Selling? 10 tips for decorating your porch for the holidays

Are you one of the thousands of sellers who has your home on the market this holiday season?  Are you torn between whether or not you should decorate at all?  Depending on which article you read, or who you speak with, will impact the advice and opinion you receive.  I am always pro-decorating for the holidays, with one simple caveat - it must be tasteful decor!  No big plastic Santa on the roof.  Or oversized inflatables on the front yard...

Plenty of people disagree with me and believe instead that holiday decorations increase the risk of offending someone.  In over 20 years of selling real estate, I have never had a buyer be offended by holiday decorations.  Instead, the decorated homes tend to appear a bit more welcoming, and warmer - which is an added bonus during a Chicago winter!

Just keep the decor tasteful.  Simple.  Soft.  Tone it down from your typical annual display.  Garlands on a staircase, garnished with twinkling lights.  A lightly staged mantled, dressed with stockings and candles.  The Christmas tree, tucked in the corner or filling the oft empty space of a bay window.

And do not forget the entry.  Especially if you are in a cold climate where a buyer will be standing, looking around, while the agent fidgets with opening the lockbox.  Again, keep it simple.  Want some ideas?  Click here to check out this post from tatertots & jello, offering 10 tips for a terrific porch display.  Happy Holidays!

 

Want the ultimate kitchen? Try these tips...

Ahhhhh...the holiday season is quickly approaching.  For some people, that means spending extra time in the kitchen - or worse yet, having lots of guests spend extra time in your kitchen.

In the world of real estate, the kitchen is generally the center of the home.  It tends to be a major focal point of buyers, and it usually is the most expensive room in the house.  And the room that we spend the most time in.  Not only to prepare and eat meals, it also serves as a homework space, hobby nook, home office and entertainment hub.  Have you ever noticed how many people congregate in the kitchen, whenever you invite a group to your home?

Better Homes & Garden put together 25 Tips to Get the Ultimate Kitchen.  While some are a bit more extensive (& expensive) to pull off, there are also some simple ideas that can easily be completed in time for the holidays.  Love your kitchen, it is such an important part of your home!

What one change could you make today?

Are you on Pinterest?

So are we! Stop by and follow our home-related boards!

www.pinterest.com/terriandkieron

Fall influenced decor

Oranges, yellows & reds seem to be mostly associated with the Fall season. However, these wonderfully warm colors are great to use all year long.  Especially in colder climates, or dimly lit spaces (like the north rooms of a home).  Want to warm up your home's decor?  Take a look at some of these ideas ...

Fall Color Schemes

39 wall art ideas to get your creative juices flowing...

Last night I was sitting on the couch in my family room, after returning home from an evening walk with my dogs.  I have lived in this house for 8 years now.  And for 8 years I have stared at a blank wall on one side of the room, and a beautiful cherry Federal mantle on the other side.  Both are screaming for attention.  I think that it is time I do something to spice them up.  One of these ideas just may do it!  Or at least get my creative juices flowing...

Which one is your favorite?

http://ow.ly/A1TXh

Looking for a change at home? Try this...

The best part about paint?  It's easy to change if you don't like the end product!


http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/29576535/list/11-Reasons-to-Paint-Your-Interior-Doors-Black

Bored with your home? 21 Free Ways to Love Your Home Again...

It's been a brutal winter this year, and Mother Nature hasn't been very kind this spring either.  Cabin fever sunk in, for us Chicagoans, long ago.  While I love the Benjamin Moore brown that I painted my family room last spring, I am tired of staring at it.  I have all spent a lot more time in my home than I typically do, and if I can't head outside, then I have realized that I need to freshen things up a bit.

I am not looking to re-decorate or redesign.  I am looking for low-cost ideas, to change things up a little bit.  I found some great ideas on Houzz.  Minimalistic approached like playing background music and setting the table with fine china.   I love to bring lilacs & hydrangeas inside, sadly they are not close to opening yet this year!  However, I have never thought about placing them in anything other than a standard vase.  That will change this year!  And how many candles do I have lying around waiting for an opportunity to use them? What exactly am I waiting for?

If your home is on the market right now, consider implementing some of these ideas to warm up your space, and create some added appeal for your buyer.

Click below to read the Houzz article

21 Free Ways to Love Your Home

Oh how I hate to pick out paint colors!

We always tell a buyer to never let paint color interfere with their home buying process.  Truth is, some paint colors really aid the selling of a home, while others can be major turn-offs.  Part of the problem is that so many people struggle with the ability to look beyond what is right in front of them.  They have blinders on, and cannot see what that navy blue bedroom with the black ceiling & stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars has the potential to become.  Yet paint remains one of the most cost effective changes that a seller can make when they are putting the home on the market, and that a buyer can make once they close on a home.

The challenge so many people face?  Choosing the best color.  Like everything else in life, psychology has entered in the world of paint.  A lot of thought has been put into analyzing various colors, hues and tones - as well as the perceptions that people have developed about those colors.  CertaPro Painters has helped simplify the process by putting together this chart.  So take a look, and then grab your brush!

http://ow.ly/w35dp

An easy way to upgrade not only your kitchen, but your...

Backsplashes.  Once a staple for a kitchen, used to protect the wall behind the stove top from grease and food, backsplashes have now become a key design feature, fulfilling more of an aesthetic role in home decor.  No longer reserved for the cooking area, a backsplash often runs the full perimeter of the kitchen - filling the space between the counter top and the bottom of the upper cabinets.  The styles and products available for backsplashes are almost endless - tumbled marble has been a very popular option over the past decade, however glass, metal and granite are commonly used.  Ceramic tile can be easily painted - allowing for more customization than some of the other materials.

While still used prevalently in kitchens, backsplashes have ventured into other areas of the home.  Bathrooms are easily spiced up by adding a tile finish along the sink vanity in the bath.  Dress up your laundry room by adding tile to the wall above the counter or behind a utility in laundry room.  Be sure to scale the size of the backsplash foundation to the size of the room you are installing it in - use mosaic tiles, or smaller cuts of marble, stone or glass in the bath and laundry area.  One of the benefits to using mosaic tiles is that the design are usually pre-assembled and attached - minimizing the time required for installation.

An easy way to upgrade not only your kitchen... http://ow.ly/twnSW

Where should I put this couch?

I grew up in a house where my mother was always rearranging the furniture.  It saved on traffic pattern wear on the carpet, gave the room a fresh look, and kept us on our toes. 

How about you?  Mental block on where to put that couch?  Or how to arrange your table and chairs?  What about the best way to set up your family room TV?  Better Homes & Gardens offers some quick solutions to common decorating problems, including sketches to follow the ideas.

Me?  I haven't changed any room since I moved into my house almost 8 years ago.  After reading the article, I am thinking maybe I ought to give it a try.

How to Arrange Furniture with Better Homes & Gardens