Donna Dazzo Home Stager in the Hamptons & New York

When I am staging a home for sale, area rugs serve many functions in a room:

• Defining the area, for example, a seating or dining area in a large room
• Adding pops of color to an otherwise neutral room
• Toning down a room that has strong and bright colored furniture
• Adding texture to a neutral colored space

When I am doing an interior redesign, in addition to the above, area rugs also:

• Provide comfort underfoot
• Provide physical warmth underfoot
• Absorb the sound in a room

Area rugs come in these common sizes:

• 5' x 8'
• 6' x 9'
• 8' x 10', 8' x 11'
• 9' x 12'
• 12' x 15'

Here are some tips when buying an area rug:

• If you anticipate lots of traffic and wear and tear, select a patterned rug which will show stains less than a solid rug.
• Also, a wool rug is easier to clean than a non-wool rug.
• The shape of the rug should mirror the furniture or the room size. For example, a rectangular dining table should have a rectangular rug underneath. But a round dining table should have a round rug under it.

• In a very large room, you can have multiple area rugs, but make sure they complement and coordinate with each other. They don't have to be identical, and ideally, we wouldn't want them to be.
• The area rug should take up 2/3 to 3/4 of the floor space of an area with no furniture on the rug, for example, the foyer pictured below. Otherwise the rug will look lost. However, a small rug right in front of the entry door would be acceptable.

• Don't cover the entire floor with an area rug - leave 9 to 12 inches of the floor around the edges of the rug exposed.
• While some designers feel that area rugs on a carpet are a no-no, others say it's okay to do so.
• I prefer to start with the color of the sofa before choosing a rug to complement it. Others start with the rug first, and then choose the sofa.
• Don't use busy rugs with large patterns with a sofa or bedding that has large patterns.
• Use non-skid pads when needed to prevent slips and accidents. The pad should be a few inches smaller than the rug.

• There's always been a debate about furniture on and off the rug, but here is some guidance:
• At least the front legs of the furniture should be on the rug
• All of the furniture's legs should be on the rug, ideally, if the rug is large enough.
• Avoid placing the rug so that the traffic pattern would have people walking with one foot on the rug and the other foot on the bare floor. And avoid placing the corner of a rug in front of a door as people may trip.
• In a dining room, make sure that the rug is large enough that, when a person is backing out of their chair, the back legs of the chair are still on the rug. You can use 24 inches from the edge of the table to the edge of the rug as a guide.

• Be aware that in rooms with direct sunlight and hardwood floors, the area rug will create an outline when the floor color changes as a result of the sunlight. Also, sunlight can fade a rug, particularly oriental rugs.
• Also be aware of electrical outlets and vents in floors as well as the placement of rugs near doors which may not clear the rug.
• In a bedroom, at least two sides of the bed should have the same amount of rug showing.

If you have any other tips about the purchase, placement or care of area rugs, please share them.

© Copyright 2011 Designed to Appeal, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Many of us like to be surrounded by photos of our family and beautiful pieces of artwork, but are afraid we are going to "make a mistake" when hanging them on the wall. Or worse, some of us don't even know that the pictures are not hung properly. For you and others to get the most appreciation out of your pictures, here are some helpful tips on how high a picture should be hung to how to hang a group of pictures:

• Generally, pictures should be hung at eye level, but whose eye level? Hang it so that the center of the picture is at 5'8" to 5'10".

• The height at which it should be hung should relate to the height of the furniture (and the objects on it) and not be hung too high. Otherwise the artwork will look as if it's floating. Hanging artwork too high is one of the most common mistakes made.

• The width of a piece of art or group of pictures should be a minimum of 2/3 the length of the piece of furniture it is hanging over, and should not be wider than the width of the furniture it is hanging over.

• The size of the piece of art or group of artwork should relate to the size of the wall on which it is hung.

• If hanging two or more pictures next to each other, the ideal spacing is 3 to 4 inches between them but no more than 8 inches.
• Use a laser level to make it easier to hang pieces side by side evenly. A laser level, which can be found in national chains such as Home Depot or Lowe's, is placed against the wall. It emits a red laser beam along the wall so that you can find the spot to place your hook or nail, once the liquid in the bubble is at its level position.
• While a laser level makes things easier, make sure that the pair of same-sized frames have their hooks and/or wires in the same spot. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. If they don't, then use the laser level to make sure the top of the frames are aligned, then measure down from the top of each frame to determine where you should place the nail or hook.

• If hanging a group of pictures of different sizes, lay them out on the floor first for the optimal arrangement. There aren't any rules here, but the arrangement should appear cohesive and balanced. You can also trace the arrangement on a very large piece of paper and then hang the paper on the wall as a guide for placement.
• Use the proper hardware for the type of wall (e.g., sheetrock vs plaster) and the weight of the picture.
• Use adhesive anchors like ZotsTM on the back of each corner of the frame to ensure that the picture doesn't move.

