Home Staging Tips

Atlanta Home Staging “Must Do” List

Posted by Patsy on February 27, 2012 4 Comments

Since the selling season is right around the corner, I’m getting lots of Atlanta home staging calls. As a result, I’d like to share with you the four main things you should do get your home “market ready.”

First, a fresh coat of paint is a necessity. If your walls are covered with dated wallpaper, get rid of it. If they are colorful, neutralize them. When thinking about what you need to do to your home, always think about what most people will be attracted to. While your tangerine walls may be beautiful and right on trend, most people will not want them. Shown below is a bedroom that was painted for selling. I selected Sherwin-Williams 6197 “Aloof Gray.” (If you would like to see more photos of this beautiful Atlanta home that was staged a couple of weeks ago, click here.)

master bedroom painted in Sherwin-Williams Aloof Gray, #6197

Freshly Painted Master Bedroom - SW6197 "Aloof Gray"

Second, take a good look at your flooring. If the carpet is worn, nasty, or in a ghastly color like blue or hunter green, have it replaced. If it is dirty, have it professionally cleaned. If it just needs spot cleaning, I highly recommend Spot Shot or Krud Kutter. Both products are true miracle workers.

Third, remove any dated window treatments. Notice I didn’t say they need to be replaced — just remove the old ones. There is nothing like dated window treatments that screams “so ten years ago” to a prospective buyer. Yes, I have custom window treatments in my own home and know how expensive they can be, but if they are dated and past their prime they need to come down. Shown below is a staged family room with no fabric on the windows. See how nice they look! Even if they had simple blinds instead of the plantation shutters, they would still look fresh and clean.

staged family room by Patsy Overton Interiors

No Dated Window Treatments

Fourth, update tired lighting and bathroom fixtures. Pictured below are before & after shots of an updated basement bathroom. Notice the dated countertops are still there, but what a difference regardless! If you were a buyer, which bathroom would you be more drawn to?

dated bathroom which badly needs to be updated

Dated Bathroom - ugh!

This bathroom has updated lighting, fixtures and the ugly wallpaper removed.

Updated Bathroom - much more appealing!

There’s lots more to share about how to get your home ready for the spring selling season, but the things I’ve listed above are a MUST! Please don’t neglect them.

If you want to sell your Atlanta home, then staging it is no longer an option but a necessity. Gone are the days when you could just have your real estate agent stick a sign in the front yard and wait for the offers to roll in. Call today to schedule your home staging consultation to prepare your home for the spring market. We stage both vacant and occupied properties.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow and the clutter to go, call Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-847-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: Home Staging, Home Staging Tips, Staging Before & Afters, Updating Your Home | Tagged: Tagged With: Atlanta home staging, decluttering, home staging consultation, updating

Cumming Staged Home Under Contract

Posted by Patsy on September 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

In May of this year I received a call from Sherry Ajluni, a “go-getter” Keller Williams agent. She had a new listing in Cumming which she knew would show better with home staging. (Smart lady!) I met Sherry at the house where I did a home staging consultation with Cindy, the homeowner. Cindy had already done a GREAT job of decluttering and removing personal items, but I saw a few things that still needed to be addressed. For example, take a look at before & after pictures of the living room:

Living Room - before

Living Room - after

As you can see from the first photo, the room needed “grounding” so I added the rug. In addition, a rearrangement of furniture was in order to draw the eye from the blank sofa wall in the “before” shot to the wall of windows in the “after” shot. Normally I never place anything in front of a window as it blocks the light, but in this case it was called for in order to “weight” the room on the right side. In addition, there is a 3rd window not shown above, so there was still plenty of light in the room. To finish the look, a few key accessories were added.

Next, the dining room which was opposite the living room, separated by the foyer.

Dining Room - before

Dining Room - after

In the “before” photo of the dining room you can see that it needed a little sparkle to set it off. I added pictures on either side of the china cabinet and dressed the table. The table runners look much brighter in the photo above than they did in the room. They were actually a much better blend than what you see here. One more thing to take note of: in most cases I would’ve removed the rug in order to make the room look bigger. In this situation it wasn’t necessary, as the room was quite large. Also, upon entering the house, the potential buyers already had great visual exposure to the hardwoods in the foyer extending to the family room. The main objective here was to dress the room with appropriate accessories.

