News U Can Use

p>Happy New Year!  Gather your thoughts and your creative energy and decide what changes you can make to your home to improve your home for market or just for your enjoyment.

Here is my Staging & Decor segment form January 4, 2011 on FOX5 Good Day Atlanta. This house was a lot of fun…the biggest challenge was one of the bathrooms was painted black…COMPLETELY..baseboards, walls, ceiling, crown molding…everything was black!  We used Behr Paint and Primer in One to cover the walls, it covered in one coat…however we used two coats for coverage.  The bathroom was very spacious approx 10″ x 10′ but the black paint made the bathroom appear small and cave-like…not in a good way.  So my team and I went to work and brightened up the wall with a neutral paint color called “Brandished Clay” to open up the room and warm it up a bit.  The black and white floor tiles provided a nice contrast for the Crimson accents of the shower curtain and accessories.  This bathroom is proof that you can give a space new life with paint and the right accessories.  TMW

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good_day_atl/Home-Staging-for-Sale-20110104-gda-sd

I have had a very busy weekend, Ive been the Celebrity Guest Speaker at the Fall Atlanta Home Show at the Cobb Galleria this weekend Fri., Sat. & Sun. September 24-26th.  I will be speaking at 3pm on each of those days, my topic: “My House is Worth What?”

Take a look at my guest appearance on FOX5 Good Day Atlanta to promote the Home Show and my line of pillows and throws that will be launched Summer 2011. 

Host Karen Graham was very a lot of fun to work with. She is also beautiful in person.  I hope all of you had a chance to visit the Home Show,there are tons of great products for your home! 

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/good_day_atl/Improving-Your-Chances-to-Sell-a-Home-20100924-gda-sd?CMP=201009_emailshare

I look forward to seeing you there!

T

Hi Everyone,

Mark your calendars I will be speaking on the Home Stage at the Fall Atlanta Home Show, Sept. 24th-26th at the Cobb Galleria.  I will be speaking at 3pm on each of those days.  My topic is: My House Is Worth What?

In this market many homeowners have a bad case sticker shock when they realize their homes have declined in value.  Well, I have some good news: there are lots of ways you can improve your home while the market recovers! Stop by the Fall Atlanta Home Show at 3pm an I will tell you exactly how and what to do if you have been affected by declining values in the housing market. 

See you there!

Tonya

I was out scouting houses in East Atlanta the other day and I knew my partner in crime on “Designed to Sell” Designer John Gidding was working on a project for his new show “Curb Appeal”. In some ways I’m the Nancy Drew of Real Estate….I can sniff out a great deal and steer clear of a bad one…..So finding John Gidding in the neighborhood was pretty easy. I searched for the intersection where the best kept block and the worst kept block in the neighborhood met.(this is where John could best showcase his talent and make the old rundown homes look better than the fresh newly constructed homes)…all-of-a-sudden my ‘Spidey senses’ started tingling….and what’da’ya know…I turned the corner and there was John Gidding…working his majic on a home! I was so excited to see John who is a designer extrodinaire from DTS(if there is anyone left in the fee world who doesn’t know John :-)),along with my DTS crew: our DTS carpenter Chip, DTS Producer Avelino , Collin our DTS Grip, Carl our DTS sound guy and Kimberly our DTS production assistant who was a stylist for ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ for a while. (When one of the 5  RHWOA asked to use one of Kimberly’s beautifully coiffed blonde locks to fasten her blouse…..well…all the best way to describe it is to say: ”and then there were 4!” Lol!…..(OK, OK…..I am totally joking about the RHWOA blouse tying incident)Lol!
Anyway…..it was a total reunion.. I wish the rest of the DTS gang could have been there. Of course I went on camera (it is a reality show….and I WAS “really” there….um duh! Lol. I gave my expert opinion about how much value the work John was performing would add to the house and the 411 on the neighborhood. It was so awesome to see everyone on set…just like old times! So John and I planned to do dinner some time next week….I hugged everyone, we took a few photos….then I drove off to tackle Wes Cravens “Nightmare in Atlanta”…..that would be I-85 at 4pm…..xoxo TMW

Hi Everyone,

Well the bad news is…the real estate market is still slow.  But the good news is I am as busy as ever!  I recently was the host and Real Estate Expert on HGTV’s new show “Bang for your Buck”.  I was critiquing outdoor spaces–some really needed help.  Sabrina Soto and I worked together on this show giving our opinions and estimates on the level of “Bang” the homeowners got for their “Buck”.  I had a great time working with Sabrina, and the homeowners were a lot of fun…although after I finished critiquing their spaces some of them weren’t so happy.  But all in all the show was a fun change and most of the outdoor spaces were very nice.

