Your front porch is the space where you shrug off the outside world before entering your sanctuary, where you send your family off with well wishes for the day, and where you welcome guests to your home. How this space looks influences the first impression your neighbors and guests have of your home and lets them know what they can expect to find inside. Most folks want their homes to be welcoming and inviting. If this is your goal, your front porch is the ideal place to start. Here are five ways you can freshen the look of your front porch to start the new year off right. 1. Paint Your Front Door Painting your front door is an easy, affordable way to instantly increase your home’s curb appeal and add a fun pop of color to liven up your home’s façade. You might simply choose your favorite color for your front door, or you might want to do a little research to find the perfect color based on current trends, historic trends, or feng shui principles. For example, in Early American tradition, a red door was a symbol of hospitality to welcome people into your home. If inspired by feng shui principles, a red door would represent the element of fire and might be chosen for good luck and protection. 2. Wash the Windows If you are looking for an even more affordable way to freshen the look of your front porch, wash the windows. It is amazing what a difference clean windows can make. 3. Clear the Clutter If your porch has become a catch-all for work boots, sporting equipment, dog leashes, or toys, you can easily improve the look of your front entry by clearing the clutter. If you do not have anywhere else to conveniently store these oft-used items, create some simple storage solutions to keep them organized. Even muddy work boots look more organized if they are sitting on a boot tray by the front door. 4. Replace Your Porch Light If you have not replaced your porch light in the last decade, this small home improvement project is a quick way to update the look of your home. This task is best completed by a professional, so hire a local electrician for this one. 5. Add Seating Even a small porch likely has room for some type of seating. A small bistro set, a bench, or even a stool provides a spot to take off your shoes, set packages, or enjoy your morning coffee. Having some type of seating on your porch also creates a more welcoming space to invite neighbors and guests into your home. AimeeJo Davis-Varela is a freelance writer specializing in real estate, sustainable home improvement, eco-friendly landscaping, green living and travel writing. She is also the owner of Mind Your Manors, which provides second home management services.
0 Comments
This approximately 7,264-square-foot Ventura commercial space for rent is ideally located for employees, vendors, and customers. It is close to freeways, shops, restaurants, and services in one of Ventura’s most popular commercial districts near the bustling area around Telephone and Main. The square footage is divided almost equally between two floors. The first floor has the main entrance, a side entrance leading to the parking lot, a lobby or reception area, two wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, a storage closet, and two large, open spaces that were most recently used as labs but could also be used for manufacturing, assembly, shipping, or office space. Each of the large rooms downstairs has its own HVAC system, and one of the rooms has built-in cabinets and work areas. The second floor has a large, open office space with cubicles and an office manager’s desk, a conference room, lunch area with sink, and three separate offices, one of which also has a file or storage room. This floor is currently furnished with cubicles, conference table and chairs, desks, filing cabinets, whiteboards, and other items that can help a new or growing company save money on office furnishings. These items can remain without warranty or can be removed if your company has its own setup. The upstairs also has two HVAC systems and is accessed by two staircases, one leading to the lobby and main area, and the other leading to the side entrance to the parking lot. Both entrances and the parking lot are well-lit at night, and there are dedicated parking spaces and shared spaces in the parking lot. Signage options include space over the main entrance and a monument sign at the street in front of the main entrance. The building has Spectrum fiber optics for high-speed Internet and is wired for alarm service by Boyd Security. The downstairs is supplied with 220 electrical. The other two tenants in this building are medical offices. Features include:
This Ventura commercial space for rent is offered with a triple net lease at $1.65 per square foot. Tenants are responsible for all utilities.
Visit the property information page for more photos. Contact AimeeJo for more information or to schedule a showing. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms Breakfast bar Crown molding in living room Tile floors in bathrooms Carpet in bedrooms Ceiling fans Open floor plan Attached, two-car garage Patio with pergola Dog run Fruit trees Hot tub Mountain views Close to Ojai Valley Trail and Lake Casitas This three-bedroom Oak View home for sale is perfectly situated for enjoying the Ojai Valley lifestyle with an easier commute to Ventura and closer proximity to Lake Casitas.
