Interior Redesign and Home Staging Blog

Home Staging adds Tremendous Value to MA Real Estate

Plunging home values and impending foreclosures have made sellers and Realtors anxious about the market, but home staging is a segment of the real estate world that is providing an assured return on investment and DaVinci Designer Gallery is Boston’s premier stager. DaVinci Designer Gallery, a full service interior design and staging firm, has been enhancing properties for over a decade. Owner, Maureen Reddy, explains that her clients enjoy, at least, a 300% return on investment for every staging dollar spent.

In April, Reddy staged a stately Victorian home in Brookline. A $1.8M asking price was considered before Reddy arrived at the property. Realtor Stacey Steck , of Hammond Residential Real Estate- Chestnut Hill, was so amazed at the results of the staging process, she reset the price to $2.1M. The property sold in 45 days at just under $2M.

“The homeowner invested about $10,000, but the transformation was so dramatic, that the home sold for almost $200,000 more than I had originally thought and in record time. A house of that caliber generally stays on the market for 114 days” says Steck.. She added “I believe it is critical to stage a home professionally and I plan on providing my future clients with a staging report by DaVinci Designer Gallery to ensure that they have every possible advantage while selling their property.”

Homeowners who have used stagers agree with Steck’s sentiment and realize the importance of presentation in this competitive market. DaVinci Designer Gallery provides the edge needed to sell a home quickly and for top dollar. Other projects, recently staged by DaVinci Designer Gallery, include a Brighton condo selling in 3 weeks for just under asking, a Lynnfield home with three offers at the first open house, and a JP condo that sold for more than its competing counterparts. Reddy has even staged properties where the homeowners have reconsidered selling because they simply loved the redesign of their home. “Staging is a service that will always garner a return on investment, be it monetarily, days on market, or the sheer enjoyment of living in a newly designed space” says Reddy “No matter the price of the property or location, Staging=Success”

DaVinci Designer Gallery

56 Willow Ave. Winthrop, MA

02152 617.319.2837 617.539.0241

www.davincidesigner.com

Stenciling Made Easy

Stenciling allows you to decorate your home with relatively complex and intriguing designs, without having to master a difficult artistic technique.

There are a wide variety of stencils available at your local craft store, or you can even make your own from pictures or patterns that you find in fabric, on wall paper, in home furnishings, or in design books.

There are two major types of stencils you can use. Some people prefer to have free form shapes, such as figures, or geometric objects randomly applied along the walls, or set in specific scenes. However it’s more common to use some sort of repeating pattern, with a design worked in such a way that it can be applied over and over again in stripes along the surface.The decision as to the type of stenciling used is one that should be determined by the ambiance you are trying to create.

Making your own stencil is a meticulous but relatively easy task. First you have to find an object, a design, or a pattern that you want to use. Don’t choose something that’s too complicated or you might overwhelm yourself and end up with sloppy results. Also bear in mind that a separate stencil will need to be made for each color in the design, so the fewer hues the easier your task.

Copy the design onto a piece of paper a couple of times until you are happy that it’s perfect. If it’s a repeating design, use a straight edge to place a dotted line along the top edge to use as a reference later. Then lay an acetate sheet over the design, taping it in place so that it doesn’t slide.

If you have a reference line, trace that onto the acetate sheet first. Then proceed to copy all designs that are going to have one consistent color onto the sheet. Later, you can use a dotted outline around objects of a different color to help keep everything lined up. Work carefully, and try to reproduce the image perfectly. When done, remove the first acetate sheet and tape another one down to its surface, in order to trace designs of objects that will be the second color. Be careful to line everything up, starting with the dotted reference line, and then moving on to the major and background objects.

Once you have the designs drawn on acetate its time to cut them out. Lay the first sheet on a cutting board and use a craft knife to carefully slice the various objects from it. Each incision should be precise, with the knife drawing down towards you, and your hands far away from the blade. Repeat this with each sheet until you have the entire pattern cut out. Actually applying the stencil to the wall is just a matter of placing and painting. If it’s a repeat pattern you will want to use a straight edge and some chalk or light pencil marks to create a guiding border which will match up with the broken line on your stencil. Specially made stencil brushes should be used to apply the paint. Dip the brush very gently in the color, and then wipe off and excess paint so that the bristles are just slightly damp.

As far as actual application you have two basic choices. You can either dab the paint on lightly, creating a soft even coat, or you can swirl it on in tiny circles, allowing you to add depth by making certain brush strokes harder than others.