Master Bedroom - before

Master Bedroom - after

I love these photos! This great master bedroom, first and foremost, needed an updated paint color. I always like to use a color in the master suite rather than a neutral to set it off, but it must still be in the neutral palette. In this case we used Sherwin-Williams “Grassland” SW6163. The homeowners were so pleased with it they said they will be painting their new bedroom the same color. While the room was being painted, I went shopping for new bedding. Now the room looks fresh and updated.

Master Bath - before

Master Bath - after

In the master bath the walls were neutralized. In this case I selected Sherwin-Williams “Sands of Time” SW6101, which was a nice blend with existing floor tiles. In addition, a few accessories were added to bring the room to life.

The results? This Cumming staged home is now under contract! The homeowners are busy packing and selecting finishes for their new home. And I’m happy to report that they’ve asked Patsy Overton Interiors to help them get settled in their new home.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow and the clutter to go, contact Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-843-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: Home Staging, Home Staging Success Stories, Home Staging Tips | Tagged: Tagged With: accessories, Atlanta home staging, consultations, Cumming home stager, decluttering, home staging consultation, updating

Home Staging Tips From a Roswell Job

Posted by Patsy on August 15, 2011 2 Comments

A few months ago I was called on to stage a beautiful townhouse in Roswell. This lovely home had all the bells and whistles — hardwoods, granite, nice tile, coffered ceilings, tray ceilings, faux finishes, and on and on. In addition, the homeowner had nice, quality furniture and upscale accessories. So what was the problem? There was way to much to look at! All of those pretty furnishings distracted the eye from the great selling features of the home. With that in mind, here is today’s first home staging tip: always keep in mind what you are selling. Your goal in home staging is to show off the property, space, architectural detail, nice finishes and views. Everything you do to stage the home should work toward supporting that goal.

For example, take a look at the “before” photo of the dining room:

Dining Room - before

As you can see, this is a beautiful room with the glorious chandelier, domed ceiling with faux finish, hardwoods and furnishings, but it was much too packed with furniture. As this was the first room you saw upon entering the home, it was especially important that this room show well. We removed the rug, two chairs, a section of the table-top, and a number of accessories. Shown below is the “after”:

Dining Room - after

Isn’t it amazing how much larger this room looks? (Of course, agent Mark Mitchell’s great photos taken with a wide-angle lens helps!) In hindsight, I should’ve also removed the ferns in planters, but they weren’t nearly as imposing in person as they seem to be here. Regardless, the features of the room now show much better than before, which leads me to home staging tip #2: rugs take up lots of visual space. Use them sparingly.

Next, on to the family room. Here’s the “before” shot:

Family Room - before

The family room has so much going for it — great built-ins, fireplace, coffered ceiling, hardwoods, furniture and accessories, but there was just too much going on. Also, the room seemed over crowded and did not have good traffic flow. Shown below is the “after”:

Family Room - after

Does this look better, or what? As you can see, we removed furniture pieces and lots of accessories. We also rearranged the furniture to open up the room. In this case, I didn’t think it was necessary to remove the rug, as you can still see the great hardwoods on approach in the hallway and adjoining kitchen, and also around the rug edges. Ready for home staging tip #3? Arrange the furniture in such a way as to allow the room to “breathe.” Less is always more when it comes to home staging!

And, finally, the “before” and “after” shots of the master bedroom:

Master Bedroom In Transition

Master Bedroom - after

In answer to your question, no, the bedroom did not look like the “before” shot when we arrived. I forgot to take a picture until the staging of this room was already in process. The bed was made and the room was in good shape, but the accessories (in red, white and blue) did not go with the rest of the downstairs décor, so the bed coverings and throw pillows along with a few accessories were swapped out for those in an upstairs bedroom. Once again, the room here looks huge with the rug removed. This is probably my favorite shot of the home. Home staging tip #4 is this: remove, remove, remove, remove until what’s left showcases the room instead of its furnishings.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow and the clutter to go, contact Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-843-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: Home Staging, Home Staging Tips | Tagged: Tagged With: home staging, home staging in Roswell, home staging tips

Paint Is Still Your Best Friend

Posted by Patsy on August 1, 2011 1 Comment

Whether you are updating or staging your Atlanta home, paint is still your best friend. It will forever give you the biggest bang for your buck.

