Creative Home Expressions - Thoughts from Long Island

Paint & Wallpaper Tips ~ My 90 Second Interview With Energized Seller

2009-08-28T20:56:46Z

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•v Wallpaper ~ Wallpaper, and particularly outdated wallpaper, is a personal choice.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.

Immediate Window Shades Recall

2009-08-26T08:21:10Z

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.

What's Under Your Bed?

2009-08-24T17:31:01Z

Photo from fanpop.com

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:

Stacks and Stacks

Target

Walmart

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.

Fall 2009 Adult Education Class ~ Furniture Placement

2009-08-18T20:51:36Z

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.

~ Open House . . . . And It's My House! ~

2009-08-12T11:45:01Z

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.

~ A Quick Peek {Bedroom Before & After} ~

2009-08-08T14:57:11Z

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.

Some House Prep Updates ~ Finally!

2009-07-25T19:43:30Z

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

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.

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.

Special Anniversary Offer & The Oaks at Broadlawn

2009-07-04T08:37:26Z

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 25^th and Saturday, August 15^th. 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.

You can contact me via email at kathyp@creativehomeexpressions.com or phone at (631) 987-3097. You can visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

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.

Pleasant Dreams Or A Nightmare In The Making?

2009-06-10T18:41:53Z

Photo courtesy of Horchow

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.

Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Pleasant dreams!

Mentioned in this post:
Horchow
Eastern Accents
Bed, Bath & Beyond

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.

Bookcases ~ A Novel Idea

2009-06-09T08:23:37Z

Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

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.

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.

A new trend that has kept us hopping....

2009-05-21T10:46:49Z

Melissa Marro, a stager in South Carolina, shares these great staging stats.

Via Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions):

I'll admit it. For the past few years I've been completely jealous of many of you stagers here in AR. You with your flashy 2 days on market, 10 days on market, etc. I sat here in Charleston thinking, we are making a difference, but I want numbers like that. Once in a while we would get something fabulous - my best story ever was a home that had been for sale for 8 months with no bites, an hour after staging there was an offer, then a backup 3 days later! That really was so seldom that is almost felt like telling tall tales though. I don't like to set unrealistic expectations for my clients. We've been quite comfortable telling them things like - normal days on market 90, ours is 45 in this neighborhood.... lately, we've been seeing things a bit differently though....

A couple of weeks ago I staged a charming Mt. Pleasant condo - it hadn't been listed yet.... 9 days after listing and it's suddenly in pending status. I contacted the agent and he said, "You made the deal happen. It was the first showing."

The odd thing about this is that it's been happening almost every week these days. Nine of the properties we've staged since January have gone uner contract in the 1-12 day range!

I had to ask one of my clients if she had notices the market being more 'hot' than usual - were things picking up? She admited that they aren't. Things are about the same as they've been. So, what's going on??? Certainly nothing that I'm going to complain about, but wow!! Suddenly I don't feel the need to be as jealous as I used to be - we have our own stats and they are fantastic!!

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is a nationally award winning company owned and operated in Summerville, SC a suburb of Charleston, SC. We provide high quality staging for both occupied and vacant homes in the greater surrounding areas and beyond! For more information please visit, www.WeStageSC.com. If you are interested in learning about making Home Staging your profession, please visit, www.StagingAndRedesign.com for more information.

Wallpaper Or Art ~ It Can Be Both

2009-05-18T10:39:59Z

There are some beautiful wallpapers out there and while I love them, I just can't bring myself to wallpaper an entire room. However, I can still enjoy the lovely patterns that are out there by using the wallpaper in other ways.

Photos courtesy of All Posters and Real Simple

Framing pieces of wallpaper and using them in lieu of actual pictures. Not only am I getting some of that beauty I'm admiring, but an inexpensive way to add some art to my walls! You can do individual pieces or hang three together in a tryptich.

Photos courtesy of HGTV

Photo courtesy of Thibaut

Cover an old room screen, (or make your own with narrow solid doors) with wallpaper. This makes for a nice focal point in a room that doesn't have one or adds that "certain something" to an empty corner. Some striking screens are done with the papers such as the one pictured above from Thibaut.

