Blog Posts by Ilyce R. Glink

If you’re thinking about buying or refinancing a home and wondering how President Obama’s second term in office will affect future mortgage rates, here’s the short answer: It probably won’t.

Although mortgage industry experts speculated that four more years of an Obama administration would mean lower mortgage rates, whereas former Gov. Mitt Romney’s election would mean higher ones, their interest rate theories aren’t much more than guesswork, simply because of the limited influence that presidents have on mortgage rates.

“The guiding force on mortgage interest rates is the Federal Reserve,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “After two years of nonstop blathering, the talking heads on TV would like you to think the presidential election is all that matters, but it isn’t particularly important when it comes to the economy and interest rates. ...

“If we go into a recession, interest rates will move lower,” McBride said. “If the economy continues to strengthen,

If you’re retiring soon, this is the question you have to answer: Do I refinance before I retire, or continue to pay my current mortgage in retirement until I pay off my house?

While the answer varies based on your personal finances, a pre-retirement refinance is a great way to ensure you enter your golden years with your home loan financed at the lowest interest rates in history.

If you have the option to refinance, especially if your house is underwater (your house is worth less than the mortgage amount), you should go for it. And if you are able to refinance, there are some important reasons to do it before you leave the job market for good.

Lowering your monthly payment is one of the best ways to stretch your retirement budget. You’ll have more money to put toward discretionary expenses, and some of the cash you planned to use for mortgage payments can be reinvested into your retirement accounts or invested through non-qualified brokerage accounts.

You have a far better chance of

Stick to three simple pieces: a great bed and two nightstands, says Edyta Czajkowska. (Photo credit: Edyta & Co.)Your bedroom should be a retreat, a place to relax and escape the hassles of everyday life. But if your boudoir is small and cramped, it can feel more like a fugitive’s hideout than a calming hideaway.

Make the most of your scant square footage with these tips, direct from designers.

Choose furniture carefully

Chicago-based interior designer Edyta Czajkowska of Edyta & Co. says homeowners with small bedrooms shouldn’t crowd their spaces with too much furniture. Instead, stick to three key pieces: a great bed and two nightstands.

“In a small bedroom you should choose fewer yet larger pieces,” she says. “As a result, the bedroom looks grander and the eye focuses on the few select pieces rather than many small ones, which can make the room feel choppy and cluttered.”

To give your bedroom a focal point, Czajkowska suggests dressing up your bed with a large headboard. It anchors the room and creates visual interest without taking up valuable floor space.

Maximize your storage

Clutter is the

Say goodbye to crisp whites and neons; dark, cave-like spaces are on trend, says Tony Stavish. (Photo credit: A.W. Stavish Designs) Personal resolutions are a part of each new year. Instead of the same old promises to hit the gym and eat fewer cookies, make a change that you’ll stick to well past February 1.

Resolve to give your bedroom a fresh new look for 2013. Add designer touches to freshen up your space, rejuvenate your spirit and ring in the New Year in style.

Vintage romance

Karyn Musick, founder of Chicago-based interior design firm Divas N Design, anticipates the romantic vintage style making its way back into bedrooms.

“My clients have been very interested in tufted headboards and bed frames,” Musick says. “A lot of reclaimed, distressed wood seems to be trending to create that vintage style.”

Finish off the whimsical look by ditching the old standby ceiling-fan-and-light combo.

“Add a charming crystal chandelier,” Musick says. “It just adds that special touch.”

Metallics

Designer Edyta Czajkowska of Edyta & Co. says metallics are hot on the horizon for the new year. “They have fantastic reflective

(Photo credit, above and below: Lina Darnell)When you live in a small space, it’s important to put every nook and cranny of your home to good use. Whether you’re building out a workshop in your garage or using every square inch of your small kitchen, creativity is the key to making the most of your space.

A hideaway home office is a great option for homeowners with limited space, but it’s a fun addition to any house – big or small. Add it to a child’s bedroom or playroom as a designated craft space, or build out a closet in your kitchen to be used as an office when you work at home.

"Choose fun, clean colors to organize with," Lina Darnell advises.Once you’ve decided where to put your home office, it’s time to select a color palette. “Choose fun, clean colors to organize with,” says Lina Darnell, author of the Fancy Frugal Life blog. “I spray-painted many of my thrift store organizing tools white for uniformity.”

Darnell urges other DIYers to be creative and repurpose things already lying around the house. That way, “you won’t have to spend a ton of money to ‘organize pretty,’” she says.

After

This Moroccan-style headboard cost about $100 to create. You won't believe what it's made out of. (Photo credit: Kara Paslay)A beautiful headboard can make or break your bedroom design. It can create visual interest, tie together multiple elements and make a room look complete. Without a headboard, a bedroom can look empty – but so will your wallet if you purchase a headboard from the store.

Headboards are expensive, typically costing hundreds of dollars. Luckily, they’re also one of the most approachable DIY furniture projects. The options are endless and because of the simple construction, they are easy for new do-it-yourselfers to tackle.

Here are a few examples of what you can do with some creativity, the right materials and a little help.

This headboard is inspired by "Mad Men." (Photo credit: Jamie Antonioli)Tufted headboard

When Jamie Antonioli, a California photographer with a passion for DIY furniture, first saw a tufted headboard on the 1960s-set TV show “Mad Men,” she knew she had found her headboard.

“I saw the Drapers' turquoise tufted headboard and decided that I had to have one just like it,” Antonioli said. “I had just graduated from college, and was broke, so

Nearly every couple planning to have kids has the same conversation at some point: Do we raise our kids here, or move somewhere else? That’s especially true if you live in a big city, since the cost of living is generally higher and the quality of public education tends to be more varied.

According to Rent.com, which surveyed 1,000 parents from all over the country, 34 percent are raising their kids in the city and would do it again. Easy access to a wide variety of foods, people and art, combined with a more diverse population than most suburbs, are the main reasons most parents chose to stay in the big city.

The same survey revealed that 56 percent of parents are concerned with safety when it comes to raising kids in the city, and 23 percent of parents find city living cost-prohibitive. With those concerns in mind, Rent.com identified the top rental markets for raising a family based on inventory of apartments, cost of living, violent crime rate and graduation rate.

In alphabetical

(Photo credit: Shutterstock)Laundry rooms can be a challenge even you’re uber-organized. This very small and yet highly functional space is typically dominated by two very large appliances that are frequently used. But just as often, laundry rooms have other uses.

Making your laundry room as user-friendly as possible is difficult, but not impossible. Getting it right will make you feel as though you’ve added even more space to your home. Here are four ways to create a more useful laundry room:

1. Start with a clean sweep.

Oftentimes laundry rooms function as more than just a place to do laundry, so de-cluttering is the first step to getting organized. People tend to store extra household items such as paper towels and light bulbs in their laundry rooms, as well as cleaning supplies and extra towels or sheets. After going through all these laundry room residents, decide which should stay and which need to be moved to an alternate location.

2. To maximize the space in your laundry room, consider cabinets or