April 2015 Staging Tip of the Month

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The pots in front of your house can look pretty dreary once the snow has melted but it’s not quite warm enough for flowers.  Here are a couple ideas to make your pots look beautiful, whether you are showing your house or hosting Easter dinner! (Photos courtesy of Pinterest)

Clip a few branches from a tree that normally buds in the spring.  Bring them inside and put them in a vase (or watering can) full of water.  The warm air will allow them to bloom quicker.  Just set the vase in your outdoor pots when you expect guests!


Or, you can plant some cold-hardy flowers like hyacinths or pansies and give them height with some pretty sticks or birch branches.

March 2015 Featured Before and After

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Adding just a little furniture to a room can really define the space, especially for the photos on the MLS.  Without furniture in the room, buyers may not have realized that this was a spacious master bedroom with a fireplace!
   BEFORE
AFTER

March 2015 Staging Tip of the Month

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Furniture layouts can completely change how a room feels and functions.  In these before photos, you can see how having the furniture pushed to one end of the room gives focus to the fireplace, but makes buyers wonder what to do with the rest of the space.

In the after photos below, you can see that we brought the homeowners furnishings into the center of the room to elongate the seating area.  We also added another lounge chair and a desk to create a secondary function for the long room.

January 2015 Featured Before & After

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The homeowner of this beautiful home made lots of improvements prior to listing, but our favorite was the staining of the parquet floors to a dark mocha.  It completely updated the home!  We staged the home with a mix of our furniture and the homeowners.  This Shorewood home is on the market now, so let us know if you would like more information.
   BEFORE
AFTER

January 2015 Staging Tip of the Month

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If you have a small bedroom, you might think that the best way to stage it would be with a twin bed and minimal furniture.  However, many buyers want bedrooms that will fit full or queen beds so a bedroom staged with just a twin bed might deter them. 
Here, this small bedroom had a queen bed literally shoved up against two walls with only inches left at the foot of the bed.
By replacing the bulky headboard and dresser with narrow versions, we were able to turn the bed to be centered under the window and add 2 small nightstands with lamps.  We also created visual height in the room by adding full height drapery panels against a contrasting wall color.
A beautiful new bedding set and rug certainly help, too!

December Featured Before & After

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The photos that are on the MLS for a listing can make all the difference in whether a potential buyer comes to see your home or not.  Nothing about the home below has changed except the furniture that we used to stage it, and with the new photos on the MLS, this home was sold in less than a month!
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AFTER

December Staging Tip of the Month

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If you are selling your home during the Christmas season, it can be challenging to know how to “stage” your home.  It may be helpful to think about how a department store decorates to appeal to the largest percentage of their customers.  This year, don’t bring out the homemade ornaments, blow up yard decorations or large nativity scenes.  A tree is fine but keep decorations simple and color coordinated.  Also make sure that all Christmas decor is packed up by January 2nd.  If your online photos have Christmas decor in them, make sure to have them replaced by the first week of January.  However, you can keep a pot of greens on your front steps, just remove any ornaments or red bows you might have in them.

November Featured Before & After

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One of our clients who flips houses turned this old house into a beautiful and stylish home with advice from our staging consultation:
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AFTER
This home is in Maplewood and is currently for sale.  If you want more information, please email!