Home Staging Inspiration from Architectural Details

Selling a home “as-is,” in most cases, is not the most effective way to reach a buyer’s attention and invoke their appreciation for the characteristic and fine detail of a home. Finding a buyer (only 20%) who can look past the seller’s décor style and furnishing arrangement, plus areas of neglect to appreciate the gem of an “as-is” home is risky.

This unique home built in 1900, was formerly the residence of Santa Fe Governor John E. Miles (1939-1941). In addition to its historic past, this South Capital home is appreciated for its unique architectural design. It is one of two homes found in Santa Fe built with the classic Gambrel roof characteristic of the Dutch Colonial style. The exterior walls and fireplace built with stone, rumored to originate from Upper Canyon Road.

The age and history of this home was the inspiration to determine the style of furnishings and décor used to stage this property. Rather than staging it with traditional Santa Fe style furnishings, a timeless contemporary design with clean lines produced an elegance that is inviting, comfortable. The style also helps to highlight the floor plan and showcase features such as the stone fireplace and crystal chandelier. The completed design blends cohesively and harmoniously with its surroundings, while emphasizing the architectural characteristics, which become important elements in staging a home.

Had the seller retain the existing style of furnishings and decor, buyers may have been unable to appreciate the details this rare home has to offer. When selling a home, it is best to highlight key selling points and features, rather than overburden it with a design that competes with the space. 

Considering selling your home, and wondering if the design style or furnishing arrangements showcase the home at its best? We can help with a virtual consultation and walk-through  of each room. You will receive tips and suggestions to get the most out bang when selling your home. www.homestagingsantafe.com

Homes Sell Quickly as Buyers Visualize Property through Home Staging

Living room at 319 Villeros, Santa Fe

Providing home staging guidance to owners who live in their home while trying to sell it is a different approach than filling a vacant home and staging it with furniture, accessories and decor. 

The goal is to create an environment within a home that is for sale so buyers can connect with it, while using the seller’s things. Working within the seller’s budget, we spent about a day to help them stage the house and gardens in order for this home to get quick results. In just a short time, the owners received styling and design guidance using their belongings. We moved most of their furniture around, rearranged the placement of beds, cleaned up the art studio, created an inviting seating area in the living room, artwork was rehung, and unnecessary items were removed which contributed to the cluttered appearance we initially came upon. While going through this process we even helped them get organized to begin the packing process of letting go which can help get the house sold. The gardens also received a much-needed face-lift due to neglected maintenance and overgrown weeds to highlight the Koi pond, two private patios and fruit trees. 

According to the sellers, not only were the results fantastic, but also buyers were thrilled with how the home looked, and it sold within six weeks of staging. Home staging is an effective tool in selling a home with "81% of buyers saying that home staging makes it easier to visualize the property as a future home", according to the National Association of Realtor's 2015 Profile of Home Staging. 

There is a difference in how a home looks between "living" in a home and "selling" the home. If you are uncertain how this can make a difference with your situation or you need some guidance, contact us at www.homestagingsantafe.com, we can help even through a virtual home staging consultation.

Dining Room and Entry

Kitchen and Breakfast Nook

Art Studio

Gardens and Private Patio

Century Old Home Staged with Contemporary Twist

A former Santa Fe Governor residence, more than a century old,  receives an interior facelift with contemporary furnishings through home staging and design in Santa Fe, NM.

The majority of homes in Santa Fe are Adobe or Territorial style, however this one is truly unique with original stone walls, basement, deep seated windows, and guest rooms upstairs boasts an unusual design in Dutch Colonial architecture.

It would have been easy to prepare this home as a typical home staging project by using furnishings that reflected an older period. However, we chose to step it up and move away from the ordinary or expected by bringing this home into the present and upgrade it to project the lifestyle of an upscale buyer. Using a palette of grays, cream and champagne, plus incorporating glass, silver and reflective surfaces this home showcases an elegance which is warm, comfortable and affordable, one that is sure to attract a home buyer with discerning tastes.

Each room is uniquely styled to take advantage of showcasing the architectural features, critically important when selling a home. We chose to have the upstairs guest rooms remain true to the original design, however focusing on the needs of a present day buyer and staged it to showcase the unlimited possibilities. The master bedroom, bath and adjoining studio/office space received a much needed facelift before putting it on the market.

