Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life

Tag: interior design

  • Best Strategies for Staging Your Home

    There are lots of views on what the best strategies for staging a house are, but basically they can be grouped into one of three categories: declutter, depersonalize, demystify. If that seems a little abstract, read on for an explanation that could mean not only a faster sale but a better selling price.

    Declutter

    The deepest of deep cleans should accompany or follow the decluttering process. Tackle every possible surface in your house: walls, windows, carpets, light fixtures, window dressings, ceilings, air vents, registers, and lampshades. Consider hiring a small team of professionals to help out, because you’ll need to repeat this process on the outside.

    Staging professionals recommend removing half the furniture from most rooms. This doesn’t just improve traffic flow during showings, it allows space for customization in the potential buyer’s mind. Think less is more. If the couch looks like there isn’t room for one more pillow, it doesn’t invite someone else to nest. Now that you’ve got more room, pull the furniture away from the walls and invest in an area rug for your living, even if it’s already carpeted. Use the new rug’s dimensions as your guide for creating a cozy conversational grouping in living and family rooms, so people can imagine what it will be like when they have guests over.

    If you have well-organized storage in your garage or a storage locker, now’s the time to start packing things away. Renting a storage locker is an additional expense, but if you’ve truly outgrown the home you’re selling, you may have to make the investment. 

    Depersonalize

    When buying a home, the potential buyer has to be able to not just imagine but also visualize themselves in space someone else has occupied. But they won’t be living with your family photos or your athletic trophies, their children won’t be the same height or the same names as yours, so the growth marks on the door frame just have to go. If you can’t bear to part with this piece of your family history, replace that part of the door frame.

    If you have quirky, unique, or dated furniture, now’s a great time to send it out for cleaning or reupholstering. That’s if you aren’t going to replace it anyway. If you are, consider donating or selling it at the beginning of the staging process, and renting furniture while the house is on the market. You won’t need much — probably only half as much as you already have. 

    Pets are the bane of all real estate agents’ existence. It’s hard to accept that not everyone loves our pets the way we do. If you can get the animals out of the house before a showing, do so. If not, make sure that the fishtank is scrubbed clean, invest in a covered litter box and prepare to tend it daily, and find an attractive storage ottoman or box that will hold all the dog toys.

    Demystify

    Let the light in every way you can, even if it means investing in new sheers, different blinds, or a houseful of new light bulbs. Up the wattage and invest in whiter light bulbs, which more closely resemble daylight, which is 5000 to 6500 Kelvins. Plan to spend more time than you ever thought imaginable keeping your windows and windowsills clean and uncluttered.

    Part of the process of helping a buyer imagine your home as their own includes creating a purpose for every room. If you’ve got a multi-purpose room that serves as a home office, guest bedroom, and craft room, chances are good you’ll not only confuse a potential buyer, you’ll overwhelm them. Take everything out of this multipurpose room, choose a single purpose for it, and put back only the items that fit that purpose. The rest will have to go into storage or find a new home.

    Consider repainting your home’s interior before putting it on the market as part of the staging process. Light neutral colors still work best. Repainting will also give you a chance to repair all the picture holes and give you a fresh palette to work with when selecting artwork to display. Some real estate agents have invested in artwork that you can borrow. 

    Keep it simple and remember the room’s purpose when you’re hanging new pictures. Most are hung too high, at standing eye level in rooms where people tend to be seated. Think about your audience when choosing borrowed, rented, or newly purchased wall art. Photography and abstract or pop art may work better for a set of young, first-time buyers. Framed classic movie posters could add a touch of glamour if recent sales in your neighborhood have been to folks who are downsizing. But remember, by classic we mean Casablanca or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, not Rocky or Psycho.

  • Workarounds for Wood Paneling

    It doesn’t seem to matter how old or new your home is, inherited wood paneling is just sometimes a fact of life. Love it or hate it (and there is some wood paneling no one could love, especially the mid 20th Century rec room look), removing wood paneling or drywalling over it is a major renovation. It may require more time, money, and skill than you have or create mess you’re not prepared to tolerate. Even a gorgeous Douglas Fir vaulted ceiling Victorian home can make you feel dreary if it’s stained a dark color and you don’t have a constant source of natural light.

