June 2016 Staging Tip of the Month

If you plan to list your home in the winter or very early spring before everything is green, take outdoor photos now while everything is beautiful.  Take photos of gardens, outdoor structures, wildlife that frequent your yard and overall views of your house.  Twilight photos with all the lights on inside the home also give a great impression.  Keep electronic versions of the photos that you can send to your Realtor to use in the marketing.
  

December 2012 Featured Before & After

Curb appeal is one of the most important things when selling your home.  It is the first picture that buyers see when looking on the MLS, so if it’s not appealing, buyers will click “next” quickly to narrow down their choices.

This home was remodeled by one of the investors we work with.  We advised him on the landscaping and adding the window boxes.  Then we used the same instructions as given above to fill the window boxes.  Now it’s the perfect first impression for buyers!

BEFORE

  AFTER 

December 2012 Staging Tip

This tip starts with a walk around your property, neighborhood or a friends woods.  Gather things that will add interest to a spruce tip pot for your front steps or window box.  Things like dogwood (red sticks), white pine branches, dried hydrangea flowers, pinecones, birch branches and milk weed pods all look great.  You can even spray paint some dried flowers red to add color.

It’s hard to find spruce tips that are even, so I suggest buying a $20 bundle from your local hardware or grocery store.  Start your pot with the tallest spruce tips in the center and the shorter ones around the edges.

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Add in birch branches, dogwood and twinkle lights if you’ll be using them.

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Now fill in around the base with white pine branches or other evergreen boughs.  A few in between the spruce tips will also make it more full.

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Now add in all the little goodies.  Place items at varying heights and   in groups of odd numbers to have the best visual interest.

If the weather stays below freezing, there should be no need to water your pot or window box.  The beauty will last well into the new year!

September 2011 Staging Tip

Sept Flowerbed A
If your flowerbeds have been taken over by weeds, late summer is the best time to get great deals on perennials.  Make sure to get a professional grade landscape fabric; skimping on a cheap fabric will lead to weeds in just a year or two!  Your plants will have time to develop good roots this fall and next spring you will have a beautiful flower bed.  Don’t be afraid to go with a bold mulch color, one Minnesota winter will naturalize the color without leaving it feeling drab. Sept Flowerbed B