Whether selling your home, dreaming of a one-day makeover, seasonal change or total redesign, Presidian Home
Staging and Design will create the perfect look to make your home special!

What is staging??? By capitalizing on the different spaces and details of your home, while minimizing personal touches, buyers will easily be able to picture themselves and their furnishings in that space. When potential buyers walk in, they will be "wowed" by the beautifully arranged rooms and will feel welcome and at home! Your investment in Staging will quickly payoff with increased buyer and realtor interest resulting in more showings and a faster sale!

Home staging is part interior design, part theatre, and part marketing psychology - transforming rooms from that everyday lived-in look to ready-to-be-sold for top dollar. 

It involves not just de-cluttering and cleaning up, but strategic arranging and essential remodeling to fill in the missing pieces, so that home buyers see the home's best features and are willing to overlook the negatives.

Tips on how to fix your house up to sell.

1. Open the drapes and blinds. Sunshine is the world's best decorator and nothing is more depressing than walking into a home where shades, curtains and drapes are closed. The buyer is likely not a character out of Wind in the Willows and will leave with the impression of a dark and claustrophobic property.
   
   
2. Wash the windows - inside and out. For the same reasons as above, no other small improvement will give you more bang than this.
   
   
3. Clean up the yard. You've heard of curb appeal? How about unseen from the curb? Cut back overgrown shrubs, particularly those that obscure windows or make it difficult to get to the front door. Mow the grass. Rake or pick up downed leaves and branches. Put away lawn tools, kids' toys and discard or store any outdoor furniture that is rusty or ragged. If season and funds permit, put down some colorful annuals or put a few nicely planted containers on or near the front porch.
   
   
4. Clutter Control. You have heard this a thousand times, but de-cluttering and organizing a home is very important and not just to make the place look neat. A cluttered home looks smaller and less airy. All of the pictures, knick-knacks, even an exquisite art collection are distracting to many buyers. The agent is trying to point out the gas log in the fireplace and the customer is studying your collection of old ink wells on the mantle.
   
   Also, you want to make room for the buyers own things. If the living room is jammed with furniture the buyer might not be able to figure out where his own stuff will go. It does no good to explain that your stuff won't be there when he moves in. Some people just can't visualize. If you can't get rid of some of your home clutter- house plants for example - round them up and make a single display rather than have them in dribs and drabs through a room or the whole house. The rule of thumb: count every item in each room - furniture, books, vases, old birthday cards propped up on the shelf - and pack up or eliminate 50% of them. Then, if there is time and energy, get rid of 50% of the remainder.
   
   
5. Clean your kitchen and bathrooms - Scrub like crazy, particularly the kitchen and bath(s). The kitchen may be old but it can still sparkle. Clean the stovetop with a good degreaser and all countertops with whatever it takes to remove stains and discoloration. Wash the front of all cupboards and appliances and keep the floor swept and scrubbed for the life of the listing. De-clutter here too, especially the refrigerator door (death by a thousand knives for the inventor of the refrigerator magnet). Ditch countertop appliances, canisters, etc and keep cupboard doors and drawers closed if your hand is not actually in them. It is critical that the bathrooms sparkle. Old bathrooms can be charming and a new shower curtain or fresh flowers on the counter may be all you need. Put out your best towels and, if you have young children, please enforce the flush rule. Clean bathrooms are a must.
   
   Now we are getting into the more expensive staging suggestions, but the next few things will really help you prepare your house to sell if they are needed and you can afford to do them.
   
   
6. Refinish hardwood floors. These are a major selling point when selling your home and sometimes a home's most compelling feature. Often they don't need complete refinishing, just to be roughed up and polyurethaned to obtain that killer shine. If yours are looking tough give a couple of pros a call and check out the price. In some markets several rooms can be extensively refinished for less than $1,000.00.
   
   
7. Paint / Repaint Your Home. If your taste in decorating is a bit, shall we say strong, it may pay you to hire a professional to tone down some of the more dramatic color rooms. Many people love dark red dining rooms, but none of them may be looking at your house. Neutral colors are best for marketing your home for sale. There was a house, a very expensive house, in a "bubbly" Boston suburb that was on the market for a year and with a total of four agents. The house was in a wonderful neighborhood, had a traditional floor plan and a beautiful yard, but every room and every ceiling was papered in a different black and white pattern. Moving from one room to the next induced vertigo. Agent after agent tried to convince the seller to invest four or five thousand dollars in a professional redo (two of them got fired for suggesting it) but the owner would not budge. A sharp-eyed investor finally picked it up well below its original listing price, did the remodel and sold it three months later for a substantial profit.
   
