Dreamy Outdoor Shower Designs

Such a simple luxury!

Check out these designs......here.

Like A Hawke, Susan Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Good Climbers: Blooms and Vines a Trellis Loves

Clematis
Moonflower
Sweet Pea
Morning Glory
Bouganvillea
Climbing Hydrangea
Dutchman's Pipe

More details here.



Like A Hawke, Susan Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Curb appeal starts with your driveway

(NC) When homeowners envision the 'curb appeal' of their property, favourite features such as landscaping, windows and even decorative pieces come easily to mind – but what about the driveway? Is yours attractive, or is it an eyesore?

This summer, don't wait for the kid with the vat of black goo and a $10 roller brush to take care of the driveway for you. Take matters into your own hands and do it yourself.

“Although a door-to-door service may seem simpler, the materials used are often not designed to last or preserve your driveway the way we need them to,” explains Lawrence Genga, the senior director of marketing and research and development at Rust-Oleum Consumer Brands Canada. “When homeowners are proactive with the right products and do a driveway reno themselves, it not only improves the look, but also the life of their driveway.”

As your driveway gets older, it will fade and crack. Canada's winters are cruel to asphalt, with buckling, heaving and salt all doing their best to turn it into a grey sponge. A fading driveway can be an indicator that the asphalt is breaking down. As a homeowner, your best first step is to inspect the surface– not just the colour, but the quality. Check for cracks, loose patches or low spots that puddle and can indicate poor drainage. Make sure there isn't a big dip outside your garage and that the driveway hasn't settled away from the house either.

If you encounter bigger issues related to the foundation you may need to call in the professionals. However, if a driveway is simply in need of a little TLC, there are effective products such as EpoxyShield Driveway to help homeowners tackle these issues themselves.

“EpoxyShield Driveway is a line of high-quality products designed to help clean, repair and beautify your driveway and to help you do it right the first time,” Genga continues. “From small repairs such as filling cracks, to bigger projects such as levelling issues or complete re-coating, this product is helping homeowners to improve the look and performance of their driveways – without all the headaches.”

Like A Hawke, Susan Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

All hands on deck

(NC) Summer is here and you are looking at your deck or patio and wondering how much longer it's going to last.

Is it starting to splinter? Are the stones rough and painful to walk on? How are you going to find the time or money to fix it without cutting into your free time or without blowing the budget? It's no secret that a deck replacement is a big investment – one many of us like to avoid where possible. So, before you dig into your wallet or get out the sledge hammer, make sure you've explored your options.

First, start by checking your deck or patio carefully to make sure the structural integrity is sound. Improving the look of a deck that is damaged won't extend its life. The same goes for a path or patio that has heaved excessively over the winter or is full of puddles after it rains. In those cases, a more significant repair, or replacement, is needed.

A Small Repair

Sometimes the entire deck isn't in need of an update, just certain trouble spots. In this case, there's no reason to do an overhaul – just a simple touch up is needed. For example, if you're experiencing cracks in cement or divots in your wood, there are a number of filler solutions available today that can help combat these issues.

A Fresh Look

If your wooden deck is still structurally sound but visibly in need of help, it may be time to consider a fresh stain. When taking on a stain project be sure to properly prep and finish your surfaces – cleaning and sanding prior to staining, and using a quality clear coat or sealer following application, will provide the best results and longer-lasting protection.

A Firm Fix

If your deck is beyond simple beautification, but structurally sound, the answer may be to 'restore' it.

New products available on the market such as Restore (by Rust-Oleum) are allowing homeowners to update the look and durability of their decks without having to replace. And what most people love is that it's thicker than most other deck coatings, allowing it to be applied right onto existing surfaces without stripping or sealing.

“Restore is an advanced coating designed to reinvigorate your wooden decks, concrete patios and even vertical surfaces such as retaining walls,” says Lawrence Genga, the senior director of marketing and research and development at Rust-Oleum Consumer Brands Canada. “Its thick application fills in imperfections, locks down splinters, and provides lasting protection against moisture and the damaging effects of the sun. It's also slip-resistant.”

With product options like this, you can be sure that a deck or patio restoration will be at the top of every 'honey-do' list this summer.

Like A Hawke, Susan Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

23 Incredible DIY Outside Bar Ideas

Source

Like A Hawke, Susan Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

25 Incredible DIY Garden Fence Wall Art Ideas

Now that we are out in the yard and thinking about giving

our gardens a new look for 2014 - here are some great idea starters!

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Susan

 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Inspired Outdoor Entertaining from Domino and Ballard Designs

One of the things that really distinguishes the domino style is “the mix.” You know, that compelling tension that occurs when you combine the traditional and the modern, the high and the low, the masculine and the feminine. It’s the magic that happens when you put all of the things you love together in one space and, somehow, it all turns out just right. Because when it’s right, a roomful of “mismatched” pieces manages to express the uniqueness and personality of its owner. - How To Decorate 

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Susan 

 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Grow your own edible garden

(NC)—If you're looking for a spring and summer activity that will provide you with healthy and delicious food all summer long why not try growing your own produce? Peter Cantley, a garden guru at Real Canadian Superstore, gives us some of his favourite fruits and veggies that can be grown at home.

