Interior design advice and ideas |Decor Ideas and Home Styling Inspiration – Interior Design Page 12

Virtual Staging

January 17, 2015 by magda Filed Under: home stager, home staging

I feel that the “virtual staging” subject comes back every year and tends to be a “hot subject” in the industry. And since real estate season is about to peak, even more so. I see ads all over the place attempting to sell you virtual staging software.

In my opinion there are two types of virtual staging:
The first type of virtual staging is basically a “virtual” consultation because the home stager I won’t actually go into a client’s home but I give staging advice by email based on the images of the property they provided. It is an ideal situation but for some wors and it gives homeowners professional home staging advice.

The other type of virtual staging is the one where no home stager goes to the home and no real furniture goes in the house. Sometimes the floors are refinished, carpet ripped off and hardwood installed, and the walls are repainted too!
How does it work? Photos of the property are sent to “virtual” stagers who choose furnishings and accessories that are rendered into the photos so that buyers see the picture of an attractive room when browsing online, on a brochure, etc

I can see how this type of software could be useful to show what you’re going to do in a home when working on an interior re-design project, but for home staging I think it kind of beats its purpose.
Potential buyers are going to be quite disappointed and confused when they arrive at the house and see that the house looks nothing like the photos they viewed online.

Using virtual staging to give an idea to potential buyers how they could arrange the place might work if you place photos of the “staged” place in the house and explain what they represent and their purpose. Everything else is misrepresentation if you ask me, and it may backfire.

My job as your professional home stager is to make the buyer fall in love with your home, and while having great pictures online it’s very important, it is not everything – it is just the first step. Once the buyer walks in and doesn’t recognize the place the disappointment will settle in, and an unhappy buyer is not a buyer that will likely make an offer. Home staging is a 6th sense: in order for buyer to have an emotional connection and an actual feel of the space the ol’ traditional staging is what a home really needs.

Why Home Staging Works

January 13, 2015 by magda Filed Under: home stager, home staging

Home staging works! But why you might wonder: the truth is that today’s typical home buyer wants either a great deal on a property or they will pay a premium to buy a home that is “move in condition”
Most of the times the house hunters start their search thinking they can look over empty or cluttered rooms. In reality, less than 10% of buyers can actually do that. Home Buyers leave the house with a list of items they want to find in a house but end up buying based on emotion.

Successful home builders know they need create a lifestyle that the potential buyers will aspire to and this is the reason we see te Model Homes in new developments. They don’t leave things to the buyers imagination.

The same principle is applied in home staging/real estate styling to help you sell your home quickly and for top dollar.

Home staging is about creating a great first impression of a well-maintained home. Done well, home staging should make your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, and warmer. Home staging should give purpose to every square foot.
Staging your home should help buyers make that emotional connection that makes them want to buy your house instead of the one down the street. Done well, a staged house should feel like home – your potential buyers home, not yours.

Once a potential buyer can say, “I love it, this is it” they will be looking past some of the “must haves” they had on their checklist before they walked in the door. That’s why when staging a home to sell it is important to have a strategy and to pay attention to even the smallest detail.

Simple things like rooms that are crowded with furniture, too many personal collections, squeaky doors or dripping faucets make the buyer think that maybe the house wasn’t maintained well, and they’ll going through the house finding small issue just to reinforce that first thought. All these little items should be fixed.

To sell your home fast and for maximum profit you want buyers to fall in love. This is what motivates a potential buyer to actually make an offer and not continue their search to find the perfect home or “the great deal”. Once they start worrying that if they don’t take action someone else will, once they start thinking that if they don’t act now they might be sorry, the competition stands no chance!

Bathroom Make-Over Without A Renovation

January 8, 2015 by magda Filed Under: Chester County Bathroom Makeover, Chester County Staging, home makeover, quick updates, staged to sell

Whether you’re looking to sell your home or just to improve it you’ve probably asked yourself if there are ways to make a bathroom show better without a complete renovation.

While a complete renovation is not what I recommended when selling your house because the buyers would more likely want to renovate for their own tastes and preferences, we all know kitchens and bathrooms sell a house. So the objective becomes to remove the buyers turn off and to update the space enough so the potential home buyer will think they can move in and live with the way it looks until they’re ready to take on the renovation.

Most important a bathroom should be CLEAN.

Get rid of mold. Almost every bathroom contains some form of mold, especially in corners.
If wallpaper is peeling, steam it off the walls and paint the walls with a light-colored semi-gloss. Even if it is not peeling I always recommend removing it. Home buyers see it as outdated and a lot of work!
Throw out worn, frayed, or outdated rugs and towels.

Think hotel! Or spa – you get the picture! When showing the home the bathroom should be sparkling clean and free of any personal toiletries, shampoos, toys, etc.

The biggest impact in updating a bathroom without spending a fortune is changing outdated or items in poor condition like

Lighting fixtures and cabinet door/drawer handles.

Fix leaky/dripping faucets or change them if they are really beaten up

You don’t have to go high-end on any of these items. You can find nice things at Home Depot, Lowe’s or even on Ebay I found nice cabinet hardware at really good prices

Bathroom Before Updating

Bathroom After Updating

On the list of biggest impact for less is to paint the walls and paint really freshens up any space. But if the tiles are white, don’t paint the wall white. There should be a little contrast otherwise it may look like a hospital.

If you have one of those large, frameless mirrors that span the length of the vanity like in this example consider either removing it or adding a frame. These are screaming 80s! and if adding a frame/trim around it seems too much and you repaint anyhow adding smaller framed mirrors are more in fashion these days.

If the tub is in poor condition, or of a dated color(think pink!), it can be re-glazed by a professional and it would be much cheaper than removing and replacing the tub.

If the grout between the tiles surrounding the tub is mildewed or crumbling (which is most of the times) keep in mind that a re-grouting can do wonders. If the grout is really not that bad but could use a face lift there are quite a few products on the market that can be used to paint and seal the grout and the end product will look like you just had new tile installed.

If you have an outdated oak vanity, like my clients did here painting it or staining it in a darker color with a semi-gloss finish, and adding new hardware will go really help to get an updated look. Or you can just choose a paint color that is going to tone down the oak and just tie everything in so it wont scream at you anymore 🙂

Then there comes the fun part, the finishing touches: new shower curtain, bath rug, and fluffy towels, accessories, and shampoo’s/oils placed in a tray or a basket with rolled up towels, but

Keep it Simple! If you’re tempted to add a few too many cute touches resist it! and stay focused on your goal, a quick and profitable sale!