magda – Interior Design Page 2 – Interior Design ReImagine Interiors

Before & After: West Chester Sophisticated Reno

April 18, 2017 by magda Filed Under: decorating, design

My client came back from her trip inspired to redecorate her home. She wanted to change the flooring and freshen up the paint, but the family room needed a makeover as well and she wished the bedroom would feel more like a relaxing retreat. She entertains often so an open, inviting space with lots of seating were a must.

Before

After

We also updated the kitchen with new quartz countertops and added some bling with a glass subway tile backsplash.

The breakfast area was bright and cheerful but the slipcovers on the chairs didn’t relate to anything else in her home. We kept it bright and cheerful with these new slipcovers

In the bedroom, we kept the drapes and her pine dresser and armoire which she loved for storage. but the knots of the pine not so much and we had them painted. The dresser was updated with gold framed mirrors with geometric overlay of overlapping circles.

The tall tufted upholstered bed added height and style to the bedroom. The mirrored nightstands added a touch of glam and contemporary design to this otherwise traditional bedroom.

Before & After: Bright and Cheerful Downingtown Home Redesign

March 26, 2017 by magda Filed Under: decorating, design

My clients bought their new home a few years back. They loved the neighborhood and the architectural style of the house, but the finishes they inherited from the previous owners not so much. Sounds familiar, right?

The previous owners style was very different than my clients: muted, earthy colors and finishes, deep rooted in the brown – tuscan trend. My clients are all about bright, fresh and cheerful spaces.

After struggling for three years with the direction she wanted her new home to go they hired me to redesign their kitchen and the adjoining family room. The request was for the design to be bright and cheerful. The only thing I had to keep was their blue sofa. Everything else was up for a change.

Starting from the blue sofa with contrasting green welt the blue and green color palette was decided for the family room.

The way the furniture was arranged previously didnt work for them so we changed the layout. And their brick fireplace got a quick make over with paint.

The kitchen felt dark and uninviting.

We replaced the travertine backsplash with a classic hex glass tile and had the kitchen cabinets repainted in a warm white.

We kept the dining set but freshened up the breakfast area by painting the dining chairs in a red orange color and installing custom window treatments for a tailored look.

Next up are the formal living and dining room. Can’t wait to work with my clients again to transform those areas into fun and bright rooms that they and their family will enjoy for a long time.

Elegant Farmhouse Style Dining Room and Family Room

October 5, 2016 by magda Filed Under: design, home makeover, Uncategorized

It was a really busy summer in the design studio followed by an even busier fall. It was great though! I got the opportunity to work with clients on projects with very different style and oh how I love that!

When I begin the design for a new client there are two things that dictate the look and feel for my mood boards: the client’s style and personality, and the house style.
My client wanted a farmhouse look inspired by Joanna Gaines, with shiplap and dark grey walls, but her new house is an elegant stone front colonial. I gave an elegant feel to the farmhouse style and this how my mood boards look. She loved them all but she had to choose only one for her future dining room. Which one do you think it was her favorite?

Is farmhouse your style? I am happy help you select some cool pieces that go with your personality and your house style.

Best Home Staging in Chester County PA

August 4, 2016 by magda Filed Under: home staging chester county pa

When trying to sell your vacant property in Chester County PA or nearby, quality home staging can make a dramatic difference. The best home staging transforms not only the way a property looks, but it matters also when it comes to how fast a house sells and for how much.

Take a look at the dramatic transformation quality staging can make:

As a home stager in Chester County I see it all the time, quality home staging always brings in more traffic which always translates in more offers and possibly a higher selling price.

The best home staging will not distract from the homes features, but showcase them.

Your Chester County home stager should choose carefully the furniture and accessories. Choosing the wrong style or furnishing a home for sale with dated, beat up furnishings will make your remodeled home or investment property look dated. Quality home staging makes a house look well maintained and updated.

