Bathrooms are very personal spaces

Bathrooms are very personal spaces in our home.  We do very personal things in the bathroom and here we use and store very personal products ranging from soaps to shampoos to creams, toothpaste and so on.  It's usually the first place we visit in the morning and the last place we go to in the evening and then, if you are like me, you may visit the bathroom during the night too!  We usually are the only one in the bathroom too for many of the activities that take place here. 
So what is the point here you might be asking.  Well, think of me as a potential buyer for your house.  Knowing that the bathroom is a very personal place, I would not want to see this:



Bathroom is dingy and cluttered with reminders of others using this very personal space.

I don't want to be reminded of all the personal things that take place by others in a bathroom that I will use if I buy the house.  I want to see a bathroom that is pristine, unspoiled by the reminders of other's use so that I will feel comfortable doing the very personal things that I do in the bathroom.  This is often how potential buyers will see a bathroom so it really is up to you as the seller to ensure that your bathroom is presented in the most acceptable way as possible to help get your house sold most effectively. 

This bathroom invites the buyer by its pristine presentation.  Who wouldn't want to use this bathroom?

A Professional Home Stager can help you with all the tips to so that your bathroom will look like this too when you are selling your house.

You can contact HomeReady Home Staging at 613-894-4155, homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca for more information about booking a consultation appointment.

Luxurious Living On Any Budget

Luxurious Living On Any Budget - by Lori Gilder

Even in this tough economy, people have maintained their taste for luxury in spite of their budgetary limitations.   But there's always a little wiggle room when it comes to indulging - and adding a touch of luxury to any space doesn't need to cost a fortune. 
   

Photo via Elle Decor



For an instant infusion of luxury introduce a wall or two of exquisite wallcovering.  From the most magnificent laser-cut patterns, flocked textures, subtle grasses, silks and metallics - the products available are endless - and a little goes a long way. 
  

Photo via Elle Decor



Add mirrors into your design scheme.  I'm not just referring to wall hung mirrors - although they're great - but introducing strategically placed mirrored surfaces into any room of your home. 
Reflective surfaces brighten a space and create that extra layer of sparkle, texture and luxury.  A mirrored chest in the foyer or master bedroom, glass or mirrored tiled backsplash in the kitchen, or inset mirrored sections framed by paneling and molding to add glamour and sophistication in your living room.

Frette Linens and Towels



Luxurious towels are the ultimate indulgence that makes your bathroom an oasis.  Get the feeling and look of richness by cocooning in some Egyptian cotton towels.  The longer the loop the softer and more absorbent the towel.  Display them if possible stacked neatly in an open shelf or on top of the bathtub decking. 

Photo via Freshome



Luxurious metallic fabrics in silver bronze and gold layered with sheers are very beautiful and indulgent in formal living room and bedroom spaces.  Keep it classic by draping these fabrics from a classic metal rod.   

Photo via Barclay Butera



Splurge just a little by investing in some of your favorite fabrics and trims to create those sumptuous accent pillows to sprinkle throughout your living spaces.  Use contrasting fabrics on the reverse sides for greater flexibility and just flip them when the seasons change.
What have you done to add a touch of luxury to your home?  

Lori Gilder, is an Award winning Interior Designer specializing in high-end residential renovations and additions. Lori is the CEO and Founder of Interior Makeovers Inc. and LoriGilder.com. She is dedicated to providing accessible design expertise and guidance, tailored to fit each individual homeowners lifestyle.  Sign Up Now to receive your FREE copy of "15 Money Saving Strategies When Planning Your Home Renovation" LoriGilder.com


To help you get some of the looks posted here contact HomeReady Home Staging and Interior Redesign, 613-894-4155, homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca .  I'd love to meet with you!  Cheers!
Kathryn

Buyer Beware

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a tree-hugger, so when I found out that Hydro One had marked about 20 trees to come down behind my neighbours house, I was pretty upset.  The trees in full foliage have provided a beautiful living screen to the open field and road beyond.  It was like living in a park! 

Taken in May as the leaves were coming out

View of the "park" through the trees!

So you can imagine how awful I felt earlier this week when Hydro One crews came by to do their dastardly deed!  One by one the trees toppled and we were left with an exposed view.  Gone was the pretty park like setting and home to many different bird spieces.  I actually haven't heard the birds singing for a few days now at all. 

Hydro One at work

View after of the "park"

Under the hydro wires where there used to be trees!

The exposed view!

Is there a lesson to be learned?  Sure and buyer beware, if you are looking at a home to buy that has trees planted under hydro wires - look out - soon enough the hydro company will come knocking on your door with their chainsaws.  And if you are thinking about planting trees on your property to create a lovely view, look up first - and then plant where they will have freedom to grow and for you to enjoy for years to come!

