The KonMari method of organization has become wildly popular around the nation this year—especially in San Francisco, where Marie Kondo gave live seminars and trained her first consulting employees. Even Ellen featured this tiny organizing powerhouse on her show to experience the Japanese art of decluttering in person. From folding to hanging and everything in between, the KonMari method helps each of us treat our belongings with more care.

If Chicagoans discuss the Cubs and Portlanders chat about the rain, Bay Area residents belabor house prices. It’s always on our minds—rising mortgages, increased rent prices, and an ever-growing influx of new neighbors make housing our number one concern. Some even joke that newcomers to the Bay should stay for a couple of years and then move along to make space for others to cycle through. We know house prices are high, and growing steadily higher.

As 2016 drew to a close, single-family residences in the Bay saw an all-time high in price (according to the Case-Shiller Index). What’s more interesting, in my opinion, is that homes in the bottom third of the market increased the most, surpassing the rest to reach a level almost 5 times what it was in the late 80s. Homeowners, this means that your “lower-end” property is becoming more valuable than ever. If you’re looking to sell and need a way to increase your profit—or if you’re just looking for a way to increase your home value without the pressure of selling—you may want to consider going in for a closet makeover.

In 2015, Patrick Layne, Valet’s Vice President & General Manager, started on a quest to update two major pieces of equipment in the Valet production facility: our edgebander and our panel saw. Patrick traveled all over the country (and even to Canada) and met with many machinery vendors and end-users (other manufacturing companies) in search of the perfect machines. After many long flights and meals on airplanes, all of his hard work and research paid off. Over the summer of 2016, we successfully installed a new Holzma HPP 300 panel saw and a Holzher Accura 1554 edgebander in our shop. 

The new year always comes with new trends—whether in fashion, food, decor, or design, the movers and shakers of our society love to predict what will be popular when the new year hits. The Bay Area is no exception—in fact, some say design trends start in San Francisco and move outward to the rest of the country.

Some key trends tend to bridge the gap between industries. Velvet clothing, for instance, has grown so popular in fall 2016 that it’s now predicted by Zillow Digs to be a prominent feature in interior design this coming year. 2017 is ringing in new trends in color, texture, and general aesthetic that will undoubtedly heavily influence home design. Here are some ideas for how you can infuse your new custom cabinetry design with trending and classic elements to create a look that’s perfect for your home.

It’s that time of year again, and the nights are getting colder in the Bay Area. It dips into to the low 40s in San Francisco, and even if you’re not cold, you know that some people out there are. All around us, there are people who don’t have enough blankets to snuggle up under or the right clothes to ward off the chills, who aren’t as fortunate as you or I may be. The holiday season makes us cinch up imaginary collars, and reflect on what we can do to help.

I see this all the time around the Bay Area, especially when I’m talking to people who want to redesign their reach-in closet. Their lives are full of clutter, and so many say, “What am I going to do with all this stuff once I get my closet organized?” A lot of the time—especially around the holidays—they decide to donate their extra clothes to those who need it most.

“Well, now that you’ve got a house, we can just have Thanksgiving at your place!”

These are the words every first-time homeowner loves—and dreads—to hear. On the one hand, congratulations: you’re an adult! On the other hand, it means all the preparation, planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning is up to you.

I see this all the time in the Bay Area, where as many as 42% of homeowners are first-time buyers. Becoming a homeowner is really exciting, but it also means learning how to host. The holidays, in particular, tend to bring with them a lot of overnight guests. You’ll need a place to put everyone where they’ll be comfortable without creating too much clutter.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but home prices in the Bay Area are among the highest in the country. What’s interesting to me about this is that the high home prices seem to be driving people to remodel, rather than move.

I recently worked with a couple who were planning a remodel of their small kitchen, which had a breakfast nook and an adjacent dining room. Their kids’ rooms were too small for desks, so the family used the dining room for homework and projects. When they wanted to have people over for dinner, they had to spend hours cleaning up all the school papers, textbooks, and clutter.

Working from home in the Bay Area sounds like living the dream, doesn’t it? My telecommuting clients tell me they enjoy a better work/life balance, avoid traffic, and generally feel more productive. I believe it, especially given that the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area came in first, nationally, for number of mega-commuters—people who travel at least 90 minutes and at least 50 miles each way for work. That’s a lot of time and stress most of us could do without.

A lot of the country sees Bay Area residents as tech-savvy nerds. And that’s often true. But we’re also huge sports fans. I can’t go into any client’s house without getting into a conversation about whether the Giants will continue their even-year streak, the Sharks will get into the Finals, the A’s will rebuild, the 49ers will get back to the playoffs, or, of course, whether the Warriors will even lose a game next year.

It was an exciting year for the Golden State Warriors (and the Sharks), even if we did come up short at the end. And it’s still a great time to be a Bay Area sports fan. We can keep rooting for the San Francisco Giants, and we’ve been lucky enough to have great teams across the board (Okay, football hasn’t been a strength lately, but the Raiders and 49ers are young teams with lots of potential).