In a hot market, everyone is in a hurry and often, buyers are spending more time trying on a pair of jeans than in a vacant home. Having your vacant home staged will help them figure out not only what will fit and how can they place their furniture in the space, but it will also help them visualize the property potential. Your home stager should create a lifestyle that potential buyers aspire to.

Bottom line is: when selling your home, investment property, flip or new build in Chester County only the best home staging will provide consistently the results you need.

How do you know you get the best staging? Of course it starts with your home stager/staging company.

Ask your friends and family if they recommend someone. If you’re working with a realtor ask them too.

Then go online and search for home stagers in your area. Check their websites and online portfolio. Do you like what you see? Do the pictures posted look like something today’s buyers would aspire to? Once you narrowed it down, and you have your favorites, give them a call.

And one more thing: while home staging is not a regulated field and there is no such thing as accreditation, if your home stager took a class it shows they are serious about it and it is not just a hobby. They should know the difference between staging and decorating. That is the difference between merchandising a space and just filling up a house with furniture “every nook and corner”, the difference between SOLD and FOR SALE.

So, when you’re ready to sell your home, investment property or new build in Chester County, PA fast and for possibly more money, give us a call – we’d love to help you getting your property sold!

ReImagine Interiors is Selected Top 20 Interior Designers in Philadelphia

June 15, 2016 by magda Filed Under: Uncategorized

I am very proud and excited to announce that ReImagine Interiors was selected as one of the best 20 designers in the Philadelphia area by Fresh Home, one of the most popular and successful online magazines focusing on interior design and architecture. Winners were selected from over 100 interior designers, based on multiple factors such as quality of work, experience, customer satisfaction, responsiveness, etc. As a Main Line designer and home stager, it is truly flattering to be part of Philadelphia’s best. Thank you to the wonderful editors that gave me this honor!

#DesignerFavorite Top 5 White Paint Colors for Trim

March 6, 2016 by magda Filed Under: Color and Design

It’s funny how something as simple as white should be can cause so much stress. That is because white is not simple at all, and when choosing the right white for your home you should take in consideration the undertones.
My top five favorites are all Benjamin Moore simply because I really like their Advance line of paint for trim and cabinetry, in general.

1. White Dove OC-17 – It the one white I use a lot and it’s all around my house. I consider it to be the general donor of white paint as it goes with pretty much everything. It has a tiny bit of grey touch to it, but it is a really soft white. It looks crisp, but creamy paired with navy in this dining room we recently remodeled.

Interior Design Project Malvern PA - dining room

Wainscoting and trim BM White Dove OC 17

2. Simply White OC-117 – Benjamin Moore’s color of the year and for good reason: it’s the perfect soft white feels warm but not too creamy.

BM simply White

3. Cotton Balls OC-122 – It has more creaminess to it reminding me of fresh coffee cream, but it still reads white and it feels pretty clean.

Trim and Cabinets Cotton Balls OC-122

Via

4. Swiss coffee OC-45 – I have to admit the name was what attracted me the first time to this white. It is pretty similar to White Dove, but a bit more creamier. And how darling is this kitchen?

Kitchen Cabinets BM Swiss Coffee

Design by Martha Angus; photo by Bruce DaMonte

5. Chantilly Lace OC-65 – It’s the whitest white in the bunch, the white against which you can compare the others. It is a great choice if you’re looking for crisp white and it looks great with marble like here:

Bathroom Cabnets BM Chantilly Lace

VIA

Perfectly Neutral White	Warm White	Crisp White
White Dove OC-17 Simply White OC-117	Swiss Coffee OC-45 Cotton Balls OC-122	Chantilly Lace OC-65

Do you need help finding the perfect white for your kitchen cabinets or trim? Or maybe selecting paint colors for your space? I would love to help! Please contact us for more details.