Photo courtesy of DIY.com

To dress up an otherwise plain window, a wood cornice can be put together quite simply and covered with wallpaper. This can dress up a window with blinds or shades without having to add drapes or valances.

Photo courtesy of Country Living

Another great way to use small amounts of wallpaper for a big impact is to line the back wall of bookshelves with it.

There are many other uses for wallpaper; small trashcans, magazine holders, book covers, take a look around and see where you can use it!

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 at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

It happened again!! What's going on? Could it happen to you?

2009-05-07T10:41:33Z

Courtesy of Melissa Marro of South Carolina:

Via Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions):

Last night I sat down and blogged about stats that we've been having here lately in Charleston, SC with our staged homes. Well, just a few minutes ago I received an email from a team member letting me know that a home she recently staged has gone under contract - in only 9 days!!! Surely I had already pulled this stat last night when I did my blog I thought, but NO! This oen is new....

MLS#2911681 listed at $495,000 on 4/28/09 went contingent just yesterday - 05/06/09! that's only 9 days after being listed.

The average DOM in this neighborhood is 86, there were 7 other homes for sale in this neighborhood at the time, this home was priced in the middle....

This savvy agent uses us for all of his listings and also has a listing on the quick sale list that I added yesterday!

Sellers & Agents, if you aren't using staging as part of your marketing plan, WHY NOT? It is clear that it works!

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is a nationally award winning company owned and operated in Summerville, SC a suburb of Charleston, SC. We provide high quality staging for both occupied and vacant homes in the greater surrounding areas and beyond! For more information please visit, www.WeStageSC.com. If you are interested in learning about making Home Staging your profession, please visit, www.StagingAndRedesign.com for more information.

Good Grief! We've Got A Lot Of Crap!

2009-04-27T17:54:12Z

This past weekend began the removing things from walls and giving them designations - "garage sale", "keep", "donate" and "trash". We went from room to room writing down what needed to be done in each room. Some rooms will be quick; just a matter of thinning out our "stuff", others will need some spackling and repainting (what comes from hanging many pictures and other decorative wall decor). By Sunday evening I had more in the "garage sale" pile than the "keep" pile! Right now the "keep" pile comprises family photos. I am reminded of George Carlin's "stuff" skit as I go through everything.

Here's a photo of the "garage sale" pile:

And, I still have more to add to this!

Here's a photo of the "keep" pile:

See what I mean!

I was (surprisingly) pretty objective as we made our list and I started gathering the family pictures off the wall. I started with the family pictures I mention, because they were a sort of gallery in a long hallway, and this area will probably have the most holes to be spackled. We will also be repainting the whole thing. It is the perfect area to put the kids' school pictures, certificates, awards - when you are living there. Not good, and distracting, if you are selling your house. This task didn't bother me because the pictures are coming with me. It's the pictures and my kids that I love, not the wall they are hanging on.

Here's a picture of the hallway with the pictures to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

Looking at what we have to do before we list the house, it seems to be a daunting task. Although, I think it is better to be doing it now when I can take the time to do a proper job of going through everything. Dare I say that it is also a little exhilirating to not have so much "stuff"!

Next, I think I'll tackle the closets!

The Powder Room Updated For Sale

2009-04-21T17:02:34Z

I kind of had a head start on this post because when we first started kicking around the idea of putting our house up for sale I knew this powder room was going to have to be redone. I knew that the wallpaper had to come down, and since it was the only room in our house with wallpaper, I figured we might as well tackle that first.

I also knew that the vanity, counter and mirror had to be updated as well. Since this is the bathroom on the first floor, I knew it would be one of the rooms that would make an impression on a buyer. We have always been big DIYers and did this project ourselves. This included: removing the wallpaper, spackle and some new sheetrock, new tile for floor, new vanity, new counter, new toilet, new mirror, paint, a couple of new hand towels, a new picture and a faux plant. Most of these items were purchased at Home Depot.

Here are the before, before-but-wallpaper-removed and after of this powder room.

We're Putting Our House On The Market

2009-04-20T11:31:37Z

Nope, this post isn't about a client or a home staging consultation. My husband and I have decided that it is time to put our house on the market and look to down-size. Is it going to be emotional? It sure is. Is it going to be exciting? You bet. Right now I'm going back and forth between feeling both ways. It's a new time in our lives, and one I am looking forward to.

