I’ve lived in Westchester County NY most of my life, but it wasn’t until earlier this week that I finally learned the origin of the name of Westchester. It always annoyed me that there was Eastchester, a town in Westchester, and it didn’t seem that they were related…and Eastchester is not on the eastern part of Westchester and it just didn’t seem like this had anything to do with the origin. Well thanks to an issue of Westchester Magazine (Dec 2011), I finally found my answer.  Westchester comes from the English town of Chester which is “West”  of many English towns in the same way that we are “west” of many New England towns.  And, of course, we are west of Chester.  So, now I have that mystery solved.  Not sure about Eastchester though, so I have a bit more research to do on that new ... 03/20/2012

Flooring can have a big impact on how large your home looks and feels. Your flooring is like the 5th wall of your home and it's amazing how much of an impact it can make on the beauty and perceived space of your home.   1. Use the same type of flooring material and the same color across rooms. Whenever possible, continue that same surface across rooms. Here in Westchester NY, hardwood flooring is the preferred flooring, and this is one of the many reasons we are seeing the trend to add hardwood to the kitchen - by continuing the same surface, even in the kitchen, you connect the space and it just looks larger.   2. Use lighter colors. Lighter makes the space look larger. Same holds true for walls.   3. Use wider planks. Wider makes the space look larger. Same goes for tile - larger tile... 03/16/2012

The 30th Annual SpringWestchester County Home Show WHEN: March 17th - 18th , 2012WHERE: Westchester County Center 198 Central Ave White Plains , New YorkSHOW HOURS: Saturday, 11am to 6pm Sunday, 11am to 5pm TICKETS: $10 Adults, $8 Seniors, Children 12 & under FREE The Westchester County Home Show is one of Jenks Productions longest running regional home shows. Located at the Westchester County Center in prestigious White Plains, NY, this home show boasts an elite attendance from one of the wealthiest enclaves in the metropolitan area. With New York City just a stone's throw away, this home show offers a diverse array of home products and services, with a metro flair, featuring local, state and national vendors, presenting innovative and imaginative displays. The Westchester County Home... 03/15/2012

Yes, it's true, The Beach Boys are coming to Westchester NY.  You can see them live at the County Center in White Plains. May 15th 8pm (Tuesday) 198 Central Ave, White Plains NY, 10606 Here's the link to get your tickets online for The Beach Boys. This sounds like a really fun event, especially for those looking for some good old reminiscing.  The Beach Boys have a truly unique sound and they are sure to conjure great memories for you. View Larger Map   The Beach Boys are coming to Westchester NY 03/12/2012

Westchester County Home Show - Spring 2012 - March 17th and 18th - White Plains Are you looking to do some major remodeling this year?  A new kitchen, a new bathroom, or an addition?  Or maybe you are just looking to spice up what you currently have.  Well if so, the Westchester County Home Show (at the County Center in White Plains) is a great place to start. Iit's the 30th Annual Westchester County Home Show Saturday and Sunday March 17th-18th 198 Central Avenue (County Center) White Plains, NY 10607 Hours: Sat 11am-6pm and Sun 11am-5pm Cost: $10 Adults, $8 Senior, children under 12 free   For additional info, call 860-563-2111 ext 303 Jenks Productions, wes@jenksproductions.com For vendors and sponsors, check out the Jenks website             03/03/2012

Celebrating Women's History Month - with Guest Speaker Dee Delbello - March 5th White Plains NY 6-8pm Yes, it's networking and a history lesson all in one!  The former First Lady of Westchester NY and Publisher of Westfair Business Publications will tell her success story and the qualities that distinguish successful history making women. Day: Monday March 5th 6-8pm Location: Crowne Plaza, 66 Hale Ave, White Plains NY Price: $15 for members; $20 for non members You must prepay to attend www.ProfessionalWomenOfWestchester.com - click here to register As I've mentioned on previous blog posts, this is such a dynamic group of women entrepreneurs.  You are sure to have fun, learn something and have some great business contacts.  It's 3 for 1!  Oh, and they usually have some appetizers, too. ... 03/01/2012

As many of you know, prior to starting my own business, I was a Marketing Director of Consumer Packaged Good.  I worked in Cincinnati at Procter & Gamble, and in Stamford at Mott's/Cadbury Schweppes and NYC at Revlon.  This marketing background (+ my MBA in Marketing from University of Chicago) has served me well in my business.  Marketing was a fun job and rewarding job,  and I especially loved creating new products. Once I blogged about one of my favorite new products called Rose's Cocktail Infusions. (see above picture). Well last night was really cool.  I was sitting in my customer's dining room doing the estimate and of course I saw the bottle there.  It turns out that she and he daughter's love them and have been using them for years.  I was so happy and so proud, and I love seein... 02/20/2012

