Would've-Could've Series - Living Room

Even though we've moved out of our old house, we've been going back to clean it.  It's only right to hand over the house to the buyers in a truly move-in ready (clean) condition...  and just another excuse for us to linger more until closing.  As the Mr. and I walked into the empty house, we still couldn't help but fall for the abundance of light that pour in from the patio doors to the living/ dining room.  The sitting area was another space that we have yet to tackle before we sold the house.  We staged it with two armchairs that we got for the family room, so that it didn't appear too empty for the property listing photos.

However, if we had stayed at the house, we would like to decorate the sitting area where it's calming to chillax with a drink, in an elegant, classic style.  Something simple with smaller pieces, as the area is only around 10'x14'.  Here are some of our inspirations for the sitting area:

via http://wonderfulpalmettolife.tumblr.com/

via http://cotedetexas.blogspot.ca

via http://prettystuff.tumblr.com

Do you see a common theme going on in these 3 images?  What we were looking for was a settee, a small accent table, and a piece of wall accent.  We wouldn't be able to fit a coffee table in front of the settee, since that would block the path to the patio door.

We have flipped back and forth on a settee style, but we always go back to one with a more classic line.  This would've been our choice:

Source:  Restoration Hardware

Its simple lines is a contrast to the tufting on our dining chairs.  We also loved the welcoming feel of those curved sides, as if those arms are hugging the person sitting on it.  

As for an accent table, we wanted one with a shiny finish to distinguish itself from all the wood furniture in the room.  Chrome or brass finish in these styles would complement our decor:

Sources:  1. & 2. One Kings Lane; 3. & 4. Joss and Main.

We ruled out the pedestal tables like 2 and 3, since our dining table is already quite chunky-looking.  An accent table with skinnier legs would give the area a more open feeling.

If I had the time, I would've started on my living room DIY art project.  I even had the poster size of this Plan de Turgot map printed!

I found on Pinterest that the New York Public Library has a collection of beautiful maps that are in the public domain and available for use.  Considering the Restoration Hardware version costs several thousand dollars, I was ready to put my non-existing decoupage skills to good use.  Well, that was the plan...  the prints are now packed away for an art project for our new house (if I ever get around to that!)

To complete the living room's sitting area, we would add a lightly patterned area rug and a gorgeous chandelier for some sparkles.

Sources:  Rug and chandelier - Joss and Main.

Nope, we're not done yet!  There was still the opposite side of the room.  We went through different design concepts for that area, one of which included a faux fireplace (just a mantle) with two armchairs in front.  In the end, we decided to just keep the area less populated.  Otherwise the left side of the room would look way too crowded, with the dining table in front of it, creating an imbalance against the simple sitting area.

The Mr. and I enjoy the occasional drink at night, and the left side of the sitting area would've been a great spot for a bar cart.  As I kept searching, the styles got all the more vintagey.  I wasn't sure if I would want to start adding antique pieces to our decor.  

Sources:  1. Layla Grace, 2. 1stdibs, 3. furbishstudio, 4. Kravet

Choices 1 and 2 were on the vintagey side, and I came to realize that I was looking for something a bit wider than a regular cart.  Choices 3 and 4 were of a more contemporary style, and we would've chosen #4 for its size and also the higher edge around the shelves for its added details.

Still not very convinced about how the chrome and modern flare would go with our existing pieces, I kept searching and came about a console table that was narrower in depth than bar carts.  That would be great to free up some space between the bar and sitting areas.  Simple tapered legs in antiqued gold finish would blend in with the wall, while picking up the wainscoting details.

Source:  bellacor

While we were at ZGallerie during our Chicago trip, we found some pieces that would've made our bar area come alive!  These bar essentials are but a few statement pieces that we would love to incorporate on the console table.

Source:  ZGallerie

Can you imagine how much time we spent at the store that day?  We also roamed through the art collections there!  We found a piece that would pull all the colours in the living/ dining room together, while adding a totally different colour.  

