Hip House! A Mid Century Modern Home Staging

Hey Daddy-O!  - Last week team HouseStager of Reinventing Space of Chicago had a gas staging and styling an empty custom remodeled 1960's home in the Fox River Valley area of Chicago.  Prior to staging, we consulted on new paint choices and a few other changes to the home to get it prepped for the market.  As the contractor did his thing, we came up with a cool plan to fully celebrate the stature, architectural details, as well as embrace the era of when this home was built.  We were totally jazzed with the amazing results.  Can you dig it?

For property details, location and viewing contact : Mandy Montford / Baird & Warner Real Estate: 815-245-8195 .

BUDGET Home Staging Ideas - A Bedroom with 5 Easy Pieces!

Home Staging ideas - Stage a bedroom with five pieces.

Do you have a need to create, stage & style a bedroom in an empty room? Think you need to go out a buy and lug in heavy furniture? Think again. Today's home staging & styling job was for a client that enlisted me to to do a budget bedroom staging. Here's how I did it.

1. The bed is the focal point of a room, so start here.  My client owns this great air bed that basically is a rolling suitcase and you unzip, plug in and within minutes POOF turns into a queen size bed.  Frontgate has a few to choose from.
2. Head Board. The head board are 2 plastic decorative fencing panels from Home Depot. I know, I know, super clever, weigh nothing and you can attach them to the wall with a nail. Instant headboard. Acurio Panels from Home Depot. 
3. Bedding. A bed should be lush & lovely.  Chic bedding, fluffy pillows, cute accent pillows -and always throw a throw at the end of the bed for a bit of interest and texture. I found this great microfiber duvet set (almost no-iron) at HomeGoods and bird accent pillow from Michaels. (had the shell pillow and throw in my staging stock pile.) 
4. The Night stand is a butler tray table. A butler tray is meant to be mobile, so easy open and close. This is a great what I call "Good Bones" piece of furniture.  The tray comes off and the base just folds up.  I found a close one on Amazon: Crosley Palm Harbor Outdoor Wicker Butler Tray 
5. Lamp.  Just make sure is substantial enough to work with the scale of the bed.

Accents pillows add detail and ambiance to a bed.

Home Stagers LOVE-HATE Relationship with House Cleaners

A house cleaner moved home staging - shower curtain pushed to other side, accessories squished.

Ahhh.. cleaning people.  The coveted crew that makes us, the Home Stager, happy and horrified at the same time. In our perfect world, the cleaning people sweep in just prior to our detailed obsessed styling when we stage a home.  We love them because they're the experts in cleaning and polishing a home to make it fabulous for the prospective buyer.  The down side is, they clean the home after our job is done, moving what we've styled, squishing our perfectly placed accessories and moving everything around from furniture to window treatments in their quest for a tidy home - forgetting to put all those things back.

Our obsession with perfection has a goal - it produces a great online photo and gives the room optimum visual appeal. We take spaces and stage and style them not only visually appealing, but attractive to everyone who takes a peek. We showcase the best of the room which is why it is important to retain the product we produce.

Here are some ways a homeowner can preserve the integrity of the original staging.

1.) Have an photo archive of the recent staging for each room on your cell for reference.

2.) Print out a picture of the room/space and slip it into a plastic protector for the cleaning crew.

3.) Have a plastic storage bin that can house and protect staging props when the space is being occupied for daily usage or cleaned.

2015 Paint Trends - Sherwin-Williams

Color forecasts are a great way to get inspired and see what will be trending from accessories to wallpapers. Sherwin Williams who partners with Pottery Barn too, showcases their picks for the upcoming year.  At the end of the post, you can click on a link to see the entire palette.

-Enjoy!

Chrysalis

As technology rushes relentlessly ahead, the colors of Chrysalis evoke a calm oasis — a place to pause and find balance. The palette, with colors ranging from off-black to chalky neutrals and dusty blues, is designed to create a more comfortable interior.

“An important influence for Chrysalis is the appreciation of earth’s natural striations,” said Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing with Sherwin-Williams. “The patterns created by land and sky are driving design inspiration, therefore the palette’s colors are found in nature, from rocks found on the beach to a stormy sky.”

Another driver is the layering and deconstruction of geometric shapes to appear soft, which parallels the monochromatic couture found on fashion runways.

