Posts Tagged ‘Home Staging’
Portland Interior Designer Shares 5 Things to Change to Sell Your Home
Monday, April 4th, 2011
Okay, I am not going to launch into the misery of the housing market right now. What I will say is that competition is fierce for the sales being made. If you want your house to sell, you absolutely must do all you can to prepare your home to show it at its very best.
So what changes should you make to your property before you sell?
And what should you leave alone?
1. Kitchens: This is not the time to do a major kitchen remodel. You will not get your money out of it and it’s too late for you to enjoy the new kitchen. But you can make updates that count and will really appeal to buyers. Paint older wood cabinets that are too old to appeal to buyers looking for contemporary style and too new to appeal to buyers looking for historical properties. 1980′s oak is not vintage and it’s never coming back in style! White cabinets are more popular than ever, so painting your cabinets white is almost a no-brainer. If you have brass colored cabinet hardware or the hardware is cheap looking – replace it. Satin nickel or oil rubbed bronze continue to be the most popular and your choice depends on the rest of the kitchen finishes. Only replace the counter top or sink if they are in bad condition or not a neutral color. Remove wallpaper and paint a fresh, current color on the walls.
2. Bathrooms: Again, this is not the time to do a major remodel.. But you should update outdated bathrooms as much as possible. Attractive, up to date lighting fixtures and hardware are relatively easy upgrades that make a big difference. Again — get rid of brass and replace with satin nickel or oil rubbed bronze. It can also be worth it to replace the vanity and sink with a current style if yours is outdated or is in poor condition. Replacing a builder wall-to-wall plate glass mirror with a beautifully framed mirror is another simple and affordable upgrade that appeals to current buyers. Only re-tile the tub surround if the tile is in poor shape or not neutral in color. Remove wallpaper and paint a fresh color on the walls.
3. Flooring: If your carpeting is not a neutral color or it is worn out or stained you need to replace it – period. Do not even THINK about leaving it and offering a carpet allowance. The very sight of a worn, stained, or colored carpet is a deal breaker for buyers. The only buyer interested in a home with a worn, stained or colored carpet is a professional house flipper. They will scoff at your carpet allowance and offer you a low-ball price so low it will take you a week to get your jaw back up off of your worn, stained or colored carpet.
Kitchen Flooring especially takes a beating. It is often a different flooring than the rest of the house, so replacing it can be affordable and go a long way toward making the kitchen feel new and fresh.
4. Entry: Your front door needs to look wonderful! Remove screen or storm doors from your front door. If your door is a beautiful one that is just in need of paint or stain, then freshen it up that way. But if you have a front door that doesn’t even look pretty painted, it is worth it to install a new front door. Check out this blog I wrote to see before and after photos that show just how big of an improvement a beautiful front door can make.
New Front Door & Exterior Paint Color Selection: Just Two Changes Make a Huge Difference
5. Paint: Remove wallpaper, and paint any room that has beat up looking paint or that is a color which will not have wide appeal to buyers. It does not matter how tasteful – cheerful – cute – beautiful – vintage – _________ (insert your glowing adjective here) you think your wallpaper is. Having wallpaper — ANY wallpaper — will seriously reduce the percentage of buyers that will consider buying your house.
Is the exterior paint on your house in poor shape or a dated color scheme? Tan with forest green trim? Dark brown with tan trim? White with brown trim? Or perhaps a strong color? Bright yellow? Bright blue? Then you need to paint your exterior also. Exterior paint colors can be tricky to select. A a paint color consultation will help you get it right the first time. When I give exterior paint color consultations I take into consideration any stone or brick on the house, your roof color, and the neighbors’ house colors to be sure that yours will look attractive.
For a little help on interior paint colors to select when selling your home check out this blog I wrote.
Paint Color to Sell Your House: It Isn’t White!
Tags: Bathroom, color, Design Tips, Flooring, Home Staging, home staging portland, Kitchen, Lighting, paint, portland home staging
Posted in Bathroom, Colors, DIY, Design Dollars, Design Tips, Flooring, Home Staging, Kitchen, Lighting, Mistakes: Avoiding & Fixing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Portland Interior Designer’s Top 10 Tips to Make Your Small Space Look BIGGER: part 2
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Are you selling a small home that is vacant? There is a bonus tip at the end of this article just for you!
Have you moved into a small home, either because you’ve downsized or it is what you felt was best for your budget? If it’s feeling a little claustrophobic, it doesn’t have to be that way. Click here to read Part 1: Top Ten Tips To Make Your Small Space Look BIGGER!
