home staging

Top Interior Design Trends for 2024: What’s Hot in Home Decor

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As we step into 2024, interior design is all about blending sustainability, bold creativity, and timeless elegance. Whether you’re renovating, redecorating, or just looking to update your space, these key design trends will dominate homes this year. Here’s what’s hot in home decor for 2024:

 

 Design for Sustainability   

Environmentally responsible decisions continue to affect the design world. Expect to see more furniture and decor built from eco-friendly materials like bamboo, repurposed wood, and recycled fabrics. These materials not only benefit the environment, but also give the home a natural, earthy feel. Energy-efficient appliances, low-VOC paints, and ecologically friendly flooring options are also becoming more common in modern homes.

 

 Warm and Earthy Tones

Goodbye, chilly grays—2024 is all about warm, earthy tones. Consider terracotta, mustard yellow, olive green, and soft beiges. These deep, comforting tones create attractive rooms that are both grounded and peaceful. Whether it’s in the form of wall colors, furniture, or accessories, earthy tones will be a popular motif this year.

 

  Biophilic Design

Biophilic design, or the incorporation of nature into interior spaces, remains a popular trend. This approach includes indoor plants, natural wood accents, and huge windows that allow for natural light. This not only creates a relaxing environment, but it also improves air quality and overall well-being. The idea is to design environments that link you to the outdoors even when you’re indoors.

 

Curved and Sculptural Furniture

Say goodbye to crisp edges and hello to rounded, sculptural furnishings. Soft curves and organic shapes are taking over living spaces and bedrooms, with furniture that feels more fluid and inviting. Consider round sofas, circular coffee tables, and chairs with soft, curved forms. These designs convey a sensation of movement and comfort to your space.

 

 Maximalism

After years of minimalist design, maximalism is making a strong comeback. This trend favors vibrant colors, complex patterns, and a diverse range of textures. Maximalism promotes self-expression by allowing you to blend vibrant colors, one-of-a-kind decor elements, and rich materials to create an environment that feels entirely unique. It’s about having fun with your décor and getting away from the confines of simple, neutral environments.

 

  Technical Integration

Smart houses will become more intuitive and seamless by 2024. Expect increased technological integration in your home, including smart lighting, voice-controlled thermostats, and automated window coverings. The trick is to make technology fit effortlessly with your decor, enhancing the environment without being intrusive. Consider hidden speakers, built-in charging stations.

 

 Textured fabrics 

Textures are having a significant impact in 2024. Luxury fabrics such as velvet, boucle, and faux fur are popular for upholstery, pillows, and blankets. These tactile materials give depth and warmth to any environment, making furniture feel more welcoming and comfortable. Layering different textures, such as soft throws and textured wall coverings, helps to create a rich, dynamic space.

 

 Vintage and Retro Vibes 

Retro design is making a comeback, with aspects inspired by mid-century modern and the 1970s. Think vintage furniture, strong geometric patterns, and earthy colors. These antique elements are lending fresh life to contemporary rooms, which are frequently combined with modern objects for a sophisticated, curated appearance. Whether it’s a striking armchair or a unique lamp fixture, vintage items are the perfect way to add character and charm to any space.

 

Transform your space with expert home decor from Kairel Staging – book your consultation today!

 

2024 is shaping up to be a year of bold design choices that balance innovation and sustainability.Whether you prefer warm tones, biophilic components, or distinctive textures, there is a trend for everyone to enjoy. By adopting some of these popular home décor concepts, you can create a room that is both elegant and functional, ideal for today’s modern lifestyle.

 

Professional Real Estate Photography…Important or Not?

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How important is photography in the selling of my home?

Very!  It is your first showing to the world.

A homeowner contacted me and was concerned that after six months his vacant home was not getting any showings.  He asked if he should stage it and I said that it would absolutely help with showings.  His Realtor did not think it would make a difference because the home was so newly updated.  I encouraged him that it would make a big difference online because potential buyers would see the beautiful updates and schedule a showing.

