Make the home you have, be the home you want

(Or, staging for the home you want to STAY in!)

How would you like to make the home you have, be the home you want—without having to move, or invest in a massive decorating project? You can! Read on to find out how.

Social media feeds are full of them: gorgeous rooms, staged to sell for extra-top-dollar in today’s market. Wouldn’t it be amazing if your home could look like that now, while you’re still in it?

As stagers, when we’re getting a home ready to sell, the mission is very focused: help clients to bring out the best in their home in the most efficient, effective—and often the least costly ways possible. We do it by guiding them in:

• how to declutter,
• what repairs will make the biggest impact, and
• how to decorate to highlight (or sometimes to create) the most striking features of the home—the ones that make people go “wow—your home is beautiful!” when they walk in.

But why should home sellers have all the fun? Wouldn’t YOU like to feel the same way every day you live in your house? You can. The easiest way, of course, is to give us a call (wink wink—we can help people in person, but also by Zoom!).

Don’t worry though: we promised how-to steps, and here they are. So get started!

Strategic decluttering

When we’re staging, we ask homeowners to remove all the personal items. Naturally that’s not needed when you’re staying put!  There is, however, an important strategy to use for your decluttering if you want to create a decorator look that still feels like home:

Think of your walls and surfaces as a gallery vs a gift shop.

What do we mean? Most of us tend to collect photos, decorative items, trinkets, wall hangings and memorabilia over time and put them “on display” all over our homes, all year long. It’s possible we swap a few out during the winter holidays, but otherwise, our walls, shelves, and tables are filled with items. And because we see them every day, they become almost invisible. Almost.

In the back of our minds these precious possessions become “stuff” that fills our homes. Our eyes and hearts drink in less of their joy as time goes on. That’s why our top recommendation for creating your own “staged home” you’ll love every day is to cycle your personal items.

• Select 25% of your items (or so)—choose favorites you’ll keep out for 3 months.
• Box up the remaining ¾ and store them until May (or whatever the next season is when you’re reading this!).
• When it’s time to cycle them, open the box, and meet your old friends! Choose 25%; put the rest away.
• TIP: Dust them before putting them out; you’ll be amazed at how the air in your home feels lighter.

Strategic Updates

You can’t really live in your home without there being trouble spots or some damage here and there. Chance are good that you’re taking care of the big things when they break; it’s the little things that start to wear on our psyches like frayed hems on our favorite shirts.

They’re the ones to tackle if you want your home to go back to being the home you really WANT. Here are some that commonly need attention:

• Add spackle and a coat of paint to baseboards, door/window and fireplace trim.
• If it’s been a few years, have the walls and ceilings painted, too.
• Paint and/or fix any doors that are scuffed up and/or don’t open or close smoothly.
• Add a fresh, neat layer to grout and caulking in bathrooms and kitchen.
• Fix and/or replace any edging pieces where floor surfaces adjoin that have come loose, have emerging nail heads, or are scraped up.

Strategic Decorating

The decorating task is a little more difficult to give you guidance on, since the goal is to highlight your home’s unique features. We’ve got a gallery of ideas to inspire you though—and offer these basic tips to get you started:

• Move furniture and one (or three) dramatic decorative items so they draw attention to the most striking features of your rooms. Often this will be the fireplace, or windows with a beautiful view.
• Add texture and visual interest to a room that’s currently feeling a little neutral by painting it in a bold color or using a unique wallpaper. Or you might add an eye-catching piece of art or even an interesting 3D feel by adding built in bookcases or trim work.
• Use pops of color to liven up your spaces and tie your whole look together. It’s easy and inexpensive to do with throw pillows or blankets, candles, flowers, area rugs or vases.

You’ll find lots more ideas by following our Instagram and other social streams, where we share décor and staging looks in all sorts of home styles. But if you’d like to expedite things and get a helping hand from a pro, we’d love to help “stage” your home so you love where you live even more right now. Just give us a shout!