As a home stager, offering full-service project management, we helped the seller by preparing the home for sale by removing the excessive furnishings, plus enormous eclectic decor, painted the interiors and exterior, identified and updated neglected areas and then prepared the home using our home staging techniques. Our crew worked diligently to maintain the characteristics of this historic home.

615 Webber Street is within blocks of the Roundhouse and Santa Fe plaza and is approximately 2000 sq ft and includes a 500 sq ft detached casita, which is equally as warm and comfortable, plus can be used as a rental. To see more of this home on MLS201503782 with Francie Miles at Barker Realty.  To receive more information on home staging in Santa Fe contact us on our site at www.homestagingsantafe.com.

Living Room with stone fireplace

Entry looking into Living Room with wrought iron hand rail

Original wallpapered bathroom with claw foot bathtub

Master Bedroom with hard wood flooring

Back view of 615 Webber Street from casita

Side view of 615 Webber Street

 

Embracing contemporary design in staged home at Parade of Homes tour

This Friday, the annual Parade of Homes begins and runs for two weekends in Santa Fe. This event showcases some of the best homes in the area. If you have an opportunity to tour the homes you'll not only see terrific architectural design work but staged homes plus new offerings in interior design techniques.

I was fortunate to work with the Homewise team at their Tessara home, entry #6, and took the opportunity to highlight the interior and it's finishes by blending interior design elements and principles to create a style that is complimentary, comfortable, with just a touch of contemporary design that everyone can appreciate.

The key to good home staging techniques is providing just the right amount of ambiance to allow a buyer to envision the possibilities of embracing the space as their own while working with the finishes of the home. Hope to see you on the tour. To see more home staging techniques visit www.homestagingsantafe.com.

Home Staging for Discerning Lifestyle

With just over 6,000 sq ft of beautiful interiors and expansive outdoor space this very "lived-in" house was transformed into a home you'd expect to see in a "high-end" lifestyle magazine. Working with the homeowners we spent many days preparing this home to bring it to the expectations of a discerning home buyer and showcase it like a million dollar house. With so many unique and inspiring architectural features built into the home, it was important to remove the clutter, excess furniture, repurpose and downscale the 'day-to-day' affects of family living.

Without our home staging help, a buyer would miss the opportunity to appreciate the details and the seller may not have been unable to list the home at $1.1 million. Once we moved a lot of furniture, decor and clutter from each room, and reorganized the furnishings to enhance the spaces, it magically turned into a home that looks and feels worthy of the price tag.

A key element of our home staging techniques is to pay attention to the demographics of the buyer and ensure the home's appearance is staged to reflect the discerning tastes and lifestyle of the audience. Buyer's will appreciate the cleanliness, spaciousness and many details of a home when it is presented with them in mind. It's easier to sell a home that shows well, even if the price tag is much lower. How a home looks and feels when buyers approach it will determine how long they'll spend in the home touring it to see if it "fits" just right for them and their family.The longer they stay the greater the possibility they'll "feel at home" and make an offer.

To view additional images of this home at 11 Rancho Cholla, visit www.homestagingsantafe.com

Updating an Outdated Home with Home Staging

Holding on to outdated styles is never a good thing when selling a home! An outdated home reminiscent of bygone era’s can drastically reduce the value. Without making the necessary updates to fixtures, finishes, appliances or furniture the home may stay on the market longer than those with updated and desirable features.

In this home its pink wall-to-wall carpeting, outdated and monotone furnishings, antiquated fixtures and appliances, and lack of style had no appeal nor garnered interest from potential buyers. 

In an attempt to sell the home for three years, this homeowner, unaware that his home and its contents were keeping buyers away, enlisted the help of a home staging professional. Trained to identify the key selling features buyers look for in a home and staging it for maximum appeal for a targeted demographic is one of many bonuses in hiring a home stager. Looking at the home from a ‘buyers perspective’ the seller was ready to make the necessary upgrades to sell his home competitively in today’s real estate market.

Suggestions included replacing the carpeting with hard wood flooring, fresh coat of paint, new furnishings, appliances and fixtures, plus the designing a stacked fireplace in the living room as the focal point in the room. The results were astonishing. The seller admitted the home was unrecognizable with the updates and remarked the transformation went from a “sow’s ear into a silk purse”. Eager to put his home on the market he has more confidence that it will sell quickly.