The Ojai Valley Trail runs behind the property, the local community center is just a short walk away, and Oak View’s shops and services are within a short drive or bike ride. Start your morning with a cup of coffee on the covered front porch where you can wave to neighbors as they walk their dogs along the sidewalks that line this popular neighborhood’s streets. Then, spend the evening soaking away the stress of the day in the hot tub under the stars. There is also an attached, two-car garage with a laundry area, a dog run for your four-legged family members, peach and apricot trees for fresh fruit, crown molding, a breakfast bar, tile floors in the bathrooms, cozy carpet and ceiling fans in the bedrooms, and a large window in the living room for you to enjoy natural light and mountain views. Visit the property information page for more photos and information, or contact Nora to schedule a showing. One of the many benefits of living in Southern California is that we can enjoy fresh produce from our backyard gardens any time of the year. There is a wide variety of foods that can be grown even in the coldest months, but winter is a particularly good time for growing lettuces and leafy greens for use in salads, juicing, and side dishes. Some varieties, such as kale, taste better when grown in cooler weather, while others are simply too fragile to thrive in Ojai’s summer heat and must be grown in winter. Here are 10 tips for growing your own winter greens to get you started with this healthy hobby. 1. Raised garden beds are a great option that allow you to better control your soil content. While kale likes nutrient-rich soil that is not high in nitrogen, many winter greens thrive with a bit of nitrogen added to the soil, so amend your soil according to the greens you are growing. 2. Many leafy greens like their soil moist, which is another reason it is best to grow them during the rainy season to reduce the need for supplemental irrigation. 3. Avoid wasting water by growing your greens in shallow containers with plenty of soil for their shallow root systems but no excess soil to soak up water. 4. Consider starting your seeds indoors if you are planting early when the weather is still pretty warm or planting late and the temperature is already regularly dipping below 50 degrees. 5. Succession planting is the key to enjoying an ongoing harvest throughout winter and spring. Plant a few seeds of each variety each week to significantly extend your harvest. 6. You can also extend your harvest by taking only what you intend to use right away and harvesting leaves at the outer edges of the plant. 7. Growing winter greens from seeds is pretty easy; however, if your thumb is not all that green, you may achieve better results by starting your garden from seedlings from one of our local nurseries. 8. Another way to help ensure success is to choose easier-to-grow greens, such as spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or rocket lettuce. Most greens are easy to grow, but these are even easier, so they might be better options for beginner gardeners. 9. If you do not have room for a vegetable garden, grow your greens in containers on your patio, a vertical garden, or in small pots on a windowsill. 10. Add a layer of mulch around the base of your plants to help retain moisture and protect the roots. 11. Consider a simple hydroponics system for growing leafy greens indoors. I grow leafy greens both in soil and hydroponically and would recommend either one for gardeners with any level of experience. Using a hydroponic system allows you to grow greens indoors all year – not just in winter – so that is a bonus. You can purchase an indoor hydroponics system that is complete with grow lights and a pump, but it is also possible to start with a much simpler and more affordable, do-it-yourself option, such as using the Kratky method, which you can easily learn with a quick Internet search. AimeeJo Davis-Varela is a freelance writer specializing in real estate, sustainable home improvement, eco-friendly landscaping, green living and travel writing. She is also the owner of Mind Your Manors, which provides second home management services.
Fall is my favorite time of year. While we may not enjoy the beautiful displays of entire forests of leaves changing color, it is nice to finally ditch sundresses and sandals for cozy sweaters and boots. It is also nice to be able to spend time working in the garden now that the temperature has dropped enough to actually enjoy outdoor activities. Here is some fall garden inspiration to help you get as excited as I am about getting back out in the garden. Plant an herb garden. Fall is a great time to plant an herb garden for you and your family to enjoy. Since our climate allows for year-round growing, you can plant just about any herb you would like, but you will have the best luck starting herbs that prefer cooler weather, such as mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, parsley, or thyme. Any of these can be used both as culinary herbs and as ornamental plants, so consider planting an edible border or incorporating culinary herbs into your flowerbeds. Remember that mint is a thug, so it is best to manage its growth by planting it in a container. Plant leafy greens. Sweater weather is on its way, which means it is time to start planting our leafy greens. Varieties of kale, lettuce, and spinach do well throughout fall and winter, so these are good choices for your fall garden. To extend your harvest period, practice succession planting by sowing seeds every two weeks. This will allow you to enjoy fresh greens from your garden well into late spring. If you have limited space, skip the lettuces, and opt for kale or spinach, which offer greater nutritional value and more versatility in the kitchen. Plant fall vegetables. While it is generally best to start your fall garden a bit earlier in the year, there is still time to plant cool season vegetables, like beets, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, peas, carrots, cauliflower, onions, garlic, and celery. Like with your leafy greens, you can extend the harvest period by practicing succession planting. With foods like radishes or beets, determining how many you and your family will eat each week will help you decide how many seeds to sow for each round of succession planting. Consider container gardening. If you have limited space for gardening or want to expand your garden beyond your raised beds, there are many food plants that grow well in containers. I like using fabric containers to expand my garden area so that I can fold them up and store them when not in use. I particularly like tall, fabric containers for growing potatoes and sweet potatoes, since this makes them easier to move around and easier to dump out at harvest time. Home maintenance tip: It is time to start using our heaters, which means it is time to change our HVAC filters. The coming months will also likely bring some rain, as well as the Santa Ana winds, so it is a good time to clean your gutters to reduce the risk of water damage or gutter debris catching fire. If you need a professional to perform these tasks, remember to support our local economy by hiring local contractors. AimeeJo Davis-Varela is a member of The Davis Group and a freelance writer specializing in real estate, sustainable home improvement, eco-friendly landscaping, green living and travel writing. She is also the owner of Mind Your Manors, which provides second home management services.
