Introduction to Home Staging

I am tasked with selling my mother’s house now that she has gone into a nursing home. The realtor is insisting that I complete a long shopping/decorating list to "stage" the house for sale. I had assumed it would be sold empty, after a few necessary repairs and upgrades.

The idea of staging completely throws off my timeline in terms of having an estate sale to sell furniture, etc., having the house professionally cleaned by a service, having the hardwood floors refinished, etc., etc., etc. It makes a really complicated, stressful job a whole lot worse for me.

Is staging really necessary or can I just tell her I want to sell it empty? I’m not looking to soak every possible dollar out of the sale, I just want to get it done.

Thank you.

They are only suggesting what they think will sell the house more quickly. You are the seller and in control and remember they are working for you. So do what you want to do, if they insist, get another agent.
Good luck.

Are there necessary certifications and/or training? What else do I need to know about this business? Any books that can be recommended? Websites? Thank you!

You need to know how to explain to people that their kids’ art has to come off the fridge, and painting over the purple wall in the living room is well worth the money. Anyone can pack up people’s stuff and clean off shelves and garages. Psychology and tact are the skills that are the hardest to master, especially when it comes to religious and/or ethnic themes and items. Negotiation skills will serve you well, and an understanding of different personality types, biases, and traditions.

Connections with realtors will be almost mandatory. Work for free for 6-8 homes to get some experience and references if you do not already have a customer base that is easily reachable.

Your efforts to sell your home this fall season can be aided by some simple decorating that reflects autumn and/or the popular holiday of Halloween. Some effective touches can not only ’round out’ your staging; they can also encourage potential buyers to imagine decorating the home themselves by creating a warm, inviting atmosphere.

The first rule of Halloween decorating is: don’t go overboard! You’re staging your home, not throwing a Halloween party. No skeletons, NO fake blood and nothing that is meant to jump out and startle people! You want people to enjoy their tour of your home; not have a heart attack when the fake bat drops onto their head.

A fall staging theme can be as simple as warm fall colors being featured in the decor. Or, it can be tastefully elaborate, with some kind of decoration in every room that ‘ties’ the rooms together.

In homage to the holiday, you can use pumpkins and the small pumpkin-like gourds to accent your porch, tables and mantelpieces. Pumpkins are definitely an attention getter, both in terms of size and color. Use them wisely.

If you decide to carve your pumpkins, make sure that they are carved in harmless, “happy” expressions, if they have faces. One idea is to use your jack-o-lanterns to highlight the numbers of your address. Or, you could carve a tiny house into one.

If you do decide to go the jack-o-lantern route, use candle substitutes. The last thing you want is to find the perfect buyer, only to have your home burn to the ground because a candle fell over. Flameless flickering lights are available cheaply from local stores, especially around Halloween.

Flowers and plants are popular with home stagers and you can make them work for you. Chrysanthemums and dried leaves are good fall choices for the home stager. A vase of these in a room can provide some attractive natural color that calls to mind the crisp warmth of fall. Planting hardy fall flowers like mums can also add some color to an otherwise fading garden.

One idea for home showing is have business cards printed up with a picture of your home and contact information. Tie these to Halloween candy bags and put them in a fall/Halloween themed bowl for prospective buyers.

Halloween and fall provide you with a great decorating scheme to bring your house together with warm, inviting colors and decorations that reflect the fall harvest/Halloween season. This can help prospective buyers imagine decorating your home for their seasonal celebrations and encourage them to think of your home as their own.

Marci McFarland
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/staging-your-home-for-autumn-and-halloween-574602.html

We are buying a model home and the builder asked us to make an offer on any furniture in the house. We have no idea how much (or how little) to offer.

From experience, I can tell you that the builder paid 25% under the going rate for that furniture. He would like to get that back, but would be willing to take a small hit since it is now slightly used for display and he would have to pay for it to be moved and stored. He would be happy to get half of what that identical furniture is going for at a Haverty’s or Rooms to Go in your area of the country. If he needs the money, and they all do right now, he will let it go for less.

Reasonable offer would be 25% of current retail price for identical furniture. Negotiate from there if you really like it.

There are so many decoration ideas for the bathroom, that it is really a shame to have a drab and unappealing look to this room. It is probably because we all take longer in this room than we used too, so employing a few bathroom decorating ideas to liven it up makes it all that more enjoyable. After all, if you are spending about half an hour a day in the room, why shouldn\’t it be more relaxing?

