I did a 90 second interview last week with Dan Eason from Energized Seller. Below is the full text of what I wanted to say {90 seconds does go by rather quickly}.
I am in the midst of selling my own home, and while I'm not seriously looking yet, I do check out what's on the market. This is what I'm seeing a lot of, and my perspective as a potential buyer and a home stager are in agreement on these things:
•v Red walls ~ They may give your dining room the dramatic look you were after, but a prospective buyer is seeing a lot of priming and painting going on here. Keep in mind that buyers are looking to the internet first. When I see a room with red walls, I pass and move on to the next one. Saying it's "just paint" is one thing but many dark colored walls don't fall into that category.
Photo courtesy of BH&G
•v Wallpaper ~ Wallpaper, and particularly outdated wallpaper, is a personal choice. Just like how you decorated your house with your pictures, artwork and accessories wallpaper is a personal choice. Unfortunately, unlike the other items, you're not taking it with you! It needs to come down and the buyer is not the one who is going to want to take it down. As with the previous point, make the time and effort to remove wallpaper.
Photo courtesy of BH&G
•v Borders ~ Fall into the same category as wallpaper. Remove them. Borders are dated, especially if used alone on a painted wall. If you are looking to make the top or mid-portion of your wall interesting, put molding up. It adds to the value of your home, adds the interest, and everybody loves molding. Molding can be done fairly inexpensively and you can even ask your local lumber yard or Home Depot to make the cuts for you.
•v Faux painting ~ If done properly by a professional, faux painting can add a nice touch to a room. If the faux painting in your home was done DIY and you "just wanted to try it" it should be painted over. This is another area where prospective buyers are going to think they have quite a bit of work ahead of them.
Some paint color suggestions: Sherwin Williams: Sensational Sand, Latte, Hopsack, Dover White, Whole Wheat, Bagel and Interactive Cream.
Benjamin Moore: Blond Wood, Carlisle Cream, Everlasting, Lady Finger, Southern Comfort, and Antique Lace.
On a budget, you can get most colors made up at Home Depot or Lowe's using their color match system, but you will need a sample of the original color.
If you do have subtle colors - a light yellow, a light green, leave it as is. If you have pink, blue, purple, brown, black, red, orange, bright yellow, dark green - you should prepare to paint.
Final Thought:
As much as you may not want to do these things to prepare your home, a buyer is not going to want to do them either. Nobody wants to have to tackle repainting over a dark color or removing rooms filled with wallpaper. Make the time and effort to do these things prior to listing your home - it will make it more appealing to a larger number of prospective buyers. That is the goal after all.
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
MSNBC has a story this morning about 5.5 million window coverings that are being recalled. You can read the full story here.This recall is effective immediately.
The following businesses are participating in this recall: Pottery Barn Kids; IKEA; Vertical Land, Inc.; Lewis Hyman, Inc.; Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.; and Victoria Classics. Victoria Classics Roman shades and many of Lewis Hyman's window shades were sold exclusively at Target stores.
The Window Coverings Safety Council sponsors October as Window Coverings Safety Month, which I would normally post about at the end of September. Given this recent news and recall this post is coming early.
In the event you do not know if your window coverings are among those being recalled, you can click on the left side tab for a free retro kit.
Cool name for a scary movie, but I'm talking about using the space underneath your bed for storage, especially when you are selling your house.
Prospective buyers will be looking in closets and the cabinets that come with the house. You need to cut your clothing closets in half to really give a good visual of how much space they have. Out of season clothes can be put in storage bins in the basement or attic, but what about all those extra light jackets, sundresses that may see the sun once all summer and those shorts the hubby won't wear because his legs look like sticks.
I suggest you take advantage of the space under your beds. There are so many different items on the market now from Space Bags to boxes, for storing anything under your bed.
From plastic to wire to canvas, that bed skirt can hide a wealth of storage.
Check out some of these resources for under bed storage:
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more on Long Island, New York. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
The Fall 2009 Mount Sinai Adult Education Program booklet is out and my class for this session is Furniture Placement {see description below}. You do not have to be a resident of Mount Sinai to participate in this program. This class is 1- 1/2 hours, not 2 hours as listed in the booklet.
