Kates Home Staging Interior Design Blog for Rockland County NY & Bergen County NJ

2010 Color Trends - What Color Should I Paint My Walls?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:06:00 -0700

Well, according to www.decoratorsecrets.com, the color for 2010 is YELLOW. Yellow is the color that makes us think of warm sunshine and bright happy spring days. Yellow is a primary color, one of three primary colors and when mixed the primary colors will make up the basis for the other colors in the spectrum.

Light lavender is another color being recommended for bedrooms. Since purple is often associated with royalty this may be a "trick" to try and help all of us in this slow economy feel better when we go to sleep in our purple bedroom.

Gray has made it on the list again. I am pretty sure, I saw this mentioned last year somewhere also as a new neutral color to try and replace the beige color that has been around forever. Most people still prefer beige, it tends to blend better with wood furniture and greenery.

Another one of my favorite sites for color advice is MyPerfectColor.com and this site reports Benjamin Moore HC-35 Powell Buff as the top selling paint.

This color certainly looks like a beige to me!

Going with the latest color trend is never really the best advice when you are staging a home. Since most home owners paint their walls every five to ten years (my opinion), you need to make sure when you suggest a wall paint color that your client can live with this color for the next 5 years.

Before you pick a wall paint color, there are a few thing to consider:

1.) The size of the room. In a smaller room, you will want to go with a lighter wall color to make the wall appear to recede.

2.) The amount of natural light in the room. Sunlight is reflective, so a room with six very large windows may need a paint color that is a little darker.

3.) The ceiling. I like to paint ceilings a lighter shade of paint as the walls as long as the room is large enough to support an added design element such as this.

4.) The style of the furniture in the room you are painting. The wall paint color needs to complement your decor.

5.) The adjoining rooms. The wall paint color needs to also complement the paint in the adjoining room, this is how you create a well put together home.

6.) The taste of your home owner - if this is an interior design job. If your home owner is planning on living in this home for the next 10 years, she/he can basically paint the walls any color they want to. Remember, an interior design job is completely different that a staging job and should be based on the home owner's unique taste's.

When in doubt of the color you want to select, you should paint color boards and look at them during different times of the day and in different lights. I recommend NEVER to paint directly on a client's wall, why leave a mess on a client's wall when you can use a paint board. You can order small boards on the MyPerfectColor website, and use blue painters tape to secure it to the wall or ceiling.

I do not see beige going anywhere in the home staging world, it is such a nice neutral that is a better option than a stark white wall.

What are your thoughts?

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room. We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey. We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors.

Suffern NY Home for Sale

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:22:37 -0800

Will work with all Buyer's Agents to sell this home. This home is a must see and comes with all appliances. Home was renovated in 2010.

Asking Price: $399,000

Address: 11 Woodland Drive, Suffern, NY 10901

Call owner at (845) 213-8522 for showing and questions.

Sq. Footage: 1,600

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2

Extremely well maintained home with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, finished basement, fireplace, central air, detached garage/workshp with electric, large deck for entertaining, wood floors, new 3 zone gas baseboard heat, central station security system, all appliances included (most come with warranties), parking for 6 cars, and more.

Greenwood Lake NY - Home For Sale

Mon, 23 May 2011 14:12:59 -0700

Will work with all Buyer's Agents to sell this home. This home is a must see and has been completely renovated. Asking Price: $209,900, comes with a Home Warranty.

MLS: 508516
Square Footage: 787

Everything is new, septic and roof are only three years old, cement patio was just redone, all windows replaced, heating system (natural gas) was upgraded, 200 amp electrical, all wood floors and cermic tile, level fenced yard, detached garage and workshop, master bedroom was enlarged, bathroom was completely renovated and has a large tub and linen closet, custom molding, high ceilings, all window treatments will stay, parking for 6+ cars, covered mahogony front porch, granite countertops, detached garage with workshop, and lake rights.

Please call Kathryn at 845-538-3623 to view this home

Address: 6 Elm Street, Greenwood Lake, NY 10925

Take a virtual tour of this home:

Rockland County Home Staging Advice - Paint is a Great Tool!

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:43:39 -0800

Paint is a very inexpensive way to modernize a room. Paint is a decorator's best kept secret.

By choosing more modern paint colors, a room can be transformed.

Here is a picture of a dining room before it was repainted.

