Centereach, NY

The 2010 Color trend from Benjamin Moore is available for viewing. And I think it's worth taking a look at. Do you know that Benjamin Moore goes to many different trade show to see what colors are being used the most? From fashion show to cars show, they compile their findings and put it out in a 2010 Color Palette. It's called Envision Color 2010.

It seems "Going Green" has made an impact on our lives, since we can see the affect it has made on the color palette. Benjamin Moore's new colors are rich and vibrant and come from nature, giving us a soothing affect. Now I know some of the colors are bold, but what a great pop of color they would be when used as accessories. The 2010 Color Trend from Benjamin Moore is worth taking a look at.

As a redesigner and stager I think it's important to keep up with the trends, especially color trends. Since colors can evoke such powerful emotions. The 2010 Color Trend from Benjamin Moore color palette seems to work well with each other. I know that i have it in my color charts and i think you should consider having it as well.

Should you paint kitchen the cabinets? I've tossed with that idea plenty of time. I'm of the old school that you don't paint wood. However, I've seen kitchen cabinets that the only thing that is going to save them is a paint job. The biggest problem, I think is the paint job itself. If it's done right, it can look amazing but if it's done by an amateur, well lets just say not so nice.

The other problem is what color to paint the kitchen cabinets. Dark? Light? Medium? I know many of you are going to say it depend on the appliances, counter, space and so on. And you would be right of course. The problem I have is, I think that light colored kitchen cabinets look cheap to me. They look like they were painted. I prefer dark colored paint, like black or expresso brown.The only exception is white. I do like white cabinets. When you are shopping for kitchen cabinets, you will see samples of kitchen cabinets in that dark expresso color, many shades of cherry red, many shades of natural wood, shade of white and the antique white but you don't see too many shades of color.

Are there any colors out there, that you have used and found that it works well when you've painted the kitchen cabinets? My friend Luci terhune showed me a blog that had kitchen cabinets painted in a color named "spring in aspen" by Benjamin Moore. It was a beautiful kitchen but I'm was still left with the impression that it looked like it was painted.

I know that as a home stager I have to be open to new looks and ideas. But this one is a bit tough for me. Does anyone have that same problem? I haven't come across too many homes that needed to have their kitchen cabinets painted. But I'm sure many of you have. Give me you feedback on this and let me know how you feel. And if you have any colors that you use, if you don't mind sharing, I would love to know about it.

Real Estate Investors and Builders who forgo on furnishing their houses are losing potential thousand of dollars. It's easy to understand why they would forgo this last step, over budget, out of time, just to name a few of the problems, puts a crimp in your wallet. But don't under estimate what Home Staging can do for you. Vacant homes don't sell. And here are some of the reasons why.

1) People buy homes, Not houses.

2) Without furniture, there is no frame of reference.

3) When a room is empty, buyers focus on the negative because there is no other details to focus on.

4) Only 10% of buyers can actually visualize the potential of the home.

5) When a house is empty, they start to wonder under what hardship is the owner under? Can I low-ball an offer since they can't afford to furnish the place.

Staging your home will not only address these problems but will most likely translate into a higher return on your investment. Home staging can show off your homes best feature, while downplaying the negative. With potential thousand of dollars at stake. Why wouldn't you stage your home?

We all look forward to the 4th of July where we celebrate our freedom, have a barbecue and watch the fireworks. But not everyone in the world is free. And some people see fireworks of a different kind. I'm talking about the pain and suffering that goes on in Africa in places like Darfur. I know this is a heavy topic but its one I feel very strongly about.

We've all seen movies like Rwanda, Rising Sun and many more that touch upon the barbaric cruelty of humanity. But I recently read a James Paterson book where Alex Cross went to Darfur and describe the horrific torture he saw. Now I know it's only a book, but it did touch upon some truths. It was a difficult read to say the least. But it brought things into perspective.

We are home stagers, we try to beautify the world one home at a time. That's what we do and we love it. But we sometimes come across a difficult client or a difficult job and wonder why these things happen to us.

When you take a moment to realize how truly blessed we are, these problem seem small in comparison to the problems of the world. We take for granted what we have (myself included). We are truly blessed to have out freedom. Never take it for granted, count all your blessing and even if we have sorrow or pain in your life it is nothing compared to what others have suffered.

Lets us hope that one day (wouldn't it be nice to see it in our lifetime) we can all celebrate our freedom. That the world can know peace and we can all live like human being and not some barbaric creature we seem to be at times.

Happy 4th everyone. Gold bless us all.

I 've been toying with the idea to get a logo for my home staging company. I've talked to a few people and have gotten mixed response. Some say branding is very important to your company. It's a graphic representation of your company. Some say it's not important in our business.

I think it is. Here why, it's part of your marketing message. It not just about what you say but how you say it, and it's not about what you show but how you show it. That said, if you're going to go with a logo get it done right and hire a professional graphic designer.

Why you ask, because the logo represents your company and if your logo looks like an amateur designed it, then guess what? You won't be seen as true professional. We are a visual society. If we don't like what we see we walk away.

What do you think? To logo or not to logo that is the question!

Abella Home Staging & Redesign - Servicing Suffolk and Nassau Counties, New York. Staging Long Island one home at a time!