Showing posts with label is. Show all posts
Showing posts with label is. Show all posts
Its Typography But Is It Art
Its Typography But Is It Art
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You know a decorating craze has reached its zenith when you can buy it by the bagful at the dollar store.
Im all for beautiful calligraphy. I appreciate the finer points of typography.
Many years ago, as a young magazine editor, part of my job was "spec-ing type." That means I had to mark up typed manuscripts so the printer would know what style and size type to set them.
It wasnt nearly as much fun as all we can do on our computers now.
Today signage is everywhere in homes, proclaiming the love we have for our families, the strength of our faith, the quotes we find uplifting or amusing.
Witness the avalanche of "Keep Calm and ..." signs. Enough already! Its clear that signs and any art with typography or handwriting are appealing. When used for home staging art, it can add drama and some quirkiness, but there are limits to its practicality.
Lets look at the plus side of the ledger first. Here are some of the benefits of using signs for décor:
Witness the avalanche of "Keep Calm and ..." signs. Enough already! Its clear that signs and any art with typography or handwriting are appealing. When used for home staging art, it can add drama and some quirkiness, but there are limits to its practicality.
Lets look at the plus side of the ledger first. Here are some of the benefits of using signs for décor:
- They can set a mood with a message.
- They can be inexpensive.
- They are easy to hack (except for the fine art of real, hand penned calligraphy).
- They can add a touch of lightheartedness.
- Foreign languages look sophisticated when used as art.
- Handwriting can look funky-fun-decorative.
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| I loved this image the moment I saw it on Centsational Girls blog. It feels so personal, nostalgic and graphic in all its overblown glory. |
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You cant go wrong with a vintage travel poster. This one is from Lakehouse Outfitters. |
On the Other Hand
There is something compelling about the written word. People stop and read words. For this reason, I never encourage people to load up with anything that people want to stop and read.
If you feel compelled to announce your philosophy of life to the world, may I suggest that you write it in Spanish, French or Chinese or another language that speaks to you. "Carpe Diem" looks so much more sophisticated than "Seize the Day." And how about, "Dérouler le tapis rouge," for "Roll out the red carpet."
Keep it short.
Get your message across to your potential buyer by decorating in a style anyone could love, and leave the lettering for your next home when this one sells.
Top photo: Apartment Therapy
Its Typography But Is It Art
The All White Color Palette Is It Alright for Staging
The All White Color Palette Is It Alright for Staging
What color scheme will you use to stage your home?
Ive blogged about choosing a paint color and Ive blogged about different colors like periwinkle and cyan, and about specific color schemes like black and white, and blue and white.
But we havent chatted about the all-white palette.
Does the idea of decorating your home in whites sound crazy impractical or totally boring?
Lets look at whether the color white could be the smart choice or the dumb choice for your home.
Whites not really a color. Its actually the absence of pigment. Nevertheless, most white paints and white fabrics have some color cast. There are warm whites like cream, ivory, and sandy whites. And there are the cool whites that are very slightly tinted with mauves and blues. The color experts recommend staying in one family -- either the whites with cool undertones, or the whites with warm undertones.
My favorite color consultant Maria Killam goes even further and distinguishes between beige undertones and yellow undertones and pink undertones. If you read her blog, you know that when you get it right, the room looks perfect!
Styles that Call For White Decor
Certain architectural styles and certain locales traditionally depend on white furnishings and paint for their uniqueness.
How chic would urban chic be without stark white walls?
How charming would coastal cottages be without whitewashed floors and white fluffy pillows?
How classic would country homes be without those white picket fences? And what shabby chic room is complete without its chippy white furniture?
If your home falls into any of these categories, youll want to make white an important part of your decorating. Still sound boring? A professionally decorated room is never all white-white. Youll see different hues of white and different textures to keep things lively.
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| Theres no shortage of textures in this mostly white room by Roughan Interior Design. A faux fur throw contrasts with the sleek white seating, glass shelves, and silver drum shades. |
Whats Great About White
WHITES HANDY. The decorators who love white love it because its a blank slate, a marvelous foundation for whats to come -- all the fascinating furnishings they can pile on, knowing that white is The Great Unifer. You can use white this way when you are staging your home. If your furniture is a collection of thrift store bargains and hand me downs, painting them white is one simple way to make them match.
WHITES TIMELY. White is never dated. White will never go out of style. White will work with all other colors. Simplifies things, doesnt it?
