The Power of Home Staging / Kitchen Makeover

I'm heading OOT next week to do a kitchen makeover........

so I guess I have kitchens on my brain.........

I love the impact that you can create with cosmetic changes in the kitchen........

for that matter, in the whole house.

Here's a good example.....

My friend/client, Kim, was preparing to sell her Dad's house. 

The house had an English basement with lots of stuff, dark cabinets, 

dark wood wainscoting, dark trim, etc...

Rather than doing the minimum and trying to sell the house "as is," 

she invested upfront in some very smart staging/updating, 

and the house sold the first day on the market. 

No kidding.....

Considering the housing market of late, that is pretty amazing.

While I didn't handle the staging (I only handled the kitchen makeover,) 

I wanted to show you the impact it can make.

So get ready!

Take a tour with me if you will.

BEFORE: Prior to staging.

This is the entrance to the English basement.

Note all the dark wood tones...

All the trim....

Wainscoting.  

And AFTER:

Kim had the entire house painted in a neutral tone, 

and all the trim painted white.

Brilliant!

BEFORE: Looking into family room.

AFTER: Even the brick fireplace was painted.
And what a difference!

BEFORE: Back wall of family room.

AFTER: In addition to painting, Kim had the wall shelves removed.
Totally opens up the space. Genius!

BEFORE: Powder room

AFTER with painted trim, updated fixtures.

And here we are in...the BEFORE kitchen.

Dark walnut cabinets....

Between the dark wood and the fact that we're below ground level....

well...it's just not very fresh and airy, is it?

Ceramic tile floor..

...runs through to the dining area.

AFTER:
I painted all the cabinetry, inside and out,
in Benjamin Moore White Dove.
I removed the wooden apron above the sink,
and changed out the fluorescent light fixture to a simple halogen fixture.
Just opening up the window that little bit makes a difference.

Kim had all the appliances updated to stainless,  

and had granite countertops installed.

I replaced all the cabinetry hardware with satin nickel knobs, pulls and hinges.

BEFORE: Adjoining dining area.

AFTER: 

I changed out the dated brass chandelier to this satin nickel fixture.
Kim had all the walls painted in Sherwin Williams Softer Tan.

And finally, my very favorite part of the whole makeover,
Remember the dingy ceramic tile?
This is the same tile!!!!!! Kim had the grout changed to white!!

Looks like a completely new floor.

Amazing makeover!

I'm sure the new owners are loving their home!

My next blog will hopefully be about the kitchen makeover I'm starting next week....

Here is a little preview of the "BEFORE."
Wish me luck;)

A Guest Bedroom Makeover: Two in one!

Yesterday I left you with this little tease of the makeover I just completed for my client, Frances.

Are you ready to see the full makeover?

I have to say, this one makes me very happy!

Frances just got home so I can show it now.

She actually called me crying.  She loved it SO much. 

Now I ask you....is there anything better than that?

(I worked in advertising for like 25+ years, 

and no one ever cried tears (of pleasure) over any TV commercial I produced....

Lord, I LOVE my new life!)

 n

 BEFORE: This is how Frances' guest bedroom looked last week.

Light teal walls, a nightstand, a lamp, a queen sized bed...

Some unfolded laundry, an itchy wheaten terrier, two pillows,

And one bare window...

...with a decal....

Oh yes...

On the wall opposite the bed, 

there is another small window that looks out into the stairwell 

with a navy blue roman shade.......

There's also a closet on this side of the room, 

but I forgot the before photo.

Okay.....here we go...........

THE PROCESS

Step one: A visual check of the room for ideas, measurements.

My very first thought: We need a focal point:  

We need a headboard!!

My vision was to create a cottage like feel to the room 

with whitewashed furniture, sweet light-colored bedding, poppy pillows, 

and a sheer window treatment with tortoise shell blinds for texture.

Step two: I returned after a little shopping to present some ideas/vision....

Frances and I went through an assortment of finds, but honed it down to these elements:

Some sunflower gold throw pillows I found, an awesome white duvet cover with an oversized graphic floral motif

and white sheers with a burn in design.

 And this lampshade with glass base.

 We brought in this nightstand from the master bedroom,

 and considered painting, but decided they were too large for two to be used in the room.

So I'll have to look for some options.

I also suggested to Frances that we bring in this bench from another room, 

and recover to use at the foot of the bed.  She loved this idea.

And while she really likes the graphic duvet cover, 

she wouldn't mind having a second bedding option to use as well.

Here's the headboard I built....

And here's the bench after I recovered it with this wonderful thick stripe in turquoise and white.

I will bookend the bed with this at the foot, and shams at the top.

 I found this rug that I thought would work nicely with the teal in the tropical duvet cover.......

 ...and I found this cute little tripod table that I think has great potential.  

I attached a plaster of a woman's face to hide the ugly little heart cutout.

A little paint job and this will be perfect.

AFTER: Here we are......

the room is done!

 Welcome to paradise!

Above the bed I hung a painting by a family member:

A water scene with sailboats....

perfect for this tropical inspired bedroom!

I made the shams and the little round pillow in the middle with yellow pompom fringe.  

They're perfect with the two store-bought ones.

Here's the bench at the foot of the bed, as well as the fun teal and white rug.

Recognize the table? I used it to fill the wall over by the closet, 

and it's perfect to display some of Frances' funky art.

I spray painted it in a glossy aqua. 

Here's a closeup of the face.

One of a kind for sure!

Moving on, here's the window with sheers and bamboo shade.

I love the texture of the bamboo with the tropical print on the duvet cover.

I also changed out the shade on the other little window 

and added another bamboo shade to match.

Are you ready for the second reveal? 

The alternate bedding?

Ta dah!!!!!

A few changes in bedding/accessories give the room a new feel.

This quilt has blues, greens, aquas......all my favorite colors.

 I found this little nightstand with louvered door at an estate sale this weekend.

It was perfect just the way I found it!

On the other side of the bed, I brought in this lingerie chest Frances had in another room.

Love the lamps we decided on. 

The glass bases make them almost look like wall sconces!

Nothing heavy in this room!

 I added a bolster pillow I made 

that brings in a little of the dill pickle green

in the bedding.

 And while this rug works okay with this bedding, 

I prefer it with the tropical duvet cover.

So for bedding option number two, 

I swapped out the rug for this lush flokati in a neutral off-white.

I could SO live here!

Pillow closeup.

But wait!

Just when you think we're finished, 

there's one more little surprise.

 The beauty of this quilt, is...

 ...it's reversible! 

Flip it for yet another look.

 Although I think I prefer this side......

But a little changing never hurt anything.

I think my work is done here.

(Except that now Frances wants her master bedroom to look as great as her guest bedroom!)

A home magician's work is never done.

Thanks for reading!!!!

And thank you, Frances and Lud, for the awesome project!