Savoury salads – These days, you can grow virtually all the fixin's for your summer salads right in your own backyard. From delicious heirloom tomatoes, to refreshing cucumbers, crisp radishes and savoury herbs, the possibilities to make your salads come to life are endless. To give your salad real depth, try a variety of greens like romaine mixed with batavian or butterhead lettuce. For added easy nutrition, plant the PC Kale bowl (an exclusive at Loblaw garden centres) or add fresh basil leaves from the PC Longfoot Basil tree. This plant can be grown outside in the garden or on the patio in the summer and placed on the window inside the house in the winter for you to enjoy fresh all year long.

Fruits of your labour – Canadian summers provide the perfect climate for growing the freshest fruit your family will ever taste, and it's easier than you think. If you're looking for something completely different, try a fig plant, which can be left outside over the winter in most areas of Canada.

Berry tasty – You'll never taste fresher berries than the ones you grow right in your own backyard. And what's more, these tasty little plants add the perfect pop of colour to any outdoor space. Try juicy blueberries or succulent strawberries to add to your summer desserts or toss into your favourite salads.

Like A Hawke,
Susan

 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Bring glamour to your outdoor space

(NC) There's no need to travel to the great outdoors when it can be found as close as your own backyard. All it takes is a little creativity.

Do you want an urban but homey feel, or a Zen, clean look? It is the same items that make for great rooms inside – cozy furniture, romantic lighting and creative accessories – that can bring so much character to your outdoor space. Here are some tips to create beautiful rooms beyond your back door:

Living and lounging

• Urban: For an eclectic lounge, build wooden benches directly into fences. Go classically chic with wrought iron candle lamps, striped outdoor carpets and monochromatic palettes. Portable fire pits and outdoor heaters add warmth, making your lounge a multi-season destination.

• Zen: Minimalist-lovers may craft their ideal lounge with a pergola, plus low, modern seating, cream cushions, and a flowing wall-mounted water fountain.

Dining al fresco

• Urban: Take stone garden décor, add metal or light wood furniture and you have the makings of a great dinner out. Update the look with a colourful outdoor carpet or a compact metallic table and sleek vinyl armchairs.

• Zen: Keep your outdoor dining aesthetic, clean and uncluttered with a bricked terrace and streamlined lacquered tables and chairs. For something eye-catching, but easy to find, the Home Depot offers bistro, conversation, and dining sets to suit the décor you are creating. White-screened lanterns add the perfect understated lighting.

The solitary retreat

• Urban: Create a backyard getaway with a gazebo and decorate with a variety of hanging baskets. For lazy days, outfit your sanctuary with drapery panels and wile away the hours in the breeze.

• Zen: To create a calm corner in even the tiniest of outdoor arenas, set up a sleek metal lounger or string a hammock in a secluded corner. Define the space with a few sculptural evergreens.

Regardless of preference for a lounge, dining room, or private sanctuary, the effort you make this season is going to be an instant, stress-free home addition. More information and guidance is available at www.homedepot.ca, including the patio buying guide and inspiration gallery.

Like A Hawke, Susan 

 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

What's your garden personality?

(NC) It is true that the plants, flowers and accessories we choose for our garden say a lot about our individual personalities. For example, the well-ordered European gardens are for the elegant traditionalist. Embracing the whimsical feeling of an English country garden evokes the carefree and outgoing. And the serenity of a contemporary, Japanese-style space is for the Zen-inspired calm urbanite. If you can see your personality instantly, here from Home Depot, is the way to create it:

Elegant European style

For those who enjoy formality and classic symmetry, focus on clean, simple structures, such as a four-square or knot-garden design. Create a centre path laid in stone, gravel or cobblestones with an aged appearance, radiating away from your house. Make separate garden sections by creating additional off-shooting paths. Outline the beds with low, solid evergreen hedges or clipped topiary. Fill the beds with fragrant roses, violets and lavender - even herbs such as rosemary. Where the paths meet, add a statue or water feature, such as a fountain, low pool or pond edged in concrete or stone.

Country-style charm

Create your own English-country charm by choosing plants in a variety of upbeat colours, such as foxgloves, columbines, daisies, lilacs, lilies and pansies, and planting them in curved beds. Create a snacking ground for butterflies and birds with clusters of cornflowers and sunflowers. Add a white trellis of climbing ivy, and lush, wisteria or trumpet-vine-filled lattice and make a path with stepping-stones. You can also create an English garden using strategically placed containers and planters, either in bright plastics or painted pots that add to the riot of colour.

