Four Changes to Make Before You Sell Your Home

There is a shortage of homes on the market in Columbus, so properties are selling at record speed. Unfortunately though, there are still some houses that are not getting showings or selling because of their interior condition. Here are four changes to be sure to make before you list your home for sale.

1. Paint
 Dark colors and unusual designs (stencils, murals) will not work when selling your house--light and bright is better. With a neutral wall color, the buyer can move their furnishings into the home without the need to paint over your color choices. The updated chandelier and dining furniture help with staging here, as buyers will be able to envision themselves having family dinners in this sunny room.

2. Bedding
There is nothing wrong with quilts or traditional bedding while you live in the home, but a modern style is needed to sell it to someone else. The bedroom should look like a retreat where one can unwind after a busy day, so you may want to look through home decorating websites and magazines for ideas on how to make your bedrooms feel cozy, warm, and inviting. In this room, layers of fabric on the bed and side table add a luxurious feel to the space, while still making the room appear spacious and bright.

3. Light Fixtures
Shiny brass fixtures often found in older homes are out. This one has been replaced with a more modern fixture in a bronze tone, but other metallics also would have worked. Remember that lighting is the jewelry in a room, so it should sparkle and shine. Make sure your light bulbs are the brightest, highest wattage allowed in each fixture and turn all of them on during a showing. Dimmer switches are always a nice addition.

4. Window Treatments
Less is more when selling your home. The heavy window treatments of the past are not what a young buyer wants. Better to have blinds that can be opened to allow the natural light in and to see the view outside. In these pictures, the neutral paint color helps tremendously also--it barely looks like the same room!

This article and its photos were provided by accredited staging professional Stella Pseekos of Styled to Sell in Dublin, OH. Stella is a graduate of The Ohio State University and a long-time Columbus resident. She is affiliated with the Greater Dublin Realty Association, the Hilliard Area Realty Association, the Northwest Area Realty Association, the Southern Delaware Realty Association and served as the 2015 Secretary of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, Columbus Chapter.

Decorating Don'ts

HGTV spoke with interior designers and came up with a list of 25 decorating errors, including...

• Improper lighting. Decorators recommend dimmers, which they like for their affordability, versatility, and easy installation process. 

• Matching rooms. Don't make everything in your room match--it doesn't have to be symmetrical as long as it's balanced and furniture is an appropriate size (tip: measure the space). Instead of making your room look like a showroom from a magazine, make it eclectic. On the other hand, you don't want to use too many color patterns, nor do you want an excessively themed room. Both can make a room look busy, crowded, and distracting. 

• Visible clutter. This makes the room look chaotic and disorganized. Store items in an armoire, storage basket set, or bookshelf. Similarly, avoid displaying too many pillows, knickknacks and photographs. Photo albums are great for storing photos, but homes look neater with just a few framed photos on display. 

• Floating rugs--that is, rugs with nothing on top of them or touching them. Place the front feet of all furniture on the rug, to ground the seating area. On that note, bring furniture away from the walls and toward the center of the room to create a focal point. 

• Ignoring color and windows. Painting windows and adding window treatments are the easiest and least expensive ways to change the look of a room. Consider painting one wall if you are unsure about the color (this is an accent wall). If you don't like it--paint over it! Hang window curtains two inches above the frame of the window, or all the way to the ceiling to make the room look larger. 

For the full list, click here.

How to Make the Most of Small Spaces

Fundamentals. If you're building a small home, or get a say in its design, there's a few tricks that can help you get the most out of your space. Diagonal flooring makes rooms appear wider, while compact spiral staircases save floor space. Bay windows provide for additional light and square footage.

Function. Furniture should have storagge. Getting (and keeping) things off the floor is key to keeping a room from looking cluttered. Make sure that you use all the space you have. If you have a kitchen table but always eat at the island, remove the table. If you need one room to serve multiple purposes, separate the room by using rugs, bookcases, and so forth to define a specific space. "Hidden" features are also nice. Instead of having a DVD player and cable box sit on top of a piece of furniture, try to build it in so that it is not constantly on display. Try to buy multipurpose furniture. For example, a coffee table with tops that hinge upward can create an informal dining area in your family room while allowing you to store things in the table's hallow core. The staircase on the right contains dresser drawers.

Light. Extend curtain rods beyond window frames, collecting as much natural light as possible. Alternatively, you could forgo draperies in favor of shades. In a family or living room, consider buying tall floor lamps to make the ceilings look higher and to maximize floor space by eliminating the need for end tables.

Furniture. Round tables are most practical for small spaces because the hard corners of square and rectangular tables take up much needed space. Furniture should be tall so as to draw the eye upward. For example, cabinets and built-ins should extend all the way to the ceiling.  Finally, buy furniture that fits your space. a narrow family room may look great with an L-shaped sectional that backs up against two walls and thus makes the most of your corner space.

Paint. Generally, lighter colors make rooms feel bigger. Acentuate light, bright rooms by contrasting them with darker entryways and door and window trim. This will make rooms "pop." Paint crown molding the same color as the ceiling to make it appear more expansive.


Decor. Use mirrors, especially when opposite one another. Mirrors help gather light and make a space appear larger. Use big art, as scaled to your furniture. The length of a painting ought to reflect the length of your sofa. Small clusters of art can make a room look crowded and cluttered. Art placed higher on the walls can help make a ceiling look higher.


To watch one family's process of maximizing the space in their New York City apparent, click here.

2013 Kitchen Fads

Kitchens are not just a place to cook meals anymore--they double as dining rooms and family rooms, too. Large kitchen islands allow for banquette seating, and dinettes provide additional seating options. Sitting areas and hearths in kitchens are not uncommon. As a result of this unified space concept, kitchen cabinets resemble fine furniture. White cabinets are popular for their classic style and versatilitly. With white cabinets, the rest of the kitchen becomes a blank canvas that homeowners can transform with their favorite colors, decor, countertops and backsplash. White cabinets are also common because they are compatible with many architectural styles, from country to contemporary.

Stainless steal appliances, as well as integrated appliances, make kitchens feel more sophisticated and polished. Now, manufacturers even offer fingerprint-resistant stainless steal appliances. Some appliances, such as refrigerators and dishwashers, have become more or less invisible, due to new technologies and techniques (such as adopting cabinetry panels) that enable them to blend in with their surroundings.

Many trendy kitchens sport specialized work zones, walk-in pantries, and technology. Work zones include desks, baking centers, wine-tasting areas, coffee bars, and pizza-making stations. Walk-in pantries are ideal for large families. It enables them to store bulk food items and kitchen supplies behind closed doors, saving kitchen cabinet space for utensils, plates, cups, and kitchen tools that are frequently used. Electronics such as wall-mount televisions, sound systems, computers, and ipads have started to replace conventional kitchen decor.

Layered kitchen lighting makes for both comfortable and functional kitchens. Recessed fixtures provide ambient light, while chandeliers and pendants hang above seating areas (i.e. kitchen islands and tables). Lighting can also be added under and above cabinets to highlight certain areas. Light-emitting-dilodes (LEDs) consume less than half as much electricity, and can last 10 times as long, as florescent lights. Also eco-friendly, products made from sustainable materials are on the rise. Countertops can be made from recycled glass, and cabinets can be manufactured using no or low-formaledehyde glues from bamboo and wheatboard. To reduce energy bills and the use of natural resources, water-conserving faucets and energy saving appliances are increasingly popular.