   
8. Buy, borrow or rent what you need. If your furniture shows the effect of raising five kids or if pets have ruined the rugs and upholstery think about storing or getting rid of your existing furniture and finding just enough more attractive stuff to get by. If your nest is empty and the kids' rooms are beaten up, throw out the furniture, give the walls a quick wash coat of paint and put one or two small flea market pieces - a hobby horse, a bean-bag chair, the old bassinette from the attic - in the room to merely "suggest" its use. A rocker, table lamp and a pile or books in an otherwise bare room gives it the feel of a cozy study and so forth. If you want to go all out there are dozens of companies, some of them national, that will rent a roomful or a houseful of furniture on short term contracts. Not cheap, but maybe worth looking into.

Staging Spaces that Flex to Home Buyers' Needs

Most real estate experts still advise sellers, as they prepare their homes for sale, to convert main rooms back to their original purpose.  That goes for the living room space as well.  But in some markets, sellers may be better served to at least give the "formal" living room a more casual feel.  Many mid-priced new home models stage the front room of the home (where the formal living room used to live) as a library or home office.  Not so in the high-end market - upscale home buyers still look for a formal living room.  So what's a seller to do?

Before you list, talk to your real estate agent and discuss the positive aspects and features of your home.  What types of buyers are most likely to see your home as a good fit for their needs and lifestyle?  If the location, price range and features of your home make it more attractive to a particular market segment, keep that in mind as you stage your home to sell.  

• Young Families - Home buyers with young children need space.  Chances are that's why they are in the market for a new home.  Anyone with children knows firsthand that kids need lots of space to move about and play, both inside and out.  And parents needs lots of storage for toys, and all the paraphernalia that goes along with raising young children.  If you live in a family-friendly development, stage with this in mind.  Pare down furniture in public spaces so the buyers can see the home has plenty of space for the kids to move around.  Stage at least one bedroom with one or two twin beds.  Any bonus space or a fourth bedroom could be staged as a playroom - just make sure it has plenty of practical storage so toys can be kept neat.  Parents enjoy having a dedicated space, preferably with a door, so kids can play and their toys can stay out of the main living spaces. 
• Growing Families - As children age, the family's needs change.  Home buyers will older children may want room for features like a media room, recreation room, a study space with computer access, and a second bedroom with attached bath to serve as a teen suite.
• Empty Nesters - Home buyers looking to downsize after the kids leave home still need a place for them to lay their heads when they come home to visit.  But at least one bedroom, staged with a tailored daybed, could serve multiple purposes: home office, library/den, or craft/sewing room.  A second bedroom with adjoining bath can be staged like a hotel suite, complete with guest robe, fluffy towels, bed tray and reading chair, at-the-ready to receive out-of-town guests.  
• Retirees - If your home for sale is in a 55+ community, consider outfitting it with such accessible design features as bathtub/shower grab bars, shower seat, loop or single lever faucet handles, accessible counter top heights and extra wide entry doors.  Many buyers in this life stage will have grandchildren coming to visit.  A guest room outfitted with two twin beds or a full bed, a comfortable reading chair, a few children's books and a cuddly teddy bear will strike an emotional chord.  Many retirees also enjoy spaces to garden and enjoy the Great Outdoors.  Create a beautiful outdoor space with a small flower garden, bird bath and a comfortable place to sit and enjoy nature.

Keep in mind that staging a room doesn't require a fully furnished space.  A couple of choice pieces with the proper accessories will do the job to suggest the function intended.  Often, any additional furnishings needed can be borrowed from friends or family members, or picked up inexpensively at a thrift store.

The buzzword today with residential real estate agents is staging. Staging a home can change a homes atmosphere that appeals to homebuyers and which may bring a higher price and accelerate market time. Do's

• Pick-up recent home decorating magazines. If you're not up to speed on current decorating trends it will help familiarize yourself with how interior design is being marketed. Tab pages with low-cost ideas that which will make your home say today.
  
