Interior Redesign and Home Staging Blog

Makeover Your Outdoor Rooms!

Make the most of your outdoor living spaces – treat them to a redesign!

It’s SPRING! Being outdoors is the antidote to cabin fever you’ve been craving.  Whether you have a small balcony or patio, or a deck the size of a small airport landing strip, you can take advantage of the space you have and turn it into your own private escape with an outdoor room makeover.

This is the first of a series of outdoor room redesigns meant to illustrate common situations and how they may be transformed.  This is a true redesign-the makeover was accomplished using only what existed in the home.

Before – A medium sized deck with basic outdoor furniture was arranged with a large open space for gathering. Seating lined the railing and was available to be pulled into the space as needed. The reality was that it never moved. The color of green unified the various pieces but also contributed to the rigid feel. The grill, serving cart, table and chairs were crowded together in the far end of the deck in an attempt to make them more convenient and to create a dining area. The remaining space was certainly large but awkwardly arranged and the homeowners felt it was uninviting.

After – To make the most of all of the available space, zones were created for grilling, dining, entertaining, serving and for conversation, with plenty of room for moving about.

The electric grill was relocated to provide a safe buffer zone between it and guests. The serving cart became accessible to both grilling and entertaining areas, ready to be rolled into the dining area when needed. A conversation grouping makes better use of the open space and beckons visitors. It can be easily expanded by bringing in the dining chairs, something guests were hesitant to do when the space was empty.

Weather resistant accessories were selected from the home’s furnishings to add color, comfort and interest. The green of the furnishings became the perfect neutral backdrop to the patterns and textures. The eclectic mix created a better transition between the feel of the house and the outdoor room. The result is an extension of the house that is multi-purpose, functional, attractive and welcoming.

Pam Faulkner
Faulkner House
Interior Redesign, LLC
703-689-9886
www.FaulknerHouse.com

Boston Stager- Home is Staged on Saturday and Sells on Sunday!

Maureen Reddy, of DaVinci Designer Gallery, proves once again that a properly staged house will translate into a successful sale. Homeowners enjoyed a full price offer at the first open house and $20,000 more than the pre-staged asking price. When will Realtors and homeowners get it! Home staging is an integral tool when selling a home and can bring the homeowner up to 500% return on their invested staging costs.

The site of DaVinci Designer Gallery’s latest successful staging project was located in Woburn, MA, in a dated townhouse that needed some updating and visual appeal.

After assessing the upgrades, formulating a plan, and scheduling the trades, the 3 day day project was set into motion. Rooms and decks were painted, carpets were professionally cleaned, and the problem kitchen floor was addressed. Rooms were refunctioned and updated furnishings, art, area rugs and window treatments were installed.

Before the staging process, the Realtor Bill Skerry of Remax First Realty, Newton, MA,  was considering putting this property on the market for $299,000. After the staging was completed Bill and the homeowners agreed that the asking price would be set at $319,000.

The home sold for full asking price at the first open house (with a back-up offer). The following facts should be reviewed by homeowners who are preparing to sell:

1) The Realtor provided the homeowner with a professional home staging report by DaVinci Designer Gallery in order to educate them on how to add value to the property. This report cost $350.

2) The homeowners spent  just under $4,000 for the staging. This equal less than 2% of the value of their home.

3) The homeowners enjoyed an approximate 500% return on their staging investment, $20,000

4) The homes’ visual presentation added to an immediate sale.

DaVinci Designer Gallery launches a new presentation “The Psychology of Home Staging”

Home stager, Maureen Reddy, of DaVinci Designer Gallery has created a keynote presentation that delves into the psychology behind home staging. This program, geared toward Realtors, explains the success of home staging from a human behavioral standpoint.

The presentation unites the understanding of preferred environments with the principles of sales in order to account for the home staging industry’s positive outcomes. The Realtor is provided with the psychological “how and whys” of home staging, the concepts of visual presentations translating into dollars, preferred environments, and one’s identity with products.

Maureen Reddy, has a vast and varied background in the worlds of
advertising, visual merchandising, interior design, and home staging.
The 20+ years of experience in these venues afforded her a pool of
information with which to draw conclusions, formulate statistics, and
provide information on successful sales.

This unprecedented presentation allows Realtors to extracted relevant
information that they can use to educate clients, provide quick and
profitable sales, and forecast their own sales achievement.

“This 30 minute program develops the Realtors understanding of home staging psychology and how it directly relates to sales. It is imperative that the real estate sales force is aware of how environment drives human behaviors.” says Reddy

Showcasing your Business with Showhouse Marketing

From Concept to Creation

Showhouse Marketing

Growing a business takes creative marketing geared to building credibility for your business.  One Day Decorating Alumni are encouraged to spread their net far and wide to create as much buzz about their business as possible. A powerful way to move your business to the top of the pack is to have your work featured in a charity showhouse event.

This is a prestigious honor featuring the best of the best and an opportunity to receive a great deal of PR. Recently, One Day Decorating Alumni, Paula Henry, President of Simply Put Interiors, in Baltimore, MD, was invited to design the Master Bedroom for the Historic Ellicott City Decorator Show House. Paula, a member of The SDP, provides a full range of decorating services and is a frequent guest on local TV providing decorating tips and tricks.

