Staging our home ??? for you.

[Pretty in Pink]

If you were staging your home and had the resources to do these three things, would you?

 

1. I mentioned in another thread that my dh has an enormous Bowflex assembled in the middle of our living room. It looks a bit out of place (understatement of the year)! It does not get used. Ever. We only have three bedrooms, but we could get a set of bunk beds (which we had planned to do in a few months anyway). We could move the three oldest boys in together for a few months, then use the other bedroom as a workout room and put the bowflex in there. The two younger boys could sleep on the bottom bunk (they are five and two and, given a choice, usually sleep in the same bed anyway). We have a toddler-sized mattress that we could keep made up and slide it under the bunks, to be pulled out for a third sleeping place if need be.

 

2. My dh has a recliner in the living room. It is upholstered in Real Tree camoflauge and has several iron-on khaki patches in places it has ripped. That recliner is definetely an eyesore. I would like to get rid of it and get the loveseat that matches our sofa. We would then have an attractive furniture ensemble.

 

3. One of the boys' rooms is painted blue. It's a nice paint job, but it's still blue. Should we paint the room back to basic painter's off-white? The kitchen and master bath are both light tan. Should we also re-paint them or leave them as is?

[Valerie in MI]

I would not put the bowflex in another bedroom, but instead put it into storage. I would get rid of the blue if it is dark blue. If it's a light blue and not scuffed up I would leave it. I would get rid of the recliner or put it into storage with the bowflex. I'm not sure if I would buy the other sofa; it would depend how much room there is....a little bit sparse is good. I would leave the tan walls if in good condition. They are more in style than off white.

 

Valerie

[Ellie]

If you were staging your home and had the resources to do these three things, would you?

 

1. I mentioned in another thread that my dh has an enormous Bowflex assembled in the middle of our living room. It looks a bit out of place (understatement of the year)! It does not get used. Ever. We only have three bedrooms, but we could get a set of bunk beds (which we had planned to do in a few months anyway). We could move the three oldest boys in together for a few months, then use the other bedroom as a workout room and put the bowflex in there. The two younger boys could sleep on the bottom bunk (they are five and two and, given a choice, usually sleep in the same bed anyway). We have a toddler-sized mattress that we could keep made up and slide it under the bunks, to be pulled out for a third sleeping place if need be.

Get rid of the Bowflex. Leave the bedrooms the way they are. If you hae a three-bedroom house, people want to see three bedrooms, not 2 and an exercise room. Tell dh that he can use it in the new house.

 

2. My dh has a recliner in the living room. It is upholstered in Real Tree camoflauge and has several iron-on khaki patches in places it has ripped. That recliner is definetely an eyesore. I would like to get rid of it and get the loveseat that matches our sofa. We would then have an attractive furniture ensemble.

Get rid of the recliner.

 

3. One of the boys' rooms is painted blue. It's a nice paint job, but it's still blue. Should we paint the room back to basic painter's off-white?

What shade of blue? If it's a screaming, patriotic blue, yeah, you want to tone that down, but it doesn't have to be painter's off-white. It can be an actual color; it just shouldn't shout at people.

 

The kitchen and master bath are both light tan. Should we also re-paint them or leave them as is?

That sounds good to me.

[Sharon in SC]

If you were staging your home and had the resources to do these three things, would you?

 

1. I mentioned in another thread that my dh has an enormous Bowflex assembled in the middle of our living room. It looks a bit out of place (understatement of the year)! It does not get used. Ever. We only have three bedrooms, but we could get a set of bunk beds (which we had planned to do in a few months anyway). We could move the three oldest boys in together for a few months, then use the other bedroom as a workout room and put the bowflex in there. The two younger boys could sleep on the bottom bunk (they are five and two and, given a choice, usually sleep in the same bed anyway). We have a toddler-sized mattress that we could keep made up and slide it under the bunks, to be pulled out for a third sleeping place if need be.

 

2. My dh has a recliner in the living room. It is upholstered in Real Tree camoflauge and has several iron-on khaki patches in places it has ripped. That recliner is definetely an eyesore. I would like to get rid of it and get the loveseat that matches our sofa. We would then have an attractive furniture ensemble.

 

3. One of the boys' rooms is painted blue. It's a nice paint job, but it's still blue. Should we paint the room back to basic painter's off-white? The kitchen and master bath are both light tan. Should we also re-paint them or leave them as is?