6. Paint Color Tricks of the Trade: Lighter and cool, soft colors like pale aqua, pale blue or pale green all tend to recede and help make a small room feel larger. Conversely, vibrant warm colors like red or orange, advance and feel closer to you, so opt for lighter, cooler colors. Painting adjacent rooms in the same color makes them feel visually more like they are part of the same room. This is especially effective if you have open entryways between the rooms.
7. Monochromatic Color Palette: A serene, monochromatic color palette will go a long way toward making a room feel larger. Highly contrasting color schemes and lots of pattern tend to make the room feel smaller. This doesn’t mean you have to make everything beige! Not by a long shot! Look at these three rooms in shades of lavender, aqua and neutrals.
Besides a monochromatic color palette, the lavender room above also employs a see through coffee table and a minimum of furnishings. Notice there are no side tables. The floor to ceiling curtain panels make the most of the ceiling height and pull all the way back from the windows to expose the entire view.
Although I would like to see all the clutter off the floor, this small room is enhanced by the shades of aqua.
Notice that the single large painting makes the space feel big even though it just accommodates a loveseat and two smaller chairs. The side chair and coffee table are not bulky and have long legs, allowing you to see the floor. Notice also that the pattern on the rug is on the diagonal.
8. Move Away From the Wall: When furniture is all pushed back against the wall, it feels like they are lined up like prisoners in front of a firing squad. Whenever possible, create furniture groupings that are away from the walls and that leave room to walk around them. Keep natural traffic patterns clear and avoid placing the back of a sofa toward the entry. It feels like a barrier to entry and immediately psychologically shrinks the room. In super tiny rooms, you may not be able to group furniture away from the wall, but might be able to angle a loveseat in a corner. This is another great trick to making a room feel a little bigger by directing the eye along the diagonal, which is the longest line in a room.
9. Light Expands Space: A well lit room always feels bigger. Maybe it’s because you can actually see the whole room! Provide lighting in all 4 corners. To preserve precious floor space, consider using track lighting, wall sconces or table lamps instead of floor lamps. Accent lamps pointing upwards and torchiere style lamps wash the ceiling with light and make the most of the volume of the room.
10. Stealthy Secret Storage: Clutter is the nemesis of a small room. But you do have “stuff” and need to keep it somewhere! Choose closed storage over open front storage to keep a room serene. A book case with doors will hide paperbacks & other less attractive belongings. Think floor to ceiling and wall to wall when building in storage units. The long lines don’t break up the room and give you maximum storage space. Find secret spaces like a storage ottoman to keep extra items. Entertainment units that hide all of your dvd’s, cords and audio-visual equipment are a blessing to the small room.
Bonus Tip!! Selling a Small Vacant Home: If you are selling and your property is small and presently vacant, this tip is just for you. PUT FURNITURE IN THE HOUSE!! It is absolutely true that a tiny room will look bigger when furnished than it does empty. If you are looking at the small rooms and worried that they will look crowded with furniture — potential buyers will be worrying about the same thing. A professional home stager — ME of course 
— will use all of the above tips to furnish your property so buyers will see that it can look beautiful and that furniture fits with room to spare.
For more help with any of these tips for making your small space look and feel bigger, call me today to set up an in home consultation. You’ll be on your way to getting the Look of Large! 503.816.4394
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Tags: aqua, Art, chair, coffee table, Decorpad, Design Tips, Flooring, Home Staging, Jeffrey Bilhuber, lavender, Lighting, monochromatic. colors, paint color, Rafael de Cardenas, small space, storage
Posted in Colors, Cool Ideas, DIY, Design Tips, Furniture, Home Staging, Interior Design, Lighting, Living Room, Space Planning, Storage Solutions, Top Ten, Uncategorized, Window Treatments | 2 Comments »
What Do Home Staging and Online Dating Have in Common?
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Lately, speaking to many of my home staging clients, I find that the HGTV version of staging has really confused and distorted the idea of what staging is all about in real life. It is NOT about ripping out walls and doing a full kitchen remodel in 2 days. It is NOT all about putting phoofy trays on the bed with a split of champagne and a copy of Gone With the Wind. So what is staging, really? – and why do it? – and how?
Simply put: Home Staging is the thorough preparation of your property within your means and time frame to show it in it’s best light and make it appeal to the greatest number of people possible.
