Staging Advice from HGTV’s Sandra Rinomato

Check out this great Staging Advice from HGTV’s Sandra Rinomato

Fuchsia Accents moodboard by Birgit

Fuchsia Accents moodboard by Birgit

Did You Know….?

Sea glass can be a fun way to accessorize and add color to your room.

Did you know that, according to the Coastal Living Magazine one of the best places to find sea glass is right here in Connecticut at Hammonassett Beach State Park in Madison?

Here are some ideas how sea glass can be easily used in some DIY decorating projects:

1. Candle Holder: find a decorative glass, fill it 1/3 with sand, stick in a candle and then add your sea glass

2. Table Lamp: get one of those table lamps that have a glass bottom that can be filled. Add your sea glass into the body of the lamp

3. Pencil holder - Simply fill a jar or glass with sea glass and stick your pencils in

 

Design Tips: How to Update a Kitchen without Breaking the Bank

In these economically challenging times, many people are holding off on big investments to update their house. But does this mean that you have to compromise on style and aesthetics while you are living in your home? Or does this mean that you have to make big pricing concessions when selling your home, just because your kitchen is not in par with what buyers are looking for?

As a real estate home staging company in Fairfield county, CT we know that kitchen and bathrooms sell houses. If buyers walk through a house and see that the first thing they have to update is a kitchen, before they even can move in, they just won’t make an offer on your property, but rather on the neighbor’s house that has been kept current in style. Buyers have many houses to choose from and they do not want to buy a “project”, but a move-in ready home.

Therefore, we worked with a recent client to make necessary changes to upgrade the dated kitchen. Here are some tips without breaking your bank that you can implement – either for enjoying a new look while living in it or for getting your house ready for sale:

• The plain “oak look” gives a kitchen a dated look. If the cabinets are in good shape you might want to consider re-facing them. If re-facing is not in your budget, you might want to consider painting them. TIP: bring the cabinet paint all the way to the ceiling trim to extend the visual height of the cabinets and give a larger space impression.
• Replace your old hardware with “new style” hardware. straight lined, simple design, brushed nickel works best for achieving a modern look.
• Granite has come down in pricing over the past decade and is a valuable option for also lower budgets. Granite countertops still has a great re-sale value and will give your kitchen a higher end look.
• In our specific kitchen example below we extended the kitchen countertop to provide a bar / eat-in feature as well.
• Compliment the granite countertop with a contemporary glass tile or other modern looking backsplash.
• A under-mount sink and a new faucet will extend the countertop space by a few inches.
• New and matching stainless steel appliances bring a continuous style into the kitchen
• If the floor is worn or dated, add a new floor as well.
• Coordinate the wall color with your backsplash, countertop, cabinets and floor.
• To top off the design, replace your old lighting fixture with a new style and finishes matching one.