Fill in all of the cutouts for the first color stencil, and then allow the paint to dry completely before doing the second. Be careful that all of the shapes line up before applying color. If the pattern repeats, slide the stencil until it matches up with the rest of the design properly. If you make any mistakes, a small brush can be used to touch up the design.

Of course any big mistakes can just be washed away with a paint roller and a fresh coat of color. In this way you can create elaborate designs right on your wall. Tiny colorful petals can bloom, fish can swim along in schools, or clouds can float lazily. Elaborate patterns, twisting geometric shapes, colorful intricacies, these are all available at your fingertips, if your just willing to use a little stenciling creativity.

GIFT EASE…giving the Best without the Stress

by Sandy Dixon www.InteriorArrangements.com

This time of year especially, being prepared for holiday gift giving is essential for our sanity not to mention being a huge time saver. Many people are apprehensive when it comes to gift giving because they:

• are not prepared and wait until the last minute to start thinking about gifts

• get frustrated and can’t think of what to get the person

• feel rushed and get frantic over the time it will take to decide on, find, wrap and possibly send the gift

• find that shopping and all its’ related issues is irritating and not enjoyable

The easy solution to overcome these hurdles is to plan ahead to eliminate the dread! Start with this simple 1-2-3 strategy by identifying:

#1: the OCCASIONS for gift giving: birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, new baby, get well, holidays, thank you and hostess gifts, etc.

#2: the RECIPIENTS: family, friends, co-workers, host and hostess, service providers

#3: INTERESTS and NEEDS: hobbies, sports, foods, flavors, collections, scents, colors, music, etc.

Once you’ve completed these 3 steps, how do you decide on what to choose for thatindividual? Giving the perfect gift is all about matching the recipient with the gift, whichmeans that you need to have a fairly good idea about what he or she needs, values and/orcan put to good use. It should be something that:

• honors or expresses something important to the recipient

• fills a specific need, desire or interest and always says that you have taken the time to pay attention to that specific
  person’s preferences

Make it personal, unless the relationship warrants otherwise (your boss, a member of an organization you belong to, a service provider like your hairdresser, housecleaner, etc.). Keep the gift appropriate for the receiver and not for you! Simplify the process by asking the person what they need or would enjoy receiving….like a magazine subscription, a year of Netflix, a gift card to one of their favorite stores or restaurants.

Have an assortment of gifts on hand in order to always be prepared for giving thoughtful gifts. The goal is to discover what makes the people you’ll be giving gifts to, feel special. You do that by paying close attention. My ‘gift radar’ is up at all times. I watch and I listen for clues and hints relating to:

• What is important to them? What do they talk about or mention having an interest in?

• What are they passionate about or dedicated to…an organization, an activity, a sport of team, gardening, reading, crafts?

• Their favorite foods, restaurants, flavors or brands

• What are their clothing and fashion preferences, color and sizes (never try to guess at sizes!)

• What do they collect?

Keep a ‘preference list’ for special people you give gifts to and keep a ‘cheat sheet’ in your purse or wallet with sizes, scents, colors or things they collect. Be ‘gift minded’ where ever you are—this takes practice but will be well worth your while! I’ve turned gift-scouting into a fun hobby and am delighted when I find that extra special gift well before I need it, eliminating the need for a last minute frenzied shopping trip.

Tip: Keep up to date on preferences and make sure they are still like or are collecting what you thought.

I look for every opportunity to find perfect gifts and have come across some unbelievable finds in very unusual places! For instance:

I frequent gift or specialty stores and find a variety of treasures at art fairs, consignment stores, thrift stores and farmers markets.

When I am on a business trip or on vacation I always peruse the airport and hotel gift shops.

A place people rarely think to look is in hospital gift shops, grocery, hardware and drug stores.

When it comes to storing and keeping track of the gifts I have bought for specific people and occasions, you need to have a system in place. It’s great to shop ahead and have that perfect gift ready and waiting to be given, BUT if you can’t find it, your pre-shopping habit will be of no use!

You’ve got to remember what you have bought AND where you have put it—especially when you may have bought it months ahead of time. So in the spirit of organization here is my easy 3S (Space/Sort/ Specify) gift organizing game-plan:

SPACE: designate a closet, cabinet, shelf or storage bin where all gift items will be kept until needed. Keep every gift potential there and not strewn throughout your house.

SORT: Keep ‘like with like”. Gifts for specific people should be grouped together, as well as keeping generic groups together like gifts for birthdays, hostess gifts, holiday related gifts, animal or themed gifts and so on.

