First Impressions, by Susan Adair

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“We are selling our house.”

“We are staying until it sells.”

“What do we do to get it ready? “

What’s the old saying? You only get one chance to make a first impression!

Many sellers live in their homes during the selling process. And let’s face it, we all know we tend to get used to things in and around our homes and pretty soon we no longer notice the weeds in the shrubbery or the rusted light fixture. Besides, we usually come in the garage or back door, right?

This is where your friendly staging consultant comes in! The ultimate goal is, of course, to sell the house. So, what are the steps you need to take? What things do you need to do to make it photograph well from the outside? Those all-important photos make up your 1st showing. These photos bring people to the front door.

Let’s start with that first impression. Here are some key questions to ask:

  1. Is the paint in good shape and clean? Yes, houses get dirty too.
  2. Are the rain gutters clear? No “gutter gardens!”
  3. Is the exterior light fixture in good shape? Is the light bulb pretty? Hint: florescent light bulbs are not pretty. Sparkling, clear glass bulbs are.
  4. Are the shrubs trimmed? Is the mulch in good shape?
  5. How about some potted plants or winter arrangements on the front stoop or porch?
  6. Does the porch have some inviting seating?

If all your answers are “Yes” you are on your way to a great first impression!

Your friendly staging consultant can give you some specific ideas to bring your buyers to your front door and all the way in to fall in love with your house!

Susan

Wall Paper, Paint, Wood Paneling Oh My!!!

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“What were they thinking?”

We have all thought this Exact thing looking at interior paint color choices.

Now this is where you have the choice…do you make a simple change, or leave people with this frightful, poor color image.

Paint is an important key factor in neutralizing a home.  Having bright or dated color is very distracting and unpleasing to potential buyers.  Neutral, light colored paint can freshen up up any room.  A neutral color will offer continuity and consistency throughout the home.  It will have the buyer seeing its potential, not its sudden and drastic wall color changes.  I recommend a flat finish paint because it hides imperfections and provides easier touchups.  As mentioned in my previous blog, Preparing Your Home for Sold, Chintz and Revere Pewter are smart color choices.

The dreaded wallpaper is a must to remove!  Many sellers do not want the hard work of removing it.  Well, neither does the potential buyer.  Wallpaper can be a deal breaker.  If  you choose to leave the wall paper,  you could be significantly reducing your selling profit.  A possible buyer is not always looking for a home that needs updating.  There have been many improvements to wall paper and removing solutions over the years.  Many options are available to help you remove it safely, easily, and without wall damage.  Do not let a potential buyer pass your home by because of unpleasant and dated wall coverings…even if it’s Italian!

Wood paneling makes a lot of us cringe, but it may be a permanent wall.  A simple and inexpensive solution would be to paint it.  Creamy white tends to look best.  Use an oil based or a satin impervo paint, these will give it a natural appearance.  They lay thicker on wood giving it a richer look.

Final Thought…  Have your home buyer feeling…There’s No Place Like Home

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By the Numbers, by Susan Adair

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Preparing Your Home for Sold!

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As mentioned in my Previous blog, Staging Can Show the Maximum Space in Every Room, you should be realistic about the space in each room and do a few simple things throughout the home to prepare for showings.  You should deep clean your home as if a snoopy, pickiest of picky family member is coming to stay with you!  All flooring and carpet should be cleaned and free from stains.  If it is deeply soiled or really old, you may want to look into replacing it.  Walls should be cleaned and freshly painted.  I suggest using Benjamin Moore Paint in chintz or revere pewter.  Wash all windows and make sure blinds or drapes are clean and working properly.  Buyers are usually concerned about the quality of windows, so they will be checking.  Vacuum vents and ceiling fans.  Here are a few suggestions for these specific rooms:

Kitchen – Clear all countertops of anything that is not needed for daily use.  Place mail into a drawer rather than out on the counter.  Vacuum inside of each drawer and place new drawer linings.  Keep refrigerator clear of photos and magnets.  Remove any expired items and keep only minimal leftovers, this will make it appear larger.  Make sure it is cleaned top to bottom and smells fresh.  Leave a Baking Soda Fridge-N-Freezer box in in the refrigerator and freezer.  It will eliminate odors.  Ninety percent of homes are sold with refrigerators and everyone will look in them!

Bathrooms – Scrub bathroom from top to bottom.  Clear all countertops and toilet tops of miscellaneous items.  Remove all medications and valuables and store in containers that only you can access.  All towels should look fresh and clean for each showing.  Keep shower products and bathing accessories in small bins that you can bring in with you when you shower and remove for showings.  Update any hardware that is broken, loose, or missing.

Bedrooms – All bedside table and dresser top items need to be tucked away.  Place them in small containers and keep under the bed so that they are easily accessible by you.  Hang all clothes in a closet, do not leave a robe hanging over the door or the bed.  Never leave out anything of value.

