Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating

Nope, this post isn't about a client or a home staging consultation. My husband and I have decided that it is time to put our house on the market and look to down-size. Is it going to be emotional? It sure is. Is it going to be exciting? You bet. Right now I'm going back and forth between feeling both ways. It's a new time in our lives, and one I am looking forward to.

While we just decided this past week, we have been talking about it for over a year; and what has to be done to make it market ready. We had already gotten started last year by stripping the wallpaper in the powder room and updating it a bit. I'll share those pictures in another post.

We have given ourselves a deadline of June 15^th to have everything done and ready. I plan on staging my own house, which I know might be difficult as I am emotionally involved; however, I think that with a little help from my friends I'll be able to pull it off. So far, I have been able to take a step back and look at the rooms in our home more objectively than I thought I could.

What I'd like to do is a series of posts bringing you through the process with us. Not only the emotions, but the reality. Not just the packing up of memories, but a chance to clear out the clutter and simplify. Not just removing our mark from the house, but showcasing our investment - the investment we worked so hard on these past 19 years.

I'll be posting "before" and "afters" so that you will be able to see what we've done, and know that even if you got a home staging consultation report, you could do these projects/tasks/fix-ups yourself before you put your house on the market. I want you to know that when I say, "I know exactly how you feel", I really mean it.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

A couple of months ago, I wrote this post about donating and how I decided on an organization called DonorsChoose.org. It has been my goal since I started my business that if I made some money, I would give some of it back to the community. This particular organization is for schools all across America that do not have the funds to supply, sometimes, simple learning tools for children. If you haven't read about it or would like to know more, please visit my first post on it and click on the link for the organization.

I normally do not talk about anything I do to help people. I feel that I know it, the people I help know it and God knows it - and that's good enough for me. However, because you are able to actually see where your donation has gone, to what specific learning tool it has purchased for the children, I wanted to share my experience with you. I was very touched to receive these pictures and this note from the teacher over this weekend.

I donated $124.00 for this project - teaching 1st graders how to tell time. I feel so gratified that I was able to help out; seeing the pictures brought tears to my eyes. The great thing about this is that this teacher will be able to use these materials for years to come. Actually seeing my donation being used, the children who are benefiting from it - I can't tell you how great that feels.

I hope that if you are looking for an organization to donate to, you will consider DonorsChoose.org. The project requests are reviewed before they are put "out there" and there are varying amounts that you can donate.

I've long admired your house and your renovation/purchase of this family home will work so well for you! I love the crown molding in your living room; it sets that paint color off so nicely. I love how the rooms flow into each other and you can pretty much see from the front door straight to the back. I think it's great how you set up a nice computer station in the family room. And that plasma TV, over the fireplace, I wanted to do the same thing in my house.

I love how your home office gets that light from the front windows - it must be a great room to work in. Your books look fantastic on those built in shelves and the family pictures interspersed among them break things up nicely. Yet, I've never been inside your home.

Tired of people looking through your windows because you haven't decided on window treatments yet? Tired of looking at those paper shades that you "temporarily" put up three years ago? I am a Window Fashions Certified Professional and I can help you choose window treatments that will work for your home. Custom window treatments can be fabricated and ready for installation in about four weeks.

Photo courtesy of Smith & Noble

They say that windows are the eyes to the house, but let's stop the eyes from looking through your windows and into your house!

Call Kathy Passarette of Creative Home Expressions and let us help you choose the window treatments that will not only enhance your windows, but afford you the privacy that you need. We have a wide range of fabric samples for you to choose from and can help you narrow down the choices available.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

I've started saving these little bottles and soaps that my husband brings home for me from his business trips. Instead of sticking them in the cabinet under the bathroom sink (and forgetting about them), I like to add them to bathroom stagings. These work well if I'm using a small basket with hand towels and wash clothes. I did that in this bathroom:

Here's a close up shot. In this basket I utilitzed tube-style shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

I've been wrapping the soaps in a pretty tissue paper and use one of my labels as a seal. I think it adds a nice little finishing touch to the bathrooms.

I've actually been using these little products for years in a ceramic "basket" in my spare/guest bedroom. They are the perfect size for weekend guests and, in the event they've forgotten something, they come in handy and are appreciated.

I was also thinking that if you do travel frequently, and have a lot of these, you could donate the overflow to food pantries (which sometimes also take health and beauty items).

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consults and more. For further information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

White ~ it can conjure up cool, clean, fresh, and sterile visuals. White is usually thought of as a cool or cold color. Sometimes it's thought of as no color. Hard to figure then why paint manufacturers like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams have about a hundred colors between them in the white family. Just like any other color, white can have other colors within it - blue, yellow, pink, gray, etc.

Many retailers are showing white with other colors, which can sometimes tame a wild color, tone down a bright color and look clean and fresh with natural colors. Using Pottery Barn as one example, look at how white is being used in their new offerings.

From dinnerware to bedding to outdoor seating white is a classic color that works with every other color. Vary the shades and tones, and you can have a monochromatic look that doesn't look stark or stagnant. Just as a crisp, white shirt is a staple in your wardrobe, a bit of white in your home can help to visually rest the eye from the other colors and busy-ness going on in a room. Whether it is white sheers blowing in the breeze or cool white sheets on a bed, white has its place as a color in our homes.

Copyright 2009 Kathy Passarette, Creative Home Expressions

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consults and more. For more information on our services and fees please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.