HomeReady Home Staging

A New Year – A Fresh Start – Get Organized

kathryn — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 22:06:24 +0000

As we move into the second week of this new year, it’s time for a fresh start – yes the time is now to get organized in your household, your business, your life! Books have been written on this stuff so I’m not going to belabour the subject. Of course my interest is in houses and the positive impression that organized houses have on prospective buyers when viewing houses for sale.

If you are thinking of selling your house soon, my advice is to start at the top and work down. Huh? Yes the top shelves of cupboards and closets – the places where stuff is stored and never or at least rarely gets looked at or used. Most of this stuff can be junked or donated. Wow – can you feel yourself breathing just a little bit easier! What’s the sense of packing away this stuff just to put it back on the top shelf in your new home.

Every day for the next few weeks, look at undertaking one task and sorting it out. For example, today is Monday, so let’s look at organizing the bathroom vanity. Take everything out of the vanity – the stuff under the sink, the drawers, all the cabinets. There – now get rid of all the bottles of little bits of shampoo or lotions or nail polish that haven’t been used in a while. Better yet, use little plastic bins and organizers that you can get at your fav dollar store to nicely coral things that just get heaped back into the abyss of drawers or relegated to the back of a shelf (never to be used again). In no time at all you will have whittled down all this stuff into a manageable and organized selection of products that you actually use. Tomorrow, then move onto another area – perhaps your dresser drawers. . .

I think you get the picture – each day choose another area and systematically go through the drawers or cabinets or shelves of that area until you have gone through your whole house. Breaking things down into manageable chunks like this doesn’t seem quite so overwhelming and before you know it, your whole house will be sorted out and organized so that prospective buyers will be impressed when it comes time to list your house for sale.

If you do need some guidance along the way, I would be more that happy to consult with you. Often an objective opinion can be most helpful. To contact HomeReady Home Staging call 613-894-4155 or email at homeready@homereadyhomestagin.ca .

Home Is Where The Heart Is!

kathryn — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:50:31 +0000

Over the past year I have been in many Homes and what I have learned is that Home is where the heart is no matter how humble. So this Christmas embrace the home where you live and all who share this home with you.

So have a Merry Christmas and we will catch up in the New Year.

Cheers, Kathryn

Coat Hanger Christmas Wreath

kathryn — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:48:16 +0000

I have finally found a use for those awful metal coat hangers to be fashioned into beautiful Christmas wreaths. Last evening along with three other woman friends, I learned how to string fresh evergreen boughs together to make this full and fragrant Christmas wreath.

Merry Christmas

It has boughs from four different evergreens; cedar, pine, juniper and one other that I’m not sure of. The variation in textures and shades of green give it interest and definite fullness. I simply topped it off with a big gold trimmed red bow and a few sprigs of red berries and there it is hung on my front door welcoming all who enter this Christmas season.

Thanks to Arlene Dupuis from Vars for showing me how!

National Home Staging Month and RESA Gives

kathryn — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:19:33 +0000

Did you know that November is National Home Staging Month? To celebrate and give back to the community, our local Ottawa chapter of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), through the RESA Gives campaign, is partnering with the organization: “Helping With Furniture” (www.helpingwithfurniture.org) to host a one day blitz November 17th, 9 – 4, 5345 Canotek Rd., to drop off gently used household goods. HWF is an organization that helps set up households for immigrant families settling in Ottawa. Often the families have come from troubled areas of the world and have very little. We Stagers know how important it is to create beautiful spaces and want to give this opportunity to others less fortunate. So search through your furnishings and see what you no longer need/use and drop off. For a further explanation of household goods needed see my blog posted on www.RESAOTTAWA.org .

Keeping the House Picture Perfect

kathryn — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:44:24 +0000

Keeping the house Picture Perfect is something I stress to all my clients when they are selling their house – its not just for the initial Real Estate photos – but for every time you leave your house. You never know when a call will come for a buyer viewing. Until recently this used to be for a relatively short time period say a few days to a few weeks. However, in my area we have now entered into a Real Estate downturn, where there are many more sellers than buyers and selling a house is taking much longer and prices may appear to be dropping. This can be quite stressful for many sellers who have previously believed that Home Staging will shorten the time that their house has to look picture perfect at any given moment and that they will receive top dollar for the efforts. It still will in the long run only the parameters have changed.

Take heart though, everyone is in the same boat! Also, the likelihood is that you also will get a good deal on your next purchase as well. This is the time to work very closely with your REA to look at all the recent comparables ensuring that not only does your house look picture perfect, the listing price is in-line with the realities of the day. You must remember that there are still comparable houses on the market that have not been staged as yours is and that they will still be on the market long after yours is sold! Remember, you only have one chance to make a great first impression – no matter what the market conditions are!