Source:  ZGallerie

This painting isn't a dining related piece of art, but it's pleasing to look at with the soft colours.  The cream and khaki colours mimic our wall colour, while the blues and greens are of a similar tone as the blue-green in our draperies.  The deep pink serves to bring out the bar area as a focal point as you walk in from the dining room, or sit on the body-hugging settee from across the room.

Well, I couldn't have had the Mr. poured himself a drink and then had to walk all the way across the room to the settee!  No no, I would need to get him a chair by the bar, so he could sit right down!  The Mr. prefers armchairs, so that his monkey-long arms are not just dangling on the sides.  I wouldn't want one with thick covered arms, that would look too heavy and defeat the purpose of keeping the bar area light with simple pieces.  Armchairs with thin arms like these ones below have a less clunky look:

Sources:  1. Joss and Main, 2. & 3. One Kings Lane

While I was searching for the bar area armchair, something else caught my eyes.  Of course, I would need a small accent table on which the Mr. can put down his drink also!  A little garden stool adds a little casual vibe to the room, and a darker coloured piece would ground the setting. 

And here would be how the bar area would've all come together...  everything at arm's length for the Mr.'s enjoyment =)

This is the view of the back of the living/ dining room as one would come through from the dining room entrance.  I think this would've been the best use of space for us, keeping everything simple yet practical.  If we needed more seating there, we could easily grab a dining chair from the adjacent dining area.  

The Mr. looked impressed as I showed him this design board.  We've always talked about our design plan for the living room, but this is the first time that we've actually seen it "come to life".  Our new townhouse's living room would be a longer horizontal space.  I have been gathering furniture placement ideas and curating potential furniture pieces on my Pinterest board.  Check out my living room Pinterest board to get a glimpse of our furniture placement ideas for the new living room!  Remember to check back for another set of "Would've-Could've" series!

Would've-Could've Series - Dressing Room

We've settled in nicely into our rental townhouse, albeit some hickups with power outage and dealing with a non-functioning air conditioning unit thereafter.  Thank goodness it was fixed within a day, and the weather was cool enough to be without it for a bit!

This short-term disruption in comfortable sleeping temperature was a prelude to a longer-term adjustment in this house.  I think both the Mr. and I have been spoiled by the huge walk-in closet/ dressing room in our previous house...  well, at least we still managed to stuff our rental closets to the max:

The Mr. was nice enough to let me take the entire master bedroom's walk-in closet, while he took the single closet in the 3rd bedroom (aka his new dressing room/ laundry sorter and drying room).  He has an extra clothing rack in that room as well.  Kinda squished there!

Gone are the days where we could stretch out our arms to fill in our sleeves and hop around as we put on our bottoms without bumping into walls or doors.  No biggie, we'll just need to fine tune our balancing finesse!

Of course, that brings me to reminisce about our dressing room.  As promised, this is the first of the "Would've/ Could've" series, which will run for the rest of August.  As in, if we would've stayed at our previous house, how we could've decorated the rooms.  

Prior to buying our new house, the next item on the Mr.'s honey-do list was to put an island under our dressing room's chandelier.  Similar to these gorgeous dressing rooms:

via www.kandeej.com

via www.newportharborhometour.com

This would've been another IKEA hack project for the Mr.  I've found this perfect chest of drawers...

IKEA Birkeland 3 drawer chest

At 36" high, it's at the perfect height as a counter.  We would want to put two of these chests of drawers back to back to form THE island, and its depth is perfect for our room size.  However, the trim work at the bottom of the unit wouldn't work when put back to back.  That means the Mr. would have to DIY his own bottom with some baseboards around it.  To cover the seam on the top surface formed by placing the two dressers together, we would have a mirror cut to size.  Yup, a mirror top island would've looked just right in the dressing room!  Similar to this:

via parkavenueprincess.tumblr.com

Without having the island looking too blended-in with all the white frames on the walls, I would paint it in a light greyish colour.  Colours similar to these cabinets would be my top choices:

Click to view source.

via nattybydesign.com

Love the hint of lilac in these greys...  sorry hon, for my plan to make the dressing room a tad feminine =)