About a month and half after I staged his home he called me very disappointed that he still did not have any extra showings since it had been staged.  I was sitting in front of my computer and quickly looked up his address.  It was still showing the vacant photos.  I explained that he should look online to see for himself that the agent never took new photos of the staged home.  He became very upset that he had spent money on the staging and after a month and a half new photos were never taken.  He fired that agent and hired a new one.  New photos were taken and put online and the home sold a week later.

THAT is how important photos are in selling your home.

I suggest that you demand the photos taken of your home be professional and not taken by the agent or a friend.  There are professional photographers that are exclusive to real estate.  It will make a huge difference in selling your home.  We have all looked online and have seen those home photos that had people in the mirrors, dirty dishes in the sink, and clothes on the floor.  Yes, it does make us laugh, but it also makes us pass by that house.  You see the mess, not the beautiful home.

A VERY Important thing for you to remember, as I previously mentioned in my past blog Should I stage my Vacant home? …  You have Three chances to sell your home:

  1. The online listing.
  2. When they are at the home.
  3. THE MOST Important!  What they can remember of Your Home above anyone else’s!!!

Stagers dress your home for the sale.  The photography is how it is presented to the buyer for the first time.  We all know how important those first impressions can be.  You are paying your Realtor to market your home, so make sure that you are getting the best for your money.

Great Stager.  Great Realtor.  Great Photographer.  Equals a guaranteed sale of your home.

 

Final Thought….  “Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” – Sally Mann

Fall Ahead…Take Back the Spring!

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It’s that time of year…when the Minnesota State Fair ends and the kids go back to school. With the cooler weather filling the air, you may be looking forward to hunkering down and settling in for the winter.

I HAVE A BETTER IDEA!

If you’re looking to put your home up for sale next spring, start to prepare now. Why wait until that last snow is melting and fresh spring invites you outside. “Spring Cleaning?” HA

Don’t look around your home and get overwhelmed.

You may be thinking, “Where do i even begin?”

When you’re stuck inside on those frigid snow days, commit yourself to cleaning out a drawer. Organize a closet. Refold your towels and sheets in the linen closet. Soon, you’ll realize you are doing more and more everyday.

Come springtime, your home will be organized and ready to pack. You can get outside and enjoy the warming spring weather. Things will go smoother, and you can then calmly prepare for your home staging!

Final Thought…

SOLD.

Staged Again…

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Staging vs. Interior design…what makes us different.

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Hello!  I have missed you all – Sorry that I haven’t been actively being “social”!  We have been really busy staging and expanding into another city…Rochester, Minnesota.  It’s been an exciting few years!  Traveled to Vietnam to further the development of my furniture line, strengthening my passion for unique metals and woods used in the furniture industry.  

The last two years have gone by so fast!

With that being said, let’s get back to it…

Interior design is the art of designing the interior, sometimes including the exterior, of a space or building.  It can create intimate  conversation places designed around personal taste, the needs of families, or certain styles to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing environment.

Staging is creating and furnishing a property to attract any and all potential buyers to your property.

So what are you selling?  You’re selling the square footage.  You’re selling the flooring, so don’t cover it up with a bunch of runners and rugs.  You’re selling kitchen and bathroom counters.  Don’t hide them with clutter!  Sell the bedroom sizes.   You need to give purpose to possible quirky corners, odd rooms, and unique lighting.  Staging is about appealing to every person looking to buy a home in the price bracket and square footage that your home offers.  Staging removes extra elements from the room so the buyer feels greeted and inspired by that space.  We use fewer pictures, photos, and decorations.  Potential buyers feel distracted by too much clutter and only see that, not the home.

I know that sometimes the style may not be the taste of the homeowner or Realtor.  It is easy to get too emotionally involved in the staging with their desires and decorative interests.  It is our job, as stagers, to not get emotionally involved.  We want your home to appeal to the largest audience of buyers. This!  Is what sells a home.

Final Thought…

“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love brought together under one roof.”