Urban Zen

Contemporary gardens focus on natural and irregular forms to help achieve peace and harmony. Focus on minimal and seemingly random rock placements, mass plantings of easy-care grasses, and multiple water features. Strategically placed Japanese black pines or red maples, stone bridges and slab seats are places for quiet contemplation. Achieve this garden style in small spaces using simple pots and containers, ornamental grasses, a portable waterfall and bamboo accents. You will be rewarded with a slice of nature that brings calm and beauty to your life.

Additional information is available in-store, or online at www.homedepot.ca/garden-club.

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Susan


 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Decorating With Houseplants

Houseplants are not only healthy.

They give your home personality and style.

Learn about winter plants here

and decorating with houseplants here.

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Susan

Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Steps for hibernating your outdoor power tools

(NC)—Your lawn mower, trimmer, and other outdoor power tools will benefit from some upkeep before they hibernate for the long winter ahead. According to Scott Ride from Husqvarna, the world's largest producer of outdoor power products, “following a few simple steps before storing your gas-powered tools will ensure a hassle-free start next spring. It will also extend the life of your small gasoline engines.”

These tips from the pros will set you up for nothing but success:

Give it a clean. The fluid left by cut grass is rather corrosive. That's why it is extra important to clean gardening tools and mowers, especially before storage. Look for mowers with a water hose connector allowing for easy cleaning of the cutting deck. Just attach the hose, turn on the water and start the engine.

Drain the fuel. Gasoline left in fuel tanks over the winter will break down, leaving deposits and build-up that will plug up the fuel system.

Take it to the professionals. For the best results – and prolonged product life – give your products the deluxe, service and maintenance treatment, like the job done at a Husqvarna dealer, says Ride.

Oil it up. Use an oiled cloth to wipe metal areas and add a couple drops of machine oil on moving parts.

Keep your equipment protected. Store your lawn equipment indoors if possible. If storing outside protect your equipment in a tool shed or with a tarp.

Recharge the battery. Remember to fully recharge the battery at some point during the winter months, that way you'll ensure a flying start to the spring season.

Keep a close eye. Check your lawn equipment when it is stored. Mice and other vermin like to chew on wires and will nest in your machines.

Soak the trimmer line. A professional trick for trimmer service is to remove the trimmer line and let it soak in fresh water. By doing so, it will maintain its flexibility, be able to handle more strain and last longer. 

Prepare for the snow. With your summer tools ready for storage, now is the time to get your winter tools ready for use. Fill your snow blower with gas, check and change the oil, and test the spark plugs and tires.

More information about proper tool maintenance and service is available online at www.husqvarna.ca.

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Susan

Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Does the Outside of Your Home Draw Potential Buyers Inside?

The first impression of a home is the biggest – and usually happens before prospective buyers even park their car at the curb. If you're preparing to sell your home, be sure to spruce up the exterior. And now's a good time to do it, because spring and summer are the busiest selling seasons.

The main goal is to add instant curb appeal without breaking the bank (or your back). Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Front door:  The quickest way to make your home stand out is by painting your front door a fun, bright color. Choose an inviting shade that complements the exterior - and for some added style, install decorative house numbers or a vintage mail slot.
• Front porch:  Create a relaxing spot on the front porch; not only does it make use of vacant space, but instantly adds charm. Two rocking chairs and a bistro table will do just the trick, or if you’re up for another project, refurbish an old glider and side table.
• Landscaping:  This can be as easy, or as hard, as you’d like it to be. Landscaping has endless options, which ultimately depends on the size of your home. For a quaint home, adding a few flower boxes to the main windows will quickly add some color and instant charm. For larger homes, planting a few trees and shrubs will enhance the ambiance of your home. Whichever design you choose, be sure to include some perennial plants that will come back year after year. Prospective buyers always appreciate that.
• Accents: Small, detailed accents can make a big impact and provide a great return on curb appeal. Accentuate the architectural design of your home by adding lights along the front path, decorative flowerpots on the steps, or an ornate doorbell to the freshly painted door.
• Remove clutter: Arriving at a home with odds and ends strewn across the yard raises an instant red flag to prospective buyers, and implies that the interior of the home is at least as bad. By keeping the exterior of your home tidy, you'll easily draw buyers who are eager to see more great features inside.

Like A Hawke,
Susan

Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Creating A Budget Backyard

"They've done most of the work entirely on their own. The most challenging part?  Hauling 3.5 tons of pea gravel.  It took 70+ trips back and forth with the wheelbarrow!" - Apartment Therapy (see the whole story here)

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Susan

 Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them! You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada

Houseplants Are Back!

A few plants in each room give your space a healthy, green - fresh-air feel! Great idea for staging. More ideas here. 

Like A Hawke,
Susan

Please check out my current listings and together we'll discover your real estate needs. If you know anyone buying or selling I'd love to help them!

You can follow me on Twitter: @susanhawkesells Instagram: @susanhawke Pinterest: @SusanHawke Facebook Page: Susan Hawke Remax Sales Representative Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada