Tag: home selling tips

Alternative Wall Decor

Decorating walls can be tough – even designers can find themselves struggling to fill negative wall space. A well designed room has a balanced proportion of positive (furniture, decor, art) AND negative (empty floor and wall) space. In today’s world of open concept living, it can be challenging to fill negative wall space as you don’t want to have too many competing pieces of art around. These instances call for some creativity and outside-of-the-box thinking to figure out what ELSE you can use to decorate your walls. Here are some of our favourites:

  1. Woven Wall Baskets have livened up a number of our designs over the past few months. We have used them individually to fill a tiny wall, as a small group of three slightly staggered, and as a larger, asymmetrical grouping where they are slightly overlapping each other.
  2. Juju Hats are another piece of alternative wall decor that we have been loving. The softness of the feathers and the texture that they bring to a space adds immediate warmth and helps to fill empty wall space without grabbing too much attention. TIP: Try creating a collage of binga baskets AND one or two juju hats for an amazing display of pattern and texture. We recently completed a project where we did this over a sideboard in a dining room and the finished look is to die for!
  3. Wall Hangings have been around for a while and we don’t see them going anywhere in the near future. They are usually soft and natural in colour which means they won’t steal too much of your attention, and that makes them perfect for filling empty wall space.

Remember to always take a step back and assess your space before committing to too many pieces of wall decor. You don’t have to have every wall in your home covered with art and accessories. Let your walls breathe a little bit while keeping in mind that you need some empty space to balance out the rest of your furnishings and accessories.

Visit our shop to create a little magic of your own.

Staging to Sell: Before & After

Here’s an example of the power of staging!

These homeowners were on the market for the majority of a year. We had a consultation and recommended a paint colour for the main floor, going with a lighter more neutral colour (Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17).

We also suggested that the lower cabinets and island get painted out white like the rest of the cabinets which would also blend better with the counter tops.

When the painting was completed the homeowners moved their stuff out to their new home and we staged the property. They sold in approximately a week after staging!

After:

After

After  After

After

Before:

 

Before  Before

Before  Before  Before

 

Why fall and winter can be the best time to sell

When fall sets in and the days grow colder many home owners that have their homes on the market decide to remove their listing until the spring. While others that were thinking of listing decide to wait until the spring to list their homes. A wise choice? Or are they missing out on a prime opportunity to have their property sell?

Less Competition

There is less competition at this time of year, in fact inventory levels can be about one-third of what is typically on the market. Many other home owners have removed their properties from the market at this time of the year while others also wait until spring. Less inventory on the market means you’re competing against less homes. Drive around or check online yourself to see what listings are still up in your neighbourhood. Or ask a realtor about listings data in your neighbourhood.  They have access to market data and can give you accurate data about your area to make your decision easier.

Motivated Buyers

Buyers that are looking at this time of year are usually very motivated buyers. Perhaps they need to be in their new home by January.  Many buyers have time off during the holidays so they focus on finding a home, particularly first time home owners.

Strengthen your position

Another reason to sell now is that it strengthens your position when you negotiate your next home purchase. Offers that are not conditional on selling your own home are much stronger, and can really tighten up closing dates getting you settled into your new home quicker.

Show your home at its best

As with any other time of the year, make sure your home is looking its best by de-cluttering, de-personalizing your home, removing excess storage items, and excess furniture. Consider having it staged to show its best.  Keep driveways and walkways cleared and salted for potential buyers. Also clear off decks and walk ways in the back – you want to make sure that buyers see these additional features of your home.

You can take advantage of Holiday Décor

Christmas decorations can add real ambience to your home and emotions play a big part in a home buyer’s decision making process. The key thing is to not go overboard, you want to add just the right amount of decor. Just like the interior, I tell my clients less-is-more.

holiday_decoratingFor the exterior no snow globes and giant blow up Santas in your yard!  Use soft white Christmas lights to frame and show off architectural details of your home. Note that white lights are the best choice when selling your home, they are a much more sophisticated choice. Use white flood lights used strategically to emphasize your shrubbery and the front façade of your home. Incorporate tasteful holiday wreaths and winter arrangements. All of these things will go a long way to add to your curb appeal.

For the interior, again less-is-more, and subtleness is key. Use holiday décor that complements the colour palette in your home and overall enhances your space, rather than distracting from it. Play up a fireplace mantle for example. If your home has blue tones adding red and green décor is not the way to go. Using white and silver décor would complement the space much better.  If you have earthy tones throughout your home using rich reds, greens and gold will work well.  Remember less-is-more, if you’re adding décor make sure you’re taking away some of your regular décor. Accentuate a bay window for example, but don’t go overboard and add décor everywhere – it becomes cluttered and distracting for a viewer. If possible use a tree that isn’t too big as you don’t want it taking over the space and making the room look small.  Once the holidays are over make sure you remove the decorations right away!

Think about hiring a home stager to assist in making your home look it’s best for those motivated buyers that are still out there looking.

Talk to a realtor before de-listing your home because this might be the prime time to sell in your particular market area, or if you were thinking of waiting until spring reach out to a realtor to get their advice on listing now.