    Sometimes the best way to cope with wood panel design you wouldn’t have chosen yourself is to just accept the inevitable and embrace it.

    Here are a few things you can do that might help you learn to love the wood panel design you wish you didn’t have in your home.

    Accept the inevitable

    If you’ve decided you can’t or won’t remove the wood paneling in your home, accepting the inevitable and adding more wood might be the solution. By varying the width of wood used in a room but sticking to the same materials and color palette, you may be able to reconcile yourself to living with it.

    Part of the problem with uniform width wooden paneling and flooring is that it inevitably conjures images of a sauna. Which is great if it is a sauna, but not so great if it’s not. If you have narrow wood panels on your walls, using wide floor planking in the same wood and stain creates an elegant variation on a theme and supplies some visual interest.

    You can also frame panels to create separate wall areas and hang a series of prints or small paintings inside each panel. If your entire room is thinly paneled wood, adding a chair rail will break things up a bit.

    Add contrasting moldings

    Invest in some interesting moldings that will draw the eye upward. This is an easy way to draw the eye beyond the feature you don’t want to emphasize. It also creates a more formal feel and some architectural interest. Don’t try to match the existing panel color or even the ceiling. Use this space to inject a shot of startling or soothing color.

    Paint it

    If your main objection to your home’s wood paneling is its color and texture, the solution is paint. The possibilities are endless. You can whitewash the paneling to lighten it up with almost no prep work. You can paint it a dark color so the paneling recedes within the room. You can paint it a bold color, and, especially if the paneling extends to the ceiling, lacquer it afterwards. This kind of treatment may make you forget what’s under there and supply some interesting texture to your walls. Or you can paint it white to conjure thoughts of picket fences and long summer days.

    Cover it up

    There are two ways to do this, one literal and one figurative. The figurative treatment, especially if you have only one wood-paneled wall, is to paint the paneling and then install shelves the entire length of the room and fill them with books. The paneling will still be there, but the colorful books will make you forget it except when you have to dust.

    The literal cover-up for wood paneling that again works best for a single wall (although you can use it on an entire room) is to upholster the wall. You’ll need a tall ladder, a good staple gun, and enough polyester batting to cover the wall as well as far more fabric than you think you’ll need. Pattern matching is as important when upholstering a wall as it is when hanging wallpaper, so make sure you buy extra. You can seam each wall panel together and carefully press each seam open or use trim to cover the fabric panel edges.

    And then there’s wallpaper. For the truly egregious 1950s rec room paneling that probably isn’t really made of wood at all, this may be the quickest and most effective solution. If, however, you’ve got real wood paneling with grooves more than a quarter inch deep, you’ll have to fill the grooves with caulk, prime the paneling with a latex primer design that blocks stain, then begin the wallpaper hanging process. If you’re going to all that trouble anyway, you might want to use paintable wallpaper, available in various textures. You can paint it to match the rest of the room or use it as a feature wall. Even paintable wallpaper will need two coats, but with any luck, no one will be able to guess what lurks beneath. Unless, of course, you tell them.

    For more great design solutions, check out our Home Maintenance channel.

  • Best flooring choices for your kitchen

    Whether you’re planning a full or partial kitchen renovation, the good news is that there are myriad options when choosing the best flooring for your kitchen, and those choices are available at a variety of price points. We’re no longer restricted to tile, linoleum or wood flooring.

    Here’s a rundown of some of today’s best kitchen flooring options and some of the pros and cons of each.

    Best environmentally friendly kitchen flooring options

    If you’re concerned about off-gassing or passionate about leaving the smallest environmental footprint as possible, you may want to stick with options that don’t include vinyl or heavily manufactured floorings.

    Those can include cork, bamboo, new or reclaimed wood, and stone.