Roses For Love

I have been working lately with a delightful elderly woman who is hoping to sell her home of 49 years.  Well you can imagine all the collections of things this lady has accumulated during this time.  It seemed that the biggest part of the job was to rid the house of all the stuff so that prospective buyers might be able to see what the house had to offer.  However, I soon realized that it really wasn't all the things surrounding the owner but the memories that this house held for her.  She had raised five children in this house, had been very active in the community and had now been a widow for 21 years.  The plan originally was for her to move from the house shortly after her husband passed away but she couldn't leave and so the years came and went and now here she is, tying to put on a brave face as she sees her possessions being packed away and loaded up.  She has many stories and I sit and listen as she tells me about this painting or how she used to sit at the counter in the kitchen and parpare a meal with her husband.  There is no rushing her.  At times the tears flow but she regains her composure and smiles.  The roses over there she says were the last ones from her husband before he got sick.  I've kept them all these years but I don't think I'll be taking them.  I promise to put together a memory book for her. 
I wonder what this lovely lady will do when she moves.  I've helped her select what she will take with her to the senior's home she's moving into and maybe I will go and have tea with her then.  But she won't have her constant companion, her beloved pet dog.  She has to go elsewhere.  This tears at my heartstrings too. 
My work as a Home Stager, as you can see, is not just paying attention to the physical surround but it is often the people who have lived in the home that has now become simply a house to be sold that makes this work so satisfying.



What's in Your Garage?

What's in your garage is a question that I always ask my clients when I am conducting a Home Staging consultation.  Invariably, I get an embarrassed or sheepish look back and an explanation that it isn't really organized or worse, it looks like bomb has gone off in it. Then they reluctantly open the door and wozzers - they will never or ever have been able to get a car in there.  Toys, bikes, lawn furniture, tools, lawn mowers, and junk can quickly fill up a garage leaving no space for  a single vehicle.  However, a garage (for cars) is often on a home buyers wish list, so it behoves the homeowner to get their garage in order to suggest space, organization and adequate storage.

This is often the most neglected space in a house and unfortunately most often falls short of buyers expectations.  In our climate, a garage for cars is really a welcoming part of the house.  Cars stay cooler in the summer, dryer in the rain and most importantly, in winter, remain warmer (ie they start) and isn't it nice to not have to clean off the snow too! 

As a Home Stager, I do go through the garage with the homeowners and yes make recommendations for organization so just maybe a car can be housed there.  It is not a storage unit for the rest of the house when selling although I have seen many home owners do just that.  Maybe a prospective buyer won't look in the garage.  Yeah, right, but I'm not betting on it if they are serious about your house!

Contact HomeReady Home Staging and Interior Redesign for a free quote on services offered.  You'll be glad you did as You only have one chance to make a great first impression even in the garage!

www.homereadyhomestaging.ca , homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca , 613-894-4155



Living in Your Staged House With Roommates

Recently I staged a house of a young homeowner who had roommates living in the house while the house was up for sale.  It can be kinda tough though on the homeowner who has a vested interest in selling while the roommate really doesn't sense the importance of having the presentation look just so. 

As the homeowner was preparing for an Open House that I was assisting with, the roommate decided it was a nice day to go out for a jog.  Fine and dandy, but her room was a mess and the bathroom had just been cleaned.  Well with only one half hour to spare the roommate came in wanting to shower etc.  Needless to say, there was a bit of tension.  To her credit, the roommate beat all odds and showered, dressed, cleaned up her room and the bathroom (again) and was out of the house in less than the half hour. 

The point here is that when you are selling your house that is staged, you live differently.  Yes, you must expect inconveniences temporarily, but all the effort pays off in the end when the presentation wows potential buyers and the house sells quickly.  Then you can go back to living in the house as you were or at least until you move. 
Oh, by the way, the house sold that day to buyers attending the Open House!

Dear Real Estate Agent

Dear Real Estate Agent

Hope your Valentine’s Day was filled with love and promise! I always find that Valentine’s Day is the turning point from our long winter with the promise of spring in the air as the days are getting just a little bit longer and the sun shining brighter. Of course, this also means that the Real Estate market is also picking up as homeowners think about selling and buying.


Home Staging, to enhance the presentation of a house in the real estate market so that it sells quickly and for the most money, is quickly becoming the way to successfully market a property. I hope that it is part of your marketing plan for your clients.

Real Estate Agents who incorporate Home Staging into their service to sellers benefit greatly. How you might ask? Let me tell you.

