If you don’t have a portable projection screen, it’s not difficult to make one out of sheets. 

Materials:

2 White queen–size flat sheets, ironed to get the wrinkles out.

Top pole 1.5 inch diameter x 10 feet long

Bottom pole 3 inch diameter x 10 feet long

2 Ropes

Sewing needle or sewing machine

White thread

2 Tent stakes

Projector

DVD Player or laptop

Steps:

1.)  Take the two queen–size ironed flat sheets and sew them together with thread so the two long sides are joined, creating a tube from the two sheets.

2.) Insert the 1.5 inch pole inside the tube and let the sheets hang from one of the seams.

3.) Attach one rope to the ends of the top pole so that it can be attached to a tree limb or a stand.

4.) Once hung from the tree or stand, slide the 3 inch pole through the tube created by the sewn sheets so that it creates a weight at the bottom of the sheets, creating a screen.

5.) Attach a second rope to the ends of the bottom pole.

6.) Insert the two tent stakes beneath the bottom corners of the screen and tie the thinner rope to both of the tent stakes and pull tight. This will keep the screen from swaying or blowing in any breezes that come through the yard.

7.) Arrange comfortable seating around the screen using lawn chairs, recliners, or plush cushions.

8.) Create ambiance by hanging lanterns or soft white light bulbs overhead.

9.) Set up a projector attached to a DVD player or laptop to play movies in your outdoor theatre.

If you’re beginning a new Austin home search and would like a home that offers year round outdoor living options, contact an Austin realtor to help find a home on the perfect, tree studded lot.

THE BELOW MARKET UPDATE IS CURRENT AS OF THE ABOVE DATE OF THIS BLOG POST.

Active: There are currently 787 homes for sale in Austin Texas with a median list price of $153 per square foot ($319,990) and averaging 335 active days on the market. The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 2714 square feet. Prices range from $26.80 per square foot up to $1,776.25 per square foot or $32,500 up to $12,000,000…

Pending: There are currently 46 homes pending sale in Austin TX with a median list price of $179 per square foot ($259,995) and averaging 333 active days on the market. The average home pending sale has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1774 square feet.

Sold: There is insufficient data to perform these calculations

Withdrawn: There have been 4924 homes withdrawn in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $139 per square foot ($254,900) and averaging 403 active days on the market. The average home withdrawn from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2272 square feet.

Expired: There have been 2618 homes that have expired from the market in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $137 per square foot ($240,000) and averaging 438 active days on the market. The average home that expired from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2222 square feet.

Dolce Blu

Located across the street from the Milwood neighborhood, Dolce Blu offers a wide range of services, specializing in custom eyelash extensions by highly-trained, local stylists that many Austinites consider to be the best in the city. The eyelash extensions at Dolce Blu are semi-permanent, 100% synthetic and curved to replicate a natural eyelash. The lashes are thicker at the base and taper to a fine point. They are applied to individual eyelashes, one extension at a time, for a natural, elegant look to lengthen and add fullness to the existing lashes. The extensions look and feel completely real, moving with your natural lashes. Each application is customized to suit each individual. Various individual lash lengths are chosen to carefully replicate the shape and frame of a natural lash line. The thickness is determined by the health and thickness of your natural lashes. The overall effect is added curl, thickness and length, opening up the eye for added definition.

Betty Lash

Betty Lash, located on 15^th St. close to Downtown Austin, offers a number of safe, non-invasive services that will enhance the natural beauty of eyes. Eyelash extensions are tailored to each individual client. The aestheticians will design and shape the entire eye, using varying lengths and colors of lashes to complement eyes, brow shape, hair, and skin color. Extensions can even be adjusted to make eyes “pop” behind glasses. Betty Lash’s owner, Kate Merrick, is an Xtreme Lash Training Master Lash Stylist, and hand selects and trains her partners to ensure all women receive the same high level standard of service.

Blink Beauty

Specializing in the unique service of eyelash extension, Blink Beauty’s lashes extend natural eyelashes and draw attention to the eyes. Semi-permanent eyelash extensions give longer, thicker and natural looking eyelashes that, unlike glue-on temporary lashes, no one will know aren’t real. Normally a person’s natural eyelash falls out every 60 – 120 days and a new lash grows in. Therefore, it is necessary to get touch-ups every 2 to 4 weeks to add lashes to the new growth. The natural lash cycle as well as how you take care of your lashes will affect how long the extensions will last. Eyelash extensions eliminate the need for mascara, although water-based mascara can be used. The result is thicker, longer, eye opening eyelashes that are safe in the shower, while swimming, sleeping or exercising. Gloria Fuentes, the owner of Blink Beauty, brings more than six years experience in the field of aesthetics. She offers a variety of services including eyelash extensions, facials, chemical peels, waxing services and more. “There is an indescribable excitement when doing someone’s lashes for the first time,” Fuentes says. “When they look in the mirror and see their lashes for the first time, these women absolutely glow.”

