Before & After: spacious but dated lake-front home

A friend of a friend flew me out to North Carolina to help update her lake-front home:

Bedroom (office) #3 BEFORE: Full of clutter, dark and uninviting, many buyers asked "where is the 3rd bedroom in this house?" because they couldn't "see" it.

Bedroom #3 AFTER: A soft accent color on the headboard wall, an actual BED, soothing colors. Now it's REALLY a bedroom... with room for a home office (at right).

Great Room BEFORE: That futon is NOT helping! Neither is the dated light fixture and lack of overall lighting.

Great Room AFTER: Now, new sofa & chair, art and proper lighting, plus a new paint color to makes the fireplace pop! Now this great room works!


Above, another view of the Great Room: While not the height of fashion, the classic 1980's oak tables do work well with the new sofa and chair, but they were wasted in the Living Room. That's staging.... mixing old and new so your costs don't overrun, but you still have a pleasant home that will sell!

A half-day of "Re-Design" ... a different kind of interior design

Hello all!  This is a photo of my new friend Judy, standing in her newly arranged home.  Judy had just moved in, and while she loves her new home, her old furniture was of a style she was no longer fond of.  Yet, she wasn't ready to purchase new furniture... maybe just some new accessories and pillows.  She saw my blog and asked me to come over.  When I arrived, all of the furniture was pushed into a corner and the dining table was this huge monstrosity that dominated the dining room.  Since I can design a home in ANY style, from modern to traditional, I knew I could help her!

(Click on the images to enlarge.)

I began by pulling all the large seating furniture OFF the wall, and creating a "floating" seating area in the center that faces towards the view of her terrific back garden and patio.  (It's OK to "ignore" the fireplace if you have a better view elsewhere.)

Then, I arranged her traditional furniture in a modern way, which means no clutter, good furniture and picture spacing, and few accessories.  I showed her on the internet a beautiful new area rug to purchase for the seating area (all of hers were too traditional or the wrong size).  Some new throw pillows make the sofas look terrific.  And we created a reading area for her husband, who loves to read!

Finally, in her dining room, simplicity was key.  I removed the two leaves in the table so that it didn't overwhelm the space (she also has a more informal dining area).  Pictures were kept spare as well as accessories.  Two of the chairs were placed along the wall, further making the table less ominious. 

The result?  I beautiful home that's traditional yet modern in it's arrangement.  This was ALL accomplished over the course of an afternoon!  Judy and her husband love it, and about a month later, they called me to re-do their office reception area as well!

You can call me too if you'd like to do the same thing to your home.  Re-design can involve using just your existing things, but we can also do a shopping trip together for updated accessories as well as search online.  If your budget doesn't include the cost of a traditonal interior designer, then Re-design may be right for you!

Stage your exterior? Absolutely!

BEFORE: Yes, people really DO live this way! Even this newer home looks old and dingy with clutter around.

AFTER: Clean and pleasant! You would think this is obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I've had to help clients de-clutter and stage their home's exterior.  If you'll give me a call, I can help you too.