Let’s Get This Party Started!

People TV recently celebrated 30years of bringing Community Television to Atlanta!  I was honored to serve as their Red Carpet Host at the event which took place this past week at Villa Christina in Atlanta GA.

The event was a success, the guest were lively, interesting and engaging, the venue and the food– absolutely perfect.  Charlotte Engel, GM of People TV received recognition and praise for her work at PeopleTV.

This was also a celebration launching their live streaming video and webcasts.  I had a great time as the Red Carpet Host!  I think People TV brings a great service to the community by teaching people how to produce their own shows in addition to giving them a channel on which to present the programming.

So, go to the website to view their live streaming video and webcasts…www.peopletv.org!

Thank you People TV making me a part of your 30year celebration!!

Hi everyone, I had a very busy and productive past week.  I am a Junior Achievement volunteer, I work with High School teens and help them prepare for the business world through a series of different programs geared at giving them life skills for successfully entering and eventually navigating through the business world.  I think one of the most important things we can do, is give back to the youth.  I have an enormously busy schedule however, I think it is important to carve out the time to give something back, especially if you have been blessed to have success in your industry and/or profession. 

Tim Richardson, VP Boys & Girls Clubs of America.  In Chef attire at the 1st annual “Men Who Cook” event held at Callonwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta, GA. June 2008.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is another great organization.  I have the pleasure of knowing Tim Richardson, VP of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, their national headquarters is located here in Atlanta Georgia.  The BGCA have wonderful programs in place for the kids, from computer initiatives sponsored by Microsoft to youth fitness initiatives sponsored by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation.  BGCA also offer FREE memberships to military families!  Get involved!!  Try volunteering for a worthy cause, or something that is near and dear to your heart.  The experience will prove to be a rewarding one! 

Well, everyone I think I have mentioned that I really enjoy volunteer work.  I work with Junior Achievement and teach their NEFE (National Endowment for Financial Education)component to high school students at South Dekalb High School.  That has been a very rewarding experience so far.   

During the month of May I coordinated with the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Chris Draft Family Foundation to coordinate a ’give-back’ for the  “Designed to Sell” Atlantta team.  The Steve Young Forever Young Foundation donated six desktop computers, two flat screen TV’s, two printers, wireless routers and jump drives to the Atlanta NFL YET Center(National Football League Youth Education Town)  for the Teen Rooms.  

 Matt Ryan, me & Ovie Mughelli at the Atlanta NFL YET Center Teen Room Dedication.

The DTS team remodeled the two teen rooms at the NFL YET Center  here in Atlanta, check out the pictures.  We had a blast doing it!!!  After the remodel, the Atlanta Falcons set up a day to Dedicate the two remodeled Teen Rooms…

Falcons players Matt Ryan & Ovie Mughelli were the masters of the ceremony…Matt Ryan Dedicated a signed framed #2 Jersey to hang in each of the rooms.  We took pics with all of the girls in their remodeled room, one of the teen girls told Ovie he couldn’t sit on the arm of their new couches so he needed to sit “on” the couch cushions! It was hilarious…but he moved!lol!  Matt, Ovie & myself also rated the room make-over for both Teen Rooms…the scores were a perfect 10!!!

Hi everyone, click on the “See Me On TV” tab to check out the videos from 92.9 DaveFM  of myself and  John (the shows designer) suprising the “Earth Day Contest Winner” Shannon Alderman  – my fellow U of Arizona Wildcat Alumni–   on the Zakk Tyler Morning show!! You can watch us giving green tips for making your home more energy efficient. Even if you are not in the market to sell your home, tune in for these tips. The show was a blast and I hope the listeners had as much fun as we did during the taping!

I am totally enjoying working on DTS Atlanta. I really enjoy being a Realtor so critiquing homes is like a second nature to me. I feel very blessed to be working on the show. Our producer is absolutely amazing and I love being able to give expert advice to sellers that will help them sell their home…I hope some of the tips are useful to the viewers as well.