Halloween Decorating Tips When Selling Your Vancouver Home
I have always been inspired by Sally Weatherly of Exit Stage Right from the first day I joined Active Rain. I look to her as a mentor and friend. For anyone who isn't familiar with her work, check out her Portfoloio - she's one of the most talented, successful stagers anywhere.
Sally has just been recognized as a Finalist in Richard Yates' The Home Staging Talent Contest Challenge!
This is just a sample of her amazing work...
Halloween Decorating Tips When Selling Your Vancouver Home
You're selling your home, but you need to know the "trick" to great curb appeal during this fun but frightful Halloween season? Well, you're in for a "treat"! As a Vancouver Home Stager, I'm happy to impart my spin on decorating or staging for Halloween, while still having your house for sale.
It's all about "less is more", or how far you can take a holiday theme like Halloween when creating great curb appeal. What ever you do, avoid headstones, skeletons, ghouls, guillotines, headless mannequins and grim reapers. Stay away from the crime scene tape! Using my own home as an example, lets see how you can decorate or stage your home for sale's curb appeal, without taking all the fun out of Halloween!
HERE IS THE "AFTER" PHOTO AFTER THIS VANCOUVER HOME STAGER WAS DONE!
Instead of using traditional fall colours, I chose to decorate/stage for Halloween in a more sophisticated manner. Instead of using orange and black, I opted for white, black and green. Yes, there are pumpkins, but they are downplayed. The shape is recognizable, but this doesn't scream Halloween. I'd also like to mention that my house really needs some painting. If I were really to put my house up for sale, I would have given the exterior a nice, fresh coat of paint, scrubbed away all the green growth, and repainted the steps and decking. However, the temperature has dropped, and it has rained so much here, that painting is not an option right now. Also, stay away from the "Go Away" or "Boo!" door mats, and instead opt for a friendly "Welcome" Mat. This mat with black writing fits perfectly with the black, white and green theme.
HERE'S THE "BEFORE" PHOTO: Not too inspiring for home buyers. Let's up the curb appeal and capture the home buyer's heart! Don't worry, we won't be putting it in a jar...
So what did I do to decorate the entry for Halloween? Here's the process:
Here are the materials for the urns.
2 Plastic urns from RONA (or any hardware store)
A can of black spray paint
Greenery (in Vancouver evergreens are everywhere). I took the dog for a walk in the woods and collected branches that had blown down.
2 Pumpkins
Leftover white paint
Paint brush and rolled up shirt sleeves
Go outside and spray paint the urns. Make sure you spray in a well-ventilated area!
Now you can go back inside and paint your orange pumpkins white. Make sure that your pumpkins are big enough to fit in the urns. I actually placed a couple of boxes in the urns and propped the pumpkins on top. Try to find pumpkins that are pretty equal in size. These are close enough.
Here is a close up of one of the urns. Insert the greenery around the pumpkin. I added a black crow, a lantern with a battery operated candle inside, and some white mini pumpkin gourds.
I wanted to make a wreath for the front door. I love black doors, so you might want to think about painting your front door black. There's something European and very classy about a black front door. I found the instructions for this wreath at Crafty Endevor's Blog!
Here are the materials for the wreath:
3 feather boas and black, fabric, wired ribbon from Michael's
Insulation tubing for pipes, found at Home Depot. I got this idea from a wonderful blog. Instead of paying $13 for a wreath form, I paid $1.79!
Twist the tube into a circle, and tape the ends with masking or duct tape where the ends meet. Wrap the circle with the feather boas. I just taped the ends to the back with more masking tape.
It's hard to see in the photo, but I tied the black ribbon into a bow, and also added a black crown. You can hang the wreath with a wreath hanging hook instead of driving nails into the front door!
Materials for flower box:
Unpainted wooden flower box from RONA hardware store
Planter box hanger
All purpose primer that I had kicking around at home
Black, semi gloss exterior paint
Ornamental cabbages (don't eat these!)
Potting soil
Run back inside - it's getting chilly out there! Prime the flower box, then put 2 coats of the black semi gloss exterior paint. Let dry.
Here's the completed flower box with seasonal ornamental cabbages. Again, we carried the white, green and black colour scheme, and added another crow for a bit of whimsy and a subtle nod to Halloween.
Here's a view of my home, encompassing the flower box, urns and wreath.
Of course, since we've already had Thanksgiving, our next major holiday is Christmas. It would be very easy to change the black bow to silver, remove the pumpkins from the urns and add Christmas balls, pine cones, and red berries. Remove all the black crows, and add silver balls and sticks to the ornamental cabbage.
I hope you enjoyed these Halloween Decorating Tips When Selling Your Vancouver, B.C. Home.
Exit Stage Right - Home Staging and Redesign Sally Weatherley 604-838-9431
Sally Weatherley is a full time home stager and owner of exit stage right - home staging, Vancouver, B.C.
We help home owners and real estate agents sell their homes quickly and for maximum profit. When selling your home you want to "set the stage for a lasting first impression".
Home Staging Website: www.exitstageright.ca
Before & After Photos: Exit Stage Right Portfolio
Email: sally@exitstageright.ca
Blog: Exit Stage Right Blog
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