Here is an after picture of the same room:

The new wall colors are also accented in the area rug. Adding the chair rail gave this formal Dining Room a more sophisticated look.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves Rockland County, New York and BergenCounty, New Jersey. We offer Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams color consulations and home decorating services. Call Kate at 845-538-3623 to setup your design consultation.

Home Staging Advice - Bathroom Make-over for Less than $100

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:28:26 -0800

Bathroom are usually overlooked when it comes to home staging.

To have a big impact, it is usually the simple changes that can have a huge impact.

First, it is extrememly important that your bathroom be sparkling clean and that all personal items are put away.

Second, fresh towels can make a great first impression and can tie together the color in a bathroom.

Third, paint is always a great way to improve the look of any bathroom.

Here is the Bathroom Before

Here is the Bathroom After

By removing the clutter, painting the walls a more neutral color, and a few well placed accessories, this bathroom has been transformed.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign, we serve Rockland County and Orange County, New York and northern New Jersey. Call Kate to setup your design consultation at 845-538-3623. www.kateshomestaging.com

New Jersey Home Staging Advice - Picking the Right Paint Color!

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:54:55 -0700

Ever walk into a room and it feels very dark and uninviting?

How would a potential home buyer feel in this room?

If you are trying to sell your home, the wall paint color can really transform the entire feel of the space.

Color invokes emotions in almost everyone.

Here is an example of a bedroom before a color consultation:

Here is the same bedroom after the color consultation:

This bedroom is using the same bedding as the first picture. Only a few items to the left of the bed were removed and the walls were painted a much brighter color.

If you are planning on selling your home and are not happy with some of the wall paint colors in your home, a professional home stager can help. We will show up at your home with large paint chips and help you decide on the best colors for each room.

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves the Rockland County, Orange County, Bergen County, and Passaic County. We offer Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams color consultations in your home. Please call us at 845-538-3623 to schedule your color consultation today.

New York Home Staging - Some Simple Fixes Make all the Difference!

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:38:32 -0700

In today's real estate market, it is imperative that your online home pictures really WOW any potential buyers. A certified home stager can help any home seller or Realtor sell their home quickly and for the highest dollar amount.

The latest HomeGain 2009 survey states that home staging services have a 586% return on your investment. Home staging may also be tax deductable since it falls under marketing and advertising for the sale of your home.

Here is an example of a bedroom before home staging:

Here is an example of the same room after home staging:

What a difference some fresh paint and carpeting made. We simple rotated the bed and added some fresh linens.

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign, we specialize in home staging, vacant home staging, color consultations, and interior designs. We cover the Rockland County, Orange County, Bergen County and Passaic County areas. Call us at 845-538-3623 to setup an appointment.

Zero Cost Home Staging - Remove the Clutter!

Thu, 27 May 2010 17:51:44 -0700

What impression does an overcrowded room give to a potential home buyer?

Your home is too small.
There is a lack of storage space.
The home may not have been well maintained.

Home Staging can help a potential home buyer prepare their home for sale and it can address issues such as an overcrowded room filled with too many things.

By simple removing some furniture and items, this enclosed porch as transformed.

BEFORE

AFTER

By simply re-arranging the room's existing furniture, it looks twice the size. The floral chair and ottoman was removed and the home seller has gained a beautiful porch.

Home Staging can help you transform your home and does not have to be expensive. A professional home stager is trained on how to use your existing items for the largest impact.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesignserves the Rockland County New York area, Orange County New York, and Passaic County New Jersey. To set up a home staging consultation, please call Kate at 845-538-3623 or visit www.kateshomestaging.com for more info.

Sometimes Simple Changes Have the Best Impact!

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:00:23 -0700

Home Staging can address many different issues when you are trying to sell your home. By knowing what furniture to remove and what items to eliminate, any room can be transformed. By selecting the appropriate wall paint colors, a room can go from dark and uninviting to a complete standout.

Home Staging is not expensive and is considered a less expensive alternative to interior decorating.

Home Gain's latest survey gives home staging a 586% return on investment.

The typical home staging consultation in Rockland County, New York will run about $250 - $300.

The cost of home staging is always less than your home's first price reduction.

Here is an example of a Living Room before the home staging consultation:

Here is the same Living Room after:

By simply removing the sofa table and all the items resting on it, the view into the Kitchen appears much larger. By clearing off the Kitchen counters, the Kitchen appears much neater and cleaner.

The above picture is an example of the difference a simple Home Staging Consultation can make.

