Atlanta Georgia Home Staging : March 2010

Tips on Making Small Spaces Appear Bigger

The other day, while watching HGTV, they ran a commercial called Smart Tips by Christopher Lowell (sponsored by KMart). This particular tip was so useful that I took the steps to rewind and captured every word spoken.

Before sharing his tip on making small spaces appear bigger, I just have to say that he is (and has been) one of my most favorite interior decorators. When he had his show called Christopher Lowell, I tried to watch every episode. If he came on and I happened to be out of the room, my husband would call out "your boyfriend is on", at which point I would come running.

Direct from Christopher Lowell:

"Did you know that small things in small places actually make a room look smaller. It tends to amplify the very thing you're trying to disguise.

Two things can help.

Contrary to popular belief deep rich wall color can make small rooms look bigger vs. plain white walls which actually emphasizes the size.

The human body only needs 18 to 20 " to comfortable navigate around furniture.  When in doubt, go bigger in size.  A few over scale pieces in small spaces vs. tiny stuff will actually make the room look bigger as the eye will always go to the furnishings.

Thanks to Christopher Lowell and to KMart for sharing these tips with us.

A message to home sellers - when selling your home, consider implementing these tips. If in doubt, a professional home stager can help tremendously.

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A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands  what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website:  Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email:  Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com 

    

 

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Up Close And Personal with Home Staging Atlanta

One of the greatest compliments we receive at Home Staging Atlanta - Georgia Interior Solutions is in regards to our photos. It pleases me to no end as I spend an incredible amount of time at the end of the home staging project to capture as many photos as I can. When I return to the office, I'm as anxious to send them to the homeowner as they are to receive them.

And like many professional photographers (no, I'm not a professional photographer but do use similar practices), the photos will go thru some edits. If you're a professional home stager, I encourage you to take the time to make those edits. If you're confused or don't know where to begin, then absolutely invest in the webinar being provided by Jackson West. You can read his post here. Jackson has perfected the art of editing and provides great insight into what the process is about.

Here are two recent photos I captured from a home staging project in Grant Park yesterday.

I started taking "vignette" photos as a way to add some magazine-like qualities to my Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio. Yes, it adds more time at the end of the project. However, I think it's well worth the time.

So... give it a whirl. Snap a few close-ups. I promise you, you'll be glad you did.

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A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands  what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website:  Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email:  Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com 

    

 

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Grant Park Home Staging 

We just finished our back-to-back home staging projects in Grant Park and I'm pleased to tell you that both turned out extremely well. The homeowners were very happy. You can see the last weeks project by visiting our Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio.

It's simply amazing just how big of a transformation a vacant home can go thru when professionally home staged. And the most surprising thing is that it doesn't take a lot of pieces (furniture or accessories). What does matter is what those pieces are. Our home staging Atlanta projects are designed around the demographics of the buyer as well as the style of the home.

Here are a few home staging before and after pictures:

Kitchen:

Master Bedroom:

If you have a vacant home in or around Atlanta, feel free to contact us for a free estimate.

About Grant Park in Atlanta from Wikipedia:

Grant Park is also the in-town neighborhood surrounding Grant Park, and is Atlanta's largest historic neighborhood. It includes the 88 acres or 35 hectares of Oakland Cemetery(established 1850), where Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, 25 former mayors of Atlanta, six former governors of Georgia, and many Civil War dead are buried.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                     

 

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands  what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website:  Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email:  Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com 

    

 

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Tips from Atlanta Home Stager, Kathy Nielsen.

It's happened to me. Has it happened to you? You enter a home and you have absolutely no clue as to what the purpose of the room is?  Unfortunately, it happens too often, especially if the home is vacant. 

Tomorrow I'll be home staging a home in Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia that had this exact dilemma. I arrived, entered the home and just stood in middle of the room scratching my head (okay, not really "scratching my head" but, you get the point).  I was told it was the living room.  It sure didn't look like a living room. However, I can assure you that after tomorrow you'll know exactly what room it is. Stay tuned for the pictures of this home staging project as I'll be posting them as soon as I get back.

In the meantime, here are tips on "how to avoid leaving the buyer guessing."

• Give the room a purpose by understanding the demographics of the buyer    Let's say the room in question is on the main floor. It may make sense to turn that room into an office if in fact the buyer is young or of middle age. This age bracket has a tendency to work from home and would make for a perfect solution for this room.

• Take into consideration the location of the room in question - For example, if the room is located on the upper level, just outside of the kids rooms, then consider creating a "play room" for the kids.  If it's a room over the garage (attached to the house), then consider making that room an office. 

• Think like a buyer - Having lived in your home, you're well aware of what the room is (or was) used for. However, understand that the buyer isn't in the same position and hasn't a clue. Start at the front door and use the "buyers-eye."

Remember - leaving the buyer guessing is never a good idea. With proper planning, using the above home staging tips, you'll be on your way to setting definition to that confusing room and eliminate the guessing game.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                     

 

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands  what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website:  Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email:  Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com 

    

 

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Confused on how to re-arrange your room when selling?

You’re not alone.  The question; "how do I arrange the furniture?" is perhaps the most frequently asked questions I receive as a professional home stager in Atlanta.  And with reason.  Most sellers have seen enough shows on TV to understand that there's a need to change.  However, they're challenged on exactly what changes would benefit them the most.  

Let's begin with reviewing the objective:  

The objective for the seller is to showcase the features as well as the space the home has to offer.

How is that accomplished?

• Find the feature you want to highlight.  Perhaps it's the fireplace in the living room or the built-ins in the keeping room.  Your objective as a seller is to draw the buyers' eye to that feature.
• Add visual space. This can be accomplished by removing an item or two from the room.  For example, if you have two end tables today, try removing one.  If you have a dining room table with a leaf and 6 chairs, try removing the leaf and two of the chairs.
• Expose your flooring.  This is especially true if you believe this to be a feature of the home. Try removing the rug or reduce the size of the rug you use.  Yes, area rugs can add warmth but if over-sized, then you risk covering up one of the best features of the home.

Also know that there are experts in place that are use to "putting the pieces together." An experienced home professional can easily help you identify the features, knows what it takes to add that "visual space" and can recognize what features may be hidden and need to be exposed.

How to arrange a room when selling can be a little tricky. However, with those basics in mind, know that it's perfectly okay to have a room re-arranged 5-6 (or more) times before you settle on the right arrangement.  

Another suggestion is to get ideas from magazines or better yet, from a home stagers website.  You can view photos of some of my most recent home staging projects in Atlanta by visiting our Home Staging Atlanta Portfolio.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                     

 

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands  what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website:  Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email:  Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com 

    

 

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