Finding the ideal home in which to spend their retirement years might take Carl and Mary Clayton a few months or even a year. They are uncertain about location and climate, but one thing they do know is that once they make a decision, they want to move quickly.
”We can go anywhere, anytime,” says Carl. ”What we want to do now is get the house ready to sell so if we find something, we`re ready, too.”
Though not the original owners, the Claytons have lived in the 30-year-old Mt. Prospect home for most of its life. They know they need to make some improvements and changes to compete in the real estate marketplace, but their big question is how far they should go.
Coral Lee Funk of Prudential Preferred Properties in Palatine recently consulted with the Claytons and offered her advice on where they should invest their dollars in the house to get the biggest return.
Rejuvenated kitchen
The four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home sits on a landscaped corner lot. Among the home`s features are a remodeled kitchen with all new appliances; paneled family room with large bay window and sliding glass doors leading to the patio; finished basement recreation room; and two-car garage. Hardwood floors lie beneath the carpeting.
From the front entry, a muted floral wallpaper flows through the foyer, up the stairs and across the second-floor hallway. A contrasting print starts at the foyer and streams through the living and dining rooms; the draperies match. The avocado carpeting follows the wallpaper upstairs and down. The bedrooms are painted and carpeted in different shades of beige, green and blue. The green bedroom has a beautifully finished hardwood floor.
The Claytons agree that the green carpeting is no longer the popular choice it once was. Taking it up, however, poses more questions. Should they expose the hardwood floor or invest in new carpeting? Should they remove the yards and yards of wallpaper? If they remove the wallpaper, what about the draperies? Should they repaint the bedrooms?
De-green the floors
After studying the situation, Funk recommended that the green carpeting be replaced with carpeting in a medium beige. Even though hardwood floors are in vogue, parents with small children prefer carpeting and the Claytons` home will definitely attract buyers with families to raise, Funk said.
She would also extend the new carpeting up the stairs and into the master bedroom to create a sense of continuity. The blue and beige bedrooms are satisfactory, but the paint in the green bedroom should be neutralized, she said. The bedroom carpeting is somewhat worn but can be left as is; these are likely to be children`s rooms, and buyers might want to make do with the old carpeting for a while.
”I`m glad to hear this,” said Carl. ”I was thinking about painting the entire upstairs, which I didn`t want to do.”
The wallpaper is conventional enough so as not to raise major objections; Funk advised leaving it. She did suggest taking down the sunny yellow floral wallpaper in the kitchen, however; the pattern darkens the kitchen and doesn`t harmonize with the other two prints. Off-white walls-perhaps with a wallpaper border-would visually enlarge the space and give the kitchen an extra update, she said.
Years ago, Carl tiled the foyer with slate, another popular feature of the time. Today he is no longer fond of it and would like to put in something different.
”I`ve had people tell me it`s fine and we should just leave it,” he told Funk. ”None of the tiles are cracked.”
”It will be a killer to get this off,” Funk said. ”Slate lasts forever, but hardwood or ceramic tile would take 10 to 15 years off the age of the house.”