Kate ~ Kate's Home Staging and Redesign

If you are planning on selling your home in Rockland County, NY or Orange County, NY please contact Kate for a home staging consultation which includes a customized Action Plan and complementary paint color consultation. Call Kate at 845-538-3623 or visit www.kateshomestaging.com for more info.

Home Staging Advice: How to Transform a Dining Room Quickly Without Buying Anything!

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:14:10 -0800

Recently, I was called in by one of my Realtor partners for a Home Staging Consultation and to create a customized Home Staging Action Report. The home sellers decided to implement my Home Staging Action Report on their own and called in some movers to help them move some of their heavy furniture out to their PODs container.

When you walk into the home's Entry Way, you are greeted by the Dining Room on the right side. The Dining Room was a great size, but as you can see from the "before" picture the entire room was being overpowered by extremely large furniture.

My suggestions were to removed the following items from this Dining Room:

The large china cabinet
The wine rack
All the additional table leaves
Two of the chairs without the arms
The area rug
All the items on the top of the side cabinet

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign further suggested the following changes:

The side cabinet be relocated to the longest wall.
A painting be hung over this cabinet (a painting was moved from another wall in this room).
Wine bottles could be placed on one side of the cabinet as an accessory.
A long thin accessory item should be placed under the picture (candles were taken from another room).
The tall faux plant was already in this room and it was recommended that it remain.
The red vase in this room could be used as a Dining Room table centerpiece with flowers.

Here are two "after" pictures, I think the home sellers really did a great job following through the suggestions...

The hard wood floors look amazing and this architectural detail was completely hidden before with all the furniture that was in the room. I also really like how much larger the room looks once the Dining Table additional leaves were removed. In my opinion, seating for 6 is plenty when you are showing your home. The home sellers did not do anything to their wood floors, the floors happen to be in perfect condition.

Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesignis an interior design and home staging company that serves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York and Passaic County of New Jersey. We specialize in home decorating, color consultations, vacant home staging, home staging, Realtor educational seminars, interior redesign, and home decor discounts. Please contact Kate to schedule your design consultation at 845-538-3623 or visit www.kateshomestaging.com. Every Home Staging Consultation includes a complete Home Staging Action Report!

Using Feng Shui to Correctly Prepare Your Home for Sale

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:20:45 -0800

Using Feng Shui to attract more potential home buyers is a fantastic idea. When you start to look at the Feng Shui recommendations, you will see that some of them are identical to what you may be doing already to prepare your client's homes for sale. Feng Shui does recommend de-cluttering, depersonalizing, cleaning, repairing, and then implementing the 5 elements (water, wood, fire, earth, and metal).

Here is a Feng Shui 5 Element Cheat Sheet for preparing your homes for sale:

Elements

Colors

Objects to Use

Shape

Water

Blue

Black

Mirrors

Glass

Wavy lines

Wood

Green

Wood Furniture

Hard wood floors

Columns

Vertical growing plants

Fire

Red

Candles

Fireplace

Triangle

Earth

Yellow

Orange

Brown

Brick

Stone

Square

Metal

White

Gray

Silver

Gold

Lamps

Appliances

Circle

Each element needs to be represented in every room but not equally in every room. In the United Stated, most rooms tend to be dominated by the wood element and are missing the fire element. An element should be brought into a room to increase balance. The fire element can be brought into a room through the additional of a red pillow.

The goal of Feng Shui is to make sure chi or energy flows smoothly. This is very important if you are trying to sell your home. By using Feng Shui we want to attract the potential buyer from the external curb and once they are inside the home we want them to feel so comfortable they want to stay. Feng Shui considers all five senses and wanting to create an emotional response to the home's environment from the potential buyer. The walk from your car to the front door is also very important and needs to be maintained. During this timeframe we are aiming to capture the buyer's interest in the property and the front door (mouth of chi) should be a dramatic focal point. Great colors to paint a front door are black or dark brown, this will definitely draw the buyer's eye in to the front door. The welcome mat should be a semi-circle on the outside of the home. Once inside, the entry way is the most important room since a buyer will decide in under a minute on whether or not they will buy your home. The entry way is also the last part of the home the potential buyers will see. It is always a good idea to have a mirror in the entry way (but pay close attention to what is being reflected, do not point it towards the door) and no sharp furniture pointing towards the front door.

Using a Baqua Map and aligning it with the home's front door will help you identify the various centers of your room.

