Holiday Trimmings and Selling a Home

A conundrum is upon us...how does one style and stage a home for sale and keep traditions alive while celebrating the holidays? With Thanksgiving on our doorstep and Christmas just around the corner decorating a home is on everyone's mind, well that is after we've shopped all those great Black Friday savings!

Home buyers are well aware that sellers will decorate their home, during a selling period, for the holidays, but just how much should the seller decorate is the big question!

Everyone has a different approach on how much holiday spirit they use to decorate their homes. In some cases it may be too much of a good thing while your occupied listing is on the market. Paring down may be the answer as well as considering these questions:

• Can a potential buyer see the beauty of the floor plan?
• Are the characteristics of the home showing through?
• Will potential buyers be able to envision living in this home through all the trimmings?
• Does the home look like a retail shop with trimming galore?

If you've answered yes to any of these, then we need to talk! It's great to show the spirit of the season, but this year may be the one to trim back on some of the trimmings while your house is on the market. Showcasing the home as a comfortable, warm and inviting place is important, as well as being able to see the beauty of the floor plan, and with a few trimmings this holiday season it may just be the trick to get it SOLD!

If there's any uncertainty or hesitation, contact me. I can help your listing look its best, with a phone consultation or in person, even while you are home during the holiday season.

Perhaps you have a vacant home that is screaming for attention? Home staging may just be the answer it needs to feel like home and sell quickly. I can help here too.

Photo credit - www.westernlivingmagazine.com

The Wrong Wall Color and Other Common Decorating Mistakes

Have you made a decorating mistake that made you scratch your head wondering what possessed you to do it? This great article from Elle Decor addresses those 10 Home Decorating Mistakes Everybody Makes, you're not alone!

It's great to do a little window shopping and splurge when it comes to decorating our home, but if we don't really consider how _______ (fill in the blank) is going to work in our real life environment it can get us into trouble. While these mistakes are easy to do there are ways to remedy the errors of our decisions. Should you find you need help fixing the wrong or would like to avoid making a costly mistake while decorating your home, contact me I can help.
 
1) The Looks-Great, Feels-Uncomfortable Piece Of Furniture
The decor world equivalent of the Stiletto heel: Beautiful, but oh-so-impractical. It ultimately taught you that no matter how good-looking something is, if you can't sit/walk/relax on it, it's not for you.

2) The Overly-Trendy Piece
It looked amazing in the store window. And in the magazine. But in your house? It clashed with your favorite pieces and looked strange. Since then you only focus on trends that feel like you.

3) The Wall Color You Didn't Test...And It Promptly Looked Completely Off
There's nothing like painting an entire room moss green....before realizing that with your lighting and wall texture, it looks nothing like it did in the can. [It's always wise to] paint a swatch before any further commitments.

4) The "Dream Lifestyle" Purchase
The oversized table when you never actually entertain. Or the wall-sized TV when really all you want to do in your living room is read. After this, you buy for the lifestyle you have, not the one you think you might have one day.
5) The Quick Fix
Maybe at the time you were more fixated on spending on vacation rather than a new chair. But when your cheap chair broke a year later, you learned they weren't kidding when they say "Buy the best, only cry once."

6) The Too-Complicated Organization System
"Bills go in the green folder, unopened mail in the blue drawer, casual stationery on the top shelf...or is it top shelf stationery on the top shelf?" If it was too hard to remember, it was probably the time for you to downgrade. We applaud you for doing what's right for you.

7) The Un-Researched Flora
Similar to the too-trendy piece, this plant looked great somewhere else...but floundered in your home. Now you take stock of the lighting and space conditions you have to offer before heading to the nursery.

8) The Disastrous DIY
"But it looked so great on Pinterest..." And now you know if you're not crafty, it's time to go to the experts.

9) The Cliché Art
It got you used to the idea of having something special on your wall, but made you realize how important it is to make that piece meaningful.

10) The Ambitiously White Item
You didn't weigh all the things you love (chocolate, red wine) against this one purchase. But now you know not to even try...or if you're the type who doesn't mind being extra-careful (or spending the extra time cleaning.)

Trained in Interior Design and Home Staging, I apply design principles and staging techniques to achieve the perfect balance and look, either room-by-room or for the entire home. With the holidays approaching maybe it's time to get a little help in sprucing up your home or fixing the wrong before family and friends drop in. Let me know how I can help you.

Via ElleDecor.com

Neglected First Impressions

I recently visited a home for sale, where the seller assumed that they didn't need to maintain its appearances since the "for sale" sign was up. This is a common thought that serves no purpose other than to have the house sit on the market for months, have no interest from potential buyers and disengage the agent from really promoting and advertising the home, and selling it! Bottom line - can a seller afford to keep the house on the market when attention-to-detail is a minor expense?

If the front of the home, which should be pristine, is neglected what does it say about the inside of the home? The home, especially if vacant should shine! Buyer's as well as agents, are not interested in cleaning up after a seller, unless it's a fixer-upper and is being sold as such, but then that is a different story for another day. There's such a competitive market out there can a buyer really afford to disregard appearances?

