Introducing Diane Beal

Daytripping: The Industry’s Hard Floors: Holiday in Richmond 2018 Color of the Year Today’s Solid Choice MAGAZINE Celebrating the Region’s Most Influential Real Estate Professionals From Teaching Her Children to Educating Her Clients, She’s One Of Real Estate’s Brightest Cheerleaders Diane Beal REALTOR®, CSP, SRES A Conversation with This Dynamic Mother of Three And One of Williamsburg’s Superstar REALTORS®

DID YOU KNOW? A FEW FUN REAL ESTATE FACTS In Scotland, Warren Buffet Monica’s A couple sold apartment homeowners paint is one of the richest an acre of land in their front door red men in the world from “Friends” is North Carolina to when they pay off and he still lives in estimated to cost Apple for $1.7 their mortgage. the same house he $3,500,000. million. They paid bought for $31,500 $6,000 for it. 1 in 1958. The White House Aspen, Colorado The landmark is valued at $110 “Hollywood” sign million. has such high real estate prices that in originally read 2011, the cheapest “Hollywoodland” listing was a and was constructed $559,000 trailer. in 1923 as a publicity stunt to Builders in China sell real estate. are able to build a 30 story skyscraper in only 15 days!

WELCOME TO MAGAZINE Celebrating the Region’s Most Influential Real Estate Professionals DIANE BEAL REALTOR® CSP, SRES NEIGHBORHOOD Kingsmill SUPERPOWER Making things happen YEARS IN REAL ESTATE 20 years!! 3Rainmakers are selected based on their INSPIRATION 7 sales accomplishments earning them a My granddaughter, Merry spot among the top 20% of Liz Moore & Associates’ top performers. 5FAVORITE DESTINATION The beach...any beach! In addition to sales volume standards, Rainmakers share client-centric I LOVE TO... philosophies, a dedication to being masters of their craft, and a shop at consignment stores! commitment to giving back to the communities they serve. Diane was knowledgeable and honest about best ways I am thrilled to have been selected as the to increase marketability - featured Rainmaker for the month! and she did a great job staging the property. Diane Beal Angela Pisano 2

Rainmaker Spotlight: Opposite page, from the top: Celebrating the holidays with DIANE BEAL Liz Moore colleagues; with Jennifer Brown; playing “dress up” for a Liz Moore event; recognition at an annual retreat Diane Beal - a one-of-a-kind real estate professional! DIANE BEAL: Diane Beale is a friendly, enthusiastic woman who emits kindness A SUPERSTAR and care. Qualities found in great teachers, and REALTORS®. Before becoming a REALTOR® in 1997, Diane was a stay-at- FROM home mother of two boys and a girl, and a teacher. Her husband’s HOME SCHOOL career as a government contractor required him to relocate quite often. In an effort to keep the family together and minimize TO HOME SALES disruption to her children’s education, Diane home schooled her children as they moved around the country with her husband’s 3 assignments.

In 1994 her husband’s career brought the family to 4 Hampton Roads. “We loved the area,” says Diane. After living in the area for one year, her husband was offered a permanent position here and they decided to abandon previous plans to return to Austin, Texas and accept the job offer stay. “We love the history of this area,” says Diane. “History is a passion of mine and I was so excited when we first moved here! While teaching, I saturated myself and the kids with all the history in the area. I can feel the people who were here before us. I’ve lived so many places, and Williamsburg is unique.” After settling here, everything started falling into place. Her children started school at Hampton Roads Academy and Diane started working for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation giving tours. While searching for her own home, Diane found a REALTOR® and they ended up becoming close friends. “I learned so much about the area doing research when we were looking for a home,” said Diane. “My friend encouraged me to become a REALTOR® myself !” Diane took her friend’s advice and began as a builder’s agent. “All the doors were wide open and I was lucky, and rewarded for my hard work.” In the late 2000’s when the new home market took a dive, Diane’s resale and referral business exploded. That’s when she joined Liz Moore & Associates. Diane has certainly built a rapport with her clients earning her a 5-star rating on Zillow and over 100 glowing reviews. “Those reviews mean so much,” says Diane. “I love to hear that people appreciate what I do. It’s what keeps me going.” Diane keeps a huge inventory of furniture and accessories to stage her clients’ homes. “Staging is a big part of what I do and why I’m successful. Often, after I stage people’s houses they don’t want to move!” “There are a lot of similar qualities in teachers and REALTORS®,” says Diane. Her passion for helping others drove her to succeed as a teacher and continues to drive her successful real estate business. “The dedication required to succeed at both. Being a cheerleader in many different areas. But mostly it’s about gaining trust. I love what I do!”