-Nate Berkus , American Interior Design

“Staging maximizes the appeal and value of all properties, so they sell quickly for the highest market value.”

-Kari Michael, Kariel Staging & Decor

PANTONE color of 2017 – GREENERY!

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The PANTONE name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer.  The Pantone Color Institute announced their pick for 2017.  

” A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.”

“Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s green revive, restore and renew.  Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.”

Everyone will begin to see Greenery more and more in fashion, magazines, on commercials and in all advertising.  It will become a familiar feeling.    We want to use Greenery in our staging to invoke a memory to the future home buyer.  We want them to remember this home.

You want the home to be mostly neutral with touches of color. Never overdue one single color in a space, it will overwhelm and give an unfavorable look.  Remember, you are trying to sell the home, not the furniture.  Greenery is nature’s neutral.  It is trans-seasonal and will blend well with neutrals, pastels, brights, metallics and even the two 2016 colors of the year, Rose Quartz and Serenity.  So no need to replace all of the accents and artwork that you have, just add in a few new ones on trend.  Make a room pop by using a cream couch and a Greenery pillow.  Revive a room with an artificial plant or potted grass.  You want that future home buyer to feel as if they’ve just walked into a page out of their House Beautiful Magazine.  They dream of buying that home.

Final thought…Greenery is the color of Hopefulness.  Rejuvenation.  Fresh New Beginnings.  Letting go of technology and reconnecting with Nature.  We all know what kind of world we are living in:  uncertain and stressful.

We could All use a little more Greenery in our lives.

 

 

2016…Hello 2017!

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Another challenging but great year has passed, 2016!

It started off quick…we were staging and they were selling fast!

Spring brought many new adventures for me.  I traveled alone to China, Vietnam, and Malasyia to begin creating my own furniture line.   A main challenge in staging is furniture.  It is often difficult to obtain quick enough and have a variety of pieces that will work in every home.  Staging furniture needs to have an inviting neutral look and appeal to the masses.  I often need to travel to several vendors to find what can work.  The fabric may be great but the arms too rounded.  The back is bulkier then id like to see…

So I set out to create my own funiture line…

Our spring home market was amazing!  We met so many wonderful people.  Working side by side with the teams it takes to sell a home is inspiring.  So many buyers reach out to us to commend our staging, saying it is a factor into how they chose their new home and where can they purchase the items for themselves.

Summer hit us with a Bang!  It was so completely crazy busy from spring into summer that I can’t even remember certain points to write about.  🙂

The hustle and bustle of fall Parade of Homes kept us on our toes!  I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with several builders and that they find my work be an added attribute to their portfolios.  Even though we stage many homes for the Parade of Homes each year, we remain in taking pride in every individual home that we stage.  We understand that selling your home can be stressful.  Emotional.  We take pride in understanding the attachments the homeowner has.  You build memories, children grow, life happens in your home.  As we stage each and every home that we do, we always say, “This is where we make a house a Home”.

I cannot even begin to describe our commitment to every home that we stage…the Kariel team and I are humbled by every single opportunity that we are given.

 

Final Thought…XO…

“There’s something about having people around you giving you support that is –

it’s motivating, and once I got that support from people then I believed I could do anything.” – Prince

 

Book Shelves, by Susan Adair

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When selling your house, making book shelves look great is an important element to the overall look. They may be either built in or free standing. Here are some tips:

  1. These are not for storage in the strict sense. So, no cardboard boxes with flaps!
  2. Lots of designers divide the shelving unit into visual grids when dressing it. This can help you to keep things looking balanced.
  3. Keep books to the front of each shelf. That way they are not hiding back in the shadows
  4. Vary the heights. Some books can stand up, some on their sides. A piece of sculpture, a pitcher from your kitchen cupboard or a picture frame can keep things interesting. Stay away from personal photos.
  5. Layer. A framed picture can stand up at the back of the shelf and a few books in the front that don’t hide the whole frame.
  6. Repeat elements. An element can be a color or maybe you have a collection of pottery or glass. Three items can be defined as a collection, so don’t get carried away! A few of these things can enter into the mix.
  7. A simple way to create a great look is to stack all books on their sides, a few on each shelf. Done!
  8. Small things will “read” as clutter, so fewer, larger items will look and photograph better.
  9. No books? Sculpture or glass or pottery can dress shelves beautifully. Stay away from tiny items.

