Simple last minute decorating tips to make your house more festive even if your house is on the market.

Your house is on the market and you’ve followed your Home Stager’s suggestions for making it more marketable in today’s market.   You’ve packed everything that isn’t needed and placed it in storage; removed all of your personal photos and simplified your accessories.  BUT, this is the holiday season and you’ll be having guests over. What can you do to help make your house more festive yet still be able to show well?

1. Start with a simple door wreath.  It can be as simple as a wreath with a simple bow or a few festive ornaments.  If you are using a fresh wreath, make sure you check it for dead branches or leaves.  If it’s one you’ve used over the years, take a critical look to make sure you’re not placing another “worn” or dated accessory in your house.

 

Keep it Simple

 

2. The same caveat applies to Holiday Decorations that apply to your other accessories.  Less is More.  Avoid placing all of your holiday collectibles and treasures out.  You’ll only reclutter what you sought so hard to declutter.   A few large glass vases filled with balls will give your home a fesitve look without adding too much distraction from the room. 

Simple yet Festive

 

3. If you have young children and opt for a Christmas tree, keep in mind that your house may be shown during the holidays and people will be walking through.  Make sure pathways are unobstructed and any wires out of the way and hidden.  It’s best not to advertise your packages  beneath the tree but if is seems bare to you then choose  a few and wrap them in solid paper (the same color)  with simple bows.

No one wants to take away the holiday spirit from you when your house is on the market, but it is still important to keep your house competitive.  If in doubt, contact your local Home Stager.

This Thanksgiving week, I am Thankful my Grandmother didn’t like Sweet Potatoes!

I have a lot to be thankful for but much of what I have would not be possible if my mother’s mother, my grandmother, had  liked sweet potatoes.   

When I was in elementary school in Houston and studying history and learning about other countries, I distinctly remember saying to myself how lucky I was to have been born in the United States. I knew I never wanted to live anywhere else.  Both of my parents were born here (Arizona and Arkansas).  My father and my uncle served in the military during WWII.  My dad was a photographer in what was then the Army Air Corps. 

                              From an early age we were taught respect and love for our country.  When I turned 21 and was able to vote in my first Presidential election, my mother walked with me to stand in line and proudly told everyone there that this was my first time to vote.  We knew everyone there but nevertheless, as any 21 year old would be, I was mortified. 

If my Grandmother hadn’t disliked Sweet Potatoes, I could have been born in China!

 Not the China as we know it in 2009 but the China of, well let’s just say, long ago.  Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against China; after all millions live there.  But for me, not being born here would have meant not growing up a TEXAN!   No rodeos, no cowboys, and OMG no FOOTBALL!  

 There would not have been afternoons pretending I was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.  No summers playing outside after dinner until the last ounce of sunlight was gone.  No staying up all night waiting to hear Frankie Avalon sing “Venus”.  (OK, I just dated myself, didn’t I).

So how does this relate to sweet potatoes??         

My grandmother was born in China and lived with her aunts and uncles. (her own parents had been lost at sea).  When she was just a little girl, another set of relatives were making their way to America and said they had room for one more.  My grandmother’s aunt said “Take her; she doesn’t like to eat sweet potatoes!”                                                                                                

And THAT is why I’m thankful my grandmother didn’t like sweet potatoes!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends at ActiveRain, and no I have no idea why not liking sweet potatoes would have made a difference.

 

American Orchid Society in Delray Beach host Annual Fall Orchid Show

 

Delray Beach hosts the 2009 Annual Fall Orchid Show at the American Orchid Society

Delray Beach Florida is so lucky to have the American Orchid Society’s headquarters in our own backyard.  This 85 year “young” organization is more than a membership society.  There are beautiful grounds covering 3.5 acres and a 4000 square foot greenhouse with orchids of every imaginable color.    

    

The AOS is there to provide orchid education and research, orchid culture assistance, organize and maintain the orchid judging system, and “ensure the preservation and perpetuation of the species.”  There is a small gift shop and plenty of volunteers on hand to answer your questions.  And, if you have an orchid that is “under the weather” there is a volunteer Orchid Doctor to tell you if your orchid has fungus, mold, or just needs some additional TLC. 

There are Group Tours of the garden and greenhouse available by appointment as well as Bus Tours to take you down to Miami for the Annual Miami Orchid Show and the very popular Redlands International Orchid Festival  . 

For those who love wine, music and the outdoors, there’s Wine & Music in the Gardens.  It’s held on the third Thursday of the month during Season from 5:30 -7:30.  What better way to enjoy the wonderful weather Delray Beach has to offer and support an integral partner in our community.

