First Impressions: Entries

Whether your home is a castle or a condo, a California ranch or Spanish Colonial, the entry to your home is the first step in establishing the impression guests will take home with them.  If you are staging your home to sell this is especially important.  Make sure it is the impression you want to make!

This entry was a disaster.  With stains on the concrete and nothing of interest to catch your eye, it is way beyond boring and well on the way to depressing!  Susanne Vaughn of SVA Home and Garden painted in saltillo tiles on the diagonal, added a new mat, topiaries  and a seasonal wreath to provide  a warm welcome.

Staging: Show rooms with original purpose in mind

We may make use of a space in many ways, but to show your home to prospective buyers, try seeing your home through a stranger's eyes.  Is it clean and uncluttered?  If you were touring homes to buy, how would it measure up to the competition?  Does each room show to its best advantage?


This dining nook had become a cluttered home office - practical perhaps for its current resident, but not a pretty picture when first entering the house.  By returning it to a dining room, with fresh paint, updates to the windows and cabinetry, the room is transformed!


Showing it at its best will ensure that it appeals to the greatest number of prospective buyers.

Kitchen tranformation: heart of the home

When friends bought their new home in Malibu, the first  room needing attention was the kitchen.  Sorry, no "before" pix, but it was a rabbit warren of small spaces, cupboards, unnecessary walls and the furnace was boxed in in the middle.  By moving the furnace to a less invasive location, blowing out all interior walls, exposing the ceiling, adding a skylight the kitchen grew to a spacious gathering place open to the Dining and Family Rooms with spectacular views of the Pacific.  The dramatic granite of the island blends with that on the other counters, but provides much more interest. With a coordinating tile backsplash and carefully thought out lighting, day and night this is where family and guests tend to congregate.

Living Accents: Limonium

 Misty Blue Limonium is beautiful fresh and dries exactly the same.  This house staged by SVA Home and Garden has a lavender bordered walkway leading to the entry and fringing the infinity pool, so it made sense to carry the look inside.  I repeated the whispy blue/purple mist in the kitchen and master bedroom.  Because it is simple, the repetition doesn't feel overdone and is maintenance free!.  Whether it is in a sparkly silver cachepot or Tuscan pottery, it is a stunning addition.  Fill your container with florist's foam and stick the limonium in one piece at a time until it is very full.  That's it.  No water needed!

In the Garden: Patio Makeover

What do you do with a tired run down patio?  Start with the floor of course!  Painting a tile pattern to match the indoor flooring created indoor/outdoor continuity.  Vintage seating provides a comfortable outdoor living room and frequent gathering place.  A former eyesore now enhances the view indoors and out. Can you tell which is tile and which is paint?

Before: Unappealing and rarely used...

Why Stage a House?

You might well ask.  After all, it is the house they are buying, not whatever you put in it, right?  Wrong!  People buy the space they need and can afford in the location they want, but what makes them sign on the bottom line is their heart.

What's more appealing:  this

The goal of any home seller and realtor is to sell the house quickly and at the highest price.  Right?  What will make that happen?  Having a house that shows well, that's what.  If a house shows well and is priced right, then the Broker's Open will create a buzz and the house will immediately see a lot of activity with brokers bringing their clients over to view the property.  If it doesn't show well for the Broker's Open, then fewer will bring their clients by and the house may sit on the market.  This is death, because then it becomes old news and will get even less attention.

or this?

The result is a house that sits on the market for months.  This costs the homeowner in time, additional mortgage payments and the realtor in increased advertising costs and open houses.  Ultimately the result will also be in reducing the asking price by $10,000, $100,000 or even $1,000,000 depending on the market.  Staging effectively is a small price to pay to save yourself time and money.

The Bellavista Staging Project Part 6: The Master Bath

Finally, this Master Bath is beautiful but accessorizing brought warmth and livability to it. The chocolate touches echo the woodwork, while lush towels, plants, soaps and candles welcome you in.  Doesn't the aqua doggy standing guard at the fireplace make you smile? .

before

after

Practical Matters: The End of 3-way Lights Bulbs

This is a reminder that as of January 1, 2012, incandescent light bulbs will no longer be available.  To conserve energy they are being replaced by LED (Light emitting diodes). While I am all for saving energy, the loss of incandescent bulbs raises a few concerns. First  LED light is much bluer than regular incandescents, and this alters color.  The other alternative,  fluorescent light bulbs (which will continue to be sold), have improved significantly in color value in recent years and they will continue to be on the market, but lack the characteristic brightness and warmth of incandescents.  However, neither the LED's nor the Fluorescents are available in 3 way light bulbs, which provide you the option of using the lowest wattage of the three settings, thus saving energy while using traditional lightbulbs.


For those who like to use 3-way bulbs in table lamps, now is the time to stock up.  I like the GE Reveal light bulbs because their  brighter, clearer light is easier to read by and has the truest color rendition.  They come in a 50/100/150 watt or 30/70/100 watt combination, and right now are available wherever light bulbs are sold. It won't be illegal to use them, but it will be to sell them after the end of the year! 

Favorite Things: Century Furniture: American Made

Celebrating an American master!  North Carolina has been the center of  fine wood craftsmanship for over a hundred years.   In recent years many of the old furniture manufacturing firms have moved their production offshore to save cost.  The result is that many families who have passed on their skills from generation to generation are now out of work.  Century Furniture is one company  committed to building in America, and with the exception of their outdoor line,  all their fine furniture is made here.  Their extensive lines are available with many finishes and custom options in traditional, transitional and contemporary styles.  Check out centuryfurniture.com.  I love them!

