What can I do to Get my Home SOLD?

A little can go a long way to transforming your home!
by Gail Dunnett, Principal, studo D

Don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy to get your home ready for sale. It’s a lot of work, and if you do it right, it can really pay off. Aside from the usual inspections and general updating, there are some simple, inexpensive things you can do cosmetically that will make a huge impact!

It helps to get someone who can have an objective, critical eye as you have been living amongst the red flags for years and they are less noticeable to you. Here are some things to think about:

1. Curb Appeal: How does your house present from the street? Will they enter or drive by?
a. Nicely Landscaped
b. Freshly painted and clean.
c. Obvious front entry? With easy access to front door.
d. Clear of toys, bikes, garbage bins, shoes, clutter

2. The Front Door: This is the first point of entry, make it count.
a. Nicely painted or stained
b. Change out any shiny brass hardware, make sure handle is substantial and not worn
c. Make sure it opens and closes easily

3. The Entry: This should be clear of clutter a visually welcoming
a. No bright carpets or kitch door mats, dog bowls, etc
b. Create a simple place to pause
c. Nice to have a mirror and small console table with accents

4. The Wall Colors: stay away from all white walls or bright strong colors
a. Color adds feeling and depth and beauty if well chosen and subtle
b. Keep flow throughout the home so all colors work together
c. PAINT OUT ANY OLD OAK TRIM AND CABINETS which date home

5. The Kitchen & Bathroom: Kitchens and baths will make a break a sale
a. Counter to granite
b. Appliances to stainless
c. Floor, wood, or neutral tile/limestone
d. Cabinets change or just paint out old worn wood
e. Change out old faucets or brass hardware

6. Light switches/thermostats/hardware
a. Update light switches and thermostat covers inexpensively
b. Change out all shiny brass hardware to nickel, oil rubbed bronze or black

7. The Furnishings
a. Not too many pieces of furniture
b. The right scale for the room
c. Un cluttered, key accents

OK, so this is a lot!. There are professional home stagers that can help with all this, and while a full staging can be expensive, there are consultations available and even partial stagings that can cost around $2,000 to $2,500 and make a huge impact. It is one of the best returns on your investment you can make. See some of the before and afters below like BUtterfield where we took out some pieces, brought in a rug, art and some accents. Or the Dining Room at Chapman where we added two leather chairs, a small console table, and some key accents and orchids. So, applying this to each home, we made a major transformation which required a small investment on the owner's part.


























So with the right amount of editing, de-cluttering, updating, and accenting, partial stagings can make a big impact! And of course, it should be well priced out of the gate.

Preparing the Canvas of a Staged Home

By Susan Goldstein
Susan Goldstein, East Bay Designer
510-658-9072

One of the mantras frequently used throughout the real estate/staging industry when it comes to preparing a house for sale is “Paint, paint, paint”. It is more than the need to refresh a tired interior, it also sets the stage for the introduction of furniture, art and accessories that will enhance the home’s attributes.

We like to think of paint, as it relates to staging, as preparing the canvas. Personally, I like to compare it to fashion. When you notice a beautifully turned out woman, you are drawn to the combination of items that she has chosen to work together and compliment her look. The same concept applies to a well-staged home. We start with a basic wall color and then layer in trim and accent colors to create the foundation upon which we add carefully coordinated furnishings.

Before we staged this home in Piedmont, Ca, we were confronted with a series of rooms that all opened into each other – large Entry Hall, Dining Room, Living Room, Family Room and Library. The public rooms were almost loft-like in their layout. So, I devised a plan that would include painting each individual room a different wall color and unite the rooms using a semi-gloss white on all the ceilings, doors, molding and columns.

The color palette included two sophisticated gray colors that carried through from the Entry Hall into the Living Room.




















The Dining Room and Library were painted in two related cool blue shades.

























Here, we painted the family room in a soft green.














As you can see after the addition of furniture, art and accessories, each room popped with color and shine that befitted the architectural elements of the existing structure. Also, for the bedrooms we chose colors that belonged in the same range so that the house presented as a totally unified space. So, our beautifully dressed woman was ready to meet the public. And? She received rave reviews!

In future postings, I will give other examples of how to use color to improve the interior and exterior of your home. And, I will talk about dramatic colors that can work in traditional homes and how important an accent wall color can be.

I will offer cost-saving alternatives to extensive renovations by sharing the process recently undertaken in Lafayette that transformed an uninspired 80’s home and produced multiple offers and a closing in less than a month.

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding the home profiled above, please do not hesitate to contact me at susan@studiodhome.com
or directly at 510 658 9072. You may also view more projects in the East Bay by visiting http://www.studiodhome.com/home-staging/portfolio/california/oakland, San Francisco at http://www.studiodhome.com/home-staging/portfolio/california/san-francisco, or Marin at http://www.studiodhome.com/home-staging/portfolio/california/marin.