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ReImagine Interiors

Interior Designer|Interior Decorator|Interior design services

The Value in Staging a Vacant Home in Chester County PA

by Filed Under: home staging

One of the recent projects ReImagine Interiors was involved was staging a new built property in a nice neighborhood close to shops, restaurants, and the train station. Our clients recognized the value in staging a home for sale and  knew that leaving the property empty would not allow the buyers to fall in love with the space and help them visualize it as their own.

after_staging

Vacant Staging Chester County PA

In a matter of hours our team was able to transform this spacious 4 bedroom, 3 bath property into a home that busy families would aspire to live in.  While houses in this market are spending an average of 65 days on the market, our sellers accepted an offer in 3 days. The new owners took possession 4 weeks after the offer was accepted. By staging at the beginning of the sale process our sellers avoided at least two months in carrying costs and price reductions and they’re off already to new projects!

 

living room before stagingliving room after staging

So, if you’re a builder or a developer, a flipper or a homeowner with a vacant property on the market, don’t waste your valuable time and resources. Hire a professional home staging company before the property is even listed!

Call ReImagine Interiors @ 484-318-5629 or send us an email to discuss the options available to market your property and book your appointment.

 

Does Home Staging Work?

by Filed Under: home staging

According to the 2015 NAR Home Staging Profile, 81% of the REALTORS™ think that home staging helps buyers visualize the property as a future home and 32% buyers’ agents believe staged homes increases the dollar
value buyers are willing to offer by one percent to five percent.
Scroll or click on the infographic below to read more:

2015 Profile of Home Staging

Decorating Rules of Thumb – Furniture Placement

by Filed Under: decorating, design

Space planning can be a challenging task but is one of the most important aspects of interior design and when staging your home to sell. When a room is not laid out well it can feel cramped and awkward, and will not function well. If you keep in mind the basics and these helpful tips it may be easier than you think.

 1. Consider the function. The way a room is used and how many people are using it will be one of the most helpful things when choosing the type of furnishing and the amount required.
2. Find the focal point of the room: it can be a fireplace or windows with a beautiful view or you can create one: like an interesting chandelier in the dining room or a single large piece of art in a two story foyer.  The idea is to set up the furniture so the eye will be drawn that way.
The idea is to set up the furniture so the eye will be drawn that way.
 Decorating - furniture placement
3. Don’t forget the traffic flow and keep it simple. An inviting room is a room that doesn’t have any obstructions on your path. The correct choice of furniture when decorating is the one that fits you and your family’s needs but also the size of the room.
4. Create conversation areas. When  a room is described as large or spacious it is usually a good thing, but it can be difficult when experimenting with furniture placement. The room might end up feeling cold and unbalanced. You may be tempted to add too much furniture or too less.
Instead, try creating multiple conversation areas and symmetry is what you have to keep in mind when dividing a room in a rectangle or square shape. Area rugs can be used to define conversation areas.

 decorating_large_room

via Stocker Hoesterey Montenegro

5. If you’re feeling lost or not happy with how your room feels there is always a #designer happy to help! Give us a call at (484)-318-5629 or send us an email at info@reimagineinteriors.com

How to Get the Right Paint Color for Your Home

by Filed Under: Color and Design, home makeover; quick updates; stage to sell

As a home stager and interior redesigner in Chester County, I often recommend paint colors. For a redesign project, choices can be and are much bolder than when you stage to sell. Whether you plan to sell or to stay here are some tips to help choosing the perfect color:

1. Find inspiration: find images that you like and pin them so you will have a clear idea what style and mood appeal to you.  Use your favorite pillow, scarf or a piece of fabric for pulling the color palette. One of my favorites websites for inspiration is design-seeds.com

colorpalette   colorpalette2

via design-seeds.com

2. When choosing a paint color never look at it horizontally in your hand unless it is going on the counter tops or the floors. Always look at the paint chip vertically against the wall. Always paint a large swatch and move it around to see it in all different light conditions. Two colors that may appear to match in one light source may not match under another light source so always pay attention to lighting. The natural daylight will show the truest colors, but you should always see how your paint color looks under the other light conditions present in your home

3. Keep in mind the big picture: it is really important to see how will your paint color go with the fixed elements in the room (rug, tiles, countertops, cabinets, trim, etc)and the flow with the adjacent rooms, especially in an open space.

To set up an appointment for a Paint Color Consultation, contact me at info@reimagineinteriors.com or (484)318.5629.

How to avoid Selling Mistakes (even in a Hot Real Estate Market)

by Filed Under: home stager, home staging, tips

Can anyone mess up their sale in a hot real estate market? The answer is yes!
Even though the real estate market is showing signs of improvement in this spring market and the inventory is low there are a few mistakes a home seller should avoid if they want to sell fast and more profitable. If you want to have several buyers bidding for your house, follow these easy steps and sell your home fast and for more money:

1. Price it Right

Yes, the market may seem hot but and pricing your home too high may get you burned. While the inventory is low and the current market resembles a “sellers market” high pricing for condition and location may make your property become “that one” that sits on the market and makes home buyers think “there must be something wrong”.