Tips:
• Use a label maker to create shelf labels that identify the grouped items, for instance: ‘Birthdays’, ‘Hostess Gifts’, ‘Christmas’, ‘Anniversary’, ‘Golf
Theme;, ‘Animal Theme’

SPECIFY: Keep items visible and well labeled. Remember you can’t give it if you don’t know it’s there or can’t find it.

If you can’t tell by the box or bag what is inside, either take it out of the bag (keep the receipt with it) or tape a small label on the container identifying the contents or place the item(s) in a clear bag and mark the contents on the outside. For smaller items like ornaments, candles, packaged napkins, jewelry—use a plastic, lidded container and put ‘like’ items inside—use a label maker to make a label with the name of the group ‘candles’ napkins’ ornaments’, etc.

Tips:
• Keep all your gift wrap, tissue, gift boxes, gift cards, ribbon, tape and scissors together on a shelf or in a bin near your gift storage area.
• A fun way to recycle greeting cards is to cut out the image and/or verse from the card cover and use it as an enclosure card for another gift or punch a hole in the upper corner and use it for a gift tag.

Keep things simple. Remember it’s the thought behind the gesture more than the size or cost. Some of my favorite gifts to give:

A card or letter listing memories or special times with an individual (accompanied with a photo if possible).

An experience: tickets to a play, concert or event that you can attend together or planning, cooking and sharing a meal together.

For those at a distance, a video of you and your family and pets, your holiday house decorating, singing a holiday song…be creative!

A donation in the recipient’s name to their favorite cause or charity. Some examples of homemade gifts I’ve given::

1) A variety of spices (great gift for cooks) or homemade spice rubs w/recipes
2) Baked goods with the recipes attached; specialty drink recipes with a basket of ingredients; jams or chutneys
3) A large, decorative basket filled with an assortment of giftwrap, tissue, ribbon, gift cards, tape, scissors(so the recipient will always be prepared)
4) Basket of scented and waxed pine cones (an easy project) for quick and aromatic fire starters

But remember…the best gift of all is YOU, whether it is your presence, your voice, your written words or your homemade treats. During the holiday season especially, it is all about acknowledging, connecting with and celebrating the people in our lives in the most personal way we can that is the most precious thing you can give.

Sandy Dixon, owner of Interior Arrangements, Inc. is a Home Staging and Interior Redesign career trainer and speaker. Sandy can be reached at 303.674.8667 or for more information on her certification classes, products and services, visit her website at www.InteriorArrangements.com

Home Staging for the Non-Seller

Maureen Reddy, owner of DaVinci Designer Gallery, adds another timely service to her interior design repertoire…”Home Staging for the Non-Seller”.

According to the Warren Group, a Boston firm that tracks real estate activity, Massachusetts home sales dropped 12.9% in September 2010 compared to September 2009.

In a real estate market where homeowners are hanging on to their property rather than selling, but are in dire need of a redo, DaVinci Designer Gallery provides quick affordable makeovers that have owners falling in love with their homes again. Reddy reflects, “I’ve transformed hundreds of homes in my 15 years of home staging. When I had completed the staging process, sellers would gush over the transformation and wish I had staged the house while they were living there. After hearing this many times over, I decided to offer this unique service to homeowners who are not selling their property, thus ”Staging for the Non-Seller”.

This quick and affordable makeover adopts the principles of home staging by addressing function, flow, balance, and color, while decluttering and organizing. We work with the bones of the house, arrange existing furnishings, and provide paint selection, props, accessories, and art.

“Whether you are selling your home in the future or not selling at all”, says Reddy, “homeowners, themselves, should enjoy the investment of home staging.” The cost of this service is based on an hourly rate so you can virtually transform your home in a day.

Maureen Reddy is the owner of DaVinci Designer Gallery, a full service interior design/ home staging firm, operating out of the Boston, MA area for over 15 years. www.ddg-re.com 617-319-2837

Coffee Color Home Decorating Ideas

Coffee colors are wonderful for home decorating, because the nature of coffee itself has so many positive connotations. It’s exotic, coming to you from across the miles to give you a boost, wake you up, get you started and ready for adventure. It greets us in the morning, and keeps us going in the evening. And the palette is very rich, giving you a wide range of luxurious brown tones to choose from, and providing a wealth of ancillary colors which you can draw from the coffee plant itself.

The actual range of coffee colors runs from the midnight darkness of a black cup o’ Joe all the way up to the pale perfection of café au lait, with every variation running through the middle. And then of course there is the earthy brown of a coffee been itself, practically brimming with the caffeinated goodness that is waiting to be extracted.

