The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet's "Staged" Home. Before & Afters...

A Hollywood home with an adventurous past gets a new makeover and offers up 

plenty of inspiration for home staging ideas. 

"The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet" home is for sale in the Hollywood Hills listed at $4.995 million. The house sold last year in 2013 for $3.025 million and has since undergone quite the renovation by designer Kishani Perera.
I love this exercise in decor change because it is such a great example of taking a dated home and transforming it into a stylish, current home that will last the new homeowners many years to come.

Take a look at the difference in how the home shows from the real estate listing photos last year vs. today's current listing on MLS.

Before Entry

After Entry

Before Living Room

After Living Room

 Okay, I love this one! Look at the storied past of the family room. 

Photo Credit

Before

After

Before Dining Room

After

Before Kitchen

After

Check out the rest of the current listing tour here on Zillow.

The house is staged so well. Let's see if it gets the almost $2million increase a year later!

I Found Your Favorite Paint Color!

2014 is buzzing along like crazy! I can barely keep up with the pace at which we have quotes and floor plan designs flying out the door. And, just like that.......stopped in my tracks...........I discover the best design tool I have found since Pinterest! Talk about making our lives easier and taking our creative brains to a new pace. I'm so excited to share this! We are obsessed with this tool and started using it from day one. Check it out... it's called Chip It, from Sherwin Williams.

Here's how it works: Go to www.LetsChipit.com and drag the Chip It button up to your browser.

Here's your new color chip board!! 

Save it, share it and paint it!!!

You can create boards with all of your ideas. I absolutely love this!

Here are some of my favorite rooms and their new chip boards I created.

You can Chip It any photo.

This one is probably my favorite. 

Okay, so let's get chipping! Next time you see your favorite color at the farmer's market, 

it just might inspire an entire room in your house!
Follow our Chip Boards!

Thank you Sherwin Williams!

Creating Empty Space When Selling

When it comes to staging a home, new furniture, cleaning and organizing seem to be the hot topics. There is however, an important dynamic in staging that is not often addressed which is what I call "empty space". This tends to come into play more so for homeowners living in their home while selling.

Empty space is important because it offers the perception of having an abundance of space(square footage). The buyer gets the impression that there is more than enough livable space. The balancing act comes into play through strategic staging tactics that still demonstrate how the home is used without "over-decorating" the space.

Here are some helpful tips for opening up the space without losing ambiance.

Move furniture away from the wall. Like this...

via The Evergirl, see the house tour here.

I call it "furniture arrest", where all of the furniture is up against the wall. Moving furniture away from the wall and placing a sofa table behind, or perhaps nothing, just gives the room an airy feeling. 

There are very few cases where a chair should be square up against a wall.

Remove layered drapes and hang them high.

Window treatments warrant their own post for later, however for creating space, removing heavy swags and layered panels is a good start. This will open up the space, let the light in and make the room feel bigger. Solid colored panels are always a good bet. Drapes should be hung high, not at window height.

Clear the countertops.

Clearing the countertops can help open up the kitchen space however, creating purposeful decor is important. Too much empty space can call attention to any defects and also lose the emotional impact needed to connect with buyers.

Use white hotel bedding.

via Williams Sonoma Home

Hotel striped bedding is a great way to calm the visual space in the bedroom and create the perception of more room. Live plants in the room are also great. 

IKEA has fiddle leaf fig trees for $12.99 right now! Such a great deal.

Keep surfaces clear of clutter.

Via Wisteria

Dressers, tables and shelving should stay clear of personal belongings. Candles should be new and flowers should be real or look real. (no dried flowers) Accessories can be grouped into 3's (like above) to make a visual impact. Spreading things out makes the space look more cluttered.

Try some of these tricks at home and see what you think! 

Want more ideas? Follow us on FACEBOOK and PINTEREST.

Boston High Life

It's always fun to share the memorable spaces we see while staging and consulting. Here are some "before' photos of us consulting on a new listing by Campion & Co. in Boston. 

High above Boylston St. at the Mandarin Oriental:

The views are amazing

The floors are fabulous!

 Great entry.

More incredible views of Boston

Great bathtub.

Here is the finished product and new listing from Campion & Co. 

Listed at 13.5M.

Styling Tips for Real Estate Photos

When it's time to sell your home, your house becomes a product. In order to sell a product for the highest price and in the least amount of time, it needs to have a strong marketing campaign. This is where your photos take top priority. I 'm not sure why in an Instagram, pinning, socially driven world, so many real estate photos still look like they did 10 years ago.

Many top agents are using professional home stagers and photographers which is great. Ask them and they will tell you, it works! Our focus this year is demonstrate how styling your photos can further enhance a home's appeal. But there's a catch!!

Styling is a learned art and you can find many tips online however, it is MUCH trickier when styling to sell. Why? Because you're selling the house, not the "things". You want to tell a story reflective of the BUYER and the house, not you (the seller) and your family or style. 

Here are some easy "beginner" tips for styling great real estate photos:

BEFORE Your Photo Day:

Get a notepad and walk the house. It's a great idea to look through your own camera if you have one, just for ideas. Look at each room individually. Ask, "What is the focal point of the room?"  This should be a feature of the house/room, something that is staying with the house, not a personal item. 

Perhaps a kitchen window? In the photo below, none of us would live with flowers on both edges of the sink (especially in perfect matching white pots), while doing dishes etc. Yet, for photo styling, framing the focal point window with symmetry and a hint of color is perfect. 

via Pinterest

Make a list of things to de-clutter or purposefully arrange, like pulling out mis-matched dishes, kids cups etc.

