by Donna Kosnak

When you invite people to a party you make sure everything looks nice because you know your guests will be looking at your home.  Have you heard about “party-peekers?” They’re the people who use the opportunity to peek in private places like closets or your medicine chests. It happens to nearly everyone at one point; you may even be a “peeker” yourself.
Well, you will be inviting lots of people to shindigs at your house, but you will be calling them “showings.”  Be prepared!

Things a homeowner looks past everyday can really stand out to buyers; they look everywhere!! Make sure your closets are cleared of anything you don’t use on a weekly basis – get rid of the rest or put it in storage. If your closets are crammed buyers won’t notice how big it is, only that your junk takes up all the space. The same goes for cabinets; keep only what you use. You can put your things in baskets to make them easily movable and it will look neat and organized.  Here are some easy tricks I have found to help me keep up surfaces that everyone looks at:

1.     Magic erasers.  You know, those white foam sponges. They really are magic! It doesn’t matter if you buy the national brand or the store brands.  I use these on my walls around light switches,  on cabinet doors where little (and big) fingers have been,  that inevitable coffee drip right down the cabinet door,  any scuffs or marks on painted surfaces or anywhere you don’t want to use an abrasive cleanser.  These are especially good on surfaces with texture so you can get into the nitty-gritty; the door handle on my refrigerator is the usually suspect. Read the rest of this entry »

Impact Interior Design Solutions will be interviewing candidates for the 2012 Apprentice program.  Our deadline for selecting candidates is January 31, 2012.

Candidates must be:

1.  Outgoing

2.  Physically fit, able to lift a min of 40 lbs, and willing to help with moving staging inventory

3.  Willing to represent Impact Interior Design Solutions upon completion of program

Candidates must also have flexibility with schedule to work when staging work is scheduled.  Some evenings and weekends may be required.

During the interview we will discuss the scope of the training and what you can expect.

Impact is currently interviewing apprentice candidates.  Candidates should call or email Darla at 248-761-3320 to learn more.

Super boring to super cute!  Even “budget”  houses benefit from home staging.

This picture shows how staging adds personality.  Now sellers can envision a family gathering, or sit and contemplate an offer.  This house is on the market for under $40,000.  It is a demonstration of how staging works for any price point.  I would love to see how you stage budget houses.

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This represents a house we recently provided investor design services along with a vacant staging package.  The before picture is not a mistake, we actually combined a super small family room with an adjacent bedroom to make a great room.  We still have 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, so removing the 4th bedroom was a small compromise.  We created a much more family friendly space buyers are sure to fall in love with.  We do not expect this one to last long!

Please share with me your dramatic makeover on a budget!

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1912 N Connecticut Ave, Royal Oak, MI
Bed 3, Baths 2
SqFt: 1,119

Great Well Maintained Bungalow W/ Xl Garage! Features Hardwood Floors & Coved Ceilings. Large Master Bedroom W/lots Of Closet Space. Finished Basement W/large Full Bath. Large Front Porch. Close To Freeways, Shopping & Schools! Not A Short Sale Or Foreclosure. Includes Appliances.

MLS 211104717

Contact: Mike Sher of Max Broock, Realtors-Bloomfield (248) 644-4700 x242

As a stager we often need to find excellent products which solve staging dilemmas.    Many of our sellers have the charm of hardwood floors, but in many cases they are worn or lightly distressed.  One of my favorite products is by Minwax Hardwood Reviver.   For under $19.00, one bottle will easily cover a medium size room.   As you can see from the picture, this product offers a quick solution, and adds instant value.

This is a good product for reviving any wood needing a little pick me up.  I frequently use it on kitchen cabinets or on other wood furniture.  It comes in different sheens to match your original finish.  It does not add color.  I suggest you always test the product on a small corner or discreet area before apply to large area.

Please share with me your favorite household care product; I would love to see how many we can come up with and then publish a list of recommended products we can all share with our clients, friends and families.

If you’re a U.S. consumer with too much stuff, you have a few options. You’ve probably already tried to downsize – Goodwill, thrift store, and antique shop your way out of clutter. This is a great practice for any homeowner, but rarely yields the type of results a household really needs. You can try to organize your way into a home in which every nook and cranny has a place for stuff, but this really equates to buying more things (containers, bins, baskets, shelves, etc.) that happen to serve as a place for other things. It’s a temporary solution to a very persistent problem. Probably the best and quickest approach is to find some cheap self storage.

Believe it or not, the phenomenon of having too many things and not enough space is an issue unique to the culture of the United States after the industrial revolution. Over consumption is America’s middle and last name. A great example of this is the storage industry, a type of business that was originally dependent on business clients when it began in the 1800s. Since the mid 1900s, the broader demand for self-service storage (or “self storage”) led to the creation of a consumer storage industry that clearly capitalizes on Americans’ propensity to acquire too much stuff. According the Self Storage Association, there are over 50,000 storage facilities in the U.S., but only 58,000 total in the world. That means roughly 86% of the world’s consumer-facing storage facilities are in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

Our home staging consultation helps sellers turn ugly into profitable.  Recently we have been recommending to many sellers to implement modest updates in the main bathroom.  Re-glazing the tile offers a cost effective solution that adds a bright and modern look for a fraction of the price of a full remodel.

When sellers do not remove or change a dated tile bathroom, it is likely they will be looking at price reductions in the range of $3000-$9000 to compensate for the dated décor.  If sellers can neutralize the space with new color tile (done effectively with a professional glazing service) the final result is fresh, clean and dramatic!  We do this for a fraction of the price of removing.  Other benefits include not having to demolish the old tile and the extended time frame it would take to replace.  With this service we can do a mini makeover in just a few days.

In many cases we can salvage the floor, even if it is not exactly “ideal.”  For example, in the photo below we glazed the main tile but kept the blue floor.  We used the blue vintage floor as a design element, and added subtle blue accents!  It worked perfectly.

The bathroom makeovers are much more affordable than most sellers think.   We offer this type of specific advice within our Staging Consultation.  Our consultations are cost effective ($250 to $400), and provide our sellers with specific instructions on how to add value to their property.  A report will include an entire house strategy – detailed by room.  It includes:  project priorities, furniture placement, décor elements, organizing tips, and more.   If help is needed to implement, we can do that too!  For more information on our consultations, please contact us at 248.761.3320.

Depersonalizing bold color choices makes a huge difference when selling a house.  In this bedroom our sellers only paid $300.00 to have this bedroom updated.  A bold neutral adds warmth and makes it easy for a buyer to visually move into a house.  Many bold colors like the one shown in this example will equate to huge price reductions.

This house represents another successful sale!