2. Prepare and Showcase your home

When selling your home – no matter if the market is hot or not, it is important to look at it objectively, through the eyes of a critical home buyer. Identify the potential negative issues buyers may have and correcting them through prep work or staging. Identify the positive features, the selling points and show them off. Create emotional connections through the home so the potential buyers can envision themselves living there.

Don’t forget the curb appeal and that includes the backyard too especially during the spring/summer months when everyone’s attention shifts to the outdoor spaces.

Home staging is designed to increase the selling price and reduce the amount of time the house stays on the market. Having your home professionally staged in will bring out multiple offers.

3. Have Great Marketing Photos

Home buyers start their search for their new home online and having lousy pictures of your home won’t help driving more foot through the door. Your house should be at it’s best on photo day and phone photos really shouldn’t be allowed!

4. Give space to your potential home buyers

Now that you have prepared and showcased your home for a faster, more profitable sale and your marketing is in place allow your potential buyers to view your house and Give them Space to envision themselves  living in your house.

Try to be flexible and allow showings when needed. It is tough and emotional draining to have the constant visitor in your home but if the first 3 steps are in place you will start getting offers really soon. Also, work with your home stager. She/he will be able to help you keep organized and on top the things so that the hassle of showing your home at about any time will be minimized.

5. Don’t Hide Issues from the buyers

Sometimes when a seller is a hurry to sell is tempted to hide issues like the leak in the roof or the crack in the foundation. The problem is that these things come up during the inspection and at a hefty price! The potential buyer may back up their offer or ask you to cover the costs to fix the problem adding an extra 10%  to cover any other issues they may think were not disclosed.

6. Don’t go at it alone

Last but not least, find a good realtor. Ask your friends or relatives for recommendations, conduct interviews, see if you are on the same page. But keep in mind they know what and for how much is selling in your area and have the connections necessary to market your home better.

If you want to sell your home for top dollar you need to use all the marketing available to you: work with a professional home stager to wisely chose the improvements that will get you the best return on investment and showcase the property in it’s best light possible, have a great online presentation, public open houses, etc. The more people see your house and go WOW the better your chances are  for selling it.

What do Millennial home buyers want? – Move in ready

by Filed Under: home stager, home staging tips

According to recent studies millennials or gen Y comprises the largest share of home buyers. What do they want? Here is my tip as professional home stager in Chester County: younger home buyers want a house that is turn key.

While homeowners are hesitant to invest in a property they are getting ready to sell – and it is understandable, they should reconsider. Selling your home AS-IS might cost more than doing some easy fixes and it will only help selling the competition. Of course, a full kitchen or bathroom remodel are not necessary most of the times, or even recommended. But if you lived and raised your family in your home for 15-20 years most likely your house needs a face lift.

Home buyers are not looking into getting an allowance to fix up the cracked concrete steps or to repair the roof, redoing the kitchen or the bathrooms, or repainting. They want a home that is priced well so they can move right in without spending any extra time or money.

One of the reasons younger buyers want updated homes is that they have limited budgets and most of their budget will probably be maxed out by the down payment and furniture. They won’t have extra money to paint, update the kitchen or the bathrooms. They will want to move in as soon as possible and not when they’re done with the improvements that would make their new home livable.

Let’s say you offer a $3.000 allowance for replacing the carpet. The buyer will think: “Ok, but will this be enough to get new carpet for the whole house/ whole floor?” or “I’m new in the area – I don’t have time/want to source that right now”. Your potential home buyer might take your offer and knock down another 10% just to be on the safe side and make sure they cover all the costs. Or they reject your home, and move on to the house down the street that is in move in ready condition.

So work with your home stager, and let them help you find what repairs, improvements and finishes that would bring the best return on investment and help showcase your property. Don’t ask your potential home buyers to assume risks and additional expenses. Most of the times, they will be either unwilling or unable to purchase a home that will require repairs before they can move in.

As a professional home stager here is my advice: if you want to get your Chester County home sold faster and for more then price it right and have your team in place to make sure it is in move-in ready condition and marketed right.

Home Staging Tip: Don’t leave anything to buyers imagination

by Filed Under: home staging tips, staged to sell, vacant home staging

Are you selling your home in Chester County?  Here’s an important staging tip: don’t leave anything to buyers imagination. And don’t make your potential buyers guess if their furniture will fit in the space or how could they place their furniture.

For more than 90% home buyers it is very difficult to walk into a room and see the possibilities. If there is no furniture there’s no reference. This is why the feedback for vacant homes on the market is usually is that the house feels “cold and barren”. Buyers have a hard time imagining themselves living there and empty rooms usually look smaller. Having a few pieces of well-chosen furniture helps tremendously.

Let’s take this bedroom as an example. Would you take a nap here? 🙂 What would a buyer think about this room: it fits a bed for sure, but is it a king, a queen or a twin?

bedroom before staging

Same bedroom from the same angle and it’s clear that you can fit a queen size bed in the space, 2 nightstands and still have space to move around.

guest bedroom staging after

A vacant home leaves no impression on the home buyers, they rush through the house and sometimes focus on posible negative details.
When you have a home professionally staged, you allow potential buyers to see how large the rooms really are and most importantly you help them to fall in love with your home and give them a vision of a home that can be theirs.

