Colorado Stage To Sell

Why Stage a vacant home

Because of the foreclosure crisis, a lot of homes are sitting empty in today’s market.  I believe a vacant home sitting idle will soon be neglected and will quickly loss its appeal.  Homeowners and real estate agents are looking for answers to help solve the vacant home dilemma.  Not only is the house not moving, but every day that house sits on the market it is losing money.

Money paid to keep the home running such as the heat and air, water and the money to promote the listing and to carry the current mortgage, makes it a tough position to be in.

Vacant homes really need to go the extra mile.  Why?  Because they are vacant and there is nothing else to  look at, so they tend to get an even closer inspection.  Staging some of the main rooms will help give the buyers a visual point of reference and take away the abandoned house feel.

Leaving an unoccupied home without staging can have it’s pitfalls and even a partial staging is an affordable alternative to the whole house being staged.

Staging in Denver creates a balance in the rooms

A room is balanced when everything works together to create a pleasant feeling.  Real estate home staging  is used to create a balance that will cause the buyer to get a good feeling about your home.

For example you want the left side of the room to have the same visual weight as the right side of the room.  A tall bulky piece of furniture in a small room creates a lopsided feeling because the proportion of the piece is out of balance with the size of the room.  One way to balance it might be to hang a vertical piece of art on the opposite wall.  You can create visual weight with the proper placement of art and accessories in a room.

When accessorizing flat surfaces such as shelves and tables you want the buyer’s eye to move around the room.  A few larger items in a particular color are better then a lot of small objects.  Don’t place them so far apart that they lose their relationship to each other.  When hanging art, space multiple pictures about 2 inches to a palm’s width apart.  Make sure you consider the furniture placement against the wall when you determine where you will hang the art.

Posted by admin1 in Staging Tips and tagged with , , , , ,

Vanilla Walls

Based on most ice-cream surveys, vanilla seems to always be them most popular flavor.  The runner up is usually chocolate.  So what’s the big appeal?  Is it because it goes with everything, no matter what kind of topping you put on top or what kind of pie you put a scoop of it on, and it always tastes great.

Well the same can be said for painting your walls, and freshening up the home you are trying to sell, use vanilla for the walls.  According to Benjamin Moore, their top-selling paint colors are:

1. Bleeker Beige

2.  Shaker Beige

3.  Linen White

4.Brookline  Beige

5.  Powell Buff

They may not be totally vanilla, but pretty close.  The are safe colors, and they will be confortable for most consumers.  They can warm up a room without being too drab.  And you can add your own topping or color (pillows and accessories) and spruce up a room without over powering it.

resource Newsletter Center Stage Home.

Posted by admin1 in colors that sell and tagged with , , , , ,

Exterior paint color trends for your home

The trend for exterior paint colors never really changes.  The key is to find a color that fits in with the rest of the neighborhood and surroundings.  And while the neighborhood and surroundings might change, the goal for a home is to look as if it has always been there.

Experts these days recommend neutrals and advise to add some interest by highlighting features of the home with a contrasting color on secondary surfaces, with a few deeper tones of color to highlight. They also warn against using any shades of blue, which have a tendency to look dated mixed in with today’s more trendy warm and neutral-like tones.

If you aren’t confident enough to choose your colors yourself, think about hiring a designer that does color consultations, or many of the paint manufactures offer virtual painting programs that allow you to see how your house will look with your selected colors. 

resource:  Home Staging Expert Monthly Newsletter

Quick updates for selling your home

A Few easy updates can add a lot to the presentation of the home.  Often just the small details can add just enough style to make the space feel fresh and current.  You want the buyers eye to move around the space and see the whole room.  Too much clutter or memorabilia will cause them to stop looking at the space and only at the stuff. 

-Replacing old lampshades on an old lamp will make it look more modern.

-Update those ugly brass chandeliers from the 1990′s.  They can be painted for  a fresh new look.  It is as easy project and the results are amazing.  Some good color choices are black, creamy white or brown. 

-Even the most out dated sofa can look better with some new throw pillows.  Use bright colors on neutral sofas and neutral pillows on a wild pattern.  If you can not hide it with pillows, you can buy a slip-cover for that ugly sofa.  The stretchy kind with elastic banding will work the best.

-A fresh vase of flowers or bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter or table will work wonders.

Posted by admin1 in brass chandeliers, pillows and tagged with , ,

Visual room appeal

If you are trying to sell your home, give each room visual

and physical access. 

When the buyer enters the room it should be an inviting

layout.  Be careful that the back of a large sofa is not

facing the entry point of the room, which in turn, blocks

the flow of the space and the buyer. Layout the room

keeping in mind that the buyer will be walking through the

space.  The goal is to allow the buyer to see visible square

footage, in addition to the positive features.  A cozy

arrangement should only be used if it works with the space,

because the potential buyers are not going to be sitting

around the fireplace enjoying a cup of tea.  They are going

through the entire house in a matter of minutes.

Posted by admin1 in fireplace, Flooring, Paint, selling your home, Staging Tips and tagged with , , , ,

Updating your out-dated brick fireplace

-Here’s an easy way to tone it down with paint.  Use a rag or brush to rub a light coat of paint on the bricks, one at a time.  This will give them a new tone without covering them completely.  And if you use a paint color that matches the walls, your fireplace will not overpower the room.                           -Remove the dated brass screen.  Give the fireplace a good cleaning, scrubbing it with soap and water.  Then using a stone color enhancer, polish the bricks to make them shine.
-Updating an old fireplace screen is a cheap and quick fix.  After removing the screen and wiping it down to get rid of the dust,  mask off the windows so you won’t get paint on them.  Then using a can of heat-resistant spray paint, give the screen a facelift.  Hold the can about 18 inches away, and use long even strokes.  For less than $5.00, you will have a fireplace screen that looks like new.

Posted by admin1 in fireplace, Paint, Staging Tips and tagged with , ,

Flooring Products that look real

In your Colorado home you can use faux versions of expensive and exotic woods such as teak and Hickory.  Because of all the new embossing techniques and matte grout lines it creates a more realistic version of slate, limestone and marble and brick.  Besides saving money the consumer can know they are not depleting the natural resources.

Posted by admin1 in Flooring and tagged with ,

“Vanilla” Paint – Safe & Comfortable for Most Consumers

Vanilla Walls??

Based on most ice-cream surveys, vanilla seems to always be the most popular flavor.  The runner up is usually chocolate. So what’s the big appeal?  Is it because it goes with everything, no matter what kind of topping you put on top, or what kind of pie you put a scoop of it on, and it always tastes great.
Well the same can be said for painting your walls, and  freshening  up  your new listing, use vanilla for the walls?
According to Benjamin Moore, their top-selling paint colors are:
  1. Bleeker Beige
  2. Shaker Beige
  3. Linen White
  4. Brookline Beige
  5. Powell Buff

 

click image to see room color viewer

 

They may not be totally vanilla, but pretty close.  They are safe colors, and they will be comfortable for most consumers.  They can warm up a room without being too dark or drab.  And you can add your own topping or color (pillows and accessories)  and spruce up a room without over powering it.
Posted by admin1 in Paint and tagged with