Hardwood Floors are Amazing!

What a difference a floor makes. Many sellers tell me they want to leave their carpeting and “let the buyers deal with putting in hardwood floors if they don’t like the carpet”.

But wall-to-wall carpeting in the main living areas makes the house look dated. Plus buyers really don’t want to live through the hassle of installing or refinishing floors when they are in the middle of settling into their new home. Moving is hard enough. They want nice floors, neutral colors on the walls, relatively new appliances and nothing that is in need of repair.

This new floor was certainly worth the investment.  Fresh paint and a shuffling of furniture … and this room is ready for the market.

 

Living Room - Before

Living Room - After

Classes I will be offering in the area

Some classes coming up soon:
* Friday 2/27 - Conquer Your Clutter - Wilton Senior Center

* Friday 3/6 - Room Transformations (decorating) - Wilton Senior Center

* Tuesday 3/17 - Stage Your Home for Sale - Stamford Continuing Education

Staging a Small Living Room

When staging a home, it is always a good idea to make a small room look as big as possible. The easiest way to do this is to remove furniture and minimize accessories.

In the formal living room below we eliminated the loveseat, desk with its antique chair, small accent chair and afghan.

Moving the sofa made the room look longer and placing the large wing chair in the far corner draws your eye into the room.

A nice neutral color on the wall replaced the pink. It was a nice soft color, but with appeal to a limited number of buyers.

The real trick in a room like this is to go for minimalism, but keep the cozy.

Living Room - Before Staging

Living Room - After Staging

A Great Lesson on Stress

This post is not new, and I don't know the author, but I think it is terrific and wanted to share it with everyone:

A young lady confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water while leading a seminar and explaining stress management to her audience.

Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'Half empty or half full?' She fooled them all.

"How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it.

•    If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
•    If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
•    If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up again tomorrow if you must.