Okay, that was accurate, but boring, so here’s the more imaginative way of explaining staging.
Imaginatively put: Home Staging is like online dating for houses.
That might sound a little crazy, but it’s a better analogy than you might think.
The way people shop for houses has changed drastically in the past few years. Eleven years ago when my husband and I were looking for a home, our broker decided which homes to show us and our first view of them was when we pulled up in front. Fast forward to four years ago, when my husband and I were again looking for a home — I went online to look before ever contacting a broker. I skipped past anything that didn’t have several photos that looked great. I sent my broker a list of properties I wanted to see and that’s where we went. Any house that only had one photo or had poor photos didn’t stand a chance.
So this is where the “online dating” similarity comes in. If you were going to join one of those websites, sure, you could put up a blurry photo taken one day when your hair was a mess, you hadn’t shaved or applied make-up (pick your gender) and your shirt had a spaghetti stain down the front — but do you think you’d get any calls? NO! People skip right past the ugly ones. And even if you do show a nice picture of your face, but then when your prospective date meets you in person, they find you wearing a leather fringed vest with flower print, bell-bottom pants from the 80″s — or just as bad, they find you to be completely vacant and without charm — do you think the meeting will last past the first drink? Again, NO!
If you want to get calls, you’ll fix yourself up to look your best, and splurge on a professional portrait. That’s what will get you the best shot at getting calls in the first place. And on those first dates, you’ll want to dress up in the most flattering outfit you can and be your most inviting and charming self. Do that and you have your best shot at finding “the ONE”!
Exactly the same principle for houses! You need to have your home staged beautifully so that it looks it’s very best in the photos in the first place. Have a pro take the photos too so that they really stand out from the competition. And once a potential buyer makes the decision to see your property based on the photos, when they arrive, it needs to be in tip-top shape, looking fresh and up to date. Vacant white rooms are completely lacking in any charm!
And just how do you stage the property in the first place? Here are a few of my most popular articles from the past year on home staging.
People will just drive right past if your house doesn’t look good on the outside. The changes can be simple but have a lot of impact. The house in this article could use just a bit more landscaping, but look at how much they did with just two changes!
Just Two Changes Make All the Difference
You’ll want to have your home freshly painted – but don’t go for white walls throughout. It’s cold! Read this post to get color ideas.
Paint Color to Sell Your Home: It Isn’t White!
People want light and bright homes. Here are some tips about windows.
A Room With a View
Here is a success story about how home staging helped sell this home in ONE DAY!
Success Story: Home Sold In One Day in THIS MARKET! – See How
I hope these articles put you on the path to staging your home beautifully for sale. It can be hard to see your own home through a stranger’s eyes though, so if you want help with it, I’m just a phone call away!
Oh, and by the way — NONE of the people in the photos above were on an online dating site. I just liked their headshots, so don’t ask me for their phone numbers ;0)
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Tags: hgtv, Home Staging, home staging portland, professional photos, professional staging
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Home Staging Portland Style: Tips For Pet Owners, Part 2 – Making It Easier
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
In part one of this article, I focused on your pet’s safety and well being during the marketing of your home. If you want to be sure that your furry family members survive and thrive during the marketing of your house, please read Home Staging Portland Style: Home Staging Tips for Pet Owners, Part 1 – Pet Safety.
Those of us with pets have special challenges when it comes to making sure our homes are clean, odor free and ready to show at a moment’s notice. Not everyone loves animals the way we do. Some have allergies and nobody likes pet odors! So, although you will do more work than most sellers in preparing your home for sale, and you’ll have to stay on top of odors, pet hair, pet dishes & beds daily, the following advice from a professional home stager who owns 2 dogs and 6 cats will help make the process as easy as possible.
First, buy all new pet beds and make sure you buy ones that have easily removable covers for laundering. Pet beds get smelly over time, so rather than fighting to get an old bed clean, just do yourself a favor and start with fresh new beds. Throw the covers in the wash weekly to keep them clean. That may seem excessive, but many people are highly allergic to pet hair and dander, so washing weekly not only keeps them odor free, but helps to assure that a potential buyer doesn’t have an allergy attack halfway through the house.
Vacuum daily while your home is on the market. Use one of the vacuums that has a hepa filter. As well as the rugs, vacuum your upholstered items,the pet beds and any curtains that collect pet hair as your animals brush past them. I actually bought one of the iRobot brand Roomba automated vacuums. I am amazed how much that helps to keep pet fur at bay, although it does need to be emptied often. I also chose to keep protective blankets on upholstered pieces that were favorite sleeping spots, (for the pets — not me) only removing them when we put the cats and dogs into their dog run and cattery. I laundered them regularly.