Weekly Schedule

Here  is what to expect on any given day of the SVA Home and Garden Blog:


Mondays:      Practical Matters: Updates on a range of  Home and Garden subjects from light bulbs to soaker hoses. 
Tuesday:       Home Staging, from basics to wow!
Wednesday:  In the Garden: outdoor living at its best
Thursday:      Filling in the Details: accessories and finishing touches
Friday:            Favorite Things: best resources out there
Weekend:      Creating Change: Transforming Spaces to Change Lives


I look forward to sharing with you through the coming days.


I hope this day is a good one for you.
Susanne

The Bellavista Staging Part 5: The Master Suite

While the Master was furnished, it needed some finishing touches to make it work.  The bed had a geometric duvet cover, a little severe for the character of the bed.  The pillows were skimpy, and the bedside tables were empty.  The Duvet was plain satin on the other side, so turning it over, adding king shams in blue and chocolate paisley, chocolate accent pillows and a blue throw brought life to a very neutral bed.  The sparkle of mercury glass and silver accents brought life to the room, while some dark metal urns echoed the chocolate on the bed.

Media centers

With the advent of flat screen TV's, the landscape of the family media room has shifted dramatically.  No longer do we have armoires or massive boxes taking up half the room!  This one is from Jon Vaughn of Spatial Effects spatialfx.com.  The flat screen is wall mounted with all wiring hidden in the wall.   Low maple cabinetry holds all the media equipment, DVD's and CD's.  Mitered corners on the doors catch the light while a grey granite top creates a warm cool balance with the maple.  Elliptical speakers from B&W provide vibrant surround sound, while the 60" Pioneer plasma brings home viewing to a whole new level.  Low voltage downlights highlighting the adjacent artwork completes the look.

Twigs!

Twigs!  Curly willow, pussy willows, white birch and deep reds, all add texture, color and drama to any room.  Find a fabulous  container and let them do their magic!  

Silks: a Lasting alternative

Silks: A Lasting Alternative

Silks stay just the way you arrange them, and you can make them to do exactly what you want, unlike fresh flowers.  You don’t have to worry about spills from watering.  For a brown thumber or an empty house they are an ideal solution.  

 

Can you tell the real from the silk?  Here is the same planter filled with silks for a more permanent arrangement. 

1.         Fill pot to ½” from rim with florist’s foam.

2.         Loosely arrange your selection on the table in front of you.  Cut stems to workable lengths      with wirecutters.

3.         Arrange in the container

4.         Finish with moss – mounding moss, deer moss, a selection of rocks or other finishing details.

The Belavista Project Part 4: The Kitchen

This is a fabulous kitchen to work in: roomy, lots of counter space, double ovens and dishwashers, a nook with a fabulous view of the backyard and mountains, and a neutral palette in harmony with the adjacent family room.  For staging, we added soft reds, blacks and warm earthy accents to invite you in.

Before

After

After

Living Accents for the Home

Home brought to life!

Living plants truly are great enhancements to any home or home staging.  The question is will they be maintained and have adequate lighting to keep them at peak performance?  If not, will they be replaced on a regular basis?  Perhaps a better question is how do you make a really stunning arrangement either in fresh plants or silk?  For living plants here is what I do:

1.              Select a fabulous container.  Line it with very heavy plastic.  Attach felt pads to the bottom to protect where it will be placed.

2.              Arrange the pots of plants  you are considering.  If they come in different size pots, then cut florists foam to adjust the heights of the various pots for maximum effect in your container.

3.              Arrange pots in planter and cover with moss: deer moss mood moss, rocks or other finishing materials to complete the look.  Here we have Kalanchoe for color-a good choice because it  is minimal care and blooms for several weeks; mother fern, a small philodendron for height and a variegated leaf for added interest.

4.              Replace plants/florals as they fade while maintaining the integrity of the whole arrangement simply by replacing the plant/pot in question.

The Belavista Project Part 3: The Family Room

After

Come in and relax!  Books and accents draw light to the dark bookcases, while plants, lamps, and accessories add height and dimension to the room.  An inviting fur throw brings warmth and texture to the monochromatic color scheme.  The "leaf" lamp introduces a dramatic silhouette.

Before

The Belavista Project Part 2: The Dining Room

 After

Before

In part 2 of our 6 part series:  The simple addition of a pair of black bamboo trees and an orchid arrangement add warmth to this elegant dining room.

The Belavista Project Part 1: The Living Room

The challenge: to accessorize and detail a newly remodelled and furnished  6700 square foot $4.4 million dollar house in four days for its listing broker's open house.  

Before

To transform the living room from enclosed, cold and bland to welcoming and open we went through three very easy and simple staging steps: simplify, light and accessorize. By removing excess furniture and opening up the space, the room immediately began to work from a navigation standpoint.  Adding simple but tasteful accessories and living plants gave the room character and brought an otherwise "dead" room, to life.  Lastly, bring in the light!  The room is surrounded by huge windows that when covered encloses the space.  By opening up the curtains the room is allowed to breath and flow beyond the boundaries of the walls. 

After