A Solid Improvement

Statistics show most prospective buyers drive by a property before they call for an appointment to view it. So curb appeal makes that crucial 'first impression', and indoor upgrades will not matter if people never view them. The driveway pictured below extends from the front of the house, so cracks that developed over time aged the look of the property and were noticeable from the curb. The problem continued with the patio in the back. Removing and replacing this was not a do-it-yourself project as it required extensive work, and the fence between the houses was also replaced.  But the upgraded look to the property improves the curb appeal immensely and took years off the appearance of this yard.

Driveway: Before

Driveway: After

Patio: Before

Patio: After

Pillow Talk

Extra pillows are often used on beds when staging. This is done to add interest and create a focal point in a way that suggests comfort and luxury. My husband, who occasionally assists with staging projects, has become a bit of a pillow designer lately, arranging the pillows on our bed each day in unexpected patterns. Instead of relying on tried and true pillow arrangements, this reminds me to be imaginative. Here are a couple of his interesting creations.

Unexpected, yet interesting design.

Gives a 'tucked in' look.

Foiled Again

It can be difficult to keep everything shiny in your home for sale while you live there. Although most people only spend a short time at the initial viewing, you don't want their eye drawn to unsightly areas. Stove tops can be particularly noticeable when grimy, and are blackened at once when something spills over and burns. A quick way to brighten a stovetop is to use disposable foil liners over the regular ones. These protect the drip pans and can be quickly replaced. The drip pans and rings themselves can also be replaced, which is more attractive than liners, but liners are very inexpensive and provide a quick solution.

Before: disposable insert is blackened

After: new foil insert replaces old one

Solution: Foil Insert

Stager On Holidays, Sort Of...

We recently stayed with an older gentleman who lives alone. He loves to read and wanted to display his sports trophies, but his books were piling up and his trophies as displayed, were hard to dust. He consented for us to organize a little. The purpose was not to sell or stage, just to lighten the workload for him and make space for our visit.
A solution was to introduce shelves for his books, and also the trophies. Although a closed unit with glass doors would keep dust off, we used an open unit to make the books very accessible. He was pleased with the changes, and also that the shelves fit on top of his cabinet which he wanted to keep for extra storage.

Before

Before

After

After