Our window in the dressing room was bare, and we were never in a rush to put up anything since it looked straight out to our neighbour's brick wall.  Had we been looking for drapery designs, we would be looking for some softness around the windows to offset the hard lines of the wardrobe frames and moldings:

via http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/

Love the nailhead details in the valence of the window treatment below, but the whole look seemed a bit too busy for the dressing room.

via http://www.sheffieldfurniture.com/

The treatment below has a dreamy look and it's the ultimate in softness.  However, I think the Mr. would prefer something less fussy, minus the puddling look.

via http://www.pretavivre.com/

Never thought that I would like the ballooning valence style, but it's nice and elegant in this space.  

via ellaandbaba.blogspot.ca

No dressing room is complete without some kind of seating.  Afterall, who wants to hop around single-legged while putting on pants or socks?  Getting small stools for each of us was on my to-do list, but we got a bench instead.  It was fine when we didn't have the island, but it would've taken up too much space if the Mr. had gotten around to finish installing the island.  So I was still searching for smaller seats in case the Mr. was ready to jump on another project again, once he was off of the break he took after the office cabinet project.

Sources:  1 via Horchow; 2, 3, and 4 via One Kings Lane.

I loved choices 1 and 2 for its feminine flare, however, I had to consider the fact that I shared the dressing room with the Mr.  Not that he would've minded, but I also loved choices 3 and 4 for their more contemporary style, with the separated seat cushion look.  Ultimately, I would've chosen #4, to inject some colour contrast into the room and balance the light-coloured wardrobes and island.

To up the luxurious feel of the dressing room, a fluffy rug would've felt nice and soft against bare feet.  However, we already have broadloom in the dressing room...  so forget about a fluffy area rug.  But these sheepskin rugs from IKEA are bang for the buck and would've been so heavenly, pleasing to the eyes and under our feet!

IKEA Sheepskin Rug

If we had the wallspace, I would've loved to incorporate some pieces of art into the dressing room.  Sorry again for making our dressing room too feminine, but these pieces bring out the sensuous side of the room.  

Sources:  1, 2 source unknown; 3 via ZGallerie; 4 via One Kings Lane

With our dressing room's wardrobes being all open and the clothes in plain view, it was already quite colourful.  I think I would keep the artwork toned down.  I'm loving the gold foil prints that are all the rage these days.  These prints of classic perfume bottles would be my choice to bring out the sparkly in the room, while still low-key in a sense that they are monochromatic.

via http://i-see-noise.myshopify.com/collections/perfume-bottles

Here is how the dressing room would've been decorated by incorporating our design choices above.  A calming and luxurious feel, brought about by the mirror top island and the softness of the window treatment and sheepskin rugs.

Island crop - Lisa Vanderpump's closet

We won't have a dressing room the same size as this one in our new townhouse, but we have made some floor plan changes for a good size...  let's call it a dressing area.  I will leave that for a future post.  For now, you can check out my Dressing Room Pinterest Board to get a sense of our new dressing area project!

Easy Steps to a Successful Listing and Selling of Your House

This week has been rather gloomy and wet, which means that unfortunately, we couldn't take little man and fur-baby to the park and field across the street after dinner.  I would love to have them both enjoy that convenience while we can, before we move into our rental house.  Did you miss last week's post?  I made a special little announcement!

If you had been following, thank you for your continuous support.  You must know that we're now in the midst of some intense packing!  Rewind several months back, how did we prepare for our listing and home showing?  This week, I'm sharing some easy steps for a successful listing and quick sale of your house.

All homeowners have a common goal when they list their houses for sale - GET IT SOLD AT THE BEST PRICE QUICKLY!  And potential buyers also have a common goal - to get the best bang for their buck for a house they love.  It's a compromise to find a common ground between these two goals.  But first, the seller needs to attract potential buyers to their house.  You want potential buyers coming to your house to feel welcome and wowed, leaving with a feeling that they can see themselves living in your house.  Just like how you would say when looking at model homes, "I can totally see myself living here!"  Here are some simple steps you can take to prepare for a listing.