 

Pretty much saying "ditto" to the counsel you've received thus far. Keep the bedrooms for sleeping, store the Bowflex elsewhere. Get rid of the recliner, be slow to fill the space with something else. Less is more when staging. One tasteful blue room in an otherwise neutrally painted home should not be a problem. You'll know if it is (through feedback after showings) in which case you could opt to do something about it then. And, finally, light tan is very classy and a perfect color to show a home. :D

[Pretty in Pink]

The paint in the boys' room is periwinkle.

 

We don't have any clutter or extra furniture so we would need to get another piece if we remove the recliner. I will need to measure the space and then decide on the loveseat or possibly an oversized chair and ottoman.

[KatieJ]

I think I would paint the blue room.

I used to do seamstress work for a bridal store. Periwinkle was a fairly new color back then. My husband still flinches when he hears or sees that color. He doens't like to admit that he even knows what that color is!

[Stacy in NJ]

The paint in the boys' room is periwinkle.

 

We don't have any clutter or extra furniture so we would need to get another piece if we remove the recliner. I will need to measure the space and then decide on the loveseat or possibly an oversized chair and ottoman.

 

You don't need to get a new piece of furniture. Just get rid of the recliner and leave the empty space. Really, people don't need to see furniture. It needs to be uncluttered and clean. Save the purchase of new furniture for your new house. :001_smile:

[Ohio12]

You don't need to get a new piece of furniture. Just get rid of the recliner and leave the empty space. Really, people don't need to see furniture. It needs to be uncluttered and clean. Save the purchase of new furniture for your new house. :001_smile:

 

I totally agree.

[amyable]

I've been thinking/reading about home staging a ton, as we are trying to decide if it's even possible to make our house look nice with 7 people in three small bedrooms. :glare:

 

I'm going to possibly go against what others have said - I say possibly because only you know what your home really looks like. :001_smile:

 

1/2. I would probably get rid of the Bowflex too, or store it somewhere. Ditto on the chair. But if your house is anything like ours, I would replace it. We gave away a chair (long story) and now our living room has only a sofa along one wall and two end tables in it, and a fireplace. It really *needs* another sitting piece so that the focal point of the room is the fireplace, not the fact that there is no furniture, LOL.

 

3. *If* the rest of the room is decorated in a matching fashion, I don't see periwinkle as a huge problem. People will see the overall feel of nicely decorated room rather than the wall color in particular. Now, if the rest is just a mish mosh (like our house, LOL) then a nice neutral wall color is good. :D

 

I think the most important thing you can do is get rid of STUFF. Pare down things that are visible on counters, dresser tops, bookshelves, mantles to next to nothing, with some key/decorative pieces out. Hard to live like that, but it makes such a visual difference. Even with a camo chair. ;)

 

Best of luck with your endeavors!

[keptwoman]

I would not put the bowflex in another bedroom, but instead put it into storage. I would get rid of the blue if it is dark blue. If it's a light blue and not scuffed up I would leave it. I would get rid of the recliner or put it into storage with the bowflex. I'm not sure if I would buy the other sofa; it would depend how much room there is....a little bit sparse is good. I would leave the tan walls if in good condition. They are more in style than off white.

 

Valerie

I agree with all that.

In addition I would say that EVERYTHING that you will not need during the sale period should be put into storage. That includes stuff that is in cupboards. People will open cupboards and if they look jammed it will lead people to believe there is a lack of storage. If they look half empty it gives the opposite impression.

[coffeefreak]

I agree with all that.

In addition I would say that EVERYTHING that you will not need during the sale period should be put into storage. That includes stuff that is in cupboards. People will open cupboards and if they look jammed it will lead people to believe there is a lack of storage. If they look half empty it gives the opposite impression.

 

I agree with this and, the not buying more furniture. It stunk, but we only had a futon in our living room while our house was on the market. The first thing we bought when we moved was a new sofa and chair :)

 

On the subject of paint, I'd do it. Buyers like clean and fresh. We painted a bathroom and a bedroom. The living room/kitchen was sunshine yellow, The master bedroom and bath were blue and the girl's room was butter yellow. I refused to paint. I was willing to paint the spare bath because it was polka dotted with ducks. The play room - well, enough said, it needed to be painted:lol: So, we knew paint would factor into the deal. We were willing to live with that and we left it. Buyers are BRUTAL right now. They will drop the price over anything - especially wall color. It was one of the explanations of why our buyer offered $10,000 less than we were asking (the other was floor covering). Yes, I could have spent a couple $100 to paint the rest of the house and they wouldn't have had that as an excuse, but the time and effort weren't worth it to me. If it's just the one room, I'd paint it. It will take a Saturday and $50 worth of eggshell white paint.

 

HTH!

Dorinda

[Sharon in SC]

Buyers are BRUTAL right now. They will drop the price over anything...

