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Design Articles
(More design articles listed below.)
Article 1. How To Prepare Your Home To Sell
If you’ve got your home on the market for sale, then I’ve got some great tips on how to sell your home much faster. There are many things you can do to prepare your home for resale that you may not have considered. So now you’ve got an unfair advantage over the competition.
First start by considering the curb appeal of your home. Yours may or may not have it. Curb appeal can drive prospects to your home or drive them away. It’s just that simple.
Is your lawn groomed and trimmed? Have you discarded the weeds and trimmed the bushes? Do you have bright, colorful flowers beckoning you to drive up and come in?
Consider the perimeter of the house. Have you walked around the house to see if there is trash lying about? Do you have your garbage cans hidden? Have you removed and stored building materials, bicycles and toys?
Look at the house. Does it need new paint? Are the windows clean? Gutters cleaned out? Are there any exterior repairs that need to be done? Is the patio or porch clean and front entry doorway cleared of clutter? Is the garage clean and organized? How does the garage door look? Does it need repair or fresh paint?
You’ll want to make your front entryway inviting by adding some pots of fragrant and colorful flowers by the door. Also consider an inviting welcome mat. If you have one but it’s old and torn, get rid of it and buy a new one.
As for the interior, first and foremost, a must-have scent in your home is cinnamon or apple cinnamon candles and air spray. This was voted the most popular simply because it’s an inviting fragrance, and tends to give people a sense of comfort and security.
The scent of your home is one of the most important elements to selling your home. Never have odors of animals, fish, cigarettes or any other foul smell permeating throughout your home. Get rid of all tobacco and ashtrays. Never smoke inside your house before a home showing.
Now let’s consider the interior spaces of your home. Rid them of all clutter and this includes too much furniture. By getting rid of the clutter you create more space, which in turn will make the room look larger.
This is true for the kitchen as well. You’ll want to clear the countertops completely. Less is more, and very important to remember as you consider each room. Remove all the notes and pictures that are tacked on the front of your refrigerator. A spotless kitchen is essential to selling your home.
Cleaning all dirt, grease and grime from kitchens and bathrooms are a must and dirty rooms shall not be tolerated. In fact, you won’t be able to sell your home if it’s dirty and smelly.
Consider clearing out the clutter in your kitchen cabinets as well as all clutter from all your closets. Organization is key and will create more space. Creating more space is very important and is essential to selling your home.
Everybody always wants more space and certainly the cabinets and closets is where they will look. So make sure to clear out excess clothing and organize your closets. Consider taking out half the clothes, perhaps the winter clothes if it is summer, and store them in boxes. This way the closet will look larger.
Bathrooms should be spotless. Countertops should be rid of makeup, perfumes and other items. Remove old wallpaper and paint with neutral colors. Top with fresh, coordinating towels.
Now consider the paint on your walls and the color of your carpeting. Are they loud, too bright, too colorful? You’ll want to avoid trendy color schemes and tone them down to shades of white or beige. Neutral color schemes is key to selling your home.
Is the carpet clean? Does it need to be steam cleaned? What about the tile or hardwood? Have you cleaned them till they sparkle? Do the window treatments need steam cleaning? Consider a cleaning company if you must.
Patch and repair all walls and repaint if necessary. Tighten any loose knobs or faucets throughout and make sure to replace all burnt out bulbs. Make sure the doorbell works and the mailbox clean or has a fresh coat of paint. Check all window screens to see if any needs to be replaced. Never show torn screens.
Now step back and look to see that everything is clean and sparkles. Just before your home showing, take the kids and the pets to mom’s house. Put the toys away and light the candles. Turn all the lights on and play soft music in the background.
If it’s summer, then make sure the air conditioning is running and bottled water is available. If it’s winter, make sure it’s warm inside and consider lighting the fireplace. You may want to have warm cookies and coffee available for refreshments.
Consider all these things to get your house in showing condition and you’ll be sure to have a buyer with the best offer come very quickly. Good Luck to you!
For more great design ideas, tips and articles, visit the pages of “SecretsToHomeDecoratingSuccess.com
Article 2. Decorating Style
Decorating styles means more than just good design. It’s about “your personal” decorating style, which includes everything you love to see, feel, touch and experience in your own personal space. Your personal decorating style should radiate throughout the space, giving you a feeling of contentment and comfort, and it’s exactly how to make your house a home.
To find your comfort zone and personal decorating style, simply begin to shop the furniture and accessory stores both online and in your neighborhood. You will soon begin to realize what you like and don’t like. Certain colors, textures and styles will appear more exciting to you. You’ll love the touch of certain fabrics, the lines of a table or the comfort of a particular chair.
Soon a world of endless styles will open up to you with names like traditional, contemporary, modern, country, french country, tuscany, old world, southwestern, victorian, mediterranean, mission, spanish, italian, zen and feng shui to name a few. Don’t fear… you may not know the style names at first, but you will notice a tendency to gravitate toward your style… Your personal decorating style will emerge.
Once you are in tune to your personal style, you’ll need a design plan so that your space will shine to its maximum potential. But don’t start buying just yet. It’s a common mistake among many to want to rush out and buy furniture right away. First you need to measure the space. Nothing is more frustrating than having furniture that won’t fit in the room. This also works with windows too. Always measure first.
You’ll also want to plan on a color theme for your space. Warm colors like orange, red and yellow are exciting, warm and inviting. Cool colors like blues and greens calm and relax you. Darker colors can make a room appear smaller or taller and lighter colors open up the space and appear larger.
Start with paint swatches to help you decide on your favorite color. It’s best to tape your paint selections on larger swatches onto your wall and live with them a day or two. This way you will see the color in daylight or natural light, and then see it at nighttime or with artificial light. Lighting plays a very important part in design and will change the overall appearance of your color.
Now with your color in place, and your measurements in hand, you can shop with your personal style in mind. Don’t forget to accent the furniture with accents and textures. Combine many textures into the room for aesthetic appeal. Don’t make the mistake of “cookie cutter” design. Every piece does NOT need to be the same. Mix it up for visual excitement. Use wood, rattan, glass, metal, wrought iron and more in the same room. This is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
If you simply don’t have the time or feel you’re not the DIY, or do it yourself type of person, then it’s time to consider an Interior Designer to help you with your personal decorating style. Their design expertise will capture the look you want to achieve and on a budget that’s right for you. You can schedule a one-hour consultation with a few designers to find the one that is right for you.
Decorating your interior space with your personal style in mind is the key to a beautiful and comfortable room that you can be happy in and enjoy for years to come.