Sold in a weekend! This staged home received 4 showings during the first weekend on the market while generating 3 offers before going under contract. None of the buyers offers were below asking price. The house must have been cheap, one might argue. But that is far from the truth, so much as a record pricing for any recent sale for a house of that size in the neighborhood. The house sold just a few month ago for $ 192,000 and underwent a cosmetic renovation to now fetch a stunning $ 241,500 a mere 3 months later. Designer Helene Bonello-Strauss was responsible for the sensitive re-design of the property. The most drastic change was a new kitchen with white shaker style cabinetry, floors and a lot of paint and some tile work to update it and make it appear fresh and current. The professional staging just rounded it off. “You have to give the buyer a vision of what the house will look like.” So the design expert. “When I do design consultation for Flippers I develop a coherent vision for the whole house, while taking existing features into account.” The success proves her right. While updating a property there are sometimes existing design features that can be incorporated in the design, that will bring value to the finished product. In this case the somewhat dated floor to ceiling mirrors in the formal living room received a custom frame. Now the mirrors appear current and stylish and create depth to the space. A nice way to make use of a feature and a fantastic opportunity to reflect style. Design and staging by www.idesigntosell.com
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See what generated multiple offers on this house the first day
See what generated multiple offers on this house the first day. Sellers typically want to sell fast for a high price. Take a look what it took to make this quick sale happen. This house located in the crossings of Lake Mary was like most other homes in the neighborhood until stager and interior designer Helene Bonello-Strauss got her hands on this property. See what difference some cosmetic changes and a great staging can make. The property received multiple offers within the first day and went under contract swiftly.
Why you should not buy a whole room at once
Why you should not buy a whole room at once – Furniture stores want to make shopping easy. They often advertise a whole room for sale. “8 Pieces for the price of 5”, says the ad. The designer sees this like the screeching sound of chalk on a blackboard. A bedroom set with its big four poster king bed, matching night stands, dresser, a highboy and all in the same shape, wood and color. Your room will look exactly like the furniture catalog and that is a look that can be very boring and predictable. Just because the furniture manufacturer offers any possible type of furniture piece with the same design, no one dictates you have to have them all. Designers almost never take a so called “bedroom suite” and stuff it in a room. They mostly take time and judgment and select single pieces that they combine for a visual interesting look. The reason those professionally designed rooms look so great is that the designer takes inspiration from a myriad of shapes, colors and textures and select the pieces that tell a story and set a mood. Consider a basic rule. The items you pair should unite in either of the following ways. Select them by color or material choice. You also can combine items by similar shape. If you go with something wooden, see if you can find another piece with a similar color and texture of the wood grain. If your elements have metal, seek similar metals. So if your bed has chrome feet you may want to find similar metals and perhaps don’t use nightstands with aged bronze hardware. Or you can group a number of vases that are made of different materials but show a similar shape. The elements in the space have to reference each other enough to form a somewhat coherent design without being matchy matchy. Even your nightstands can be of different shape if they are made of the same material or vice versa. It is a bit tricky and if you are not sure consult a designer to assist you with the choices. Last not least, keep in mind that if you think of buying all of the available matching options from the store, you have to have a bedroom the size of the furniture showroom. Chances are your space is not all that big. If the room is overstuffed with a huge bed, enormous nightstands and three large dressers and you live in a tiny apartment, your bedroom will be so full that there is hardly any space left to feel relaxed and welcome. Make sure you leave room to live your life. This is the space that you and your loved ones will occupy. Your house is not a museum, but a space that surrounds you and that should cater to your very own needs. One of the most important things to consider in your interior design is the room you leave open. It is essential and it is easily overlooked. No one likes a room that does not leave enough space for their own being.
Stunning design helped sell this Sanford home
Stunning design helped sell this Sanford home – What to do when your have a nice house that is as nice as two dozen others in the neighborhood, which are essentially identical copies of your house? How can you make it something that buyers crave to own? The answer to this question might be “design to sell” it. Take smart and current design principals and apply them to your cosmetic overhaul. If the house had undergone a remodel you are half way there. This beautiful two story house in a gated community in Sanford is a good example of such a design change. With the help of high end artwork and a professional staging job this house shows its full potential. This floor plan had sold a number of times in this tract build community. However, the design of this property makes it a very appealing and creates a dramatic impact to visitors. We congratulate the seller to a renovation job well done. It gave us the perfect backdrop to a strong visual transformation with modern and urban appeal. The only sad thing is that we have to undo the magic, due to its approaching closing date. Like in most staging situations, the house gets sold without the furnishings. Well it gives us opportunity to do it again. It will be another house, and the look will be new and different each time. However, we hope the feeling we create will be the same. A fresh and current design, seemingly pulled from the pages of the latest design magazine. An idea, a vision of a lifestyle to be aspired to. It should be the feeling to have arrived at a place that we looked for so long – a place we call home.
The top 5 reasons why you sell a house that is staged much quicker
The top 5 reasons why you sell a house that is staged much quicker: It sounds like a crazy idea. To sell a house one takes the effort of completely furnishing it, just for the time until a buyer is found. Then all the furniture and decoration is removed and the house gets sold without it. This concept is not an invention by the three stooges but used in many real estate transactions nationwide. Why would you want to go through the trouble and cost doing this? The reason is simple. To enhance your bottom line with the sale. Professional staging will have a few effects on your sale.
