Dealing with small spaces seems to be one of the most common
decorating dilemmas! It's amazing the myths about small spaces that are simply
not true! For example; "Small items in small rooms will make a room appear
bigger". Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, 3 or 4 deliberately
over scale items in a room will fool the eye into thinking that the room is indeed
larger than it really is.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF BIG FURNITURE
An oversized coffee table, 2 large scale upholstered chairs & a love seat will
make a room feel spacious, yet cozy too. Keep backgrounds even &
consistent. Whatever window treatments or wall color you choose for one wall,
keep it the same on all walls. Uniformity is a must in small rooms. Also, be
deliberate with your selection & use of accessories. Remembering always, that
your accessories are truly what "make a room". A few interesting accents are
always much better than a lot of knickknacks that say "clutter" rather than
"charm". Since the eye goes to color, choose consistent accent colors &
disperse them around the room evenly.(Check Marshall's store for great &
inexpensive accessories . I get a lot of my staging supplies there!)
WORK OUT AN ARRANGEMENT
When considering a small room re-do, be clear on the rooms exact purpose. Is
this space a quiet reading spot or a busy home office area? Work out your
furniture arrangement & color scheme according to it's function. You can
actually change the visual size of your room by changing colors, lighting, &
furniture arrangement. So stop wishing you had more space. Be clever &
focused & you'll fulfill your BIG DREAMS for small spaces!
Question Of The Month ?
Can you advise on use of wallpaper borders along the ceiling of a small room?
The house is small, 1200 sq ft and has a great room looking into the kitchen.
Kitchen is 15x10, white walls with oak cabinets, white wood shutters in the
breakfast bay window. There are some silk plants on each wall above the
cabinets except for the bay window wall. Will a border next to the ceiling make
the room look even smaller than it is or will it add a bit of taste?
Al & Sandie
Well, I feel that it would definitely add interest and really wouldn't have any
negative effect at all on the space. If I was doing it though, Iīd make sure to
carry the colors down to eye level with some coordinating fabrics in valances,
tablecloths, place mats, rugs, etc.. Several yards of fabric for those items will
certainly be money well spent to present a coordinated look. You might like to
check my decorating monthly newsletter for further ideas.
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1999 Hot color trends for spring and summer
Yellow & blue is still the most popular color
combination.
Denim with yellow or red & white. Textured &
vintage
fabrics are very in as well as the cottage look is
still
very hot ! By just changing your basic accessories, you can
give your home a new look for the season! I love to go
to Calico Corners & pick out a few beautiful fabrics &
quickly change my home (and the ones I stage) By just draping
the fabrics on round tables, changing throw pillows & accessories
and I've got a complete new look for Spring! Need a great seamstress
to do some sewing? Call Kathy Wilson at 408-281-3946 or 408-888-1542.
She specializes in Window Treatments, Pillows, Cushions, etc.
A TRUE STORY!!!!
3 bedroom 2 bath on Mabie Court. It had been on the market for 3 months and
only 5
people had shown it, we couldn't believe it! Why? Because it was on the
market at a fair
price and in the midst of a HOT market. We assessed the home, and put
together a GREAT
marketing plan which included them removing everything except their sofa in the
living
room. They went off to work and we unloaded a van full of pictures, lighting,
and
accessories and staged only 3 rooms. (The most important ones of course!) Paul
wrote a
GREAT ad on the home and they had 5 groups of people thru in only 24 hours!
They called
my voice mail at the end of the day and they were totally amazed at the
DIFFERENCE OF
ACTIVITY!! And..... in 24 hours we got an offer and we SOLD IT!!! They
were
thrilled!! You see, they had a gorgeous home, and it was immaculately kept!!
But I knew
it needed MORE COLOR and ACCESSORIES! So, in only 5 hours I
transformed it and it
was a DONE deal!! This is only 1 of 145 homes that we SOLD in an 18 day
average!
(Formerly on the market 3 months
to 2 years!!)
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Great Solutions for Problem Rooms
A problem room is any room whose features
bother you or make arranging furniture difficult. It
may have too few windows, not enough wall
space, or just looks outdated. You could
renovate, but it's more practical and affordable to
make problems disappear through good interior decorating. You can give any
room a beautiful lift with a fresh color scheme, new furniture arrangements, new
paint and a few well placed accessories. A few simple cosmetic changes can give
beauty to any space. If you can't disguise a flaw, draw attention to something
else in the room. A large picture or mirror with accent lighting and a nearby
table draped in a lovely fabric. A cozy fireplace with the mantel displayed with
interesting, colorful accessories. Take a walk through your home and see what
changes can be made by just re-arranging existing furniture, accessories and
pictures too.
A TRUE STORY!!!!
The house on Rosencrans Ave. was spacious, well
priced and had been well kept. So why hasn't it
sold after 6 months of being on the market with
another agent? To begin with , it had deep rose
carpet throughout , showed dark and had too much furniture in the living room
and the counters in the kitchen were filled and you really couldn't see her
remodeled kitchen! I told her which furniture pieces to remove and the following
week we arrived with everything to do the job! Beautiful area rugs, Linens,
furniture pieces and accessories and tie backs for her curtains. We drastically
changed the 1st impression from dark to bright and sunny, and accenting her
existing pieces with all of our props, gave her home an updated and cozy inviting
atmosphere.We re-directed the eye away from the deep rose carpet and sold it
in only 19 days!!!
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Learn how to Home-Stage - eBook Download
Dealing with small spaces seems to be one of the most common
decorating dilemmas! It's amazing the myths about small spaces that are simply
not true! For example; "Small items in small rooms will make a room appear
bigger". Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, 3 or 4 deliberately
over scale items in a room will fool the eye into thinking that the room is indeed
larger than it really is.