 

This is very true (ask me how I know).

[lynn]

The paint in the boys' room is periwinkle.

 

We don't have any clutter or extra furniture so we would need to get another piece if we remove the recliner. I will need to measure the space and then decide on the loveseat or possibly an oversized chair and ottoman.

 

I would get rid of the recliner and stage the room to show space. Maybe add some greenery if you feel the space is empty or if you feel you need to fill it do you have an extra dining room chair or 2 to make a conversation areas/

[Sharon in SC]

I would get rid of the recliner and stage the room to show space. Maybe add some greenery if you feel the space is empty or if you feel you need to fill it do you have an extra dining room chair or 2 to make a conversation areas/

 

We definitely did this when staging our home - used greenery. It brought an element of warmth and life that I liked.:)

[coffeefreak]

This is very true (ask me how I know).

 

Oh Sharon:grouphug: don't we ALL know.

Here's hoping thebuettnerfamily's sale goes better!

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[Sharon in SC]

Here's hoping thebuettnerfamily's sale goes better!

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

 

Amen! :D

[ChemMommy]

I'll just post my comments so you have more ammunition to get rid of the bowflex.

 

It's not being used and is an eyesore. Out it goes. Sell it and enjoy the money or store it. Get rid of the recliner so it doesn't appear in your new house's living room, too!

 

I'd paint. Fresh paint is a nice selling feature and a khaki or updated neutral would be a good choice.

 

When we were selling, the single best thing we did was stage our house. I went through the house and packed up every thing we weren't using weekly. We rented a storage locker for two months and stored things like Christmas decorations, out-of-season sports equipment, baby equipment that we couldn't get rid of yet, out of season clothes, half of the kids toys, half of the linens, 75% of our books. You get the picture.

 

You won't miss the stuff for a couple of months and, since you have to pack it up at some point, you might as well split the job up and do most of it now.

 

We also tossed the rubbish and clutter out the door and made obvious small repairs at this time. We painted the, now emptier, rooms.

 

Then, we staged each room simply. The LR had attractive pillows on the sofa and a single throw. I added a couple of thick candles on a shelf and put a few decorative books on shelves.

 

I put our better dishes out on placemats with nice napkins in the DR and added a floral center piece (purchased at midnight at Walmart the night before the open house). The office was stages as an office ONLY and had a neatly organized desk.

 

The kid's rooms were stages by having the toys neatly put on shelves, stuffed animals attractively placed on beds (just a few), and the children's table had a tea set and teddy bears sitting the chairs. Bathrooms had brand new towels set out (they don't have to be expensive, just NEW). We put new silk flowers (greenery mostly) in a couple of places, washed the windows, put potpourri in bathrooms, etc. I probably spent all of $200 on staging for a 3-bedroom house (beyond painting) and a significant bit of elbow grease cleaning windows, etc.

 

It was worth it. Okay, this was a couple of years ago, but we sold it in one day flat......(good location, good price). But, our realtor told us that the simple staging made her job a breeze. BUT, she said that the packing up and decluttering made our house seem twice as big as it had seemed when she first met us.

 

I'd do all that again in a flash if our house was on the market! Selling quickly is worth any amount of preparation work! LOL I'd rather stage, paint and declutter than keep my house clean for weeks at a time! LOL

[Pretty in Pink]

Okay, I talked my dh into storing the Bowflex until after the move. I'm still working on the recliner.

 

Yesterday I went through the house and took out a desk, chest, dresser, and old computer chair. I went through the closets and took out everything that we do not need this season and everything that does not specifically belong in a closet (i.e. small pieces of furniture that aren't in use, rubbermaid boxes, etc.). There is nothing on the closet floors now. The homeschool closet is completely pared down to just the necessities and all bins are organized and labeled.

 

I painted ds10's room today. It was already white but in need of a fresh coat of paint. It is drying as I type. I took down the Spiderman valances and am replacing them with flowing, white sheers to open up the space.

 

Each of the childrens' rooms now has just a bed and bookcase in it.

 

I have the paint for the other bedroom and may do it this week, one wall at a time.

 

I cleaned out my kitchen cupboards as well and put half of my small appliances in the attic. What a great excuse not to have to make waffles for the next few months! LOL

 

I need tips on greenery because, as much as I love the look of living plants, I kill them all. Last year I had a Majesty Palm in the living room that looked beautiful but I killed it pretty quickly.

[phathui5]

I would leave the boys' room blue, myself, just because I hate seeing white walls. I've been looking at house pictures online because dh is interviewing for jobs Elsewhere and I hate seeing white walls in the houses.