WHITES BRIGHT. All white paints (and many pastels) have a high light reflectance value (LRV), which means simply that they reflect more light than darker paints, and that translates into rooms that look larger and brighter. When you put your home on the market, you can paint your rooms that are too dark or too small with a bright white paint and they will appear lighter and larger.
However, if your home has interesting architectural features, use a gray-white paint to finish your walls and trim because gray-white paints (like Sherwin Williams Lattice or Moderne White, and Benjamin Moores Paper White) cast shadows to emphasize the details built into a room. Grays eat up light instead of bouncing it back. Bounced light makes details disappear.
WHITES CLEAN. White works well for home sellers also because it reads as a clean color. White is reassuring to people touring your home. White builds trust the way a doctor or pharmacists jacket does. Bakeries and ice cream parlours, seafood stores and butcher shops typically have white walls. Its the hygiene thing.
WHITES BENIGN. Whites also a good home staging color because buyers cant be offended by it. They probably wont say, "Too bad they painted the walls white.Well have to paint them over before we can move in." More than likely they will say, "Our furniture will work with the wall color.We wont have to paint right away."
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| Buyers expect an almost sanitized look in bathrooms, so staging a bath with white towels and toiletries is a natural. Go for a variety of textures and off-whites. |
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| White decorating accessories are easy to find, both in stores and in nature. If you dont have an assortment of white props, paint can change that. Kristen Hutchins Design. |
Whats the Bad News?
IS IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN? The most common argument I hear against using white for decorating is... well, kids, husbands and dogs. Although I have lived with white walls, white carpeting, white tile flooring, white bed covers, and white painted furniture, I have never lived with white slipcovers. But my friend Kristi has, and she swears that washable white slipcovers are easier to maintain than anyone imagines.
If you think white shows the dirt, compare it to dark colors. Have you ever worn your little black dress to a dinner party where the hostess owned white, long haired dogs? Or tried to maintain a spotless look on dark wood floors?
Unlike dark or brightly colored furniture, white painted furniture seems to eat dust. Its very forgiving. Trust me on this.
IS IT TOO STERILE? The other argument I hear about white decor is that white rooms look antiseptic. Thats a possibility, but there are easy solutions to the problem. Soft textures, rustic touches, furnishings with patina, distressed furniture finishes, green plants, or spots of color -- any of these additions will minimize or eliminate the sterility of an all-white room.
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| This kitchen s white has a cool cast. The stainless appliances, the metal countertop and the black shelves are a perfect fit for cool whites. Photo: Aidan Gray Home. As you can probably detect, Im partial to whites in staged homes. I dont suggest installing pure white wall-to-wall carpeting in order to market your home better, but I can see the value of injecting more white into a decorating plan, and possibly staging one bedroom as a white-on-white, show- stopper retreat. Yummy! There are times when an all-white color scheme just isnt right. An historic home like a Craftsman or a Victorian begs for colors appropriate to the style. A cookie cutter condo or new starter home might look more interesting with some distinctive color on the walls. Youll be the judge. But dont be afraid of white! Staging a home around a white palette is very effective. And its easy. You can find more easy tips and tutorials in my $4.99 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar. You can download it now and start staging today. Top Photo: Slettvoll via DecorPad. |
The All White Color Palette Is It Alright for Staging
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How Selling Your Home is Like Playing Baseball Major League Style!
How Selling Your Home is Like Playing Baseball Major League Style!
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| In the movie, Moneyball, Brad Pitts character learns that to win at baseball, he has to pay attention to the numbers. |
I love baseball. It’s the only sport I watch on television.
Baseball is leisurely, unlike basketball. It’s gentlemanly, unlike football. It’s quiet, unlike NASCAR. It’s complicated, unlike tennis. What’s not to love?
Watching the World Series games last week, pondering my fascination with the game, and thinking – as always – of home selling, I spotted some similarities.
Teamwork is Essential
Although this blog concentrates on DIY home staging, there are times when you need to have someone else do it, times when you need to call in pros to get a specific job done.
Say you want to paint your tall stairwell, but you don’t even own a ladder.
Maybe you need to replace the plumbing behind the shower stall, but you wouldn’t know where to begin.
Or the garage needs to be rewired to meet electrical code, and only an electrician has the right license.
Or you need a new roof, but you’re not going up there!
Each member of a baseball team specializes in whatever his position calls for. Each one is an expert. Even though there’s less apparent teamwork in baseball than sports like hockey or football, don’t be fooled. Each team member is a specialist, but one who also supports and cooperates with his teammates.
When youre staging your own home, its important to know when to call in an expert if that’s what it takes to get your home in shape.