Paula was one of many, invited to view the house, built in 1752, and submit proposals for 3 rooms. The proposals included a general concept for the space, color palettes and furniture choices.  Once selected by a committee, decorator were assigned a room and had two weeks to submit detailed design boards for final approval by committee and home owners. Paula’s plan, Suite Retreat, was a committee favorite. Paula wanted the space to embody the age and country setting of the home, including a nature inspired color palette to bring the outdoors in.  The bed, designed by Paula, was custom built around a salvaged window and reclaimed white oak from a 100 year old barn. Surrounding the bed was a decorative paint finish of a tone on tone stripe with a playful metallic leaf motif, created by decorative painter, Dee Cunningham.

Paula also joined forces with local interior decorator and window treatment expert, Kris Ozgar of Kris’ Kreations. Kris, another talented One Day Decorating Alumni, is the President of the Maryland Chapter of WCAA and member of The SDP and WFCP, frequently featured in local publications.  She was Paula’s obvious choice for custom window treatments and the headboard upholstery.

The pair met through One Day Decorating and have joined forces on many projects with the Historic Ellicott City Decorator Show House being the most recent. Kris painstakingly upholstered the headboard in a blue linen and fabricated relaxed Roman Shades with glass beads complimented by shimmery sheer panels based on Paula’s design. The panels presented their own set of challenges because the fabric (made of single strand threads) was very difficult to work with.   Of the many elements in the space, the work Kris did is receiving high reviews!  The real success is what happens after the fact.

Most everything in the room was purchased by either the homeowner or Showhouse attendees. And Paula’s phone has been ringing off the hook with eager potential clients. Paula and Kris will tell you not to be afraid to work with your peers and/or “competition.”  The results can be worthy of a Show House! For more information, contact Paula at paula@simplyputinteriors.com  or Kris at keokreations@aol.com

Accessories: A Room’s Finishing Touch

A house becomes a home when your personality is reflected in the décor. The best way to accomplish this is through accessories. Family photos, your mother’s teacups, and the ceramic box your daughter made in third grade-all of those cherished treasures deserve a special place in your home. How do you display accessories successfully? When I redesign a home, I keep several things in mind when arranging my clients’ accessories.

• Arrange accessories in odd-numbered groupings. On any surface such as a coffee table or chest of drawers, arrange accessories in groups of three, five, or even seven if the surface is large enough. One large-scale item, like a ceramic urn or pot, can also work well.
• Arrange accessories of varying heights in a pyramid or triangular shape. Use a tall item like a lamp, pillar candle or sculpture in the center. The next item should be approximately 2/3 the height of the tallest item. The last item should be about 1/3 the height of the tallest item. Boxes or books can be used to raise items to the desired height.
• Group like items together rather than scatter them throughout the room. Your collection of antique cameras, for example, will have more impact if you group them together in a bookcase. Try mixing in some old photographs or other related items to add interest and build on the theme. Collections of small items such as buttons or shells can be displayed in glass bowls or vases.
• Plants and flowers add life, color and texture to your groupings. If you have a green thumb, real plants are best, but high-quality silks work well also.
• Use platters, plates or trays to create backdrops for other accessories. This looks especially nice in china cabinets, bookcases, and that area above the kitchen cabinets.
• Use accessories to accentuate the theme or color in artwork. For example, a red vase placed in front of a painting will highlight the red found in that painting. Another example: Place an antique musical instrument alongside a painting with a musical theme.
• Large-scale rooms need large-scale accessories. Small items will just get lost in the room.
• Resist the urge to fill every inch of shelf or tabletop space. Leaving some “white space” will allow the eye to rest and also to focus on the accessories that are there.

Anna Jacoby

IRIS Certified Redesigner and Trainer

Anna Jacoby Interiors

www.AnnaJacobyInteriors.com

www.RedesignBusinessTraining.com

Phone/Fax 510-490-0379

Home Staging provides instant gratification for Boston Seller and Realtor

“As owner of DaVinci Designer Gallery, I has been successfully staging homes for over a decade, in the best of times….and, yes, the worst of times.

I want to give you, the sellers, a glimmer of hope and a bit of advice in these “worst of times”.

My staging project last week found me in Peabody at a quaint property with an aqua blue bathroom (shower, sink, and tub), cut up floor plan, steep stairway, and dysfunctional rooms.
After assessing the upgrades, formulating a plan, and scheduling the trades, we set off to work.
Several rooms were painted, a pass-through bedroom was refunctioned as a den, carpets were professionally cleaned, and our blue bathroom went bye-bye. The vanity and toilet were replaced and the tub was reglazed. Updated light fixtures were added throughout along with furnishings art, area rugs and window treatments. This project was completed in five days and just in the nick of time for the photo shoot.

Before the staging process, Realtor Jim Armstrong, of Armstrong Field Real Estate, Salem, MA  was considering putting this property on the market for $309,000. After the staging was completed Jim and the homeowners agreed that the asking price would be set at $339,000.

The home sold for full asking price at the first open house!!
That’s correct staged by Friday sold on Sunday!

For all the staging synics out there, here are the undisputable facts….

1) The Realtor provided the homeowner with a professional Home Staging report by DaVinci Designer Gallery in order to educate them on how to add value to the property.

2) The homeowners spent approximately 2% of the value of their home.

3) The homeowners enjoyed an approximate 500% return on their staging investment.

4) The homes’ visual presentation added to an immediate sale.

Sellers take note. With the vast inventory on the market you  need  to be a step above your competition. Have your home professionally staged allowing it to show its absolute best.

Realtors take note. Educate your clients on positive staging statistics. Visit staged properties and interview  local stagers to find the right one for your client.
 
Most importantly, in  these “worst” of times understand that staging sells a home quicker and for more money. Staging is an integral tool in a real estate sale.