Staging a Home to Attract Mr. and Mrs. Buyer



10519 Kenwell Glen Court, Jacksonville, Florida 32256



I received a call from a new business acquaintance of mine to help her stage her mother’s home. Her mom had passed away  and she felt she was too close to the situation to stage it herself. Didn’t feel she could be objective enough. Many times the closer you are personally to the property for sale, the harder it is to emotionally disconnect from it. That’s why hiring a home stager makes “cents”!




Kitchen Breakfast Bar Before




Breakfast Bar After





A Closer Look  at the Breakfast Bar 



A Wine Vignette Above the Kitchen Cabinets

The property for sale was a 1900 square foot ranch situated nicely on a corner of a cul de sac with a beautiful water view in the back. Upon entering the vacant home, I could see the cozy potential it had. My goal was to create a setting that would help some eager buyer emotionally connect with  it. The owner and I discussed staging the kitchen, dining room, living room, master bedroom and bath, guest bath and another bedroom.

Living Room - Before







Living Room - After

 When staging, my mind is reviewing my existing inventory for pieces of furniture and accessories that would fit the color scheme, mood, and theme I’m trying to create. I decided on a red and gold color palette for most of this home. In the master bedroom and bath, I developed my color scheme and mood from two framed floral prints the seller had. This color scheme was cream, green and pink. In the guest bath, I did a beachy theme in aquas and tans.

Master Tub- Before





Master Tub - After



Master Bedroom - Before



Master Bedroom - After



Corner and Plant Shelf in Master Bedroom - Before



Highboy Fills the Corner and Greenery Brings the Eye Upward to Appreciate the Plant Shelf - Master Bedroom- After 



Reading Corner - Master Bedroom - Before



Reading Corner - Master Bedroom - After

Guest Bedroom/ Home Office Before

Ready for Business in the "After" Home Office



Another "After" View of the Home Office



Dining Room Before

Creating an Ambient Mood in the " After"  Dining Room

A Cake and Champagne for the New Buyers!

As I was staging, I had to be mindful of rhythming the accent colors throughout the adjoining rooms to unify the décor. If I used red on the fireplace mantel, I wanted to repeat that red throughout the room. Since the kitchen and living room were open to each other, I carried the red and gold into that area also. As you can tell, staging takes a lot of concentration – you have to remember a lot of little details that will make it all come together in the end.

Back Wall of the Living Room - Before

Back Wall of the Living Room - After

Another View of the Living Room - After

Every time I stage a property, I wrestle with the question, “How can I make the buyer remember this house? How can I distinguish it from its competition?” I went to the Dollar Store and purchased a wine glass and a glass plate for a grand total of $2. I then glued them together with a fantastic craft glue called E6000 to make a unique cake plate. After placing the cake plate in the center of the dining room table, I placed a white doily and my fake chocolate cake on top. To further enhance this celebrative mood, the homeowner contributed her champagne flutes along with a bottle of champagne, a cake server, two beautiful glass plates, and a greeting card made out to Mr. and Mrs. Buyer congratulating them on the purchase of their new home. Now how could a potential buyer forget that? We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for Mr. and Mrs. Buyer to find this little dream home. If you live in Jacksonville or know someone moving here who is looking for a charming well-built home that is located near major stores, the library, medical facilities and has quick access to all major highways, this is the home for them.  For more information on this beautiful property, go here.





7 Ways To Enlarge Your Rooms When Selling Your Home



Neutral Tones - Enlarge a Space - Decor Pad

When you are selling your home, room size is paramount. How can you make a small room appear larger?

Using Leggy Furniture Opens Up A Room -Decor Pad

Scale down the furniture. Reduce the amount of furniture in the rooms. Use smaller scale furniture over big chunky pieces. Choose furniture with legs showing as opposed to heavily upholstered pieces. This allows one to see through the furniture to the floor underneath to open up the space.

Large Artwork in Model Home

Minimal Bathroom Accessories - Model Home

Decorate with fewer but larger accessories – too many small accessories crowd a room and overtake it. Do groupings of larger mantel/ table accessories which are overlapped. Avoid crowding walls with too much artwork. Use larger pieces of art to fill the walls. Ensure minimal accessories are on bathroom and kitchen countertops.

Patterns Which Don't Overwhelm the Room - Decor Pad

Avoid overly busy patterns. Too many bold patterns in a room with fabrics and accent pieces can make a room feel smaller. Big prints, bold plaids, and large floral patterns can be too busy for a small space. Stick to solids and use texture in fabrics to add interest.

This Large Rug Defines the Sleeping Area - Decor Pad

Limit the number of area rugs – too many area rugs make the space look smaller because they chop up the flooring. By removing excess rugs, you can open up the flooring space and make the home look larger.

This Neutral Color Scheme Enlarges the Space - Coastal Living

Lighten up – Dark colors absorb the light making small rooms look even smaller. Lighter colors on walls, such as creams, light blues, light greens, and soft yellows expand the the room.



The Large Palm Tree in the Corner Draws the Eye Upward - Decor Pad


Add height – vertical lines do make a room look bigger. Use tall trees and bookcases to draw the eye upward. Hang the drapes above the normal window top level. To widen the windows, tie the drapery back to lighten the room and make it feel open and airy.