HISTORIC The capitol city has so many wonderful holiday traditions to experience. BEAUTY Just 60 minutes up Interstate 64 will land you in Richmond’s historic BEDECKED IN downtown area filled with unique shopping, dining, and cultural LIGHTS WILL experiences that are always a delight. LURE YOU TO RICHMOND Something about these beautiful old, refurbished buildings decked out in their holiday best is alluring and downright magical. It’s impossible to list them all, but here are a few of our favorites you can experience in a day trip. Start your day with the indulgent Sunday Champagne Brunch at the five star Jefferson Hotel. The Jefferson Hotel welcomed its first guests in 1895 and has been dazzling visitors ever since with its luxury, breathtaking architecture, exceptional service, and fine dining. Brunch is served in The Jefferson’s beautiful rotunda lobby surrounded by marble columns and lavish decorations reminiscent of a bygone era of elegance. Each week the chef creates a unique, decadent menu featuring Virginia’s finest seasonal ingredients featuring champagne service, a raw bar, omelet and waffle stations, carving stations, countless desserts, and many other culinary treats. Reservations are required and brunches usually sell out well in advance so be sure to plan ahead. DAY TRRIPICPIHNMGOTNOD 5

A must see! The Nutcracker in the restored Carpenter Theatre in Richmond celebrates the season with lights at the the Dominion Arts Center in Downtown Richmond. Grand Illumination of the James Center. If brunch happens to be sold out, there is still much The production also shines brighter than ever before to enjoy at The Jefferson including abundant holiday with redesigned costumes and new scenery. decorations throughout the historic hotel including Nutcracker has become a Richmond tradition that hundreds of poinsettias, yards of garland and ribbon, must be experienced. thousands of twinkling lights, a grand holiday tree, and dozens of toy soldiers adorning the public End your day with wonder as you watch the city spaces. Afternoon tea is another fun way to enjoy the streets and skyline fill with the glow of twinkling decorations and grandeur of the hotel during the holiday lights during the 33rd Annual Grand season. Illumination of the James Center. High-rise office buildings are outlined in lights, along with the James Next experience the joy and delight of the holiday Center itself, illuminating the downtown area. classic ballet, The Nutcracker in a beautiful, historic theater with world-class dancers and musicians. A towering tree is decorated in lights, as are countless snowflakes that hang from tree branches, and The Richmond Ballet, accompanied by the mechanical reindeer decked in lights all decorate the Richmond Symphony, perform Winslett and grounds around the James Center. Musicians and Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker in the renovated choirs help celebrate the season and entertain the and restored Carpenter Theatre in the Dominion crowd as they count down to the Grand Arts Center located at 600 East Grace Street in Illumination. downtown Richmond. The festivities happen Friday, December 1st at First opened in 1928, the theater features state-of- 6pm at the James Center located between 9th – the-art lighting and acoustics while preserving its 12th Streets and Cary Street, but you can historic charm and beauty. Be sure to look up from experience the magic of the lights every evening, your seats and appreciate the newly installed fiber all season long. optic stars twinkling overhead in the repainted midnight sky ceiling! 6

