Michelle King

Another staging project where the house is dated and what we are allowed to do is limited.

I am not asking you to look at the difference between a regular camera and a wide angle lense. Just the presentability of the room. Such simple things can be done and what a difference it makes. We found the very old bedspread in the linen closet. Yes we go shopping in the home !! The navy accents were also from the linen closet.

Below is a prime example where the homeowner bought something they felt was a work of art, had no where to put it so put it in the dining room. Can you work out what I am talking about ? Yes the giant chair. We put it in the basement which is a better place for it. But homeowners often do this....get something they love and find a place to put it instead of creating a space for it. After 10 or more years it sure has an impact on the home.

Usually we put in white, all white, pure white and rich thik white shower curtains. They look clean calm. This time the bathroom needed something a little more. Looking at the old shower curtain made it obvious. So we used black. What a difference it made. dollar store art (yes 1$ each so 3$ total) plus 10$ in walmart towels and a 10$ shower curtain...this bathroom is transformed. 23$ CDN LOL

No this room was not painted. However...by putting in a new bedspread (the homeowner had bought it while in vacation but never got around to putting it on the bed) that had more of the burgundy and rusty and green accepts, by adding the art the walls no longer look pink. And if they do a bit at least now it doesn't look like an outdated bedroom. Moving the tall boy away from the door and removing the pink lace hanging light also opens up the room.

This was another fast project... doing our best in a crazy short period of time (4 hours for a 3 bedroom - 8 room house).

Homeowners and agents...it doesn't have to take a long time or cost alot to make a difference.

When you think of flipping you think of buying a property and fixing it up for resale. When Home Harmony is flipping it might well be the bedspread and curtains that get flipped. What is a girl to do when you have nothing to work with ? And too much blue ? Or too many patterns ?

Don't be shy to look underneath or at the other side of something. It may be just what you need.

Here are just a few examples. I have to admit to being shocked when the girls suggested flipping the curtains.

Don't be shy to look underneath or at the other side of something. It may be just what you need.

I have gotten past the looks we get from people when we look under their bed coverings.

What about you ? Do you flip bedding ? Curtains ? Anything else ?

If you are anything like you me you love the photos and just want to see more and more so this post is short on words and long on photos. Before and After photos of our hands on redesign staging services.

We have 5 hours and no budget to buy anything. Okay we psent 1.13$ on new plastic bathroom curtain rings. But that's it.

We had a situation where the home owners are seniors and they have to quickly move into a residence. The daughter and son-in-law had worked like mad to deal with all the personal items. They needed our help to transform the home, while the parents were out, into something marketable and as current as possible.

Check this out....

Sometimes the changes are sublte. Others are dramatic. No matter you can't argue that this was money well spent. The homeowners and the adult children could relax for the weekend and enjoy the sunny weather. The job was done. The home presents nicely.

Not bad for 5 hours of work.

We love these projects even if the results are not what we would want them to be (only possible with budgets for painting, accesories etc.) but to think we use only what they already have...not bad !!!

Tell us what you think.

This has been an amazingly beautiful weekend here in Montreal, Quebec. Warm, hot, sunny. A long weekend. The pool was opened and the kids were all swimming despite the 68f degree water.

Usually I would have been on active rain quite a bit however I just couldn't sit down and write.

And no it isn't because of the weather or having more important things to do. It is because of performance anxiety. I have had this anxiety for about a month now.

So I figured I had better sit down, write about it and move on.

At our last long weekend (must have been Easter) I sat down and wrote a blog post about bed placement and the importance it has in showing a bedroom at its best.

I was so lucky to have the post featured. I got so much traffic to my post that I was really flattered and surprised. Since then I have felt the need to perform as well. To put up a post that will be as interesting to everyone.

This is where the performance anxiety is coming from. Instead of just being able to post about home staging or real estate I am finding myself worrying about who will like it and what will they say.

On the one hand I think this isn't a good thing because I should be writing about what I want to write about. So I don't need to perform.

And yet isn't the idea to provide value to potential readers ?

So I should be concerned about performance.

hmmm

This whole SM world. Web 2.0 is about connecting with people. Building trust. Building relationships. Being ourselves. Our true selves. And it is also about providing value. Givers gain.

So many people love SM tools because they finally have an opportunity to speak and be heard. No one can be stopped from speaking and someone somewhere will want to hear them. You could be interested in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and there will be someone to connect with. Dealing with dandilions or cloud gazing. All possible topics to connect with others on.

Is there really a perceived need to provide value ? Is there value just in having something to connect on ? Or finding that one person who shares your interest.

Or should we be concerned with providing value to others. Especially in communities like ActiveRain?

Bed placement is critical to how future home buyers perceive a home. As much as possible bedding should be rich, comfortable, clean and even luxurious. Apart from the bedding and even the furniture style the placement of the bed needs to be considered. Each of these examples show what a difference simply moving the bed can make.

Homeowners should think about bed placement as much for their own use as for the selling process. Space around a bed can make the room feel lighter, happier and with more breathing room...and therefore making it a much happier bedroom to live in.

This Master bedroom didn't look very masterly. Admitedly the bedding and furniture didn't help however the bed placement blocked off the back of the room making it feel smaller with inferior movement.

For this master bedroom the bed blocked the entrance to the room. Of course you can see we changed the bedding and painted the room but the most significant impact was made by moving the bed. Now when you walk into the room you can get right in.

Again here it is obvious the camera lense is very different from the before to the after but it also shows just how small and crampt the room was in the before. We couldn't see the floor and we literally walked right into the bed. By moving the bed to the opposite wall we gained lots of room around the bed making the room feel bigger and much more interesting to a home buyer. No-one wants a bedroom they can't fit a bed into.

Not everyone would want to have the head of the bed under a window especially if it is drafty. On the other hand the after room looks much bigger with plenty of space around the bed instead of being physically and emotionally blocked from the room. Is this only a concern in cold areas like ours here in Quebec ? When living in warmer climes is it okay to put a bed under the window ? I am wondering if having beds under windows is more of a construction issue (avoiding cold drafts) or a comfort (like feng shui inspired) issue. Any thoughts fellow home stagers ?

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I do know at least one reason why so many people here in Montreal put their beds in awkward positions...many houses have the baseboard heaters or forced air vents on the same spot the bed would best be placed. Is this is the case consider moving the heater or finding a work around when you are going to live in the house. You might as well enjoy all the square footage of the bedroom. If you haven't done it before selling your home chances are you shouldn't now. Try to find a work around and put the bed in the right place. It will make a difference.

My partner Liz Gallagher is always telling me that people love pictures. Give them pictures. So I hope you liked the pictures.