The AOS Headquarters has survived Hurricane Wilma and, like so many of us, the hard economic times that are upon all of us.  Earlier this year, the AOS was considering closing the gift shop as well as the gardens and greenhouse to the public.  Lack of donations and increasing costs were a concern when facing  their annual budget meetings as well as the slow summer months that lay ahead.  Thanks to a Save Our Garden pledge campaign, volunteers are now helping to maintain the gardens as well as the large greenhouse. 

 

For more information : 561-404-2000.  Hours are Monday thru Sunday from 10-4:30p.m.

 

Preparing Your Home For Sale in Palm Beach County-What to do BEFORE you List your house

                                 #1 Start thinking of your home as a Product to be marketed.

As a Home Stager in Palm Beach County I’ve noticed that more and more my clients are coming to me directly from the Internet and before they’ve listed their home.   These are savvy homeowners who know that in today’s market to get their home sold it will take more than just a fresh coat of paint and a good cleaning (although that’s a good start).  It is important that your house/product is ready to sell before the first Brokers Open House where your Realtor will introduce your new listing to other Realtors. Yes, you can always make changes after the fact and I know the natural tendency is to hurry up and get it listed but if it’s not ready to be viewed, then you will be wasting a valuable opportunity to show off your house in its best light.  I know this is a cliche but you have One  Chance to make a good first impression.  And with Realtors working harder and harder, it is not easy (or even impossible) to get them to pay a return “visit” to your house if they weren’t impressed the first time.   You need to make the most of every showing.     

            Before you put that For Sale sign in your front yard, you need to change how you view where you live. Whether you’re in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach or anywhere else, the moment you put up the For Sale sign you must now think of your home as a product to be marketed.  Yes, it is where your children grew up; where you’ve spent countless Sunday’s in the backyard at the grill; or where you have lived for twenty years, however to the buyer’s eye  it is none of these. It is a product that is competing with countless others out there.  

The next time you go shopping think about what you buy.  What brings your eyes to that product?  Why that particular shelf or rack?  Trust me it’s not because it’s covered in dust or in a worn brown box.  In fact, your eyes will typically travel to the product that sits on a shelf that’s at eye level; it’s easy to see.  It may be in a well known or recognizable package.  One with which you’re familiar; or it may be in a new or redesigned package with colors and graphics that are meant to appeal to everyone.  

 

 
The leopard wall that you put countless hours  in painting and getting it just right will not get your house on the Top Shelf in the “House For Sale” Store!  Yes, you’ve had many compliments from your friends.  And, you love it!  But,  the product you are marketing needs to appeal to a broad range of buyers.  Yes, it could be that the next buyer that walks in the door loves anything with animal print but you don’t know that.  Neither will your Realtor.  What will happen is your buyer will walk in and focus on the wall and how much it will cost them to paint it.  They may even wonder about who painted it.  What they won’t be focused on is  whether they can see themselves in this property and if it will be a consideration in their search.  

So, grab a pen and make notes because  this series will show you what you need to do make your home more marketable and maximize your investment.    Your home is now a HOUSE.  Our next step will be to see how others see it.

Of course, for those of you who would like some help, Room Service! Home Staging is always available for Home Staging Consultations or Team Staging Projects of Occupied or Vacant Properties.  

                                              

                                                      ROOM SERVICE ! HOME STAGING

                                                                 561-914-6224
                                                       www.MrsHomeStaging.com
                                                      Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com

A Salute to Veterans

Welcome World!

On this Veteran’s Day, I say “Thank You” and ask myself “Could I do it?”

As I say a very heartfelt THANK YOU to all Veterans who have or are serving, I ask myself: Could I do it?

This morning I posted in the Wordless Wednesday group on ActiveRain but felt that was not enough.  I still had a question.

Would I be able to give up my creature comforts and go to who knows where?   Could I watch as my friends, peers and family members went on with their lives. . . finishing their education; beginning their careers; starting their families?  Would I be able to take orders and follow through, no matter what?

Would I have been able to go forward, knowing that my next step might be the wrong one?  Would I be willing to give up my life to protect my country, my family; my peers?  Could I “press on”  knowing that the odds were not in my favor?

Could I do it?

When we lived in Northern Virginia and visited every Civil War battlefield in the region,  Our country’s forefathers were heading into battle against fellow countrymen, former friends, and sometimes their own family members. I would stand there asking myself the same question:

Could I do it?

On September 11, 2001 our country was put to the test.  Many stepped up to the plate and continue to do so. Young men and women enlisted, answering the call to protect and serve their country.

Would I have done it?

I ask myself this often.  I also look out at the generations behind me. .. Generation X and the Millennials or EchoBoomers.  Could they do it?

More importantly, will they be able to do it??  So as you thank those who have served, dig down deep and ask yourself:

Could I do it?