THE Every year around the end of the year, paint manufactures, designers, fashion editors, INDUSTRY and printers all announce what they believe will be the color or colors of the upcoming FORECAST year. These selections are derived from many sources including art, architecture, FOR 2018 IS museums, gardens, travel, fashion, food, and cocktails; even pop culture, politics, DEEPER AND technology, and social issues can influence these color selections. BOLDER In 2016, simple, understated white hues like Benjamin Moore’s Simply White and COLORS Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster White that went with everything were trending, and are still great choices for a bright neutral paint. 7 In 2017, we saw a shift to darker neutral shades. Deep greyish blues and purples, along with some warm neutrals and even a bold yellow made the list. Shown below are the various 2017 paint colors of the year, from top to bottom: Shadow, from Benjamin Moore; Violet Verbena, from PPG Paints; Byzantine Blue, from Glidden; Cloudberry, from Olympic; Kettleman, from Kelly-Moore; Poised Taupe, from Sherwin-Williams; and Honey Glow, from Dunn-Edwards. The forecast for 2018 is even deeper and bolder colors. The Pantone Color Institute predicts intense colors over pastels for the coming year. “Intense colors seem to be a natural application of our intense lifestyles and thought processes these days,” says Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute executive director. One of the first companies to release their prediction was PPG Paints, who for the first time in history picked a black paint as their color of the year. PPG scribe named Black Flame as their Color of 2018 and they describe it as an “unprecedented, statement-making black with deep tones of indigo.” This dark shade evokes feelings of privacy and classic modernism. You can expect to see more announcements in the twilight color palette like dark blues, greens, and charcoal tones paired with the ever-popular warm neutrals like golden yellows and muted pinks. But you won’t only see dark hues in 2018. In Sherwin Williams’ Colormix® Forecast 2018, they predict next year will be about three bright color palettes which they've dubbed Unity, Connectivity, and Sincerity. All of these combinations are surprising and guaranteed to pack serious happiness into a room. Behr announced “In the Moment” as their 2018 Color of the Year. Behr says, “This cool, tranquil spruce blue is inspired by nature and is a soothing, restorative coalescence of blue, gray and green.”

Buyers can think about using these bold saturated The process of naming these colors in rigorous and colors in smaller doses, such as for an accent wall, in well thought out, often involving color specialists, a niche or on the ceiling only, rather than on all four marketing professionals, and lawyers to name a few walls in a room. Paint manufacturers also release of contributors. Where you once saw a shade named palette of several trending, complimentary colors Bright Red, today you'll see a similar red named every year, many of which include more neutral shades Heartthrob or Spirit Warrior. In today’s competitive of white, grey, and tan. paint market, manufacturers want consumers to connect with their colors. Color names can typically The Colors of the Year are a be divided into four categories: visual, geographical, statement on the trends of the emotional, and experiential. Studies have shown that moment and projected direction paint names are often the ultimate tie breakers with of the market. so many similar color choices on the market. Homeowners are in no way expected to change the So, next time you’re shopping for paint colors, color scheme of their home with each passing color consider what’s trending and how those colors and trend. Where these selections can be useful, however, names make you feel. Want to learn more? Log onto: is when there’s a particular color being touted that you really like. It becomes much easier to find furnishings ppgvoiceofcolor.com and decorative accessories that coordinate with the favorite hue because it's trending. sherwin-williams.com Another interesting aspect of the Color of the Year behr.com announcements are the names of the hues themselves. benjaminmoore.com THE 2018 COLOR OF THE YEARBlackSmoke- PPG’s 2018 Color of the Year 8

