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.

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

http://www.dallasrealestatestaging.com/

Staging and decorating homes in Allen, TX

Family Room Update: Interior Redesign and Decorating

Family Room Update: Interior Redesign and Decorating


I had the opportunity to help a Carrollton resident with her family room. We rearranged the room while using the items that she owned. After I left the residence in Carrollton, the homeowner got busy making the additional changes that I recommended.


This is how the room looked before the redesign:



This is how the room looked when I left:

This is how the room looks now.

The homeowner:

1. Added a leather chair that was upstairs and not being used

2. Moved the TV to the opposite corner so that it can easily be viewed

3. Purchased a sofa table, baskets, side table, and plants

Now this room can now seat more people and it is conducive to conversation...exactly what the homeowner ordered!

Your Dallas Home Decorator,

Holly Bellomy

Dallas Real Estate Staging offers home staging and interior decorating solutions to Dallas and the surrounding areas including Allen, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Lucas, and Fairview.

Home Staging Tips: Define the Room

Home Staging Tips: Define the Room

I had the pleasure of helping a homeowner stage the dining room in her Allen, TX home. As you can see from the photo below, the room was used for many activities, except for dining.

Tip: When staging your home for sale it's important to define each room, in other words, tell potential buyers how the room should be used by placing specific furnishings in it. This way buyers can imagine themselves living in the home.

Our goals for the room:

1. Clear out the clutter, including the personal items and collections

2. Maximize the architectural details

3. Maximize the square footage

4. Define the room as the formal dining room

This is how the room looked after we staged it:

This is what we did:

1. Took the table and chairs from the kitchen nook and placed them in the dining room

2. Released the chandelier which had been tied up

3. Touched-up paint

4. Placed decorative plates in the niches

5. Hung iron art on the wall

6. Accessorized the dining table

Your Dallas Home Staging Consultant,

Holly Bellomy

Home Staging and Decorating for Allen, McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Dallas

Family Room Dynamics

I recently met with a home owner in Carrollton, TX who said she wanted to stage her home, but she didn't want to sell her home. She wanted a "model home" look so that she could enjoy her house and I said, "I can help!"

She gave me the grand tour of her home and proceeded to tell me what she liked and disliked about each room. We ended up in the family room where she said that she wanted it to look inviting and accommodate the adults. She had recently changed the drapes and pillows but the furniture arrangement wasn't working. In fact she said that when her family of six gathered to watch TV, her seat was on the floor!

The home owner and I quickly began to move the furniture. Here is a before photo:
As you can see, there is no focal point and the furniture is not set up for intimate conversations. The TV is not easy to view either! So, this is what we did:

1. We pulled the sofa away from the wall and into the room. We placed it across from the fireplace, directing the attention there.

2. The corner to the left of the fireplace is where the TV will find it's new home. It will be easier to view.

3. The chair was moved next to the sofa to encourage conversation.

4. The homeowner had a coffee table that she brought out and I accessorized it with items she had around the house.

5. I leaned a different piece of art on the mantle for color and drama.

Here is a different view of the room before the redesign:

And here is the room after the redesign.

We used what the homeowner had in her home for the redesign.

In order to complete the room I made the following recommendations:

1. Hook up the cable at the opposite side of the room.

2. Purchase a sofa table with cubbies that will hold baskets of toys for her young son and place it behind the sofa.

3. Bring down the leather chair from the loft that doesn't get any use and place it to the right of the fireplace.

4.Purchase a side table and place it between the sofa and chair.

5. Purchase a lamp with a satin nickel finish and make sure that it's taller than the furniture and place it on the side table.

6. Add a potted plant next to the side table.

This homeowner has a plan for a sensational family room. She can complete the room over time, adding furniture and accessories as she likes! And, hopefully, with the extra chair, she won't have to sit on the floor!

Holly Bellomy

Dallas Home Staging Consultant

http://www.dallasrealestatestaging.com/

HGTV is coming to Dallas!

Are you a first time home seller? You may qualify to be on HGTV! And if you do, I would be happy to help you with a complimentary home staging consultation or complimentary furniture lease for a month.

Call me if you live in Dallas, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, or the surrounding area.
Your Dallas home staging consultant,
Holly
214-532-9677

Home Staging 101: Establishing the Focal Point

The focal point in the family room is almost always the fireplace. Achieving scale and balance in order to draw attention to this feature can be tricky, especially when you have an open floor plan.

I had the opportunity to rearrange this family room in a home that is on the market in Plano. The first thing that I noticed when I walked in to the room was the teal sofa. I didn't want potential buyers to walk in and notice the sofa as I did; I wanted them to notice the features of the room; I wanted them to notice the fireplace.

Here is the before photo:


So, I moved the sofa and placed it across room from the fireplace. This solved two problems. It balanced the room and drew focus to the fireplace and not the teal sofa. The console table was behind the chair and I placed it behind the sofa to draw attention away from the teal color.

Here is the after photo:

Here is another before photo:

You can see in this after photo that the room feels more spacious. The seating is intimate, the view of the yard is unobstructed and the focal point is established.

Holly Bellomy, your Dallas Home Stager!

www.dallasrealestatestaging.com
Home Staging and Interior Decorating