We were called in by the home owner to help get this beautiful home in the Old Westmount area of Waterloo, in tip top shape before going on the market. We were hired as project managers and home stagers so we have overseen every step of this process and both my partner and I are a little sad that it's over. We're wildly elated for the home owners who listed the property privately as within 24 hrs of their first open house they got an unconditional offer for full asking price - but we're sad to say goodbye to this labour of love. This home was built in 1917 and is just abrim with character, detail and potential. We love it!! I joked that if my husband and I were considering buying the house ourselves!
You also have to understand that the house when we first saw it was in need of repairs, new floors, de-cluttering and new paint. The home owners had four university aged children who had kept all their possessions in the house and it helped contribute to the overall well-lived in atmosphere. In order to try and make order of all of the household items, home made shelving units in every room which took away from the size of the rooms and all the shelving units were overflowing with possessions. It was very overwhelming. We had to see past all that to what we knew the house could be - because honestly, the house had awesome potential. The home owners who loved their home knew this, which is why they contacted us in the first place!
The front of the house "after" our landscapers came in and removed the solid wall of ground cover, trees blocking the front porch and added a lawn in front of the house.
Living Room "after" we had the wall colour neutralized (it was a reddish-orange hue which is a great personal colour, but doesn't appeal to everyone) and took away all the excess furniture, musical instruments and excess clutter. Our furniture layout and accessories simply bring into focus the gorgeous wood trim and original stained glass windows.
The dinette "after" we had the make-shift desk taking up the whole wall where the pew rests, taken away. We also had the flower border and bright pink wall colour neutralized. We replaced the chipped flooring with this neutral laminate tile and staged the room simply with a bistro set so the full beauty of the room shines through. Those windows look out on a gorgeous backyard and it's a perfect spot to begin your day.
This is the Master Bedroom "After" our staging efforts. I included two shots because we are thrilled with how the room turned out. Previously the room had built in shelving units on the wall with the window and a window seat with heavy curtains. By taking that away, neutralizing the wall colour (it was yellow - a great personal choice - just not always a great staging choice) and staging with simple and lovely accessories, the size and beauty of the room is apparent.
This is the sunroom adjoined to the Master Bedroom "After" we had the entire room emptied of stacks of boxes and excess furniture. We had the floor and walls repainted, the heavy drapes taken down and then staged with simple furniture and accessories. We Love this room and the windows now open up on the magnificent views from the room. We also want to state that this room was used during the summer as a sleeping area (the home owners felt they were sleeping among the trees) and that at the time we initially viewed it, it was temporarily being used as a storage area. The home owners were savvy enough to know that showing the room this way wouldn't allow buyers to appreciate the space as they themselves had appreciated it.
There are more pictures which can be viewed on our website. There were two other bedrooms, the kitchen, the bathroom and the loft which we had redone as well. All in all, this was an arduous and multi-week project and the end results are stunning.
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