This 40-acre parcel is nestled amongst the mountains of the Rose Valley recreational area in the Los Padres National Forest.
With exceptional mountain views, mostly usable land, and a beautiful, natural setting, this secluded retreat offers an ideal location for a private ranch or weekend getaway. Historically known as the Gore property and once home to the Mountain Sweet natural spring water company, this versatile property has been used for a family-owned bottled water operation, dry farming Sudan grass and barley for cattle feed, and growing organic snow peas, onions, garlic and other root vegetables to sell to local restaurants. Rose Valley offers a unique, simpler way of life for folks looking to get away from the city and enjoy a slower-paced lifestyle. Build your dream home, create an off-grid retreat or simply keep the property as is to enjoy rustic camping in the country with your family and friends. Visit the property information page for more photos, or contact Nora to visit the property. This East Ventura home offers easy access to shops, restaurants, schools, parks, and the freeway and features several updates completed in 2022, including carpet in the living room and bedrooms, interior paint, ceramic cooktop, and the primary bathroom.
In the living room, a brick fireplace creates a cozy space to gather, while the breakfast bar between the dining room and kitchen is a great spot for homework or for guests to chat while you put the finishing touches on dinner. The kitchen also features tile counters, abundant cabinets, a garden window, and a door to the attached, two-car garage for easily bringing in groceries or loading your car. All the bedrooms have large closets, and there is also a coat closet in the entry and a linen closet in the hallway for additional storage. Access the backyard through a sliding door in the living room or French doors in the dining room to enjoy a large patio and grass area with space for a garden, fruit trees, a dog run, or play area. Visit the property information page for more photos and information about this East Ventura home for sale, or contact Nora Davis today to schedule a tour. Bike to the beach, cafes, and shops from this charming 1950 bungalow on a corner lot in Midtown Ventura.
This quaint California cottage features original hardwood floors, natural light from large windows, an updated kitchen and bathroom, and large closets and ceiling fans in each of the three bedrooms. The galley kitchen has two garden windows for your herbs or succulents, as well as a door to a screened porch with built-in benches for enjoying the ocean breeze or expanding your container garden even more. In the fenced backyard, there is a brick fireplace, wood deck, lawn area, covered porch off the one-car garage, and a concrete patio that could be used for storage, entertaining, or to expand your parking options. There is also room for a play area, fruit trees, or garden. In the front yard, enjoy mountain views from the shade of mature trees as you wave to neighbors in this popular neighborhood of unique homes just minutes from the freeway, beach, and all that Ventura has to offer. For more photos and information about this Ventura home for sale, visit the property information page. Living in California means treating the entire year as one big fire season. Weed abatement and tree trimming should be regular activities and choosing fire-resistant plants for landscaping should just be the norm at this point. However, as we now that we are well into the official fire season, it is a good reminder to take a look at our defensible spaces and ways to harden our homes against potential wildfires. As the drought worsens and increases the risk for wildfires to spread quickly, reducing the potential for wildfires and limiting the spread of fires as much as possible is even more important. If we reduce the spread of fire, we reduce the amount of water needed to fight that fire. While there is no way to make your home completely fireproof or to create an impenetrable firebreak around your property, there are things we can all do to reduce the risk of losing our homes to fire. Here are six home-hardening options to get you started. 1. Follow weed abatement and Fire Hazard Reduction Program (FHRP) guidelines. Okay, you don’t have much choice here. If you are one of the many property owners in Ojai or Oak View who get an annual notice from the fire department reminding you to abate fire hazards on your property and you don’t do it, they will send a contractor to complete the work, and then send you the bill with an added administration fee. This means the abatement is going to happen one way or another, but you can avoid the additional fees and make sure your home is safer from wildfires as soon as possible by taking care of this yourself and maintaining your defensible space throughout the year. 2. Clean your gutters and your roof. We have all heard about homes that are lost due to windblown embers igniting the roof. The thing folks often do not think about is that it does not always matter what kind of roof you have. Fire-resistant roofing materials, such as tile, composition, cement shingle, or metal, are an important part of keeping your home safer from fires, but simply having a roof made from these materials is not enough. If your roof is littered with dry, flammable debris or your gutters are filled with dead leaves, these materials can ignite and increase the risk of losing your home to wildfire. Keep your roof and gutters clear of debris to reduce this risk. 3. Store firewood away from structures and vegetation. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), you should stack your firewood at least 30 feet from structures. Additionally, CAL FIRE recommends maintaining a 10-foot, vegetation-free area around your firewood storage. 4. Choose drought-tolerant, fire-resistant plants. Water conservation efforts can make it more difficult to keep vegetation green and reduce flammability, so it might be time to consider replacing water-loving plants with native, drought-tolerant plants that thrive with little water. There are no plants that are truly fireproof, but there are many that are fire resistant. As part of the FHRP, the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides their Plant Reference Guide to assist homeowners in choosing plants. The guide provides information on common ornamentals used in landscaping, including plants that should be avoided. The guide also includes information on each variety’s drought tolerance, which can help you find the best options for saving water and creating a beautiful yard that is fire resistant. You will also want to refer to VCFD Standard 515 – Defensible Space and Fuel Modification Zones for spacing and maintenance requirements, as well as Guideline 410 – Prohibited Plant List to find out which plants and trees are prohibited in new required defensible spaces and fuel modification zones. The publication also encourages homeowners to remove these plants and trees from existing defensible spaces. You might be surprised at some of the trees on this list that are commonly found near structures here, such as olive and pepper trees, so this list is worth a look. These publications can be found on the Ventura County Fire Department website at VCFD.org. 5. Choose fire-resistant patio furniture, cushions, and covers. Whenever possible, choose patio furniture and textiles that are fire resistant. Unfortunately, this means avoiding some popular options, such as wood or wicker furniture and doormats and outdoor rugs made from natural fibers. Instead, choose options that are less flammable, such as rubber or metal doormats, metal furniture, and flame-retardant fabrics for cushions, awnings, and umbrellas. 6. Look for places where flammable materials may collect. Flammable materials, such as leaves, twigs, and sometimes even trash, can accumulate under bushes, in shrubs, under decks, around the base of trees, or in corners. Find these spots in your yard and make sure to clear debris from these areas regularly. AimeeJo Davis-Varela is a freelance writer specializing in real estate, sustainable home improvement, eco-friendly landscaping, green living and travel writing. She is also the owner of Mind Your Manors, which provides second home management services.
Enjoy resort-style living at this country retreat on approximately 10 acres in Upper Ojai. Just 10 minutes from the spas, boutiques, and cafes in downtown Ojai, this private oasis features a lighted, north-south tennis court with a large observation deck, swimming pool with beach entrance and wading pool, spa, outdoor kitchen, family orchard, art or yoga studio, and horse facilities. Flagstone patios flank the main house for indoor-outdoor entertaining, while the guest house/pool house offers a gym, kitchenette, steam shower, enclosed outdoor shower and changing room, and pool and patio storage. The main house features three fireplaces, large island with breakfast bar, Viking range with griddle, two refrigerators and freezers, wet bar, family room or library, media room, office, two guest wings, six-inch plank floors, custom light fixtures, and upscale finishes. Additional features include a three-car garage, two-car garage, and separate laundry room with commercial machines. Main House: Seven bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms Waterfall at main entrance Six-inch plank wood floors Vaulted ceilings and ceiling fans Three fireplaces Large island with breakfast bar Viking six-burner range with griddle Walk-in pantry Two refrigerators and freezers Wet bar Two guest wings Kitchenette in main guest wing Family room or library Media room with blackout curtains Office with built-in desks Large laundry room with storage Custom light fixtures Guest House /Pool House: Kitchenette Gym Steam shower with bench seating Walk-in closet and linen closet Separate shower and changing room Pool and patio storage Tile floor throughout Grounds:
Approximately 10 acres Spectacular mountain views Two gated entries Three-car garage + two-car garage with bathroom Art or yoga studio above garage Swimming pool with beach entrance Pool features: wading pool, spa, slide, waterfall Outdoor kitchen with grill, pizza oven & bar Patio fireplace Flagstone patios and walkways Lighted, north-south tennis court with basketball hoops Large entertaining/observation deck Family orchard Breezeway barn, shed-row barn, and mare motel Arena with bleacher seating and turnout pens Tack/feed/storage rooms Tesla solar panel field with backup batteries Private agricultural well RV parking Ample guest parking Separate laundry room with commercial machines Space for gardens or hobbies Approximately 50 miles to Santa Barbara Airport Approximately 60 miles to Burbank Airport Approximately 10 minutes to downtown Ojai Approximately 30 minutes to Ventura beaches Nearby hiking and riding trails For more photos and information, visit the property information page for this Upper Ojai home for sale. |
The Davis Group
Welcome to our
Ojai living and Ojai real estate blog. Subscribe by email...
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
|