A couple of months ago I was called on to provide home staging services in Cumming. The first step was a staging consultation with the homeowner and Realtor. Cindy (the homeowner) had already done a fine job of decluttering and the house was in great shape, but it still lacked a little updating to bring it current. Here is the before shot of the master bedroom:

Master Bedroom - before

As you can see, the room is painted yellow with blue and yellow bedding. While there is nothing wrong with this color scheme — especially if it appeals to you personally — it is not so much the “look of the day.” I love to use a soft green in the master bedroom for a calming effect and to set it off from the other neutrals in the main living spaces. Here, I recommended that they get new bedding and paint the walls “Grassland,” Sherwin-Williams #6163. Take a look:

Master Bedroom - after

While the painting was being done, I shopped for bedding and accessories. In addition to the new comforter set, we also added the scroll artwork above the bed, a white floral to the left and greenery to the right to soften the look. What a difference! Cindy decided right away she wanted to purchase the new accessories from me and announced she will be using “Grassland” in her new home.

Please keep in mind when you are staging or updating your home, paint is still your best friend; and by combining a fresh paint color with a few key accessories, you can have a new look.

This beautiful, spacious, well cared for home is at 1555 Blue Bird Way in Cumming. It boasts 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths and is priced to sell at $450,000. For more information call the Sherry and Maria Team at 678-283-1710.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow, and the clutter to go, contact Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-843-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: All About Color, Home Staging, Home Staging Tips, Updating Your Home | Tagged: Tagged With: home staging Atlanta, staging consultation Cumming, updating

Another Lawrenceville Staged Home Under Contract!

Posted by Patsy on June 22, 2011 Leave a Comment

We’re on a roll. Here’s a recap:

In April, we received word that our Lawrenceville staged home went under contract in 48 hours.
In May, the agent called to let me know that our Alpharetta staged home received its first offer within hours of the sign going up in the front yard. Negotiations were made over the weekend, then the house went under contract for full price.
I received word last week that another Lawrenceville staged home went under contract in eight days. This is the story I’d like to share with you today.

Several weeks ago I received a call from Leslie Kunkel, a “go getter” Keller Williams agent working out of the Sugarloaf office. “Patsy,” she said, “I have a new listing in Lawrenceville that needs to be staged. Can you help?” When I pulled onto the property a day or two later, the first thing I saw was another agent’s sign laying at the end of the driveway. Having an incredibly sharp mind, I surmised that this property had been listed before, but not with the desired outcome. The pressure was already palpable. Game on.

This home actually had great curb appeal. The lawn was nicely manicured, the shrubs trimmed, and there were pretty flowers in full bloom. So far, so good. But when I stepped through the front door, my first impression of the interior was not a positive one. Here are “before” shots of the living room and dining room, which were to the right and left of the front door.

Living Room - before POI Home Staging

Dining Room - before POI Home Staging

I want to be quick to point out that the reason this homeowner had no furniture in the front rooms was because she has several family members who have fallen on hard times of late and had given her furniture to them. I was very impressed by that! But, she is now trying to sell her home and first impressions are everything. We had to take care of the matter at hand. Here are the “after” photos of the same rooms.

Living Room - after POI Home Staging

Dining Room - after POI Home Staging

In addition to furnishing the front rooms, I also spent a good bit of time rearranging other furniture in the home, removing and rearranging artwork, and adding key accessories. The result? This Lawrenceville home went under contract in eight days!!!

Selling a home in this market takes a team effort. There must first be an agent like Leslie who will tell you not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear and will see that changes are made before the house hits the market. There must be a homeowner who is willing to do what it takes to put the home in top-notch condition. And, finally, you must have a home stager who has been trained to know what aesthetic changes need to be made to make the home appeal to the widest possible audience and can implement those changes. I was very fortunate in this situation to have hooked up with a rockin’ agent and a “whatever it takes” homeowner. Game over.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow and the clutter to go, call Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-843-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: Featured Project, Home Staging, Home Staging Tips | Tagged: Tagged With: Alpharetta home stager, home staging, home staging tips, Lawrenceville home stager

Accessories Make All the Difference

Posted by Patsy on May 12, 2011 Leave a Comment

Last fall I received a call from Jim & Andrea in Lawrenceville for a home staging consultation. I met with them, explained the basics of home staging, then walked the home with them from room-to-room discussing what needed to be done to get their property sold. I left them with a long checklist of follow-up assignments. At the time, their home had already been on the market for 6-8 months and we were entering the “nothing’s going to sell until spring” zone.