I'm sure many of you can relate to this situation...life is overwhelming...due to unexpected circumstances you need to sell your home (in this case due to a death in family).  You are busy trying to make ends meet and know you need to make some home improvements to sell, but you don't have much money.... ...so you try to save and do it on the cheap side...and in the process, something goes very wrong and it ends up costing you a lot more. A local real estate agent just called me.  She had been in the process of recarpeting her hallway and steps.  She had a bit of a misunderstanding with the contractor and didn't have everything in writing.  She needed to leave as she was in a rush, and the contractor was in the house with the babysitter. The contractor got mad about the delay in payment... 02/20/2012

Flooring Trend Report | Westchester NY - hardwood, carpet, tile and more  Over the last 5 months I've developed a series of trend reports for flooring. I thought it would be helpful to organize all of these in one place.  Some are organized by flooring type (e.g. hardwood, carpet), some by room and then several general trends.  While these are specifically targeted for Westchester NY home owners, I think many of these trends hold across many parts of the country.  Hope this is helpful. Hardwood Trends Hardwood Flooring Trends - Westchester County - September 2011 The favorite flooring surface for Westchester NY Hardwood flooring stain color trends - Winter 2011  Every home's style is different, but this provides some good guidelines on what colors are hot. Carpet Trends Carpet Trends - ... 02/10/2012

Are you looking to sand and refinish hardwood floors in White Plains NY?   It's amazing what a difference refinishing your hardwood flooring can make.  Your floors will look brand new and you even have the option to change the color.  You can go light, dark, mid tones, or red tones. It can really give your home (or room) a whole new look.   If you have hardwood underneath your carpets, we can restore the beauty of the hardwood underneath. It's amazing what a big difference this can make in your home.  And, believe it or not, it is usually less expensive to refinish your floors than to recarpet.  Refinishing your wood floors will also improve your home's value and it will be easier to clean and maintain.   At Floor Coverings International, we are a shop at home service.  We will bring th... 02/09/2012

DOWNTOWN WHITE PLAINS!  From the pubs that line Mamaroneck Avenue including, Lazy Boy Saloon, Black Bear Saloon, Hudson Grille, Porter House, Brazen Fox to higher end restaurants including 42, or BLT Steakhouse.   White Plains is definitely a destination to consider if you are looking to relocate out of NYC and be only 30 minutes away and keep all of the amenities that a “walking city” offers.  For those relocating from out of state, wanting the “big city” feeling without the NYC prices, White Plains is also a great alternative. White Plains has always offered great shopping with one of the original malls“The Galleria” being built in the 1970’s with current anchor stores of Macy’s and Sears. Then in early 2000’s, The Westchester was born, housing both Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms among ... 02/01/2012

All buyers looking at Westchester condos for sale know about the Ritz Carlton of White Plains NY.   Among White Plains NY Condos for sale  the Ritz Carlton is at the pinnacle on the luxury scale.  Just a block from City Center  (1-5 Renaissance Square)  the Ritz Carlton is at the center of everything.   Getting much closer to the center of town would be difficult.  You can easily leave the car behind and walk to shopping, fine dining, entertainment and the train. Buying the Lifestyle – Not Just the Home! In addition to the convenience of being steps from just about everything, there are plenty of amenities to keep you right at home.   There is a lounge, a fitness center which is very complete.  There is also a spa,  a pool and media room as well as a terrace. There is room service throu... 01/31/2012

Radiant heating for your home in Westchester NY Wow, what an a difference radiant heat flooring can make on your feet!  Anyone who has installed radiant heat flooring loves it...and they will show it off to all their friends.  It's such an added element of comfort on your feet, especially during the colder months of the year.  No more waking up to cold tile floors in the bathroom or kitchen.  More and more Westchester home owners are adding radiant heat to: Bathrooms, especially master bathrooms Kitchens Sunrooms Basements Now, radiant heat flooring can be used for virtually all types of flooring surfaces - tile, many types of hardwood, laminate, cork, bamboo and now even carpet.  At Floor Coverings International of Westchester NY, we proudly use Warmup Radiant heated floors.  We custom... 01/15/2012

