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Morning Meetings Just Aren’t What They Used to Be. October 11, 2011
By Kortney Gentry

When thinking about a top of the morning sales meeting, the first sound you probably hear is a groan and attendance is often forced. At Smith & Associates Real Estate, however, we try to stand out from the crowd by making our Tuesday morning rituals a bit more entertaining while still delving into “the facts”. Being October, this month will feature a few exciting Tuesdays with a “Reality TV” costumed meeting and a pumpkin carving contest but we can talk about (and share fun pictures of) those later. A re-cap of today’s meeting is a good place to start…

Community involvement plays a huge role in Real Estate. Not necessarily because your community is filled with potential clients but because it is great to give back. With October not only comes fun meetings, but it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month as well. We have several agents participating in runs, walks and golf tournaments, but today we got to see the fruits of a particularly spectacular fundraiser…a bra decorating contest! Yes, you heard correctly. Two of our Tampa Realtors, Laurie Garrett and Janet Mendez (pictured right) modeled bras that they recently decorated at an event to honor all of the birthdays that have passed due to breast cancer research made possible by grants, donations and fundraisers nationwide. BRA-vo to them on their creative skills.

This Tuesday also gave us a chance to meet one of our newest staff members (whom you will be hearing from on the blog as well), our talented Relocation Director, Jane Gowarty (pictured left). Jane has been in Real Estate for the past 19 years, starting in land development and has spent the past 10 years focused on relocation. She will be the first point of contact for out of towners looking to call Tampa Bay home, introducing the city and learning about clients’ stories in order to match them up with a like-minded realtor. You may have seen Jane speak at several Leading Real Estate or Relocation conventions and we are excited to stand by her side as she continues to educate others on the importance of her department.

All in all, this has been a successful Tuesday. What are your favorite things about meeting with your colleagues and what kind of community involvement would you like to see from Smith in the future?

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Designer Thursday: We’re Crazy About Pumpkins! September 29, 2011
By Kortney Gentry

Fall is finally here and despite the fact that Florida doesn’t see much of a color change, we love a season that allows for pumpkin spice lattes and Smith-y orange foods, clothes and decorations!

When decorating for fall, what better to use than pumpkins: the most versatile little (or big) squash of all? There is just so much you can do with this fabulous food! After spending the morning researching cheap & easy DIY ways to decorate my St. Petersburg home , I wanted to share my findings with you.

Fall decorations don’t have to be difficult, which it is a huge relief when attempting to cram seasonal decorating into an already busy schedule. Prepping your Tampa home for Autumn can be as easy as filling your unused fireplace with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes (above), placing candles & lantern glass on top of mini pumpkins to be used as centerpieces, carving out the insides (baking the delicious seeds of course) & creating environmentally friendly flower pots and candle holders, or paint them shiny fall colors and add a few twigs and berries for an out-of-this-world front porch decoration (below).

If you want to make amazing and colorful fall foods, pumpkin ingredients are also a MUST in my book. (Did I mention baked pumpkin seeds yet?) You can easily edit your stuffed pepper recipe to read stuffed pumpkin, and how about these adorable bite-sized pies for your fall get together? (below) For a little extra fun, blend a slice of pie with a cup of milk (or milk replacement) & vanilla ice-cream then top it off with a pumpkin pie mini for a fantastic milkshake to share with friends. (recipe found here)

When it comes to pumpkins, pies and fall decor, whichever route you choose, you can’t go wrong. The beautiful colors pared with the breezy weather and a handful of pumpkin seeds make for the perfect start to an amazing season.

What’s your favorite simple ways to decorate for fall? Do you have a secret pumpkin pie recipe you’d like to share?

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Designer Thursday: An IKEA Throwback September 22, 2011
By Kortney Gentry

IKEA- World’s largest furniture retailer, designer on a budget/DIY lover’s Mecca, giant maze filled with heavenly Swedish furniture (and surprisingly or not, meatballs)…whatever it is, we love it. And would you believe that this beast of a chain was founded by a 17 year old in 1943?? Thats right 1-7!

The letters that make up the stores well-known name are actually an acronym of the founder’s name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm he grew up on (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd, in Småland, South Sweden). * Fun Fact: Småland is directly translated “small land” in Swedish. Hence, why the “kiddy-land” section in many of the stores don this name.

In 1951, eight years after IKEA was founded, the first catalog was published (see amazing vintage cover pictured right). Then in 1958 the very first store opened it’s doors. There are now over 270 some odd locations open worldwide (including a Tampa location, visible from the Crosstown Expressway). Talk about company growth!

