Pin striping with white paint
Stripes of 4 different colors alternate for a hip look!
Cool and feminine look is striking!
Classic look for a child’s room
Varying widths of stripes in the same color “family”
horizontal black and white stripes look dramatic!
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Tabletop vignettes can combine standard and holiday pieces.
The key to successful holiday decorating is to stick to a color theme (gold and silver, red and blue, pink and white) or a style theme (musical decorations, childrens’ toys, beach ornaments, an outdoorsy/nature look, etc.) A mish-mash of holiday decorations in every room with scattered vignettes everywhere is generally disconcerting and overwhelming. Feel free to choose different themes for different rooms, but keep each room cohesive in design if you want visitors to get that “ooh-aah” feeling. Another rule of thumb for holiday decor is to cluster the icicles, holiday houses, globes, poinsettias, etc. in a grouping for dramatic effect instead of spreading them out everywhere. Go big or go home! Choose over-sized wreaths, tree toppers, wide garlands, lots of similar lights, and large classic (please not tacky) outdoor decor like giant nutcracker soldiers or lit arborvitae in giant urns over small items that just make a yard and house look cluttered or under-whelming. Think “Frontgate” and you’ll have the right idea.
A design client just told me that when her sister-in-law came over to see her finished home, she was amazed with how well my furniture and accessory selections matched her style. That’s not an accident or a lucky guess (well, maybe once in a while!). But before I even meet with a client for an initial consult, I email a design questionnaire that helps to pinpoint their preferred style. Then when I visit their home, I ask questions about what rooms they like best, least, what colors they prefer or more importantly, DON’T like at all. If they’re not sure what their style is (and many people aren’t), I look for other clues, such as their taste in clothes, scenes in family photos, interior design photos they’ve pulled or pictures I show them, what their favorite stores are (home stores or even fashion stores), how they like to entertain (IF they like to entertain!). I also do a fun “design quiz” using a paint color deck to see what colors clients are drawn to.
This forms the basic “style recipe” that serves as the starting point for putting together design boards and furniture selection. As a decorator, I then add in a little “spice” to the mix with creative and new selections available from to-the-trade stores to see how a client responds to something a bit out-of-the-box for that “wow” factor. The goal is design that makes clients happy!
Various accessories contribute to the traditional feel of this living room
Bright red pillows and vase add much-needed color
accessories such as a plant, mercury glass vase, and decorative balls add color
A bright-white ginger jar and decorative tray with silver shells
A white orchid is always in style in just about any room.
Mercury glass is a trendy and glamorous addition to a bedroom
Adding white pillows and decorative plants and a box add warmth to this formerly “blah” room.
Lots of people consider hiring a designer a luxury they can’t afford. But consider what happens if you choose a finish, such as countertops, backsplashes, tile or wood floors, cabinets, even paint colors that cost $1,000/room to paint, that don’t work with the color of the other finishes/furniture/fixed items like flooring in the room. Do you know how to analyze undertones in colors so that you don’t end up mixing clear with “muddy” colors? Can you choose a color scheme that will not only work together well but truly make you feel good every time you walk in — and spend time — in that room? This week, I have a client who needs me to pick a paint color to go with a green chair she has in her master bedroom — if it is a sage or olive-green, I will look for a muddy-toned complementary color, such as a beige-yellow, instead of a clear yellow that would clash with it. A kitchen design client needed me to pick a color for her very small kitchen, with existing white cabinets, rust red tile floors, and rusty red granite counters, that would fit her desire for a calm and sophisticated look. With her input, I chose Aloof Gray, a Sherwin Williams color with a slight green undertone that works well with the red.
I also stay up-to-date on trends in finishes, so I know oil-rubbed bronze light fixtures (followed by satin nickel or chrome) are popular now, as are ebony wood floors and chevron, Moroccon or Ikat fabrics and drapes. If you are an investor, knowing the trends in YOUR area are particularly important for rehabbing and staging properties that appeal to your target buyers. Spending a few hundred dollars on a consult with a stager/decorator — or a few thousand to furnish and accessorize your property — is an investment that likely more than pays itself back in a quick sale for more money.
The trend for 10+ years now in staging has been to neutralize colors and decor, but the pendulum is starting to swing the other way now — color in moderation SELLS because it invokes emotional responses in buyers. Blah beige became so pandemic, it stopped serving the purpose of avoiding strong, bright, dated looks in homes that turned off buyers. Instead, it started to become too boring and dull. So adding “shots” of color — red (although somewhat over-used, it effectively draws the eye to a home’s features and warms up a room), turquoise and lime green (perfect for summer stagings), yellow and orange (more “warm” colors that give a sense of energy to a space) — in pillows, art, and accent pieces, and painting walls in deeper browns, blue-gray, sage or pale green, or even muted yellows, has started to become more popular. Follow the color trends — gray or warm beige walls or furniture paired with yellow, turquoise, blue, green-yellow, lime green, or orange are popular looks — to enliven rooms with energy or joy OR to evoke feelings of calm and restfulness in bedrooms and bathrooms especially. Stagers know what colors are currently “in” so that homes look fresh and updated to buyers. One word of caution: Color trends hit the East and West Coasts first, but take a little longer to catch on in the mid-West.
