Monthly Archives: December 2010


Feliz Navidad from the MHB Team!

Happy Holidays

Only a few more sleeps until Christmas!

We’re so excited about Christmas, we thought we’d share our enthusiasm with you … just in case you need a little pick-me-up from the holiday hustle and bustle and you’re starting to feel like Scrooge has more holiday cheer than you do. Check out the video we made just to make you smile.

Also, in case you missed them the first time around, here is a collection of our holiday-themed blog posts that are definitely worth checking out (especially if you still have Christmas shopping to do!):

Make Your Own Gift Basket: Homemade Christmas Gift Basket Ideas & TipsPutting together homemade Christmas gift baskets can be an excellent way to group together all those smaller items you found on sale that are great for someone on your shopping list who isn’t going to receive a stocking from you Santa. Gift baskets make great gifts for all ages too, you just need a plan of action. Check out these tips on how to make a gift basket to help you put together the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

Themed Gift Basket IdeasLooking for some ideas for making a themed gift basket? Here are a ton of unique gift basket ideas that are perfect for everyone on your holiday shopping list.

Top 100+ Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Everyone on Your ListEveryone needs some help getting their creative juices flowing once in a while and Santa is no exception. It’s gotta be tough on jolly ol’ Saint Nick to come up with great stocking stuffer ideas year in and year out for millions of people! Whether you’re Santa is looking for Christmas stocking stuffer ideas for men, great stocking stuffer ideas for women, or anyone else on his list, here’s a list of over 100 inexpensive stocking stuffer ideas perfect for everyone (hey, I’m sure the economic downturn has had an effect on Santa too!).

Inexpensive Christmas Decorating Ideas♫♪ O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree! Much money you have cost me!♫♪ If you’re sick and tired of forking out a large portion of your hard earned money on holiday decorating, or you simply can’t afford it in the first place, check out these inexpensive Christmas decorating ideas.

The Best Martha Stewart Christmas IdeasHere is your ultimate guide to Martha Stewart Christmas ideas. Everything from homemade gifts and crafts for kids to beautiful Christmas decorations and tasty holiday recipes, here is our favourite Martha Stewart Christmas ideas we just have to share with you.

The Best Home Décor GiftsStill need some ideas and inspiration on what to get your loved ones for Christmas? Check out these awesome home décor gifts that are totally worth giving!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

The Martell Home Builders team wants to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season! Merry Christmas!

The Best Home Décor Gifts

Home decor gifts

Still need some ideas and inspiration on what to get your loved ones for Christmas? Check out these awesome home décor gifts that are totally worth giving!

First thing’s first

Before you rush out and buy your friends and family home décor gifts, make sure you know what their style is and what they like. Picture the colours they use in their home, as well as any theme or style each room has. Even if you think an inflatable Budweiser coin bank would look totally awesome in their living room doesn’t mean the gift recipient will feel the same way; if your friend’s living room has the whole fen shui feel goin’ on, chances are (s)he isn’t going to appreciate a gift that doesn’t match that theme.

Once you’ve established the gift recipient’s likes – and dislikes – you can start shopping. Here are some excellent home décor gifts you could consider:

1. Wall Decorations – Check out 20 Cool Wall Decorations to Impress Your Friends for a look at several great home décor gift ideas. There are ideas for every room in the house.

2. Local Art – You can support local artists by purchasing their paintings, drawings, etc. for your friends and family. 5 Talented Moncton Artists to Keep an Eye On will direct you to some amazing artists from right here in New Brunswick.

3. Bedroom Accessories – Home décor gifts for the bedroom can range from decorative lights, mirrors, candles, paintings, and everything in between. Read Impressive Ways to Enhance Your Bedroom for some excellent gift giving ideas and inspiration.

Home Decor Gifts - Ideas and Inspiration

(Source)

4. Photographs – Framing photographs of local Moncton landscapes can be a unique gift idea. You can purchase a frame that matches the gift recipient’s home décor and customize its size easily. If you’re the photographer, it will also add a personal touch and, with a little creative composition and photo editing, you can create an image that really goes with their room’s colour scheme (black and white images are very popular). If you can’t find any Moncton photographs you want to use, try looking for New Brunswick photos, or images taken within Canada. Check out Must-See Photographs of Moncton, New Brunswick for some ideas.