Why a Home Staging Consultation is the Best Investment

by Filed Under: home stager, home staging

Many people seem to think home staging is just moving things around, fluffing up some pillows or getting in rental furniture. While that may be partially true, every home is different and everybody has different things to work with.

By calling ReImagine Interiors for an occupied Home Staging Consultation you’ll get expert advice on what what updates would bring the best return on investment(ROI) and how we can accomplish an effective “packaging” to bring the best out of your home, at an affordable price.

home staging return on investment

During a Home Staging Consultations we’ll go through your home, inside and out, and we’ll discuss what needs to be done to get your home in market ready condition. We will suggest the optimal furniture layout, discuss what items need to be pre-packed, and make paint color recommendations, if needed.

If you’re the do-it-yourself type then a Home Staging Consultation is the perfect choice for you! The goal of the Home Staging Consultation is to give you a solid plan for what needs to happen in every room of your house. At the end of your consultation you will know exactly what needs to happen in each room in order to sell your home for maximum profit.

Once you’ve completed all or part of the suggestions discussed in your Home Staging Consultation, ReImagine Interiors will do as much or as little work as you’d like.

The bottom line is that with an investment of only a few hours of your time and a couple hundred dollars for a Home Staging Consultation you will see at least 299% ROI (according to HomeGain Home Improvement National Survey Results). And having your home professionally staged always costs less than the first price reduction.

To schedule a Home Staging Consultation call (484)318-5629 or send me an email at info@reimagineinteriors.com

Home Staging Tip: How to Make a Small Room look Bigger

by Filed Under: home stager, home staging, home staging tips

Staging a house for sale doesn’t have much to do with decorating, it is more about marketing. When staging a property for sale I may make the place look boring or spare to the home owner, but the way we live in a house is completely different from the way we’re selling it. When staging a home for sale I’m selling the property and it’s architecture, not a personal style.

As an expert home stager in Chester County I have 4 main goals and everything I do in staging is done to meet one of these goals.

One of my main goals, as well as a frequently asked question by homeowners and real estate agents is how to make their home or listing look bigger in order to appeal to more buyers.

Here are 9 tips for making a small home feel bigger. You can use these tips whether you are staging a home to sell or if you are planning to stay and just need some help dealing with smaller rooms.

  1. Remove clutter. Lots of smaller items eat up visual space and make a room look smaller. Only display a few items at a time and in odd numbers like 3 or 5. Try and follow the “cantaloupe rule”: items smaller than a cantaloupe just crowd a room.
  2. Use appropriately sized furniture and pare it down to essentials. Having a large sectional in a small family room will highlight how small the room is. If possible opt for sofas and armchairs with exposed legs, it will create a sense of light and space.
  3. Cooler colors recede while darker colors make a room seem cozy. Opt for lighter paint colors like gray, pale blue and light colored flooring as well to make the room feel airy. You can also make a room appear larger by painting the walls, trim, and detailing in different shades of one color, such as off-white.
  4. Pulling the furniture away from the wall will create the illusion of spaciousness.
  5. Show more hardwood. The larger the expanse of hardwood, the larger the room will look. Area rugs are good for defining spaces but you should try and see how it looks without a rug too.
  6. Strategically placed mirrors make a room feel larger.
  7. A well lit room feels larger. Use a few smaller lamps to spread the light around and draw the eye around the room.
  8. Use fewer and less busy patterns on upholstery. Extra tip: If you have a big sifa that has a busy patter you can always “break it up” with a solid color throw and throw pillows.
  9. Minimize or even remove window treatments if they’re dated. The simpler the better. Shutters, blinds or simple drapes take up less visual space, give a cleaner look.

If you need help figuring out how to make your home or listing feel larger or more appealing contact us for a home staging consultation. It’s a great investment in preparing your home or listing for sale, or making your home more livable if you are planning to stay.

Tips on How To Choose and Hang Artwork – part 2

by Filed Under: decor, home makeover, Uncategorized

6. If hanging a group of pictures of different sizes your best bet is to lay them down on the floor for the optimal arrangement. There no real rules here, but the arrangement should appear cohesive and balanced. You can also trace the arrangement on a large piece of paper and then hang the paper on the wall as your guide.

7. Try making art the inspiration point for a whole room’s color palette and material choices.

Take this bathroom for instance. It has a very tranquil feel to it and it doesn’t look like the art was an after thought but everything fits in just right.

8. If hanging art on a wall with busy wallpaper, make sure the art you choose has a simple pattern and/or lots of white.

9. Try to keep pictures in a room in the same style because art display in a room bring cohesiveness and a curated feel. As an example, mixing contemporary abstract paintings traditional and botanical prints would not be a good idea…

10. Placing art vertically can add the illusion of height to a room. Same with placing art horizontally: it add width to a room.

Tips on how to choose and hang artwork – part 1

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