John and Kate had a huge family (notice what I did there? anyone?)! With five children and an aging parent in the house they required A LOT of space. However, now that their youngest son was in college it was time to downsize considerably. Like so many people they had become accustomed to the way their house looked. Although they had high-quality furnishings they were somewhat dark and dated. The home's Mediterranean style was popular in the early 2000s but today just seemed overwhelming.
They were currently living there while their new home was being built. Clearly, moving out to sell wasn't an option. And honestly, like most homes, it just needed a little new life flowing through to make it stand out amongst the competition. Outside was already well kept and beautifully landscaped. The only changes that needed to be made were adding some plants near the front doors and some new pillows out by the pool. The inside was where we focused the majority of our energy.
Walking into the home was a small foyer space with a formal living room and dining room to the right and hallway leading to garage and downstairs bedrooms to the left. Directly in front of you was a family room and view of the pool. Despite large windows, all of it seemed dark. This area was by far the most important. Buyers form an impression within the first 7 seconds of touring a home. Light, bright, and welcoming was the goal.
To start, we removed the large hutch from the formal dining room. Too many heavy pieces of furniture take up valuable space-both literally and figuratively. With a size of 7 x 3, at $300/square foot, it's quite literally taking up $6300 worth of it! We also took down the dark artwork. We were working with a wonderful realtor who agreed that the dated chandelier over the table needed to be replaced. She went to Lowe's to purchase a new one while we were there! Using a white table runner and partially setting the table made a dramatic difference. All of the sudden it felt like light was just pouring into the room.
We next focused on the formal living room. The furniture needed to be partially rearranged to increase the functionality and flow. We removed an oversized lamp that was distracting and art that was both dark and religious. Personal, religious, and political items are better packed away, since you don't want to alienate a potential buyer. Adding a rug, cream-colored pillows, new art, and plants turned the room into my favorite one in the house! The family room got a similar makeover. We moved the console table to another wall closer to the entry and added a mirror over it to encourage buyers to visualize themselves living in the home. We also went through and rearranged shelving decor and switched out art.
We tackled a few little things in the kitchen and upstairs living areas/game room, but the majority of our remaining time was spent on the primary bedroom. Of all the bedrooms to stage the primary is definitely the one to focus on first. The bedroom set was a dark mahogany wood and felt heavy. The large room also felt cramped even though it shouldn't have. We ascertained that this was most likely related to the placement of the furniture. By moving the bed to the next wall we were able to open the entire space and even have ample room for a seating area near the french door leading out to the patio. Although likely pricey at one time, the comforter and shams were less than inviting. By replacing it with a soft, white duvet and adding stylish throw pillows the bed became a highlight rather than deterrent. The buyer could now see that a large king size bed would easily fit within the space.
The results were well worth our efforts. Despite being a buyers market with ever-rising interest rates, the nearly million dollar listing went under contract within only three days! We have also been asked to help design the sellers new home once it is completed later this year.