Edna Project Finale

Welcome back to Edna's house! It's been a month since Edna decided to put her house on the market. For a reminder of where we started, take a look back at Part I. Since then, the whole house has received a fresh coat of paint and new flooring—two major selling points for buyers. That alone would help to sell the house, but we didn't stop there. It's always important to appeal to the most buyers, and in this case, that buyer is most likely younger than the home seller. In fact, the average buyer age is 30, so our objective during this whole process was to make the house a place we'd feel like moving into (since some of us working on the project may or may not be around that age). Okay—without further ado, here are the before and afters!!!

Less is more! A buyer will feel drawn in the different living spaces and begin imagining themselves as the owner.

Here's the same room from some different vantage points:

Plenty of space for entertaining!

Now that the great room is revealed, let's start from the beginning. Do you remember the entry?

The entry is the first impression and therefore, very important. Taking away some of the visual distractions is is key. You don't want your buyer to stop here but rather be guided into the rest of the house. We used colors in the hallway that would be repeated in the kitchen and the great room. This helps to draw the buyer in.

The entry is not the only thing a buyer sees when they first walk in. Typically, from the front door, one can see up to five different spaces at once. Make sure all these spaces work together and create a cohesive feel. For example, the powder room off the entry was one of those spaces. It needed to look fresh and modern (and not to mention, never used).

On the way to the great room, the kitchen is on the right. This kitchen had many different color themes and may have been distracting to a new buyer. It was important to connect the kitchen not only to itself but the rest of the house as well. A new tile back splash gives the kitchen a modern edge...tiling tutorial coming soon.

Bedrooms are the place where people spend most their time. The last thing a buyer wants when walking into this room is to be reminded of the previous owner. It should feel as welcoming as a hotel, but less sterile. Take a look at the new bedrooms:

What was once a guest room officially became the master due to it's walk-in closet. Mission: turn guest/craft room into a relaxing master:

These two rooms shared a bath that previously had been wall papered. After paper removal and a fresh coat of paint, the bathroom is now part of a unified space that feels more like a suite than three separate rooms. 

 Staging is about highlighting the positive elements of a house and making a buyer want to spend more time in the space. We do this by suggesting what they might do there.  If we've done our job, this place will sell quickly!!

DIY Antique Chair Makeover

      One thing that makes stagers unique is that they have to be very creative on a job due to small budgets. We try as often as we can to work with the homeowner's furniture and accessories. Some cases where this can be difficult is when the the furniture is needed in a new home (as is the case in this project) or is so outdated, using it defeats the whole purpose of staging. Now there are a few options in these cases. One can rent from a local furniture rental shop, buy on Craigslist or garage sales (this is more time consuming than one might think) or re-purpose existing pieces. 

One of the chairs that was being left behind on this project had great bones but just needed a little TLC. It was a Louis XVI chair that had already been reupholstered at one point by the owner. No one was taking claim to the chair so it seemed like a great DIY project just waiting for me.

Step 1: Choose great fabric for inspiration

Step 2: Take chair outside for a light sanding

Step 3. Wash chair and prep for paint

Step 4: Paint. (Note: I'm not usually a huge fan of painting wood but we were already painting the garage door this gorgeous color and it worked so well with the fabric I had picked out—so love it or hate it, here we are.)

Step 5: Once paint has dried (it was so humid it took a few days to really set) begin to pull off existing fabric. This will teach you a lot about how to put your new fabric back on. You will need to remove all staples or nails as well.

Step 6. Lay old fabric pieces on new fabric and use as patterns. Also, if you fabric has a pattern make sure you match it so all your pieces are headed the same direction—ex: vines or flowers

Step 7: Cut! (always give yourself extra—you can always cut back  later)

Step 8: Place new fabric on chair and begin to secure (I used staples because their fast). Start in the center and work your way out, smoothing as you go.

Step 9: Cut any excess fabric

Step 10: Glue trim cord onto edges to cover staples—I bought five yards of light brown trim. I had a little extra but that was better than driving back to the store:)

                                                                       

Voila!

