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Feature This... Staging Tip No. 8,212 - Create An Artsy-Fartsy Vibe

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Home Stager with FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor

Art for staging houses to sell, for the most part, should be simple, clean-looking, and pleasant. After all, stagers want to give an area life, but just enough to bring attention to an area's purpose and highlight desirable features. I find that large abstracts, landscapes, and pieces very little detail look best in the MLS photographs.

However, art can be very expensive to accumulate, frame, and store properly. So, why not make your own easy-to-make art that takes up hardly any space and is  just the right colors for any job?

Spend this fall and winter doing something that will be tax-deductible, fun, and income-generating!

art propped up without frames on ledge

 

  • My secrets include NOT USING EXPENSIVE ART PAINT.

 

I prefer to use regular interior latax paint from leftover projects, in a satin finish. Sometimes I do  buy paint but I buy basic colors by the gallon and mix the right color as I go along.

  • Use Regular House Painting Brushes

I hardly ever break out my art brushes for staging art. Think big in scale and use a big brushes for a bold, gutsy painting. 

  • Don't Buy Canvas!

I use 4 x 8 premium hardboard from home Depot. It costs $13.48 and I cut them on a table saw with a fine blade into LOTS of sizes. One board gets me 3-10 paintings depending on the sizes I want.

  •  Paint FAST!

I spend 10 minutes or less making these, because latex paint dries FAST. Don't overthink them. Just do it!

  • I Frame Them

Buy frames at thrift stores for a buck or two, paint them, and cut your board to fit the dimensions.

  • Or Don't Frame Them AT ALL

For casual artsy-fartsy charm, just prop them up againt the wall, mantle, or on easels. Place a mason jar  full of used art brushes near them and you have an instant hobby/lifestyle vignette!

  • SIGN THEM!

Be proud of yourself for beign so clever and put your John Hancock on them!

  • SELL THEM!

Put a reasonable price on them and if someone falls in love, be ready to sell those puppies!

To store them, place the smaller ones in their own thrift-store pillowcases. Sew large flat sheets together to make larger cases. Then, stack them till you need them!

Most of the pieces I make cost between $4-18 for materials. I sell them  framed for anywhere from $40-$300.  I rent them for 25% of my selling price.

Best of all, making my own art keeps me outta trouble & off the streets.

 

 
Michelle Molinari
Award-Winning Stager, Conceptual Staging Innovator, and Staging Instructor


 

Comments (17)

Janet Jones
Just Your Style Interiors, LLC - Kihei, HI
Home Staging, Interior Redesign Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Hi Michelle--that is very creative and very smart.  You remind me of David Bromstad, who creates art for every space he designs.  I love the idea of using interior latex paint, too.  Brilliant. 

Oct 15, 2011 07:49 PM
Ginger Foust
Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA
Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Glad that it's keeping you off the streets Michelle AND making use of your many talents.  Bravo!

Oct 16, 2011 05:53 AM
Julia Maher
Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT
Connecticut Home Stager

So glad to hear you're staying out of trouble, Michelle!  I recently bought some large canvases at Bog Lots for just this purpose - although the idea of the wood boards is good because the art will be less prone to damage.  Thanks for sharing!

Oct 16, 2011 06:27 AM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Stay off those streets, Michelle!  Your creativity is inspiring.  I have one question about storing your art treasures:  if they're in pillow cases, and stacked in a pile, how do you know what's inside so you can easily identify them?

Oct 16, 2011 07:34 AM
Wendy Tomm
Beyond the Walls - East St Paul, MB
CCSP, RESA-PRO, BBB - Wpg Realtors

Well you have found a way to be creative and keep busy so hats off to you.  You are inspiring to all those who have that creative gene!

Oct 16, 2011 08:47 AM
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Thanks All. I have  safety pins on the corner of  pillow cases with those cheap colored key ring identifiers that you can write on with the name of the painting inside.

Oct 16, 2011 03:11 PM
Sally Weatherley
EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Mechelle - I'm so tired of paying high prices for art.  The thought of creating my own art is certainly appealing, and you've got some great tips here.  Also, you take the fear out of just going for it!  Oh, and you had me at "Artsy Fartsy"!

Oct 17, 2011 03:36 AM
John Manuwal
Keller Williams Northwest Montana - Kalispell, MT
Kalispell Montana Agent and Photographer

You can also get paintings at garage sales or thrift stores and paint over them. Painters have been doing that forever. Another great place is the local community college. They other have cheap art. Great post.

