UPDATE 7/14/07: Just finished de-staging this property and the homeowners are elated! Now on to the next project!
UPDATE 7/07/08: Just got off the phone with the listing agent on this house of wallpaper and she informed me that this house sold in amazingly, just 1 day! In Escrow! The POWER of Professional Home Staging!
Recently I have been working with a local realtor, in the San Gabriel Valley, advising her on recommendations for preparing her listings for the market. I met the realtor and homeowner at one of her proposed listings in Arcadia, CA a few weeks ago, to view the house and take photos.
Well, to my surprise, the house was covered top to bottom in wallpaper. A "Gallery of Wallpaper" is how I like to put it. Every inch, every room; some of the ceilings even had wallpaper on them. While some of the prints were beautiful patterns and had rich colors in them, they weren't going to help sell this house. My professional opinions had to be precise when making my recommendations, and I am always careful to give clients the true facts without offending anyone.
The truth was in this case, that in order to grab the attention of most potential buyers, the wallpaper needed to be removed and a fresh coat of neutral paint needed to be applied.
Each room had a different pattern some bold and some were very busy!
After recommendations were made, the tedious work began. It took close to a week for the painters to remove all of the wallpaper and three additional days to paint the house in its entirety.
There is always the fear of what may be lingering behind wallpaper; mold, wall damage, etc., so removing old wallpaper can sometimes reveal other issues. However, luckily in this situation the house was sound and no problems were found.
The painting was completed, and now it was time to send in a cleaning crew to freshin up the house and detail every corner prior to the house being staged.
STAGING DAY!
Preparation was made for the inventory that was going to be needed for this 4 bedroom 3 bath home and the van was loaded up. I had not been able to see the house since the painters finished their work and I have to say the house looked so different without all of the wallpaper. It was like walking into a completely different house.
Before, when the house was wallpapered it felt smaller, musty and somewhat claustrophobic.
Now, after the wallpaper removal, the house feels open and has a fresh feeling about it. The team at Empire Home Staging Solutions, began the staging process and worked through the day to prepare the house for the market.
Now the house is ready to be shown and will definitely stand out against similar houses on the market!
BEFORE: The Living Room was covered in wallpaper and the beautiful front window view was covered!
AFTER: Now the Living Room feels fresh, open and welcoming and although this picture doesn't show it, now you can see the beautiful view of the tree lined street from this window!
BEFORE: This bedroom had more wallpaper and a queen bed which was too large for this space.
AFTER: Now without wallpaper and a fresh coat of paint, the room has a brighter feel and with proper furniture placement the room now feels larger.
BEFORE: This bedroom/office had very dark wallpaper and the room had become a catch all for these homeowners!
AFTER:Now without the wallpaper and a fresh coat of paint the room is so much brighter. After de-cluttering we placed a desk in the corner, giving the room purpose and allowing potential buyers to see the rooms true potential.
BEFORE: This narrow bathroom had more wallpaper to remove.
AFTER: Now the bathroom feels brighter and the attention isn't focused so much on the narrow space.
This was a fun project and the agent and homeowner were very pleased with the end results!
Homeowner Tip: Wallpaper is definitely a homeowners personal preference to add to a home when you are living in it. However, when selling a home; in order to broaden the scope of potential buyers that will be interested in buying your home, it is always better to market your house without wallpaper or bold wall colors!
Professional Home Staging by:Michelle Pimentel, ASP,IAHSP EMPIRE HOME STAGING SOLUTIONS (909) 694-9981
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Beautiful work Michelle and great examples of how wallpaper can deter a sale. Love the before and after shots. I'm working on making those changes too for a client and I can't wait to take the after shots. Thanks for sharing.