Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Trend Alert: Retro Kitchens Are Today's Big Thing For some of us, retro is just another term. But for those who recall Grandma’s aqua-blue fridge, it brings to mind a simpler way of life, even if it meant that some poor soul had to run out for blocks of ice. The bright color brought the space alive and made you happy to be in the kitchen. Now, as a trip to some of the larger home stores will attest, appliances are going back to the ’50s, and it’s one of the hottest trends around. It may have started with Big Chill, a Colorado company that got off the ground when a man named Thom Vernon wanted a retro-style fridge for a vintage house he was building. Vernon approached his nephew, Orion Creamer, a recent graduate of product design school with a passion for old-school style. Orion and his uncle built a prototype on the front porch of Creamer’s home. The rest, as they say, is histo...

  Information is brought to you by Hope Leitner Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties Top Benefits of Having Kids Share a Room If you have or plan to have children and you’re shopping for a new home, one of the most important deciding factors will likely be the number of bedrooms. While many parents seek out homes that are large enough for each child to have his or her own room, some choose to have their children share bedrooms because of the clear benefits. It Teaches Important Social Skills Sharing a bedroom with a sibling teaches kids respect. Children who share rooms have to learn to respect each other’s belongings, space, and need for peace and quiet. They need to learn to clean up after themselves, to share possessions, to respect each other’s privacy and to keep the noise level down so a sibling can study or sleep. Respect for others will be valuable when children go off to college and share a room with a new roommate or when they live with a spouse or partne...