A Clean Home is a Home That Sells

A Clean Home is a Home That Sells

    When you make the decision to sell your home it is important to have it in near perfect condition.  If you are unable to afford costly improvements the one thing everyone can do is clean. My advice is clean, clean, clean and then clean some more.  No one wants to purchase someone else’s dirt.  With the numerous houses I enter on a regular basis there is nothing that stands out more than a spotlessly clean house.  Leave no surface untouched, floor to ceiling, inside, outside, closets, cabinets, basement, garage, light fixtures and windows.  Are you worn out yet?   A clean home will leave an impression on the perspective buyers.     

     I was helping prepare a home for selling and I told the home owner the windows needed cleaning.  I used the tried and true solution of ½ cup ammonia, ½ cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bucket of warm water.  Remember not to wash your windows when the sun is shining directly on them, you will get streaks.  The home owner could not believe the difference the clean windows made.  Clean windows allow more light in, and instantly brightens the space.

     There are many cleaning products on the market that will help you achieve the results you desire.  The Hope Company has a wonderful product for polishing laminate counter tops.  One of my favorite products is Briwax.  It is a color tinted paste wax for wood.  The color tint helps to hide scratches.  It will bring new life to your interior doors, wood trim, cabinets etc. 

     Once you have cleaned the soap residue from a fiberglass shower enclosure polish it with TR Industries, GA12 Gel Gloss or any fiberglass boat polish.  Never polish the floor of the tub!!! It will be too slippery.

     The above mentioned products are just the tip of the iceberg.  Send me an e-mail with any particular element you may be having difficulty with and I will do my best to find a solution for you.  A clean house is something every homeowner will be able to accomplish.  The attention the home will receive from perspective buyers will be worth the work. 

        

Remove all personal care items from the bathroom countertop.

Make sure there are fresh towels out for a showing. 

Add an attractive accessory to the countertop. 

Preparing Your Home For The Market

Preparing Your Home For The Market

     You love your home and it’s many memories, but now you would love to sell it!  Whatever your personal reasons for selling a home there is a lot of preparation that will need to be done to have the property ready to compete in today’s market.  There is more to selling a home then putting up a “for sale” sign and waiting for the buyer to hand over the money.  With the multiple television shows airing about real estate home staging the buyer has become more discriminating in their selection of potential homes to purchase.  The buyer now expects a great deal more from the seller. 

     With all the competition in the market and money difficult to acquire, it means the home needs to be in complete repair, clean, attractive and eye catching in order to attract the buyer.  The goal is to set the stage to entice a buyer to utter those magic words, “I love this house, I want to buy it!”  There is one more important point that comes into play, the home needs to be priced correctly. 

     To assist you in preparing your home to look it’s best and be priced correctly, requires the assistance of a professional home stager and real estate agent.  The manner in which you live in your home and the way you should present your home to perspective buyers are two different things.  The home stager and Realtor* work together to provide vital information for preparing your home for the market.  When your home looks great online and is priced correctly, it will receive more showings than other competing homes on the market. 

     For a complete guide on preparing your home, check out my book “Showing Well, Selling Well”, which may be found on www.lulu.com.  

Create attractive vignette's.

 

 Color and design style should carry through from room to room.

Think Spring

Think Spring

     Doesn’t the home always look bare and dull after we put away the Christmas decorations and lights?  It’s nice to create a new display with something you already have...  just take a look outside for inspiration.  I created a new accessory for the mantel that was inexpensive and easy to assemble.

     

1.     First I cut two small branches from a birch tree.  I like the birch tree because of it’s thin branches with multiple shoots. 

 

2.     Next I took a small block of green floral foam, glued it to a base of cardboard, and stuck the branch in it.  I discovered the block was not evenly balanced and leaned forward.  To balance it I hollowed out the back of the foam and glued a small rock to it. 

3.     Then I cut a piece of natural burlap into a square large enough to cover the base and fringed out each side about an inch.

4.     I placed the foam block with the branch in the center of the burlap.  I then put fiber fill around the base to fill it out a bit and gathered the corners of the burlap, tying them around the base of the branch with a piece of jute. 

