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1850s Downtown Home gets a new look and jumps into today!

This is a beautiful home full of character. Unfortunately much of that character is old world and many people today don't necessarily feel that this fits their needs/wants. For downtown there is tons of space and light. The home is within walking distance to Charleston's Battery and most of the nightlife, restaraunts, shopping and parks.

This said the home has been on the market for some time and so the agent called me in to see if we could help. Coming into the common areas I was stunned to see a beautiful lush arboritum & benches. This is simply not something we see everyday around here. Walking into the unit itself, I found the problems to be pretty easy to spot.

The home was large & there was a ton of light, but the floors were marble, the walls were faux painted and each room was a trapezoid! Yes, that's right, the walls were clearly far from square and the angle was pretty sharp! Most buyers would definately leave scratching their heads as to what to do with this. Using the actual MLS photos as before photos let me show you some of our changes....

This is the only room you can sort of make out the trapezoidal shape I was mentioning. Look at the distance between the foot of the bed (about 12") and the wall compared to the headboard and wall (about 30"). You can also tell if you look at the left hand side of the rug.

Staging created defined spaces and shows how large the unit actually is. The photos create a more inviting atmosphere to encourage buyers to want to see more!

If you would like to see more, click here for more photos or click here to view the RES.

Posted by Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com on 03/06/2008 04:40 PM

Comments (12)

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12 Comments on 1850s Downtown Home gets a new look and jumps into today!

I love love loveeee it! I would sooo live there.

Heather

03/06/2008 04:46 PM

by Heather Chotard ISRP (In Style Staging & Design)

Melissa, the changes you made were stunning. You definitely have the eye for what works.

03/06/2008 04:50 PM

by Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty)

Heather - well for just under $800K YOU CAN! It's cold where you are and warm and sunny here... what do you say?

Gary - Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words. The agent is having a broker's open house tomorrow and I was unable to attend due to another obligation (staging another home for a Saturday open house... lol!) I can't wait to hear what she thinks!

03/06/2008 05:02 PM

by Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions)

Absolutely wonderful job. I would be surprised if it stays on the market for very long. Your work will certainly help speed up a sale.

03/06/2008 05:38 PM

by Connie King, CK Staging & Design (CK Staging & Design)

Your staging looks great, Melissa. The location closeby the Battery district should help the sale, too.

Kathy

03/06/2008 05:55 PM

by Kathy Riggle Houston Home Staging-STAGING SMART NSOLD (STAGING SMART N SOLD)

Melissa I love the reds throughout the space and yes you are right, that bedroom was such a weird shape, why did they build it like that? Without staging I would think it would be virtually impossible to sell that unit. Great Job

Phyllis Pafumi

03/06/2008 06:04 PM

by Phyllis Pafumi-ReStyled to Sell Staging Homes NJ (ReStyled to Sell Home Staging New Jersey)

Connie - Thank you! I actually was surprised it has been on the market as long as it has been as beautiful and well priced as it is. I think buyers just couldn't get past the cold marble floors and oddly angled rooms. They seems small and difficult to layout in your head.

Kathy - Familiar with Charleston are you? It is only about 5 blocks away from the park off the battery. It really is a beautiful walk and horse drawn carriages actually go by those big windows in the living room!

Phyllis - Who knows, it was the 1850s! Furniture certainly has gotten larger.

03/06/2008 06:25 PM

by Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions)

Melissa, I gasped at the price. Good Grief...thats spensive!!!

But with all the money you'd pay me to be on your staging team, 800 k is just chump change. ;)

Heather

03/07/2008 10:27 AM

by Heather Chotard ISRP (In Style Staging & Design)

I love this house! The staging will help tremendously in letting buyers seeing the potential the home has.

You need to add your RES shows to our website! The last 2 you did were beautiful!

03/07/2008 02:42 PM

by Bevin Googer ~ www.StagingAndRedesign.com (First Impressions Home Staging and Interior Redesign)

Hi Melissa...CENTIMETERs to spare with that bedroom set...wow, thank goodness!! You made it work! : ) Good job! THe black/graphite colored pillows off-set the red brilliantly! Regards-Kathleen G

03/07/2008 03:15 PM

by Kathleen Garvey-- Florida Home Staging in Naples Ft. Myers (Enhanced Interiors & Home Staging, LLC)

Heather - for downtown it is actually quite reasonable.... it is along the walking path most vacationers would want to walk, shop and dine.

Now, when I can afford a home like that, then I'll think about paying someone else so they can live in one.... lol!

Bevin - I emailed the RES shows to them this morning, but as you know they are off on Fridays! They should be up first thing on Monday along with the home I'm finishing up now. (Still need a few additional pieces - um, trees - looks like I'll be shopping tomorrow morning!)

Kathleen - tell me about it! It absolutely had to have a queen size bed though. I could have used smaller night stands, but honestly I think that might have made the room feel smaller. The little bit of extra room it would have created would have been out of scale.

I actually was really worried about using that bedspread too. We had it in inventory, along with pillows, etc and so I figured by mixing and matching I could 'make it work' (as Tim Gunn would say). I think it turned out quite nice and some of my artistic shots of this room are my favorites.

03/07/2008 06:34 PM

by Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions)

Fantastic work, Melissa!

I love the fact that you used the deep red to contrast the otherwise very neutral floors and walls.

Red gives a space such an energetic feel!

Julia

03/07/2008 08:54 PM

by Julia Fedak, CSP-Canadian Staging Professional (Platinum Home Staging Design)

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