Breaking Down the Benefits of Home Staging for the Buyer, Seller, and Realtor

Breaking Down the Benefits of Home Staging for the Buyer, Seller, and Realtor
The most buyer traffic will come through a home the first two weeks it is on the market than any other time period. No one gets a second chance to make a first impression and when you are talking about real estate, the only way to generate new interest in your home is to drop your price to attract a different group of potential buyers. With buyers expecting move-in ready homes and becoming more aware of what to expect in a home, more Realtors and sellers are turning to home staging to help them differentiate their homes from the competition.

Home staging is the process of de-personalizing a home and making it "buyer ready" so it appeals to the largest potential buyer audience possible using proven design techniques that highlight the home's best architectural features.  Home staging, also know as real estate staging, is not home decorating but rather an art that utilizes a home owners existing furniture, lighting, and art work to draw a potential buyers eye to the positive aspects of your home.  Home staging will address furniture layouts, paint schemes, clutter, traffic flows, focal points, lighting, accent colors, and creating that WOW factor.

The potential benefits of home staging for the sellers are:

• Sellers who stage their properties first, also end up packing most of their belonging before the home goes on the market; this makes the move less stressful.
• All the clutter is removed from your home prior to your first Open House.
• The statistics show your home will sell faster because it will show better.

Read the rest of this article at Breaking Down the Benefits of Home Staging for the Buyer, Seller, and Realtor

Joelle Benson | JM Staging Solutions - Wall Paper Removal

The Edna Project--Part II (Diary of a Stager)

Click here to read Part I  http://arrangeforchangemn.blogspot.com/2011/07/edna-project-part-i.html

 Edna needs to stay in the house another night. I know this transition must be hard and this is very normal with a senior move, but it pushes our project back another day. I can't get any work done with her in the house. I imagine the smell of oil based primer, Edna pushing down the hallway with her walker, knocking over paint cans and getting primer on her elbows. I really can't imagine she'll appreciate me rubbing her down with paint thinner to get that stuff off—so I don't. I'm stressed in a 'calm before the storm' kind of way. Ok—so maybe I'll get a pedicure. I need to relax now, because once Edna moves I know I'll be there every day, in a rush to meet the deadline—the open house.

So I go into the salon and it's almost completely full—maybe a wedding party of some sort. They all know each other and are talking across the room. I follow the manicurist’s nod to the chair in the middle of the group—I hope I won't be interfering with their conversation here. I roll up my jeans and stick my feet into the little tub on end of the massage chair. Ahh—any minute, I know warm water will soon fill the basin and begin its work—just what I need on this rainy, Friday afternoon. I pick up my magazine, waiting, trying my hardest to relax. Chit chat chit chat chit chat over my head. Ignore it—read your magazine. Try to relax. Hmm. The water isn't getting warm. Ignore it—read your magazine. Try to relax. I do—I bury my head in my US Weekly and pursue relaxation. Then, “EEEEK!”, screams the manicurist. I look down. The floor around me is covered in water. It seems as though my chair has malfunctioned (which might explain the cold water) and has begun to flood the salon. Panic all around. Every employee abandons their customer and is working together on job number one—stop the water and clean the floor. Annoyed looks dart my way. I shrug and try to duck further into my magazine. From what I can hear (I'm avoiding all eye contact at this point), it seems the water has reached the plug-ins for the massage chairs and the well paying patrons of the salon are not getting the pampering they paid for. My phone rings. I reach precariously behind me to dig it out of my purse all the while trying to ignore my neighbor's glare. It's Pat. “Hi Pat....Uh huh....No—I'm not busy. I'm in the middle of a pedicure, but it's not going well..... Uh huh. Ok.... That's bad.....Yep...I'll head over now.” I need to run off to the job site to let in delivery men, and the call couldn't have come at a better time. I grab my bag, slip on my shoes and slosh out of the salon and I can feel the eyes. Well—so much for relaxation.