How to Choose the Paint Color Right the First Time

February 29, 2016 by magda Filed Under: Color and Design

Choosing a paint color is not a decision to be taken lightly as it impacts how a room will feel and how it will relate with all your furnishings. As a color expert and professional home stager, I always see people tend to make the same mistakes when choosing paint colors. Here are my tips for getting it right the first time:

1. Consider the big picture.

What is the color of your fixed elements, lightning and how will the paint color will go with your furniture. You will have to take in consideration how your room will relate to the other rooms around it, especially if you have an open layout. You don’t want to be matchy matchy (you really shouldn’t) but there has to be cohesion and flow with each room otherwise your home will look choppy.

2. Take in consideration how do you want the room to feel

The fact that you like a color it doesn’t mean you will necessarily like the way you feel surrounded by it when it will be up on four (or more) walls. I like all kind of shades of reds, but the thought of waking up to that color doesn’t sound appealing to me.

3. Test the paint before painting.

I cannot stress this enough, but you have to test the paint before painting it all over your house. Yes, the color looked great at your friend’s house, it’s the most popular color on Pinterest and HGTV. Sure, you should research it and see how it looks in different houses and different lightning, but you MUST look at a large sample in your home because there no two rooms with the same lighting and finishes.

4. Always look at the paint chip against the wall.

If the paint goes up on the wall then that’s how you should look at the paint chip – flat against the wall.

But, don’t do this:

5. Don’t compare paint colors with each other

or with your current wall color especially if that wall color is completely different or bright. When I am doing a consult and face this issue I put up a larger piece of white paper behind the sample we’re looking at.

The correct way to try the paint samples is by painting large area of one paint color on a white paper board and putting it flat against the wall. Of course you shoulmoving it around to see how different light affects the color

6. Don’t forget the finish – it can make or break a color decision. Usually darker colors can read very flat and the finish of the paint can bring out or take away from the hue. The same goes for whites. For example, using Linen White in a flat finish it will read pretty much read blah and, well, flat as compared with painting it in egg shell finish that will bring out the cream.

Top 10 Stupid Staging Ideas

February 8, 2016 by magda Filed Under: home staging tips

Top 10 Stupid Staging Ideas is excellent article written by my staging colleague Justin Riordan of Spade and Archer Design Agency, and it outlines in a humorous way how staging is a highly misunderstood tool. Used properly and professionally staging can be one of the best marketing tools a home owner and realtor can have.

Some of my “favorite” misconceptions are:

If they can’t see past that ‘__________’ then they don’t deserve to buy my house.”

The truth is, if they can see past “____________” then you did a poor job preparing your house for the market. If you find yourself saying this, think again.

My personal pet peeve:

I can just lightly stage this room and it will work.”

Light staging or, as I call it, “the placing of random objects in a room,” like a chair and a rug in a bedroom, does not help sell houses. It will actually slow the process down. Staging is only meant to do three things:

Show the room’s purpose

Show the room’s scale

Add light to the room

Random objects in a room serve only to draw attention away from the house. Light staging is like hiring a clown to dance in front of a rack of dresses to help sell the dresses. Your buyers end up paying more attention to the clown than they do the dresses. Either stage the room completely, or don’t stage it at all.

I am paying for the staging, you should only stage with things I like.”

You are correct in that you are paying for the staging, but you are incorrect in that you think you are the customer. Really when it comes down to it you are now a retailer, trying to sell a product. You have hired a stager just as a department store would hire a visual merchandizer to display their items to sell to a customer. Your stager is concerned about what the potential buyer will like. You should be too.

Staging can fix anything.”

I couldn’t agree more: staging can fix issues that price reduction wouldn’t, like a problematic layout or a room that seems too big or too small, too dark, etc and creates an environment that allows potential home buyers to fall in love with your home. But if your home is painted in rainbow colors or has a leaking roof, no amount of staging can help you and these issues need to be fixed before staging. If the budget doesn’t allow for both then things need to be fixed instead of staging and this is where a two hour consultation with a professional home stager is going to save you money. A professional home stager will know to advise you which price eroding items you should take care of first and how.