• If you are staging your home for sale, it is best to stay away from nudes or other artwork that might offend a potential buyer in the target market.

• Use art to bring some color into an otherwise neutral room. Or if you are afraid to use too much of a bold color in larger pieces in the room such as bedding or the fabric of a sofa, you can still add this bold color to the room through artwork.
• If hanging art on a wall with busy wallpaper, make sure they art you have chosen has a simple pattern and/or lots of white.
• The pictures in a room should relate to one another in style. For example, traditional botanical prints and abstract paintings don't really go well in the same room.
• Placing art vertically can add the illusion of height to a room. Same with placing art horizontally: it can serve to widen the room.

• A single large piece of art can have more impact and draw your eye to the focal point of a room more than a grouping of pictures.
• When hanging a group of pictures on the wall of a staircase, hang them diagonally next to each other. Once you find the optimal placement for one of them, increase/decrease the height of the next one by the height of the step.

Note: All photos are from Designd to Appeal's stagings of homes for sale.

© Copyright 2011 Designed to Appeal, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author: Donna Dazzo is president and owner of Designed to Appeal, a home staging company serving New York City and the Hamptons. Designed to Appeal helps homeowners and real estate agents sell homes quickly and profitably, by expertly creating an environment that buyers want to live in. Designed to Appeal also helps homeowners not looking to sell with interior redesign, which involves using mostly what the homeowner already has. Donna writes frequently on home staging and interior decorating and design topics.

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Recently I attended a Color and Lighting seminar for the trade at the Benjamin Moore showroom here in New York City, one of only three of their showrooms across the nation. As a home stager and interior redesigner, I often recommend paint colors to homeowners looking to "stage to sell" or "design to dwell", so I was anxious to learn as much as I could.

The two speakers were a Color Engineer and the Associate Manager of Color Design.

The purpose of their presentation was to focus on how artificial lighting, as opposed to natural light, affects paint color. Natural light definitely affects the way a color on the wall is viewed. The color will look differently at various times of the day, and the exposure of the room, i.e., north, south, west and east, will also affect our perception of the color. That is why it's important to paint a small swatch of color on the wall, and then view it at various times of the day before making a color choice.

Here are some interesting tips I learned from their presentations:

•· When choosing a color, paint a small swatch against a gray surface.

•· Look at a color vertically against the wall, not horizontally in your hand.

•· Two colors that may appear to match in one light source may not match under another light source. This is known as metamerism.

•· Look for a Light Reflective Value (LRV) of 50% or more in paint to be used for residential interiors. LRV is the amount of light reflected from a painted surface (0% is the blackest black and 100% is the whitest white). The LRV for Benjamin Moore paint colors is listed in the index at the back of the Benjamin Moore "fan decks" (available through your paint store or design professional).

•· When choosing a light bulb, try to get a Color Ranking Index (CRI) of 80% to 85% in order to show true and saturated colors.

•· Incandescent light bulbs have a CRI of 100% but unfortunately will be phased out of production by 2014.

•· Halogen light bulbs have the next highest CRI but they too will probably go the way of incandescent bulbs.

•· Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs have a lower quality of CRI - 75%.

•· LEDs are the newest form of lighting but have a very low CRI. However, they are great for outdoor lighting.

Copyright 2011 Designed to Appeal, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author: Donna Dazzo is president and owner of Designed to Appeal, a home staging company serving New York City and the Hamptons. Designed to Appeal helps homeowners and real estate agents sell homes quickly and profitably, by expertly creating an environment that buyers want to live in. Designed to Appeal also helps homeowners not looking to sell with interior redesign, which involves using mostly what the homeowner already has. Donna writes frequently on home staging and interior decorating and design topics.

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Did you know that home staging is all about "lifestyle merchandising"? Yes, when you are selling your home, you are actually merchandising a lifestyle to potential buyers.

Recently I graduated from an advanced staging course given by Staging and Redesign and Matthew Finlason, host of HGTV's "The Stagers". It was an intense, two-day course attended by only a handful of New York City area home stagers.

What I learned will be put to good use and will differentiate me from most of the other stagers out there:

• Casting a "wide net" with staging in order to attract the broad range of buyers is a thing of the past.

• Crafting a "perfect lure" to attract the right buyer with staging represents a paradigm shift.
• While it's fine to neutralize a home of its occupant's personality, don't sterilize it.
• Home staging is now known as Target Staging.
• Before you stage, it's important to first learn the demographics of the potential buyer (age, income, marital status, etc.).
• It's also important to focus on the psychographics of the buyer (the industry they're in, their leisure time activities and interests, the profile of retailers in the area which will be an indicator of the profile of the residents).
• Stage this buyer's dream house with colors, shapes, textures, objects and artwork that will make them emotionally connect with the space.

