Create a Spa Bathroom to Increase the Value of Your Home

Posted by M.S. on June 22, 2009

Did you know for most people, their single largest investment is their home?

Would it surprise you to know the 2 areas that home buyers focus on most when searching for real estate are the kitchen and the master suite, which includes the master bedroom and the bathroom?

Don’t you think you have a better chance to sell or rent your home if you have a spa bathroom?  Of course you do!

Come along as I show you step by step how I recently achieved that spa feeling for very little money!

Creating the drama of a spa bathroom is simple when you use the same techniques that fancy resort spas and hotels use when furnishing their spaces.

Every elegant spa bathroom must have a beautiful bench beside the tub for holding a luxurious bathrobe or your pjs.  That’s a great place to start!

If you are going to have a spa bathroom, you simply must have candles and warm fluffy towels.  Add some dramatic candles in rich candlesticks to cast a warm romantic glow.  Place the fluffy towels right beside the tub to complete the look.

Green plants give that touch of nature and you are on your way to creating a peaceful oasis!  It is the details that really make the difference!

Not only is your fantastic spa bathroom a restful retreat, it will add to the value of your home since everyone loves a gorgeous bathroom!

Take a look at the frugal yet fabulous ways you can furnish your bathroom retreat!

I started with this dramatic 3-tiered rack that came from Ross Stores and was only $19.99.  Place on the corner of the tub for extra storage and load it up with all the goodies!

The height of the piece gives additional space, allowing you to add everything you might need!

The plants are from Michael’s at $2.99 a piece and the designer towels were purchased on closeout at one of my favorite stores, TJ Maxx for $3.99 each!

No spa bathroom would be complete without a terrific vanity with a comfortable seat! What a terrific addition to the space!

This upholstered bench looks totally custom but was actually found at  TJ Maxx, for only $24.99!  You can’t beat that!

This gorgeous wrought iron bench looks just like one I saw at the luxury store, Frontgate! But this one was only $19.99 at a local Ross Store.

You have to love that!

It’s  great to have a tiered shelf to hold all the supplies you would find in a spa bathroom.

This one was located at Ross Stores for only $39.99.

The wrought iron with wicker design adds texture to the space, something interior designers know adds to the luxury!

Look at the dramatic effect a little effort can give you on your largest appreciating asset– your home!

As you soak in the tub in your new spa bathroom, think of all the money you will make from your elegant bathroom makeover!

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Check out my guest posts in the Hot Summer Savings series in the Charlotte Observer newspaper.

Garage Sales are a Gold Mine!

Posted by M.S. on April 25, 2009

During the early years of my money journey, I discovered a virtual gold mine. That gold mine was garage sales–which I now absolutely LOVE!

I had the extreme good fortune of having a very creative and fun mother-in-law, who happened to LOVE going to garage sales with her friends for cheap entertainment and to get GREAT bargains.

The impression I had of garage sales at the time was not favorable–alright, I admit it–I had a very negative image of them. I thought the stuff was all JUNK no one wanted. Boy was I wrong! (Although there is almost always some junk in each garage sale.)

My negativity evaporated when my mother in law pulled out the cool items she had purchased on her latest rounds of “rummaging” trips. I was floored at what she could buy for a nickel, 25 or 50 cents!  She had items from Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma that looked BARELY used and she had paid 25 cents for them!  She snagged high-end clothing items for herself and grandchildren that were 50 or 75 cents!   She had a wide variety of stuff she had gotten for practically NO money–and I was intrigued!   I had to find out what this was all about!

I started to tag along on her treasure hunts and was delighted to learn I could get all the furniture and accessories I needed to decorate and upgrade our duplexes at garage sales!   I got an even better deal because I drove up in  my older, unassuming “ugly” car- so it looked like I needed a super cheap deal, driving this old car (see earlier post).

Remember—we were trying to aggressively save—so every PENNY mattered!  The less we spent—the more we saved and the more we could invest!

Tables, lamps, dishes, clothing—you name it–they are all available at garage and estate sales for practically NO money!  I was HOOKED!

Over the years, these treasures increased the comfort and value of our personal home, as well as the rental real estate. Soon, my overflowing home loaded with frugal treasures caught the eye of the Discovery Channel and they featured a tour of our home on their top ranked Decorating Show.  They even flew me to Hollywood, where I demonstrated my frugal decorating techniques in their studio!

In 1998, I discovered eBay as the perfect place to sell the overflow of my accumulated treasures, and I have operated a successful eBay business ever since as a stay at home Mom,  making money, generating over 4,000 Positive Feedbacks and shipping goodies all over the world.

I continue to sell on eBay and am now one of the top ranked Education Specialists in the U.S., trained by eBay, as I  teach other people how to sell on eBay!  eBay is a terrific business for me and it is for YOU too!

Garage sales were a super deal back then–and they STILL are a fabulous source for great stuff for almost NO money!  And you are being kind to the environment by recycling!

Spring is here!  Get going to the garage sales!

I’ll see you there!