    Wooden kitchen floors are a huge trend these days and one that’s likely to continue for the next decade or so. If your kitchen cabinets are painted, glass-fronted or melamine, wood can provide some much needed visual warmth as well as design continuity between your kitchen and the rooms adjacent to it. Both hardwood and softwood floors are expensive. If you can find a source of reclaimed wood or salvage flooring from your own renovations, reclaimed wood might be your best option, especially for smaller kitchens.

    Bamboo, while gorgeous, is not a great idea for kitchen flooring. While it’s an amazingly renewable resource and very durable, it’s also highly reactive to temperature and humidity.

    Cork flooring is a great choice for kitchens and is both environmentally friendly and durable. It does, however, need to be resealed every few years. Check out the cork flooring options available and you’ll discover you’re not confined to natural cork-colored flooring. Dyed cork is available in a whole range of color options, from mint green through dark red to bright purple. And it’s available in tile, sheet, and plank formats. Cork is also both warm and comfortable underfoot. If you spend a lot of time (or long stretches at a time) cooking, it’s a lot easier on your legs than almost any other kind of kitchen flooring. Cork can be dented over time, so choosing a near-industrial grade of cork flooring is important for a high traffic area. Bright sunlight can also cause cork to fade, and light is important in a kitchen. If your kitchen has a southern exposure, this may not be the best flooring choice for you.

    Stone floors are beautiful, luxurious, environmentally friendly and extremely durable. You will be limited in your color choices if you choose stone kitchen flooring, and you’ll also pay a premium for them. Artificial stone floors are available in a wider color range. But the beauty of slate or stone floors is the natural color variations and textures. The other unexpected premium you may pay for stone floors is replacing dishes. If you drop it, you break it. There is also the beyond slippery-when-wet factor. You need to wipe spills up immediately, not to protect your floors but to make sure you get from the fridge to stove without a mishap.

    Last but not least is linoleum. Made primarily from linseed oil derived from flax seeds, it can also include jute, cork powders, wood flours and tree resins. Linoleum could work very well if your kitchen has a retro theme, and is available in many color options. Installing linoleum is a renovation that won’t add anything to your home’s value, however.

    Best comfort options for kitchen flooring

    Cork, softwood, and vinyl flooring are your best kitchen flooring choices if you spend a lot of time in your kitchen cooking and baking.

    Vinyl flooring is cheap, durable, and highly water-resistant. Think of it as linoleum’s “synthetic cousin.” It also comes in almost-infinite options: sheets, planks, and tiles and in almost as many designs as you can imagine. There is some very good vinyl “wood” flooring on the market these days. It’s also warmer and softer than either wood or ceramic tile floors, and a padded underlayer can sometimes be added for even more cushioning. It is, however, one of the least environmentally friendly flooring options.

    Best design options for kitchen flooring

    Wood is “in” for kitchen flooring, whether it’s real or engineered hardwood or vinyl planking, and the first two options can add significant value to your home. Wood flooring can provide nice design integration in a more open-plan home, but be careful not to create wood overload if your kitchen cabinets are wood as well.

    Stone floors are a time-honored, casually elegant option.

    Porcelain and ceramic tiles are extremely durable. The color and design combinations are endless, from mosaics to marble. Porcelain tiles are harder and less porous than ceramic tiles. If your kitchen isn’t absolutely level or your house is settling, these tiles can crack easily and repeatedly in problem areas. They’re not indestructible either: a hammer falling off a counter can crack or chip one of these tiles. There’s no one best flooring choice for all kitchens. Try to eliminate some options based on price, availability, and difficulty of maintenance and installation.

  • Best ways to cozy up your family room or den

    One of the best ways to ensure your family life doesn’t turn into a “ships passing in the night scenario” is to create a space in your home for the entire family to congregate spontaneously. Choosing the right family room decor is the best way to cozy up your family room or den. As the days get shorter and less time is spent outdoors, it’s important to create a family room to retreat to.