Furniture Placement
Ms. Kathy Passarette HS 107
Not sure how to place your furniture in a room? Purchasing
new furniture and not sure what pieces to get?
Making interior design choices in your home can be
overwhelming and stressful. This class will look at
these questions and more. Learn how to place your
furniture to its best advantage in your home. Bring
photographs of your rooms and furniture for some
helpful ideas and tips from a professional decorator.
Class:......................Wednesday, October 14, 2009
(1 Session)
7:30-9:30 pm Fee: $10
FREE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
As most of you know, we are selling our house and this weekend is the first open house! My Realtor, Lourdes Hoglo {of Prudential Douglas Elliman} will be holding the open house on Saturday from 2-4 p.m.
Because I can be shameless in plugging myself when necessary, here are some pictures of my house that I stole borrowed from her blog. You can see more at Lourdes' blog {click on Lourdes' name in the paragraph above}.
Exterior:
Great Room:
Den:
One of four bedrooms:
Master Bath:
You, too, can be a prospective buyer of the "famous" {ha!} interior decorator, Kathy Passarette's house. If you would be interested in a showing, please contact Lourdes Hoglo at (631) 751-6000 x221.
Just taking a break from cleaning and thought I'd get a "before" and "after" posted. This was my daughter's room and while she moved out, much of her stuff did not! I remembered to take a few pics right before I put the mattress frame together.
My daughter was into an Asian type of decor and had her mattress and box spring on the floor ~ no frame. I thought we had kept the frame but I could not find it anywhere so I went to Sleepy's and bought the least expensive Queen size frame they had {I believe I paid about $79.00 for it}. I also moved that very small sofa table {which has had many incarnations in my house over the years} to work as a side table/desk. I also used her small bookcase in here on the wall to the right; putting about 5 nice books we had {no picture, sorry} on one shelf and the bottom/second shelf I had a wicker/rattany type box with lid that is supposed to be for files, centered on the shelf.
AFTER:
The comforter set I got from Target. I wanted to work with the yellow walls and orange curtains already in the room and this set fit the bill. I also found the picture above the bed at Target. The lamp had been a previous Home Goods purchase and I love it because it has a pull chain {love that in a lamp}.
The "Write" thingy is my daughter's {hey, she didn't take it, so I get to use it} and I had this little nature looking journal stuck in a closet that was never used and added those things to the table/desk.
The orchid I got at Pier 1 several months ago and the colors in the flowers work well with everything else going on here, plus it brings a little color over to this side of the room. It is sitting on top of the bookcase I mentioned.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
I know I've been away from Active Rain for just FOR-EVA, but I have been trying to remember to take pictures along the way, and I finally have some "before" and "afters" to share. As you probably recall from my past posts, we are preparing our house to put on the market.
This room I'm sharing today is on one side of that long hallway I posted about here. It is part of the original den to this house (the hall was the other part of the original den but became a hall when we added our great room). This room was a toy room when my kids were little, a home office at one time, and back to being a room for the kids - basically their den where they could hang out with their friends. This room is 9 x 17.
So you have my amateur faux painting (don't even ask), which I knew had to go. Things are moved about because we were getting ready to paint. There was an Ikea cabinet (double doors on top and bottom) in that little niche area.
Kids den before
Kids den before
Kids den before
Kids den before
Afters:
And, of course, the Realtor, Lourdes Hoglo, took this picture {below}, which is better than any I could have taken!
As you can see, everything pretty much stayed the same in this room. Besides painting, we removed a cabinet in the niche and put in shelves; these hold the televsion and baskets for any miscellaneous items. The paint color is Sherwin Williams' Sensational Sand.
I'm hoping to get the long hallway's "after" up shortly. I have a couple of pictures I bought for it, but I broke the glass in one of them getting the staples from the protective cardboard covers out.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Having staged my own house for sale, I can honestly tell you that "I know what you're going through". For more information on our services and fees please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
To coincide with Creative Home Expression's four year anniversary, I am offering a special to the residents at The Oaks at Broadlawn (Massapequa, New York).