If you are struggling with your house sale, give me a call and I will gladly offer suggestions that will help peak buyer interest in your house. 613-894-4155, homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca

Curb Appeal means different things to different People!

kathryn — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:36:50 +0000

A few months back my husband and I visited Italy and I was intrigued with how the locals lived (in the old parts of the city) and what curb appeal meant to them. It is very common to see sights like this:

A common sight

I was most amused though by this front entrance:

Come on in – Oh, do you like my undies?

Yes, there they were: bras, panties, camies – all right there greeting everyone at the front door! I do hope that the woman that lived there wasn’t expecting company for lunch. However, many homeowners also had very pretty balconies and entrances that were most welcoming:

Pretty balcony

I guess curb appeal does mean different things to different people!

Curb Appeal

kathryn — Thu, 31 May 2012 21:13:14 +0000

Did you know. . .

That HomeReady Home Staging will help you with your home’s curb appeal whether you are planning to move or not?

Gardening is more than just spreading a bag of mulch to cover-up garden flaws and weeds. You only have one chance to make a good first impression when selling your home and curb appeal is often what gets buyers into your home to look at the interior. HomeReady Home Staging is offering a service for sellers to greatly enhance their home’s curb appeal and for homeowners who like the look but don’t have the time or the inclination to garden. Services range from planting flowers, shrubs or trees to simple garden construction or reconstruction and maintenance. Summer is all but here and a luscious looking landscape beckons a buyer to come on in!

Remember, You only have one chance to make a great first impression!

Garden Staging

kathryn — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:16:29 +0000

I love this time of year when I can help clients with their Garden Staging. This real “hands-on” work benefits those who love the look of a an appealing looking garden, but don’t have the time, know-how or the ability. Just educating home-dwellers about their garden is worthwhile as recently a client was lamenting that her daffodils just weren’t blooming – how come? Maybe it was the weather. . . but no, I explained, they were not daffodils at all but irises and they don’t bloom until May/June. What a relief and something to look forward to! Rejuvenating gardens is a grunt-work specialty that gives me a special sense of satisfaction as I see a weed infested garden with ill-defined boundaries once again become alive with possibilities of new growth.

If you have a garden that is giving you some angst and needs some TLC to bring back some life, let’s talk! I’d love to come and see your garden! Homeready@homereadyhomestaging.ca, 613-894-4155

Storage

kathryn — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:28:15 +0000

One of the more common subjects that I seem to discuss with clients during an initial home staging consultation is storage. Most clients understand the need to depersonalize and declutter – but where do they put all the things that I have now convinced them to pack away? Getting a head start on packing is good but the issue is where do they store all that they have now packed away? Boxes stacked up in a closet, the laundry room or behind the furnace seem to defeat the purpose of making the property appear to have adequate storage. And adequate storage is high on most buyers’ wish list. So what do I advise my clients to do. Here are a few tips ranging from the least effort and free to the most and costing some $$.

If you’re friendly with your neighbours, maybe they will temporarily store your packed boxes in their garage or basement. Make sure they are labeled well.
Perhaps family and/or friends will store some of your boxes and extra things if nearby.
If non of the above options are available, then you might consider renting a storage unite. These are usually reasonable and some storage facilities even offer the use of their truck for the transportation. You still need some strong bodies though.
And lastly, if you already have possession of your new place then why not start to move some of your packed away things over sooner than later. It will make moving day easier too!

A house that buyers perceive to have adequate storage actually makes the house look bigger, more organized and even brighter. The fine features of the house are readily visible and buyers are not distracted by boxes piled up here and there.

Simple ideas will = great results!

Spring is here!

kathryn — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:01:53 +0000

Well I think that I can safely say that Spring is now here to stay. The forsythia in my yard is blooming this week as you can see. So for homeowners who are selling their houses right now, the possibilities for enhancing their Curb Appeal is greatly increased. The grass is greening, daffodils are blooming as are early tulips. Perennial shoots are poking through the earth and are providing interest when prospective buyers go by your house. There are a number of tips that you must keep in mind to ensure that your property stands out and presents with a well cared for look. First of all how does your lawn look? Gently rake up all the loose, dead debris left over from the snow receding and reseed where warranted. Trim scraggly branches from your shrubs (even if it is not the usual pruning time). Clip, again, the dead debris and leaves from perennials that are coming up and gently pull up any weeds that are sprouting to gain a toehold in your garden. Sweep or power wash the walkways and driveways to remove grit and salt from all the ice that was there only a few short weeks ago. Now doesn’t that look better? I’m sure that prospective buyers will think so. And if you want to go all out, plant some groupings of icicle pansies and place a few pots of these on the porch. So for and afternoon’s work several things might happen. Your enhanced Curb Appeal might entice prospective buyers to come and look at your house and if you have paid as much careful attention to the inside, then you just might get the selling result you are hoping for. Wouldn’t that be great!