Sunday, July 17, 2011

A Cute 1950's Home Gets Staged to Sell!


I was excited to stage this little 1950's home that in the great Inglewood Neighborhood of Nashville. It was vacant and needed some personality to compete with other homes.  I'm eager to see the Realtor's final photos because the owners was implementing some of my recommendations including painting the front door and installing a more prominent light fixture in the dining room. Want to see some before and afters?

Let's start with the exterior...





The owner left a dining table and chairs but the dining room needed some color.  I also recommended changing the light fixture to a fixture designed to hang over a dining table.  

I added color by creating a tablescape using bright yellow and black with sunflower print napkins.  I also added art  and greenery.

The living room was a blank canvas.


The bathroom is a bit dated and very white.   I suggested that the homeowner paint the cabinet black and switch the hardware. The wall heater was another negative that drew attention.  I suggested that they try painting it white to blend in to the wall.  You won't believe the transformation!

I love this makeover!  
Another view. They did an awesome job on the cabinet.

The kitchen was a bit dark due to the red wall.  I suggested either adding stronger lighting or paint the wall.  I actually like the red wall so I'm glad they left it.  It may not be universally appealing but the kitchen is a place where you don't have furniture that has to work with wall color.
Standard staging rule... no trashcan in sight.  No one wants to buy your trash!  :-) 

I added a white shelf above the stove to break up the red wall and tie in the white cabinets.

A few cute accessories adds a little character.  This worked  but if I had been able to find a wall mount iron pot rack it would have been perfect!  

A kitchen vignette.  Lemon pound cake should have universal appeal - right?  It sounded good to me and  with a few lemons and other items... we're ready to bake!

The homeowner wanted to keep the cost of staging  as low as possible  so I did not include the 2nd bedroom in the staging plan.  I ended up adding a few items in the room in the end to add a little something that may help buyers imagine a use for this space.  I just finished renovating this little sewing cabinet.  I'm eager to get this one back to use in my home.

Who can resist this little face?  I've learned from personal experience that when a family with a child looks at a house and the child finds a room like this, they make up their little minds right then and there.  "This is MY room!"

It reminds me of a sign I saw in a store the other day..."Unsupervised children will be given candy and a puppy."  When a child loves something... just try taking it away or saying no.  Life can become painful.  I always tried to keep the upper hand when my boys were younger but I have met parents that would do anything to please their baby.  Even buying a house!  So why not take advantage of that situation? 
I hope you enjoyed seeing inside this charming house.  If you'd like more information on it, you can contact the Realtor, Candee Potter at ReMax Choice Properties. 
Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Lori

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Mountain air made me brave!

I'm still a rookie at painting and have never really tried watercolor so on our trip to the mountain house I took along my paints.  I had fun!  Watercolors are pretty cool!

Let's see... what to call my first mountain watercolor???  This is the view from Mom and Dad's porch (sort of!) so how about.... "View from the Porch"
"Sunflowers"  I saw this picture in a magazine and  decided to try it with watercolors.  I'm not thrilled with it but decided to show you anyway!

My favorite painting is one I left with Mom and Dad as a thank you for our week. and I forgot to shoot a photo!  Oh well... maybe some day I'll get a photo and post that one!



Tuesday, July 5, 2011

God. The master artist!


We're enjoying a week at our family mountain home in Little Switzerland, NC this week.  We're here with my parents, my older brother and his family from Harrisonburg, VA, and my nephew and his wife, Nicole, who is a perfect addition to the family!  God planned that union for sure!


The view from the porch.


Our Golden, Chance. This is his first visit to the mountain house.  Three deer crossed the property last night. A pretty exciting moment for Chance!

One of Dad's day lilies with a guest!




A double bloom day lily. Dad's favaorite.

A Queen Anne's Lace about to bloom.  Cool!

A beautiful spruce bough.   This is Christmas tree country!






We'll be going on plenty of adventures this week.  I'll try to keep you posted!  Thanks for stopping by~
Lori

Linking to Savvy Southern Style  Wow Us Wednesday