connecticut home stager: Design & Decor Inspiration - A Staging Story
- 09/16/15 04:49 AM
Design & Decor Inspiration - A Staging Story
How do Home Stagers come up with the decor used for Staging? I usually look to the character of the house itself: age, style, location, finishes, and paint colors. Is the house a 1920s Storybook style? Is it a 1980s Contemporary? Perhaps it's a tradtional Colonial - of any period.
Next, I focus on the target buyer. Do they have a young family? Are they first-time buyers? Why are they buying here? What are their income and education levels?
I select rental furniture to highlight the house's layout, style, and features. Then I add art, lighting, accessories, bed linens … (9 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Problem Rooms? Don't Leave Them Empty!
- 06/08/15 02:46 AM
Problem Rooms? Don't Leave Them Empty!
If a room is a problem for owners, it will be a problem for buyers!
Just because YOU can't figure out what to do with your small or awkward rooms doesn't mean you should leave it empty when the house goes on the market. In fact, that's when you SHOULD get it furnished. A professional Home Stager can work with any space and give it function, flow, and flavor!
Here's a home right off the beach in Milford, CT. Quirky, yet with powerful industrial chic elements, the architecture included this long, narrow living room that the owners never … (9 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Home Staging Can Add Value to Your CT House
- 04/03/15 12:00 AM
Home Staging Can Add Value to Your CT House
Professional Home Stagers can provide a lot of extra value to houses entering the market. Advising on new room layouts, finishes to appeal to today's buyers, and updated light fixtures can help sell a house fast.
This tradtional ca. 1929 Storybook home received a major revamp! Since the kitchen was being re-done, the swinging door from the butler's pantry to the dining room was going to be removed. I suggested the sellers mirror the arched entry from the center hall, on the right.
Fresh paint color and new lighting with … (11 comments)
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connecticut home stager: How To Add Value - Ask A Connecticut Home Stager
- 08/25/14 02:04 AM
How To Add Value - Ask A Connecticut Home Stager
For a recent renovation, we decided to revamp this nondescript fireplace to make it a stunning focal point. This is a small Living Room, open to the Dining Area. Having a more important fireplace would really help sell the house.
Before: Measly molding surrounds glossy granite tiles.
We took inspiration from the exterior. The entry is surrounded by glistening shaped granite.
After: We took similar facing stone from the floor to the ceiling, and beefed up the mantel.
Here is the Living Room Staged … (14 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Creative Connecticut Home Staging: Use What You Have!
- 10/02/13 07:35 AM
Creative Connecticut Home Staging: Use What You Have!
Staging occupied houses presents certain challenges, especially if there's no budget for furniture rentals. That's when the fun begins!
In this example, one of this house's important features is a large, front-to-back Dining Room. However, there were not enough chairs to go around the table, and some were in disrepair. The solution? Go shopping! I mean, go shopping in the house!
The overall decor of thehouse was on trend: kind of rustic, global luxe. So it was important that our solution would fit the aesthetics.
This large, front-to-back formal Dining Room did … (15 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Tight Staging Budget Means Repurposing Your Furniture
- 07/22/12 05:46 AM
Tight Staging Budget Means Repurposing Your Furniture
Selling your house? On a tight budget? A professional Home Stager can help! Staging includes establishing good traffic flow, function for each space, and demonstrating the house's square footage. Creatively re-purposing furniture can help with these issues. And the furniture is free!
What does "re-purposing furniture" mean?
When I am working with a seller's furnishings as I am Staging their home for sale, I may suggest using pieces in a new or different way. There may be different reasons for this:
Some older pieces just don't work for today's young families. An over-sized coffee table … (11 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Connecticut Home Staging: Listed on the 30th, Full Price Offer by the 5th!
- 05/06/12 02:48 AM
Connecticut Home Staging: Listed on the 30th, Full Price Offer by the 5th!
Imagine my surprise and delight when I got this email from an Agent I recently started working with:
"ON DEPOSIT FULL PRICE OFFER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
How did it sell so quickly? The three factors that made it happen are: a smart Agent, Lynn Gayda of Coldwell Banker in Oxford, CT, a smart price, and smart presentation. The Agent started to work with me because she wanted her listings to look great on the MLS. Nestings Home Staging did a Staging Consultation for the Seller, who followed through with painting, editing, and landscaping. The … (7 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Staging The Closets In Occupied Homes: How Far Do You Go?
