Ginger Foust-Home Stager Oakhurst CA Dream Interior Redesign & Staging Calif

Most Californians are accustomed to our "golden" landscapes from lack of precipitation. BUT when it's green, WOW it's gorgeous. Right now is the perfect time to take a drive and see the green fields, hills and mountain sides.

Take a drive up Highway 41, headed north out of Fresno and discover the beauty that our area holds.

Notice the snowcapped peaks in the background

Drive through farm lands, vineyards, pasture lands, rolling hills, and then into the Sierra Mountain Range.

Highway 41 will take you through the small town of Coarsegold and into Oakhurst where Highway 49 intersects or you can stay on Hwy 41 and drive through forests of Ponderosa Pines and Redwoods to the southern entrance to Yosemite. Be sure to get gas in the valley and/or in Oakhurst as the only other station beyond Oakhurst are in Yosemite (Wawona) and quite spendy.

Stop at one of the many restaurants or grocery stores in Oakhurst and pack a lunch to enjoy along a creek or overlook as you head north.

The fresh, crisp mountain air is invigorating and rejuvenating! Enjoy the GREEN while it lasts.

LIVE STRONG, we've all seen and/or purchased the yellow bracelets, but this week my husband and I plus thousands of others in California got to experience the AMGEN bike tour, up close and personal.

We were volunteers for the race and I got to stand in the middle of the highway to direct the bikers on a major turn from highway 49 to highway 41. The only problem was it all went by SO-O fast. When they reached Oakhurst they were all bunched up, so from start to finish it took about 4 seconds for them to pass by. The breakaways were about 10 minutes in front of the group at this point.

We'd had 15 inches of snow on the previous day and the roads in the morning were treacherous and I was sure that the bikers would be rerouted but everyone pitched-in and they followed the planned route over our highest and most icy pass.

It was truly thrilling and I'm back to wearing my bracelet again. Bravo Lance and Amgen for all that you're doing for the battle against cancer!

Just a couple of photos from my intersection:

If a similar race come to your area, do go see it. Instead of the Tour de France, we had our own Tour de California and it was great!

When preparing a home for resale, updating lighting fixtures is one of my common recommendations. I have posted many blogs about this subject to include most recently, Fluorescent Lighting Updated, Thank Goodness.

Recently a client contacted Dream Interior Redesign and Staging to help with the renovation of a guest bathroom. This house is 40 years old and as typical of homes from that era, it had recessed fluorescent lighting fixtures in the kitchen and in this bath. The photos below show this type of lighting.

This lighting is VERY common in my area and I was determined to come up with a solution that would work for almost all applications.

Simply putting in an updated fluorescent fixture wasn't an option for more than one reason.

I have no before photos of the room before demolition because the home owner had already disassembled the original "box" knowing that something new was needed, The question was WHAT?

Here is the recessed box with the original fluorescent fixtures removed.

And here is the next step in the process:

Here's a close-up shot of the crown molding inside the box.

Now I have to share this great improvement with all of my previous clients and get busy helping them with this upgrade.

Call us today if you would like the same improvement in your kitchen or baths.

Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service professional staging and redesign company serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Click here to see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Also, visit our website at www.dreamredesigns.com or www.oakhurststaging.com for more information or call 559-877-2442.

Inspired by a blog post by Maureen Bray, Sellers for a Faster Sale empty those catch all rooms and Show each rooms best use and Fernando Rosado's comment "This faux must go," I wonder how many stagers have to deal with this issue and how many seller's think it's OK today?

Having taken professional classes in faux painting techniques it's pretty easy to pick out those jobs done by pro's and those done by the homeowners. Most frequently I see sponge painted walls...quite frankly they are usually not well done. Achieving a pleasing "faux" look takes knowledge, practice, the right tools AND the right paint colors to achieve a look that isn't "in your face" faux.

Wikipedia says about faux: Faux (pronounced /ˈfoʊ/, like "foe") is a French word for false or fake. It is often used in English phrases such as faux pearls, faux fur, faux pas and faux news. To imitate marbles, porphyry, and other stones, "faux finishes" are often painted using spatterdash, sponging, and feather-streaking techniques on gessoed and painted surfaces.

This is yet another "emotional" attachment that frequently the lady of the house has done and they just don't want to paint over their very special "creations". THAT'S A MISTAKE!

Here are just two that I've recently seen:

Both of these homes had great potential for staging and making them the best they could be BUT the seller's simply refused to paint these walls. (Yes they are both still on the market.)

Paint is the least expensive way that anyone can achieve a neutral palette that will appeal to a wide range of potential buyers.

Sellers, do yourself a favor, let go of your creations and neutralize those walls. They don't have to be white but the faux must go!

Dream Interior Redesign and Staging assists sellers in making sound decisions to make their houses the best they can be in this very competitive market. We can help you with color choices and other staging decisions. Serving the mountain communities out of Fresno, Clovis and Madera, California. 559-877-2442

Making the seller's house into the buyer's DREAM home.

For most people, purchasing and owning a home is the most expensive investment they will ever make. The asking price for a house can easily be broken down into price per square foot when comparing one house to another. Every square foot of a house has a value.

This is why decluttering a house is a crucial step in the staging of a house For Sale. Potential buyer's need to see the actual square footage available and if clutter is in the way two thoughts enter the buyer's mind: 1) These seller's do not care for the things that they own and if buyers see a mess they will wonder "what about the things that cannot be seen". Are the hard-to-see mechanicals in bad shape too? 2) Buyer's see clutter as an indication that there is not enough storage in the house. True or not that's how they see it.

Be aware that buyers will look everywhere in a house on the market. Closets, cupboards and other storage places send a message to buyers about the sellers and about the house. In professional staging we encourage sellers to pack items that are not absolutely necessary for living while the house is for sale. Leave some empty space in each closet, cupboard and storage space. When the drudgery of packing gets difficult sellers need to keep in mind that this chore must be done sooner or later and anything that you do now means less work later.

Another important element in decluttering a space is neutralizing. Buyers will be distracted if your house is filled with personal collections, family photos and other artifacts that are important to you. They are in your house to find their next dream home and it's very uncomfortable for people to see how they could possibly make this house into their dream home when it is jam-packed with your memories and possessions. Your house becomes a product the minute that it hits the market and as the seller you need to detach from it personally and make that product the best that it can be. Sell the house, not your personal possessions, style or interests.

If you need help with this task or any other part of preparing a house for sale, call Ginger Foust of Dream Interior Redesign and Staging. 559-877-2442 Visit our website at www.DreamRedesigns.com for more information. We service the counties of Fresno, Madera and Mariposa.