How can hiring an Interior Decorator or Home Stager help get my home sold?

English: Subject: Home staged for resale - Family room, kitchen :Location: North Phoenix, Arizona, USA :Date: August 2006 :Photographer: Andwhatsnext :Credit: Work completed by Steve Price/JesmondHomes.com :Original digital photograph, resized :Photo copyright (c) 2006 by Nancy J Price (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not all, but most Interior Decorators have additional training in home staging. The biggest challenge in home staging is getting your client to let go of what they currently have tried that has failed and trust that your knowledge in home staging will only help their home sell.

What you can do
As a homeowner you have to be willing to be flexible and give your stager the ability to work with your home. If you don't understand something they are doing ask them to explain the concept to you. Most  stagers have a strategy in place and can tell you exactly why this items needs to be removed, or placed elsewhere. You may have to accept a little constructive criticism as well. If you have a light fixture or piece of furniture that is extremely dated, your stager needs to be able to point that out to you and possibly cover it or remove it. Dated fixtures, furnishings, etc all can be potential deal breakers for buyers. Leave your personal feelings, and tastes out of the equation for the best results.

Français : Exemples de Home staging virtuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What to expect
A good Interior Decorator/stager will sit down and spend a little time just getting to know you. Home staging is not a one day deal in most cases. The first meeting is usually about interviewing you and accessing your homes needs. That may include asking questions about your general habits during the day and evening, what your expectations are with regards to the results of any staging, and what your limits are regarding what you are willing to let a stager to do get your home sold. They will usually take the information, measurements and come up with a floor plan and strategy to present to you on the next visit. Please make sure you discuss what your budget is and see if your stager can work with it. Most quotes a stager/decorator give you are flexible, especially if they are independently employed.

The benefit of depersonalization
When a stager comes into your home and begins removing your personal effects, it is sometimes traumatizing to the homeowner. However each personal object that is taken away allows for the buyer to imagine their own decor in the space. This is ultimately what you want. The more your home looks generic, the easier it is for a buyer to envision their life in the house.



 Français : Exemple de Home staging virtuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)













The outside should reflect the inside
Many potential buyers will do a drive-by of your home before actually committing to go inside to take a look. If your home lacks curb appeal, you may miss a lot of traffic when you have an open house. At a minimum, keep your lawn cut and watered, and hedges trimmed. It bears mentioning as well that a yard and/or front porch can be just as cluttered as the interior of a home. Treat the outdoor space the same way as the interior space and remove unnecessary, distracting things from your yard.

Eye on the prize
Keep remembering what the goal of the staging is, to get your home sold. The sooner you can cut your personal ties to the home, the easier it will be for someone else to love it, and that means buying it. A stager is not there to resell your home back to you. That is what they do as an Interior Decorator, but when they offer staging services the approach is different, and the goal is different. Always think like a buyer when you work with a stager, not like a homeowner. Your refusal to detach temporarily can mean long term failure and many possible price drops in your home.

The good news
Homes that are properly staged sell faster for more money. By removing your excess during the staging process you have also cut your moving time in half as well. This means getting into your new home that much faster.  Keep in mind, no stager can produce miracle results, and there is no guarantee that your home will sell just because you hired a stager/decorator. However, the odds are that you will sell sooner and for more money with the help than without it. Consider the experience as a valuable learning tool and it will no doubt help you the next time you have to sell your home and that alone will make it worth it.

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South Carolina, like many other states has faced a decline in home market value. Homes are staying on the market longer and home owners are struggling with finances. In these economically stressful times, homeowners are constantly looking for ways to save money.

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Top five low cost home staging techniques
Home staging is sometimes the only weapon in a sellers arsenal. Getting an offer in a down housing market is all about strategy. In an economically stressed society, a home seller has an uphill battle trying to make his home stand out,and often too little money for major changes. There are low cost strategies that the seller can do, and should do. The list below is the top 5 low cost staging strategies a homeowner can do to compete.

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Trends to look out for in color in 2011

Image by Christaface via Flickr

Neutral colors are going into exciting areas in home interior design. No longer is beige, ecru, tan and taupe the only neutrals that will emerge. Keep a sharp eye out for these trending neutrals.
Gray is becoming the new neutral of choice in many posh apartments because it lends itself so well to the ever so popular stainless steel, brushed nickels, and dark woods seen on  modern sleek furniture. Paired with crisp white it can go as modern and contemporary as any color, or you can take it straight to the ocean and keep the colors soft and light. Gray is one of those neutrals that can fit into many design aesthetics depending on how you couple it with other colors and fixtures.