Sure enough, Jim called again this spring to say that the home still had not sold and he was wondering if they needed to purchase new furniture to do the trick. They had done a fantastic job of neutralizing paint colors, decluttering and streamlining, but the home was still lackluster. Shown below is a picture of their living room as I saw it that day:

: Living Room – before

After walking through the home, I told them I thought it would be a waste of money for them to purchase furniture for staging; however, I did think adding key accessories would make a HUGE difference. I left the home, went shopping, and came back with a few tricks (aka “accessories”) up my sleeve. Here is what the living room looked like afterwards:

: Living Room – after

As you can see, we added a rug for warmth, replaced the large doll house on the far wall with a piece that had been in the foyer, replaced the lamp with one that was more updated, added a floral, greenery, throw pillows and a nice size-appropriate print to pull it all together. What a difference a few accessories made!

The results? Within a few weeks I received an email from Jim who had this to say: “We accepted an offer on our home last week. I believe that your advice and accessories helped us sell this house after it had languished for almost a year on the market. Thanks!”

Whether you are decorating or staging your home, accessories can make all the difference between having a look that is disjointed and sparse vs. one that is pulled-together and polished.

If you want your home to glow, the colors to flow and the clutter to go, call Patsy Overton Interiors. 770-843-2307 Accredited, Licensed, Insured.

Filed Under: Decorating, Home Staging, Home Staging Tips | Tagged: Tagged With: accessories, Atlanta decorating and home staging, consultations, decluttering, home staging, home staging consultation

WARNING: This Post Contains Graphic Images. Viewer Discretion Is Advised.

Posted by Patsy on December 2, 2010 1 Comment

For those of you who don’t know, my husband and I will be putting our house on the market in the spring. I’ve tried to prepare him, but he still doesn’t seem to grasp the fact that we’re actually going to move. While he comes to grips with the situation, I am busy updating the house.

Today we are focusing on the master bath. Yes, this is where the “disturbing images” come in. At this time, please remove all young children and pets from your computer screen’s viewing area. Ready? Here are a few “before” shots:

master bath vanity "before"

Master Tub "Before"

What was I thinking????? Believe it or not, at one time (some 15-20 years ago) this wallpaper was quite lovely! Okay, so don’t believe me. I have a hard time believing it myself. I’ve really been wanting to get rid of it for years, but never quite got around to it. But being the professional decorator and home stager that I am, it has occurred to me that there are probably a few buyers out there who won’t be impressed with my choice of wallpaper, not to mention all the gold fixtures and bird cage, so I set out to make some changes. If you are thinking of updating your bathroom, let me share with you a few questions you need to be prepared to answer before undertaking this task:

What size tile do you want to use?
What color tile do you want to use?
In what pattern do you want it laid?
What color grout do you want to use? (The chart contains about 30 selections.)
What size tile in the shower?
How do you want it laid?
How far do you want the tile walls to extend?
Do you want a feature strip? Which one? (1,2,3,4 or 5?)
What sort of fixtures do you want?
What finish?
What kind of shower door?
What surface do you want for the vanity?
What color?
Do you want an undermount sink?
What color?
What kind of light fixtures?
Etc, etc, etc………

Do you see why you need a trained professional to help you make these decisions? One day when I was in the middle of answering yet another string of questions, I asked the shower door guy, “Did you ever watch Seinfeld?” He replied, “Yes.” “Do you remember the episode where Jerry was having a cabinet guy build out his kitchen? He finally got fed up answering all the questions associated with the project and yelled, ‘No more questions!!!! Just do it!!!’” We both had a good laugh, seeing ourselves in the episode.