Monctons-Castle-Manor

(Source)

5. Everything Martha – If you’re on a tight budget or you enjoy making homemade gifts, you gotta’ visit the Martha Stewart website! That woman has got it all! Home décor gifts are aplenty there. To start, read Home Decorating Tips by Martha Stewart – you will then be directed to the website that has every idea imaginable for every theme, colour scheme, style, and room.

Other Home Décor Gifts

Do you know of anywhere local that sells wonderful home décor gifts? Leave a comment letting us know, and don’t forget to include details on what home décor gifts you’d love to see under the Christmas tree with your name on it!

Home Staging Tips & Techniques

Tips for Selling Your Home

First impressions are everything, especially when you’re trying to sell your home. There are several home staging tips and techniques you can learn in order to make your home appeal to potential buyers. The ultimate goal to home staging is to create an environment that interests as many home buyers as possible, resulting in a quick sale. Here are some of the top home staging tips and techniques you should follow:

1. Cut the clutter – If your home is cluttered, you’re sending the message that it isn’t large enough to accommodate your needs, so tidying will help each room look bigger and better. It’s vital that you get rid of all clutter in your home, and that doesn’t mean shoving it all into drawers, cupboards, and closets. In fact, it’s just as important that you declutter these areas too as it’s inevitable that home buyers will also be looking in your closets and cupboards. If you need to, rent a storage unit to store all your extra belongings until you move. To help get you started on decluttering, read Top 26 Home Organization Tips to Get Rid of Clutter.

2. Make Mr. Clean proud – I mean, really proud. Scrub your home from top to bottom until it sparkles and shines. When you’re selling your home, you’re going to have potential buyers coming through all the time, so make sure to keep on top of things once you’ve done the initial deep cleaning.

Clean House

3. Lose the stink – Another one of the most important staging tips a home seller must follow is ensuring their home doesn’t smell. This rule applies to all rooms in the house. Make sure you scoop the poop in your cat’s litter box every day and always before you show your home to potential buyers (or even consider tip #5). Also, your home shouldn’t smell of meat cooking, cigarette smoke, sweaty teenagers, etc. Further, you really shouldn’t spray your home with air fresheners before showing it – doing so just screams “I’m covering up a gross stink!” If it’s going to smell of anything, it should be fresh flowers or bread in the oven.

4. Lighten up – You want your home to be as bright as possible. Make sure you clean the windows (inside and out) and open the curtains. Also, adding mirrors can help reflect light and make a room look larger.

5. Find a home for pets – Not all potential buyers are going to be animal lovers. As difficult as it may be, you might want to consider booking Fido into a doggy hotel or getting Fluffy to lodge at a friend’s house. This applies to small caged critters too. If you just can’t part with your furry friend, you absolutely must remove as much evidence of them as possible: make sure there is no fur on the floors, the toys are picked up, the poop is scooped (in the yard too!), etc.

6. Don’t make it personal – As much as you love that photo of your son using the potty for the first time or the Bob Marley poster you have in your bedroom, it doesn’t mean everyone else loves it too. It’s important that you remove all personal items from your home when staging it. You want potential buyers to be able to vision themselves living there, which may be impossible for them to do if they can’t see beyond the Princess Diana or Elvis Presley collector plates you have on your walls.

Home Staging Tips

7. Keep it neutral – Try to keep your décor as neutral as possible. Consider storing anything that has loud patterns and colours that may not appeal to everyone’s tastes.

8. Make each room have a specific purpose – Sure, the office/spare room/play room/library might work for you and your family’s needs, but when you’re staging your home, you should designate each room to its intended purpose. If, for example, you’ve listed your home as a 3 bedroom house, make sure that multipurpose room is converted back into a bedroom before putting your house on the market.