It is often a good showing point for your ideas when your friends come around to see how you have used your bathroom decorating ideas. We all take it for granted that our living area and kitchen will look well presented so there is absolutely no reason why you cannot do the same for your bathroom too.

The chances are that your bathroom decorating ideas will follow the same used in the rest of your house so that every room matches to a degree. In this instance, you may have a home that has many small tables placed around it with plants on them, well, why not extend this very simple idea to your bathroom. Low tables like this are also a good place for books or magazines as who doesn\’t like to read when they relax in a warm bath?

This can also work the other way, if you have used certain decorating or furnishing ideas in your bathroom then why not extend some of those to other areas of your home. Why not take that colorful tile that you have used around the hand wash basin into the kitchen for instance.

If a bathroom tile has a particular pattern there are many places where it could be used to augment the feel of the home including the kitchen. Of course, bathroom decorating ideas might start with tiles on the floor and sink, but they do not end their.

Beside the tiles, there are many creative things that you can do with the soap and the soap trays. There are even articles in home decoration books and magazine illustrating how easy it is too make your own soap rays.

An unusual idea came from one magazine which showed how to make dispensers from clay which would not be a material that would automatically spring to mind. I have always found that even if you do nothing else, a relaxing picture, perhaps of woodland, lake or seashore can make a great deal of difference to a bathroom. Whatever you do, don\’t allow the bathroom to become bland when it has so much potential to please the eye.

David Barnard
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/bathroom-decorating-715519.html

Or does it mostly fuel hyper nationalism which almost always is a divisive force on the world stage?

Of course there is some of each but where does the preponderance lie? Divide or unite? Why or why not?

Yes, I think every previous world cup helped bring people together. Sadly with this current world cup it’s the South Africans and their vuvuzelas who are alientaing football fans in the rest of the world. This world cup will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Any ideas on how to get a legitimate Home Staging certification in Pennsylvania? Thank you in advance.

Simply apply for it and pay the fee.

Cottage style decorating can be fun and it is also fairly easy. It allows plenty of space and simplicity which is ideal for families and you can also mix and match your interior decorations so the choice is pretty much endless!

Cottage style decorating is incredibly simple and it focuses on having space as well as keeping things either traditional or a little more modern. If you have small children then cottage style decorating might well just suit you down to the ground as it is mainly an uncluttered, simple style which does not provide much chance for accidents within the home. It is also extremely hardy and it can cope with the odd knock or scrape every now and again!

Cottage Style Decorating Today

If you are thinking of decorating your home in a cottage style, you may be wondering where to start. Well, cottages in the past were always used as servant houses. This meant that they had little furniture and they were incredibly simple. These days, whilst the layout is still fairly simple, the furniture and the décor can be pretty much whatever you want them to be. So, whether you want a modern style cottage decoration or a more traditional, yet slightly expensive decoration, the choice really is yours.

Antique furniture looks especially good in a cottage decorated home and you do not have to pay a fortune either – there are some particularly good bargains at your local flea market. One of the best things about cottage style decorating also is that everything does not have to match. You can have mismatched fabrics, mismatched colors and it will look perfectly fine.

Whilst cottage style decorating may not be for everyone, it certainly has its admirers and more and more people are turning to its designs for their home. After all, it is much easier to simply throw a few bits together, have more space and keep it simple than it is to worry about every minute detail.

Some people believe that cottage style decorating is more geared towards the older generation; however that is not always the case. Anybody with a love of interior decorating will like the style of cottage decorating as will all different ages. It all basically depends upon personal taste and what you would prefer. More and more people are choosing the cottage style these days because of its simplicity and of how easy it is to pick things up for the home. So, if you would like to decorate your home cottage style, you would certainly not be the only one!

Mr.Andrew Caxton
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/various-decorating-styles-cottage-style-decorating-111692.html

Solve Your Decorating Challenge

By Vickie Morrow

You’ve moved into your new home, unpacked the boxes, arranged and rearranged the furniture, hung a few things on the walls. Hmmm. You know, or think you know how you want your rooms to feel but can’t get from the builder white walls and your old stuff to that wonderful comfy inviting look you got when you were in the model of the home you purchased?

Before you panic and true anxiety sets in know there are more easy solutions at your fingertips than ever before. There are decorator magazines, Home Decorating shows, web sites, retailers, great books with very good instructions. Visiting model homes again will help. “Okay, “ you say, “I see them, I buy them, I visit them, I like them, but how do I do it? I don’t know where to begin.”

Start with one room you love in a magazine or model home. We’ll call it your dream room. If you can go to the model home to feel and study the space or the room you will get the best results. Ask if you may take pictures in the models too. This will help when you get home and when you shop. Take a tape measure and a spiral notebook with you to make notes and draw sketches. I like the ones with plastic tabs and pockets inside.

Let’s start decorating by seeing what we like.

Are all the walls the same color and the ceiling too? What color(s) is the room? Write this down. Is there a chair rail or decorative molding at the ceiling, wall covering or faux painting? What is on the floor? Is there tile, wood, carpet, area rugs? What color and texture and pattern? Is the area rug braided or a Persian rug or a contemporary design diagonally placed partly under one of the chairs and sofa?

What style is the furniture? Is it all a matching set? Do all the woods match? Maybe the sofa and club chairs are the same style and wood finish but the chairs have a patterned upholstery and the sofa is a solid or striped fabric. Write this down.

How is the furniture arranged? Does the sofa sit in the middle of the room separating the conversation area from the game table, or is all the furniture pushed up against the walls? Draw a little floor plan so you don’t forget when you get home.

The windows. Are there blinds, shutters, a valence or draperies? Are the rods large or small, wood or metal with huge finials? Make a note of it. If there are panels at each side of the window, do they go all the way to the floor? What color are they? Do they match the walls or are they the same fabric as the toss pillows on the sofa? Is it the drapery hold back that catches your eye? You will have to consider the exposure and privacy out your own windows when you make your final window treatment selection.

The pizzazz is the accessories. This is often what many people love most about the model homes or magazine pictures that inspire them. The details, the little things we all love to collect and buy when we shop. This is what pulls the room together and gives it your personality. In the room you love, what kind of lamps are there? Is there a place to store the things you will need to put away? Are there several things grouped on the coffee table? What sizes are they? Is there something pretty tall, a large round platter set on a stand and a box all grouped together? If there are photographs on the end tables, how big are they and how does the frame style work with everything else in the room?

What is on the walls? Is there one large picture over the sofa or is there an arrangement of black and white photos in different size frames? What color is the matting and how much space from the photo to the frame? Is there a special mosaic you like? Details, details, details. Draw a sketch of the picture arrangement and the sizes in your notebook.

Congratulations. You have just completed the first step to decorating your own home.

You know what you want, how it goes together and what it will look like. You don’t have to break the bank now to create your room. You probably already have the furniture pieces and accessories. You may already have the lamps and area rug as well. For more decorating tips and ideas go to www.inoutdecor.com You may just have everything you need to recreate and rearrange.

Get started. Go to the paint store and select the paint chips you think best match your dream room. Grab several samples, color can be deceiving and they can look different depending on the light. Take them back to the model home and see which ones match the best. Buy the paint and paint the room.

Your window treatment. If you copy your dream room exactly make sure you have the right privacy and exposure considerations covered. This is where a lot of people go astray. They think they like shutters and buy them. Then they don’t like them and also wonder how their dream room went wrong. Your dream room may have been more airy with a shade and drapery panels on large wood poles. The wrong blinds, shutters or draperies and hardware can be a costly mistake that you probably won’t change.

Arrange your furniture for conversation, TV watching, family fun, reading, eating or homework keeping in mind your dream room. Was all the furniture lined up on one side of the room? Your sofa may be the wrong color and your chairs may need to be redone. That doesn’t mean you have to buy all new; consider slipcovers. You can buy them or make them. Get slipcover instructions at www.inoutdecor.com Be sure your accessories are things you want around you and are of a grand enough scale for your space. Voila! You’re on your way to decorating confidence and living in the home that makes you and your family happy.

Vickie Morrow
http://www.articlesbase.com/accessories-articles/solve-your-decorating-challenge-195193.html

Calculate the speed of a dog running through a field if he is covering 23.7 meters in 54 seconds.

Calculate the average velocity of a dancer who moves 5 m toward the left of the stage over the course of 15 s.

speed of dog = distance / time = 23.7/54 = 0.44 m/s

velocity of dancer = same formula = 5/15 = 0.33 m/s

i think.