CURB APPEAL

You've heard it enough times - First impression counts.  Potential buyers and visitors are critical from the point they drive onto your street and arrive at your front door. You want visitors coming to your house to have a pleasant feeling right from the get go, and that starts with your front yard.  During warmer months, ensure that your front lawn and garden are trimmed and neat, rid of weeds and garbage.  Put some HEALTHY greeneries (ie. not wilting) by your front door if you don't have a garden.  In the winter months, your driveway should be cleared of snow, and sidewalk and pathway to your house shovelled and salted.  This is also obviously for safety reasons.  Do you have flyers on your driveway or at your front door?  Get rid of those too.  A welcoming front yard signals to visitors that the homeowners take pride of ownership of the house.   

PURGE AND DECLUTTER!

This is possibly the most important thing to do if you don't do anything else on the list.  Declutter as much as possible to give the impression of spaciousness in the house.  Potential buyers are not visiting your house to see your possessions, they're there to see the house and imagine how they can live in it.  If they're distracted by all your collection of trinkets, buyers won't be able to see beyond them.  You don't want potential buyers to feel turned-off by all the stuff around the house and thinking your house doesn't have enough space.  If you don't have space for your stuff, how could they fit theirs?

STUFF - We'll start right at the entrance.  Lots of families love to display their shoes collection at the front door out of convenience.  That's great and all, but when you're showing your house, you want visitors to see the house right when they walk in, not your shoes.  No matter how neatly you put them on a nice shoe rack, they take away space in your foyer, and especially so if you have a narrow doorway.  The less distraction, the less critical the visitors would be.

Shelves, tabletops and counters should be as decluttered as possible. As much as you think that blender on your kitchen counter is an essential daily use item, potential buyers may not agree.  Try to keep your kitchen counter as clear as possible of small appliances and other knick knacks until your house is sold.  It may be a bit extreme, but take note that the state of your kitchen make or break a first impression.  A spacious countertop gives the illusion of a spacious kitchen, even if your kitchen is small.  Most cooks of the house would take a wide open countertop over one that's cluttered with no space to stretch.  It only add points in the visitors' mind, and every little bit helps to get your house sold!  The Mr. even hid our countertop microwave on Open House days!

REMOVE YOUR PERSONAL PHOTOS - Visitors don't need to know how the homeowners look like.  They want to imagine how they can live in your house.  Let your house do the talking, not how you looked in your photos.  To replace our personal photos, we simply printed stock photos from online sources and placed them on top of ours.  You don't need to hide your beautiful photo frames, unless you have too many of them out in the open.  Use the frames to enhance your decor, but not too over-powering that there's all to look at.  Limit them to 1 per shelf or 3 to a space.

FURNITURE - If you've been to builders' model homes, you would notice that they keep their furniture pieces to a minimal.  Each room should only have the basic pieces of furniture, especially if the room is on the smaller side.  If you can't walk into a room without hitting some furniture, then you should probably remove some non-essential pieces from the room.  Maximize traffic flow, as most viewers flow through the house as a group, you don't want a visiting family feeling squished in the room.  Visitors hate the feeling of overcrowding and stumbling in and out of rooms.  You may also want to move your furniture pieces around so that the path into the room is not blocked.  You can purge, donate, or put them in storage while your house is being listed.  The choice is yours, but remember your goal - you want people to love your house, and you want it sold ASAP at the highest price. 

GARAGE - If you use your garage as storage, rent an indepenent storage unit elsewhere and free up your garage.  Potential buyers need to ensure they can park their cars in your garage, or use it as storage space themselves.  Also, during showing appointments, never park a car on the driveway, as it signals that you don't have enough space to park it in your garage since it's full of stuff (and that goes to say that your house doesn't have enough space for your stuff).  Remember, potential buyers are always looking for space!

A LITTLE FACE LIFT

It's only until after you purge that you can finally see the years of dust collected behind furnitures, scuff marks on the walls, knicks on baseboards, etc.  It's time for some renewal and repair.  Most buyers want a MOVE-IN READY house, as most listings would emphasize if they are.  Deep clean your house from top to bottom.  Get rid of that huge and growing dust web that you've been ignoring, sparkle your shower stalls and bathtubs, DEEP CLEAN YOUR KITCHEN, etc.  If your walls and baseboards show signs of wear and age, give them a coat of new paint.  You may be able to ignore them, but potential buyers see these little things when they walk through your house.  Don't skimp on a fresh coat of paint if you have a room in barbie pink, neon yellow, or whatever sharp colours you might have customized - repaint in a neutral tone.  Neutral colours are more pleasing to the eyes, and allow the potential buyers to have a "ready to move in" feel about your house.  