9. Make minor repairs – Make sure to tighten loose knobs, fix leaky faucets, change burnt out light bulbs, etc. If you are unable to do so yourself, consider hiring a handyman to do the repairs for you.

10. Less is more – In order to showcase each room to its fullest potential, you want it to appear as large as possible. Remove any extra furniture that isn’t needed (another reason to rent a storage unit), get rid of all kitchen gadgets that are on the countertop that you can temporarily live without, store large backyard toys, etc.

11. Paint – Not everybody loves flowery wallpaper or purple walls. A fresh coat of paint does wonders for any home. One of the best home staging tips you can follow is to paint rooms a neutral colour, such as beige or cream.

12. Don’t forget the outside – Curb appeal is just as important as the inside. Tidy the yard, making sure leaves are raked, grass is mowed, and kids’ toys are picked up. Adding a fresh coat of paint to the door and window shutters can also give your home a cheap pick-me-up. If you have a detached garage or shed, make sure these are as clutter-free as possible too.

More Home Staging Tips & Techniques

Do you have any great home staging tips or ideas? Leave a comment to let us know!

The Best Martha Stewart Christmas Ideas

Martha Stewart Christmas Ideas

Here is your ultimate guide to Martha Stewart Christmas ideas. Everything from homemade gifts and crafts for kids to beautiful Christmas decorations and tasty holiday recipes, here is our favourite Martha Stewart Christmas ideas we just have to share with you.

It’s no secret, we love Martha Stewart and her brilliant ideas. Visiting her website, you’re provided with endless ideas on anything and everything from home decorating tips to cheap homemade Halloween costumes. So, it’s pretty much a given to expect great Martha Stewart Christmas ideas too, right? Here’s a summary of some of our favourite Christmas and holiday tips and ideas found at the Martha Stewart website.

Homemade Gifts

Decorative Decal Pillar CandlesThese beautiful candles are made from a few affordable materials you can find easily at your local craft store. Coupling these candles with the suggested decorative matchbox and you have yourself an awesome gift idea for any woman on your shopping list.

Decorative Candles

Body ScrubThis body scrub is made from only 4 ingredients and can be placed inside decorative jars to make a wonderful gift. The Martha Stewart site suggests you use canning jars but another great container you could use is glass baby food jars. This is also something that would be perfect to add to a gift basket for a teenage girl, woman, or anyone else who appreciates a good soak in the tub. If you’re looking for gift basket ideas, be sure to check out these themed gift basket ideas as well as these tips on how to make your own gift basket.

Body Scrub

Dog-Cleanup BagsIf you’re not a dog owner, you might not value the importance of a good poop bag carrier. Nothing is worse than having your dog squat on somebody’s lawn only to discover you’ve left your poop bags at home – talk about an awkward situation! This homemade gift idea provides you with instructions on how to make a bag that attaches to the dog’s leash that holds poop bags, so you’ll never again find yourself in a crappy situation.

Dog Poop Bag Carrier

Map CoastersThis is a wonderfully unique gift idea that is perfect for those who love travelling. You don’t need to use maps either, you could follow the directions using other images if you like – such as drawings your kid has created (perfect for grandparents!).

Map Coasters

Kids’ Christmas Crafts

Martha Stewart has an abundance of excellent Christmas crafts you can make with your kids over the holidays. You can check them out here. You’ll find instructions on everything from cute Christmas ornaments and decorations to no-sew aprons and popcorn wreaths.

More Martha Stewart Christmas Ideas

Visit this link and navigate through the options on the left to find several Martha Stewart Christmas ideas. You’ll find ideas and instructions on how to make Christmas cards, decorations, gifts, holiday recipes, and so much more.

You might also be interested in reading Inexpensive Christmas Decorating Ideas as well as our blog post on the top 100+ Christmas stocking stuffer ideas for everyone on your list.

Are you the next Martha Stewart? Please feel free to share your brilliant holiday ideas with us or simply let us know which Martha Stewart Christmas idea is your favourite.

All images in this post are courtesy of marthastewart.com