Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager

Preparing your home for sale?

You are not alone, many New Hampshire Seacoast homeowners are hoping to find a buyer, and your home has plenty of competition on the market. To guarantee you make the best impression on buyers I suggest you keep in mind that "sensory" appeal is just as important as "curb" appeal.

SIGHT

The visual appearance of a home prompts potential buyers more than any other factor.

Once homeowners step inside, they decide almost immediately whether or not they want to buy your home. It is essential that they be greeted with a spotless, ready-to-move-into home.

Clean or freshly painted walls and spotlessly clean or brand new carpeting are a must. Hardwood floors must be in excellent condition. Any floor tile should be in a light neutral, in good condition.

Furniture must be arranged to show space and function and at the same time guide the eye towards positive features of the home and away from the negative.

Light is the second most quoted reason for choosing a home.

Make sure all lights work and, where necessary, replace light bulbs with a higher wattage. Replace dark or worn lampshades with new, sheer or white shades.

Paint walls and dark woodwork in light, neutral paint.

Replace heavy, dark window treatments with lighter sheer curtains. Clean all windows inside and out so that the sun can shine in.

Nothing will turn away a potential buyer faster than an unpleasant smell.

Welcome buyers and make them feel comfortable by greeting them with a pleasant aroma. A few drops of vanilla warmed in the oven yields the same result as baked cookies, triggering a comfort response.

Remove litter boxes. Keep trash can clean at all times. Open windows before a showing when possible.

TOUCH

Texture, added throughout the house, is appealing to the eye and to the touch and will add an element of style which translates into perceived value.

Help buyers feel comfortable and at home by keeping the temperature warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

SOUND

Creaking floors, dripping faucets, and noisy heating systems could be a cause for concern to a buyer.

Neighborhood noises such as traffic and barking dogs can be distracting. Playing soft jazz or classical music can help the home feel more relaxing and help buyers to concentrate on positive features.

Buyers' perceived value of your home is based on the reaction of their senses.

Whether you are selling your home, have a design challenge, or just want a fresh, updated look, I would love to assist you with your transformation or answer any questions that you may have about Home Staging in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area.

You are invited to watch as we transform a Dover, NH condo from foreclosure to refinish. We are in the process of helping our daughter, proud new homeowner, make the necessary improvements to her new home.

She recently closed on a neglected, cold condo with dreams of turning it into a warm, inviting home. I plan to post updates and photos as we progress. I'll start here with the before photos.

The building is 1800's, but the kitchen appliances are only 2 years old and in very good condition. The ceiling needs a minor repair and the floor needs to be replaced. Really dirty!

The bath needs new floor, mirror and light fixtures. Again with the dirty... nasty dirty!

In the Dining Room, we plan to remove the giant bookcase and break an opening in the wall into the kitchen.

The Living Room is missing radiator covers, needs new light fixtures. More with the dirty!

Note floor by front door!

A lot of scrubbing and paint needed...we have the vision!

Master needs paint, light fixture, and did I mention it needs cleaning? Isn't this the cutest closet door. It is like the dwarfs live here.

It has modern features but maintains it's historic charm. The "older home" details are wonderful. We have started the cleaning process and some construction and I will be posting regularly with updates and photos. We are very excited about this project and hope you enjoy following along!

Yesterday I worked on a vacant condo and as it turns out came up with an idea for props that I found very useful. It may not be very original and you may have already thougt of it, but I'm excited to share the idea.

The condo is a restored older home and the kitchen has no upper cabinets. The only lower cabinet is the one under the sink. You know how useful that one is.

The good news is that there are two pantry closets which are very roomy. I wanted to display one closet for dishes, small appliances and pans and the other closet for food storage. Originally, the plan was to pick up some canned goods and boxes of cereal for the closet. While packing my Jeep in preparation for the job, I went to add some paper to my recycling and it hit me...

I pulled out several cereal boxes, a tea box, a coffee can and brought them with me to the condo. They were so easy and light to transport, look great in the pantry, and who cares if I ever get them back! Now, this may not be something you need for every staging job, but it sure comes in handy for a vacant with questionable storage space.

This whole experience reminded me of when I created a "store" for my young children to play with using empty food containers. I had family members saving all their empties for me. My mother, sister and even grandmother became experts at opening cans from the bottom so when placed on the "store" shelf they still looked unopened. We were all very careful with labels and packaging. I even put polyfil in flour and sugar bags. We had every kind of product imaginable. It was quite the competition, each of us wanting to come up with the most original items. I actually got quite excited when someone would drop off their collection of groceries for our store. The kids loved when new inventory would arrive and they could put it away. The kids had a little cash register and loved playing in their store. I ended up donating all the pretend food to a pre-school when my children out grew it.

I look forward to playing "store" again someday, with grandchildren....until then I'll just have to keep playing with my staging props in other people's houses.

Well, I've always known that my home city is something special, but now it is official.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Portsmouth one of the nations top "Distinctive Destinations" for 2008. The title was given to Portsmouth based on its "captivating blend of coastal beauty, historic buildings and packed history, which includes seven National Historic Landmarks." Also mentioned was the description of "a lively downtown." Everyone who visits downtown on a warm summer night experiences a wonderful blend of culture; past, present and future.

Communities across the nation that offer experiences different from the typical vacation destination have been annually selected since 2000. Portsmouth was the only New England city to make the list. Pretty impressive with all the historic cities in this area.

The National Trust will not only be promoting Portsmouth as a destination, they will also feature the city in their travel marketing and annual diretory for historic destinations across the country.

To see what other Cities were chosen for his honor, visit The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Well, I'm pretty excited. The Seacoast is getting a Christmas Tree Shop. The planning department has issued a permit and they soon will begin excavation at Home Depot's old address on Durgin Lane. Sharing the location is supposed to be Bed Bath & Beyond and one other undisclosed store.

The stores are expected to open next Fall.

The store will come in quite handy for those of us with a staging business! Looks like Christmas comes early next year!