Besides simply moving locations, chandeliers have become an artistic medium, being constructed from beads, metal, antlers, glass, old wagon wheels, and materials only limited by an artist or designer’s imagination. In this vein, chandeliers can be purchased new, antique, or secondhand and repaired or painted by a homeowner.

When planning to install a chandelier, it’s important to know what size will fit a room, and how high it will need to be hung. A general design rule is to add the dimensions of a room together in feet and then convert the answer to inches. The answer in inches should equal the diameter of the chandelier chosen. For example, if a room measures 10′ x 20′ the diameter of the chandelier should be about 30″. Exceptions to this rule can be made when a small chandelier is hung as an accent piece in a corner of the room, for example, over a reading nook in a Lake Austin home.

A unique chandelier can be made from scratch, following the steps provided by Grosgrain Fabulous. Take a regular extension cord, cut off the plug, strip the wires and hardwire them into the ceiling. Purchase a ceiling plate and screw four eyelet screws into it so that the chandelier chains can be hung. From the chains, hang two 3′ wreath frames together with floral wire, then wrap brown Christmas lights around the frame. Plug them into the extension cord hidden inside the chain.

If purchasing is a more viable option, chandeliers can be found at quality Austin lighting and sculpture stores like 1020 Glass Art, Lighting Inc., and Brady’s Distinctive Lighting. And, of course, some homes for sale have chandeliers already installed. To learn more about available Austin homes for sale, contact an Austin realtor today.

THE BELOW MARKET UPDATE IS CURRENT AS OF THE ABOVE DATE OF THIS BLOG POST.

Active: There are currently 884 homes for sale in Austin Texas with a median list price of $152 per square foot ($311,445) and averaging 305 active days on the market. The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 2668 square feet. Prices range from $26.80 per square foot up to $1,776.25 per square foot or $32,500 up to $12,000,000…

Pending: There are currently 49 homes pending sale in Austin TX with a median list price of $183 per square foot ($285,000) and averaging 312 active days on the market. The average home pending sale has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1831 square feet.

Sold: There is insufficient data to perform these calculations

Withdrawn: There have been 4874 homes withdrawn in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $139 per square foot ($253,450) and averaging 375 active days on the market. The average home withdrawn from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2269 square feet.

Expired: There have been 2560 homes that have expired from the market in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $137 per square foot ($242,500) and averaging 413 active days on the market. The average home that expired from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2230 square feet.

In Austin, with 160 new people moving to the city every day and rental rates consistently increasing, buying can be a much smarter choice, especially for Austin luxury homes, as Austin is home to a wide range of new and expanding business ventures.

Mortgages have become harder to acquire, though, which is a positive and a negative for new buyers. Tougher lending means greater insurance for borrowers, but also means it’s more important to achieve a good credit score and healthy savings account. “Rising rents make it harder for people to save for a down payment,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist, “which is the biggest barrier to buying a home that aspiring homeowners face.” Rising rents are part of what makes home buying an important financial move, though.

Regent Property Group founder Brian Talley explains, “It can be hard for a first time buyer to save for a home, but with buyer incentives and some smart planning, it can be done, and a quality agent can advise prospective buyers at any point in their process.”

Ken H. Johnson, a professor of real estate at Florida International who has studied the buy-vs.-rent question, agrees that home prices nationally have bottomed. “The ship has turned. Markets should slowly start to recover. Housing will return to its traditional role of a safety investment,” he says, adding another incentive to buy.

Austin entrepreneurs Carl Shepherd and Brian Sharples created a solution to benefit both visitors and locals when they founded HomeAway, a company dedicated to matching out-of-towners with homeowners willing to rent their spaces at fair, but lucrative, rates. Austinites can list their property and rental rates for a night, week, or month, on HomeAway’s website, and could easily earn part or all of their mortgage payment during a popular festival like SXSW. Neighborhoods with the best proximity to downtown, like the cottages of Hyde Park or the Austin luxury homes of Westlake Hills would be prime spots for travelers wishing to stay close to the action of SXSW, while Barton Creek homes would be prime for renting during ACL.

John Gray, the Vice President of HomeAway North America, told Forbes that renting homes has doubled in recent years, nothing “From 2010 to 2011 we saw growth of 88%.” Gray reports that the average price of an Austin listings is $690 a night for a 2-bedroom home, meaning an Austin home owner could earn more than $6,000 by renting throughout the SXSW conference, paying HomeAway a flat rate for their service in matching a renter to an open home.

