House staging - a great way to make your house not feel like "home"
NWescapee said
03:53 AM Feb 3, 2013
The transformation has started, 3 rooms painted, 2 more in progress, all family pics, art work and memorabilia are off the walls. As we cover our walls with the recommended neutral colors (aka BORING as I call it, homogenous as Dale is calling it) and see our fun, vibrant colors disappear, this house is no longer feeling like our home.
We didn't realize how much we associated all of the choices we've made in home decor with the "home" feeling. We've decided that's a good thing, will make it so much easier to leave when we finally get our truck and 5'ver up here, packed and organized so we can be ready to hit the road as soon as the house sells.
Slow progress so far, but it is progress!!!
PIEERE said
04:12 AM Feb 3, 2013
Slow progress is better than no progress! As time passes it will make you wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
Clay L said
12:51 PM Feb 4, 2013
Actually they still do open homes at least in some places - CO for one.
The advice you were given about neutral colors is dead on. We bought a summer home last summer and while we were looking we saw so many homes with colors that I am sure the owners loved but we thought were horrible. We knew if we bought it the first thing we would have to do is repaint. What you think of as fun exciting colors many people might consider gaudy and clashing.
-- Edited by Clay L on Monday 4th of February 2013 12:53:00 PM
Linda said
08:16 PM Feb 4, 2013
I can't believe how much things have changed since we sold homes.
What happened to the days of "The homier the feel, the faster it will sell"? I sold a home with a brick red wall in the living room and a purple master bedroom. The buyers loved the wall colors!
Every one of our homes sold (4 of them) sold during an open house. Now I hear they don't even do open houses anymore.
Wayne and Deanna said
02:30 AM Feb 5, 2013
Sounds like right where we are, minus having to paint. But removing all of the family things is both difficult and empowering at the same time, since, as you say, it feels less and less like HOME. Still, it is hard....... I think this part just prior to the listing is the most difficult for us, so far. Better get back to it....
Lucky Mike said
03:22 AM Feb 5, 2013
I kinda like the neutral......The place Im staying at at the moment was purchased last fall right before my Snowbird buddies went south.......so all the interior walls are sprayed a neutral tan eggshell color........looks very clean.
nice place tho and within walking distance of the hospital and shops!!!!
Mark Serley said
04:40 AM Feb 5, 2013
linda, it is always nice when you or howard chime in, keeping an eye on your flock, hope to run into you guys someday! mark
NWescapee said
04:47 AM Feb 5, 2013
Oh Linda, so much has changed, we last sold a house in 2001 and didn't do any painting. Now?? Red & Purple??? Nope, just like our teal, midnight blue and light burgandy were too wild, and forget the special painting patterns we did in the bathrooms, we were told even our light green kitchen was too green. Really, can you have "too green" in the Pacific NW??????
Grams said
04:26 PM Nov 1, 2013
I agree, staging is a good thing and make it easy to leave your "home". After our final walked thru, there was no feeling of reqret. All of our "stuff" that made the building our home was in our Aviator. The saying "Home is where the heart is" truly hits the target!
French Bikers said
01:30 AM Nov 2, 2013
Dale, painting ain't too bad. Last year we purchased our fifth house thinking that we would make a very good profit in 2018 when we would hit the road fulltime. Oups....... we changed our minds and decided to go in sept 2015 or before. So after finishing the first floor, I've built a new patio in the backyard and I'm presently working in the basement almost finish the new bathroom, then I will attack the family room and finish with the two rooms. From time to time I'm asking myself What the hell I was thinking when I bought the house knowing that the last one was free of debt........ On the other hand I know I will make good $$$$$ with the house, 2 out of the last for houses were sold within 7 days and I think it is because nothing needed to be done by the new owners.
So the efforts that your are putting will get back in your pocket. Keep it up you won't regret it.
I hope the sale will go fast and smooth good luck.
Jean
NWescapee said
06:19 AM Nov 3, 2013
So, looks like some of you are replying to an old post. House is sold, we have been FT now for 3.5 months and loving life on the road!! I will say that by the time the photographer took pics of our house, it was no longer our "home". We lived in the 5'ver on the driveway for 2 months and the pics look nothing like the home we lived in, it was never that spacious, clean, and so spartanly decorated.
So good to have it all behind us now.
Ken and Marianne said
05:33 AM Nov 6, 2013
Glad to hear of others "staging" their home with success. Ken and I were just discussing this earlier this week. Since he's a hunter, we have 8 point & 10 point mounts in our family room and dining room. Ken said NO WAY was he removing them to sell the house since we still were going to be living here... and then proceeded to try to figure out how we could put them in the 5R. LOL! He is going to be the one who will have the problem leaving all the "things" that made this our home.
The transformation has started, 3 rooms painted, 2 more in progress, all family pics, art work and memorabilia are off the walls. As we cover our walls with the recommended neutral colors (aka BORING as I call it, homogenous as Dale is calling it) and see our fun, vibrant colors disappear, this house is no longer feeling like our home.
We didn't realize how much we associated all of the choices we've made in home decor with the "home" feeling. We've decided that's a good thing, will make it so much easier to leave when we finally get our truck and 5'ver up here, packed and organized so we can be ready to hit the road as soon as the house sells.
Slow progress so far, but it is progress!!!
Actually they still do open homes at least in some places - CO for one.
The advice you were given about neutral colors is dead on.
We bought a summer home last summer and while we were looking we saw so many homes with colors that I am sure the owners loved but we thought were horrible. We knew if we bought it the first thing we would have to do is repaint.
What you think of as fun exciting colors many people might consider gaudy and clashing.
-- Edited by Clay L on Monday 4th of February 2013 12:53:00 PM
I can't believe how much things have changed since we sold homes.
What happened to the days of "The homier the feel, the faster it will sell"? I sold a home with a brick red wall in the living room and a purple master bedroom. The buyers loved the wall colors!
Every one of our homes sold (4 of them) sold during an open house. Now I hear they don't even do open houses anymore.
nice place tho and within walking distance of the hospital and shops!!!!
So the efforts that your are putting will get back in your pocket. Keep it up you won't regret it.
I hope the sale will go fast and smooth good luck.
Jean
So good to have it all behind us now.