Stagers also know what colors work best with what houses, both in terms of continuity from the outside in, the style of the home, and the fixed items that can’t be easily or inexpensively changed, such as countertops, cabinets, flooring, fixtures. Most stagers are educated in understanding undertones and color combinations that work well together. So don’t be afraid of using (the right) colors to evoke positive responses in your target buyers! Continue reading
Hardwood Floors Are A Selling Feature
Exposing and refinishing hardwood floors is one of the best things you can do to get the biggest bang for your buck when selling your home. If you have hardwood floors underneath wall to wall carpeting, I will always recommend you expose the hardwood, especially in main living areas. (To find out if you have hardwood, peel back a corner of the carpeting in a hidden corner, preferably a closet or behind furniture. You need to pull it back away from the furring strips that the carpet may be stapled to.) It’s always a good idea to refinish the floors if they are in less-than-perfect condition and to apply several coats of a satin polyurethane or other sealer recommended by your flooring refinisher. Shiny floors reflect light and look great in MLS or flyer photos!
If you aren’t lucky enough to have hardwood floors, laminate flooring is often a good substitute and generally preferable to wall to wall carpeting in main living areas. Many people and children suffer from allergies and wood or laminate floors are far easier to keep dust- and pet-hair free than carpets that attract and hold allergens. A client in Ridgewood, NJ asked me about replacing wall to wall carpet in his living room which sat on a concrete slab floor (no basement), and he loved the results (see photos). Writer and editor Sam Marquit also reports that he has installed laminate flooring in several NYC apartments that he owns and he is happy with the results.
Advantages and Disadvantages Of Installing Laminate Flooring
Many property owners will not install laminate flooring because it is not real wood, brick or stone. Laminate flooring also does not last as long as hardwood, and if a scratch appears, the affected tile or plank will need to be replaced. In my experience though, the advantages of laminate flooring outweigh the disadvantages.
One of the main advantages is that laminate looks very much like hardwood, but costs less and is easier to install than real wood, brick or stone. Sam reports that he installed flooring in a weekend and found the process to be fairly easy. What he ended up with was a floor that was durable, water resistant, and easy to maintain.
Another advantage of laminate flooring is that it can be installed over old flooring such as vinyl or wood because it is a floating floor. Laminate flooring can also be installed over sub-floors such as wood, MDF or cement that cannot handle real wood, ceramic tile or stone.
A Few Tips For Installing Laminate Flooring
Installing laminate flooring is a fairly easy process. You can make cutting mistakes without ruining the entire floor since this type of flooring comes in tiles or four-foot planks. What is trimmed from one area can often be used on another section of the floor. Despite this fact, I highly recommend buying a little extra flooring to allow for mistakes and waste.
Laminate tiles and planks come in click together or glued together forms. Click together laminate floors are easier to install, but can be easily damaged by water. Glued laminate floors are highly suitable for floors in kitchens and bathrooms where water damage can be more common. Before choosing the kind of laminate flooring to use, consider the possibility of water damage in the area to be worked in.
So whether you have hardwood or laminate floors, be sure to show them off to buyers to get more dollars out of your home!
Here are some examples of how I used accessories in a model home staging project. My goal was to appeal to buyer’s emotions and create an upscale lifestyle look with touches of nature for this development in a country setting.
Kitchen accessories
Model home living room
Conversation area
Florals add warmth
bedroom accessories
This week, I finished a model home project for an active adult community in Montville, NJ (Briar Hill at Montville). It was a lot of work from inception through staging day(s), but also fun. When designing for a model home, you need to consider the age and lifestyle needs of your target market (in this case, upscale 55 years old up to around 80 years old, but with the majority of buyers likely to be in their 60s); the geographic area (upper middle class country/suburban in northern NJ); and the timeframe for getting the project done (originally about 5-6 weeks, extended to 10 weeks because of construction delays). I added more luxury touches with layered bedding, decorative pillows, and panel drapes, as well as valances in the dining area (drapes would be too formal for this eat-in area, the only dining area of the home). I chose oriental and classic acorn/fleur-de-lis area rugs to convey a traditional, classic look, but I went with transitional mid-century furniture to avoid the stodgy, out-dated look seen in many older active adult communities. The curved tables in the hall and living room, as well as the rounded edges of the dining room table, give a sense of relaxation and softness appropriate to a retirement community.
Dramatic front entry hall.
Light-filled living room with cathedral ceiling.
Kitchen island and prep area.
Luxurious master bedroom suite.
I also selected many of the finishes in this home — the ebony stain on the floors, the oil-rubbed bronze light fixtures in the main living areas, the granite, carpeting, and paint colors. The goal was to convey elegance and relaxation.
bird decor is popular!
Horse doorbell fits design trends for 2012
According to the Las Vegas Design Market, the “hot” colors are tangerine and teal — I personally love both! Other design trends: horse and bird motifs, stick screens, circle patterns, pictures with depth and texture, and Moroccan style motifs (which have been seen in everything from rugs and pillows to lampshades last year as well).
Using a few of these popular items when staging your home will give it that current look that emotionally appeals to buyers. Although you need to know if your geographic area and target market will find those motifs appealing — a home stager can help you know your market and what is likely to be appropriate to them.
bird designs in home decor
horses are trendy in decor!
Moroccan themes in design
3D artwork
Tangerine is hot!