Keeping it Clean - Small Home Office at home

This newly staged home (recently renovated and for sale) has the perfect live/work situation for someone who wants a small home office, within a commercial/residential neighbor close to downtown Santa Fe. Creating a space to work and receive clients with less than 100 square feet is manageable. Keep the room and furnishings simple by storing all the supporting documentation, office supplies and printer, etc. in the closet. Clients will appreciate how uncluttered and clean the office is and both parties can focus on business rather than being distracted by an untidy office.

To view more about this home or additional projects in our portfolio visit www.homestagingsantafe.com.

Home Decorating and Staging Special for September

Dreaming of adding pizzazz to your existing home or decorating a new one and would like professional help to create a defined style with decorating, furnishing or space layout? 

Perhaps it’s time to sell the house? Where to start? Receive the expertise, guidance and staging tips you need to stage your house to stand out, sell quickly and for top dollar.

Whatever the reason you may have, now is the time to update the home before the holidays arrive! Schedule a design session or an occupied staging consult during the month of September* and receive five hours, for the price of four!  Contact Debbie today to reserve your customized hands-on session. 

Not in Santa Fe, NM? Interested in staging your home via Skype? Let's give it a try, offer can be split into two sessions for Skype staging only.

*Back-to-School Special - five hours at $375, plus tax, expires 9/30/2016. Offer does not apply to materials and supplies, rental inventory, vacant home staging, delivery, or additional labor. Visa/MC accepted.

DeMarais | home staging + design
Debbie DeMarais | HSR Certified Home Stager, ASID Allied Member
www.homestagingsantafe.com

Establish Successful Back-to-School Study Habits

Have a student going back-to-school or you are an empty nester considering creating an office space in that empty room? Consider the position of a desk to encourage and promote healthy study/work habits. The awareness of desk placement and items on the desk can help to contribute to clearer thinking and information processing, knowledge, successful transactions, and wisdom according to Feng Shui principles.

Create a place for students to work and call their own rather than at the dining table or coffee table. This can reinforce responsibility and ownership, plus frees up the dining table for family dinners. A sturdy desk, good lighting and appropriate chair height contribute to the overall wellness, while studying late into the night. The best location for students is in their bedroom. If possible, place the desk facing northeast, (the direction of wisdom and knowledge) of the home and facing the door, for the command position, and see who is entering. Adding a map or globe in this area will help encourage study. Highlight the “atta-boy/girl awards,” trophies, or good grades in the achievement area on the south wall to recognize a job well done and encourage continued success. Avoid placing the bed with the feet, facing the door, as all the good energy you’ve created will flow out of the room.

When the desk is not in use, keep it clear and clutter-free to encourage good study/work habits. Approaching a cluttered desk restricts the creativity and ambition to study, as it requires extra time to clean before opening the books. Placement of where items go on the desk will contribute to good energy (Chi) as well. Place the computer in the front position of the chair to encourage studying; knowledge will be enhanced with books in the lower-left position, creativity will nourish with art supplies or other creative tools on the center right area of the desk. Placement of the lamp in the upper center of the desk will help to illuminate success. With these minor adjustments the study/work area can help propel your student into a successful school year.

Interested in learning more ways to encourage good study habits or design, contact me.

Debbie DeMarais

DeMarais home study + design

www.homestagingsantafe.com

Pops of Color in Staged Home

Creating balance with color, brings life and energy into what was a dark and monochromatic design. The home owner loved blue and in every hue. However, it was too much for a home buyer to try to envision creating it as theirs. Getting ready to sell the home the owners called upon me to stage it to appeal to home buyers. As in each home I stage it's important to look past the seller's design style and personality and create the stage that appeals to home buyers. Working with only their furniture and lot's of it, I pared down the number of pieces in each room, rearranged furnishings and added accessories and art to highlight the rooms. Providing the pop of color and design invites home buyers to spend time in exploring the possibilities of this home. The rooms feel like home so sit down, relax and dream of making this home yours. Www.homestagingsantafe.com 

Home Buyer's Seek Staged Homes

Selling a house today is quite different than it used to be years ago. Today’s home buyers are extremely savvy about what they want in their next home. Marketing a home takes more consideration, time and work. Focusing on the appearance, how a home is presented will contribute to the success of a sale.

81% of home buyers reported staging makes it easier to visualize the property as a future home, reports the National Association of Realtors 2015 Profile of Home Staging. A staged home ‘invites’ the buyer see the potential rather than develop negative objections.

Top five reasons to stage a home:

1.     Buyer’s looking on-line make their decision to view the home in person within 8 seconds.

2.     Staging a home creates a vision of how a buyer aspires to live in your home, not showcasing the actual day-to-day existence.

3.     Buyers focus on positive reinforcement throughout the home rather than negative to consider if it meets their needs.

4.     Buyers will re-prioritize their list, when a house feels like home they can live in.

5.     Leaving a home in “as-is” condition will only help sell the competition. Buyers look for homes with updated fixtures and appliances, and décor.

Staged homes on the average earn more money than a home that hasn’t been staged. A professional Home Stager is trained to know what buyer’s look for and how to get a home sold quickly. Taking the extra steps to prepare a home for sale is the difference between a quick sale or a long-term listing with price reductions. 

For more information visit - www.homestagersantafe.com 

Debbie DeMarais 

DeMarais | home staging + design

Ms. DeMarais is a Certified Professional Home Stager through Home Staging Resource and is trained in Interior Design and Architectural Design. She is a member of RESA and ASID, Allied Member. She provides full-service home staging solutions and interior design in Santa Fe, NM.

Image: This home was staged using the owners furnishings and decor. They received an offer within four-days of listing the home!

Invoking Happiness with Color

Color plays an important role in design whether we are trying to stimulate a joyful and happy place or creating a room for quiet reflection. When I think of what makes me happy and an associated color - orange makes me smile. In fact, as a teenager I insisted my bedroom be painted orange, it was uplifting compared to the dreary Seattle weather. As an home stager and designer, I fully understand the use of color and surround myself with pops of orange in my office, which makes for a stimulating and creative space.

Love this Orange Rockwell Arm Chair

Orange created by combining red (energy) and yellow (happiness) represents sunshine, warm weather and places like the tropics. Studies show that orange can stimulate the brain, increase the oxygen supply and is invigorating. Imagine the scent and taste of a slice of orange, how it felt peeling back the rind, releasing sprays of orange fragrance in the air and feeling bursts of juice explode as you bit into each segment, note how refreshing this was and happy you felt. One simple slice of an orange produces endorphin's stimulating your “happy” place. 

It is a powerful color representing happiness, strength and endurance. In Feng Shui and Interior Design applications important elements are often highlighted using the color orange, while commercially it is often used to help stimulate business success.

Quoting Oscar Levant, he said, “happiness isn’t something you experience, it is something you remember.” Isn’t it time to remember something that made you happy? Recall how you felt during the summer with the warmth of the sun on your face, did you feel happy? Let’s recreate this feeling in our home. I could suggest painting a wall or four in a warm orange palette, however doing so could invoke too much of a good thing. Instead paint a niche, accent wall, add a great accessory that pops of warm orange, or introduce a piece of furniture in a dark corner. You won't regret it.

Socially orange becomes a conversation starter, and has uplifting energy while creating a sense of warmth. Afraid of commitment then start small with a simple bowl of oranges or tangerines, as a centerpiece. It’s a perfect way to introduce happiness and prosperity, especially as we celebrate Lunar New Year on February 8^th. Interested in learning more contact me? I can be reached at www.homestagingsantafe.com.