Monday, February 25, 2013

Staging Our Home~First Impressions

Good Monday Morning!  
What a busy weekend we had working on our house 
and getting it ready to put on the market.  
We met with our realtors on Sunday 
and although we are not ready 
to put the sign out in the front yard 
it is never too soon to get a feel for the market 
and look at the comparatives in your area.  
I feel like I have at least ONE room completely finished.  
The dining room.  
It was by far the easiest room in the house 
but also one of the MOST important,
as it is the first room you see when you enter the house.  
Here is the view from our front door as you enter the house.  Dining room on the right, 
Office/Library on the left.  
Typical for a lot of homes in our area.  
Here is what it looked like before staging.  
You can see all of my landscape paintings 
and my faux roe antlers on the wall.  
The table was set for New Year's in this photo.  
It looks a little cluttered,
and this is one of my milder table settings.  
Let's get to work stripping this down for resale.
What do you think?  
Not a BIG change but very tasteful and serene I think.  
I took all of the paintings down 
and added an ivy topiary and these new sconces. 
I think they go perfectly in here!  
They were a very inexpensive purchase from WUSLU 
and yet they look so rich next to the ornate mirror.
 I set the table with these two very large hurricanes, 
a white runner and a silver bowl of green apples.  
Total cost for this room was about $40.00.  
And the best part is that it's DONE!  
Just for fun, 
here is a dining room that I staged for a client.  
It was an older home in a now "young" neighborhood.  
The tin ceiling was a really cool feature that was being minimized by the glaring "in your face" red walls and dramatic drapes.  
And here it is "After".  
Can you believe is is the same room?  
They painted my suggested color
UNIVERSAL KHAKI SW6150  
and we turned the table at an angle.  
I switched out the pictures for one I found around the house, put some fresh flowers on the table 
and a few place settings to add to the mood.  
This house sold in less that 60 days after staging!  
And that is why "First Impressions" are so important!

Until Next Time,
Beaux R'eves,
XO

Linking to:

  Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

  Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
 Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  
 Judy at DIY by Design

31 comments:

  1. Your dining room looks fabulous Cindy!! I loved seeing the before and after of the dining room you staged for a client!

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  2. Your dining room is gorgeous both ways and I am sure your home will sell quickly. Sales are crazy good here now and prices are slowly rising.

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  3. What a difference in the dining room you staged, a totally new room! Your home is beautiful, it's going to be a quick sale for sure!

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  4. Love the new staging! I have a red dining room that I need to paint, and I'm thinking the Universal Khaki might be just right. Thanks for the tip!

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  5. Impressive metamorphosis in each room. Thanks for inviting us for a peak. Cherry Kay

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  6. The new after is great, but your home was lovely before too. You just never know tho with buyers. My daughter had her home perfect for several months with no offer. The day she was home and didn't get a call before the realtor did a showing was the day the home sold. Maybe it was that she heard a noise and wrapped a towel around her and stood peeking down the stairs at a group of 5 people staring up at her that clenched the deal? Good luck with your sale.

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  7. Your dining room looks beautiful and good luck with the sale of your lovely home. I'm sure it won't stay on the market long!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  8. Your dining room looks beautiful and I'm sure all of your staging is going to have your home sell quickly.

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  9. Your dining room looks fabulous. I envy all the space you have. I still havn't gotten used to downsizing. I feel pinched. The room you changed from red to khaki is totally unreal. Love it too. Thanks so much for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

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  10. Your dining room looks very inviting. Good luck for a quick sale!
    I hope you'll drop by to see My Daughter's Master Bath Redo - #83 at Met Monday.

    Allison
    Atticmag

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  11. Your dining room is stunning - fit for a queen. I love the sconces, the buffet and the mirror. Don't even get me started on my adoration for the pictures you have on the wall. It's all high end and will leave an unforgettable impression.

    XOXO,
    Meredith

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  12. I like how you simplified this room. It looks pretty and comfortable and leaves spaces for the potential buyer to imagine their own things there. Great job, Cindy!

    XO,
    Jane

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  13. Your staging looks top notch! How could anyone not walk in and wish they lived there. The khaki room looks so much bigger. I'm sure it won't take long for the sold sign to go up!

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  14. I can't believe it's the same room! WOW! You are amazing!
    I would love if you link this wonderful post to my party. It is open until Easter and I will Feature as we go on Facebook and Pinterest. XO
    Isabelle
    http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com/2013/02/death-by-chocolate-recipes-and-link.html

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  15. Beautiful! It looks gorgeous! You will get this home sold in no time!

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  16. Your looks were inspirational -- both the before in your home and the afters. A question -- does your dining room actually have stone walls or is it wallpaper? It is fantastic!

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  17. Your dining room is so beautiful and you are quite wise to stage for selling. What a difference it makes - good luck! Happy Tuesday from the enchanted oven.
    xo,
    Lisa

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  18. Yes, staging is vital. Editing is the most important element of change for first impressions. We plan on downsizing in a couple years and I'm already working on editing all my spaces. Actually, it just feels good to be less cluttered!

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  19. Your dining room looks great. I think you were right in taking down the pictures. They are beautiful and looked good hanging there, but the wall will now give a blank slate to potential buyers, in my humble opinion, to envision what they would like to put there.

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  20. Your house is gorgeous, and your tweaking is the icing on the cake!
    Mary Alice

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  21. Beautiful staging..love your dining room, The dining room staging you did for a client is awesome. Who'd guess it's the same as the "before". Great job!

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  22. Your dining room is gorgeous no matter what you do to it. Getting that red off the walls and those drapes made that other room eighty kinds of better as the sale showed.

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  23. Beautiful Cindy. Your dining room strip down is perfect and the sconces look good too. You are so talented and have the perfect touch. Good luck.

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  24. Your dining room is ready for showing! Absolutely stunning. I enjoyed my visit to your blog and invite you to visit me at Maddiebella Home. I'm new to blogging, and am loving the inspiration.

    Betty (Maddiebella Home)

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  25. Oh, it looks absolutely perfect, serene and elegant. Looks like a beautiful house, you will sell it in no time at all! You are featured at Savvy Southern Style. Hugs,
    FABBY

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  26. Love, love, love what you have done. But why are you moving? That makes me sad, not that you won't do great things with any home you have.
    Hugs from "my life from the bleachers"

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  27. What you've done here is very beautiful! And, there would be a lot of buyers out there who would be happy to place on offer on it. Home staging is important for first impressions 'cause you're making the potential buyers fall in love with your house. A house like this would be everyone's dream place.

    Kristopher Washington

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  28. Your dining room looks very luxurious, Cindy! I liked how it looked completely set up for New Year's, but I do agree that getting rid of the clutter was a great way to stage it. It's simpler and allows for potential buyers to get a good visual of the place while still having room for their own design ideas. -Calvin Mordarski@City Block Team

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  29. Your house is so grand, Cindy! The dining room is filled with royalty in it. And I would suggest you keep the 'staged' look. It looks neater and more pleasant. How's the sale doing? You know, if it isn't selling good, there's only one possible reason I can think of: they're intimidated. But you don't have to dress down your home. You just have to wait for that right buyer. :) Kathleen @Home Lawyer

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  30. Staging your home for potential buyers can be quite the hassle. You may start moving your furniture around spontaneously, or become tense when your children or spouse make messes in a room that you just prepped for show. With all of the planning that one can put into making their home shine, one crucial step in home staging is often overlooked: your family pet. home stager

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