Homeowners are encouraged to leave hospitable touches for renters, including snacks, beverages, a map of or guide to Austin, and maybe a special perk, like a bicycle available for use, considering public transportation and taxis are expected to be jammed full for the duration of any major event or festival in town. To learn more about Austin homes, contact an Austin realtor at Regent Property Group today.

THE BELOW MARKET UPDATE IS CURRENT AS OF THE ABOVE DATE OF THIS BLOG POST.

Active: There are currently 1214 homes for sale in Austin Texas with a median list price of $145 per square foot ($286,658) and averaging 264 active days on the market. The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2565 square feet. Prices range from $18.85 per square foot up to $1,776.25 per square foot or $31,900 up to $12,000,000…

Pending: There are currently 72 homes pending sale in Austin TX with a median list price of $160 per square foot ($184,900) and averaging 272 active days on the market. The average home pending sale has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1828 square feet.

Sold: There is insufficient data to perform these calculations

Withdrawn: There have been 4688 homes withdrawn in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $139 per square foot ($255,000) and averaging 353 active days on the market. The average home withdrawn from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2278 square feet.

Expired: There have been 2471 homes that have expired from the market in the last 6 months in Austin TX with a median list price of $138 per square foot ($240,000) and averaging 390 active days on the market. The average home that expired from the market has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 2222 square feet.

Austin’s citizens, living in the Texas heat, are pros at energy saving tricks like installing blinds and thermo curtains, planting shade trees, keeping lights dim, and discovering the benefits of solar power for both Austin luxury homes like those in Steiner Ranch, and smaller ranch style homes like those in Travis Country. The City of Austin’s operations followed suit, and switched to 100% renewable energy on Oct. 1, 2011. The 12,000-employee organization is subscribing to Austin Energy’s GreenChoice® renewable energy program for 100% of its 406 million kilowatt-hours of annual electricity use for city-owned buildings and facilities. The City of Austin also ranks eighth in the nation’s top 50 purchasers nationwide behind such well-known companies as Intel Corp., Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Johnson & Johnson, the City of Houston, and Starbucks.

By switching to 100% renewable energy, the City of Austin fulfilled one of the major goals of the Austin Climate Protection Plan passed in 2007 that called for all of the City’s municipal facilities to be powered by 100% green power by 2012. The Austin Climate Protection Plan is Austin’s local effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Homeowners can continue making green improvements by using a Home Energy Analysis offered by Austin Energy. This tool can provide specific feedback using a homeowner’s energy consumption information, identifying areas where energy use may be wasted or unnecessary, potentially lowering the electric bill.

For more help on ways you can make your home more energy efficient, or for help starting a new Austin home search for energy efficient, eco friendly homes, contact an Austin realtor today.

HouseLogic is a free source of information and tools for homeowners that helps them make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and enhance the value of their home. It helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects and provides timely articles and news; home improvement advice and how-to’s; and information about taxes, home finances and insurance, advice that can benefit anyone living in an Austin luxury home like those in Steiner Ranch, or a charming starter home like some of the homes in the affordable $200,000 range in Belterra.

“HouseLogic really drives home the value of homeownership,” said Pamela Geurds Kabati, NAR senior vice president for HouseLogic. “The site offers myriad tools to help homeowners plan and organize their home projects, and gives them practical advice that helps them save money and enhance their home’s value. The Water-Wise Bathroom Redo series is a great case study about a homeowner who took on a bathroom remodel to make water-saving upgrades. HouseLogic readers can follow the progress through the four weeks of the series, learning helpful tips they might apply in their own home projects along the way.”

“I’ve been a reader and subscriber of HouseLogic since the first time I landed on the site about a year ago. The site has an abundance of information and a binder feature, so I can save ideas and articles for reference later,” said Preston Koerner about his own water saving bathroom makeover. “After using the site, I decided it was time to take on a renovation project at home to beautify my bathroom in a way that would conserve water at the same time. I was able to plan my project, learn what other homeowners want in their bathroom, and set realistic budget expectations. I feel confident saying HouseLogic is the best online resource for owners like me looking for practical tips, ideas, and guidance at home.”

Some of the tips for smart water management and bathroom greening that can be found at HouseLogic include

-       Installing a low flow shower head

-       Replacing an old toilet with a new, low flow toilet

-       Install grey water recycling plumbing

-       Utilize a moss bath mat

-       Install a water thermometer to set temperatures cooler

-       Fix all leaks, both visible and not