Devils in the Details
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| Yogi Berra, famous Yankee catcher, is known for his crazy logic. He explains, "Baseball is ninety percent physical. The other half is mental." |
Both baseball and staging look simple when done right. But look more closely and you’ll see they both depend on subtleties that guarantee success.
One good pitcher can determine the outcome of a game, just as curb appeal can determine whether buyers want to view your home’s interior.
One fumbled catch can lead to a home run for the other team, just the way pet odors can be a deal-breaker for a home on the market.
Think like a Major League player. Take your staging seriously. Don’t be like the neighbor a friend of mine described to me last week, who said “Why should I paint for the next owner?”
Step up to the plate, and tend to the details, so your home is the one that stands above the competition.
Preparation Makes All the Difference
Teams that get to the World Series don’t get there by chance. They work all year to become the best athletes they can.
Selling a home shouldn’t be a last minute decision. It should be part of a plan.
Although some will disagree with me, I think any homeowner needs to be aware that some day she’ll want to sell her home. Or her heirs will.
A common phrase is, “I’ll never move,” but statistically, Americans stay in their homes an average of just seven years. Lifestyle preferences change, families grow bigger or smaller, jobs relocate, finances force people to shift priorities.
In other words, whatever you do to your home while you are living there is going to affect your selling price eventually. Never remodel a home in such a way that its market value will be reduced.
Dont postpone routine maintenance until the effects snowball into major repairs.
Dont postpone routine maintenance until the effects snowball into major repairs.
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Leo Durocher, the legendary Baseball Hall of Famer, said, "There are only five things you can do in baseball – run, throw, catch, hit, and hit with power." |
Its All About the Numbers
No sport relies more on statistics than baseball.
Wins and losses, batting averages, on-base-percentages, runs-batted-in, slugging percentage – that’s just the beginning.
Team managers, owners, coaches, fans, sportswriters and gamblers all rely on complex math to predict probabilities and make decisions.
Similarly, when you’re selling your home, it helps to have good grasp of the numbers.
Have you priced it competitively?
Do you know what your monthly carrying costs are (mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, maintenance)?
If you are negotiatingwith a prospective buyer, do you know in advance how flexible can you be with financing options to shape a win/win agreement?
Patience Is Your Friend
Baseball is a test of nerves and strategy. When your home is for sale, waiting for a buyer to show up can be difficult.
Although we’ve all heard stories of people who’ve sold their homes the day they came on the market, I sometimes ask myself, “Did they price it too low?”
Even when you are impatient, a prospective buyer shouldn’t know this. That’s why I tell people not to pile moving boxes in the garage or spare bedroom. It looks like you’re in a hurry to get out of there, rather than living in a home you love. Strategy.
One baseball cliche is "Hurry to lose, slow down to win." And that’s good advice for a home seller.
Chance Plays A Major Role
Once you’ve staged your home, using the skills and resources you have, you have to accept the fact that fate takes over. You can’t call all the shots.
Sometimes, sheer coincidence steps in. A friend tells a friend who tells a friend about your home. It’s just what she’s looking for!
Or a couple out driving neighborhoods looking for real estate signs, turns onto your street, and Bingo!
Albert Pujols, a two-time World Series champ, and three-time Most Valuable Player winner, said, “This game is really crazy. Nobody can understand it, and there are a lot of things that happen that you can’t control.”
The same thought was echoed by Wes Westrum, New York Giants catcher and manager, when he said, "Baseball is like church: Many attend, but few understand."
Remember that there is a buyer out there for your home. Do your best to attract him, and that’s all you can do. Your best.
Of course, this is one of Yogi Berra’s most famous lines, and I find myself saying it near the end of almost every baseball game. And at other times as well. It’s a Life Lesson!
In real estate transactions, snafus and surprises are common on the road between a showing and a closing. That’s the reason I never remove staging until the last possible moment.
As a seller, you can’t take your buyer for granted. Inspections, financing, contingencies, all can be bugaboos. Being a seller takes flexibility and a positive attitude.
I’m Not the Only One
Plenty of people see more to America ’s favorite pastime than men hitting, running and chasing balls. Saul Steinberg, the cartoonist, wrote, “Baseball is an allegorical play about America , a poetic, complex, and subtle play of courage, fear, good luck, mistakes, patience about fate, and sober self esteem."
Sounds like home-selling to me!
My best advice: Listen to the coach, and play by the rules of the home staging game. The rule book I recommend is my $4.99 eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar. It teaches you all the steps to build a winning team.
I am rooting for you!
How Selling Your Home is Like Playing Baseball Major League Style!
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