Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

The kitchen is the room in your Rittenhouse Square Condo where families typically gather to begin their day. It’s the first room that family members visit when they return home as well. With so many comings and goings, it’s easy for the busy room to become a catchall for clutter. Items totally unrelated to cooking and eating, such as books, bills, backpacks and bags, often find their home here. A kitchen remodel or addition offers you the opportunity to plan ahead for all the activities that take place in your kitchen, with storage solutions that will make the utilitarian room as stylish as it is functional.

Because kitchen cabinets typically take up to 30 percent of a kitchen remodeling budget, you’ll want to ensure that the cabinets not only look  great but provide the storage solutions that your kitchen needs to keep clutter at bay. Pull-down shelves, slide-out towel bars and pull-out waste bins help keep frequently used items accessible. Look for cabinets with hardware that enhances functionality too, such as self-closing slides on drawers.

Consider including a zone in the kitchen’s layout for non-food-related activities.  Once you’ve designated specific areas for non-cooking activities, you can help keep the related materials organized with containers, baskets and trays. Deep trays are a kitchen organizer’s best friend. Trays not only allow you to keep an assortment of related items together but are easy to transport to and from a cabinet as well, letting you whisk clutter
out of sight quickly and easily. Trays are great for managing the dreaded “junk drawer” too.

Store the items that you use the most, such as large utensils and knives, on the counter in attractive containers. There’s no reason why storage solutions can’t add visual appeal to the overall look of your kitchen while make the heart of your home more functional too.

Author Bio
Jennie owns and manages several self storage units in Fontana CA. She recommends using Extra Space Storage in Las Vegas to her friends and family in the Las Vegas region. Away from work, Jennie enjoys spending time with her three young boys and her beloved dog Rex.

This video provides several maintenance steps to help keep your refrigerator running at peak efficiency. Refrigerator maintenance is undoubtedly one of the most overlooked tasks in the home.

You depend on it 24×7. It is expected to provide cold drinks and refrigerated food upon demand. You want it quiet and efficient. While mainly maintenance free, your refrigerator does demand a little maintenance at least twice a year.

Don’t forget to check seals for leakage and repair when necessary. It’s possible you may need an appliance specialist to find the correct parts and install properly.

Do you have pets in your low rise Philly condo? Maybe you should be inspecting your refrigerator more frequently.  Hair and debris buildup under your refrigerator is very common and makes your refrigerator work much harder than it should. It is also a fire hazard when allowed to buildup to an excess.  Vacuuming the coils is the safe and prudent thing to do and should be on your list of kitchen maintenance tasks.  The benefits are saving energy thereby saving dollars, and keeping your family safe.

Mark Wade
Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors
www.CenterCityCondos.com
530 Walnut St. #260 Phila., PA 19106

When people think of Philadelphia, they think of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. But tall buildings don’t often come to mind, probably because a certain city a few miles north has the skyscraper title sewn up. But Philadelphia, particularly Center City, is giving the Big Apple a run for its money.

City Hall used to be the one true skyscraper in Philadelphia; in fact, it was the tallest building in the world from 1901 to 1908. But over the last 25 years, many other buildings have been erected in Center City that not only tower over City Hall, but also give Philadelphia its breathtaking skyline.

Current Center City Giants
Philadelphia’s structures remained low-rise because for years the city’s leaders had a “gentleman’s agreement” not to build any structure higher than the stature of William Penn that sits on top of City Hall. This agreement was severed in 1987, and now several structures share the sky with City Hall, including:

One Liberty Place: This 61-story, 945-foot skyscraper was the first to break City Hall’s record as the tallest building in town. Today, it’s home to some of the largest law firms in Philadelphia and the biggest financial services companies in the world, including AIG, Merrill Lynch and Cigna.

Two Liberty Place: This 58-story, 848-foot skyscraper complements the commercial focus of its sister building with a condominium complex, a shopping mall and a 14-story hotel that’s home to the kind of wedding reception Harrisburg residents love to throw.

Comcast Center: As you might imagine, Comcast is the biggest tenant in this 58-story, 974-foot skyscraper, which now holds the title as Philadelphia’s tallest building. But other corporations like Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania lease space, and numerous shops and restaurants cater to tenants and passersby alike.

New Kids on the Block
Maybe you think Philadelphia would be happy just with these impressive buildings, but why stop at a few skyscrapers when you can have many? Plans are underway to build skyscrapers all over the city, including two in Center City.

Originally slated for groundbreaking in 2008, construction on Mandeville Place was delayed until December 2011. Following completion, it will house 45 condominiums on 43 floors, plus an 8-story hotel that observers expect will host a buffet Harrisburg PA residents and visitors will enjoy.

The building at 1441 Chestnut was going to be a condo building until it was going to be a Waldorf, and now a W Hotel. Many hope that this new construction will open the doors to more skyscraper construction in the neighborhood.

If Philadelphia looks good to you, you can thank the Center City skyscrapers that make it such a beautiful and bustling place to live and visit.

Michelle Rebecca
Content Specialist
Blog: SocialweLove

Michelle is an aspiring writer with a passion for blogging. She enjoys writing about a vast variety of topics and loves that blogging gives her the opportunity to publicly voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience.