What's Hot this Year in Home Decor? This Vancouver Home Stager went to Investigate-Part 2
WOOD AND ROOTS – Twisted, gnarled roots are all the rage this year and serve well as bases for glass coffee tables, and console tables. Their interesting shapes serve as a naturally beautiful but functional piece of art. The addition of wood also gives the eye a rest from all the shiny, sparkly accessories that are de rigueur. The combination of matte and shiny objects creates depth and interest.
NOSTALGIA – What’s old is new again. I’m transported in time when I see an old-fashioned clock or turn-of-the-century camera or compass. A jar of buttons or a tattered, block-printed book speak to me of my grandparents and all the good memories they evoke. Time was slower and simpler back then. These items make me feel good. The store, Noir, has many of these items. I love the stacks of old books on these bookshelves, coupled with a cloche, an old-fashioned typewriter, and whalebone. Placing these items in a staged home would certainly speak to home buyers on a different level.
INDUSTRIAL CHIC – Yes, industrial chic is still with us. Rustic metals, rivets, found objects from old factories – all this remains in fashion. I love the naked, hanging Edison light bulbs.
For more hot home decor trends for 2012, check out What's Hot this Year in Home Decor Part 1!
WHAT’S HOT THIS YEAR IN HOME DÉCOR? THIS VANCOUVER HOME STAGER WENT TO INVESTIGATE
We recently attending the Furniture Show in Las Vegas and viewed, first hand, cutting edge furniture and accessory trends. Here’s a little of what I found.
BLING – We were not disappointed. There was so much sparkle and bling, we could have used a pair of sunglasses! Not a problem, as I’m a huge fan of anything shiny that catches the light. This adds a bit of elegance, luxury and femininity to any décor. Silver mercury glass is still a hot commodity and looks lovely with a faux candle inside to make it glow.
UNDER THE SEA – The colour blue is very ‘au courrant’, especially soft sea foam blues, turquoise and aqua. Anything textural, such as coral, shells or sea sponges abound. Whether used in a bathroom or on a living room coffee table, combined with books and flowers, there always seems to be a place for sea-themed, textural items.
GLASS – Clear, shiny, ephemeral, see-through or cloudy, glass adds a certain fragile quality when combined with other more opaque objects and textures. Glass really takes off this year and is displayed in some amazing colours and forms. I love the glass curlicues and hanging glass chains.
MIRRORS AND OTHER REFLECTIVE SURFACES – Mirrors abound this year, but not just the “mirror, mirror on the wall” kind. Mirrors are also found on furniture, whether small side tables or complete mirrored armoires. Silver, hammered metals, and smooth, shiny metal surfaces in lamps and accessories add to the light and reflection in a room.
At Exit Stage Right, we'll be incorporating many of these 2012 trends into our home staging decor. Keeping properties for sale looking fresh and up-to-date is extremely important to buyers.
Vancouver Home Stager Attends Real Estate Staging Association Conference 2012 Las Vegas
One Conference all Vancouver Home Stagers should be attending is the RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) Conference. This important Conference brings together Stagers from across North America to exchange information, brain storm, share current trends and update skills. I was very excited to attend my 3rd RESA Conference and thought I'd share a few special moments.
Although the Conference is held at the Treasure Island Hotel, I have a special place in my heart for the Venetian Hotel across the road, and decided to hang my hat there for the duration.
My morning started with a quiet, zen moment by the pool at the Venetian, drinking my coffee and contemplating what was planned for the rest of the day.
The Venetian Hotel calms me. I love all the ornate ceiling ornamentation, and enjoy being serenaded in the elevators and hallways by tunes from Phantom of the Opera, and contemporary Italian ballads.
Once at the Conference, it was great to reconnect with Stagers from across Canada and the United States. We have a wonderful time catching up with our personal lives, as well as hearing how the Staging industry is clicking along in various parts of our respective countries.
From top left: Cathy Lee-CL Design Services, Lori Kim Polk-Premiere Home Staging, Janice Sutton-1st Stage Property Transformations; Jackson West-JacksonLaneWest.com, Me (Sally Weatherley, Exit Stage Right); Margaret Gehr-Chicagoland Home Staging; Lori Kim Polk-Birthday Girl!; Tori Toth-Stylish Stagers, Susan Evans-Home Suite Home Staging; Susan Evans, Lori Kim Polk, Peg Barcelo-Jackson-Fluff My House Home Staging, Me!
The RESA Conference offers wonderful, motivational speakers and industry experts. This is media darling Cathy Hobbs, sharing tips on how to leverage your way with television appearances. She was a fountain of information and gave us great insight into the media world.
The Conference is also a great platform on which to present industry awards, recognizing those individuals and companies who have excelled this year. Here is a photo of Kathy Nielsen, Georgia Interior Solutions, being honoured for a staging award. Congratulations, Kathy!
The Real Estate Staging Association Conference is something not to be missed. This Conference is too important in taking our Staging businesses to the next level, thereby serving the public to the best of our ability. After all, the name of the game is to help home owners sell their properties as painlessly and successfully as possible!
Vancouver Aquarium - Colour Inspiration for a Vancouver Home Stager
As a Vancouver Home Stager, I'm always looking for the latest colour trends and great colour combinations. The best place to find colours that work together and inspire is in nature. A recent visit to the Vancouver Aquarium opened my eyes to a whole new world of colour combinations.
These jelly fish are a real show stopper. The complimentary colours, blue and orange, create a vibrant, attention grabbing sight.
The pink, cream and brown combination here is one of my favourites. Not only are the colours beautiful, but the various textures of the soft, fluffy sea annenomes contrasted against the hard, smooth pebbles and shells in the bottom of the tank are very pleasing.
If you're not sure what colours will work together in your home, or you need some ideas and inspiration, don't go to the paint store and stare at reams and reams of meaningless paint chips. Look at nature - all your colour combination questions are answered there.
Capilano Suspension Bridge – Canyon Lights - December's Season of Celebrations & Sharing
Are you finding the holiday break a little dull? Do you need some thrills and chills? Dig deep, find your inner superhero, and get ready to traverse the Capilano Suspension Bridge – by night!
The Suspension Bridge is donned with clusters of lights, leading the way to the other side of the park, where more lights await. Granted, the bridge is a little wiggly, but that just adds to the adventure. If ignorance is bliss, then crossing this bridge in the pitch black of night solves the problem of Vertigo. You can’t really see the complete blood-curdling drop of the rapidly flowing creek beneath you.
Once you reach the other side of the Bridge, there are more “mini” swinging bridges to walk over, again magically lit with lights. Relax, have a hot chocolate, then brace yourself for the wobbly walk back on the bridge. There’s a lovely display of First Nations totem poles and artifacts lit up with Christmas lights.
Donations are welcome and will support the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund
Dates: December 2, 2011 – January 1, 2012
Times: 5pm – 10pm nightly
Location: Capilano Suspension Bridge, Capilano Road, North Vancouver-
Exit Stage Right is a home staging business, helping realtors and sellers earn the maximum amount of money for their homes for sale. Let buyers fall in love with your property - we know how.
Sally Weatherley is the owner of Exit Stage Right, home staging and redesign. She is a Canadian Certified Staging Professional, and a member of Professional Real Estate Staging. Sally also holds a Management Certificate from the Interior Design programme at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and holds a certificate in textile design from City & Guilds of London textile programme. Art and design have been constant throughout Sally's life.
Staging a home for sale is crucial to a speedy sale of your home. You only have seconds to make a great first impression with homebuyers. At Exit Stage Right, we take into consideration the demographics and psychographics of the home’s location. We like to target stage to a particular buyer. We would love to talk to you if you’re thinking of placing your home on the market.
Sally is an award-winning Stager, and was recognized by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) at the 2011 RESA Convention.
Home staging to sell your property is different from interior design. When staging your property to sell, we want to emphasise the space the home has to offer, create more attention to attractive focal points of the house, such as fireplaces or views from windows. Bringing in some fresh, exciting accessories and creating a mood that buyers fall in love with all aide in a speedy sale, for maximum amount of money. With my training as an interior designer, I take into consideration the elements and principles of design to enhance the look of your home for sale. This does not include planning expensive renovations, but simply considering t hings like colour, balance and texture, for example, when dressing your house for its first open house.
Exit Stage Right also prides itself in considering the environment when home staging. Home staging is all about re-use. We re-use your existing furniture, or advise using rental furniture, which is also re-used. We strongly recommend that any walls or furniture that need painting, are painted using zero VOC (volitile organic compound) paints. We can suggest "green" moving companies, and other environmentally friendly sources. We all want to promote a healthy, safe environment, and buyers will appreciate your steps in providing a healthy living space in which they could potentially live.
"Thank you so much for all your supreme efforts in making our apartment look so welcoming and attractive, your skill and attention to detail has resulted in our unit being head and shoulders above our competition!
We're extremely pleased with how the property has been presented to the market, you really listened to what we needed, being flexible and accommodating to our requirements yet insightful and proactive with your suggestions. The transformation seemed to take hardly any time at all, which meant that the apartment was ready for viewing very soon after our first meeting.
The unit now photographs really well, to the extent that our realtor now has our unit as his feature property ! Thanks again for all your help, it was a pleasure to work with you. We certainly look forward to asking for your assistance with our next property sale, and unreservedly recommend your services to all our friends and colleagues.
Great job thanks !"
David and Lynn Coleman"When we decided to sell our house, we knew we needed help. While the house
was beautiful, we just did not know how to showcase it. To get top dollar we needed professional help.
With Sally we got that professional help. She quickly transformed our
ordinary house into a warm and welcoming home. Rooms suddenly "worked"!,
artwork and furniture complemented each other, and colours drew out the
richness and warmth that was always there, just hidden.
Our home sold for almost full asking price in a week. We are certain that a
big part of the quick sale was the way the home was presented. We will definitely be calling Sally when we sell our next home."
Jim Morgan and Therese Cochlin" Transformation was excellent. Didn't know my house could look that great" - Brian Yip"Hi Sally,
Your dedicated services and your expertise were the major contributing factors to my fast sale.
I couldn't have done it without you. Look forward to working with you again. Thanks so much."
Jan Park, Realtor®, Prudential"Sally completed transformed my ordinary, well-lived in 2 bedroom condo to something straight out of a design magazine. It was absolutely amazing. She had her box full of tricks and set us up with wonderful accent pieces. We went from having a cluttered, typical home to having this jaw-dropping spa-like place. Her work gave it a wonderful feeling – which resulted in a quick sale. We had offers come through on the first day of showing at full asking. It sold quickly and painlessly in a slowing market where other units in my building had languished."Michelle Seidel
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