    Comfortable Seating is Key

    Comfortable seating for the entire family and then some is key to a successful family room setup. Whether you place the couch against a wall or float it in a larger, open-plan house, think not about enough seating for the family and a few guests, but about enough lounging area for everyone. Even if you don’t own a pair of sweatpants, the family room is a place to sprawl, not the place to worry about your posture.

    Sectionals are great for letting family members do just that. They also have the advantage of separating off a portion of a room. The DIY alternative to this is built-ins along the walls with corner seating. Add some oversized, comfy lounge chairs and several ottomans and you’ll have flexible seating for you, your children, and their friends.

    Invest in furniture that comes with washable slipcovers or that’s made from easy-to-clean surfaces like leather or vinyl. If you must use white or off-white in your family room, washable, stain guarded slipcovers for upholstered surfaces are a must.

    Rugs up the Cozy Factor

    The other big family room investment you should make is in a rug that’s both easy to clean and plush. When the playoffs are on and it’s game night, you may have more guests than you can seat and the overflow will have to make do with throw cushions and the floor.

    Go overboard on the cushion and throw front. We tend to use our family rooms at the end of the day and at the end of the week when we’re already tired and want to relax without exerting a lot of energy. Stretching out with a comfy pillow at your back and a cozy throw to keep you warm (even if the movie turns out to be a two-and-a-half-hour marathon) might just be the best leisure activity you participate in all week.

    Traffic Flow Matters

    Pay particular attention to traffic flow and conversational (or viewing) seating areas when planning your family room decor. Floating a couch several feet from the wall that contains the room’s entryway means people can enter and exit the room from other areas without having to pause the movie to let newcomers squeeze by.

    Basement Family Rooms

    If your family room is in the basement, you may have to work a little harder to get a cozy vibe. Invest in some really comfy seating and try to keep things low (including any wall art). In a room with low ceilings, hanging pictures at seated eye level is crucial.

    Alternatively, perhaps instead of artwork or photos, create a curated wall that has texture: old skis and snowshoes painted white and mounted on the wall above the couch; a collection of straw hats or baskets; or a net full of shells you’ve collected on your beach vacations.

    If you have exposed pipes or beams, don’t feel obliged to close in the ceiling. You can go one of two ways with a basement den ceiling: paint it the same color as the room, or use a contrasting shade that accentuates the obvious.

    Family Room Storage is Essential

    Make sure you build in storage space for toys, games, devices, and books. You’re probably going to want a TV and a surround sound system. Now is the time to think about how various family members are going to want to use the space.

    If you don’t mind your kids listening to music while they do their homework, you might want to consider creating not only a family game area but also a study area. Your young scholars may feel less like they’re being punished when doing their homework if they’re also hanging out with the rest of the family. Even if you don’t want to create a study area in the den, you’ll need a table of some sort for cards and board games.

    Don’t forget there will be snacks, whether they’re s’mores or popcorn. While you won’t necessarily want to create a formal dining area in your family room, a dedicated table or buffet where you can put out all the snacks and guests can help themselves is a good idea, while a small bar fridge can save you trips back and forth to the kitchen with chip dip and drinks. Other ideas: a play area for younger kids and a billiards, pool, or ping pong table or dartboard for the adults. If you invest the time in planning the best ways to cozy up your family room or den, it will become not your home’s centerpiece, but rather its heart.

  • Ask a Pro Q&A – Choosing a Timeless Kitchen Hue

    Kitchens are the heart of the home. By selecting the right color, you welcome guests and express your style.  Interior designer Jennifer Adams discusses the best options for cabinets and a refreshed look.

    Question: Which are the most classic kitchen cabinets that will not look dated?

    I’m assuming you are talking about the door style. For a truly classic look, simpler is better! A look that never goes out of style and blends with any decor is a solid slab-style door without any panel or embellishment at all. But that look can be a little boring if it’s finished with plain white paint. To add some timeless interest to cabinet doors, choose an inset Shaker panel for the larger doors and drawers, with a slab style for small drawers.