Pet beds need to be out of sight during showings. I have big dogs with big dog beds. I slide my dog beds underneath my own bed where they cannot be seen. If yours won’t go under the bed, or you have a platform bed and they would be visible, then buy a large plastic crate with a lid into which you can toss the beds, blankets, & toys and set the whole business inside a closet. It’s fast and helps to seal away pet hair. You can do the same with an attractive chest which can remain in the room. Fast & easy! For smaller pet beds, think about hiding them in plain sight. Take a look at some of the ideas in these photos. If the entry holes are simply facing to the side or back, nobody has any idea they are pet beds, so you don’t have to worry about hiding them before showings. In fact, these are great ideas for incorporating your pet’s belongings into your home decor even if you aren’t selling your home. I love the contemporary walnut pet bed. And the little doggie murphy bed is a great idea! Click on the photos for their sources.
Empty cans of wet cat or dog food smell horrible. Even to me, a big-time pet lover. Rinse them thoroughly before throwing them in your indoor recycle bin, and remove them to your outdoor recycle bin as soon as possible. Remove all trash & recyclables to outdoor containers each morning when you leave the house.
Pet food bowls should not be left out in the house for showings. Having a dog run or an outdoor cattery gives you a place to keep water and/or food available. To make things easier for myself while my home was on the market, I used paper plates to feed our cats their canned food because I could just toss the used plates in the garbage and I took our garbage out daily. This saved me time washing their bowls and putting them away. You can also put clean pet bowls in a plastic crate with a lid, along with toys & blankets to get them out of sight quickly. By the way, the paper plate idea did not work for my big dogs — they tried to eat the plates, ripping them to shreds. Big mess!
Litter boxes need to be scooped relentlessly. To make it as convenient as possible to keep them scooped, I kept a container right next to each litter box with plastic grocery bags and a scooper inside. If your container is attractive looking, nobody will know what is inside. This made it quick and easy to scoop out the litter box with the supplies right at hand. I just drop the scooped litter into the plastic grocery bags, tie them shut and take them directly to the outside trash. The container with bags & scooper can quickly be placed inside a cabinet or closet if it isn’t attractive. Also, providing the type of litter boxes with lids will keep you from having to do so much sweeping of litter kicked out of the box. Some of them also have a filter in the top to help absorb odors.
You will also want to place litter boxes so that they are not in view even though you have the odor completely handled. One great solution is to keep the litter box in your garage and install a cat door so your cat can get to the litter box. I’ve also used a decorative free standing screen in a corner to hide a litter box from view. The photo below shows one of my favorite solutions to hiding a litter box. This is made from an Ikea chest with a hole cut in one end. It has enough room to house the litter box, plus the clean up tools and other cat items. The open grid design means there is light and ventilation inside for the cats. As long as the litter box is kept clean, nobody will have any idea what it is for. Doubles as a bench too! Other photos show cabinets turned into places to hide beds or litter boxes. Although the skirt around the sink is a little funky for my taste, it could work in a tiny apartment if other options aren’t possible. Besides, I couldn’t resist the picture of her cat “Tony” sitting in the sink. Very cute! Click on the individual photos for sources & details.
(Oh yeah, these photos are NOT from homes that were professionally staged, so you still need to lose the clutter on top of the cabinets and keep the toilet lid down.)
It’s essential to be sure that carpeting does not have any pet odor or stains. If your pet has had an “accident”, the most effective enzyme action odor neutralizer I have used is called “Stink Free”. Great name, huh? This is great for a minor spot here or there. But if you have very much staining & odor, remove the carpet & pad from the affected rooms. Instead of re-carpeting, It would be best to put flooring in such as wood, laminate or tile, that can be easily mopped up in case of any new accidents. Don’t even consider leaving the carpet in and giving a “carpet allowance”. Anyone detecting the odor or stains from pet urine will run, not walk, out of your house.
Outdoor dog runs and catteries still need to be kept clean. Keep a poop scooper, rake, shovel, & trash can right there for quick and easy clean-up. Having a surface that can be hosed down to wash away urine will also make it easier to keep it clean, healthy for your pets and odor free.