While we just decided this past week, we have been talking about it for over a year; and what has to be done to make it market ready. We had already gotten started last year by stripping the wallpaper in the powder room and updating it a bit. I'll share those pictures in another post.

We have given ourselves a deadline of June 15^th to have everything done and ready. I plan on staging my own house, which I know might be difficult as I am emotionally involved; however, I think that with a little help from my friends I'll be able to pull it off. So far, I have been able to take a step back and look at the rooms in our home more objectively than I thought I could.

What I'd like to do is a series of posts bringing you through the process with us. Not only the emotions, but the reality. Not just the packing up of memories, but a chance to clear out the clutter and simplify. Not just removing our mark from the house, but showcasing our investment - the investment we worked so hard on these past 19 years.

I'll be posting "before" and "afters" so that you will be able to see what we've done, and know that even if you got a home staging consultation report, you could do these projects/tasks/fix-ups yourself before you put your house on the market. I want you to know that when I say, "I know exactly how you feel", I really mean it.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

Wow! I Really Did Make A Difference!

2009-04-19T16:37:49Z

A couple of months ago, I wrote this post about donating and how I decided on an organization called DonorsChoose.org. It has been my goal since I started my business that if I made some money, I would give some of it back to the community. This particular organization is for schools all across America that do not have the funds to supply, sometimes, simple learning tools for children. If you haven't read about it or would like to know more, please visit my first post on it and click on the link for the organization.

I normally do not talk about anything I do to help people. I feel that I know it, the people I help know it and God knows it - and that's good enough for me. However, because you are able to actually see where your donation has gone, to what specific learning tool it has purchased for the children, I wanted to share my experience with you. I was very touched to receive these pictures and this note from the teacher over this weekend.

I donated $124.00 for this project - teaching 1st graders how to tell time. I feel so gratified that I was able to help out; seeing the pictures brought tears to my eyes. The great thing about this is that this teacher will be able to use these materials for years to come. Actually seeing my donation being used, the children who are benefiting from it - I can't tell you how great that feels.

I hope that if you are looking for an organization to donate to, you will consider DonorsChoose.org. The project requests are reviewed before they are put "out there" and there are varying amounts that you can donate.

Give Mom The Gift Of Decorating!

2009-04-16T09:44:09Z

Mother's Day is just a few weeks away! Looking for something different to give Mom this year? Gift certificates make great gifts!

Has your Mom indicated she wants to "freshen" up the house? Maybe she's indicated that a room needs painting, but she's not sure what color. Is her furniture and accessory arrangement just not working anymore? Perhaps she could benefit from a home staging consultation before the house goes on the market. Why not consider a gifit certificate for interior decorating - or interior redesign or home staging (or any of the services we offer).

Visit our website to see the many services we offer. We can even work with your Mom on an hourly basis!

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, interior redesign, home staging, color consultations and much more. For more information on our services and fees, visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Advice For Sellers - Relisting? Don't Repeat Past Mistakes

2009-04-15T20:39:53Z

Sharon Tara, a home stager neighbor to the north, has made her blog post available for a reblog. I hope it will be of interest to homeowners getting ready to put their homes on the market this spring.

Via Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations):

If you are one of the many sellers who took their house off the market this past winter with the intent to relist in the Spring, you are probably in the process of preparing to relist. One very important thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to repeat your past mistakes. Learn from your experience of last winter and make some changes in your approach to selling this time around.

No calls for showings the first time? This would indicate buyers didn't like the price or they didn't like what they saw on the MLS. If you lowered the price and still didn't get calls, your problem was first impression.

Only 10 percent of home buyers can actually visualize. Ninety percent of the people looking at a home can't imagine it any other way than how it is shown to them. If furniture placement is in question, they aren't going to rearrange it in their mind. If they don't like the wall color, they aren't imagining it a warm, inviting color. If it has outdated wallpaper, they aren't imagining it painted. What they see is work needed and buyers today don't want to make improvements. They want "move-in" ready.

This time, think of the house as a product that you want to market to as many buyers as possible. Put the extra effort in to make sure that buyers will find it appealing, inviting, and worth the price you are asking for it.

Many sellers take their house off the market blaming the time of year, the economy, the Realtor...when the real problem is the condition of the house. They change the season and get a new Realtor and expect this to make a difference.

To quote Albert Einstein:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

If you want different results this time around, you need a different approach. Make condition and presentation your priority.

When choosing a Realtor, look at the MLS photos of their current listings.

Ask them to recommend a home stager and get professional advice on what improvements would be the most cost effective.

Prepack as much as possible, clean, paint and update.

Organized closets, cabinets and drawers will increase perceived value and set your house apart from the competition.

If you choose not to improve the condition, you will have no choice but to lower the price.

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I Love What You've Done With The Place!

2009-04-07T17:31:50Z

I've long admired your house and your renovation/purchase of this family home will work so well for you! I love the crown molding in your living room; it sets that paint color off so nicely. I love how the rooms flow into each other and you can pretty much see from the front door straight to the back. I think it's great how you set up a nice computer station in the family room. And that plasma TV, over the fireplace, I wanted to do the same thing in my house.

I love how your home office gets that light from the front windows - it must be a great room to work in. Your books look fantastic on those built in shelves and the family pictures interspersed among them break things up nicely. Yet, I've never been inside your home.

Tired of people looking through your windows because you haven't decided on window treatments yet? Tired of looking at those paper shades that you "temporarily" put up three years ago? I am a Window Fashions Certified Professional and I can help you choose window treatments that will work for your home. Custom window treatments can be fabricated and ready for installation in about four weeks.

Photo courtesy of Smith & Noble

They say that windows are the eyes to the house, but let's stop the eyes from looking through your windows and into your house!

Call Kathy Passarette of Creative Home Expressions and let us help you choose the window treatments that will not only enhance your windows, but afford you the privacy that you need. We have a wide range of fabric samples for you to choose from and can help you narrow down the choices available.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

Sometimes The Little Things Mean A Lot

2009-04-03T15:26:09Z

I've started saving these little bottles and soaps that my husband brings home for me from his business trips. Instead of sticking them in the cabinet under the bathroom sink (and forgetting about them), I like to add them to bathroom stagings. These work well if I'm using a small basket with hand towels and wash clothes. I did that in this bathroom:

Here's a close up shot. In this basket I utilitzed tube-style shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

I've been wrapping the soaps in a pretty tissue paper and use one of my labels as a seal. I think it adds a nice little finishing touch to the bathrooms.

I've actually been using these little products for years in a ceramic "basket" in my spare/guest bedroom. They are the perfect size for weekend guests and, in the event they've forgotten something, they come in handy and are appreciated.

I was also thinking that if you do travel frequently, and have a lot of these, you could donate the overflow to food pantries (which sometimes also take health and beauty items).

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consults and more. For further information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Grandma's Stylin' Now...See What STAGING Can Do With Dated Furnishings

2009-04-03T11:04:59Z

Teresa Meyer in Ohio shared this home staging transformation. What a difference and she used the homeowners furnishings to get this great look!

Via Teresa Meyer-Home Staging Cincinnati-OH. Stage a Star: Home Stager Cincinnati (Stage a Star Staging & Consulting Services):

Stage a Star had the privledge of staging a beautiful home this week for one of our top clients. The house itself has wonderful selling features and is located in a fantastic area for empty nesters and retirees. The staging challenge was working with grandma's furnishings as much as possible while bringing in some key accessories to blend with the furniture as well as highlight the selling features.

Take a look yourself and see how STAGING can make a remarkable difference in the marketability of a home.

Which set of photos do you think will convince potential buyers to come and take a look and make an offer?

Or This?

Big difference, right?

An experienced Home Stager knows exactly what to take out and add, rearrange and strategically place to best highlight the selling features of a room. This house doesn't feel dated and worn out anymore. It feels refreshed and new...ready for its new owners!

Happy Staging!

White Is A Color

2009-03-27T16:55:57Z

White ~ it can conjure up cool, clean, fresh, and sterile visuals. White is usually thought of as a cool or cold color. Sometimes it's thought of as no color. Hard to figure then why paint manufacturers like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams have about a hundred colors between them in the white family. Just like any other color, white can have other colors within it - blue, yellow, pink, gray, etc.