•  Staged houses present better than competing, non-staged houses. This means that pictures look better on MSL, websites and in print. We all know that about 90% of perspective buyers search on the Internet first, so do yourself a favour – offer Home Staging as a way to attract both the sellers and the buyers to your business.

•  Staged houses motivate other Real Estate Agents to show your properties, because they show well and are move-in ready! Anything to make someone else’s job easier benefits you!

•  Statistically* Staged houses spend about 78% less time on the market than non-staged houses. This means that you save in your overall marketing costs.

•  Your reputation as a “go-to” Real Estate Agent increases when you incorporate Home Staging as part of your marketing because you are successful!

•  Buyer confidence increases when you present houses for sale that have been Staged. They know that they are looking at something special. This continues to help build your satisfied client base.

•  And best of all, leaving the Home Staging to a Home Stager, frees you up to do what you do best – SELL HOUSES!

I could go on and on with the benefits for you incorporating Home Staging into your marketing plan. If you would like to continue this conversation and find out more of what I am now up to – give me a call – I’d love to have coffee with you (my treat). I can also help you know how to talk to your clients about Home Staging.
homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca, 613-894-4155.

Hoping to talk with you soon!

Best Regards,

Kathryn Wilson,

Certified Canadian Staging Professional,  Professional Colour Consultant.

*RESA - The Real Estate Staging Association Statistics Report, 2010; http://www.realestatestagingassociation.com/

                      

New Mirror or Redesign?

I recently helped a client redo their bathroom and instead of taking down the old mirror which was steadfastly fixed to the wall, I used a edging product found at Lowe's to frame the mirror and WOW, a brand new mirror.  Much cheaper than purchasing a new mirror and very easy and quick to install.  Several different choices of frames too to suit any decor.  This one matched the new vanity and the look is totally updated.



The bathroom and mirror before Redesigning

The product is simply called "Mirror Edge" and all you need is a tape measure and utility knife to score where to snap it to fit around the perimeter of the mirror.  Double sided tape is included or you can buy a special glue as well for permanent adhesion.






The bathroom after the Redesign with the "MIrror Edge" 



Be Aware of Lurking Odours

Be aware of lurking odours in your house during the winter months especially when you are trying to sell it.  What you can't smell, others might, as all houses have their own particular odour as a result of how people live in them. 
With the heat on and windows and doors closed most of the time, cooking odours, pet odours, and (yes) people odours linger and get into the fabrics of the house.  This can be a real turnoff to prospective buyers and leaves an unfortunate negative first impression.
Tips to eliminate or even prevent nasty odours:

• Pets
• Change letter boxes for cats daily
• Change bedding for caged pets frequently
• Groom and bath pets regularly
• Better yet, send Fido or Spot to their local animal spa or relative for a short while
• Wash pet bedding and toys
• Carpets and Furnishings
• Have all carpets, drapes and cloth furnishings professionally cleaned
• Wash bedding linens and towels frequently (I am amazed how many people don't do this anyway)
• Clean, clean, clean
• Bathrooms need to be pristine
• Kitchens spotless
• Keep the laundry up (nothing worse than smelling someone elses dirty laundry)
• Use Eco friendly cleaning products with little or no scent
• Think about where you are storing stinky, wet boots and running shoes!  A container away from the main living area might be the answer or wear them when leaving!
• Watch out for mildew and mold formation as a result of too much moisture
• Change filters on your furnace as recommended by the manufacturer

Now is not the time to experiment with new exotic dinner recipes or cook highly odoriferous foods.  You don't want prospective buyers guessing what you had for dinner two nights ago!  If you smoke, do so outside and hide the evidence.  Also, if you like to have a before dinner cocktail, wine with dinner and beers watching the game, watch out (for many reasons) for the residual smells they leave behind.  Again having your house smelling like a tavern may be a deal breaker!
When you are selling your house at this time make a habit of airing out the house daily by opening a few windows and doors for about five minutes.  This allows all the stale odours to escape and fresh air to come in.  A fresh smelling house is worth the few extra dollars it might take in increased heating costs.  If you have a scheduled showing again air the house out for a few minutes before you leave.  Perfumed candles (never leave on when you leave for a showing), air fresheners and pot pourri are not the answer and sometimes leave the buyer wondering what you are covering up.  The baked bread and cookie smells are now a bit cliche and besides, they are a lot of work.  As a last resort use an electronic air cleaner, but this should not be necessary if you follow the above suggestions.
Our sense of smell belongs to the oldest part of our brain and can conjure up many emotions at the unconscious level so be very conscious about how you deal with household odours. 

If you want some more specific ideas about preventing or eliminating lurking (and not nice) odours in your house when selling contact HomeReady Home Staging for more ideas.