I know this sounds like a lot of work — and it is. Been there, done that, bought T-shirt! But having this all organized efficiently and staying on top of it daily will make the whole process easier. In no time at all your house will be putting it’s best foot paw forward and you and your critters can move on to a new and wonderful home!
This post got “4 paws up” from Shirley, Izzy, Leeloo, Bubu, Buzzy Max, Suki G, Zipper Jane, and Otto!
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Tags: carpet, Home Staging, ikea, pets
Posted in Cool Ideas, DIY, Home Staging, Pets At Home, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Home Staging Portland Style: Tips For Pet Owners, Part 1 – Pet Safety
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Tips to Help Your Pets Survive and Thrive While Selling Your Home
Here in Portland, Oregon we love our animals! That’s clear from all the “couture” pet accessory stores & doggie day-care centers sprouting everywhere, and even the wonderful “Lucky Lab” neighborhood brew pub with it’s great covered patio where you can hang out and relax with your dog. But when it comes to selling your home, suddenly our beloved four-legged friends become pariahs in their own homes. I have seen the topic of staging a home for sale when you are a pet owner addressed many times. But the article is always about eliminating odors and hiding the pet beds, dishes & toys. One thing I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone address is your pet’s safety and well being during the time your home is on the market. So, Part 1 of this post is about assuring your pets survive and thrive during the marketing of your property giving you peace of mind. Part 2 is about making it as EASY as possible for a pet owner to show their home in it’s best light.
When your home goes on the market, strangers will be coming through – we hope! Having strangers in your home and yard when you aren’t there can be very stressful for your pets and there’s the potential of your pets accidentally getting loose. Although I find most people to generally be courteous and considerate when touring homes, there are few who will make a mad dash to capture a cat or dog that bolted for the door the instant it opened. Also, when a buyer is viewing a property, there’s a lot to capture their attention and they aren’t familiar with all the tricky bits of your latches & locks. It’s very possible that a back yard gate does not get latched properly. I don’t know about you, but my dogs are always testing the boundaries for any possible weakness in perimeter security and would nose it open the instant they thought the coast was clear and be off like a shot. Sometimes potential buyers bring children with them to view the home and your pet can be a real attention magnet. Your pet may be the gentlest and most tolerant animal, but there’s no guarantee that the kids have learned to be gentle. Best to keep your pet out of possible harm’s way.
My first choice for keeping your pets safe is to remove them from the home for all showings. If you are home almost all of the time, this is pretty easy. Have your dog leashes and cat carriers at the ready. Load everyone into the car and make your escape before the buyers get there.
If you work and cannot drop everything to run get your pets when a showing comes up, how can you protect your pets? Here are a few ideas.
DOGS:
My first choice & easiest solution, if you have the funds, is to drop your dogs off at a doggie day-care center on your way to work. Your dog will have fun romping with other dogs all day and you’ll rest easy knowing there’s no chance of your dog getting let out of the yard or having his tail pulled. One recent client of mine lived near her parents, so her dog got dropped off at “grandma’s” every day. Great solution! Buyers will feel more relaxed viewing your property because they aren’t worried about keeping your pet where it’s supposed to be, nor are they worried about being jumped on or bitten.
My second choice for your dogs. Create a dog run, preferably away from your house. When I had to sell my home four years ago, I didn’t have a dog run. Our dogs lived in the house with us, and had full run of the fenced yard. So, when I knew we were putting our house on the market, we fenced off a lower portion of our yard several feet away from the house. Buyers could see the entire yard from the top level, so there was no need for them to go into the fenced off area. The dogs were safe from anyone viewing the house and people didn’t feel threatened by the dogs. There is a lot of good info online about creating a dog run that is safe and healthy for them. When you create your dog run, I recommend either using slightly raised wood decking or synthetic turf on the ground so that it doesn’t turn into a mud pit. Both solutions look great, and are easy for you to hose down. I am including some photos of very nice dog runs. Shelter from sun and rain will keep your dog comfortable in any weather. An extra tall fence will keep kids and grown-ups alike from reaching in to disturb your dog. A nice soft bed and enough room to run around and play lets you feel good about keeping your dog here while you work.
If you live in an area that gets exceptionally cold or snowy, here’s a great idea! My next door neighbors have created an indoor/outdoor dog run by putting a dog door in the side of their garage and actually have fenced off a portion of the inside of the garage where they keep the dog’s beds & water. So, the dogs have access to warmer indoor shelter directly from their outside dog run. You can also buy dog house heaters and outdoor heated kennel pads for use during winter. Use a little creativity and go the extra mile to make the dog run look attractive. It could be a nice bonus selling feature if your buyer has a dog. Blending fencing materials with the style of your home enhances your home instead of creating a visual eyesore or distraction.