The Edna Project--Part I

    As a stager, I come in contact with many people from all stages of life. One of the most rewarding, yet challenging situations, is assisting with a senior move. While all moves are stressful, senior moves have their own set of complications. Many times, they are moving due to failing health or the need of additional care. Often their family is out of state or aging themselves, and both parties can be overwhelmed by the amount of work involved. For example, there is a collection of furniture and personal belongings that has been building for decades. Just tackling the “stuff” alone can be stressful, and emotional. In addition, there is often a fair amount of updating and renovation that needs to be done before putting the house on the market. Deciding to do the work themselves is often out of the question and finding contractors for these jobs is just one more thing to add onto the list. And let's not overlook the importance of organizing the move into the new apartment and making the client feel that they are in a familiar place, surrounded by the things they love. There are so many facets to this event that it's no wonder that there is an increasing number of senior move managers available to assist families as they navigate this chapter in their lives. Check out the The National Association of Senior Move Managers^® to find a certified senior move manager in your own state.

Clutter and an excess of furniture is the main problem in this room.

Welcome now to Edna's place. All of the above are factors in this particular job. On top of all of that, Edna is working on a very limited budget, as are most seniors. But she wants to move on and sell her house as quickly as possible. While I turn to the family and other willing helpers to assist with the elements mentioned earlier, I have a very clear role and duty. It is my job to get the house ready for the market. Our mission: create a space that appeals to a younger buyer without breaking the bank. Here are some pictures so you can get an idea of what we are working with. 

It's hard for the average person to imagine how great a space can be if it's full to the brim with stuff. However, a trained eye can immediately pick out the features of the room and begin a design plan on the spot. For instance, this room has a beautiful fireplace and large windows! We need to buyer to see those as well! Here's a sneak peak at what a little clearing out can do:

Check back soon to see the final product!

This bathroom has the potential to be a spa-like oasis, but a buyer will never be able to look beyond the paper. Task number one--paper removal! Click here to see my tutorial on stripping paper:

Here are some more of the spaces that we will need to update and stage:

We've got our work cut out for us! Make sure to check back in the following days for updates on the project. I'll include tips and lessons learned along the way.

SELLING WITH ALL THE SENSES—LOVE AT FIRST SMELL?

When you think about getting your house ready for sale, hopefully you are thinking about how the house will look to buyers. You’re probably thinking about what colors to paint, what repairs to do and what items to keep or pack. While all this is well and good, so many homeowners forget that buying a house is an emotional experience that happens as soon as the potential buyers walk through the front door—their first impression is a strong and important one.  Those first ten seconds will determine whether they stay to really look at the house or mentally check out and move on. And first impressions are not all about sight. Even though we may not be completely aware of it, our first impressions are built from a collaboration of all our senses working together. The way a house looks, smells and feels (we will talk about taste and sound another time) will influence whether they choose to stick around to fall in love or start dreaming of house number 2, or 3, or 4…yikes! And believe it or not, scent plays a huge role in how that can happen.

So how I can I utilize my house’s scent to set it above the competition?

Do:

·         Take care of any pet or smoke odors by having your carpets professionally cleaned and renting a professional grade air purification system. (NOTE: As we all become accustomed to the ‘ahem’ scent of our homes, it may be necessary to ask a friend to tell you if your house smells ok. Or, if you value your friendships, consider having a professional stager give you the honest truth—it’s our specialtyJ)

·         Consider having the house professionally cleaned prior to an open house. Many companies provide one time cleanings for special events. I highly recommend Clean Day because not only do they use safe cleaners, they smell amazing (more on that below).

·         Have at least one fresh flower arrangement for an open house—flowers are appealing on so many levels.

·         Warning—this tip is only for people who have extra time on their hands, and if you are selling your house, that’s not you. If you like to bake, consider whipping up a fresh batch of cookies or a loaf of bread and letting the aroma linger for the open house. They’ll be dreaming of home cooked meals in no time.

Don’t:

·         Use harsh cleaners that have a strong scent. If buyers walk in and the first  thing they smell is pine-sol, they subconsciously think of cleaning—which is work—which is something we don’t want them to associate with your house.

·         Use strongly scented candles or air fresheners. Those fabricated smells make the buyer think that you’re trying to cover something up. Essential oils used in moderation are a great alternative and can be used for cleaning or air freshening. Make sure to do your research or go with a cleaning company that is educated in essential oil properties/uses. Check out Clean Day for innovative cleaning ideas.