In the living room, no remote controls, lamp cords, or straight on "sofa shots".
Rugs are a popular item to edit out when staging. In this photo of the living room, the room looks so much larger having a sisal rug instead of a patterned rug.  You could take the rug out for the photo too. The wedding photo(below) is good for styling the photo but would be best taken out for showing time.
Keep making your list of tables and counters where you may want fresh flowers. Maybe next to the bed?

via Boxwood Clippings Blog

In the bedroom, the typical real estate shot usually captures the bed as the focal point. Stand at different angles in your room and decide which spot best captures the whole of the room. Then you are able to decide what areas you may want to style for the photo. I like this photo below because you can see the wall change ups in the space, in addition to the great skylights. The accessories and the (plain white) throw are positioned just right to fit within the frame. You can tell there is a large seating area in the room and it makes you want to see more! 
Plus, I like how although the room is neutral, the color is nicely translated. I'm not sure what the deal is with the weird, sepia/grey filter is on many of the photos I see now, but I must say...I'm not a fan.

Think of your whole house as a decor shop. What little items could you borrow from one room to use in your photo? Remember, things can move from room to room for your photos! Just return them to their spot when your finished, or perhaps you'll decide you like it better where it is. It's funny how shopping your own house can make things feel new again. Before the photographer arrives, have your bathrooms staged and ready.

On the DAY OF the photo shoot:
- Have your fresh flowers and a little pile of extra props(accessories) in a readily available spot. I call this your "shopping spot".
- 

Nothing perks up a photo like fresh flowers and they don't have to be expensive. Get some tall ones and short ones and play with the scale in different vases. The "fresh off the farm" look is in, so go for it!

via Better Homes & Gardens

Fresh flowers that have a short shelf life are good for your Open House days. Make sure to toss out any wilted flowers prior to scheduled showings.

Martha O'Hara Interiors

Although it can seem like a daunting task, styling your photos can really make a huge difference. It does take a little practice but I think you'll find it to be quite interesting to see your house in a different perspective. Let your Realtor know ahead of time that you would like to put some thought into styling your photos. maybe you want to be there or maybe your Realtor or Professional Stager can help. Professional photographers should be accustomed to working with a stylist. I've only had one photographer give me a hard time about trying to make suggestions on opening the door for the shot, etc. 

The fact is, you deserve the best photos for your marketing campaign. So don't be shy, get involved and style your way to SOLD!

Happy Selling!!

What Home Buyers Want in 2013

If your plans are to ring in the new year with buying a home, chances are you've got a couple of "must-haves" on your shopping list. Our Builder friends, Home Sellers and Real Estate Agents are dying to know the latest  "hot buttons" for the 2013 home buyer. We see a lot houses up here in the Northeast and every time we stage a house that sells, a home buyer is born. 

We've got the scoop on what they're looking for!

(especially in the kitchen!)

In 2012, the National Kitchen and Bath Assoc. revealed that the "traditional" kitchen fell out of the top spot and a modern movement was trending in kitchen design. We see this with all areas in the home. 

Keeping in mind, there is a tipping point. 

Appealing to a large audience when selling means finding a balance between  

"a little bit country, and a little bit rock-n-roll."

via Wisteria

This does not mean a professional,"I work from home" office, although

 there may be a need for that too, this is the household:

• Homework Hole
• IT Department
• Check Facebook status
• Mini DIY Starbucks 

ZONE

via houzz

I know we've heard this before however, it seems that these "outdoor" spaces are taking on a new vibe for 2013.  The big outdoor kitchen took a turn in the "trendy" direction while the "outdoor living room" seems to be getting more than comfortable, not only sticking around, but changing the way homes are designed.

In the North East, no one demonstrates this better than The Green Company in Plymouth, MA.

If you are building a house, you MUST visit Greengate at Pinehills, it's so worth your time!

Here is a floorplan at Greengate that gets it right! Right sized and right designed for 2013's buyer.

Merging the in and out possibilities:

The days of "builder basic" lighting is over and our clients either go willingly or we tackle them to the floor and make them cry uncle until submission. (kind of ;)

WHY is it important? Because it's a way to get a HUGE bang for your buck.

Our favorite store? West Elm

We suggest West Elm lighting somewhere in the house for every model home we design. It looks expensive and can translate into any style of home. We put this W.E.turned pendant light in a recent model home. 

Here's the Capiz Pendant via Decor Pad. Seriously, it can hang with the big boys. From The Hamptons to Paris, find us a room and we can find you a light from West Elm that looks great. ;)

Another fave for a large foyer is the Troy Maidstone 6 light.

From reclaimed wood to cork, our floors are getting attention in 2013. And although everyone may not be able to afford a stunning, chevron patterned, wood floor, it looks like 

carpet may be taking a vacation in 2013.

Builders and homeowners struggle with this because flooring can add quite an increase to the budget however, knowing what is relevant to the home's price point is key. If your home is listed at $1M or higher, you should pay attention to what's underneath your potential buyer's feet. 

Those Loubes like upgraded flooring.

For the rest of us, there are some really great alternatives. If you can get your hands on the reclaimed wood look- go for it!

The hand- planed look is happening and the darker, the better.

 

And while you're at it- prepare for the ceiling to take it's place in the spotlight too. 

On a side note, the announcement of Pantone's color the year for 2013 has everyone buzzing. 

When you're selling your home it can be difficult to work in the latest trends without making it too personal and throwing off your buyer audience. Here are a few tips to get your emerald fix without going GREEN overboard.

Accessorize with color

 Camilla Molders

And if you absolutely must go there, take to a smaller room, like an office or a small bedroom. Keep a neutral backdrop and go for accents through window treatments and pillows. Just remember, you're moving, so think about how you're going to decorate your new home!

Camilla Molders

What are you doing to your house in 2013?