MARKET YOUR HOUSE IN THE BEST LIGHT

Now that your house is ready to be on the market, check with your agent if you can take the photos for their marketing materials (eg. on the realtor's website, feature sheets, etc.).  We opted to take the photos ourselves, same ones that are on our gallery.  We knew the best angles of each room, and we were able to take advantage of taking photos throughout the day to get the best natural light for each room.  For example, our entrance faces east, so photos of the entrance were taken in the morning.  Our family room faces west, so photos for that room were taken in the late afternoon.  The same goes for the rest of the house.  You want to attract potential buyers browsing on realtors' websites by showcasing photos of your house under the best lighting.  Just like how interior design magazines always photograph beautiful rooms in broad daylight, never at night with artificial lighting.  If, however, you're not comfortable about taking on this task yourself, then of course enlist your agent to do so.

THE PRICING GAME

"SOLD ABOVE ASKING!" realtors' ads abound, but how often are they relevant?  Is "sold above asking" all that great if the house was priced below average market price of similar homes in the area?  Then that "sold above asking" gimmick is more likely just "sold below market".  Potential buyers are now very informative, doing their own research online to find out the going market prices of the homes in the area they're interested in.  It's more important to price the house around the comparables in the area, so it would not raise a flag with potential buyers and deter them from looking at your house any further.

INCORPORATE SOME WOW FACTORS

With your house now in public domain, hopefully it's getting some great marketing exposure.  Potential buyers browse numerous online listings and may schedule multiple viewing appointments a day.  How are they suppose to remember all the different houses? Just like a store front's window dressing, you want to wow your potential buyers with some lasting positive memories. When we had showing appointments, we set our dining table as if we were having a dinner party, as seen in this post.  It's the easiest extra step to do!  "Oh, that house with the set table in the dining room" would be all that was needed for a potential buyer to remember the flow of our house.  

BRING IN THE FRESHNESS

A basket of fresh fruits in the kitchen or a vase of fresh flowers in the living area makes your house more lived in and inviting.  We had a basket of lemons in the kitchen and a vase of flowers for showings.  Little touches like these let visitors know that you care to make a good impression of your house.  

How about some fresh air?  Open up the windows to air out the house before a showing appointment.  It helps get rid of trapped odours that you've grown nose-blind to.  You may also add a SUBTLE, FRESH and PLEASANT scent with plug-ins or diffuser oils.  The key is subtle, and not using it to mask any existing odours!  I had my wall plug-in oil diffuser turned to the lowest to ensure that only a light scent was released.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...  MAINTAIN IT ALL!

The above tasks are not to be only done once and for all.  Ensuring your house is always in top-notch showing condition is key to a fast and successful sale!  These to-do's may seem like all the fuss about nothing and create so much inconvenience.  That's true, but you want to keep the time of being inconvenienced to a minimal.  You definitely don't want to have your property sitting idle for weeks, or worse, months.  Imagine if there're several houses on your street that are also for sale!  It happened to us, 2 out of the 2 times when we listed our house for sale.  Having a great layout definitely helped us in both of these cases, but making sure that our house showed to wow allowed us to sell in record time on our streets (sold 1st home in 2 days and sold current home in 11 days; only our builder's model home beat us to it, being sold in 8 days). 

---

Throughout your listing process, keep in mind your goal as a seller - GET YOUR HOUSE SOLD AT THE BEST PRICE QUICKLY!  The longer your house sits idle on the market, the less buyers would be interested as it gives the impression of a problematic house.  Do all you can to attract potential buyers and wow them so you can get a quick sale.  Yup, it's just that simple!  And you know what?  Since you've already decluttered and purged before you listed your house, packing won't be too dreadful afterall!

We wish you the best of luck on your listing!  Let us know how it went!

SHERINA SO (sherina.so@century21.ca)