Revisiting a classic... the Saarinen pedestal table

From Design Within Reach:  In a 1956 cover story in Time magazine, Eero Saarinen said he was designing a collection to "clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home." Later that year, he completed his Pedestal Table and Tulip™ Chair Collection (1956) and obliterated the "slum" by creating a cast aluminum base inspired by a drop of high-viscosity liquid. 

When I was in my mid-20's, I had a vintage Saarinen table, white base with a medium wood laminated top.  Loved that piece.  When I was moving I had to temporarily leave my furniture in the garage of a friend.  When I returned, the table was gone!  And my friend had no idea where it went to (altho I suspect an open garage door was too much temptation for a passer-by!)

I'm currently lusting over... the CB2 Scan Chair!

Oh, how I love Scandanavian design!  But CB2.com isn't listening, because right now their beautiful Scan chair is out of stock.  That's what happens when you wait too long to order!  Reminds me of my grandmother's Palm Springs home back in the day...  please bring back this beautiful chair!

Let a room serve it's original purpose...

Before: All work and no play!

After: A fine place to relax and enjoy the view!

In this master bedroom, the sitting area was taken up by a large blue cabinet that included a home office! Now, do YOU want to do office work while trying to relax in your master bedroom? A quick switch of furniture got this room back on track!  There was already a home office elsewhere in the house, so taking this back to a sitting room made perfect sense.

Modern yet romantic...

Proof that modern doesn't have to mean antiseptic and cold.  This is a very romantic bedroom, and it has masculine and feminine appeal.  I love the modern mirrors and how they interact with the window.  The blue on the bed is very luxurious and the modern chandelier is elegant yet fun.  Sweet dreams!

Transform with paint and simple updates...

Here's a great example of what paint can do for a kitchen! I do this kind of transformation all the time, but this fine example comes from "Stage a Star" in Cincinatti, OH.

A dark dreary and dated kitchen is completely redone thanks to some clean white paint on the cabinets and a soft green on the walls. No more dark wood cabinets and gingham wallpaper! In this case, they also replaced the stove and microwave. However, for a tighter budget one could keep the stove because the black and white would go with the new white on the cabinets, and just replace the microwave with a white one. Also, high-quality press-and-stick veneers in white and stainless steel are available over the internet for updating your dishwasher inexpensively.

The only mis-step here, for me, is the plants and baskets on top of the upper cabinets. It's a bit 1990's, too "country style", and probably wouldn't work well here in California. I prefer to keep that space free and clear as it makes the whole room look less cluttered, larger and more contemporary. Otherwise, great job!

Organization is key to selling your home

BEFORE: Often, heavy outdated furniture can overwhelm a space, even when it's neatly organized. See how the large armoire makes the room seem small and cluttered? The 1980's called and they want their medium-tone oak back!

Photos Courtesy of Kristen Coppa, Altera Real Estate

AFTER: Clean, elegant simplicity is best, whether you're staging to sell your home or enhancing your haven. Most of the time you only need room for a laptop and some storage under the desk. Most reference items are now found online, so why keep the paper copies? Donate them to your local charity or library! Enjoy a nice uncluttered, stylish office space!

BEFORE & AFTER: Lake-front home

This home is located in the famous golf community of Pinehurst, North Carolina. The owner, a friend of a friend, ask me to fly out there to stage her home for sale. While modern, the home had a very traditional architectural style.  The home was 10 years old but had some major interior design issues:

Living/Dining Room BEFORE (above): Dated blue-green leather sofas scream "bad 80's" and heavy carpets hide the wood floors. No art, and no real focus other than the over-sized entertainment center.

Living/Dining Room AFTER: A dresser that was too big for a bedroom makes a great console/buffet behind the sofa. The new sofa is sophisticated and a round coffee table increases the room's flow AND makes it look bigger! The entertainment center is now balanced by the placement of the sofa and has a wing chair to accent it. New art and accessories complete the look for this "updated traditional" home.

The $2,500 spent on updating this luxury home made it possible to raise the asking price by $20,000!

A recent staging project, 11817 Texas, Santa Monica, CA

This is a recent home staging project of mine. As many of you know, home staging is different from the interior design work that I also do, in that staging has marketing reasons behind the design, in order to make it sell fast! This condo was completely empty and I brought it to life thru staging.  Before even the FIRST open house, the seller received TWO full-price offers based on only the photos seen on the website!

Part 1, showing the main living areas and the loft above.  Next post will show the bedrooms.

www.11817Texas.com - Part 2

Here's the rest of the condo... from empty and all-white to lively and full of color!
 

Currently lusting over... The Halina Chandelier

Right now I'm re-discovering Hollywood Regency style, which is all about the Hollywood glamour that was so popular from the 1930's thru 1960's.  I'm currently preparing a house for sale with some really fun clients, and this chandelier will be going in their foyer.  Notice the lovely crystal droplets and the handsome shades with silver banding.  This gives a lot of BLING but is still clean-lined.  Love it!

And guess what... it's from Home Depot, of all places!

Hampton Bay Halina 6 Light Chandelier, Chrome Finish with White Linen Shades and Crystal Accents

Details Make a Difference!

BEFORE: This master bedroom lacked focus and sophistication. The white bed cover, white nightstands, and white walls are "blah" and the lamps, while colorful, look more like they belong in a teenager's bedroom than a master bedroom.

AFTER: Modern art that matches the style of the house now anchors the room. Blue accents are appealing and sophisticated. Lamps have been replaced with more appropriate choices. Easy fixes, stunning result!

Sometimes it's all about the accessories!

 

Sometimes it's ALL about the accessories.  Take a look at this traditional room.  See how there's some really good pieces, yet the overall effect is "blah"?  The after photo shows how the right accessories, such as art, plants and pillows, can really make the difference between boring and terrific!

Staging is more important than ever...

Folks, just like real estate agents have the Realtors Association, home Stagers have the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, or IAHSP. The IAHSP conducts surveys of markets conditions and how they apply to the home staging industry. And the most current info shows that staging is STILL an essential part of selling a home:

Fully 94.6% of all homes that are staged by a member of the IAHSP sell within 35 days. A non-staged home remains on the market, on average, for 175 days. Yes, my friends, you read that correctly. So the solution for those who either want or need to sell their home is, Home Staging!

BEFORE & AFTER: Lake-front home, 3

Part 3: Sometimes, only a few simple changes are needed to make a room feel more spacious and elegant...

BEFORE: The carpet "ate up" the real estate and made the dining room look smaller than it is. A gaudy gold chandelier destracted the eye from the room, and a 1980's window "swag" wasn't helping either!

Not shown: The homeowner also had the armchairs placed at the ends of the table, a paisley fabric runner on the table under the faux flowers, and a set of candlesticks flanking the flowers (in this photo I had already moved all these to show her what a change it made).

AFTER: Now, the carpet is gone (revealing the beautiful wood floors) and the new chandelier is still elegant but not distracting (and hung higher to make the room feel larger). We now have a clean and contemporary candle arrangement on the table to freshen this traditional room. An accent wall of buttery cream warms the space, and new art (purchased at Ross of all places!) finishes the look.

BEFORE: "Grandma's" dated, busy tapestry fabric duvet cover on the bed, an oversized lamp shade, a personal photo on the nightstand (verboten when selling your home-- it distracts), and a cold white color on the walls isn't helping this room or the beautiful bedroom set that's in it. Also, no artwork (yawn).

AFTER: Now we've gone "Tommy Bahama" tropical with new prints, warmer paint color and a nuetral duvet cover with just a pop of color on the throw pillow. Soft, soothing, contemporary and inviting...