When preparing your home to sell, consider enlisting the assistance of a professional home stager. They can show you where your home may hold you back from getting top dollar and selling your home quickly.

Selling a Lifestyle through Home Staging

How the interior space of a home is styled says more than you think. Selling a home takes more consideration than just painting the walls or planting flowers outside. Consider the message the interior speaks, does it scream that it needs help?

This living room had some great items to work with. Before we staged the room it was overcrowded and unappealing. The room appeared to be very small and had many focal points. Making a detour around the room to sit down was the entry point. Considering Feng Shui principles, this room represents blocking creativity, flow and keeping your guard up.  Unfortunately, it isn’t very welcoming as the first impression into the home, especially if it is for sale.

Using home staging techniques and interior design principles to maximize the space and highlight the homes features will make this home extraordinary. By removing excessive accessories, eliminating unnecessary and over scaled furniture, plus introducing appropriate décor items we can begin to paint a picture for buyers. One that highlights the occupant’s lifestyle, maximizes the size and functionality of the room, improves the perception and sensibility of the space, plus adds value to the home.

First impressions count and by creating a focal point for each room that is inviting, comfortable and beautiful will increase the on-line viewing and selling potential. Homebuyers can see the potential and possibilities of envisioning their family making the house their own and will be ready to buy.

Whether you live in your home or it is for sale the placement of furniture, décor as well as scale speaks volumes. Does your home reflect the lifestyle you aim for or does it hold you back?

View more changes to this home.

Color Does Matter When Staging Homes

Do you paint those walls or leave them as they are when selling a house? It's always a good idea in prepping your home to sell that the walls get painted and with a neutral color tone through out the home.

These deep eggplant walls won't give buyers any room in their mind to envision how they can call this bedroom their own. With a neutral wall color and updated bedding this bedroom becomes a sanctuary and inviting place to sleep.

If you take the time to prep a little before putting your home on the market it will save you money in the long run. From having the house sit on the market longer than necessary, requests to drop the price to meet the buyer's needs (because they'll need to paint and fix those neglected areas, etc) and the impression that the room looks smaller than it actually is (with dark walls). With a little change this room was staged, as was the house, and able to accommodate a king-size bed, nightstands, and a private sitting area.

As they say a little work on the front end, pays off in the long run. To see more images of staged homes that are move-in ready, visit my site.

Five-Star Bedroom

Dramatic changes not only occur on TV! My team and I recently completed staging this home in Santa Fe and it received a total makeover from room to room with our Full-Service Staging Package.

One of the major transformations took place in this guest bedroom that went from boring to WOW it sizzles and feels like a five-star hotel.

Whether you're staging a home or wanting to live like you're in a five-star hotel, keep things simple, follow a coordinated color palette and remember the rules "less is more". In this situation of the "before" room, less is not a good idea! 

Staging tip for collections

We love our collections of __________ (fill in the blank), but when there is so much and you're trying to sell your home, what to do? This simple home staging tip can actually help you show off the room while enjoying your pieces. Focus on a theme or color and then build from there, but only keep the strongest, nicest and best pieces to showcase. Have multiple collections? Sorting through them and getting a little of this and a little of that can go a long way, display them in odd numbers 3, 5, 7 but don't go overboard.

If you're trying to sell your house, let the architectural features of your home shine. You're not trying to sell your collection, nor do you want your home to be remembered by the collection of cute pigs in the living room!

If you're still confused, then boxing all the treasures, donating, or consigning would be the way to go. Letting go of the excess is good for the soul and clears the mind, plus you'll find that the room feels bigger and cleaner and presents itself in the best possible manner. Selling a home can be tough, but will a little guidance and direction from a professional home stager, your home will speak volumes and your on-line photos will look fabulous!

32% of buyers are willing to pay 1-5% more for a home...

According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors Home Staging Profile 2015 taking the step to stage a home really does make a difference to potential buyers. The good news is that 32% of buyers are willing to pay 1-5% more for a home that is staged than those not staged!

Staging a vacant home provides visual for the placement of furnishings and how one can utilize a space. Occupied homes require the same attention and detail and at times can be more important to potential buyers. Of the poll 81% of buyers say that staging a home makes it easier to visualize a home. 

