Have YOU Decorated for the Holidays Yet?

Have you decorated for the Holidays yet?  It's not too late!

Let's start with the outside, here are some great ideas I found on Pinterest.    

                                             

      What a great idea for a mailbox!!

                                              
  




Don't we all have buckets behind our sheds?  This is a great idea to re-purpose containers we don't use in the winter.

                               
                                     Love these simple yet fun ideas!    

              


                             

There are hundreds of decorating ideas on Pinterest!  Whatever your style is from over the top to very simple, you can find all kinds of inspiration on Pinterest and many other sites on line.
 http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=christmas%20outdoor%20decorations&rs=ac&len=17

Here are a few ideas to brighten up the interior for the Holiday season and some beautiful trees!

I love the elegance of this arrangement.  Gold has made a come back for sure... Nothing says Happy Holidays like a beautifully decorated mantel.

                  

              
         

Loving this very colorful and fun mantel decor!

                           
                                              

 

These room look so cozy and welcoming for entertaining friends and family.

                     

    A spectacular Holiday table!!


Well, I don't know about you but I'm really getting in the Holiday spirit finding all these wonderful ideas on Pinterest.  I hope I was able to give you some great ideas to start your decorating or maybe add some new ideas to your home for celebrating with friends and family.

From our home to yours Happy Holiday's and here is to a Very Happy New Year!!! Cheers!

                                  

Front Door Envy

Thinking of selling your home?  How does your front door look?

Curb appeal and how your front entrance looks are very important when getting your home ready to sell. When a buyer is ready to make a final decision they will remember which home made a lasting first impression. So... Don't slam the door in their face, instead have your home say, "Welcome Home".

Here are some curb appeal ideas:

• Prune those shrubs! Pruning is vital to help see your home on the listing and from the road.
• Pull the weeds you keep walking by and freshen up the bark mulch.
• Add a few mums to the front walkway and around the mailbox.  

Some favorite curb appeal photos from Google.com and my own home.

Here is an example of what your house should not look like when trying to sell it, just had to share it:

Front door transformation:

• Touch up trim paint so it looks clean and fresh.
• Wash windows especially in the front of the house so it will sparkle.
• Update the door or add a new coat of paint so it will pop compared to the rest of the house.
• Don't forget to wash the outdoor lights or better yet replace them with a more updated style.
• Pressure wash, pressure wash, pressure wash! It is amazing how good your walkway and front stairs can look after a good pressure washing.

Here are some updated front door examples.  Using a different door color can really help your home stand out from the rest in your neighborhood.

I hope I gave you some ideas when getting your home ready to sell!!

Some Important Home Staging Tips

Home Staging Tips

Thinking of selling your home?  Here are a few of my tips to help get your home market ready.  http://arrangedtosell.com/staging.html

·  Hire a Home Stager to go through your home with objective eyes.

*This happens to all of us!  We get used to how our surroundings look after living in a home for years.  Working with a Home Stager brings a fresh outlook when getting your property ready to be listed. 

· Take notes of what is recommended.

*Taking notes is so important when going through your home with a Home Stager.  I usually hand my clients a pen and a clipboard with a worksheet. 

·  Don’t take the advice personal!

*When walking through your home a Stager’s job is to help market your home to sell faster.  So don’t take any recommendations too personal.  As a Home Stager I’m not judging my clients decorating style.  As I walk through the home I’m thinking about good flow, furniture placement, does the space feel too small or cluttered, is there enough closet space and cabinet space.  Could a buyer see themselves living here?

·   Look at your home as a product you are selling.

*This is one of the most important things to remember!  By looking at the house as a product it helps detach you from the property.

    

·  Have fun with the staging process!

*Selling your home can be stressful for everyone.  Packing up your life after living in your home 10 or 20 years can often be filled with memories of children growing up, gatherings with friends and family, and years of accumulated items.  Working with a Home Stager can help you keep focused by giving you recommendations of what needs to be done first.  My clients know that I want them to enjoy their staging experience, in the process of getting their product market ready. 

The ultimate goal when you list your home with a Realtor is to sell it.  No one wants to see their property on the market for months having to keep reducing the price.  When you invest in the beginning of the selling process by working with a Home Stager you can be confident you're getting the best bang for your buck!  

Dream Kitchen Transformation

Our Kitchen Transformation on A Budget

We all have our "Honey can you..." lists for our homes and a collection of inspiration pictures for changes we would like to make.  One of my dreams has been for a long time is to update my kitchen and paint, yes paint, our kitchen cabinets. 

Here is what my kitchen looked like before...

My kitchen was dark most of the day, because the kitchen only get's sun in the morning. We had updated the counters to granite and added stainless appliances a few years ago. The kitchen still seemed dark and a little dated. It took many months to convince my woodworker husband to paint the cabinets.

Much of my inspiration came from http://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional/kitchen.  If you have not checked out their site yet I highly recommend it!



Below are the results of our transformation on a budget!

Here is what we did:

• My husband added on to existing cabinets to fill in the gap between the tops and the ceiling.
• Added frosted glass door with lights behind them for a nice accent (plexiglass substitute $7.00 for a full sheet).
• Added crown molding throughout the room and replaced all moldings to be taller.
• Painted the cabinets and moldings the same Sherwin Williams Bright White.
• Painted the walls Sherwin William Irish Cream.
• Painted the island a chocolate brown.
• Update lighting in the kitchen and added a drum shade over the table.(image not shown)

We are so happy with the results!  

I hope this gives you some inspiration to change one of your spaces today!

                                 
http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.com/

To Stage or Not To Stage

Vacant homes....let us think about those words for a moment.  The word vacant means empty, void, blank.  If you are a buyer looking on line for homes you want to go see, is a vacant home something that may appeal to you? NO, the home that will appeal to you is something that has style, it grabs your attention through its features and details it has and how it is presented to you.

Staging a vacant home can not only grab the buyers attention, but will sell the home faster. 

Here are a few before and after photos of a recent vacant staging we did in Hampton, NH.
http://aarealestatepartners.com/

As you can see by adding furniture and some accessories to a vacant home it helps to add style and warmth to the space.  This helps the buyer to visualize living in the home, helps them fall in love with different features that by staging has brought to their attention. 

This is a wonderful cape style home for sale in Hampton, NH about 3 miles from Hampton Beach.  It has an open floor plan with a spacious kitchen that has a corner gas fireplace for cozy family dinners.

  

                                                                   

Ideas For My Living Room

So, I just finished a vacant staging for a beautiful home in Bedford, NH.  I'm very happy with the results of the staging, here are how a few of the rooms turned out.

 I used three of my tables that were in my living room for the vacant home's family room. I painted them black with the intention of giving my living room a redesign.  So now my wheels are turning to get some inspiration for my living room.

Here are some inspiration ideas from images from BHG, http://bit.ly/K5tE1B, and an Olioboard I created with some items from West Elm.

I really love the use of geometric patterns in rugs, pillows and curtains. I think using traditional timeless lines in your furniture and adding color with your accessories, throw pillows, rug and curtains.  So if you need a change, this gives you an affordable way to update your room without spending money you don't have.

I hope my next post will be my completed redesigned living room...