CATS:
If you’re a cat owner, I’m sure you’ve noticed your cat’s lack of enthusiasm when it comes to going for a ride! So although there are perfectly nice cat kennels that are great for caring for a cat while you are on a vacation, the stress to the cat of being driven somewhere everyday may make this not such a great solution in your cat’s opinion.
So,here’s my first choice for cats. Build an outdoor “cattery”! This is like a dog run, but it has a full ceiling since cats are waaaay better at climbing than dogs. We have six cats and at my last home my husband and I created a cattery on the side of the house where most people would have put their trash cans, etc. We did this years before we sold our home because we lived on a busy road. It provided a safe haven for them to play outdoors. Our cattery was pretty similar to the photo on the right, except we didn’t have a wood floor. We had lots of plants, fresh bark mulch, a tree for shade, garden sculpture and a small fountain for lovely sound. We did our best to make it look as much like an enclosed garden as possible. It was actually very pretty. The whole side of the house was still visible to potential buyers, and they didn’t have to open any doors that might have let our cats escape. The cats had plenty of room to play, shelter from the elements, comfy spots to sleep, and we kept it meticulously raked and clean so there was no odor problem. Whenever we left, the cats went into the cattery. Outdoor heated pads are also available for cats. With a little design savvy, a cattery can be quite nice. I love the one below, left. Very contemporary style!
Because we had the dog run and the cattery, all pet food bowls were kept out there, not in the house, so they had access to food & water with no cat or dog food smells in the house.
If you don’t have space for an outdoor cattery, and it is essential that your cat does not get out of the house, then my second choice for cats, is to have a large crate or cattery in the garage, or (less desirable) a spare room. Again, it should look as nice as possible and be kept meticulously clean. Keep in mind that some people are super allergic to pets, so having them out of the living areas of the house for all showings is really desirable. This is why my first choice is to have these enclosures outside of the house, and second choice is the garage, with last choice actually being inside the house,
If you cannot provide a cattery for your cat, then it’s a good idea to have a kitty door that uses a cat collar with a signal so that only your cat can enter and it can also get back in if someone accidentally lets it out. If your kitty is an indoor/outdoor cat normally, then having a cat door will assure that your cat can go about it’s routine pretty much undisturbed.
So, to sum it up, for your pet’s safety and well being, and because of buyers’ potential for leaving a door or gate ajar, their fear of animals or allergies, the ideal plan is to have your pet in a safe, secure, and comfortable location outside or away from the house.
Pet owners have some extra challenges when it comes to keeping their homes show-ready. Please read part 2 for the EASIEST ways to keep your house looking and smelling it’s very best while living with pets.
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Tags: cats, cattery, dogs, Home Staging, pets
Posted in Cool Ideas, Home Staging, Pets At Home, Uncategorized | No Comments »
2010 Distinct Style Awards Winner!
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
I am so honored to have been chosen as the 2010 Distinct Style Awards Winner for “Best Home Staging Design”.
Last Saturday night the first annual Distinct Style Awards, introduced by the Interior Design Society of Portland, honored winners in six design categories. Open to all interior designers and home staging professionals working in the Portland metro area, 124 entries were received and judged by a panel from the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Interior Design Society.
It was exciting to win an award and also wonderful to see my colleagues winning awards for their fabulous residential interior design projects. I was in very good company!
The winners …
Best Home Staging Design – Pangaea, Pangaea Interior Design
Best Use of Color - Teri Peck
Best Redesign – Nicole Rivlin, Redesign Works
Best Kitchen Remodel – Jason Ball, Jason Ball Interiors
Best Bath Remodel - Susan Nicholson
Best Living Space – Leslie Minervini, Minervini Interiors
Best in Show - Leslie Minervini, Minervini Interiors
Tags: award, Distinct Style Awards, Home Staging, IDS, Interior Design Society, portland home staging, Residential Interior Design
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Portland Home Staging Tip #1: A Room With A View
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Welcome to the first in a series of tips, advice and secrets that professional Home Stagers use.
Home Staging Tip #1:
Clear Those Windowsills!