5.     For the perfect finishing touch, I purchased a nice looking bird from a floral shop and hung it on the branch.     

Home At Last - 2nd in a Series

Home At Last 2

         If you asked my daughters what the first thing is I do when moving into a new residence, there would be no hesitation to their answer -  I paint the closets.  It doesn’t matter if I am purchasing a home or renting, I have to paint the closets.  When people paint rooms they generally do not take the time to paint the closets.  If you look closely you will see the walls are dirty and dingy and probably not the same color as the room.  I want the closets to be clean and fresh before I start putting my belongings away! 

     Since I haven’t decided on a color scheme for the entire house yet I chose a basic tan color for the closets.  (More than likely, when I finally paint the room I will repaint the closet the same color.)  I chose a paint called “Lucite” because it was the cheapest on the shelf.  (I try not to use the word cheap I prefer least expensive but in this case cheap describes it best.)  I asked myself “why should I purchase a premium paint for the closet?”  Once I got the paint home and opened the can my question was answered.  First of all the Lucite paint had a terrible odor which took  several days to dissipate.  Second, it is very thin.  To answer my own question, always purchase a premium paint for your projects - you will have much better results. 

     A week later I was driving past a Sherwin Williams paint store and there was a sign outside that said “40% off”.  I went home and picked up the color sample for the bedroom and purchased Sherwin Williams paint.  I love Sherwin Williams!  They offer a great color palette, and their paint is just the right thickness and covers beautifully.  I have promised myself never to buy another cheap gallon of paint.  A premium paint is worth every penny you spend. 

    Visit the Sherwin Williams web page where you will find a lot of information to help you with all of your painting projects.  Sherwin-Williams: Global Gateway 

Home At Last - 1st in a Series

HOME AT LAST

     Since 2006 I have been living in vacant homes that were for sale staging them with my own belongings.  To tell you the truth I am not sure how many homes I have even lived in during those years.  The shortest amount of time I lived in a home was 45 days and the longest about nine months.  I am happy to report that now I have a permanent residence.  It is only 860 square feet so it will take a lot of organization to make it work.

     Despite it’s small size the home has a charming fireplace, a sunroom and a fenced in backyard, all things I had on my wish list for the home of my dreams.  There is a lot of garden space that has been neglected and it will be interesting to see what plants pop up in the Spring. 

 

“A good home must be made, not bought.”  Joyce Maynard

     This is a design philosophy that I adhere to.  Take your time making your design decisions when you move into a new residence.  You need to live in the space for a while to determine how it will be appropriate to your lifestyle.  These are the principles I will be following as I transform my own house into the home I envision it to be.  When you live in a small space it is important to make every inch count.  Every color, fabric and piece of furniture chosen will make a difference in the overall design.  Simple details will have a tremendous impact.  When you live in beautiful surroundings that meet the needs of your individual lifestyle you will feel more fulfillment in your life. 

     Follow my blog as I work through the process of re-modeling my space.          

Design Inspiration

I had the great pleasure of attending the “Design Chicago” conference at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in October.  A trip to the Mart is always an inspirational event.  It doesn’t matter what your profession is everyone needs a shot of inspiration to help them look at what they’re doing in a creative, new way. 

Each year the Mart has what they call the “Dream Home”.  Nine designers are selected to design a room.  They push design concepts to the limits by using materials in a new way and selecting furniture and accessories that are new to the market.  It is not designed to flow like a model home but instead inspire your creative side.  Click here to take a look at it: Dream Home.

As I strolled through the showrooms I was stimulated by:

Scalamandre’ – beautiful fabrics

 Gorgeous foosball table by Maitland-Smith

Grange – a bookcase wall system with sliding shelves to hide a flat screen TV

Martin Wood – painted accent furniture

Baker – new designs by Barbara Barry

I ended the afternoon with a seminar by my friend and colleague Lee Russ, who spoke on “The Height of Luxury: The rise of Art Deco and Haute Couture”, reminding us that the people and events of an era create the design trends for that period of time. 

Attending such an event exposes me to the new trends in home furnishings and provides creative ideas to carry through with my own clients.   Above all it will help me look at each project from a new perspective.