Blog - Rosie on the House

If you are planning to sell your home, it is imperative that it leaves a good (or better) first impression. While it is a seller’s market, it is a competitive market! Positive or negative impressions are made at the first glance...

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Have you ever thought about buying a historic home? They can be pricey to keep up. We don't have many really old homes in Arizona but, imagine caring for a home that is 100 years old or older? If you are a taxpaying American citizen, you are partial owner of the 200-year-old White House. In Honor of Presidents Day, we decided to take a look at a few of the significant changes it has gone through...

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The convention floor buzzed with excitement last month as the National Kitchen and Bath show got under way. Designers and builders viewed the hundreds of manufacturer booths that lined the floor looking for the latest and greatest finds for homeowners. Here are a few of our top picks from the show...

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Is your house getting to the point that every time you pull into the driveway you think “we really need to paint” or “gee, a cactus design would look cute on the mailbox” or “is this my house”? Before you trot down to the hardware store for supplies, you need to check if the changes you want to do to the exterior of your home are allowed by your Homeowners Association (HOA)...

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If your home was built before 1978, lead paint might have been used during the building of your house, and if it was built as late as the 1990s, materials containing asbestos may have been used too. Common renovation, repair, and painting activities like sanding, cutting, chipping, and replacing windows, can disturb lead-based paint and asbestos creating hazardous lead dust and chips which can be harmful to adults, children, and pets...

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Most of the time, Arizona's climate allows us to spend a lot of time outdoors. With more conveniences and a variety of landscapes and accents, our backyards have become an oasis. In addition to a pool, there are many options available to enhance our backyards so we can enjoy them year-round...

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There are many innocuous tasks we do around the house that with one wrong turn could lead to a visit to the ER. We spoke with Dr. Lisa Goldberg, Emergency Medicine, Tucson Medical Center (TMC) Emergency Department. The most common accidents around the house that the ER team sees at TMC are cuts and lacerations to the hands. Sometimes they result from bagel, avocado, and tomato debacles, but many come from DIY projects that require the use of a saw...

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It’s time to get rid of the three-ring binder and move your home management documents into the digital age. Digital home management gives you the ability to start or update your home’s inventory, track a maintenance calendar, manage your home remodel projects, understand your home finances and market your home when you are ready to sell it...

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Wow! We sure have covered a lot of topics in our 30+ years! At the end of each year we look back at the blogs that received the most website clicks. Sometimes they are blogs from previous years, as is the case of three of the five below. So, in case you missed these or could use a refresher, these are the top three home improvement and top three landscape blogs that received the most website clicks in 2019...

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If your closets and garage are bursting at the seams, it may be time to look into a storage shed... A shed can make your property look tidier because everything is out of sight instead of shoved in a corner or cluttering your garage...

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Christmas and Hanukkah are just days away. If you have not finished your holiday shopping, we have some ideas with a little Americana spin that may inspire you...

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Daydreaming about buying your very own cabin? Somewhere at 6,000 feet where the highs are in the 80s in summer and the lows are in the 50s? Just a small place, not too expensive? Here are some important questions to ask if you have been bitten by the cabin bug...

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Imagine returning home each day to a space that invites you in and encourages you to relax, leaving the day behind! This is an outdoor space full of fresh air, comfortable seating, just the right amount of light and perhaps a block fireplace. It is an attractive space with beautiful interlocking pavers and colors that reflect the beauty of the desert. In the Arizona desert it is possible to create this special place right in your very own backyard!...

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So you live in Arizona and want to turn your home into a ranch-style house. Seems easy. Tack on some western décor and voila you have a ranch house! Sorry folks, that’s not how it works. Ranch-style is not themed décor; it’s an architectural style. Unless you change the floor plan and roofline of your current house, you cannot have an authentic ranch-style home...

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The 70s brought us Avocado Green, Harvest Gold, Sunflower Orange, and Chocolate Brown. The 80s had us moseying along in pastel tones of the southwest. Every decade has its pallet. If your home looks like a throwback to yesteryear, consider updating it for the new decade. Angela Hirst, Showroom & Designer Sales Manager at Interior Essentials, offers some ideas to refresh and modernize your home...

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Now that the temperatures in most of the state have dropped below 90 degrees, we can finally turn off our cooling systems. While we are in the sweet spot of not having to run any air temperature regulating system, make an appointment to get your heating system serviced and ready for the upcoming cold nights. They will come... eventually, and you will want to be ready...

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For many folks the arrival of pumpkin spice lattes ushers in the fall season. For much of the state, this is the time of year when we can finally enjoy our backyards and front porches without dripping in sweat. Consider holding your holiday festivities outside with these accents that will create a festive mood...

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Water costs in the home continue to rise annually. A home water audit can show you ways to minimize water consumption and lower your monthly water bill. The solution is a system of low flow plumbing. This is a way to reduce overall water usage without decreasing the water pressure in your home. Most homeowners enjoy a substantial cost reduction in their monthly water bill...

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A special insider look at Arizona's water resources...

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You rely on your water heater for all the hot water you need to cook, clean, and bathe. When you can’t get any hot water or your water heater stops working, it’s major a inconvenience. Not many people enjoy a cold shower. It's difficult to gauge when you'll need to repair a problem or replace altogether....

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