Many retailers are showing white with other colors, which can sometimes tame a wild color, tone down a bright color and look clean and fresh with natural colors. Using Pottery Barn as one example, look at how white is being used in their new offerings.

From dinnerware to bedding to outdoor seating white is a classic color that works with every other color. Vary the shades and tones, and you can have a monochromatic look that doesn't look stark or stagnant. Just as a crisp, white shirt is a staple in your wardrobe, a bit of white in your home can help to visually rest the eye from the other colors and busy-ness going on in a room. Whether it is white sheers blowing in the breeze or cool white sheets on a bed, white has its place as a color in our homes.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consults and more. For more information on our services and fees please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Selling Your Home in Today's Market

2009-03-26T17:16:21Z

They are really on the ball in California! This is the third post I am re-blogging from a stager on the west coast. Thanks to Wendy Timmons for making this available for a reblog:

Via Wendy Timmons - Temecula Home Stager (The Real Estate Stagers Temecula,CA):

Selling your home can be a stressful time. Adding the market conditions facing most areas can add to that stress. What if I told you that selling your property does NOT have to be stressful? There is a number of things you can do to make it easier on yourself.

1. Price it right the first time. Work with a Realtor you trust, and listen to their advice!

2. What is the condition of your property? Are there thing that you have put off fixing? Most buyers want a move-in ready home. Take a hard look at each room and fix that ripped screen, replace the broken baseboard, and fix the leaky faucet. All the things you put off in the past should be repaired before your house goes on the market.

3. How are you presenting your property? This is where a Home Stager can help! Most stagers offer written consultations that can serve as a road map to get your home ready for selling. Staging is so much more than just cleaning and de-cluttering. Although those things are VERY important, a stager can also help with highlighting focal points and architectural details that make your property special. Are your walls in the kids rooms painted bright colors, because the kids liked them? Buyers probably won't like it as much as your children do!

If you are selling your home, you have to detach from the home. Start to look at it as a product, one that you are going to market to as many potential buyers as possible. If you are selling your car, you would probably "market it" by washing it and have it as clean as possible to get the most for it. If you are going on a job interview, you would "market" yourself by dressing nice and looking as professional as possible. It is the same thing when selling your home. Your home is probably one of your biggest investments. Don't leave money on the table!

Good Luck!

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Wendy Timmons is owner of The Real Estate Stagers, located in Temecula, CA.

6 Days, 6 Offers, $21K Over Asking: Another Los Angeles Home Staging Success Story!

2009-03-25T06:04:01Z

From Annie Pinsker-Brown - a home staging consultation report worked for this homeowner:

Via Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager (Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging):

I do a lot of work for a very successful and hard-working Realtor who pays me to do a Staging Consultation on pretty much every one of his listings. He markets this as a value-added service that his clients get in return for listing their home with him. Everyone wins: the seller feels like they've gotten a valuable service at no cost, and the Realtor is happy because his listings always look great and sell quickly without him ever having to "be the bad guy."

With most consultations, I spend a couple of hours at the property, email out my detailed, room-by-room Staging report and don't usually hear anything more about it. (The whole point of a consultation is providing a low cost, do-it-yourself option for those who may not be able to afford full Staging services.) Sometimes I get a followup question here and there, and every once in awhile I check out the MLS photos of the homes just to make sure the sellers are following my advice, but that's generally the extent of it.

But sometimes the results are so remarkable that they warrant an e-mail like the one I received yesterday from my client, telling me that a Westchester home we recently did a consultation for had been listed at $674,000, it had 6 offers in 6 days, and was now in escrow at $695,000!

Excuse me, but aren't we in a recession here?! And yet these are similar to the results we were seeing at the height of the L.A. real estate frenzy.

Now when you look at the photo below, please note that I did not Stage this property, nor did I take the photo. I merely gave the seller a detailed list of what she could do, using just what she already had in the home, to Stage it herself! That rug was folded up at the bottom of her linen closet. The vase was in another room. The elements were all there, but they just hadn't been properly put together. But this motivated seller followed my directions and got herself many of the benefits of a Staged home at a fraction of the cost!

Now I'd call that a win/win!

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

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Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

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