Staging your home is one of the most important action steps you can take to help sell your home.  As a certified stager, I found these tips from HGTV to be extremely helpful:



- Get rid of clutter!  The biggest and most important tip!

- Group furniture into seating areas and move items away from the wall to make space appear larger.

- Move your pieces!  Rearrange furniture, art, and decor as you wish.  Don't follow rules just to follow them!

- Turn your junk room into useable space!  Add seating and pretty storage bins to give it a functional feel that is pulled together.

- Increase the wattage of your bulbs.  Most homes aren't using strong enough bulbs to give off beautiful light.

- Paint seamlessly:  use the same color throughout as much as possible.  It will help to make rooms appear larger and more pulled together.

- Choose neutral colors.  Paint is the most important thing within the home to do this with.  Beiges, greiges, and soft whites are all popular, buyer-friendly choices.

BUT...

- Experiment with color.  It sounds counterintuitive! However, in a small space, such as a powder room, using patterns and color can make the space seem exquisite and well tended to.

- Don't be uniform with wall hangings.  The same shape and size of art hung in the same spots in every room is boring and won't stand out.  Vary what, where and how you hang your pieces to make each room pop!

- The rule of threes:  when it comes to arrange knick knacks the rule of three is very important.  Plants, candles, etc. are all most visually appealing when arranged in groupings of three.

- Go green by bringing the outdoors in.  Live plants, flowers and beautiful arrangements of foliage help bring a room to life and warms up the home.  This is especially key during the colder months.

- Make the bedroom as peaceful and serene as you can.  Soft colors (particularly blue), lush bedding, and simple decor help to make this happen.

- Make your kitchen cabinets look great.  These are one of the first things potential buyers see.  If you cannot afford new ones, consider refacing or painting to give old cabinets new life.

- Fix your floors.  Floors are another thing potential buyers will look at so make sure they are repaired and in the best shape you can afford.

- Fix up your bathroom tile.  If you cannot afford a full reno, consider having your tile painted and your tub tinted to freshen up the space.


If you have any staging questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.



These tips were found here.

Keeping Your Family Safe in the Summer

As Summer winds down and we have one last holiday weekend ahead of us, it is a great time to remember some great Summer safety tips.

While a pool is hours of fun for the entire family, it is very important to follow several important rules for safety:

+ Never leave children unattended
+ Stay away from pool drains, pipes and openings
+ Learn and know CPR and First Aid
+ Do not swim when there is a broken drain or drain cover
+ Always check pool and hot tub covers to ensure they work properly
+ Use self-closing and latching gates

Some great safety tips for around the house and yard:

+  Always supervise children outside
+ Keep children inside while mowing or trimming
+  Grill in an open, well-ventilated space, keeping kids and pets away from the grill
+ Keep paint, fertilizers and bug killers out of reach of kids and pets
+ Put away all lawn and garden tools and out of reach of children
+ Put ladders and tools away and out of reach of children
+ Keep emergency numbers posted (911, police, fire department, poison control, etc.)

Enjoy the rest of your Summer and stay safe!




*via Buffini and Co.