ShareFall is in the air, and it’s a great time to get some inspiration for making your listings cozier. The Home Staging Resource’s monthly “Best of the Best” program recognizes top designs from its members, and October’s honorees are noted for using earthy, nature-inspired colors and textured fabrics. Take some pointers from their designs and apply them in your own listing.
Wallpaper Star
Lindsey Machado of Designed With Grace & Joy in the Temecula, Calif., area wanted to show how a few small changes can have a dramatic effect in this bathroom remodel. “The [original] blue wall paint, marble-looking tile floor, and chrome fixtures in this bathroom felt very cold and sterile,” Machado says. “I wanted to make it a warm and inviting space.” The Anthropologie wallpaper became the focal point. Machado had luxury vinyl plank flooring installed as well as a new vanity light and faucet. “The wallpaper was the focal point that I built everything else around, and I was able to color match and find the perfect Sherwin-Williams wall color to coincide with it,” Machado says. “I splurged on a new vanity light and faucet because I was drawn to the styles of both, but I chose to simply repaint the other fixtures (e.g. toilet paper holder, towel bar, etc.) to save money. I styled the shelves—which are from Target but stained to have more of a gray tone—with mostly functional bathroom items because an empty space above the toilet is one of my biggest pet peeves.”
Odes to the City
Kieran Ginesi, owner of Hazel Eye for Design in Mandeville, La., recently staged a Queen Anne-style home in the heart of New Orleans that was more than a century old. “It had the most magnificent windows, allowing the gorgeous outdoors in,” Ginesi says. “I rearranged furnishings in the dining room to allow the windows to frame the room and the fireplace to remain the focal point. I also added some excitement with color to the home by incorporating some good, old New Orleans charm with art, rugs, and accessories.” She kept the formal living room intact with the piano but added special touches, including an old framed map of New Orleans as well as local streetcar art.
Dated to Modern
Mary Diaz, owner of Icon Home Staging, LLC in Naples, Fla., removed the Tuscan influence in this home, which required a total renovation that included new flooring, wall paint, fireplace accent stones, furnishings, and accessories. “The beautiful wood mantel was custom-made and stained to match the flooring,” Diaz says. “I chose a neutral design palette consisting of wood tones, off-white and grays, and rich textures. The beauty of this home was once again revealed.”
Coastal Themed
Meg Glines of Mainsail Home Design, LLC, serving the coastal New Jersey area, staged this newly built vacation home with a timeless coastal look. Glines, who has built a niche furnishing and decorating multimillion-dollar oceanfront homes, often is called upon by builders to furnish and decorate homes intended as rentals.
An Inviting Rental
Sarah Greco, owner of Simply Sarah Designs in Hopedale, Mass., and a real estate pro with Custom Home Realty, recently took on a staging job for a rental. She was contacted by a company called Fulhaus, a design and furnishing service for hotels and short-term rental homes, to stage this Airbnb in Attleboro, Mass.
Layers of Texture
Tina Lester of Tina Lester Home Staging & Design in Gloucester, Va., worked with a home flipper on this recent property redo. Lester used several different patterns and textures to enhance the home’s look.
Clearing Away the Emptiness
Kerry Whippee of Shamrock Hill Design in the Baltimore area recently took on a freshly renovated home in a great location. “But there was one thing missing: It was empty,” Whippee says. “Empty homes produce empty feelings.” Whippee sought to create a warm, cohesive, and inviting home in her staging.
Lightening the Mood
Salem Webb, an owner of One Nest LLC and real estate professional with Realty One Group Five Star in Highlands Ranch, Colo., transformed a home from dark and dreary to light and airy.
Table Decorating
Liz Landers of Doe Eyed Boutique in Richmond, Va., has a home staging and holiday decorating business. Landers displays decorative tabletops to show off homes as entertaining spaces.
Stay tuned! Next week we’ll feature some more Home Staging Resource winners of the “Best of the Best” awards and how they’re transformations brought big results at resale.
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