Having decorated the model condominiums at The Oaks, I have been working with several of the homeowners. I am setting up two weekends for first time consultation appointments - Saturday, July 25th and Saturday, August 15th. The first time consultation fee will be $60.00 per hour (down from $75.00), and the waiver of the travel fee will continue - that's a savings of $65.00!
If you've been considering making an appointment for a consultation - now is the time! I can help you with furniture lay-out and placement, color, window treatments, accessories, lighting and purchases.
Minimum of 4 appointments on each date. Offer expires on August 14, 2009. Offer open to first time consultations only. Regular hourly fee will apply if a date different from what is offered is chosen, as well as once offer expires.
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees.
A beautifully dressed bed is the focal point of your bedroom. The colors, patterns and styles are unending. There is something to please everyone.
If your current bedding is hitting the 7-year-old mark, you're most likely due for some new bedding. Worn, faded, ripped bedding is not very inviting to slip into at the end of the day.
Photo courtesy of Horchow
While you may cringe at the prices, you can get some great deals on Bed-in-a-Bag items. Some of them even come with the sheets! You can get over the "wow, this is expensive" mantra by realizing just how many years you've used your old bedding. Time for some math.
You see a set that has everything (comforter, dust ruffle, shams, sheets, decorative pillows). Let's say it's $200.00. For the average, middle-class homeowner, you think that's a lot of money to spend on bedding. Well, not really. First look at all your getting for the $200.00. Second, even if it's not this large a set, divide that $200.00 by the 7 years people typically keep their bedding - that's about $28.58 a year. Is it expensive now?
Photo courtesy of Horchow
These pictures show just a few collections from Eastern Accents, a To-The-Trade company. Eastern accents offers custom bedding, as well as some Quick Ship items. A visit to their website will have you drooling over their offerings. If nothing else, they will provide you with some inspiration.
Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents
This one has the current "cool kid" - Orange.
Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents
A girl's room design that grows up with her. The use of pattern in this bedding is young and fresh, and should last for many years.
Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents
To be fair to the boys, here's one for their room.
Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents
You can get an extravagant look on a budget too. Just look at all the pictures - the "look" is in the pillows, the way the bed is made and, in some cases, the layering. The pictures below show bedding from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Some of the patterns are similar to the more expensive ones shown above.
Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond
Add decorative pillows as shown; maybe drape a throw, light blanket or quilt that coordinates with the bedding (even if it's a solid) over the bottom corner of the bed. Mix up patterns and solids.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
I love books, so I think loving bookcases goes hand-in-hand with that. I have a pair of bookcases my hubby made for me as a gift one year - I love them if for no other reason than that he made them for me, but they absolutely came in handy as well. They will be coming with us when we down-size.
I also have a pair of bookcases with drawers in my son's bedroom that will be repurposed into bookcases for my home office. They are pine, but I plan on painting them. My problem comes in to play as far as what color do I want to paint them; it will be a choice between white, espresso or black. There are three drawers in these bookcases as well, which will be handy for supplies, samples, catalogs, etc. When down-sizing, I want to take advantage of whatever storage I can.
Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine
Besides loving the concept of this kitchen (above) in its entirety, I love the way an otherwise non-usable area is being used. I love that the cookbooks are on view but also teapots are incorporated into the shelves. Appropriate for a kitchen and, if you collect teapots, a novel (no pun intended) way to display them.
Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn
I like the idea of this desk doing double duty as a desk and a bookcase. For a home office these shelves will allow you to easily find what you are looking for. It also looks like a space saver having the shelves incorporated into the desk. I might consider this one for myself!
Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs
I love the look of this bookcase with it's lattice sides and openness. I think this would work great in a large bathroom holding towels and bath accessories or a bedroom to display photos and some of those sentimental collectibles.
Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs
Finally, this set of bookcases would work wonderfully in any room in the house. They have an abundance of shelf space and provide some architectural interest; good for a room that might not have any otherwise.
As you can see from these pictures, bookcases can hold more than books. Interspersing accessories and collectibles among the books makes for an interesting display in your home.
Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions
Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Photo courtesy of BH&G
Photo courtesy of BH&G
Kids den before
Kids den before
Kids den before
Kids den before
;)
;)
