Category Archives: Draperies

May Featured Before & After

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This before and after is from the same home as above.  We suggested that the homeowner paint the room a neutral color. Then we brought in our rental furniture to give the room a very inviting look.  Because it wasn’t in the budget to replace the draperies, we just removed them to let in as much light as possible.  This home sold in just a few weeks!
BEFORE
AFTER

February 2013 Staging Tip

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Sometimes a TV just has to remain in a room when you’re trying to sell your home.  If this is the case, try to limit all of the additional items that surround the TV.  Here, we were able to remove the entire component cabinet and just keep one single cable box on top of the TV.
What a difference it makes!  In this room, we also removed draperies, clutter and personal photos.  The sofa was also very large, so we moved it to a different room and brought in a loveseat instead.  We also added a rug for softness and some new art, accessories and a lamp!

October 2012 Staging Tip

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A wall of mirrors can feel quite dated, but be very intimidating to think about removing.  Most mirrors are glued to the wall with construction adhesive.  Using a putty knife or small crow bar can usually pop them off the wall without breaking them.  Then you have to sand down the spots (a power sander is a good idea) and then patch them if they aren’t smooth.  A couple times of sanding and patching should ensure a smooth wall.
Vertical blinds are probably our least favorite type of window treatment.  They are cold, sterile and institutional.  Here we replaced them with floor to ceiling draperies.  The draperies not only add softness to a room, but in the case of tall windows, it emphazied the height of the room and gave it drama.  Because these windows were so big, we had to order an extra long drapery rod and sew two drapery panels together to get the length we wanted.  We used panels from Walmart so the total cost was still less than $175.

Mcknight living a    Mcknight living b

A nuetral wall color, new carpet and rented furniture finished off this room!

September 2012 Featured Before & After

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This living room is from the same home as the dining room in the last post.  Notice in the before picture that the fireplace and trim were painted the same color as the walls.  By changing them to white, these amenities of the room become beautiful focal points!

living a

BEFORE
living b

AFTER
To save the homeowners some money, we reused their existing occasional tables, but replaced the sofa, chair, art and accessories. We also added a rug to soften the room. Removing the draperies and furniture that blocked the windows completely opened up the room!

August 2012 Featured Before and After

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This living room is from the same home as the kitchen in the last post.  Notice that while doing the granite we also extended the bar area to provide more seating.  This home does not have an informal dining area, so this small change will make a huge difference in how buyers see the home!

Orwell Living A
BEFORE

Orwell Living B
AFTER
To save the homeowners some money, we reused their existing seating, but replaced the dated end tables and brass lamps with a more current style to update everything.  We also had the homeowners add draperies to soften the hard angles and frame the view of the St. Croix River.  And lastly, we angled the layout to open up the room.  If you can avoid it, you never want buyers to enter a room looking directly at the back of a sofa.  It creates an uninviting feeling to the room.

July 2012 Staging Tip

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We’ve been doing these tips for well over a year and I just realized that I’ve never provided a tip for one thing I almost always suggest.  Update your lighting fixtures, especially chandeliers or other lighting hanging at eye level.


Doesn’t this light remind you of an old A&W?

This light fixture in an oil rubbed bronze finish is available from Home Depot for $70.

October 2011 Featured Before and After

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This was a great family room overlooking a beautiful pond.  However, the clutter, mismatching furniture and cool colors were not appealing.  First we painted the walls a warm color from the brick, added soft drapery panels and replaced the blue carpet with a nuetral frize.  Then we added some rental furniture, art and accessories.
Click here for a virtual tour of the entire home.
October Before

family after