Beautiful Bedrooms

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The colors are so warm and soothing.

This is the bedroom of one of my new clients. I love it. This client is just moving in and I am going to help her just work on refining her accessories and furniture placement and help her purchase some new things as needed. Her home is just gorgeous already. She inherited some amazing furnishings and art work that are easily museum quality. She has moved here from a 10,000 square foot home in the mid-west. Her new house is quite a bit smaller and so the challenge is making the over-sized furnishings work.

~Check out the scale of the large display cabinet on the wall~
It is immense and takes up the entire wall. The whole front is beveled and really commands your attention as the focal point in this room.

What I love about this project is having all the fabulous things to work with. Actually there is not a lot that I can do to improve this home. But there are some details...which are always very important in creating just the right feeling in the various areas of the home.

I have always loved beautiful bedrooms and this one is one of my favorites. This lady is into her linens and bedding in a big way, this bedding is all custom made (some of it by the homeowner herself) and this bed does not photograph as beautifully as it should. The bedding is so thick and luxurious and just is the most inviting, lovely bed. The style is very formal and although it is way too fancy for most homes...for her it couldn't be better. Here I will concentrate on the other furniture accessorizing and switch out the lamps. One thing that a formal setting needs is symmetry and this requires taller identical lamps to look its very best. The symmetry adds to the formality with its duplicates and the height is needed because the bed is raised up so high. Fortunately, I saw the perfect lamps in the entry way on their way to the storage unit. These projects are so enjoyable. I wish you could all come with me and enjoy a look into how people surround themselves with things they love and live their lives. It is an amazing privilege really.

Luxury Has A Changing Face

This article was in an E-Zine from a local furniture rental company called Welcome Home in Dublin, CA.

"I had the pleasure to attend a great seminar and networking event last week that was just too good not to share. There were so many points relevant to our industry, my mind has been buzzing ever since. The seminar was entitled "Redefining Luxury in the West," given by Michael Wollaeger, Editor-In-Chief of Western Interiors & Design magazine.

Michael spoke eloquently about a new type of luxury emerging in the West that is influencing the global marketplace. Michael explained that this luxury is societal driven and is changing how the most important and influential builders, architects and designers are creating the hottest new living spaces. This is so apropos to what we do in the real estate industry, meaning that many of these trends need to be incorporated into how we market homes.

This new definition of luxury isn't about scale and abundance anymore. Space, in and of itself (and especially in the West), is a luxury. We have moved to an era where protecting space, such as in National Parks, holds great value. Architects are now being driven by the idea of land and sky, instead of just abundance. A very small space can now be viewed as luxurious simply because of the view. Even in urban areas, the idea of incorporating the cityscape view into the design is now more popular than trying to block it out.

Sanctuary places in the home to retreat from reality are now more popular than ever. This includes reading retreats, massage & yoga rooms, hotel style master bedrooms, and spa-like bathrooms. Spa style master baths are trending towards materials with rough textures; stone and metal and mixing them with natural light.

Indoor-outdoor extravagance is a trend that is gaining more and more momentum with sumptuous fabrics, rugs, lighting, and furniture for outdoors emerging in the marketplace. Now designers can fully furnish outdoor living spaces with formal dining and sitting areas.

Another major trend that is influencing almost every aspect of our lives is The Green Movement. In the luxury market, this trend has translated itself in many ways. Reclaimed materials, such as wood and metal, are unique and therefore luxurious. They are not obtainable to everyone. They are not materials that anyone can just go out and buy. They are rare and often have outstanding unique patinas. There is a desire for a sense of purpose to reuse and connect to the past to create a sense of soulfulness. The use of natural materials from local sources is now more luxurious than the idea of importing materials from half way around the world.

Small house lavishness has also emerged from The Green Movement. Buyers are seeking ways in which to make small spaces work in multifunctional ways. They want solutions that are easier on the planet. They want to make purchases based on what makes them feel good about themselves and their lives.

All these trends are on the cutting edge of Interior Design today. So how does, and should that, relate to how we market and sell houses now? We have the opportunity to use the knowledge of these trends on every home we prepare for sale. Often times when we need to market a home with an older floor plan that does not have a dedicated home office, we create a home office in one of the bedrooms. Even though our lives are now more dependent on the use of home computers than ever before, the ease and affordability of wireless networking has made the reality of a small laptop in any room of the house easily obtainable. We are trending towards using that space (that used to be for the home office) as a luxurious personal retreat. It can now be a yoga room, meditation space, or massage room. Almost any master bath can be made luxurious looking by adding the right accessories, art and plush towels. An unusual corner of a room can be transformed into a relaxing reading retreat. The best part is that with a professionally staged home that capitalizes on these luxuries, they are easily translated to the buyer with good photography on the internet.