#1 “stoopidest” idea … “Staging is easy.”

It is amazing how many sellers I meet on a daily basis. Nearly every single day somebody calls me to explain to me why they don’t need staging services. They say they know exactly what their house needs in order to sell, and how they have a lot of experience doing what I do and they could just do it themselves. I always wonder to myself, “Then why are you calling me?” The truth of the matter is, home staging is not as easy as it looks.

I often compare it to women’s gymnastics. You know you are doing it right when it looks effortless. If you get a chance Google “Nadia Comaneci, perfect score” and watch the video. I don’t think she even broke a sweat. Good home staging looks like that.

What it all comes down to is that “staging is easy” is the No. 1 biggest myth we would love to perpetuate.

Bottom line, bad “staging” does not help you and it could actually hurt your sale. If you want top dollar for your house you will want to work with a competent home stager.

Should I stage my empty house for sale? | Home Staging Chester County PA

February 3, 2016 by magda Filed Under: home staging

No matter if your house is vacant or occupied, a flip, rehab or new built, staging a house for sale is always a good idea if you’re looking for a faster sale. The faster a home sales, the more likely you will get a better price and staging is known to always accelerate the process. But if you still wonder “should I stage my house for sale or should I leave it empty?” these are the first things to consider: how your property will appear in the online listing because more than 95% of buyers are starting their search online and that buying a house is based more on emotion than logic. Logic reasons like size, location are what are going to make the potential buyer to come see the house in person but the condition and emotion they will get when visiting is going to bring in an offer.

When deciding if staging your home is a good investment consider these things:

1. It is counter intuitive, but empty rooms look much smaller in listing photos. Since the online listing will help buyers decide whether to view the house in person, the staging will make your home look more attractive and drive more foot traffic. And more buyers is always a good thing.

2. Rooms too large. If your house has an open floor plan and the rooms are large the buyers will have trouble envisioning their furnishings in the space. The space may seem awkward and will raise problems. The buyers will wonder if they don’t pay for space they don’t actually need or use. Quality staging will help answer questions and solve problems buyers might have in regards to purpose of the room and furniture placement.

Or rooms too small….If a room is empty it may as well look too small. Take this room for example: will a king size bed fit in here or not?

3. Selling a house is selling a lifestyle change. An empty house feels uninspiring and wont be remembered by much. Ask real estate agents and they will tell you that buyers absolutely adore a (well) staged house. A house that was staged properly will look inviting and fuel the buyers imagination. So leave them something to remember your property by…

4. Professional home staging will give you an an edge over the competition.

Elegant and Bright Living Room Design Plan

January 27, 2016 by magda Filed Under: decor, home makeover

One of the recent designs I worked on was for a wonderful client, Cindy. She and her husband relocated from New York in a 1860 house reproduction, in a more rural area. One of their biggest issue was with the living room: a long, asymmetric room with two doorways and windows on all the sides. They were really confused as how to better place their furniture in the room and after trying a different ways they decided to call me in.

The house they moved in is packed with old-time charm and character that both Cindy and her husband love, but they were looking to transition into a more light and relaxed design. One of the things she mentioned on our first meeting was that she also considered moving to Florida and always loved the look of those coastal inspired homes, but didn’t think it would be a good fit for the area and house they currently lived in.

First we took care of the layout and came up quickly with two options to make their floor plan functional and this is the one they loved:

After getting to know them better, my goal was to combine the comfort of country living with elegance and the relaxed and calm feel of a coastal home in an eclectic style that would offer them both what they wanted. And this is how their mood board looks like:

The next items on the agenda are a custom built-in bookcases to flank the fireplace and new fireplace surround that will conceal their TV.

If you would like to learn more about our design services, local or even if you are outside the Philadelpia area send us an email at info@reimagineinteriors.com or give us a call.