Home Staging Pennsylvania- Hart & Associates Servicing the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Are you looking for money saving design ideas to use in your decorating or home staging projects? If so, check out my latest tips for easy, budget friendly ways you can give your home a new look this year.

DECORATING SENSE FOR A NEW DECADE: 

10 TRENDS & MONEY-SAVING DESIGN TIPS TO GET THE DESIGNER LOOK FOR LESS

  

CHARLOTTE, NC (January 2010)- Staying up on trends can be expensive, but with some affordable finds and budget décor tips you can get the latest looks for your home for less.  Expert home stager and designer Kate Hartgives us her top ten trends for 2010 - and tips to affordably update your home for a whole new decade.  

  "Many of the trends in 2010 reflect the mood of today's consumers," says Hart.  "Homeowners are looking to brighten their space and their mind set, stretch their decorating dollars and make the most of the home they have." 

Here's what Kate highlights as trends and tips to take us through the new year in style:

•1.       REFURBISHED FURNISHINGS - Reclaim and restore what is old and make new again.  Tip:  Reduce, reuse and recycle are décor terms today so reupholster that  old chair, add a MirrorMate® frame to your bare mirror instead of replacing it and repaint a flea market-find dresser as opposed to buying new. 

•2.       CALMING, UPLIFTING COLORS - Create a cheery retreat with cool colors & lighter wood tones. Tip:  Use turquoise, the Pantone color of 2010, as a bold accent when paired with neutrals like black and white or use it with gray or mint green for a more subtle effect.  Replace or refinish dark woods with lighter shades of honey or a driftwood-inspired finish for a brighter, more up-to-date look.

•3.       MIRRORS & METALS - Brighten, lighten and add pop to a room with the shimmer and shine of mirrors and metals .  Tip:  Group three or more Pizzazz MirrorSquares (less than $20 each!) in Charlotte Silver Leaf behind a couch or along a wall, add a mirrored chest to a room or silver candlesticks to a mantle.  Shiny silver, brushed nickel, antique or oil-rubbed bronze remain popular metal finishes. 

•4.       MULTI-PURPOSE SPACES -Turn unused spaces into something new and useful.  Tip:  The space at the top of the stairs, the living room you never sit in, or guest room used twice a year, can do double duty as a home office, den or playroom by adding an armoire-style desk, pull out sofa bed or toy storage. 

•5.       BOLD, GRAPHIC PATTERNS - Replace timid designs with large scale patterns in one or two colors.  Tip: To perk up your living room consider recovering a chair in a new, fun print or simply add some toss  pillows to a neutral sofa in exotic patterns like bamboo or natural motifs such as asters or birds.

•6.       MIX & MATCH PIECES - Mix it up by breaking up matching sets of furniture, adding in new and unexpected pieces.  Tip:   Instead of buying a new dining room set, add new chairs to the table you already have or consider hosting a furniture swap with your friends to exchange unwanted piece.  You'll get a whole new look -for free!

•7.       NATURAL ELEMENTS -Bring the outside in and "green" your home with eco-friendly materials like bamboo and cork. Tip:  A sisal or jute area rug is an affordable way to embrace this look without adding new flooring to your room.  Add some recycled glass candle sticks or organic cotton pillows to complete the space.

•8.       LESS SHABBY, MORE CHIC - Forget the flowers and ruffles, things are looking more tailored in 2010. Tip:  Think fitted bed skirts, drapes that don't drag and throws that are neatly placed- not draped.

•9.       HOTEL DÉCOR - Bring the look and feel of the hotel home to enjoy during "staycations" and all year long.  Tip:  The bathroom and bedroom are the perfect place to start, adding furnishings with clean lines, plush white towels and a spa-like color palate. 

•10.   DIY DECORATING - Tackle those do-it-yourself projects and save money in the process. Tip:  Pick up the paint brush to refresh your wall color, break out the sewing machine to de-puddle those droopy drapes and resist the urge to spurge on new items like a mirror for your powder room.  Reframe the one you have instead with a MirrorMateframe in eco-friendly Pacifica Silver Sheen or Acadia Dove White.

"Trend number 10 is the most inspiring of all because by doing-it-yourself, almost all of these trends and tips can be achieved with little to no expense," concludes Hart.  "So many of today's trends allow you to use what you (or your friends) have, simply re-arranging or adding to it with affordable accents."