    -Jennifer Adams

  • Cozy and Inviting Dining Room Interior Design Ideas

    Transform a bare or outdated dining room into an inviting, modern space with just a bit of design inspiration. Explore a collection of dining room interior design ideas to ignite a spark when it’s time to plan a perfect place for eating and gathering.

    Lanterns

    Instead of a traditional chandelier, consider hanging lanterns over a dining table. Lanterns feel much less formal and add a unique lighting touch that will start conversations.

     

     

     

     

    Floral drapes

    Create a relaxed dining room with floral drapes in bold patterns. Go big on color, too. Think turquoise, emerald green, bright yellow and even hot pink.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Coastal dining room

    Use rattan accents in a coastal-inspired dining room, such as on chairs and for table settings. You might even drop a rattan light fixture over the table or hang rattan artwork.

     

  • Mid-Century Modern Décor Ideas

    Mid-century modern décor is having another moment. You may have noticed the Danish sideboards and colorful sofas gaining popular. Arguably, the style may have never fully left the design sphere.

    Although the official movement has long passed, people are still obsessed with the clean lines, sleek structure and inspiring color palettes associated with mid-century modern décor.

    The aesthetic is by nature minimalistic, with the form being inherently functional. When done right, mid-century modern is organic, fluid and universal. Executed the wrong way, it can look like a Brady Bunchesque nightmare.

    The key to maintaining the proper mix of history and modern – to recreate a version of the perfect abode that incorporates comfort, beauty and ingenuity – is to understand the core tenants of mid-century modern. To realize that the style that grew out of early 20th-century modernism and spanned from roughly 1933 to 1965 is based on simplicity, creative use of materials and a strong (but artistic) connection to nature.

    The mid-century modern design movement encompasses architecture, interior design, industrial elements and graphic design. Made famous by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Richard Neutra and Harry Bertoia, mid-century modern focuses on small spaces, expansive use of glass, multi-purpose furnishings and other elements of design that are clean, contemporary and creative.

    Less is more

    You can incorporate mid-century design principles into your home by adhering to the “less is more” concept made popular by Mies van der Rohe, a German architect and leader in the movement. By adding thoughtfully and subtly crafted pieces, like marble-topped tables and molded Eames chairs to kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms, you’ll present a contemporary and classic vibe that is straight out of the 1950s.

     

    Clean lines and natural hues

    Mid-century modern furnishings have clean lines and neutral colors. Often, wood pieces made from teak are used to showcase natural beauty in a home. A mid-century modern dining table with teak legs or frame topped with a simple sheet of clear glass is a beautiful addition to a home.

  • Ask a Pro Q&A: To Keep or Not to Keep Beadboard in a Bathroom

    While shiplap may be the current darling of the design world, beadboard is also receiving attention for its versatility and style. When debating whether to take on a renovation that involves this timeless design, consider the time and cost investment.

    Question: I have beadboard in my hall bath and want to know if I should keep it, replace it with shiplap or leave it plain and just paint the drywall? The room has vintage floor tiles, a pedestal sink and marble tile surrounding the tub/shower.

    – Ken G.

    Well, this is a great question and my answer is, it depends! Use caution. This sounds like a simple project, but it might not be. Do you have a problem such as dry rot, mold or peeling paint that requires removing the beadboard? Is it painted already? Do you simply not like it? What looks beautiful to you? What are your goals for the space and how it will feel?

    In general, unless you are going for a new look completely or know you need to fix something, I recommend keeping a project simple. Any time you tear something out is an opportunity to find hidden problems that might delay the project or increase your budget. In bathrooms, in particular, moisture wreaks havoc without being noticeable. And in old buildings, paint often has lead in it, so talk with a licensed contractor before doing anything to create dust or cover up potential problems.

    -Jennifer Adams

  • Ask A Pro Q&A: Housewarming Party

    Celebrate in style, no matter the size of your new home. Interior design expert and Dream Team member Jennifer Adams shows you how to go from cramped to cozy with a few great tips for your housewarming party in the latest edition of Ask a Pro!