• Stage in order to "tell stories" based upon the buyer's profile.

• Staging is "lifestyle merchandising" and "dialing in the buyer".
• Stage to create a life that buyers can aspire to and relate to.
• Stage so that your company aesthetic shines through, but that every staging doesn't look like every other staging you do or others do.

© Copyright 2011 Designed to Appeal, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author: Donna Dazzo is president and owner of Designed to Appeal, a home staging company serving New York City and the Hamptons. Designed to Appeal helps homeowners and real estate agents sell homes quickly and profitably, by expertly creating an environment that buyers want to live in. Designed to Appeal also helps homeowners not looking to sell with interior redesign, which involves using mostly what the homeowner already has. Donna writes frequently on home staging and interior decorating and design topics.

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So you've had a professional home stager come to your home that's for sale and you've implemented everything that he or she recommended to get your home sold fast and for top dollar.

You've removed your family photos so that buyers can imagine themselves living there rather than feeling they are encroaching on your private space.

You've decluttered and have discarded, donated, given away or stored off-season clothing, extra furniture, toys, files, papers, books, magazines and other items so that buyers will feel like there's adequate storage in your home.

You've organized your kitchen cabinets and closets so that buyers will get the impression that you are a homeowner who really takes care of the home.

But now what?  You're thinking "We live here.  How can our home possibly continue to look like it's show-ready all the time?"

Well, relax, it doesn't have to look show-ready ALL the time, but there are some things you can easily implement so that you can become show-ready at the last minute.

• Now that you've pared down to what is necessary for living in your home for the next few months, this is not the time to be buying more toys and kitchen and electronic gadgets, etc.

• Don't shove everything you don't want to be visible into kitchen cabinets and closets at the last minute.  Buyers will open every drawer and door unless it's a piece of furniture.  Remember, we want buyers to think that there is adequate storage and you are an organized homeowner.
• Purchase a basket or box with a lid that you can put keys, today's mail, bills, calendars, unread newspapers, etc. into and keep it in an out-of-the way place such as a shelf in a closet, or in an appropriate place, like on a desk.  Besides eliminating a cluttered appearance, doing this will also protect your privacy.

• Buyers don't want to see your toiletries or hairdryer on the sink vanity in the bathroom.  If you don't have a closed cabinet under the sink in which to store these, purchase baskets to store these items.

• Buyers also don't want to see your half-used bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and soap bars in the shower or bathtub.  Think "hotel".  Would you want to check into a hotel room and find that? Purchase one or two of those plastic or metal shower totes with a handle so that you can easily put all of these items into it and store away under the sink or in a linen closet.
• Your home stager most likely recommended that nice, new and fluffy towels be displayed during showings (remember, think "hotel"). So, you have two options:

                      - Keep the "nice" towels, neatly folded, on the towel bars, and hang your towels on a hook or hooks on the back of the door. Remove the latter and put in the washing machine or laundry bin prior to a showing.

                     - Fold the "nice" towels neatly and then roll them up.  Store them in a linen closet or under the sink.  Then prior to the showing, remove your daily towels from the towels bars; then unroll and hang up the display towels.

• Since children only play with probably 20% of their toys, and you've pared them down (the toys not the children) at the suggestion of your home stager, make sure you have storage bins or chests in which to put these items.  They make for a much neater appearance.

• Whether you're selling your home yourself, or have enlisted a real estate agent, pets and all evidence of pets, need to be removed before a showing. Not every buyer is a pet lover, and some are allergic to pets, so for these and other reasons, take the pet and food bowls, leashes, beds, litter box, toys, cages, etc with you if possible or bring to a neighbor's, friend's or family members' home while yours is being shown. 
• If you make the beds and fluff up the pillows every day, you don't have to scramble at the last minute in case you get a call that someone wants to see your house.
• If you and your family get in the habit of putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher immediately after using them, this makes for a much quicker last minute clean up of the kitchen.
• Another suggestion is to take a laundry basket and walk through the home and put everything in there that you don't have room to store away.  This works best for a home in the suburbs rather than for a city apartment. The laundry basket can be stored in the basement or garage.

There are many other things that should be done prior to showing your home.  Keep an open house checklist handy so that you know exactly what to do.

© Copyright 2011 Designed to Appeal, LLC.  All Rights Reserved.  

About the Author:  Donna Dazzo is president and owner of Designed to Appeal, a home staging company serving New York City and the Hamptons.  Designed to Appeal helps homeowners and real estate agents sell homes quickly and profitably, by expertly creating an environment that buyers want to live in. Designed to Appeal also helps homeowners not looking to sell with interior redesign, which involves using mostly what the homeowner already has.  Donna writes frequently on home staging and interior decorating and design topics.

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