Bloomberg Business week recently featured the 50 richest zip codes in the US for 2011.  Westchester County NY boasts 8 of the top richest zip codes: 49.  Larchmont, NY 10538 44.  Rye NY 10580 43.  Pound Ridge NY 10576 39.  Armonk NY 10504 37.  Chappaqua NY 10514 - my home town 35.  Scarsdale NY 10583 22.  Bedford NY 10506 8.    Purchase NY 10577 Westchester NY truly is a great place to live. You can read the full article here: America's Richest Zip codes 2011     View Larger Map 01/14/2012

Selling Your Home? How to Help Sell Your Home   While your real estate agent may be working on selling your home, you - as the seller - also have an important role to play. It’s up to you to prepare your home for sale. You might ask the questions... How to Help Your Agent Sell Your Home While your real estate agent may suggest, recommend and even cajole, selling your home is your job, and no one else can do it for you. You have only one chance to make a first impression. It’s so true. A recent survey indicated that more than 60% of buyers knew the property was for them the minute they walked in the door. So make sure you put a lot of your effort into that first impression. -First Few Steps on Selling Your Home -  Cut the grass or shovel the snow to make it easy to get to your front doo... 01/11/2012

White Plains Statistics Single Family Homes Sold in 2011. White Plains School District.                                                                      2 BR                         3 BR                 4 BR                   5BR                  All Sold #Units 7 69 58 21 155   Dollar Value $3,948,725 $36,273,200 $35,913,401 $18,656,100 $94,791,426   Average List Price $594,114 $549,743 $648,836 $945,665 $642,468   Average Sold Price $564,104 $525,699 $619,197 $888,386 $611,558   Average Market Time 163 154 150 225 163   Average Square Feet 2026 1850 2461 3550 2317   % of List Price 94.95 95.63 95.43 93.94 95.19             01/05/2012

Are you looking for flooring for your Westchester home in White Plains NY 10601? We know there are many choices..and sometimes the process can feel overwhelming. Whether you're looking for hardwood floors, tile, carpet, laminate flooring, or if you just want to refinish your hardwood floors, Floor Coverings International can help make the process fun and simple. We are a shop at home service. Our tagline is "We bring the store your door." This is important because first, you can see the colors in your lighting and color coordinate with paint color, cabinets and furniture. Second, it allows us to provide a true estimate for you. And, third, of course it is more convenient this way. We provide guidance - Which is the best type of flooring for your environment and your budget? We'll help e... 01/01/2012

Welcome back to Word Of The Week: where I explain why a certain word has caught my attention this week. Today the word is MANAGE. When I first started my work life, I thought being a manager was a good aspiration...it seemed easy enough, you just tell people what you want them to do...did I mention I started work when I was very young?? ANYWAY There are two types of takes on the word manage. One is an idiom for coping, or getting by...'whatever happens, I'll manage'...pretty passive. The other is an all-encompassing Snugglie of a job description (not exactly sure what it does encompass, and very fluid boundries) that is much more pro-active. Earliest roots come from the Italian 'maneggiare'-to handle, especially as in horses, or French 'manege' -horsemanship. The Latin, of course is 'ma... 12/31/2011

  Located in the heart of downtown at 20 North Broadway in White Plains NY – the Broadlawn is one of the most desirable cooperatives in White Plains.  The central location of  the Broadlawn helps  make it special.  It lies within a block of the White Plains City Center, and Trump Tower.  you can easily leave the car behind and walk to shopping, fine dining, entertainment and the train.   Rated a walker’s paradise by WalkScore.com  - the area ranks a 97 out of 100  with respect to walkability. The commute to Manhattan is 33 minutes on the Harlem Line. With the likes of New York transplants such as BLT Steakhouse  and Level 42at the Ritz Carlton just a short stroll away, the lifestyle  at the Broadlawn has a distinctly urban upscale feel. The White Plains Performing Arts Center is also ju... 12/30/2011

  Yes, I know its Christmas day – but New Year’s Eve is just a week away…and its not too soon to think about where you will be when 2011 becomes a memory and 2012 is born. For those who don’t know the history – downtown White Plains used to be a fairly quiet place.  During the housing boom the downtown became built up an is now thought of as a mini-me Manhattan.  Following the opening of Trump Tower and  the Ritz Carlton – a new tradition was born.  White Plains initiated a new tradition of celebrating New Years Eve in the heart of the downtown – including its own ball drop.  The festivities include live music from 10:30 PM to 12:30 AM.  It is a fun-filled event for the entire family.  Last year I was downtown at around 11 PM and was watching as all the downtown residents started walkin... 12/25/2011