Jan Britt

You love your home but it is time to downsize. You've made the decision to move from the house you worked so hard to achieve to a smaller home. Moving from a larger home and location to a smaller home can be extremely stressful. It can be quite an adjustment to downsize your home and leave your neighbors and neighborhood. You wonder what you are going to do with all of the extra furnishings you now have in your current home because it won't all fit into the new house.

Before you start looking for a new place to live make a plan of action. Being prepared in advance can help you reduce the stress level both before and after the move. One way to avoid costly mistakes both financially and emotionally is to hire an interior decorator to help you. Your decorator can bring a fresh perspective to help guide you to make the right decisions and the right furniture selections for your new home. Usually, you will try to bring as much of your current furniture as possible. Only you can determine the most important items you have in your home. You may be emotionally attached to some of your furniture or accessories. Sometimes you feel you must use a piece of furniture, etc. because you invested so much money into it.

When you downsize usually the rooms you have in the new house will be smaller than the rooms you live in right now. Go through your house room by room and write down what furniture, area rugs, artwork and chandeliers must be included in the new house. Write down the measurements of how long and wide each important piece of furniture, area rug, artwork or pictures are in size. After you find a house and neighborhood that you think might fit your family's needs start measuring to see if the important piece(s) of furniture will fit. You can make a paper template of each item and take it with you to place on the floor if it is a piece of furniture in the location it will be placed to make sure it will fit.

There are many important factors and decisions to be made concerning the requirements your family will have in order to select your new home. Each family's specific needs and may include but are not limited to these examples of things to look for in a new home.

Close to family and work, how close are the houses (lot sizes), traffic, road noise, schools, how many children are in the neighborhood for your children or grandchildren, will my pets be safe, will the new home be close enough that you will be able to still attend your place of worship, will your furniture, artwork, area rugs , etc. fit into my new house, outdoor entertaining capabilities, important stores and businesses to your family, grocery store and shopping conveniences, activities, amenities, convenient golf course, power lines, doctors, drug stores, will you be able to keep your landscaper and housekeeper, will you be able to re-use your custom made window treatments that match your furniture, private fence in the back yard and are there convenient storage units in the area.

When you find the right house and location for your family it can be a wonderful and positive experience. When you move you can make new friends and have new opportunities to improve your lifestyle.

About the Author: Jan Britt is an Interior Decorator as well as a Home Stager. The State of Georgia has approved Jan's CE Home Staging Course for Real Estate Agents. Jan has created and teaches Interior Decorating and Staging classes at Kennesaw State University and Marietta Adult Education. She is a guest speaker for women's groups and Church groups. Jan has had multiple appearances on HGTV demonstrating how to make No-Sewing Window Treatments which are perfect for staging. She may be reached at decorate@decoratewithjan.com or at (770)919-2393.

Life changes and you have made the decision that it is time to move. All the Staging shows on television make getting your house ready to sell look so easy. You never know who the prospective buyer for your house could be. He or she could be an investor, a single man or woman who plans to work out of their home or a family who lives down the street. I have a few ideas for you on how to prepare your house to look inviting to sell to anyone who might want to buy it.

As a first impression walking into your house do you use your couch or other pieces of furniture as a room divider? When you are decorating your home to live in it using the couch as a room divider can be fine and can look great. However, furniture placement many times must be different when you are selling your home. When selling your home a couch can appear like a visual barrier instead of a room divider. You need to have the rooms as open and inviting as possible. Make sure you do not have too much furniture in each room. The buyer needs to be able to visualize their furniture in your house. Many times a prospective buyer can not see the architecture of the house because all they can see is a crowded room and too much stuff all around. Your goal is to make each room look as large as possible. Less congestion creates a feeling of mental ease and the ability to concentrate. You are not trying to sell your décor or furniture you are trying to sell the architectural assets of each room.

Have you been "creative" with your décor in your little girl's room? When you are trying to sell your house sometimes your creativity is good and sometimes it is bad. Try to make your daughters room look like it could be either a room for a girl or boy. Sometimes changing her room to a gender neutral room is not possible. You can at least change the color on the wall if it is pink. A pink wall is not the best color to have on the wall when you are trying to sell your house. Also, a sheer canopy hanging from the ceiling over a bed is not good either. If her bedspread is pink replace it if possible with a neutral color.

Choosing the right paint color is very important when you are trying to sell your house. The most common colors that are used to prepare a home to sell are the neutral or creamy tones. You will notice when you go into most model homes through out the United States you will usually see neutral paint colors on the wall and small scale furniture to make the room look larger. A model home will never have too much furniture in one room. You will never see it dirty or cluttered. Having your house staged like a model home is a great example to follow in order to sell it quickly.

About the Author: Jan Britt is an Interior Decorator as well as a Home Stager. The State of Georgia has approved Jan's CE Home Staging Course for Real Estate Agents. Jan has created and teaches Interior Decorating and Staging classes at Kennesaw State University and Marietta Adult Education. She is a guest speaker for women's groups and Church groups. Jan has had multiple appearances on HGTV demonstrating how to make No-Sewing Window Treatments which are perfect for staging. She may be reached at decorate@decoratewithjan.com or at (770)919-2393.