November 30, 2011

Homes staged to maximize their sale appeal – Part 3

The owners wanted their home staged as they had put it on the market and it needed a lot of work. Staging successes can be impressive – this home sold for over the listing price in 13 days after being prepared for re-sale.

Before: The Family Room

It was another case of the clutters; having young children often results in toys being left everywhere. An old dusty, stained carpet, the disproportionately small picture on the wall and tangled wires from the entertainment console made for a less than desirable effect.

After: Family Room

Just by shifting the artwork, moving the couches and bringing in more light to the room via added lamps and freshening greenery both brightens and enlivens the room. A fresh coat of paint for the walls and trim helped to make it appear enlarged.

Before: bedroom

A pink and white quilted bedspread along with matching shower curtains were about as far as they’d gone décor-wise.

After: Bedroom

Family photographs of the owner’s two lovely little girls were kept on the wall; maintaining a loved and lived in feeling is a plus when it comes to staging. The stylish contents of “Bed in a Bag”(basically new bedding with a skirt) unified the walls and furniture to give the room a more put together look.

Before

Once again the en-suite simply suffered from a case of being poorly put together, and the unfortunate quilted shower curtains look more homely than homespun.

After: Ensuite

Carrying the green from the bedroom as well as the wood of the furniture, the bathroom’s colour scheme of green over white, with touches of brown, actually glams up the bathroom.

Before: Kitchen

Again, the main problem with this kitchen was the clutter – on the fridge door and the counters.

After: Kitchen

Getting rid of all the trinkets makes a huge difference. New paint opens up and brightens the room, while new fixtures revamp the cabinetry.

Before: The Music Room

The room lacked personalty and looked it all it was meant for was a holding place for a grand piano.

After: The Music Room

Light and style makes this a posh, inviting room. The wallpaper was removed and the same beige and white scheme as in the new family room is continued, bringing much needed brightness. The carpet was taken out and hardwood put in. The piano was re-positioned to the corner and a chair with matching couch was brought in from downstairs storage; the room looks far larger. The effect of the romantic, old-fashioned furniture becomes a beautiful and interesting contrast to the modern, new floor and colours.

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Makeovers by Susan V. Phillips, Spotlight On Decor, Spotlightondecor.com

November 28, 2011

Homes staged to maximize their sale appeal – Part 1

It’s amazing what a few freshening touches can do to transform every day living areas. As a selling tool, the decorator’s objective for a client is to make the home attractive to as large an audience as possible – hopefully inspiring a bidding war.

Part 1 of 3

The Dining Room

Before

This room was too hectic and all its components were slightly off. The picture (right side) was too small for the wall, there were too many trinkets, and the twigs crowded the dining table – basically, one could not see the room for what it was with all these distractions.

After

The caramel walls were carried over to the dining room and much better complemented the rosy wood floors and furniture. Removing the clutter puts more emphasis on the chandelier, opens up the room; and re-positioning the painting the other side of the room at the just the right height, makes the walls and ceiling appear higher. A subtle splash of orange provided by the fruit in the bowl sets off the blue fabric of the chairs.

The Living Room

Before

This room breaks all the rules of staging. The television competes with the fireplace as a focal area, which should be emphasized because it’s a selling feature. It has a faux-marble finish and blends into the grainy, non-matching walls. The sofa is far too large, there are too many plants, and the floor is painted to look like it’s carpeted.

After

The living room needed to be defined by re-instating the fireplace as its focal point. It was repainted a classic white, with the attached wall a caramel shade, darker than the rest of the room. The over-large chairs were replaced with sleeker seating and the floors are covered in a berber carpet, from which a patch of its colour inspired the caramel chosen for the walls. Glass vases filled with grasses from the home’s English garden are the perfect finishing touch to this now elegant room.

The Dinette

Before

The client who was putting up her home for sale was an artist and she had painted a wall mural in this little dinette. It made the room rather busy, and in order to remake the room to have broader overall appeal, it was thought best to be painted over.

After

The walls were painted in different shades of the same colour, which creates the illusion of a larger room. The quaint table and chairs set matches with the tiling and wall colours, maintaining the room’s new airiness.

The Bathroom

Before

This 1950’s bathroom was cold to look at, the toilet was a water guzzler and the owners wanted to incorporate a bathtub with the shower.

After

There were quite a few unexpected challenges with this room, from the baseboard heating, which had to be avoided, to the dated aspects, such as the plaster lathe and copper wiring, which had to be completely taken out and replaced with vinyl and fitted with a custom bridge. The only original remaining part of the bathroom was the window. The new plumbing could accommodate a rain-head shower, complemented by the sheet of tempered glass (with rain drops effect) that shielded the shower from the toilet, reaching up to the ceiling. A new, highly efficient toilet (that works on the concept of gravity pull) replaced the old water pressure unit.

Epilogue: The home was sold one week after staging after languishing on the market for over a month.

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Makeovers by Susan V. Phillips, Spotlight On Decor, Spotlightondecor.com