Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Home Staging Tips: Easy Updates

Home Staging Tips: Easy Updates

One of my favorite quick, easy and inexpensive updates is replacing cabinet hardware. I like to use my electric screwdriver to quickly remove the old knobs and pulls and to install the new ones.

Two popular hardware finishes are brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze. I like to coordinate the cabinet harware with the light fixture, faucet and door knobs in the room.

As you can see from the following before and after photos, new hardware makes a difference!
Replace brass knobs with brushed nickel knobs. The chandelier in the kitchen nook was also replaced.



Replace country knobs with oil rubbed bronze.




Replace mismatched brass knobs and pulls with oil rubbed bronze with copper accents.




My favorite places to buy beautiful and inexpensive cabinet hardware are: Home Depot, Overstock.com, and Habitat Restore in Plano.
Youe Home Staging Consultant,
Holly Bellomy
Home Staging and Interior Decorating for Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, and the surrounding areas.





Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Home Office Transformation in Allen, TX

Home Office Transformation in Allen, TX

I had the opportunity to stage a home office in Allen, TX. The office had nice features: built-in bookcases, tons of natural light, wood floors, and slate tile on the walls. There were, however some changes to be made. This is what the office looked like before the home staging:






As you can see, this Allen home office had red walls, clutter, and some personalized items. Home staging is meant to highlight a rooms positive features so I made the following recommendations in order to feature the bookcases, slate walls and wood floor:
1. Paint the walls with Behr Premium Plus Ultra in a satin finish in the color Paramount. Paramount is a dark, neutral color that harmonizes with the slate. This cool color is relaxing, unlike the red color which is very exciting and contrasting to the cool slate. These office walls were painted with one coat. Can you believe it? All of the red paint was covered with less than two gallons of paint!
2. Paint the built-ins. The white paint had yellowed over time.
3. Pack most of the books, all of the collectibles and the personalized items such as the diploma.
4. Bring in some art from the other rooms in the house.
5. Accessorize with other items in the house.
6. And, of course, clean the blinds, windows, and ceiling fan.
After the cleaning, painting, and accessorizing, here is what the office looked like:



The homeowner's furnishings, art, and accessories were used to transform this office and keep the cost of home staging quite low.
When staging your home, keep three things in mind: color, clutter, and cleanliness!
Your Home Staging Consultant,
Holly
Staging and decorating homes in Allen, TX