You have the opportunity now to market homes this way. Will you stay on the cutting edge with current trends, or keep doing things the same way and expect your results to change?"

OCD And Me

Me as an Erupting Volcano

I feel a bit of a rant coming on. I just got the Circlepix from the house we did this week and I want to erupt. I think that photographers do not necessarily make good picture takers of home interiors. If they do not have a eye for details...whoops, you get something like this one. Go ahead and see for yourself here.

Some of you may say...so what is wrong with this? Well, let me show you as a point of enlightenment about staging, not criticism. Click on the virtual tour entitled Living Room and Dining Room. Because of the rotation of the camera you get one nano second of these two room and a whole lot hallway, lots of empty walls, stairs, etc. The camera man needs to know the focal point of the room which, in this case is the sofa and art work and it is poorly lit. When you look at the slides of the living room the pillows are messed up and I know that is very OCD but can I just tell you it is all about the details, man!

You would never use upholstered furniture as a focal point if you were living in the house, but the staging focal point can be different. I always put lots of pillows on the sofas to bring in more drama and color to the room and to deter people that come for a look from getting too comfortable and flopping down on the furniture. The tactic does not always work, but it helps.

When you look at the room your eye sweeps it in one kind of circular motion. This makes Circlepix a great idea if it is done correctly. Anything that is wrong, design-wise, stops your eyes dead in their tracks~like the messed up pillows or squinting to see because of lighting issues. It interrupts the feeling trying to be created of harmony, flow, beauty. This is important when 90% of prospective buyers begin their search on the Internet! They may not know what is wrong but they will sense something is.

Next look at the Family Room ~Kitchen virtual tour. This one is pretty much OK, however, and this is a little bit of very picky but look at the pillows in this photo. All messed up and the stripes are going horizontally...wrong, they need to be vertical! Again, it stops your eye right there, your brain knows this is not right. It is math or some crazy thing; maybe geometry finally finding a practical application. Also it bugs me because this room is mostly mustard with the primary accents being orange/rust. The art work, however has a lot of blue which is why I put the blue vase on the mantel. Now to the three big pillows on the floor, one is blue for a reason...to bring in a touch more blue as a secondary accent color. It is buried in the Circlepix and not how we left it. Argggh, I hate revealing myself to you all in this manner but I am compelled to purge!

The way it should have been in the Circlepix.

Now look at the Master Bed and Bath on the virtual tour. The only furniture in this room is the bed and an armoire. This translates to ~ the bed has to be fabulous. I love the art work and wanted to work it all together ~so advised the homeowner to buy some neutral beige bedding which he did. The problem with the bedding is the fabrication, it is primarily cotton so lots and lots of wrinkles. This totally bugs me, OCD~OCD. So Emily, Maureen and I all worked and worked with Downy Wrinkle Releaser on getting lots of the wrinkles out so that it looked pretty good. Now it looks like someone slept on it, not under it?

I have these great feathery black pillows and they look fantastic with the art and bedding. They even flutter in the breeze of the overhead fan. Now this is exciting stuff for a decorator~actual movement in the design. I know we are a weird lot! Then I went to Elegant Clutter in Danville and I found the crowning jewel, this amazing black and white nubby throw (not at all cheap) which we strategically placed on the bed. Voila! A lovely, romantic, Parisian scene. We walk away feeling so on top of our game.

Reality sets in when the homeowner sleeps in/on it for a couple of nights and the Circlepix person is a guy. Neither of these guys cares in the slightest bit about the placement of feathery pillows or fabulous chic throws. I think they think the words "throw pillows" and "throws" are a call to action on their parts, for surely these have been literally thrown on the bed and it apparently looks just fine to them (the homeowner and the photgrapher respectively.) Then because of the lightening for the Circlepix the "throw" looks like a big black lab sitting there! Hello People!! Geeeesh! I can hear you sigh and say, " Enough already...Bon, just get over it."

Too much to hope for?

One thing I know for sure no one has even entered that bathroom as it is exactly how we left it! PTL!

What I have learned from all this:

• If I put my name on something, I need to supervise what happens after I leave especially when Circlepix is coming in. I know that what we create is illusionary and that the house is in constant flux once a family comes home but, for that one moment in all eternity ~when the photos are shot, it has to be perfect. The other option is to not leave business cards at all.
  

• I really prefer staging vacant houses but need to learn to live with the reality that many clients remain in the houses while they are on the market.