There are so many levels of preparation to consider and if you have an occupied home look at how inviting the front entry is to the appeal of furnishings, bedding, and even where the pet bowls and litter boxes are placed. We live in our homes for ourselves, however when we sell a home it's time to let go of our comfort zone and invite others with discerning tastes and styles to see the home through their eyes.

If you're considering selling your home and whether staging is right for you, remember 96% of buyer's agents say that staging has an affect on some buyer's view of the home. If you're buying a home what do you look for? Clean and ready to move in or disorderly, cluttered, areas of concern and unknown maintenance issues? Those are the same concerns buyers have.

Staging a home may bring you a little extra income from the sale and a tax deduction depending upon your situation for the costs of preparing and staging your home.

To read more data about Infographic: Effectiveness of Home Staging survey.

Have a question about your home? Contact me for an in-home appointment or virtual conference.

Selling your home and staging

According to NAR Research “home staging can help sell a home for more money, can help prospective buyers better visualize themselves in the home and could modestly increase the home’s value for both the buyer and seller." Now that’s a win-win!  

Finding the right stager is like trying on a pair of shoes. Each provides a different style, service and fit. Do you know what key elements to look for in a stager? Some thoughts if you're selling a home that is vacant, would be...

• How current are the design styles? 
• What about design aesthetics, does balance and harmony exist?
• How old is the inventory, does it appeal to a broad audience?
• Does the “staged” home feel sterile and cold or warm and inviting?
• Are they trained in home staging or is this a hobby?

 
These are just a few questions to consider. You're making a big investment in selling your home and you want the right team to be there to help you from your real estate agent to a home stager.

There are other key aspects to improving your home especially if you live in it during the listing period. Pay attention to...

• Keep the front door and entry clean and clutter-free.
• Personal belongings such as shoes, toys, coats, homework, newspapers should be in their proper places such as a closet, book shelf and toy box or storage.
• Litter boxes and other pet related items should be clean, free of odor and kept to one area and out of the main flow of traffic.
• Furnishings should look nice, if your sofa is tattered and stained get a slip cover, same goes for the chairs. If that's not possible, then borrow or rent nicer pieces while your home is on the market. It will make a difference.
• Plants and flowers are they healthy looking or are beyond their lifespan. Throw them out if their past their prime. Have fresh flowers on the dining table.
• Open the windows and let some fresh air in, shake out the rugs.
• Personal photos of the family, take these down as well as any possible controversial artwork that may distract a buyer from looking at the house. They may pay more attention to this than to the real reason they are in your home. It could be very distracting and you've lost an offer.

There are many more areas of the home which will need special attention. Ask yourself if your home says "Welcome Home" or "Stay Away" be honest, does your answer give you hints into the work you need do?  Hiring a trained home stager will know what to look for and how to 'stage' your home to make it approachable and livable for you and your family during the listing period.  It will be worth the investment where your home could sell quickly and even for top dollar.

Staging Homes Makes a Difference!

Having a home sell during a slow time of the year is reason to celebrate. This staged home provided buyer's with the perspective of how they could arrange, decorate and live in this home. Happy to say that the owner and selling agent of Aspen Compound received an offer during the holidays and history was made!

Staging a home is the #1 tool to helping a seller get a home sold quicker and at times for higher price than those not staged. Whether someone lives in the home or is vacant setting the stage for a buyer to fall in love with the home takes a trained professional home stager to know exactly how to present the home in the best possible fashion.

This homeowner understood the benefits of staging and preparing the home to sell and is now celebrating the good news!

Fresh Start and Love Your Home in 2015!

With the holidays behind us, it's time to start thinking about putting the tree away (my decorations are safely tucked away for another year) and claiming the house back.

The new year is always a good time to rearrange furnishings, artwork and accessories, plus freshen up the furniture, bring in new pops of color. One way to do this is by painting a special room.

I love the "Chrysalis" pallet from the Sherwin Williams 2015 Color forecast. It's serene, harmonious, easy to live with, and especially nice for a peaceful entry into 2015. Feeling stuck and don't know which direction to take? I can help bring new and fresh perspectives into your home, see your house differently this year and love the results!