Hard flooring has been gaining in popularity for years, Engineered wood – This flooring uses a thin veneer of especially in the main living areas of homes. Hard real wood or bamboo over structural plywood, giving floors are easy to clean, hypoallergenic, and lend a sleek the appearance of solid wood at a more affordable beauty to your home. Changing your floor covering is price. It doesn’t wear as well as solid wood and some an update that will instantly modernize your home’s may be too thin to even refinish once. Installed cost: appearance while adding value and appeal. $4-$9 per square foot. There are many options when it comes to hard flooring: wood, laminate, vinyl, or tile. Thanks to Laminate – Constructed of dense fiberboard with technological improvements, faux finishes are more a photo beneath a clear-plastic protective layer, convincing than ever, and wood-look products are laminate can mimic nearly any flooring. The best gaining in popularity. With so many choices, where laminates resist scratching and discoloration from do you start? sunlight better than most wood. The perfection and New flooring is a big purchase, so budget is clearly a repetition of pattern can compromise the realistic factor. But you should also consider how much traffic appearance of what you’re trying to mimic. Floors and what kind of traffic your floors will endure - do can’t really be repaired and must be replaced once you have animals with sharp or thick nails, do you have the outer layer has worn through. Installed cost: $3 to children that ride vehicles or roll trucks across your $7 per square foot. floors? You should also consider how much sunlight and moisture your floors will weather. Vinyl – Easy installation and a vast selection of colors and designs make this a popular choice. Vinyl is also There are six main types of hard good at fending off dents scratches, discoloration, flooring options: solid wood, and stains. However, even the best products still look engineered wood, laminate, vinyl, like vinyl close up, and the top-of-line product can linoleum, and ceramic tile. cost as much or more than solid-wood and laminate. Installed cost: $2 to $6 per square foot. Solid wood – This timeless, classic material has a natural warmth and impressive wear resistance that can be Linoleum – Made of linseed oil and wood products, sanded and refinished several times. Solid wood may linoleum is a natural, resilient material offered in expand and contract with varying humidity levels and lots of styles and colors. However, resistance to wear, can dent and show wear easily, and fade from sunlight. scratches, and dents varies widely and it can also be Installed cost: $5-$10 per square foot. relatively expensive. Installed cost: $4 to $8 per square foot. 9 Ceramic Tile – This classic material resists moisture, wear, scratches, dents, and stains. Tiles can crack and grout can stain, and the hard surface often causes dropped cups and dishes to break more easily. Tile can be floated without the use of cement and grout, but that makes replacing cracked tiles even more difficult. Installed cost: $8 to $15 per square foot. With so many types of hard flooring to choose from, you’re sure to find a material to fit your lifestyle and your budget. Once you’ve selected your material, it’s important to choose a style that’s fashionable yet has classic staying power. Wood-look flooring – Wood-look tile, vinyl and laminate will continue to trend as products improve

HARD FALSOOOLRIDS:CHOICE in performance and appearance while offering more durability and a CHANGE YOUR more affordable price tag than hardwood. FLOORS FOR AN UPDATED APPEARANCE Wide plank flooring – Floor boards five inches or more in width are AND TO ADD considered “wide plank.” These wide planks are a throwback to rustic VALUE AND APPEAL cottages and colonial-era farmhouses, the wide planks also make rooms TO YOUR HOME look bigger. Longer and wider planks are rising in popularity as modern technology, and a variety of material choices, makes them 10 more readily available and affordable. Blonde flooring – Bright blonde wood and wood-looks are a new trend that is making spaces seem larger and lighter. Much like wall color, floor color can alter the perceived size of a space. Gray flooring – Gray is a neutral staple in realty, on both walls and floors. Gray floorcoverings are still new enough to be trendy but will soon become a classic. There are plenty of different, unique options trending that will likely stick around for years to come, which means your possibilities are endless. If you want something trendy that will last for the long haul, try going for large plank, blonde or gray wood/wood-look flooring.

WE AREBTEHHEINSDUTNHSHEIRNAEINMAKERS Brian Lytle, Esq. and the entire staff of Lytle Title are proud to support the exceptional real estate professionals who truly make a positive difference across our great region. And we are equally proud that these top agents put their trust in our team to successfully deliver a closing transaction experience that far exceeds the expectations of all parties involved. Congratulations, Diane! Lytle Title Close with Confidence Main Office/Oyster Point In Williamsburg In Newport News In Richmond Newport News 5350 Discovery Park Blvd. 749-A Thimble Shoals Blvd. 11449 Robious Road 11801 Canon Blvd, Suite 101 757.645.2168 Suites 1 & 2 804.594.5886 757.643.7899 757.240.4149