• I will never relax my standards, but I have to know that when I walk away from the project, I have done my level best and after that it is out of my hands. Until my art is preserved in a museum like Michaelangelo's, David (surely I jest...) ~anything can happen. There are no security measures taken with Home Staging. While it is a big, fat, artsy deal to me~it isn't to most of the rest of the world so hopefully the perspective buyers don't see the flaws. Oddly enough, it may be a mute point anyway, as I heard they may have gotten an offer on the house last night in spite of it all. That would be a win /win for everyone as this is a fantastic house and with Cathy, agent extraordinaire, it won't last long.
  

• As for me I need to stop worrying about what happens after I leave. In the final analysis, as Jim says, I've come and done what I was hired to do and the check spends just fine either way!
  

Whew! I am done now~thanks for allowing the cathartic experience!

Disclaimer: Please know that all of my carping is in no way reflective upon the wonderful family that lives here. They are the best and I hope this sale works out perfectly for them. This stuff is primarily about me and my OCD tenancies while engaging in my passion~home decorating and staging for sale! Well, and maybe just a wee bit about the professional photographer!

Staged Wednesday, Broker's Tour Thursday, Shown Thursday night, Circlepix Friday,
Multiple (4) offers Saturday and Sunday, went into contract Monday! Whew!

Before and After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After


Before ~Everything in this display cabinet is too small.
Note the horse collection
Double click to enlarge

After~Larger scale looks so much better.
It almost doesn't matter what you put in
here as long as it is the right size.

Before

After~Horse collection where it can be appreciated more.

Before

After


Before

After

I'll post the Circlepix on Monday
I apologize for some of these photos~weird exposures
~the Circlepix will be better!

Posted by Bonnie at 3:53 PM 3 comments

Preparing to Move

Every Wednesday is Tip Day. From Simply Stated, Gretchen Ruben

This Wednesday: Eight tips for preparing for a real (or virtual) move.

Knowing my preoccupation with clutter-clearing, a friend emailed me a few days ago: “I am starting the great purge of our belongings in preparation for moving. What mantras should I be using?

Good question! Moving is a fantastic opportunity to tackle clutter. And even if you’re not thinking about moving, you might want to try the “virtual move” – you look at what you have, and ask yourself, “If I were moving, would I bother to wrap this in bubblewrap and stick it in a box? Or would I chuck it or give it away?”

Whether you’re really moving, or virtually moving, here are some questions to ask yourself, as you consider whether some particular piece of stuff is worth keeping. Remember, you have to be HONEST!

1. Do I actually use this?

2. If I get rid of this, and it turns out I need it, how hard will it be to replace?

3. How many of this object do I really need? E.g., how many coffee mugs do you actually use? Beware of what’s called the “maximum-use imperative” -- the fact that people will often buy or keep something to accommodate a use that they need only rarely (like a dining room table big enough to seat the whole family, who visits once every two years). Also, although you may be tempted to keep every usable rubber band or every packet of ketchup that comes into your house, if you’re never going to use them up, get rid of the excess.

4. Does this work properly? If not, get it fixed, give it away, or throw it away.

5. At this moment, do I know how to operate this thing?

6. Am I keeping a gift out of sentiment or politeness, even though I don't really like or need it?

7. Am I keeping something as a memento? That's ok, but pick your mementos wisely. Try to pick things that don’t take up too much room. You don’t need lots of mementos from the same period of time. You can take a picture of something if you just want the visual cue, but don’t really want to use the thing -- this is especially useful when the memento is large, say, your father's desk.

Most important...
8. When in doubt, throw it out! (or give it away).

Tip: I find it’s much easier for me to get rid of things when I can envision that my things will be better used by someone else. So, as you prepare for your real or virtual move, take the time to identify destinations for your stuff. Do you know a family who could use your hand-me-downs? A thrift store that accepts used toys? Would you post a notice so that someone who wanted something could come take it? Etc.

*

Circlepix of Our Recent Home Staging

Circlepix of the Craftman Style House

Click here to view our last house. The agent involved was able to convince the seller to go under the 2 mil 50 for a quicker sale.

Enjoy~check out the virtual tour~when it starts to repeat just click on the next room
Living room~ Office...Family room~kitchen..master bedroom~bath.

Posted by Bonnie at 4:17 PM 0 comments

Check This Out!

This is a site that shows pictures of the staging for Ellen's House.

Personally I think considering they probably got paid at least 10 grand and the stuff they had to work with this staging is weak~especially the living room. The mantel is terrible. What do you think?