Voyage

From space tourism and undersea resorts, the far-fetched, sci-fi dreams of past decades are more viable than ever. The Voyage palette looks to these outer limits, featuring hues that represent the color spectrum imagined while emerging from the water into the atmosphere – undersea teal, bright green kelp, light watery blue and deep space purple.

“The colors of Voyage are supernatural and magical,” Jordan said. “The palette is largely driven by unusual atmospheric events, including a decade-best aurora borealis that will be keeping our eyes focused on the heavens. The lighter colors of the palette create a space that is uplifting, while the deeper tones can be combined for a more dramatic design.”

Buoyant

“We’ve weathered the recession and are finally seeing hopeful signs of growth and expansion,” Jordan said. “Our revived good spirits echo the optimism that followed World War II, when GIs returned home from exotic locales, bringing a wave of tropical prints and tiki-inspired looks. Like that era, we’re expressing our enthusiasm with big, bright florals in fashion and interiors.”

The colors of Buoyant are reminiscent of vintage floral patterns – light and deep greens, violets and a pop of coral. In addition to renewed optimism, the palette is also inspired by the natural healing of botanicals, as well as the incorporation of green spaces into even the most densely urban environments. Backyards, once a landscaping afterthought, are now as important as front yards, with builders investing in rear “curb appeal” and outdoor rooms.

Unrestrained

From bold, ethnic-inspired colors and designs to the Bohemian lifestyle, the Unrestrained palette celebrates a carefree spirit, wanderlust and pulsing color. The palette features saturated primary hues, including sunny yellow, lively turquoise and bright blue, as well as black and white. Each can be used on its own for a pop of color, or combined, to create a vibrant, energetic space.

“South Africa’s colorful art scene and focus on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have strongly influenced a Carnival-like spirit,” Jordan said. “This spirit is inspiring design with a zest for life, and the vibrant colors of Unrestrained are a reflection of that design aesthetic.”

SEE COLOR PALETTES

A Home Styling Lesson in Choosing Bedside Lighting

It is my occupation and duty as your interior stylist to point your home styling indiscretions. You will thank me profusely when the errors are corrected.  

A Tale of Two Homes – Home Staging is for EVERY Home

I’m hoping that you don’t think that home staging is just for empty homes, that you need to have deep pockets to hire a stager, or that we remove what you have and bring all new in - But just in case you do, here’s a glimpse of what a talented home stager can offer you.

Whether tiny or grand, we offer a variety of home staging options.  At Reinventing Space, we combine a perfect blend of home staging, interior styling and decorating services to best market your home.  Our goal is to bring out the very best of the home and create an environment, backdrop and mood that potential buyers can relate to and picture themselves living in the home.

Home #1. 1906 farm house in a very desirable community.

Pros: Charming, cozy, perfect for a young family or professional single. Cons: A kitchen and bath not as charming as the home and a real lack of style and arrangement defining the rooms. Solution: Paint, update kitchen just enough and stage and style the home with a young city couple returning to the ‘burbs in mind. We used what the homeowner had, made wise, cost effective updates and enhancements keeping in mind the price point and target buyer of the home.  A bit of painting, minor repairs, a new sink/ faucet, a cleaning service both for home and windows and a day of hands-on home staging and styling did the trick.  Within 3 weeks a contract on the home. To see the MLS listing, CLICK HERE by Dean Rouso of Baird & Warner.

Dinning Room

Dining room home staging

Bedroom Home Staging

Bedroom home staging - defining a room.

Kitchen Home Staging

Making most of a kitchen.

Sun Room/Porch home staging

Create a room, Home Staging.

Office Home Staging

Study/Office Home Staging

Home #2. Lovely, luxury home in a gated golf community.

Pros: Gorgeous, custom built, perfect for an executive who loves to entertain. Cons: A few key rooms with little or in-need of properly arranged furnishings. Homeowner had great furniture, just not in the right place or missing pieces in key rooms. Solution: Purchase key new pieces (which will move to the new home) rearrange and move other pieces, rugs, etc… to other rooms. Depersonalize the home, add new accessories to stage and style the home accordingly. Take a look at  the results and see if you can find the rearranged pieces.  CLICK TO SEE THIS SPECTACULAR LISTING by Rosemary West, RE/MAX Professionals Select.

BEFORE: Home Staging.

So whether a home is a cute 1906 farm house or a fabulous grand estate - Every home can use a bit of staging to present the home in its best condition and attract its best buyer.