Look for grayed down pastels, and see smokey hints in purples, greens and blues to re-enter the neutral color pallets in the future. By incorporating gray and beige into pastel colors you end up neutralizing them, especially if enough white or cream color is added to the mix. By controlling this, you can come up with your own unique neutral and also decide whether to make it a cool neutral or a warm neutral.  

If you stick to the basics, you can have a great looking room inside your home every easily. Large surfaces should be neutral. You may be one of those that hates the idea of beige all over the walls, but don't worry, beige is just a backdrop for your true style to come out.

By sticking with a safe neutral backdrop, you have the ability to focus your attention to the really fun part of decorating a room and that is in the accessories! They can be as colorful or wild as you like in fact, you'd be surprised how well classic neutrals go with animal prints, blacks and reds. Your limit is your imagination, and you've played it smart in the meantime. By keeping your back drop neutral, should you sell in the future, you will not have to do any painting, and accessories can always be removed and switched out when showing a house.

Going bold with window treatments, and interesting elements will allow your style and taste to come through without being overwhelming at the same time. This is where style is born. True style is not about overwhelming the senses. Its about melding the senses into one. Your environment should have a great energy and flow.

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A Guide for first time home sellers

Lets say you've outgrown your digs and are ready to move. Selling a home in a down market can be a scary thought. Will you be able to pay off the balance? Will there be money left for the next purchase? Will your home sell in under three months, or will it sit on the market for a year with little or no interest? These are all fears a first time home seller may have but knowing what you're up against is half the battle. Consider these strategies when placing your home up for sale.

1. Do your research-
Before you place your home on the market research your area and your homes current market value, to get an idea.  Fortunately people have access via the internet that will allow them to take a look at comparable homes in the area. Knowing what they are currently selling for will help you gauge the value of your home. Knowing a rough idea of what your home is worth will help you determine whether it is a good idea to sell or not. For instance a home that has lost value in the last few years may not clear enough through the sale to allow you to make a down payment on your next home.

2. Be realistic, not greedy-
Its nice to make a huge profit, but it is also nice to make a sale in a reasonable amount of time. Don't overprice your home.  Many homeowners would like to believe their home is worth far more than it may be. However, many fail to realize what they are truly up against. Consider the competition, new construction and other updated homes. Have you kept up with your homes maintenance? When was the last time you upgraded things like appliances, furnaces, air conditioning, even fresh paint? These things will make a difference and in today's economy it is a buyers market. This means buyers have more to pick from than ever before. Your first threat is new homes. They are new, every aspect of them have been updated and curtailed to meet the demands of the current market. Your next threat is the homes in your area that are updated. Maybe their kitchen has been upgraded, or they have recently updated their bathrooms. Take stock at your competition, and follow suit. Make improvements before you place your home on the selling block. Beware, over improving for the neighborhood is counter-productive. Keep improvements within what people would expect for your price point and in your area.

3. Curb appeal-
Potential buyers see the outside of your home first. This is crucial information to have as a seller. What a potential buyer sees and their first impressions can either make or break a sale. What is your objective? Ofcourse, you want your home to say, "hey, take a second look, I'm worth it". How do you achieve this? Common sense strategies work magic in the housing market. Clean up the yard, trim the hedges back, play up the positives, repair and fix the negatives. Add flowers, fresh paint, and little touches like a new welcome mat can make a buyer get a feel for what type of a home you have. Well maintained means less expense for them. Remember to take a drive by your home, the improvements and best features need to be visable from the road. If you can't see it, a drive by buyer can't either.

4. Interior updates-
Not everyone can afford all the new upgrades that  a new home has, but you can certainly spruce up what you do have. Home staging is a crucial part of the selling process. Clean, spacious interiors are more attractive and give a buyer a real sense of the square footage they are buying. Remove clutter, and unnecessary furniture. Place as much as you can into storage and pack up personal items. Remember too, if it is older than 5-10 years old it will hurt your homes appeal. That goes for almost every part of your home, from furniture to appliances. Colors that are non neutral date a home, so if you have hard wood floors under that Hunter green carpet seriously consider unveiling it. Even if it isn't in the best shape buyers are willing have hard wood over dated carpeting. Colors that are date specific and translate into outdated decor are Hunter greens, country blues, brass metals and black lacquer. Make sure do have a friend or neighbor do a trial walkthrough of your home to point out things you may have overlooked. This includes smell, clutter, dusty areas etc. You may be immune to the smells in your home and if you have any pets, this is crucial. Thorough cleaning, steam cleaning carpets, upholstery and drapes can make a big difference. Get your Febreze ready.