Okay, before I show you the “afters,” here’s a nice transition shot I think you’ll enjoy:

toilet in the jetted tub

There’s nothing quite like a toilet in the jetted tub to class up your photos! Okay, now for the “afters”:

Master bath vanity "after"

Master bath tub "after"

Updated Master Bath Vanity

Undertaking a master bath remodeling project is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth the effort! Now I’m convinced that many buyers will find this space appealing. Today’s tip? Hire an accredited home stager to guide you through this process. You could make costly mistakes. Patsy Overton Interiors is here to help you will all your updating and remodeling needs. Call today! 770-843-2307

Filed Under: Home Staging, Home Staging Tips, Updating Your Home | Tagged: Tagged With: Atlanta decorator, Atlanta home stager, home staging tips, updating

Dated Bathrooms? Show Me the Money!

Posted by Patsy on December 2, 2010 2 Comments

Today we’re going to focus on dated bathrooms and I’m going to show you some pretty tacky pictures. Although other Atlanta decorators and home stagers may not be willing to show you how they live at home, I have no shame and am going to toss it out there for all the world to see. Are you ready? Here is the before shot of my son’s basement bathroom:

basement bathroom with blue shower curtain and ugly, paisley wallpaper

Is this frightening, or what? (This photo was taken two years ago and for some reason I didn’t see the need to “tidy up” before taking it.) The lovely paisley wallpaper was actually the ORIGINAL paper we had hung when the house was built 19 years ago. The blue shower curtain may be the original as well. So what needed to be done if we weren’t willing to strike a match? First, get rid of the EXTREMELY DATED wallpaper and paint the room a neutral color. Next, update the brass light fixture and hardware. Then, reaccessorize with something that might actually be appealing to buyers. Here is the after:

basement bathroom with blue shower curtain and ugly, paisley wallpaper

Better? Okay, I think someone might actually go for this. Now, for the discriminating viewers I have a question. Why do you sometimes see home stagers leave the shower curtains partially opened? The first and most logical reason is that it makes the room look so much bigger! Notice the difference in the first photo with the shower curtain closed and the second photo with it left open. We have just picked up 3 feet of space! (Of course, using a wide-angle lens helps, too.)

Now, what might be the second reason for leaving the shower curtain open? (Hint – refer to the title of this post.) We all know that the bathrooms and kitchen are the most important rooms of the home when it comes to selling, right? Why is that? Because that’s where all the money is! While the other rooms in the house are just sheetrock, the kitchen and bathrooms contain all the bells and whistles. So, another reason for leaving the shower curtain open is to expose the bath fixtures — especially if they are newly updated. You can’t see them in this photo, but you certainly could if you were in the room.

Ready for another set of photos? Here are before & after shots of my upstairs hall bath:

hall bathroom with toile wallpaper and red shower curtain

Can you tell I like red? I went through a phase where I was into toile wallpaper. I had it in this bathroom as well as the powder room downstairs. As you can see, it’s got to go. Also, here again, we have brass hardware and a dated faucet. Not shown is a brass light fixture. Once again, we needed to strip the paper, paint, replace fixtures and reaccessorize. Now, here’s the “after” shot:

neutral hall bathroom, updated and nicely decorated

Today’s tip: a can of paint still gives you the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to updating your home. Updating bathrooms can get expensive when you need new fixtures, hardware, tile and countertops. If you only have a small amount of money to spend, strip the wallpaper and paint. The two bathrooms you see here were actually in pretty good condition; they mainly needed to be neutralized. Yes, we could’ve retiled and added granite counters, but it really wasn’t necessary. We did make those more drastic changes in the master bath, which will be more important to buyers than secondary bathrooms. You will see those photos in a later post.

While updating bathrooms can get very expensive, just a can of paint can make a HUGE difference.

Trying to sell you home? Need help with your updates? Call Patsy Overton Interiors where it pays to stage!

Filed Under: Home Staging, Home Staging Tips, Updating Your Home | Tagged: Tagged With: Atlanta decorator, Atlanta home stager, dated bathrooms, home staging tips

Atlanta Home Staging “Must Do” List

Cumming Staged Home Under Contract

Home Staging Tips From a Roswell Job

Paint Is Still Your Best Friend

Another Lawrenceville Staged Home Under Contract!

Accessories Make All the Difference

WARNING: This Post Contains Graphic Images. Viewer Discretion Is Advised.

Dated Bathrooms? Show Me the Money!

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