You can also draw colors into your palette from the beauty of the coffee plant itself.This tiny evergreen features lush drooping leaves, which are intermittent with tiny short blooming white flowers, as well as the bright red berries known as “coffee cherries”. Buried within those fruit are the “coffee beans” which are actually, merely the plants seeds.

The colors of this lush plant naturally compliment the earthen tones of coffee itself, creating an attractive interplay. Bright red colors can be used as home décor accents, set throughout the space, while pure white items can act as a backdrop to the dramatic colors surrounding it. And of course green tones flow easily with all of these hues, whether you choose to use them as a backdrop, or as complimentary pieces.

Coffee is transported in bags made from a material known as hopsacking. It is a tough, durable brown material with rich colors and textures. This can also be used as a decorative element, cutting panels out of old hopsacking and sowing it onto decorative pillows to create your fluffy full simulated coffee bean bags. If you can’t find an authentic bag, hemp or jute can be purchased at a local fabric store. Use fabric paint and a home made stencil to imprint coffee been logos on the material to complete the authentic look.

Many materials, such as hardwood, whicker, and thatch, all blend seamlessly into coffee color decorative schemes. Accessories such as curtains and carpets should try to contrast light against dark with the other coffee flavored tones in the space.

A room rich with coffee colors can be complimented by the introduction of a variety of coffee decorative items which are available. Posters and other promotional items can be printed with ads for coffee beans, or famous cafes worldwide. Drink coasters printed with coffee specific images, and pictures of the coffee plant or of places where it is grown will also fit well into the overall style. In fact almost any piece of décor can be given a coffee theme just by adhering actual coffee beans to the item in lines and patterns.

By using coffee colors, and really coffee philosophy in the decoration of a room, you will be evoking all of the things that the beverage stands for. Excitement, adventure, travels to exotic locations, energy and vigor, chance encounters and warmth that can beat back the coldest winter mornings. All of these elements can be imparted onto the space through the simple act of evoking warm coffee colors in your home.

The Trouble With T.V. Rooms – Elegance Versus Technology

Electronic devices fill our lives, bringing the wonders of the technological age into our homes and surrounding us with entertainment and convenience. However the problem is that a lot of these devices are built to be functional; and if decorative considerations are taken into account it’s usually an attempt by the designers to make the piece look as futuristic as possible. This will almost never match traditional or contemporary home furnishings, leaving these delightful toys as sore spots on the beauty of a room.

The good news is that there are a variety of ways to either hide, or incorporate these high tech gadgets into the natural decorative setting in your home. This is compounded by the fact that technology is getting smaller, flatter, and more innovative in a variety of ways, which can allow you new and exciting options when trying to integrate these pieces into an environment.

First off, the most traditional solution to electronic decorating blues is to simply hide the pieces behind a door. There are many entertainment centers that are built to allow you to close doors over media devices, and even over a television. Television cabinets are not uncommon, and can usually be purchased in whatever style will best match the rest of the room, allowing you to pick and choose when you bring the high tech gadgetry out of hiding.

However today, flat screen televisions give you a wealth of options for hiding that over sized screen that is clashing with the rest of the room. These thin monitors can be installed in fixtures that let them slide in and out of cabinets, swing out of walls, or shoot down from the ceiling. While those options may be a little expensive, requiring fairly extensive construction to change the nature of the walls, floors, ceiling, or fixture, another less costly option is to set a curtain around the media center. A tapestry can also be used, hiding the gaudy electronics, behind a graceful cloth pattern of your choosing.

Another major problem with these modern accessories are the plethora of cords that can end up strung back and forth across a room, running from media to peripherals and back again.

The traditional way to hide wires has been to trace them along creases in the walls, usually allowing them to flow along the line of the floor, the ceiling, or angles in the walls. This can be accomplished using specialty wiring nails, or if you are skilled and very careful, a staple gun.

In general, cords should also be shortened to the smallest length possible, combined into bundles using ties, and hidden behind existing furnishings such as a tv stand or beneath a coffee table. In general organization will do more for your chaotic clusters than anything else.

Today there are even more ways to hide your wires, with specialty covers being sold at your local hardware store that can completely hide the unsavory snaking twines of electric wire that slip along your walls. These can be elaborate pieces which match just about any finish, or simple strips which merely cover up the cords, depending on how much you are willing to spend and how elaborate you’re willing to get.

While electronics generally don’t match any of the traditional furnishings you find in homes, there are a variety of ways to hide them within the decorative aspects of the space. There are a wealth of pieces that can be used to cover up media pieces, screens, and even cords. Depending on how elaborate you want to get you can even have these devices installed directly into walls, allowing you to hide them dimensionally within the architectural under belly of the space.