This Large Mirror With Circular Shapes to Match the Lamps Reflects Light Enlarging the Space - Decor Pad

Use the reflection – hang mirrors on walls to add visual space. Mirrors reflect light and can make a room feel open and airy.

If you need help making your home look and feel larger to sell it quickly and  you live in the Jacksonville, Florida area, contact me for a home staging consultation at 904-553-0366.

Property and Furniture for Sale - Just Move In!

In today’s post, I’d like to feature one of my staged homes located in the gated golf course Cimarrone community in Jacksonville. This beautifull landscaped property sits on a private wooded cul de sac and has a beautiful built-in pool complete with waterfall and paver patio. As you approach the home, two beautiful leaded glass front doors welcome you.  Having 1518 square feet, this  charming property features three lovely bedrooms and two tastefully decorated bathrooms, an inviting foyer, cozy living room, modern kitchen with eat-in area and a large palladium window graces the  dining room. A spacious two-car garage is also included. The freshly painted home is tiled and carpeted and features plant shelves to showcase accessories in the bedrooms and master bathroom. Most of the furniture is included in the price; the artwork and most of the accessories are negotiable. If you know of anyone interested in this turnkey deal, please check the listing out on http://www.trulia/ .com. The address is 4604 White Dove Court, Jacksonville, Florida 32259 and the listing price is $249,900.  Below are a few of my photos of this home.

A cozy place to watch television in  warm Sherwin Williams Invigorating Cream

This entertainment center and coffee table are included

The spa-like  master bathroom in Sherwin Williams Grassland

This soothing master bedroom color, Sherwin Williams Ancient Marble , coordinates with the master bath color

Beautiful new vanity , faucet, mirror  and granite countertop in this guest bathroom

A beachy theme in this inviting guest bedroom swathed in Sherwin Williams Tradewinds 

Your guest can stay the night in this restful bedroom featured in Sherwin Williams Biscuit - a neutral color for any decor

Bon Appetit - Beautiful Ambience in the Dining Room

My Staged Condo Sold in 19 Days!!!!!

Staged Living Room of My Sold Condo

I was so excited to learn that the condo I staged here in my development which was listed on July 17th received a cash offer on August 4th - only  19 days on the market!  Staging really does work.  If you remember, I wrote about the seller  having to paint one orange wall back to Whole Wheat SW6121, the color of the other walls in the home office, to enlarge the space.  The seller had to remove a lot of furniture, repaint a wall, repair a wall in the guest bathroom, and remove 50% of their clothing from their closets.  Were they  happy with everything that they had to do? No .  Did they do it. Yes, because they were committed to selling their home. All of their hard work paid off - the buyers formed that emotional connection upon stepping into the condo.  They just had to buy it.  My sellers are ecstatic and have told me that the staging really sold their condo.  They have to move by the end of August!  If you'd like your home to attract a buyer so you can move on, please give me a call at 904-553-0366.  I specialize in creating buyer emotional connections that sell! 

Before - Home Office Wall Painted Orange

After - Painting the Wall to Enlarge the Space

Before - Back Wall of Living Room

After - Back Wall of Living Room - Some Furniture Has Been Removed to Enlarge the Space

Home Staging - The Process of Capturing a Buyer’s Heart!

I must apologize to you, my readers, but I have been delinquent in my posts this week but for a good reason. I was staging another beautiful condo in my development. This one was a fun project. The seller Victoria worked right along with me. Victoria has a natural flair for decorating and using color. She is remarkable. She painted her entire condo herself when she first moved there.

On my first visit to the condo, I was amazed at how beautiful it was but knew that the sellers would need to take some of their furnishings out to make it look more spacious. One wall in the home office was painted orange. I loved the color but suggested it be painted the same color as the other walls which immediately enlarged the room. The orange wall was no longer advancing forward which is what happens when you have accent walls. Darker walls tend to advance and make the room look smaller. We also moved a lot of furniture out of this room which further enhanced its size. Below are some before and after photos.

                                                           Home Office - Before

                                                                   Home Office After

                                                                         Home Office - Before                             

                                                                     Home Office - After




                                 Living Room Before

                                                             Living Room After

I find that my clients have the most problems with decluttering when selling their homes. They miss the items which are removed.. I tell them that how they live in their homes is not how they will sell them. Once they have made the decision to sell, the home becomes a commodity. Sellers must make a commitment to emotionally detach themselves in order to effectuate a sale. This commitment entails depersonalizing the home as much as possible.

When staging a home, I walk through the property with the sellers and advise them what to remove, what has to be repainted or repaired, and I may move some of  the furnishings around in the same room or move them to another room. My goal is to enlarge the space and create a good traffic flow throughout the home. Sometimes, my clients tell me that their realtors don’t have a problem with keeping certain items in the rooms. That’s when I have to remind them that as a professional home stager I have been trained to prepare homes for sale with the buyer in mind and that is what they are paying me to do. I tell my clients that if their property is priced correctly and they follow all of my advice, they should have no problem selling their homes.

Living Room Other Side  Before

                                                        Living Room Other Side - After

Victoria’s realtor visited her yesterday so the property should show up very shortly in the Multiple Listing Service. I will keep in touch with her for feedback on the status of the sale. When I left the home yesterday, I had a good feeling. I left a home where the seller had done everything that I requested and as a result the place showed beautifully – just waiting to emotionally capture some buyer’s heart.