Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Revisit: Staging and Preparing a Home for Resale

Okay,
if this were your home,
and you wanted to sell it,
what would you do?

My client, Kathy, asked for my help 
on what could be done 
to get this house in shape to put on the market.
Take a look:
You enter into the living room,
where it's dark,
the window treatments are dated,
the furniture is in poor position.
The first thing I notice:
This dated slatted partition with 
grasscloth wallpaper in terrible shape.
Here's the reverse angle.
And although I love grasscloth,
this is in such bad shape, 
it needs to go.
On one side of the living room,
beneath the picture window,
is the sofa.
 On the other side of the room,
a large dark hutch.
This is just not an inviting room at all.
We're going to fix that!
 In the back of the living room is the den.
It's like a dark hole..
dark pine panelling…
dark furniture..
a brick fireplace,
and a large rug that doesn't go with anything.
 There is a bookcase insert (used to be a window)
that is lined with smoked glass.

Oh my,
how can we bring this home into this decade??
Is it too far gone to ever be presentable again?

Why of course not!
Take a look at the AFTER:
Yep, this is indeed the same house!
I couldn't WAIT to get rid of those 
vertical slats! 
I sawed them right off and then patched the wood.
I also removed all the grasscloth wallpaper.
Yes, a chore…
but well worth it.
I painted the walls in the living room
in Benjamin Moore Alaskan Husky
and all the trim in White Dove.
It's beautiful and fresh!!!!
I removed those dated window treatments which
immediately brightened the room.
And under the window,
where the sofa was,
I placed a chair and small table with lamp.
On the opposite wall, 
I moved out the huge hutch, 
and placed the sofa.
Now you can actually look out the window when you're seated!
Using all of Kathy's art pieces,
I created a montage above the sofa.
And flanked the sofa with end tables and lamps.
I brought in a secretary and chair that I catty cornered in the back,
and I moved in the rug from the den.
This living room is totally warm and inviting now!
In the den area,
this dark space….
was totally transformed as well.
I primed all the paneling with a shellac based primer,
then painted everything in Navajo White.
I added beadboard to the back of the bookcase,
to cover that smoked glass,
and painted it in a pale aqua.
Then propped with all of Kathy's pieces…
I rearranged furniture.
And once again, 
a totally inviting space!

Yes, the house sold!
Kathy now lives in Florida.

Need help getting your home ready for market?
SheShe, The Home Magician
Sheila Fox
sheilafox@aol.com
804-402-4370





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