Remember a few months ago, when I put out the call for entries in to the HouseLogic Boost Your Roost Contest? The couple I chose as finalists didn’t win, but the family that did, the Smiths, was pretty fantastic.
Allison and Aaron Smith needed a wheelchair-accessible backyard so that the entire family could enjoy their backyard. As it was, Aaron couldn’t go further than the small paved area directly outside the back door, and he longed to play with his son in the yard.
The first video, introducing the Smiths and the scope of their project, is up. There will also be a new video each Wednesday, leading up to the reveal of their new backyard. Each week, you can enter to win $1000 by watching the video and answering a quiz. After the final video in 5 weeks, if you correctly guess the value the project added to their home, you can earn up to 50 extra entries! I’d say that ups your odds, eh?
This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. More details can be found at www.houselogic.com/bostyourroost2012.
I’ve been working with HouseLogic to offer homeowners a chance to win a $20,000 home renovation to “Boost Your Roost.” I received hundreds of entries and had to choose just one to move on to the next stage of the contest. Narrowing them down was a long process, but I’m so excited about the family I’ve named as finalists!
Clara and Brantley in San Antonio, TX would like to add a screened porch to replace the falling apart covered porch they have now. I hear it gets crazy hot there, and they have a little girl who could use a shaded, breezy, bug-free spot to play outside.
Their submission to the contest is below.
Located north of downtown San Antonio, our home sits in a small neighborhood of mid-century modern houses. The 1600 three bedroom / two bathroom house is incredibly efficient – the kitchen, living and dining room are one contiguous space. While we love our little home our only complaint is its lack of a usable outdoor living space. While Texas is known to be incredibly hot, with shade and a cooling breeze, spending time out of doors can be quite pleasant throughout the year. While a previous owner added a covered porch, its condition is deteriorating and the slab over which it was built slopes in a way that makes it difficult to use. More critically, swarms of mosquitoes make the space uninhabitable for most of the year.
Our daughter loves to play outside and the addition of a covered screen porch would provide a space for her to do that. Such an outdoor living space would also serve as an amazing venue for the entertaining of friends and family as well as a quiet place to enjoy the outdoors while being protected from the fierce sun and mosquitoes.
Screened on three sides, the porch would be open to the prevailing southeast breezes. Because of the sloping nature of our site, the porch would be a few feet lower than the finished floor of the house, creating a higher volume in which a large fan would further encourage the circulation of air through the space. A thin landscaped courtyard would separate the screened porch from the bedroom wing of the house, allowing all existing windows to open into the courtyard. To the west, a custom outdoor curtain would protect the space from the late afternoon sun.
A sweet family, a concise but detailed entry, and a thought-out plan… they had my attention. Then I watched the video, and yep: finalists. (The scene with the calendars makes me laugh every time.)
Bonus points, right? I want them to get their porch. This is what it would look like (note the now happy daughter).
But they need some help. They are now one of six finalists, and only the project with the most votes will actually win the $20,000 prize. So head over to HouseLogic to check out the competition and cast a vote for your favorite project (*ahem* Clara and Brantley). You can vote once a day until voting ends on August 13th.
This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
I’m accepting entries through the end of the day, Monday, July 16. All the details are in my original post about the contest. I’ve gotten some fantastic submissions so far, and I’m going to be narrowing them down soon to choose a finalist, so be sure to get yours in before it’s too late. Good luck!
This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Enter to win or visit houselogic.com/boostyourroost for more details.
We’ve improved our home a lot over the years, but we’ve also improved our life at home. Do you know how nice it is to do laundry in a basement that isn’t scary? Or to cook with the kids in a kitchen that is not only cute, but that actually functions (and isn’t falling apart)? Making my home, well, lovely, makes me and my family happy. These things take some planning though, and a bit of work, and of course you need a budget to work with.
Do you have a space that needs some attention? Maybe you want to create a laundry room too, or give your kitchen a facelift. Maybe you have a bathroom that has seen better days, or you dream of a wall of windows to let the light in. What would you want to do to your home if someone were to come in and give you the budget to do it?
Describe the room you’d like to renovate with a $20,000 budget in 300 words or less. We want to hear about why your home improvement project is important to you! How will it help you enjoy your home? How will it impact your time with family and friends?
I need at least one photo (5 photos max) of the space. Your images are part of what people will be voting on if you’re a finalist, so make ‘em good! You can host your photos on free sites like flickr or post them to your blog if you have one. You can also include drawings or a link to a video if you like.
Include your full name, email address, phone number, and home location. (Your information will be kept private, but we’ll need it to contact you if you’re a finalist.)
I’ll be narrowing down the entries and choosing the best submission, which will go on to be one of six finalists (five from other participating bloggers). The finalists will then be voted on by the public to see who will win the $20,000 home renovation. So get creative, start dreaming, and let me know how you plan to “boost your roost!”
This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Entries will be accepted now through July 16 at 11:59pm (CDT), and you must be a homeowner living within the continental U.S. More details can be found at houselogic.com/boostyourroost.
Remember a few months ago, when I put out the call for entries in to the HouseLogic Boost Your Roost Contest? The couple I chose as finalists didn’t win, but the family that did, the Smiths, was pretty fantastic. 