    Q: “I just recently brought my new condo/townhouse.  It has 2 beds, 1 full bath, 1 partial bath, a basement, and it is 986 Sq. ft.  I am going to host a house warming this spring and would like to know how do I fit 20 – 30 guests in my small home?”

    — Nancy J

    A: Congratulations on your new home! It’s so fun to get settled into a new space and create a home for yourself that you love. And how wonderful to have a great group to help you enjoy it. Here are a few of my tips for entertaining your friends and family for any gathering.

    Expand outdoors! Add festive lighting and consider inviting the neighbors so they won’t mind your friends spilling out onto your driveway. Rent or borrow a pop-up canopy if it’s going to be hot or rainy. Have some spare throw blankets nearby if some of the seating is outside and it’s going to be chilly.

    Set up the bar/beverages area accessible but separate from the food. Your kitchen is going to be packed no matter what, so having the beverages further away will keep your gathering a little more spread out. Consider someplace where spills are not very consequential but still social, perhaps in the back yard or garage if you have one.

    Push the major furniture pieces toward the walls. You’ll need the extra room for people to mingle. Turn the dining table sideways or place in a corner to make even more room, and remove all your breakable accessories. The table surfaces and seating are still going to be useful for food and mixing up conversations groupings, so don’t hide it all. After the party you can re-arrange your furniture how you like it for daily life and smaller gatherings.

    Keep the food prep and beverage service simple. With that many people, there will be that many extra drink glasses and plates! Serve mostly finger foods that are easy to eat while standing up. Pre-plan an obvious place for garbage and the empties, so your guests can more easily clean up after themselves.

    Invite your closest friends and family a little early to help you set up. That way there will be people at your home when the rest of the guests arrive! It’s kind of awkward to be the first guest to show up at a party set up for a big event.

    Remember, you don’t have to have everything perfect! In fact, nothing has to be perfect. Plan ahead, but if you run out of something, you can send somebody to go get more. Invite a casual atmosphere, and everyone will have a great time, including, yourself!

    — Jennifer Adams

     

     

     

  • Ask A Pro Q&A: Updating Different Rooms in your Home

    A new year can mean a fresh start for your home’s style. How can you achieve this? Interior design expert and Dream Team member Jennifer Adams has the answers to go for dramatic touches, textures and colors in the latest edition of Ask a Pro!

    Q: How do I update different rooms of my house…specifically my family room, bedroom, and kitchen.

    — Amanda M

    A: This is a great question, one that I hear a lot! And it’s not hard to make a few simple changes to completely update the look of any room in your house, particularly the family room, kitchen and bedroom.

    A quick declutter makes any room look fresh, airy and new. Pull out all the accessories off your shelves and other surfaces, and put back only about half of them, or, even less! Just a few of your favorites deserve a spot. If you can’t make up your mind about an item, save it to rotate back in later.

    Color is a quick way to update a room. Or, actually, these days it’s a lack of color that is making news. My whole house is basically white, wood tones and different grays from light to charcoal to dark iron. New decorative pillows, throw blankets, area rugs and accessories, even books, candles and art on the walls are great opportunities to change any room’s tone without even opening a can of paint.

    A new bedding set with fresh sheets, and a bold comforter or duvet will completely change the look of your bedroom. Contrast your wall colors for a little bit of drama, or keep things quiet with off whites, grays and lots of texture, such as a throw blanket with big tassels or fringe, or soft stripes.

    Emphasize the natural. I love natural curiosities such as interesting pieces of wood, fossils or shells, crystals and stones, because the color is subtle but warm, and the textures are so fascinating.

    Large plants! For a rich pop of color and dramatic touch, add some big architectural plants with interesting leaves. If you can’t spring for something as big as you want, buy smaller ones in multiples, and use a pedestal or plant stand to vary the heights. I generally use odd numbers for any accessory grouping, 3 is a magic number for this!

    — Jennifer Adams