First impressions to consider:

• Clean up dead plants, scattered leaves, dirt and trash, blown in with the wind that has gathered along the walkway and front door.
• Overgrown branches, scraggly bushes and weeds must be cut back, trimmed and removed.
• Wear and tear or paint peeling on the front door, should be stripped, painted or stained and if the door is heavily damaged replace it.
• Front doorbell and lights - do they work? If not, replace or repair and clean the light fixture to rid of cobwebs and dirt.
• Windows - should be clean and sparkly, and check the window screens are they tattered, damaged or not hanging properly? If so, get them fixed.
• Snow - yes, it's that time to think about it. Hire a neighbor kid to shovel the driveway, front walkway, porch and steps and scatter Snow Melt to prevent accidents.This will protect you as well as create an invitation to see the home. No one wants to tread through snow and ice to see a home. Make it as welcoming as possible.
• Don't have trees in your yard, but your neighbor does? Leaves know no boundaries - have them cleaned up especially if it's on your property.
• Unable to maintain the home yourself because of location? Then hire someone to do it for you.

Paying attention to these areas will encourage "drive-by" lookers to want to go inside, once inside make certain the house is just as pristine as the out. Again, no one wants to look at a home that has remnants of the previous occupant, or one that they will need to clean. Buyer's want move-in ready homes. What does yours imply?

Do you know the impression your home is portraying? If you need help to identify what needs to be done, contact me, as a professional home stager, I'm trained to know what to look for and a third-party viewpoint is helpful. I can provide an assessment for both inside and out to help you sell your home quickly, whether it is occupied or vacant.

In this competitive seller's market can you afford not to have a pristine first impression? 

Case and Point about De-Cluttering

The importance of de-cluttering is to enhance the rooms and showcase the features of the home. It also frees up space and increases the livable areas of the floor plan. If a home is going to be listed for sale, the best thing is to strip it down and start from the beginning to highlight those great features. This also means trading out dated or period specific furnishings and linens, removing personal photographs, and paring down the furnishings.

Recently, I was asked to prepare (do some home staging) to an occupied home that was going to be photographed and listed for sale. The owners were gracious to follow my instructions and we went from room-to-room of a very full house and started emptying the rooms, storing all extraneous furnishings, books, collectables, etc., into storage. We even gave some rooms a new coat of paint. With that complete the next step was to rearrange and style the rooms for good flow and ambiance. Sometimes there's nothing one can do with existing furnishings, especially when it's occupied, so you make it work and that's what we did. For a fresh facelift, we brought in updated linens, removed old towels and throw rugs, plus added new artwork. There was plenty more work behind the scenes that took place to showcase this home, and now it feels as if it's square footage has increased! Future buyers can envision creating a new life, dreaming of how great it will be to gather with friends and family during the holiday's in the great room, and calling it home.


Does your home tell a good story or does it warn people to look the other way? If you're uncertain, then getting an impartial professional to do a walk-through can help. It may be all you need to seeing your home in a different light.


There's so much more to see in this beautiful home, take a look at the unique features and the fun exercise/music room.

Is Your Home Approachable?

In keeping with the de-clutter theme, I thought I’d share some thoughts on the approachability of the front of the home.

Clutter can show up in many forms, not just inside with our personal collections, daily mail, magazines, newspapers that pile up and shoes by the entrance. But what does the outside your front door say? This is the first contact point to the home, and one that often is neglected, is your home approachable?

At this time of year, as the piles of leaves gather along the walkway and porch, the potted summer plants that have wilted with the cold weather, toys, bikes, and lawn equipment have gathered, and cobwebs (plus leftovers from Halloween) keeps your front entrance from looking fabulous. It prevents showing how great your home may be, and detracts from having potential buyers coming in. 

Taking the time to clean the sidewalk and porch on a daily basis, plant cold weather tolerant plants with pops of color in round pots, replacing light bulbs that have burned out, and even painting the front door can create a strong impression. Buyers expect to see a well maintained home that is warm, inviting and shows you care. These small steps will help you to raise the market appeal, provide great first impressions and invites potential buyers to come inside, rather than doing a ‘drive-by’ because the home appeared unappealing and overwhelming. Make the front entry as attractive as possible and keep it maintained. Remember to keep it simple and don't overwhelm the space.

Now of course if you’re not selling your home, these principles apply as well. Taking these few steps to de-clutter the front entrance can create a warm and welcoming entrance. According to Feng Shui philosophy upkeep to the front entrance provides good energy flow, abundance, blessings, opportunities and good fortune to all who come through the front door. Now who doesn’t want these great attributes in their life? Remember this is the first impression of your home whether it’s you or your guests that use the front door or a potential buyer, make it count!

Don’t know where to start? Contact me, I’ll show you how to create a warm, inviting and welcomed home whether your home is on the market or not.