, and then founded Influence Relocation, which has now expanded to over 50 markets across the USA from Miami to Alaska.    Intro 0:00 Buyer confidence and the housing market right now 1:55 Market trends and economic indicators 5:00 Rates and credit 11:00 Can young people afford a home? 14:00 Do we still see mega mansions? Or smaller? 19:50 Landscaping 25:30 Top buzzwords, home offices 27:30 Staging 29:45 A seller’s or a buyer’s market? 32:15 Pricing a home or a lot 35:40 Buy a renovation or not? 40:00 Does making your home your own make it hard to resell? 44:10 Is investing in a home as a 2nd or 3rd home a good option right now? 46:15 Are Airbnb’s still a good investment? 55:00    “You should never buy a home if you only plan on owning it for less than 5 years. So if you plan on buying a home and only being around for say 3 years, I would advise you probably not to purchase. You could get bitten to shorts on that if you need to sell or get relocated by your company, whatever happens in your life, the odds are you might be paying to get rid of your home.” 49:40   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

In this week’s episode we are doing re-upholstering or refinishing vs buying new. This is an age-old debate where some people don’t think it’s worth going through the trouble of refinishing old items, but others see it as an effective way to make their items look new while also preserving maybe some of that vintage touch said item might convey. Don’t think you’re doing this to save money, but rather to preserve an older item that has special meaning to you.   Intro 0:00 Re-upholstering vs buying new 3:25 Fabric prices for upholstery 8:30 There are ranges in cost 15:40 A time the investment was worth it 20:00   “It adds up with all of our projects. Once you really stare at the numbers, it just all adds up, so just know that you’re gonna spend more than you thought to cover everything, so just make sure it’s something you really, really want.” 11:44   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Tune in this week to hear us give answers to more listener questions! We have people asking about how they can improve the design of their front door and alter the side lights or windows, how to mix wood tones like in a bedroom or dining room, what the ratio of mirrors to art in a home should be, what to do about the finish for interior and exterior door knobs and hinges, and a few other fun questions. Join us today to hear what we have to say!   Intro 0:00 Level up your front door 11:10 Dos and don’ts of mixing wood tones 16:30 Ratio of mirrors to art in a home 21:00 Finish for interior and exterior door knobs and hinges 24:15 Built-in shelves and coloring 27:30 Display your kids artwork 34:00 Biggest misconceptions or blindspots in purchasing home furnishings 38:10   “It depends on your preference operationally too, like if it’s something that you’re just gonna swing open and you never use that, except when guests come over and you’re using the mudroom entrance, and you just want it for aesthetics, beautiful. But just know that one is usually gonna stay closed and one is gonna be operative, and is that wide enough for people to come through? Or do you have to swing them open both times?” 12:24   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5