Wealth/Prosperity

Fame

Marriage/Relationships

Family

Health

Creativity/Children

Wisdom

Career

Helpful People/Travel

Approximately 75-80% of the home's front door will enter through the Career center. The Helpful People room will be the room most buyer's go into after the front door. The Wealth center definitely needs a tall green vertical plant. Your business cards should go into the Career center. In the Marriage/Relationships center you need to show pairs, it could be pairs of decorative pillows or even pairs of lights on either side of the bed. According the Feng Shui there really is no good place for a bathroom, so please leave the toilet lids closed and the door to the bathroom closed. Remove all your personal items from view also. A mirror facing a bed is also not recommended in Feng Shui, it possible you should eliminate any mirrors in the master bedroom.

To sell your home quickly, you need to address the Wealth, Fame, Marriage, Career, and Relationship areas of your home.

- Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room. We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey and Rockland County and Orange County of New York, basically the lower Hudson Valley. We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors, a member of RESA, ASHSR.

Home Staging Tips to Create External Curb Appeal

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:02:33 -0800

External curb appeal is very important when you are planning on selling your home. Your yard should appear as if it takes care of itself. Over 85% of potential home buyers are starting their search for a new home on the Internet. After a home buyer looks online they are going to drive by your property and take a look at the external curb appeal.

Here are some home staging tips for the outside of your home:

1. You should be able to see the front door clearly from the street. Please trim any trees or bushes that are blocking the front door.

2. All your trees in the front yard need to be trimmed and fresh mulch needs to be put down in all your planter beds.

3. There should be no weeds growing out of your planter or flower beds, please remove them.

4. Your grass needs to be cut and edged along all the walkways and the driveway.

5. All external lighting fixtures need to be in working order and have the highest wattage bulb installed in them. There needs to be a light left on at night to show the house number and your front door area.

6. All trash, toys, and debris should not be visible from the street. We certainly do not want to turn off any potential buyers in this market.

7. Any fencing needs to be painted or powerwashed, so it will appear clean and new.

8. If the driveway or walkway has any stains, please powerwash them to remove any unsightly stains or spots.

9. During winter months, always clear walkways and the driveway as soon as possible.

10. During summer months, always have planters with flowers on either sides of the front door to frame the door and draw the attantion in from the street.

Good luck with your home sale.

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign now sells semi-custom window coverings at discount prices. Our window coverings include roman shades, Levolor and Dynasty blinds, faux wood blinds, bamboo blinds, woven wood blinds, cornices, valances, sheers, and drapes. Our roman shades can be ordered in 100% pure silk, linen, cotton, or designer fabric. We also offer Benjamin Moore color consultations and test color boards, interior decorating, home staging, and redesign. Please visit http://www.kateshomestaging.com for more info or call 845-538-3623. All window covering appointments include a free 30 minute design consultation for the same room. We serve Passaic County and Bergen County of New Jersey and Rockland County and Orange County of New York, basically the lower Hudson Valley. We are an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors, a member of RESA, ASHSR.

Feng Shui Advice: Mirrors in Your Bedroom - Is This Bad Feng Shui?

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:34:53 -0800

Mirrors are a Feng Shui chi enhancement because this object can activate and circulate chi throughout your home. A well placed mirror can bring light into a dark area, reflect something beautiful, visually enlarge a small space, and provide s sense of safety. Since mirrors activate chi, their placement is always a good idea in your home office, kitchen, living room, or family room.

Your bedroom is a place for relaxation and reflection. Mirrors can activate energy in your bedroom, which can influence your sleep. The larger the mirror is, the more it will negatively influence your sleep. Closet doors with mirrors are considered a problem and should be covered with a curtain that can be closed at night and opened during the day. Another option for the mirrored closet doors would be to replace them with a wooden door.

Mirrors on top of dressers are another problem in bedrooms. A simple solution would be to drape these mirrors with fabric during the night to ensure your sleep is not disturbed. According to Western Feng Shui, the only time a small mirror is permitted in the bedroom is when the door cannot be seen from the bed. All other mirrors should be avoided in the bedroom.

When selecting a mirror (for your living room, kitchen, bathroom) it is important to ensure the mirror will reflect entire images. For example, if you have a dressing mirror that chops your head it could affect how you feel about yourself negatively. Also, it is best to avoid mirrors that are broken up with decorative bevels. Mirrors should never be placed directly across from each other, this creates an endless reflection which can be very confusing.