I often go into homes that have lofty, vaulted ceilings and lovely high clerestory windows that follow the angled lines of the ceiling … only to see the view of the sky cluttered up with lines of sporting trophies, glass bottles filled with colored water, collections of ceramic tchotchkes … you name it. Then I move to the kitchen and see that windowsills are dotted with tiny potted plants, jars, candles and so on. Bathroom windowsills sprout a tacky little row of roll-on deoderants, lotions & tiny air fresheners. In fact, I have been in homes where it seems that every window in the house has something sitting on the sill, or if not on the sill, then one of those little (or giant) light catchers applied to the window with a rubber suction cup. Oh, yeah! Gorgeous!
I do get the magnetic attraction of the horizontal surface. My husband and I cannot seem to keep any table, counter, or flat railing wider than 4 inches free of objects for a period of 24 hours. But considering how much we want light, I cannot understand this penchant for sitting things on windowsills. Any objects sitting in your windows are going to reduce the light. Little objects in the windows stop your eye, therefore interfering with the view. It is clutter!
I have exactly one exception to the “nothing-on-the-windowsill-rule”, and that is a LIVE CAT. No matter how many times you remove a cat from the windowsill, it will sneak right back up there … hopefully knocking all the other little tchotchkes to the floor.
So, be brave … repeat after me … “A windowsill is not a display shelf” … and put all that stuff away or in packing boxes. It may seem empty for a day or two, but soon you’ll look at the window and suddenly see …
THE VIEW
Tags: Design Tips, Home Staging, home staging portland, portland home staging, windows
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Paint Color to Sell Your Home – It isn’t White!! – Portland Home Stager Shares Paint Color Tips
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
For decades, when you got ready to sell your house, the conventional wisdom was to paint all the walls back to white. But that is SO yesterday! White …. the color of snow & ice … does absolutely nothing to warm up a house. It doesn’t highlight architectural features and it doesn’t enhance the colors of your wood, granite or other finishes. To sell your property today, it’s best to use soft warm decorator colors that are current. That way they not only look beautiful in the home, but will go with the existing furnishings of your prospective buyers and remind them of the beautiful new furnishings and colors they have been eyeing at the stores in anticipation of their new home.
A professional paint color consultation will help you paint out the colors that turn buyers off and select ones that appeal to them.
Accent Walls: Do you know which walls should be accented? Where should the accent color start and stop? An accent wall can create or enhance a focal point or it can highlight architectural interest. It might be the wall with the fireplace, built in shelving, or the wall that soars up two stories. Selecting the wrong wall for your accent can pull focus away from important features of your house or even make a room feel unbalanced, which most people sense as a vague feeling of discomfort in the room, even if they can’t put their finger on why it feels that way.
Red Walls: I’m afraid that the news here is you need to paint those out! Although many people like to paint dining rooms red, and I see them all the time, red walls stop most buyers in their tracks. Any broker will tell you … well, they’ll tell you if they aren’t afraid of losing your listing by offending you … that they get negative feedback when showing properties that have bold red walls of any shade. Red is a tough sell. Why leave something in your home that has the potential to turn off so many people? When I stage a home, I can mitigate some of that impact through the use of art and accessories … but doing both the painting and the staging will give you the most attractive results.
The same goes for any bright, bold or “too deep” colors. If the color names “sunny yellow” “hunter green” “peach” “federal blue” “maroon” or “burgundy” can be used to describe any of your rooms, then a paint color consultation is in your future.
Even though guests in your home over the years “always say they love my: bright yellow kitchen, red dining room, hunter green family room, _________” (fill in the blank with your personal boldly colored room) don’t fool yourself into thinking that means the colors can stay. The problem here is that when guests come over they aren’t thinking of living in your house! I, too, would have to paint out my own beloved accent walls if I put my house on the market. So, don’t take it personally, it has nothing to do with having good or bad taste. It’s all about wide appeal.
The “Right” Colors: If I could tell you here the exact colors to use, I would do it … but it isn’t that simple. When I choose paint colors for a property going on the market, I look at the wood tones in floors, cabinetry, doors & moldings, and also consider any finishes such as granite colors, fireplace stones, carpeting, tiles, amount of light and exterior house colors as well. The colors of the house should flow from the outside to the inside and the colors in all rooms should work well enough together (not change radically) so that as you walk through the property, you always feel you are in the same house.
Colors that are soft and a little “smoky” or “creamy” work better than very pure colors. Think of colors like toast – caramel – taupe – sage & muted water colors.