5. Use the internet to your advantage-
Even if you sign on with a real estate agency, there's no harm in helping sell your home yourself. Posting links to your home on the internet is a great way to generate interest. Use updated, photos that are well lit, and show the best angles and attributes of your home. Did you know Ebay classifieds will post your ad for free? Post your home on other sites for free as well like Zillow.com and if  you have friends that are bloggers, send them your info and have them post it to their blog. Become active in the sale of your home.

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Building a design in a room

Whenever we take on a project like designing a room, especially do it yourself projects, it is a good idea to build on the design in stages. Trying to complete too many tasks at the same time will be reflected in the finished product. There are layers involved with a redesign, and for those doing the projects work primarily themselves, this projects need to be simplified through organization and a little planning in advance.

What to address first in a redesign?
This can be tricky as it boils down to what degree of redesign you are talking about. A complete redo, ie: walls, flooring, fixtures, furnishings,appliances, etc require planning the budget first and foremost. Always figure on spending twice what estimate you come up with, especially for kitchens and bathrooms. There are a lot of unforeseen issues that can arise in those rooms in particular, so factor that in. Research online for all available sources of supplies and materials. Factor in where these stores are located as this is a real time drainer if out of town, however in some cases well worth it budget-wise.
What areas of a room redesign to address first?
Large surface areas should probably be first once your budget is in place. In this part of the redesign, you want to address all large surface areas, such as, ceilings, walls, countertops (if doing a kitchen remodel) and lastly floor. Bring home samples of paint, paired with carpet samples, fabric swatches, flooring samples etc. Just as designers do, you will want to assemble a portfolio of the room to be redone. Use pictures, samples, notes and measurements to keep yourself organized and on budget. Never head to the hardware store without measurements and never leave home without your measuring tape and preferrably a camera. Taking pics of flooring, carpets, paint colors is a good way to keep track of what you liked in the store. Especially when samples aren't available for the item you are interested in.

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Do I need to use all neutrals?
If you keep the large surface areas of a room neutral, it will be far easier to pull the total rooms look together later on when you begin to build the room with the other components like the appliances, accessories, wall decor, fixtures, and finishes. If you got too bold and color specific in your large surface areas, you will be limited in your design aesthetics. Remember your personality and specific tastes can be added to the room manually with your accessories.

Remember that the little details matter.
Once you have chosen flooring, walls are painted, and anything involving your ceiling has been addressed, it is imperative that any metallic finishes in the room match up with each other. Do not mix brass and pewter. It will come off looking unpolished and not well put together.

What about accent colors?
Most rooms can accommodate a 3 color accent pallet. Especially if the primary large surfaces have been kept  neutral. The secondary accent in most rooms is usually in the cabinetry and/or trim. Going extra bright white, or with a contrasting dark color is a good way to frame out the room. The third color introduction would be in all of your design elements, pillows, fabric, drapes etc. Here you can get color specific, just make sure colors work well together and aren't clashing with each other.

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Neutral Painting

If you stick to the basics, you can have a great looking room inside your home every easily. Large surfaces should be neutral. You may be one of those that hates the idea of beige all over the walls, but don't worry, beige is just a backdrop for your true style to come out.

By sticking with a safe neutral backdrop, you have the ability to focus your attention to the really fun part of decorating a room and that is in the accessories! They can be as colorful or wild as you like in fact, you'd be surprised how well classic neutrals go with animal prints, blacks and reds. Your limit is your imagination, and you've played it smart in the meantime. By keeping your back drop neutral, should you sell in the future, you will not have to do any painting, and accessories can always be removed and switched out when showing a house.

Going bold with window treatments, and interesting elements will allow your style and taste to come through without being overwhelming at the same time. This is where style is born. True style is not about overwhelming the senses. Its about melding the senses into one. Your environment should have a great energy and flow. Check out Pier 1 Imports for neutrals that are faaaaaaaaaaar from boring...