Mid-Year Sea Pines Market Report:
For those of you who may have a particular interest in Sea Pines Plantation’s real estate market, check out our most recent, comprehensive market report about the state of real estate in Sea Pines. An on-line version is available for easy viewing at:

1. You may already know that there is such a device as a paint computer that "reads" an existing paint sample/chip and comes up with a "perfect" match by creating a combination of dye colors that will result in a gallon of paint that is, in theory, identical to the original sample. This is a brilliant way for getting paint that will match a faded color or fill the need when you can't find that old left over paint from the original paint job. My tip on this, though, is to enter this program with caution. While the concept is outstanding, the results can be varied. Before you go buying gallon upon gallon of the "matched" paint, try starting with a smaller sample and apply it to the desired area. Let it dry and live with it for a day or so to make sure that the match is really what you had in mind. Nobody's perfect - not even the paint computer.
2. A successful paint job hinges just as much, if not more, on the preparation as it does on the application. Masking tape is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't make friends with all surfaces. Be careful about applying masking tape to wallpaper and flat- paint surfaces. If left on long enough, the adhesive may end up removing small amounts of surface paint or surface paper, unnecessarily damaging what you were trying to protect in the first place. Shop around, as there are a myriad of styles, sizes and levels of adhesive for masking tape these days.
3. If you go through the effort (and sometimes agony) to select "just the right color" for your paint job, you want to make sure that your painter buys exactly that paint. Most painters have developed relationships with their favorite paint store, perhaps establishing volume discounts, etc.. Therefore, unless stipulated (and bearing in mind #1 above) painters might take your "just the right color" and have it "matched" at their preferred supply store. Well, this might be fine for ceiling white paint and low-variable colors, but just ask any paint representative if they think that a Pratt & Lambert paint color can be identically matched on a Pittsburgh Paint color-base or vice-versa. The answer is almost certainly going to be NO. So, if you really, really, really want and need to have that color dead on, then insist that your painter get the exact color name and number mixed under the same paint manufacturer name that you selected. This should lead to successful results.
4. This last one is a little personal, and I suspect that a lot of the guys out there can relate. But, just like a new car is sure to get a scratch much sooner than you'd like, it is only a matter of time before a freshly painted wall gets marred or scratched or - in my case - nailed. Accidents happen, sure, but as for purposefully-inflicted imperfections in a wall, those always seemed subject to a series of rules, guidelines and careful measurement before moving forward. Well, after 12 years of happy marriage, I have long-since given up on the notion that a wall- painting has one, perfectly-suited location on the wall. In my house, things tend to get moved around a lot, hung slightly off-center at times, suspended in a potentially-temporary location while being "lived with." It took me some time (years, in fact) to get comfortable with the idea that a freshly painted wall could be subject to multiple, seemingly haphazard nailings before paintings would find their ultimate "home." And yet, at the end of it all, I suppose that the whole point is that life is about experimenting, embracing change, seeking new looks, etc.. As a result, in our house, we have become pretty comfortable with picking up the hammer (or, in my wife's case, sometimes a nearby shoe) right after putting down the paintbrush and beginning the process of making the freshly painted wall, if no longer perfect, complete.

New Restaurant:
Trinity Restaurant and Bar! It is in the location of the former Rendevous restaurant and is co-owned by 3 young guys here on the Island. The chef was formerly at Bistro Mezzaluna and CQ’s. They have redone the inside to make it fresh and new, and yet they have kept many of the favorites from Serge’s menu from Rendevous. They have a large varied menu, including veal specials, duck and steak are offered as well as seafood and pastas and they offer some great happy hour specials each day. They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and during football season will have the NFL ticket. Happy hour is 5-6 p.m, and also from 4-8 p.m Monday thru Friday they have $1.00 off everything. One of the specials they offer is Veal Meatloaf, as well as Osso Bucco and many other meat and seafood dishes. The number is 785-5070