Teresa and Pat Grady`s home bears little resemblance today to the one they bought two years ago.
They have replaced the aging carpeting with hardwood floors and painted the dreary paneling a pristine white. Their color scheme is pink and green, interspersed with floral prints, bouquets of live flowers and large windows overlooking flower beds.
”This is a fall-in-love house!” exclaimed Dianne Cotsirilos, who consulted with the Gradys on how to ready the Northfield ranch-style home for market. A Realtor with Kahn Manierre Realty Inc. in Winnetka, she remembers touring the property before the renovation.
Since moving into the home, Teresa and Pat have been joined by Courtney, now 10 months old. The space is adequate for the three of them and their dog but they would like to have a basement and another bedroom.
”One more child and we`re out of here,” said Teresa.
Built in the 1950s and since expanded, the three-bedroom, two-bath ranch features a U-shaped split layout. On one side are the kitchen, formal dining room and two bedrooms and on the other are the master bedroom and family room. Each side also has a full bath. The living room is in the center.
The Gradys scrubbed, painted, wallpapered and landscaped. They put in a deck and opened up a fourth bedroom to create a formal dining room.
The living room walls are painted a rich pink, in contrast to the white woodwork. In the dining room, the walls are painted pink below the chair rail and papered with a green and white stripe above. The kitchen is white from floor to ceiling; the wallpaper is an ivy print against a white background.
”Your house is a breath of fresh air,” said Cotsirilos. ”You really have a knack for decorating.”
The decorating is what concerns the Gradys. They like their bold colors but are worried that future buyers might not.
”It`s not very neutral,” said Teresa.
”I think they`ll like it,” said Cotsirilos. ”Any pale color against white trim is very popular. Not every husband will like pink but you`ve tied everything together so perfectly. I don`t see it as an insolvable problem.”
The addition-which includes the master bedroom, family room and one bath- was built with its own furnace and water heater. This side of the home has central air conditioning; the other side does not. Should the Gradys invest in air conditioning for the entire home before they sell? they asked.
”I don`t think you have to do it but I`d have an estimate ready because people will think it is more expensive than it is,” said Cotsirilos.
If the Gradys made a single mistake, it was in the purchase of their washer and dryer. Previous owners had side-by-side models in the kitchen but Teresa and Pat decided to save square footage by putting stackables in an alcove beneath the cabinets. Unfortunately, they forgot to measure first and the units are too large, so they jut out toward the center of the room.
”That`s easy (to solve),” said Cotsirilos. ”Just exclude the stackables from the sale and the next person can put in their own washer and dryer side-by-side.”
Cotsirilos praised the professional appearance of the freshly painted cabinets and the wise selection of a new casement window above the sink. One suggestion she had was to replace the door leading to the outside with one that has glass panes on the top half to add even more light to the room.
The master bedroom, which has only two small windows, truly needs more light.
”I`d flood it with light,” Cotsirilos said. ”Have you considered recessed lighting? Everything is so new I can`t really see a single light fixture in the center of the ceiling. That`s the old way. You can place the spotlights so you can easily change the furniture arrangement.”
Cotsirilos offered two more quick spruceup tips: Paint the inside of any doors that were omitted during the renovation and replace the worn doorknobs. ”Everything else is so perfect, but removing any traces of what used to be will make it that much better,” she said.
”We love our house and are glad you think other people will, too,” said Teresa.
”I feel very positive,” agreed Pat. ”These are all very easy changes.”
