Shop in Your Own House

I get very excited when I go into someone’s home and find a whole bunch of treasures!!  So many people just can’t see the potential in their own ‘stuff’.  I love walking through each room and wondering how I can move furniture and accessories around to create a whole new look without having to buy anything.

This house was great since the homeowners are artists, photographers and world travellers with all kinds of great collectibles.  The problem was, they had TOO MUCH stuff so the rooms felt small and cluttered and you couldn’t see the beauty in what they had.  Buyers would have been completely overwhelmed looking at ‘things’ and not the actual room/space that they are buying.

We Removed Half the Furniture

I teased the homeowner that I didn’t know where to look when I first walked in.  It wasn’t until I actually looked carefully that I appreciated all their treasures.  The first thing we did was removed the cube storage unit that cut the room in half.  They also painted the whole main floor in a warmer colour.

Animal fur is NEVER a good idea for Staging purposes. You never want to offend any potential buyers. I was lucky that the homeowner had this painting in another room that wasn’t really seen so I wanted to use it here instead.  I absolutely love this red ladder and hat so that was my colour inspiration.  Once things were simplified you could really notice the size of the room and appreciate the few tasteful accessories.  Notice how much warmer the room looks with the new paint colour.

Removing the mirror and replacing it with one of their art pieces gave more interest. Buyers often get nervous when they see mirrors that are stuck to the wall so removing it before the painting was a good idea. The mirror only reflected the staircase which is never ideal. Removing their TV/stereo stand to the other room and moving the cube storage unit here opened up the room and still allowed her to display her special pieces.  It felt more like a dining room.  Sometimes just leaning a large art piece is a nice alternative for a relaxed feel.

Switching out the pine TV unit for the larger one that used to be in the dinning room made a cohesive look with all the same wood. The room felt larger with fewer pieces of big furniture. Replacing the dark drapes with lighter ones also helped lighten the room.

Master Bedroom Has A Huge Makeover

Again, we removed half the furniture and ‘stuff so we could see how large the room is.  Brining in lighter drapes instantly brightened the room. Hanging their artwork was my colour inspiration.  It’s amazing how far a few accent cushions can go.

Yes, This is the Same Room…

Once again, lighter coloured drapes brightened the room.  This is so important when the condo is downstairs.  Because the wall had a little nook in it, we move the bed to the other side so the head board could be flush on the wall.  I thought they were very clever using the bamboo screen as a headboard. We used their same linens, hung their artwork and displayed their artifacts.

Showcase Every Inch

Having an eat-in kitchen is a huge selling feature.  There was no benefit in having the bookcases in here. They had this little bistro set on the balcony but I felt it was perfect for inside since it’s the first impression as you walk into the condo.