1) The first and very important benefit is that your advertising will look better. Your pictures will become more attractive and your listing will stand out very much. Buyers start their search online and most likely will look at pictures of your property well before they step foot into your home. If your house looks anything but stunning it may not make it on the showing list. Buyers frequently rule out houses they deem less attractive from the virtual representation found on real estate websites. If you don’t get the potential buyers excited from the start, you may loose them before they even have seen your house.
2) Agents are more likely to put the property on the showing tour. Staging a house signals the real estate professional that you are serious about selling. You have gone through the trouble of making the house attractive and competitive. Staged houses are more likely to be chosen and real estate professionals prefer to have a sale rather on the first viewing tour than on the fifth. So they natural select the houses that will be most likely to create a sale. After all, most Realtors are paid commissions not an hourly wage.
3) Buyers can envision the use of space. Once they enter the home it will present them with an idea how they can use the space. It gives them a reference point to room sizes and how their furniture will fit the space. Last not least it will give them the vision how they could live in the house. It creates a mental picture how they will live after the move to your home. It showcases a lifestyle they could have. A vision of holiday dinners in the fabulous dining room, moments of solitude and peaceful relaxation in the master retreat, inspiring conversations with friend or a fun playoff party. When they enter an empty house it is difficult for most people to envision how they would furnish it and live in it. The staging paves the road for their imagination.
4) Empty spaces are very difficult to judge sizewise. What makes it easier are furniture pieces who give the visitor a scale to measure the room size. How often have agents heard the words “My King size bed wont fit in here”. One will be surprised how often that assumption is wrong. Once your master suite is decked out that questions is off the table. Buyers see how furniture can be set up. It gives them a better appreciation of the space and shows how they could make the best use of it.
5) Buyers start to form an emotional bond to the property. They often fall in love with the decoration although it will not be part of the transaction (at least that is the case in most typical real estate transactions). The furniture gives the home character and ambiance and it helps the buyer to remember it from all the properties they toured. Will they remember any of the empty spaces in any of the vacant houses? The one they remember at the end of the day is the one with the large dining table where they could have the Christmas dinner. The also remember sitting on the comfortable couch while they were discussing who they would invite to the housewarming party. They also remember how they felt in the room. There was something different about this home. The reasons to decide to purchase a home were most likely quite rational: Saving money and building equity; providing stability for the family; locate to the preferred school district to benefit the children’s education, and so on. The decision which house they will purchase is often a more emotional one. The buyers most likely will buy the house that feels right. How can one argue with that.
Mirror, mirror on the wall – How a mirror reflects your style
Mirror, Mirror on the wall – How a mirror reflects your style. The question is not why to use mirrors in design but rather why not. Artwork can be very personal and specific and can add great drama to a space. A mirror can do that as well but adds also a different twist to things. A mirror can reflect light where it would be beneficial. So you can use it to highlight an area and use incoming light from an opposite wall as well as reflecting a different angle of the room. It is as you will another viewpoint of the room. So you can take a nice view out of the window and have a mirror project that in another direction. Maximize the assets if you will. The other great benefit is the versatility of a mirror. It is great to anchor a vignette with a console table and fill a wall space. When you have already enough artwork in a room but you want to fill some wall space for a balanced look a mirror is a great option to give you the visual impression you are seeking for. When designing a room you seek for the right balance between empty wall space and items to define the space and create visual interest. You can also use a mirror to mimic somewhat of a window space. There are rooms that are falling short when it comes to window space. A mirror can add that extra bit of natural light by reflecting of the existing windows and bouncing that light back into the room. When placing a mirror it is important to consider what the mirror will reflect from the most likely vantage points of the room. Ideally you want to reflect an angle that adds something to the overall design. You want the reflection to propose an attractive image of the room when you enter. So placement will be key for the successful design. After all, the mirror will be last not least a style statement, just as the other parts of your design. Make sure you have a coherent design concept that integrate the mirror as part of the overall design idea. Don’t let that any item be an afterthought but rather a piece of the puzzle. Consider color, texture and shapes when selecting the mirror. When it accents the room nicely and helps to elevate the design from great to fabulous you made the right choices. You want the design choices to look great and at the same time reflect your design identity.
How to use shine as a design element
How to use shine as a design element – Color and form are important elements that one should consider in design. But the surface textures might be as important to your final product as other aspects of your design choices. This example of a vacation home was sold sight unseen from the pictures provided. The buyer fell in love with this cheery remodel home even before setting foot in the house. Instead of the typical choice of carpet or wood floor the Orlando interior designer Helen Bonello-Strauss took high gloss porcelain tile as the floor covering to give this house some style. With 1400 sq ft this house is not the biggest in the neighborhood. So the fit and finishes had to make a lasting impact. While the bedrooms received a frieze carpet for a warm textured look, the living area, kitchen, and wet areas show a large 20″ tile with white high gloss finish. The spaces flow seamless and the contractor was able to lay the tiles in all the traffic areas without interruption or change in pattern so that no threshold would interrupt the flow. The grout lines in a matching white were tiny with 1/16 of an inch and almost disappear. The reflective surface makes the light bounces of and gives you some mirrored effect, opening the space and offering a clean fresh look. The maintenance aspect of this floor is undeniable. Easy to wipe down and hard wearing, these floors are deemed to last. The house quickly found its use as a vacation home, that is rented out during the time the owners don’t have use for it. The durable floor itself helps to curb maintenance efforts and cost. The contemporary style with the oversized comfortable furnishings deliver the promise of a relaxing time in stylish surroundings. Who would not want to stay in such a place? You want your house to shine in all it glory? You may want to consider a smooth move. Even if it means for you subscribe to a high gloss lifestyle.