Last week I did two staging consultations in Redmond, WA. Both houses were built between the 80′s and the 90′s, and in both houses the light fixtures were indeed screaming 80′s and 90′s. You know? Brass, brass, brass… Here’s a collage of the “beauties”:

Luckily in both cases I didn’t even have to try convincing the sellers to change the light fixtures because they already knew that they were really outdated and that it was time for them to go… One of the two clients in particular needed some help choosing the right light fixtures for the foyer, the formal dining room and the eating area in the kitchen. And, after researching online, this is what I recommended.

Above: for the foyer, a 5 light antique chandelier, available at Overstock for $146.

Above: for the kitchen, a 3-light Satin Nickel Flush Mount Chandelier, available at Overstock for $91.

Above: for the formal dining room, a 5-light Chrome/ Crystal Flush Mount Chandelier, available at Overstock for $110.

As you can see, all three items are very reasonably priced (besides, Overstock charges only $3 for the shipping and their customer service is one of the best, I can assure you). So, if you are selling a house and think that your light fixtures need to retire, remember that with a very small investment you can dramatically improve the look of your house.

Home staging tip: “If necessary, invest in new light fixtures”.

The house you are about to see was one of the best kept houses I have ever staged. Beautifully maintained and incredibly pristine, you could see that the owners were taking an extremely good care of it. However, the reason why the real estate agent called me was because it was lacking of something very important: color. We all know that it is crucial to “neutralize” a house in order to sell it, however a color palette that is too neutral can actually be a negative thing as you can see from this “before” photo:

And now “after”:

Now, let’s have a look at the kitchen as it was before and after I added some splashes of color:

I apologize if the angle from which the photo was taken is not exactly the same (I’m really picky about this when I blog about my before and after pictures…), however I purposely used these professional photos to show you how the effect changes, because, remember, this is what the buyers will see! Not only that, but the agent herself realized that this listing needed a little bit of more sparkle, even though, as I said, this was a beautiful house to start with. After the staging she requested new photos and that was a very smart move, because the house sold shortly after.
Now, can you guess which color looks best in the photos? Yes, you guessed it right: red.

Here’s a closer look at the family room before I introduced some color:

And here it is after:

Plants, pillows, throws, candles, etc. are accessories can make a big difference in the perception of a room.

Home staging tip: “Add color with the right accessories and remember that red is the color that looks best in the photos”

Home-Designing is the name of one of the blogs I have subscribed to and that I really enjoy reading. A few months ago they published an article about Italian design kitchens. The photos were depicting fantastic modern design by Elmar Cucine, however, a few of them made me wonder what their purpose really was.

When I first saw this photo, my first reaction was: “What a mess!”. My focus automatically moved from the kitchen design, to the objects they used to stage the kitchen itself.

And when I saw this one…

…the only thing I was able to appreciate were the island drawers, because everything else that is around it is just too busy.

This concept is true for home staging as well. When using accessories, do it in a balanced way because their purpose is to enhance the look of a room, not to overwhelm it.

Today’s tip is: “Use your accessories sparingly. Always remember that less is more”.