Closets – Everyone wants to see the closets they may possibly own, so yes, they will look in them.  They will either see how much stuff you have, or how much room they could fill with heir own things!  Remove and pack away all of your seasonal items.  Having the hangers match looks very organized and is extremely pleasing to the eye.  Do not forget to paint the insides of the closets when you’re painting the home.

According to a recent study, eighty percent of buyers said storage is one of the most important items on their checklist.  Go through every closet, cabinet, drawer, and nook and cranny in your home and get rid of anything that hasn’t been used within a year, or put it in storage!  Think of it as pre-packing for your new home.  Getting a storage unit outside of your home is usually the easiest way for this transition.  It frees your home of excess items and gives it the feeling of more open space.  Space that potential buyers are looking for.  That way, after your home sells, you are already half packed.  For your showings each day, wipe down all counters and surfaces, turn on lights, and open all of the blinds and curtains to brighten up your home.   Dark and dirty spaces will turn away a potential buyer.

Learn more about measuring the proper placement of your artwork, rugs, drapes and more in Susan’s upcoming blog post, By The Numbers.

For additional help with flooring, painting and other home services, head to my website, Kariel Staging & Decor .

Final Thought…  Preparing your home in this manner could make the difference between Sold or Sitting on the market!

 

“Can we decorate for Christmas?” By Susan Adair

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Tis the season when, if your house is on the market, you might ask, “Can we decorate for Christmas?” The holidays are fast approaching and all the stores, not to mention your attic are full of beautiful, candles, stockings, lights, ribbons, garland and your favorite family ornaments.

So, good question! After all you are still living in your house. You and your whole family want life to go on as normally as possible all the while you are keeping organized, clean and de-cluttered. It may seem like a tall order, but you are motivated.

Let’s say the photos of your house are scheduled to be taken just before or just after Christmas so they will be ready for the first of the year. Now, here are two questions that will give you your decorating answer. Do you want your photos to be dated? Do you want potential buyers to remember your house as the “Christmas house” or the house with the great floors?

For the exterior, you can stick with a beautiful planter(s) of winter greens. Have as much fun with it as you like. Greens, birch sticks, branches with berries, eucalyptus leaves, pine cones, and some great ribbon can all work together to create a welcoming introduction for buyers. While the real estate agent is opening the lock box, buyers are standing there on the stoop or porch looking around. If you have made it look beautiful, it will help buyers to fall in love! Don’t forget the exterior light fixture. It should be sparkling clean with a nice clear glass bulb shining “Welcome, I’m beautiful!”

Inside, remember what you hear me say all year around, “Always remember what you are selling.” Photos can be taken before the tree and all the decorations come out. Then go ahead and let your house celebrate, but keep it low key this year. For example, use small white lights as opposed to those with lots of color. You still want to show off the banister, the fireplace, the floors, windows and the space without things feeling full, cluttered or overwhelmed by the season. Think about what you want buyers to remember about the house, the holiday decorations or the great space?

Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year in your new house!

Susan

 

Introducing Susan Adair…My Friendly Staging Consultant for Occupied Homes

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A successful business is not usually run by just oneself.  It takes a team of incredible people to unite with the similar thoughts and insight to accomplish the tasks at hand.  Please meet one of these people.  Part of The Stage Crew at Kariel, is Susan Adair.  Susan and I met years ago when we partnered for a project with a common real estate agent.  She consulted on his occupied homes, and I on the vacant ones.  We hit it off and have joined together for several other stages.  As Kariel Home Staging grew, I needed someone who could mirror my passion and vision for staging vacant homes in occupied homes.   Susan is just that!  Staging vacant homes and occupied homes can be quite different.  Whereas our final visions may be the same, Susan will tell you the exact measurements to hang a picture, fill an existing book shelf, or those many basic points to prepare the home that you still occupy for amazing selling photos.  Important details to display your home for sale!  Susan will be writing blogs here addressing many of the challenges and issues that arise with preparing occupied homes for sale.  Enjoy.

Without further ado….my friend and colleague, Susan Adair.

 

Hello everyone,

I am so pleased to be part of Kariel Home Staging.  My name is Susan Adair.  I have been  a staging consultant for nine years.  Kari and I met a few years ago when we collaborated while getting a large, unoccupied townhouse ready to sell. I used the home owners furnishings , but the house needed more to make it complete.  When we were finished, Kari and I looked at each other, smiled and nodded.  A friendship was born.

A few years ago, Kari asked me if I would like to do staging consultations for Kariel Staging.  I though about it for about two seconds and said, “Yes!”

As a staging consultant, I work with the home owner, using his or her own furnishings, art and accessories.  We walk through the house together and I give suggestions for ways to show off the space, enhance the finishes and make buyers fall in love.  I am so fortunate to be doing a job that is so much fun!  I work with interesting, talented home owners, real estate agents and Kari, of course!  I tour an incredible variety of houses and am challenged to make them look their best and photograph in the best possible way.

All the best!

Susan,

Your friendly staging consultant

Puzzled by a Ceiling Light… Hang in There.

