Staging To Sell

February 16th, 2012

This home sold in January after just two days on the market!

 

Sold!

 

It gets better…in just two days, there were 3 offers.  When the dust settled, the property sold for $15k over the asking price.  Seriously?!?  What does it take to get these kind of results?  We refer to it as the three “Ps”.

 PRICING – PRESENTATION – PROMOTION

We defer to our expert realtor partners to advise the seller on pricing and then follow up with marketing.  In between these two steps is our job, presenting the property.  When staging a vacant property we follow these guidelines:

  • Showcase the home’s assets
  • Minimize possible objects
In this property, the biggest asset was the charming nature of the house.  To highlight it, we used furnishings that were in keeping with the age and style of the home and coordinated the color palette with the paint, flooring and millwork.  Notice how the red border on the rug draws your eye to the beautiful hardwood floors? And the slipcovers on the chairs tie together the colors in the walls, trim and flooring?

Staged To Sell Dining Room & Living Room

Our goal was to use furniture and accessories that would show off the home and help buyers see the potential of the property.  The house is quite small which could be a possible objection for a potential buyer.  Because of this we added extra seating in the living room to show how the room could be use to seat 6.

Staged To Sell Living Room

If we were staging to dwell (instead of staging to sell) we would have configured the room differently.  But this project was all about selling.  With these, results we’re calling it a successful staging!

Share

Baby Got Brass

February 9th, 2012

Are you seeing what we’re seeing?  Brass is back, baby.  It is no longer the odd man out, the sore thumb in a room or something to be embarrassed about.  The latest trend in finishes is brass.

Brass Bar Cart

For so long it was the clearance priced fixture at any big box store.  It seemed on a daily basis HGTV was showing their viewers how easy it was to spray paint old brass chandeliers for an instant update and every Salvation Army across America was flooded with brass fixtures.  If you, like most everybody else, made these changes to your home, don’t worry it was still time well spent.  Because just as the case with most things that “come back”, the new brass is not the same as the old, shiny, yellow brass we all grew to hate.  It has rich bronze undertones and more of a aged, rubbed metallic finish to it.

Brass Bookcase

 

The span of love to hate is wide when it comes to brass.  If you plan to sell in the near future we don’t suggest using brass in staging your home as we know it won’t sit well with some potential home buyers.  But when staging to dwell, we think that there is nothing wrong with incorporating trends in to your home if you truly love them.  There is no such thing as “in” or “out” of style if you decorate with what you love, your style will always fit you.

We want to know is it catching your eye, are you liking the new finish?   Are you open to welcoming the new brass into your home, or is this something that you are going to pass on?

Share

New Year, New Color

January 27th, 2012

New Year, New Color

Have you been seeing a lot of orange lately?  We sure have!  It is popping up everywhere; in fashion, jewelry and home decor.  Open up any magazine or catalog and you will see that Pantone has once again started a new color craze since announcing Tangerine Tango as their 2012 Color of the Year.  Pantone describes the emotional connection of this color; “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy”.  We think it’s a fun, energetic color that pairs well with green, pale blue, white and other lighter neutral hues.

This color attracts a lot of attention so we have some tips on how you can introduce this color into your own home without regrets or your guests feeling they’ve walked into a room from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Start small.  Just introducing a few decorative pieces will have high impact.  It is cost effective and a fun, easy way to introduce this color.  Once you start looking for it, you will find decorative pieces everywhere.

If you want to decorate a larger space with this color, mix in some pattern and a neutral color.  This will help break up the space visually and it lets your eyes easily move about the room.  The neutral color you choose should coordinate with the outlying neutral colors in your house.  This will give the entire space a more cohesive look.

We think this color has high-impact when used as an accent color in a fun print

Or you could go bold with a full wall treatment

Or, if orange is your favorite color you could fully commit with a large furniture piece

 

We want to know, will you be doing the tangerine tango?

 

Share

Style Matters

December 6th, 2011

Furniture goes a long way in defining a room.  But just as important as adding furniture, is the scale and style of furniture used.  Our couldn’t-be-sweeter client understood the value of adding furnishings for scale but hadn’t considered the impact of style.  When she moved out of her lovely historic home she left a few things to help fill the space.  The living room is quite large and when empty it was hard to judge the size of the room.  Here’s what the room looked like when we first saw it:

 

Living Room Before

We didn’t think this was sending the right message.  While it may not be fair, furnishings have a direct impact on the perception of a property.  Old, worn out or outdated furniture decreases the perceived value of a home.  Additionally, furniture that is inconsistent with the style and period of the home will look awkward and won’t capture a buyer’s attention. Considering the style and color palette of this particular home, we brought in staging furniture to help showcase it’s intrinsic charm and do justice to it’s historic elements. We selected furniture that, while current, also speaks to the period specific qualities of this this unique home.  Matching furniture to a home’s style, scale and color scheme presents a pleasing and cohesive message that buyers respond to.

Living Room After

In other words – Style Matters.

