The White Oaks Blog

Is re-painting one of your children’s rooms on your “to-do” list this summer?   Yep, me too.   I don’t mind the actual painting part of painting the room, but picking the colors out is probably my least favorite activity on this planet, next to getting my teeth drilled.   Anything activity that involves so many similar choices and options just makes my head spin.  I truly admire interior designers for their ability to make something useful out a sea of seemingly identical 1″ x 1″ samples.

To add to the fun on this project, our 12-year old son informed us he’d like to paint his room the color of the San Jose Sharks.  Hey,  why not?  He’s an accomplished ice hockey player, and a rabid Sharks fan…  I could already feel the sweat trickling down the back of my neck.  How many teal swatches am I going to have to wade through to find the closest match to San Jose’s???  Let’s face it, although I’m not color-blind….I’m definitely color-dumb.  I could already picture the end result looking more like a circus tent than a hockey locker room…

So here’s the funny part.  I get to say “Home Depot to the Rescue.”  (I never thought those words would ever leave my brain, because shopping at HD is third on my pain scale after the two above)  But it’s true!   My wife Patty found out that Home Depot has teamed up with Glidden Paints to offer the Team Colors line of paints.  What is the “Team Colors” product? It is simply a “stroke” of genius on behalf of Glidden and Home Depot — they worked out licenses with a whole bunch of professional sports leagues to get the “official” colors of their respective teams.  Here are most of the affiliations they’re working with:

Glidden did all the work up front and computer-matched literally hundreds of team colors, so you simply need to check out the brochure to see if your team is in there, and then order how much of each color you want.   Done…It’s just that easy.   So, do you want the paint your game room Stanford Cardinal Red for the Big Game?  No problem.   Are you a Michigan Wolverine fan (my condolences) or an Ohio State Buckeyes alum?   Check.  Detroit Red Wings?  Covered like an octopus.  They even have the Nascar colors.  (Now, that’s dedication.)

Check out Glidden’s site for more information:  Glidden Team Colors

This takes ALL of the guesswork out of picking the colors, and let’s you focus on important tasks….like figuring out where to put all of these cool shades.  So have fun with it — showing  your team colors has never been easier!

Popularity: 17% [?]

Remodeling has become a way of life in White Oaks.    It seems that everywhere you turn, there’s a home that’s undergoing some degree of reconstruction.  This is definitely understandable — with the average White Oaks home nearing 60 years of age (or more,) homeowners are facing the challenges of owning a home that is becoming functionally obsolete.  The old knob-and-tube wiring is hopelessly inadequate for today’s modern electronics.   The galvanized piping that was used in the original plumbing often gets so blocked with rust and corrosion that the water pressure to the home is a fraction of what it should be.  And let’s not forget how cold these old homes get in the middle of winter, with minimal insulation and single-pane windows.

Functional obsolescence isn’t the only reason for remodeling.  The average White Oaks home probably averaged between 1,000 - 1,200 square feet when it was first built.  It’s no great revelation that people today want bigger homes, so many of the remodels that you’re seeing in White Oaks involve a dramatic increase in square footage over the original home.  If you recall from my previous post “Does Lot Size Matter?” the City of San Carlos Municipal Code allows owners to build a 3,000 square foot home (including garage) on virtually any lot in San Carlos, and even bigger if the lot size can accommodate a large home.   Just take a drive up Eaton Avenue or Saint Francis Way if you want to see some large and very impressive remodels.

On top of all that, the recent economic instability has made many homeowners think twice about moving to a larger home in a different neighborhood.  Not many people want to digest the larger mortgage and the significant increase in  property tax that you get when you purchase a home.  Remodeling just makes sense for many folks.

So… with all of the changes going on in White Oaks, these questions beg to be answered:

• What do you think of the remodel projects that you see in your neighborhood, or as you drive through White Oaks?
• Do you think these new, larger homes are aesthetically pleasing, or are they out of character for White Oaks?
• Do larger, newer homes add value to a neighborhood, or do they diminish the quality of life for those living in smaller, adjacent homes?
• If you have remodeled recently, how did your neighbors react to the changes?

I’d love to hear your opinion on this topic — just click the Comment link below and make your voice heard.

(For the purpose of full disclosure, we made the decision to remodel our home 8 years ago.  With four of us crammed into a 2BR, 1,200 square foot home, and child #3 on the way, we clearly needed to either add on or move out.  Since we liked our White Oaks neighborhood so much, the decision to stay and add-on was an easy one.  But being one of the first on our street to modernize and add a second story didn’t come without its share of negative comments and raised eyebrows — C.G.)

Popularity: 17% [?]