So, if you are having trouble sleeping in your bedroom perhaps it is the active chi in your mirrors keeping you up at night. Covering your bedroom mirrors with fabric for a few nights may be worth trying to see how much better you are able to sleep.

Kate, Kate's Home Staging and Redesign, we specialize in home staging, interior redesign, home decorating, color consultations, home decor discounts, crown molding installations, and more. Call Kate to schedule your design appointment at 845-538-3623 or visit www.kateshomestaging.com

Great Website for Home Staging and Interior Design Ideas (& Discounts)!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:28:02 -0800

Part of being a good home stager or interior designer, is being able to come up with fresh and new ideas for all the homes you visit and redesign. The underlying interior design principles are the same, but if we redesigned every home the same our business certainly would not grow and our phone certainly would not ring.

This is a great website - http://www.catalogs.com/home-decor.html- that connects you to online catalogs that focus on art, lighting, home decor, rugs, home improvements, and even gardening.

From the Home Decor section, you can link to the Home Decorators Collection website and sign up for their print catalog (once you reach their website). This is a great catalog and has everything from rugs, furniture, accessories, lights, etc... You can order items from this catalog and pay with your Home Depot credit card.

Lamp Plus is another great catalog to sign up for, you will save up to 120% off retail pricing if you sign up for the Lamps Plus Professional (I just signed up). I also like the fantastic lighting ideas contained on the website and their catalog.

Most of the links off the main Catalogs.com webpage also have discount codes, you can enter into the various vendor websites (e.g., Touch of Class, Brylan Home, Bliss Living Home) to save additional money. Some of the websites, you will need to dig to find the free print catalog sign up but the free ideas are well worth it.

Here's to saving money!!!

-Kate

Kate's Home Staging and Redesign serves the Rockland County and Orange County area of New York, Bergen County and Passaic County of New Jersey. Kate is an affiliate member of the Passaic County of Realtors. Kate's Home Staging and Redesign is now offering Full Digital Services to sell your home quickly. In other words, we will bring in the accessories, we will stage your home, we will re-take all the digital pictures, and then we will load these pictures into a virtual show to help sell your home. The virtual show is being offered to all our clients FREE of CHARGE to help SELL your home.

Does The Average Home Owner Know When To Call In a Home Stager?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:59:05 -0800

With all the HGTV shows ~ such as Spice Kitchen, Get It Sold, The Stagers ~ does the average home owner know when to call in a professional home stager?

Or does the average home owner think home staging is nothing more than packing away some personal items, putting lemons down the garbage disposal, and lighting some candles?

Well, if home staging is done correctly it will be all the above and so much more! Home staging is a relatively new concept in many areas of the county and it is still misunderstood.

Home staging is the process of de-personalizing a home and making it "buyer ready" so it appeals to the largest potential buyer audience possible using proven design techniques that highlight the home's best architectural features. Home staging, also know as real estate staging, is not home decorating but rather an art that utilizes a home owners existing furniture, lighting, and art work to draw a potential buyers eye to the positive aspects of your home.

With the average home buyer being between the ages of 30 to 48 and expecting a "move-in" ready home, home staging is no longer a luxury and is a necessity in this economy. 94% of potential home buyers are turning to the Internet first to search for a home; here again home staging needs to be done prior to the home's digital pictures are posted online for everyone to see. 94% is an extremely high number and home staging really should be left to the professionals so an optimal result is achieved.

So, does a home owner know the right time to call in a professional home stager?

Well, the wrong time is when your home has been sitting on the real estate market for six months and your Realtor has suggested you lower your asking price.

The wrong time is after your home's pictures have been posted on the Internet MLS and you are not receiving any responses from potential buyers.

No one gets a second chance to make a first impression and when you are talking about real estate, the only way to generate new interest in your home is to drop your price to attract a different group of potential buyers.

The right time to call in a professional home stager is before you place your home's pictures online!

A professional home stager can perform a home staging consultation, create a customized Action Report, and then help you implement all the required changes to ensure your home will show well online and at its' current location. Your online presence is very critical in your home's real estate marketing.

Three things sell a home in today's real estate market:

1.) Price - the price of your home.

2.) Location

3.) Presentation - this is where professional home staging comes in.

Before you sell your home, a professional home stager can tell you how to invest your resources so your home shows well and stands out against the competition. The latest statistics show that over 80% of Realtors believe in or recommend home staging. This is a win-win for everyone.

-Kate