Oct 17, 2011 05:23 AM
Trumps Elite
Keller Williams Realty Acadiana - Lafayette, LA
Realtors/Career Consultant

Great post Michelle. Makes me want to take the brushes out, too!

PS I recognize those in the picture!!!

Oct 19, 2011 01:07 AM
Kimo Stowell
HI Pro Realty LLC RB-21531 - Honolulu, HI
REALTOR Associate® RS-76763 - Honolulu Hawai'i

Aloha Michelle,

Great ideas for getting a big bang out of left over materials that are hanging around the work site but if you don't have a sense of color and composition these "Artsy Fartsy" projects can end up being big stinkers. Michelle, your artistic talent make the process look much easier than it is, all the more reason for cost conscious sellers to use your services. 

Oct 22, 2011 09:47 AM
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Sally, John , and Chantal - Thanks for the input and I hope this blog inspires you all!

 

P.S. Chantal - I bet you do! How fast did that one sell? LOL... And, they bought several pieces of *my* art!

 

Oct 22, 2011 10:14 AM
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Kimo - Thanks for your response as well. I appreciate your compliments on my abilities, also.

Unfortunately, I do not share your sentiment.

Art is something that is inside us all, and sadly, for many, it is waiting for permission to come out. No matter who you are or what you do, picking up an art medium and letting out something  hidden inside is a a cathartic,  wonderous event with a built-in souviner.

I've seen plenty of art worth thousands upon thousands of dollars that was only a color or two. Some, pure scribbles.

 

This is the most expensive painting ever sold to date:

 

It sold for $140,000,000.

And, it was done on fiberboard, with drizzles of multicolored paint.

 

Other examples of the world's most expensive paintings can be found HERE.

So, "stinkers" are in the eye of the beholder, and as I always say:

Art is for Everyone - to create, to buy, and to enjoy!

 

 

 

Oct 22, 2011 10:33 AM
Kimo Stowell
HI Pro Realty LLC RB-21531 - Honolulu, HI
REALTOR Associate® RS-76763 - Honolulu Hawai'i

Aloha Michelle,

Very few people have the talent of Jackson Pollack, and to suggest that just anyone can re-produce the quality and depth of his work is an afternoon craft project, doesn't understand his work, the science behind his style and the difficulty required to produce it. I am all for developing the inner artist, but there is a lot of work, usually a life times worth that goes into producing fine art as opposed to decorative art. To compare decorative Art as comparable to Jackson Pollack's work misses what being an Artist is about. You are right anyone can be a "Decorative" artist but to say that anyone can be a Picasso or Pollack because all it is is paint on a shingle does not understand the value of true art or the nature of talent. 

Peace,

Oct 24, 2011 07:57 AM
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Aloha Kimo -

I understand your point.

However, you completely missed mine.

~Michelle

Oct 24, 2011 10:35 AM
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Thanks Valerie for commenting.

I have sold art both ways, to the sellers and to the buyers. I even had one sale contigent on a piece of art I made specifically for the space.

I was at a consult once with some sellers who were selling theirs &  looking simultaneously for a new home. They were talking about a home they were considering, which was one that I had staged. They mentioned that they really loved that artsy house in that one subdivision, but it was the same size as their current one, and they were looking for more room.

When I staged their home, they bought several of the pieces, and some other furnishings as well, to take to their new house. It was funny, because they had never owned or considered owning any art, and they had been together for many years.

Another time I painted a sunset for a little boy's room. I had taken all the Superman stuff out and was trying to make it seem more timeless for any-aged child, and the little boy told me it needed some art. I whipped out my paint and slapped something together, knowing another piece of rental art was not in the budget, that the kid was right. He was a funny guy, and hated the idea of me ditching his Superman decor.

The sunset painting was a thin red line on the horizon, fading into blue, fading into black. Super simple. A small streak of white paint got on my brush on the last stroke, in the night sky. It was a "mistake" and I was going so fast, I didn't notice it right away, and it dried faster than I could fix it. So, I just left it.

The boy watched me put it on the wall and got so excited, that I has added Superman flying in his painting. His mom got tears in her eyes when she saw it. So, naturally, I had to give it to him!

Sometimes it sells the same day I painted it. Seems the less time I spend on them, the faster they sell.

~Michelle

Nov 05, 2011 04:41 PM
Sharon Parisi
United Real Estate Dallas - Dallas, TX
Dallas Homes

Michelle, you are a true artist.  This is wonderful idea for anyone with a creative eye!

Oct 28, 2013 05:14 AM