Homes in New England date back to the late 1600s. Some of these earlier, historic homes remain in good operating condition. Places like the Sarah Orne Jewett House, Castle Tucker, Gedney House and the Coffin House have become national landmarks. Four stories tall and large and expansive, covering several thousand square feet,these beautiful homes offered a glimpse into what lay ahead for housing in New England. Today, popular homes throughout the region, like those depicted below,continue to attract individual and family home buyers.

Historic to Modern New England Homes

Colonial homes in New England are large wood structures that are designed with lots of windows. Front sides on these homes are flat, absent shutters or eaves. Roofs on colonial homes are long and pointed at the top. These spacious residences offer lots of rooms, historic value and interior design options. A good way to distinguish your colonial home from other neighborhood colonials is by choosing a home that is painted in an appealing color.

Cape cods are seen throughout New England. A single walkway leads to the front porch, if the home has a porch, as not all cape cods have a front or back porch. Look for a chimney at the middle of the roof. It’s common to find shingle siding on a cape cod. These homes come with closed and open floor plans.

Georgian homes in New England are similar in style to colonial homes in that they are designed with a relatively flat front. Windows on these homes generally do come with shingles and are larger than those typically found on a colonial home. Another difference between a colonial and a Georgian home is the shape of the roof. Think of a triangle when envisioning the roof on a Georgian home.

Victorian homes are built with wraparound porches. Roofs on these homes are steep and multi-leveled. Some Victorian homes have one tall roof, its tip pointing toward the sky like a steeple. Other homes are built with two or more tall roof tops. It may be the expansive wraparound porches and multi-entrance ways into the homes that make these houses a win.

New England also boasts homes with contemporary or modern designs. Chic in style,these homes are constructed of field stone, wood or brick. They tend to be one level and uniquely shaped. As with historic designs, modern and contemporary homes offer lots of space and opportunity for you to exercise your interior design creative skill.

Major events that impacted America’s earliest beginnings happened in New England. One of the widest known and taught about events is the American Revolution. That period put cities like Boston and Lexington, Massachusetts and Groton, Connecticut at the forefront of American politics. It also helped to define early American culture. Homes early trendsetters, educators, business leaders, artists and activists lived in served as a model for future home builders. Popular New England homes continue to take on features found in some of the region’s early,popular homes.

When we decorate and organize our homes, few of us give more than a passing thought to the way our choices will affect our mood and behavior in our home. Most of us simply organize and decorate based on what we like on a whim.

There are, however, entire fields of study devoted to the way our environment affects us (environmental psychology), and ways we can engineer and design our environments to change our moods and behaviors.

If you’ve ever visited a big city like New York you will likely have noticed an example of this firsthand in city parks.

When you sit down on a park bench, you’ll likely find that it isn’t the most comfortable place to sit. There’s more than just a tight budget at play here. Many engineers who plan parks use the idea of “unpleasant design.” They create benches with the intention of dissuading people from lying down  the benches by making them curved or putting arm rests in the middle of them.

In the same way that a city park can be designed to affect your behavior, your home can as well. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how you can better arrange and decorate your home to have a positive impact on both your mood and behavior.

Organize to your advantage

Many of us think of our homes as the opposite of work--it’s a place we relax after a long day. However, there are a number of chores and tasks you’ll complete at home that can be optimally engineered to save you time.

One simple example is to think about the placement of the items you use in the kitchen. Is your trash can far from the countertop, requiring you to constantly walk away to toss out scraps?

A good way to find out the needless extra work you’re doing around the house is to take note of how you go about your daily routine. This will give you insight into areas where you might better use your time.

Declutter for productivity

Whether you work from home frequently or you just need a quiet place to do taxes or pay bills, a home office can be a good way to avoid distraction. That is, until you fill your home office with distractions.

When organizing your office, think about the content of it. For most people, a decluttered minimalist environment is most conducive to work. Leave out the television, keep your cell phone at bay, and don’t cover your desk in papers that you’ll constantly be rearranging.

Similarly, your computer needs to be tailored to productivity as well. We all know how tempting it is to head over to Facebook or Reddit when we should be focusing on work. A good way to help break this habit is to utilize a time tracking app that lets you know when it’s time for a break. Alternatively, you can use an extension or add-on for your browser that blocks sites like Facebook during the time you specify.

Colors matter more than you think

Each room in your home serves a different purpose. The kitchen is a place of activity and conversation, the bedroom is one of relaxation, and the home office one of focus.

Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the colors and brightness of the room we are in and our moods.

So, when you’re decorating a room in your home, think about the type of colors that fit how you would like to feel in that room.

Have you ever visited someone's home and thought to yourself, "Their living room seems really cluttered" or "Those counter tops look like they haven't been updated since the 1960s!"

Many people quickly notice decorating flaws or home maintenance issues in other people's houses, but when it comes to their own homes -- well, that's another story!

Why is that the case? Two reasons: You're emotionally attached to your own home environment and you're also "too close to the trees to see the forest." It's hard to step back and see your home through a fresh set of eyes -- which is exactly the way prospective buyers are going to look it.

Curb appeal -- or a lack, thereof-- will be the first thing they notice, followed by positive or negative first impressions of your home's interior -- if they get that far! So if you're preparing to put your home on the market, you don't want to be like the person who tries to represent themselves in court. As Abraham Lincoln once said, they have "a fool for a client!"

Since first impressions are so vital when selling your house, it makes sense to confer with someone who really knows the ropes when it comes to home staging. Typically, that would be one of the following professionals:

• An experienced real estate agent: Real estate agents are in the business of helping people sell their homes as quickly and profitably as possible -- it's a win/win situation. In all likelihood, they've conducted hundreds of house tours and listened to a massive amount of feedback from prospective buyers. One thing they've invariably noticed is that a lot of people react the same way to the same issues. Based on experience and a trained eye, most real estate agents can quickly spot and point out cost-effective ways to make your home more marketable and visually appealing.
• A professional home stager: Although not all communities have access to professional home stagers, there are talented and knowledgeable experts in that field who can offer valuable advice. If you're working with an experienced real estate agent, however, it probably would not be necessary to pay extra to hire a professional staging consultant.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median amount of money spent on staging a home is $675, so it doesn't necessarily have to be ultra-expensive. In a survey of its membership, Realtors ranked living rooms and kitchens as the most important rooms to stage. Also considered important are the master bedroom, dining room, and bathrooms.

Thirty seven percent of Realtors® representing sellers believe that buyers most often offer a 1 to 5 percent increase on the value of a staged home. A smaller percentage say the potential increase is in the neighborhood of 6% to 10%. However you look at it, you're tipping the scales in your direction when you make your home look its best prior to putting it up for sale.