Limit the color palate. Above all, stand back once in a while and make sure the whole thing looks balanced. One item per shelf is often all that’s needed. Have a little fun with it. Seemingly little details add up to help buyers fall in love with the house!

Your friendly staging consultant, Susan

 

Not All Stagers Are The Same

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Staging is quickly becoming a mainstream career.  Home staging wasn’t even heard of twelve years ago when I staged my first home.  A real estate agent friend of mine living in California told me how they staged there, and I thought I would be good at it.  I mentioned this to another real estate friend who soon found me my first home to stage.  I now do it more then full time.  About 1200 homes last year, and this year will be even more.

With all of the television shows discussing or showing staging, I no longer need to explain to people what it is I do.  Most just comment on how fun it must be!  It really is a very fun and satisfying career, but also very hard work.  Which brings us to this topic, that not all stagers are the same.  I run across many stagers that charge a large amount of money for not so great furniture.  Some even buy from craigslist.  In fact, my operations manager was selling his 10 year old used furniture and was contacted by three different staging companies wanting to purchase it.  All I could think was, “Nooooo”!  Staging is to give a home that updated look, not to just decorate it with any old couch or chair and some throw pillows.  It is super important that the stager you choose has a portfolio of their work.  You want to know that all of the furniture they use is their own.

Now, I am not saying not to choose a stager that is new to this business, just be clear on your expectations.  You should expect that they provide unused furniture and are willing to purchase a special piece if your home needs it.  Do they offer a wide variety of accessories,  understand furniture placement for every type of home, have the knowledge of the best lighting to show your home at its best.  Are they willing to make your home be important.  To stop the car on the road because they can’t drive any further and trudge the rest of the way through deep snow just to get the photos of your home so they can stage it correctly.  (as I actually just did today.  No joke)  🙂  …and all of the other subjects that I touch on in my blogs.

Lastly, I know that your neighbor, family member, or friend may have a strong opinion on how your home is staged, but let your stager help you with the final look.  Value the unbiased opinion of a stager on the final layout and decoration.  We see thousands of homes every year and want yours to show its true potential.  It does not need to scream “You”,  it needs to show how that awkward space or small room can be used.  How an older home can look fresh, or a smaller one look large.  Remember, you are not decorating the home that you plan on living in, you are having it staged to show off its best potential and features to its future owners.

Final Thought…Pick a stager that is committed and passionate enough about their career/business to have acquired the knowledge and tools to stage your home properly.

Lighting Up the New Year!

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Lighting within your home is very important, especially in a vacant home with no overhead ceiling lights.  The most important element to lighting is that it is balanced and casts no shadows.  Using a 60 watt bulb is usually best, but a 75 watt may be better in a really dark or extra large room.  After Furniture placement, make sure the lights are kitty-corner from each other and not all on one side.  If they must be on one side, then consider placing a floor lamp across from them to create the desired balance.

It is much darker during the winter months so light your home as much as possible.  It will create welcomeness and warmth, instead of feeling scary and unfamiliar.  Some rooms may have just one dim ceiling light, this could be a good opportunity to add table or floor lamps.

Lighting is also important for photos.  Walk through each room to see if the light looks balanced.  Does it feel warm and inviting?  Take a picture with your phone to see if there are shadows.  If the light is unbalanced, it will show a flash to one side of the room.  Have you noticed in homes online that are not lit properly look dark and dingy.  You may not be able to see in a corner, or distinguish room from room.  You want to highlight each room so the potential buyer can see everything that your home has to offer.

Final Thought…  “A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.”  Thomas A. Edison