Staging Small Spaces

Home Staging is increasingly more important to get top dollar on your investment.  This is especially true now that the real estate market has quickly turned into a buyers market here in the GTA.  Even more important, is to stage small spaces.  Not only do people struggle to visualize the layout of a great room that has to incorporate the dining area, living room, and office space, but small spaces that are empty, look smaller than furnished ones.

Here are some Tips on Staging Small Spaces:

1) Add décor pieces that are silver, brass, metal, mirrored, and/or glass to reflect the light throughout the rooms.

2) Add large scale mirrors throughout the space.  Mirrors reflect the light throughout and increase the visual space in the room.  Mirrors can be tastefully added to dining areas, above console tables & dressers, in the foyer, and in bathrooms.

3) Use Multi-Functional Furniture Pieces.  Things like ottomans are perfect.  They can be visualized as additional seating as a bench or as a stool, footrest, and can even be used as end tables.  Ottoman with storage is ideal as you can store or tuck away your magazines, pillows, throws, books, etc. 

4) Use Condo/Small Scale Furniture.  Things like oversized arm rests on large couches just clutter the space and weigh it down.  Opt for thin, tailored, and streamlined pieces to keep the space as open as possible.  With the exception in bedrooms.  Remember if rooms are empty, they actually look smaller than furnished ones.  If a Queen Bed can fit, especially in condo master bedrooms, add one.  If buyers are questioning if a Queen Bed can actually fit in there, you have lost potential buyers.  

5) Add glass wherever possible.  When staging small spaces, select a couple glass pieces like dining tables, end tables, coffee tables, consoles, etc.  These pieces don't take away from the visual space in the room and can greatly open up the space while allowing you to place décor pieces and table lamps throughout.

6) Paint the space in a light paint colour like light grey or light taupe and in small spaces, use the same colour throughout.  This makes the space more uniform and appear larger.  

Best of luck with the sale of your property!  For any additional staging advice and/or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to call us at (416)262-0609.

2017 Design Trends

Every year comes with new trends not only in home décor but in fashion, web design, architecture, etc.  In the interior design world, 2017 brings some interesting trends and I hate to say it but the 80's are back.  Here are the top design trends for 2017:

STATEMENT LIGHTING

I always say that lighting & light fixtures are the jewelry of the room.  This year's trend brings very abstract, art-like lighting often asymmetrical in various finishes like brass, pewter, antique bronze & black.  Also, Vintage Edison Light Bulbs are still very on trend.

ABSTRACT/GEOMETRIC PATTERNS

This trend can be best utilized in décor accents like throw cushions, area rugs, accent chairs, linens, and outdoor accents.  Adding this trend to more accent pieces, allows you to economically update if the trend changes over the next couple of years.

POP OF COLOUR

It was announced months ago by Pantone that the colour of the year for 2017 is Greenery 15-0343.  This colour amongst other lavish colours like jewel tones, blues, pale pinks, etc. have definitely founds themselves into home décor this year.  2017 is definitely not the year to fear a pop of colour.  Once again, adding a pop of colour with your décor pieces like throw cushions, accent chairs, linens, is always a good option to embrace the trend and not be stuck with it for many years to come.

BRASS ACCENTS

As I expressed, the 80's are back and with that comes brass.  However, the 2017 brass trend tends to be more muted brass like antique brass, pewter, and brushed brass.  This trend is perfect to incorporate into light fixtures, lamps, throw cushions, hardware, mirrors & décor pieces.

NATURAL TEXTURES

Out of all the 2017 design trends, this has to be my favourite and is the most versatile.  You can add this trend into flooring, back splashes, coffee tables, dining room tables, accent walls, and even décor pieces as Hand-Crafted/Artisanal products perfectly align with this trend. 

GREY TONES

Gone are the days of everything being taupe, light brown, & beige.  We are seeing this trend utilized in kitchens & kitchen cabinetry, wall colours, furniture fabric, drapery, linens, and décor pieces.

As I always say, have fun with trends and embrace to the level you feel comfortable with.  I always recommend to my clients to select neutral & timeless finishes for their large ticket items and add trends into their décor pieces so they can be easily replaced if trend changes in years to come.  For any assistance on how these trends can be introduced into your home, contact me at anytime.

Staging Is Not Just For Real Estate

Staging is not only for residential real estate sales.  Even though staging has been proven to sell homes faster and for more money, staging is not limited to just real estate.  Working with a Home Stager for other projects like; Home Show Booths, T.V. Sets, Store Merchandising, etc., can not only save you money but can easily create the ideal ambience for your project.  Below are a couple before & after décor transformations for a Home Show Booth & a T.V. Set we designed for clients.

An elegant, bright, modern Home Show Booth we designed for a Custom Home Builder.  What a way to make an impact and catch people's eyes. This booth definitely stood out from the crowd and the furniture and décor pieces were rented for the duration of the show.  Our clients really wanted to create a living room feel where they could showcase their business.

What an amazing transformation of this TV Set for 'From Selling to Sold' which aired on Cogeco.  Our clients left it to us to design to entire set and arrange for the furniture & décor rental for the duration of filming.  This was a fun project and definitely showed that staging can be more than just for real estate.

Contact us today at (416)262-0609 for more information

Colour of the Year ~ Greenery

Pantone's Colour of the Year 2017 is out ... Greenery 15-0342

We are curious to know your thoughts on this selection.

Our thoughts, just with any trend, is to have fun with it and not take it literally and paint your entire home in this colour.  We always recommend to incorporate new trends in a tasteful way by changing out pieces like décor & accent pieces.  It always advisable to keep your high ticket items like furniture & couches in timeless colours (neutrals), textures, and structure.  This allows you to experiment & embrace new trends in your décor pieces without spending a lot of money.

We feel this colour trend would work great in accents like throw cushions (especially on grey couches), kitchen bowls & serving vessels, vases, and would definitely be a great addition to your outdoor living space for Summer 2017!