  
• Invite a friend or real estate agent over. A second or third pair of eyes will help you accent the best and edit the worst in your home. Be prepared for some constructive criticism. You want to hear it before you put your home on market, not as feedback from prospective buyers. Go room-by-room with a worksheet so you can take notes. Depending on how much time you have available for an update or a makeover, you will need to prioritize and figure out what will give you the biggest return. Do this at least two months before you put your house on market.
  
  
• Stage a home office if you don't have one. They're not a trend; they're required for homebuyers in 2006. Many homebuyers today work from home part or full-time or want a space where they can organize their life and park a computer. Find an extra bedroom, walk-in closet or an unused corner and convert into a home office. Make sure there is a convenient electric, telephone and cable supply.
  
  
• Focus on living spaces. These areas are where the majority of homebuyers will spend their time. Place a side table and a floor lamp next to a comfortable chair as a reading corner. Float sofas and coffee tables away from walls for a designer look. Use area rugs to anchor furniture groupings on bare tile and wood floors. Living spaces must have matching table lamps. Streamline family photos and place green plants in room. Fireplaces should always be operable and on in season. Place groupings of candles and clear glass bowls filled with natural potpourri on side and coffee tables. Substantial wicker baskets can organize magazines, remote controls and toys. Limit knick-knacks to make room for staging materials.
  
  
• Give attention to Kitchens. Put away in a handy drawer all dish towels and rags. Reduce recipe boxes, barrels of cooking utensils, excess-cooking machines, and cookbooks by two-thirds to open up counter spaces. For a quick update put new hardware on cabinets. Find an out-of-the-way place for a portable dishwasher. Clean off everything on the refrigerator door. Omit throw rugs scattered around the kitchen. Clean off windowsills to open up exterior views. Organize cabinets with clear containers. If you can't see the back wall of a cabinet, buyers will think you don't have enough storage space. Ditto closets. Budget to keep a variety of fresh fruit in a glass bowl on the counter. Edit family bulletin boards. Remove old curtains and install new wood blinds on windows.
  
  
• Spend time on sleeping and bathing spaces. Often over looked in the frenzy to get a home on market, these spaces can make or break a home. Buy a set that consists of a matching bed skirt, bed spread, pillow covers and blinds to match. Buy a new shower curtain and separate liner. Wash the liner often if mold develops. Add complete sets of towels that coordinate with your new shower curtain. Clear all cosmetics off vanity. If you have an over-the-toilet cabinet consider removing and place a piece of artwork in its place. Remember to keep items in the "too much information" category, out of view. If you have a king-size bed in a small room, you'll pay to have buyers over come this negative, so get rid of it now. Clear off dresser and nightstands of excess. Make sure the bedroom receives the maximum natural light. Install closet organizers in closets. Eliminate wall and door hooks for clothes. People might look under your bed, no surprises please.
  
  
• Remember first impressions in entries. A simple consol table with mirror over makes a nice entranceway. Make sure this space is well lit day or night. Place adhesive under rugs so buyers don't trip or slide.

Don'ts

• Use inexpensive silk flowers. Nothing distracts buyers more that silk flowers that are past their time, inappropriate for the season or thrown together. Throw them out, now.
  
  
• Forget to upgrade Fido's bowl. I've experienced more unhealthy pet food bowls, watering stations and litter boxes than I care to remember. We know you love your pet, but prove it to homebuyers.
  
  
• Overlook window coverings. Buyers today think less is more in window fashion. They want the most light and the least embellishment on windows. And no layered treatments with sheer panels please.
  
  
• Use low wattage light bulbs. Dark, dim rooms are unappealing to homebuyers. They want to see what they might buy. Replace bulbs with manufacture recommended wattages and especially the burned out ones. The newer low-energy bulbs don't cast home or people in flattering light.
  
  
• Think that everyone loves wallpaper. No two people have the same taste in this instant decorator finishes. If it's more than three years old, take it down and paint in a neutral color. And wallpaper boarders are out.
  
  
• Paint with commitment colors. If you've determined that you need to paint, stay away from bold or as I call them commitment colors. Commitment colors are those buyers either love or hate. It can be difficult for buyers to overlay their style on them. As one client said to me "I don't live in a magazine."
  
  
• Think cleaning is a part of staging. Cleaning is what you do before staging. Everything should shimmer and shine. Don't forget the windows.

Use these do-it-yourself tips to place your home on the stage of your local home sale theater.