About Kate Hart

Kate Hart is a pioneer in the home staging field, having helped hundreds of families and realtors prepare homes for sale through her Philadelphia-area company, Hart & Associates Staging & Design.  Her design work and expert advice has been featured in numerous books, magazines and broadcast outlets ranging from Fine Living and CNN to Everyday with Rachael Ray and HGTV.com.  Hart was recently recognized by the Real Estate Staging Association as "Staging Professional of the Year," the industry's most prestigious award.  Kate serves as national spokesperson for the MirrorMate brand and is known for her on-trend, budget-friendly design advice.  For more on Kate Hart visit www.hartstaging.com.

In addition to providing home staging services for our clients in the Philadelphia region we also design spaces for our clients in their new homes. A recent client however was not selling her home, rather she was moving in with her fiancee and needed some help making his home into their home. I had known this client for years and was really touched when she contacted me to work on this special project. Sure, she could have moved her things in and then figured out what went where, but this busy professional knew that #1 she did not have the time, #2 she wanted to be able to entertain for the holidays and #3 she did not want to be the one to tell her fiancee what items needed to go! Sometimes we have to act as the "home therapist" and make decisions for clients!

With only 2 weeks to complete the project we approached this methodically. First we visited her home to view her furniture, next we visited his home to see the existing decor and his things, and then we interviewed them to find out what they were looking for. He wanted comfort, she wanted glam. Our solution? Create two rooms that they can use for entertaining. One room was the large living room that was centrally located, the other room was on the third floor and had access to the roof deck. This space also needed to serve as her dressing room when they were not entertaining since space was tight in this city home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To create the luxurious living/dining room in our short time frame, we kept the existing wall color and dining room furniture. We balanced the space by adding a blue sofa to the white wall. We removed cluttered bookcases and added her piano to the dining area so they could play when entertaining. We added a new seating area to the living room and some lively pops of lime green to contrast with the dark blue walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vacant third floor had a total transformation. Along one wall we constructed a closet to store her clothes and added mirrored doors to add more light to the space. Maximizing every inch of space we added a bar under the stairs to the roof deck. This space will also house a flat screen tv so they can enjoy using this room as a cozy den. Working with the existing color pallate we then purchased new seating for this space and incorporated some of her antiques and accent furniture from her home. To give it a glam look we added fabrics with sparkle and sheen and a gorgeous gilded floor lamp.

The results were stunning! Now this couple had a home that reflected both their styles and 2 new spaces to entertain. Even the dog loves it!

Every now and then I have a staging challenge that I just cannot figure out. Most homes are easy to plan- first I determine the best purpose for the space, next I come up with the design scheme and then I sort out what furniture and accessories work best for the image we are trying to convey. Sometimes however I come upon a space that puzzles me. If I cannot figure it out, how can the buyer?

Such was the case with one of my most recent staging projects in Chester County Pennsylvania:

• First there was an entry hall that had been added between the home and the garage. It was both the front and the back entrance to the home so it was the first thing buyers noticed when they came in. It had a tile floor and brick walls making it instantly feel cold.

• Next was the living room. It was open on one side to the entrance hall, the other side to the kitchen and the other side to the sun room. The fourth wall had the fireplace and built-in bookcases. Upon first glance the only obvious place to put the sofa was on the wall near the entry hall but this would make the seating area absurdly far from the fireplace.

• The kitchen was lovely but since it was open to the dining area buyers needed to see how this space would work for them.

• Finally there was the sun room. It was a gorgeous bright space overlooking lovely farmland. It had been added onto the house and it was the largest room in the home. By calling it a "sun room" buyers instantly felt like they could not enjoy it all the time and were relegated to the smaller living room or the basement.

My solution was to give more definition to the spaces in this open floor plan:

• The foyer became a mudroom and a command center for busy families.

• The living room featured a gathering place adjacent to the gourmet kitchen and  a separate home office niche.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The kitchen and dining room were made into one cohesive space by using the same color palate as the adjoining spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• The sunroom was transformed into a spacious family room that was an extension of the other living areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this home was bright and sunny I felt the typical staging neutrals (beige, brown and grey) just would not do. My vision was to infuse the home with color so that the buyer would remember how cheerful this space felt. The result? A charming and whimsical country retreat!

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors to wear however when it comes to selling a home it is not typically my go to color of choice. Last week I visited a property in Wayne Pennsylvania owned by a real estate investor that I work with and was surprised to discover that one of the units we were getting ready to sell had some really lovely teal wallpaper in the hall bathroom. Normally, this client does what ever we ask him to do to get his homes ready to sell- he replaces light fixtures, installs new carpet, regrouts the floors and stages the rooms. When I mentioned the wall paper to him he was not interested in replacing it. He had already invested a lot of money and he thought it was not really that bad... but was it?