Decorating my St. Petersburg home is not all IKEA has done for the world. They have partnered with several other non-profit organizations including World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and UNICEF. According to their website “The IKEA Group, in co-operation with UNICEF, initiates a broad community program in northern India to address the root causes of child labor. The project includes 500 villages and will benefit more than 1 million people, providing more than 80,000 children with an opportunity for an education. At, present, the project covers a range of initiatives, such as providing alternative learning centers, health and nutrition, education, empowering women and forming women’s self-help groups”

If that is not reason enough to absolutely love this place (read: go on an immediate interior design spree), then I don’t know what is. We should all learn a lesson from them. Looking for something to do in Tampa today? See you at IKEA in 10…

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Tampa Bay Fashion Week 2011 September 21, 2011
By Kortney Gentry

For aspiring designers and models, or those of us who just want to see a runway show and experience the excitement of the following years upcoming trends, New York and LA have been the two main options in the past. However, now, those of us who call Tampa Bay home can experience fashion week at it’s finest. The best part? It is going on right now!

Tampa Bay Fashion Week is an exciting annual event that allows local designers, models, photographers and stylists to really showcase their talents to both local and national retailers. While the Art Institute of Tampa kicked off the official events of the week with their Red Carpet Reception and Celebration of Vintage Designs, the party started as early as last Saturday, September 17th when Project Runway’s Tim Gunn (pictured right on the cover Entertainment Weekly) hosted a runway show right in the middle of International Plaza!

If you missed last weekend and yesterday’s events, no worries, there is more…Check out tonight’s 6pm Model Behavior Cocktail Reception at Element in Downtown Tampa where you will enjoy hors d’oeurvres, while networking with tons of designers and models including supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Then, head on over the bridge to Downtown St. Pete tomorrow evening for the Swanky Soirée where you will find not only local fashion and fine art but amazing cuisine will be served by 15 local chefs, restaurants, bakeries & coffee shops and all proceeds go to charity.

Don’t get too tired during the week, as you won’t want to miss Friday’s runway shows & Fashion Week Boutique at Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor. The work of 9 local designers will be featured and tickets are available ahead of time for $75 or at the door for $100 (pending availability). Maybe you will even get a lucky go-ahead to attend Saturday’s Invitation Only Private Party- it’s so secret that they don’t even give us details! Check out Fashion Week Tampa Bay’s site for tickets & more info. (left photo courtesy of Dive In Tampa Bay)

It was once said that the Tampa Bay area could never sustain a shopping center the caliber of International Plaza with upscale stores including Neiman Marcus, Burberry and Gucci. Way to go, ladies & gents- we showed them wrong! We now host our very own Tampa Bay Fashion Week complete with high end models, celebrity hosts and still stick to our local talent as well. We are also expecting even more big name retailers to start gracing us with their presence in the near future…H&M cannot come soon enough & c’mon, American Apparel, get on the band wagon!

What is your favorite place to shop in the Tampa Bay area? Do you plan on attending any of the upcoming Fashion Week events?

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Designer Thursday: Making Small Space Living Fabulous! September 15, 2011
By Kortney Gentry

When looking for a new home for sale in St. Pete, the option of small space living is often pushed to the back burner. Despite popular belief, it doesn’t have to be a downside to your new home! You just have to use your imagination & common sense, maximizing the use of the space. Work with it rather than trying to force it to work for you.

After an intense pondering session, I decided on 5 tips to maximizing small spaces. Here goes nothing:

Be flexible. Don’t define every room to a specific purpose, give purpose to every room!
Be functional. Just because it is called a “walk-in closet”, doesn’t men that’s all its good for. Make use of every corner and bare walls by adding an art studio or office.
Scale down. Why have a family room AND a sitting room (that no one actually sits in) with TVs in both? Designate one area for congregating, TV watching and video game playing. This will maximize family time as well!
Divide it up. Maximize large rooms by dividing them into sections for designated purposes. Use 3-fold room dividers or fancy curtains to really give it a “room-y” feel. (vintage room divider found on Amazon pictured right)
Bring it outside. If you have a porch, patio or yard, ad a grill, tables, tents and out door games. You now have the perfect place to entertain!

Still not convinced that small space living is fabulous living? Need an incentive to decorate a small space? A website titled Apartment Therapy actually hosts an annual “Small/Cool” Contest (yes, that is the name) for homes under 1,000 SqFt. The categories are (absolutely adorable) “Teeny-Tiny”, “Tiny”, “Little”, “Small” and “International”. Thousands of entries are received and there is one Grand Prize winner as well as one finalist picked per category.

This year’s winner was an amazing 460 SQFT, well lit apartment in Brooklyn (pictured thanks to www.apartmenttherapy.com). This teeny space has been completely maximized, allowing for a section for a bedroom (top left), living room (left), office, kitchen (bottom right) and bathroom. I am in love!

According to the contest rules “The home can be designed by a professional, weekend hobbyist or design enthusiast” so everyone is invited to participate & the prizes are pretty swell! Check them out for even more ideas on how to maximize your small space.

Whether you opt for small space living out of necessity or desire, there are so many ways to maximize the area and make it just as fabulous as an over-sized mansion! Not to mention how green you can be, reducing your carbon footprint by using less emissions to keep a small space functioning.

How have you maximized space in your Tampa Bay home? Do you have any small space decorating tips?