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Kate Hart

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Split Personalities: A Tale of Two Clients, Two Homes and Two Rooms

02-16-10
Kate Hart

In addition to providing home staging services for our clients in the Philadelphia region we also design spaces for our clients in their new homes. A recent client however was not selling her home, rather she was moving in with her fiancee and needed some help making his home into their home. I had known this client for years and was really touched when she contacted me to work on this special project. Sure, she could have moved her things in and then figured out what went where, but this busy professional knew that #1 she did not have the time, #2 she wanted to be able to entertain for the holidays and #3 she did not want to be the one to tell her fiancee what items needed to go! Sometimes we have to act as the "home therapist" and make decisions for clients!

With only 2 weeks to complete the project we approached this methodically. First we visited her home to view her furniture, next we visited his home to see the existing decor and his things, and then we interviewed them to find out what they were looking for. He wanted comfort, she wanted glam. Our solution? Create two rooms that they can use for entertaining. One room was the large living room that was centrally located, the other room was on the third floor and had access to the roof deck. This space also needed to serve as her dressing room when they were not entertaining since space was tight in this city home.

To create the luxurious living/dining room in our short time frame, we kept the existing wall color and dining room furniture. We balanced the space by adding a blue sofa to the white wall. We removed cluttered bookcases and added her piano to the dining area so they could play when entertaining. We added a new seating area to the living room and some lively pops of lime green to contrast with the dark blue walls.

The vacant third floor had a total transformation. Along one wall we constructed a closet to store her clothes and added mirrored doors to add more light to the space. Maximizing every inch of space we added a bar under the stairs to the roof deck. This space will also house a flat screen tv so they can enjoy using this room as a cozy den. Working with the existing color pallate we then purchased new seating for this space and incorporated some of her antiques and accent furniture from her home. To give it a glam look we added fabrics with sparkle and sheen and a gorgeous gilded floor lamp.

The results were stunning! Now this couple had a home that reflected both their styles and 2 new spaces to entertain. Even the dog loves it!

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Brown got you down? Home Staging adds color and purpose to this sunny space.

02-07-10
Kate Hart

Every now and then I have a staging challenge that I just cannot figure out. Most homes are easy to plan- first I determine the best purpose for the space, next I come up with the design scheme and then I sort out what furniture and accessories work best for the image we are trying to convey. Sometimes however I come upon a space that puzzles me. If I cannot figure it out, how can the buyer?

Such was the case with one of my most recent staging projects in Chester County Pennsylvania:

  • First there was an entry hall that had been added between the home and the garage. It was both the front and the back entrance to the home so it was the first thing buyers noticed when they came in. It had a tile floor and brick walls making it instantly feel cold.

  • Next was the living room. It was open on one side to the entrance hall, the other side to the kitchen and the other side to the sun room. The fourth wall had the fireplace and built-in bookcases. Upon first glance the only obvious place to put the sofa was on the wall near the entry hall but this would make the seating area absurdly far from the fireplace.

  • The kitchen was lovely but since it was open to the dining area buyers needed to see how this space would work for them.

  • Finally there was the sun room. It was a gorgeous bright space overlooking lovely farmland. It had been added onto the house and it was the largest room in the home. By calling it a "sun room" buyers instantly felt like they could not enjoy it all the time and were relegated to the smaller living room or the basement.

My solution was to give more definition to the spaces in this open floor plan:

  • The foyer became a mudroom and a command center for busy families.

  • The living room featured a gathering place adjacent to the gourmet kitchen and a separate home office niche.

  • The kitchen and dining room were made into one cohesive space by using the same color palate as the adjoining spaces.

  • The sunroom was transformed into a spacious family room that was an extension of the other living areas.

Since this home was bright and sunny I felt the typical staging neutrals (beige, brown and grey) just would not do. My vision was to infuse the home with color so that the buyer would remember how cheerful this space felt. The result? A charming and whimsical country retreat!

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Home Staging Transforms a Turquoise Challenge!

01-29-10
Kate Hart

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors to wear however when it comes to selling a home it is not typically my go to color of choice. Last week I visited a property in Wayne Pennsylvania owned by a real estate investor that I work with and was surprised to discover that one of the units we were getting ready to sell had some really lovely teal wallpaper in the hall bathroom. Normally, this client does what ever we ask him to do to get his homes ready to sell- he replaces light fixtures, installs new carpet, regrouts the floors and stages the rooms. When I mentioned the wall paper to him he was not interested in replacing it. He had already invested a lot of money and he thought it was not really that bad... but was it?

That wallpaper gave me nightmares. My tranquil, transitional vision for this townhome was not in tune with those teal walls. Night after night I plotted how I could make those walls go away until I had an amazing idea. Instead of fighting the turquoise walls, I decided to make them work as part of the design for the home. As home staging professionals we can recommend what our clients need to do to properly present their home for sale, but no matter how persuasive we are, getting them to actually do the work is another task entirely. Suddenly I felt empowered again. This client would not change the walls, but I could change the way those walls felt. To make it all tie together I would use that teal color in all the rooms we were staging so it would not seem like such an island of color in this otherwise neutral home. We would make it look like it was supposed to be that color all along!

Below are some photos from the staging we did. The results look even better in person. From the teal front entrance door to the master bedroom spa-bath the touches of turquoise carry the buyer's eye through the space. The home seller was beyond thrilled. He even loved how the flowers in the wallpaper matched the floral art we selected. And in case you did not know, turquoise is one of the Pantone colors for 2010. It is trendy and here to stay.

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Holiday Staging Do's and Don'ts

12-07-09
Kate Hart

Below is a guest blog I wrote for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors news website PAR Just Listed. If you are selling your home this holiday season, follow my advice to make sure your home is the star of the show- not your seasonal decor.

Showcase your home during the holidays

Monday, December 7, 2009 By Kate Hart

You don't have to act like the Grinch to make sure your home is show ready during the holiday season. Instead, follow these simple suggestions to showcase your home's selling features and celebrate at the same time:

Let your home be the star of the show, not your lawn ornaments.
It may be fun to pull a Clark Griswold and cover your entire roof with brightly colored Christmas lights and the front yard with giant blow up sculptures but remember that curb appeal is important and buyers will make their initial decision on whether or not to buy your home based on their first impression. Instead, opt for simple and classic greenery and white lights. A wreath on the front door, small evergreens in urns and some garland along the fence post will keep your home festive but not overwhelm buyers.

When it comes to holiday décor, less is more.
You want buyers to appreciate the space your home offers, not your nutcracker collection that requires shoving the sofa up against the wall. Pick one key area per room to decorate and create a focal point that will capture the buyer's eye. In the living room add some garland to the fireplace and some seasonal colored candles. In the dining room, add a festive centerpiece and keep the sideboard streamlined. Set up your tree or menorah in the family room but forgo the additional items you normally display.

Once the guests leave, so do the decorations.
As soon as the holidays are over, get your home back to its show ready state as soon as possible. Resist the temptation to let the stacks of gifts linger in the living room and the tree stay up past the New Year. Buyers have time off from work during the holidays and if they're shopping for a home they'll make it a priority to get out there and look- hopefully at yours!

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Another Resale Home Transformed by Home Staging

10-27-09
Kate Hart

Still not convinced that you need to stage your home to prepare it for sale? Think staging only works for model homes? Take a look at our most recent staging in Malvern Pennsylvania. Located in picturesque Chester County, this gorgeous home had great selling features but needed to be fine tuned to show families how they could live there. The results? Stunning!

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