- 04/22/12 04:55 AM
Staging The Closets In Occupied Homes: How Far Do You Go?
Here's some of the advice I give people when they're preparing their homes for the market:
Pack up out-of-season clothing, and edit the rest. Organize clothing by type, length, and color. Keep floors as clear as possible. Place items on shelves in baskets or containers. Linen closets should be organized by type (towels, sheets, etc.) and color. Most of the advice is geared towards making the closets appear as spacious as possible. Storage space is always a premium, and buyers love lots of it!
Stagers and Agents: What else do you … (22 comments)
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connecticut home stager: House For Sale? Need a Fresh Look? Use What You Have!
- 04/22/12 04:30 AM
House For Sale? Need a Fresh Look For That Traditional Home? Use What You Have!
This very lovely, traditional home in Fairfield, Connecticut, needed a fresh look to appeal to a young family. Nestings Home Staging carefully edited the furnishings and curated the accessories. The Dining Room provides an example of how a space can be updated using items already in the house. No additional accessories were purchased.
Here are some before photos:
The room has great bones: wainscoting, wonderful chandelier, bay window, long neutral drapery panels, good art, and semi-formal furniture. After editing out extra side chairs, … (10 comments)
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connecticut home stager: House For Sale? Put The Dramatic Romance Back In The Bedroom!
- 04/21/12 06:02 AM
House For Sale? Put The Dramatic Romance Back In The Bedroom!
The promise of a Master Bedroom Suite, with secluded bath and large closets, holds a sweet allure for prospective buyers. The ability to simply close the door on the rest of the world and relax in one's own space is a dream many house hunters share. To shut out the kids' toys and colorful bathroom playthings typically found in a family bath is instantly soothing. To be able to rekindle the romance is wonderful!
Does your house hold the promise of romance in the Master Suite? If not, put it … (33 comments)
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connecticut home stager: If There Was Ever A Case For Wallpaper Removal, This Is It! Post Yours!
- 04/15/12 01:05 AM
If There Was Ever A Case For Wallpaper Removal, This Is It! Post Yours!
Playboy? Really?
While wallpaper has been making a fashionable comeback, most Listing Agents and Home Stagers will still recommend removing it once the home goes on the market.
Why?
Wallpaper is very taste-specific. Plus, most potential buyers perceive removal as a difficult and/or expensive process. Then they have to paint - more time and money. These perceived expenses will come off their offer - IF they make one!
Post some photos of wallpaper you've seen that must go!
… (19 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Staging Tip: Need A New Lamp? Got An Old One? Just Spray It!
- 04/14/12 05:51 AM
Staging Tip: Need A New Lamp? Got An Old One? Just Spray It!
Many Sellers simply don't have enough light, and Buyers love bright, light-filled rooms. If you're on a budget, give an old cast-off or tag sale find a quick facelift with a can of spray paint. Take a tip from the Jonathan Adler school of design, and use a bright, fun color, or plain white for a modern take on the surreal. Eliminate fussy details with a solid coat of paint.
Here's a real treasure, in perfect working order.
Here it is in situ, with a … (13 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Home Staging Tips: Make It Work & Move-In Ready!
- 04/14/12 05:34 AM
Home Staging Tips: Make It Work & Move-In Ready!
Sometimes Home Staging is just about making a home move-in ready, not remodeling, especially when budgets and time are major concerns. The process may include making necessary repairs, changing out seriously dated light fixtures, and/or neutralizing hideous paint colors. A professional Home Stager can help sellers identify which projects are worth investing in to sell their house more quickly.
Older homes with "good bones" may not have updated kitchens and baths. However, their condition and size may be good enough for new owners to live with until they can afford the time and … (13 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Turning An Eyesore Into An Asset: Home Staging in Connecticut
- 03/10/12 01:48 AM
Turning An Eyesore Into An Asset: Home Staging in Connecticut
No matter how large one's home is, everyone prizes storage. Storage areas and cabinets are usually high on home buyers' "must-haves" lists. However, there's storage, and then there's storage. Not all storage areas are equal. Not all are attractive selling features.