Finishes: The right finish – satin – eggshell – flat – will make a difference too. In general flat, or matte finishes are very forgiving if your walls are not in perfect condition. They also look the most “true” to color because they don’t reflect a lot of light. Satin or eggshell finish paints have a little more of a sheen to them. They show imperfections in the walls so you need to prep your walls more carefully. They are very good for kitchen & baths where the walls may need to be cleaned more often. Use semi-gloss for moldings. High Gloss paint is generally best for painting cabinetry.
Sustainable: Remember to select paints that are “Green” — no I don’t mean the color! There’s just no good reason not to use paints with zero or low VOC’s. They are readily available and only run about $5 more per gallon than the ones with the nasty chemicals. Your prospective buyers will be happy that they don’t smell your new paint, and most of them will consider it a positive point about your property. Devine Color and Yolo Colorhouse are two locally produced, eco-friendly paint lines and I recommend them both! The paint color samples at the top of this post are from Devine Color. Both brands are sold at Powell Paint Center in Portland.
If you are in the Portland area and are getting ready to sell, call for your professional paint color consultation! Or, if you just want to freshen up your home, then a paint color consultation can help you select the right colors for your personal taste and style. Call today at 503.816.4394
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Tags: color, Devine Paint, Home Staging, paint, Powell Paint Center, staging tips, Yolo
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Home Staging in Portland Pearl District & South Waterfront Lofts & Condos
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
My favorite jobs are the ones providing home staging in Portland’s Pearl District and South Waterfront Lofts, Condos & Penthouses.
I love these condos and lofts for their floor to ceiling windows and open floor plans. If you saw my post about “Little Boxes on the Hillside”, then you already know that one of the challenges to selling these lofts and condos is making them stand out from their competition.
When you are ready to list your loft or condo in the Pearl District or South Waterfront, look at the other listings already in your building.
- ** Are they vacant or occupied?
- ** Are they re-sales or still new?
- ** How do they compare in amenities? Floor plan? Upgrades to finishes? Their view?
This is your competition. All of the buyers wanting to purchase a loft or condo in the Pearl District or South Waterfront know that there are many to choose from and they are comparing your listing with all the others available. Did you know that over 84% of people looking for homes will look at properties on the internet before they ever call their broker to go look? They have a list of properties they want to see ready before they ever get in their car — or on the MAX — to go look. If you are in a high-rise condo, there are no “FOR SALE” signs outside your place attracting interest, so what is going to get them to come look in the first place? It’s your listing photos. It is essential to professionally stage your condo or loft in the Pearl District and South Waterfront and have professional quality photos taken in order to stand out from all the other condos on the market in your area. In these two sets of before & after photos, which condo would you take the time to go see if you were shopping?
Speak with your broker and find out who is in your “target market”.
- ** Are they younger and single?
- ** First time buyers?
- ** Do they work out of their homes?
- ** Have children?
- ** Older and more established?
- ** Is this likely to be a second vacation home?
Hire a home stager who offers the right look and feel for the Pearl District or South Waterfront. A stager who understands the tastes and needs of your target market will do a better job of tailoring the staging to appeal to potential buyers. They will determine if the condo or loft needs a fresh contemporary look for younger buyers with an office set up for live/work, or a more transitional and upscale look for buyers who are more established. In the photos below:
- ** The first before and after are of a studio condo in the Portland South Park Blocks staged to appeal to young, first time buyers.
- ** The second before and after photos are of a professionally staged, Pearl District penthouse loft appealing to high-end buyers and it fits the upscale, contemporary architecture of the property.
- ** The third set of before & after photos is of a high-end studio loft in Portland’s South Waterfront John Ross Condominiums with home staging geared toward buyers of vacation or second homes.
Finally, hire a professional stager who is familiar with the special rules and regulations for staging work in condos. Parking and elevator use restrictions require knowledge and careful planning.
Pangaea Interior Design specializes in home staging for Portland’s Pearl District, Downtown, Cultural District, South Waterfront and North Waterfront Condos, Lofts and Penthouses. We have the right inventory for everything from starter properties to high end luxury penthouses. For expert help with vacant and occupied properties, call today for your free, no-obligation home staging proposal. 503.816.4394
Tags: Home Staging, Lofts, Pearl District, penthouse, South Waterfront, staging condos, staging lofts, staging luxury homes
Posted in Home Staging, Lofts, Pearl District, South Waterfront, Uncategorized | No Comments »