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Why would they put that light there?  A question many people ask themselves when they are looking at homes.  Even tougher, all of the homes without ceiling mounted lights in certain rooms.  An issue I will address more in my blog, Properly Lighting a Dark Space.  My conclusion is this…

Most homes are built with the chandelier centered to the windows or smack dab in the middle of the room.  I am convinced that very few builders think of furniture placement as they are installing the electrical wiring.  So now you, as the home owner, are faced with where to put that dining room table.  You try to place it directly under the chandelier, but then the chairs are snug up to the patio door or the kitchen island.  Frustrating!  How do you address this?  Another great question for your home stager!  My advice to the home owner is to take down that chandelier and put in a ceiling mounted light.  No-one will notice how off centered it is.  My advice to home builders and investors, call a staging company.  Like us, Kariel Home Staging.  Ask us where the best place for the light fixture would be.  I understand having to follow the National Electrical Code (NEC) for safety, but can’t we all get along?  🙂  We carry a very large inventory of dining room tables, and can advise you to the best place for lighting.  If you are located in the Minnesota Metro Area, we will stop by for free.  That way, your potential home buyers won’t be so perplexed on how they will fit their furniture into your homes.  The lighting will blend so well with the staging that it will make a very positive and lasting impact on potential buyers.  Your homes will Shine!

Final Thought…

Home owners can make a simple fix to a very common issue.

Home builders could possibly work with us to design and build homes with efficient lighting better suited for furnishing.

 

 

Giving a Room a Purpose!

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Does your home have that catchall room that holds all of your miscellaneous pieces of furniture and things you have collected over the years?  Or maybe a weird space that still puzzles you as to what it’s for?  You want to show a possible buyer all of the potential that each space in your home has to offer.  Homeowners sometime think that adding that extra desk or crib to the master bedroom will show how much extra space that room has.  Wrong!  Now all that potential buyer sees is less room.  We, at Kariel Home Staging, can walk into a questionable space or that catchall room and find its purpose.  We assess the home to find what it may be lacking; more sitting space, a small office, a child’s play area.  A better solution for that extra desk would possibly be behind the couch as a sofa table?  There are many solutions, it just takes an unbiased eye to see them.

When selling your home, you must give every room a purpose.  Buyers walk into a home and instantly assess each room.  Do you want them to see wasted space…leaving them puzzled and confused.  Or should you show them how great that extra area is by giving it a purpose!  Don’t leave potential buyers guessing if your home is the one.  Wondering if they will have the space they will need.  Questioning if that small loft is useless, or the extra room in the basement with no windows is for nothing.   Show them that every inch of your home will fill their needs.  That your home will be the space they need for their things, their family.

We are here to help you do just that!

Final Thought…   “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” – Joseph Campbell

 

The Short and Simple Truth…Furniture Placement is Key

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Blocking off any room with furniture will only mask its true potential.  Furniture placement plays the key role in showing potential buyers how great your home can look.  It can make a small room look larger, a darker one look brighter, and overall the entire home more inviting.  You want buyers to walk in and Feel like they are Home!

Find out more on this in my upcoming blog Giving a Room a Purpose.

Final thought…  Why the short blog?  Because pictures are worth a thousand words!

 

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Staging Can Show the Maximum Space in Every Room!

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Everyone seems to constantly be looking for more space.  I never run across a homeowner that feels they have too much space for their family or belongings.  One of the most important spaces is the main living room, with the bathrooms and kitchen in close second!  A good sized living room is where we can relax.  Be a family together.

Do you ever find yourself looking at homes online and wonder why they angled their couch across the living room space.  It also appears to be facing the wall and not their beautiful fireplace?  The room looks so small!  I understand interior design and displaying the room with different angles and conversation spaces…but not in a 12 x 14 foot room!  You need all of the help that you can get to maximize that small main living space.  Angling the couch cuts off part of the room.  I know, I know…that old saying of don’t push the couch up against the wall and designers now saying that the couch should “float”, may have you feeling like a rookie.  So what is the best arrangement?  Well, that all depends on the space.  Ninety percent of the homes on the market do not have 30 x 40 foot living rooms, so walls are all they have.  Push that couch up against the wall, add a coffee and end tables, and remove all other bulky unneeded furniture.  Then add a few accessories, nice lighting at eye level, and Viola!  Your living room looks larger and more inviting for those potential home buyers.

Being realistic about the space in each room and doing a  few simple things, further explained in my upcoming blog  Preparing Your Home for Sold, will help your home sell quickly.  Einstein once quoted, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” I feel this quote relates to yet another reason for needing an excellent stager.  If you can not look at the room and simply know how to furnish it to utilize the space ,  Kariel Staging can.  Every home is different in size, shape, occupied or vacant, and needs to be staged to show its full potential to possible buyers.   We at Kariel, understand furnishing any size space well enough to stage any home correctly.

 

Final thought…  Every inch counts in a small room, and every mistake can drive away a potential buyer.  The solution, Staging!