Here's how one handy Seller turned a storage eyesore into an asset, based on the recommendation of Nestings Home Staging.
Before: Located in a first-floor den/guest room, this built-in cabinet offers plenty of storage. However, the damaged, wood-toned shutter doors detracted from the overall aesthetics of the pristine, updated house. … (33 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Mixing Sellers' Furniture With Rentals: Milford, Connecticut Home Staging
- 03/10/12 12:22 AM
Mixing Sellers' Furniture With Rentals: Milford, Connecticut Home Staging
Can you spot which pieces of furniture belong to the Sellers of this wonderful home located in a golf course community in Milford, Connecticut? Which pieces were from a great leasing company? Which pieces were provided by Nestings Home Staging?
This lovely, spacious home was recently Staged by Nestings Home Staging. Much of the Sellers' furniture had already been moved to their new home in California, so we incorporated some rented furniture and accessories, along with more pieces from my inventory. We aimed for an updated, yet sumptuous feeling. Can you tell which … (12 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Quick Staging Tip for Sectionals From A Connecticut Home Stager!
- 02/11/12 05:58 AM
Quick Staging Tip for Sectionals From A Connecticut Home Stager!
Sectionals, those lushly comfortable pits of family warmth, can be the bane of a Stager's life. Frequently, they are over-sized, and too large for the rooms they occupy. They can often block important traffic flow and generally make a space feel awkward and too small.
Before: The sectional sofa cuts off part of this family room, and blocks easy access to the sliding glass doors. The TV also blocks part of a large picture window.
Sometimes sectionals can be taken apart and down-sized. Sometimes, all it takes is moving them! … (23 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Staging Your House? Stage Those Bookshelves!
- 02/06/12 01:05 AM
Staging Your House? Stage Those Bookshelves!
I'm sure you've seen bookcases beautifully merchandised with art, accessories and books - books that were placed on the shelves backwards! Various shelter magazines and home stores have used this clever device to show off the display techniques and/or the furnishings. The styling visually removes the titles, as well as potentially clashing binding colors, leaving the simple neutral beige of the color of the pages.
Lovely to look at, but impossible to live with in real life! How would I know which book is my favorite Dickens novel?
However, this technique can be very useful for Home … (15 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Vintage Staged Connecticut House Shows Off Its Charm
- 02/05/12 08:49 AM
Vintage Staged Connecticut House Shows Off Its Charm
As the owner of this charming vintage Connecticut home, nestled in a lovely North Haven neighborhood, had made the decision to sell, the house next door sold after one week on the market. The seller realized that it was possible to sell quickly in this market, but that she had a lot to do. She knew she had to make her home move-in ready.
The savvy seller followed the recommendations provided by Nestings Home Staging. Repairs, painting, editing, new light fixtures, updating... Over the course of a couple of months, she got it done on … (12 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Connecticut Home Staging: "Would Staging This House Hurt Your Reputation?"
- 10/13/11 04:24 AM
...and then Mike turned to me and asked, "Would Staging This House Hurt Your Reputation?"
A Connecticut Home Staging Story: I had just finished describing a vacant Fairfield County (CT) house I'd been asked to prepare a Home Staging proposal for.
The house is circa 1960. Located on one of the busiest roads in town, with an additional traffic issue: Across the street from the High School, Middle School and close to an Elementary School. The exterior:
Grounds are in poor condition, with a lot of dead shrubbery. Driveway needs repairs and re-surfacing. Exterior columns need new sheathing. More … (16 comments)
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connecticut home stager: Connecticut Home Staging Story: Family Photos - Do Or Don't?
- 09/30/11 11:13 AM
Connecticut Home Staging Story: Family Photos - Do Or Don't?
Kevin Crawford's recent Featured blog post asks "Do people REALLY hate your family photos?" Bemoaning the pervasive nature of the many HGTV staging programs, he decried the sterile appearance of many "staged" houses because all the family photos had been removed.
(Personally, I feel that it's a sad decorating case if the only art and accessories are family photos!)
When a professional Stager recommends removing personal and family photos, it is for several reasons:
Safety of family members, especially the children's Prevent buyer distractions Enable buyers to envision themselves in the home It's … (15 comments)
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Design & Decor Inspiration - A Staging Story
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