Share

Staging With Color or Just Neutral Enough

November 7th, 2011

In the world of home staging the term ‘neutral’ can’t be said enough.  Or can it?  When staging a property to sell, neutral is good. But don’t mistake neutral for bland or boring.  On a recent project, we suggested the homeowners paint the blue living room a warm tan. While the blue worked well with the homeowners furnishings, the color was too style specific to effectively market the property.  The owners were moving out of state so they packed up their belongings and let us get to to work.  We brought in furniture and accessories in a subdued color scheme punctuated with orange, gold and brown:

Living room staged with color

Staged With Color

Based on results, the home was just neutral enough – it sold on the first day!

Share

Decorating To A Tea

July 20th, 2011

Our sweet client has her home decorated to a tea.  Literally.  The home is fully furnished with everything the owner loves and it suits her personality wonderfully.  We lost count of the number of teapots but we know each one is special to her.  However, the very feminine and highly personal decor may not be an asset when selling the home.  Staging to dwell (decorating for your own unique taste and lifestyle) and staging to sell are two completely separate objectives. 

Decorating To A Tea

 

In creating a home that’s perfect for you, we encourage use of items that fit your personality and needs.  However, it’s important to understand that specific-to-taste décor may be distracting to potential buyers.  Our goal in staging homes for sale is to draw attention to the best aspects of the home and create a space that is appealing to the widest audience possible.  We want buyers to focus on features like the beautiful windows or a lovely fireplace instead of spending time looking at your things.  We asked our client to stand at the door way in each room and look in.  What’s the first thing that’s noticed?  

Based on the resume  of the home (square footage, number of bedrooms, location, etc.) the target market for this property is a family.  To help prepare this home for sale we suggested modifications to the decor to create a less feminine and more family oriented look.  As a bonus, packing up the teapots helped get our client one step closer to moving to her new home!

Share

Reclaim the Dream

July 13th, 2011

We’re having a great time preparing for the NW Natural Street of Dreams! It is truly a designers dream to work with so many great vendors as we create just the right look for the two homes we are staging for the show.  Throughout this process, we continue to keep this year’s theme in mind: Reclaim the Dream: Bold, Fresh, Sensible, Smart.

In this year’s Street of Dreams, attendees will discover a new meaning to dream living.  To us, that means that, even in this post-recession world, “the Dream” CAN come true.  These homes are inspired not by the lives of Hollywood’s extravagantly rich and famous, but by the wonderful lifestyle we lead right here in the Northwest.
 
You won’t find infinity pools or indoor basketball courts, but what you will find are creative and inspiring homes, full of great spaces for cooking, playing, relaxing, entertaining … or even doing all of those at the same time! The homes we are staging are called “Koderra” and “Cascade Splendor”.  At 4,006 and 5,130 square feet, respectively, these homes are combine spacious luxury with warmth and comfort. Of course, you will still find the wonderful, unexpected and “Dreamy” details that the NW Natural Street of Dreams is famous for.  Giant indoor planters bring the outdoors inside for a seamless indoor/outdoor living and entertaining space in Cascsde Splendor.  An oversized sculpted tub with a waterfall faucet makes the master bathroom in Koderra feel like an at-home spa.
 
We can’t wait for you to see what Chancellor Designs does to bring life and style to these fabulous homes.  We know you’ll leave the tour feeling inspired to live YOUR dream!

Artist's Rendering of Koderra.

Share

Chancellor Designs at NW Natural Street of Dreams

June 22nd, 2011

August means one thing to those of us living in the world of home design—The NW Natural Street of Dreams! Each year, we look forward to experiencing this tour.  Amazing homes filled with wonderful interior design…its right up our alley!  But this year, we plan on doing more than just attending. We’ll be part of the show, providing our interior design and home staging services to two of the show’s five dream homes.

We are truly passionate about home design and it felt like a dream come true to be asked to be involved in one of the Northwest’s largest home shows!

Working with a talented team of vendors and builders, we will help bring the dream to the Northwest.  Dreams come to us in many forms. Yours might be the home of your dreams crafted to your every need and desire, ours is to design it just the way you imagine it. The Street of Dreams allows us to exercise our design muscle in a high-stakes showcase for all of the Northwest to see.

We hope you will be a part of our dream and join us in celebrating our efforts at the show August 6-28 at Brentwood Estates on Bull Mountain. In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do! Stay tuned to our blog as we take you behind-the-scenes leading up to the show.



Share

Design Intern Extraordinaire

June 19th, 2011

Welcome Kirsten our design intern extraordinaire!   

As is a recent graduate of the Art Institute of Portland, Kirsten has a great set of skills.  But it was this line in her cover letter that captured our attention: “Being able to utilize family treasures to enhance one’s personal space is a true test of design.”  With that said, we knew she was the one for us.  As the busy summer season is well under way we couldn’t be more pleased that Kirsten has joined the team at Chancellor Designs.  Welcome Kirsten!

Share

Staging Outdoor Living Spaces

April 26th, 2011

When staging a property, one of our mantras is: “If you’ve got it – flaunt it!”  This time of year, dreaming of the good weather ahead, showing off an outdoor space becomes particularly important.  Recently we staged a downtown condo that was fully furnished but not showing well.  To create an inviting space we brought in some outdoor furniture and a colorful rug and got to work.  In a short time, the deck became a focal point:

Grant Tower Deck Before

Grant Tower Deck Staged

Grant Tower Deck Staged Exterior View

Now that’s worth showing off!

Share