That wallpaper gave me nightmares. My tranquil, transitional vision for this townhome was not in tune with those teal walls. Night after night I plotted how I could make those walls go away until I had an amazing idea. Instead of fighting the turquoise walls, I decided to make them work as part of the design for the home. As home staging professionals we can recommend what our clients need to do to properly present their home for sale, but no matter how persuasive we are, getting them to actually do the work is another task entirely. Suddenly I felt empowered again. This client would not change the walls, but I could change the way those walls felt. To make it all tie together I would use that teal color in all the rooms we were staging so it would not seem like such an island of color in this otherwise neutral home. We would make it look like it was supposed to be that color all along!

Below are some photos from the staging we did. The results look even better in person. From the teal front entrance door to the master bedroom spa-bath the touches of turquoise carry the buyer's eye through the space. The home seller was beyond thrilled. He even loved how the flowers in the wallpaper matched the floral art we selected. And in case you did not know, turquoise is one of the Pantone colors for 2010. It is trendy and here to stay.

 

 

If you love to decorate your home for the holidays but are stressed about overspending on expensive items, consider my money saving design tips from my recent appearance on NBC 10's Cheap Chica's Guide. These elegant ideas are fun, simple and some even cost less than $5.00!

Below is a guest blog I wrote for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors news website PAR Just Listed. If you are selling your home this holiday season, follow my advice to make sure your home is the star of the show- not your seasonal decor.

Showcase your home during the holidays

Monday, December 7, 2009 By Kate Hart

You don't have to act like the Grinch to make sure your home is show ready during the holiday season. Instead, follow these simple suggestions to showcase your home's selling features and celebrate at the same time:

Let your home be the star of the show, not your lawn ornaments.
It may be fun to pull a Clark Griswold and cover your entire roof with brightly colored Christmas lights and the front yard with giant blow up sculptures but remember that curb appeal is important and buyers will make their initial decision on whether or not to buy your home based on their first impression.  Instead, opt for simple and classic greenery and white lights. A wreath on the front door, small evergreens in urns and some garland along the fence post will keep your home festive but not overwhelm buyers.

When it comes to holiday décor, less is more.
You want buyers to appreciate the space your home offers, not your nutcracker collection that requires shoving the sofa up against the wall.  Pick one key area per room to decorate and create a focal point that will capture the buyer's eye.  In the living room add some garland to the fireplace and some seasonal colored candles. In the dining room, add a festive centerpiece and keep the sideboard streamlined. Set up your tree or menorah in the family room but forgo the additional items you normally display.  

Once the guests leave, so do the decorations.
As soon as the holidays are over, get your home back to its show ready state as soon as possible. Resist the temptation to let the stacks of gifts linger in the living room and the tree stay up past the New Year. Buyers have time off from work during the holidays and if they're shopping for a home they'll make it a priority to get out there and look- hopefully at yours!

Every Fall I dread turning the clocks back!  I hate losing day light hours and coming home after work to more and more darkness. To make your home lighter and brighter this season, consider my design ideas as featured in Better Home's and Garden's DIY Magazine. Do you have any tips for making your home lighter and brighter that you want to share?

 

When I stage a property I always like to use a pop of the same color in each room to unify spaces and add more flow to the home. I also use a pop of color to direct the buyer's eye to which selling features I want them to notice- the great fireplace, the kitchen counters, the cozy sitting area in the master bedroom. Perhaps it is the season but lately I have been loving orange and how it adds warmth and sizzle to the spaces we stage. Take a peek and try it out in your own home. Add some perky pumpkin, mellow mandarin or calming homcantaloupe to give your rooms a kick that you can enjoy all year round.

Still not convinced that you need to stage your home to prepare it for sale? Think staging only works for model homes? Take a look at our most recent staging in Malvern Pennsylvania. Located in picturesque Chester County, this gorgeous home had great selling features but needed to be fine tuned to show families how they could live there. The results? Stunning!

This weekend I was going through some photos of past home staging jobs and had a great time remembering some of the wonderful (and sometimes strange) things we had seen over the past few years. I thought it would be fun to share our first staging jobs. Below are mine:

The room I staged in my first staging class. Not bad for 45 minutes and using what you have. Notice the valance I made from a runner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first home I staged on my own- it was a woman I had never met before and she let me do it for free to use for marketing. I ran into her last weekend in a lighting store and she remembered me! She said the room is still the same!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first vacant home I staged. It sold within 2 weeks! I still have the striped urn- it cost me a fortune!