Ana's Blog: December 2010

The garage, also known as the "man cave" is often a forgotten space in homes.  Mostly it's the neglected and scary space used for storage and a catch all area for things unwanted and things to be used "some other time".  A place where guys go to watch football and drink a beer.

If you start thinking of the garage as an important part of your home, it can really increase its value and even your quality of life.

In Southern California where basements are not the norm, garages are used as additional living and entertainment spaces. In many homes, the washer and dryer hookups are located in the garage and not inside the home.  You must consider all this when preparing your home for sale. How will your garage stack up against the competition?

Now you don't  have to go run out and spend thousands on the floor treatments and the fancy TV set up but there are things you can do to insure this space will appeal to buyers.   Who wants to do laundry in a dark and scary space?  How can you find your tools if you are tripping over all the stuff laying around?  You should be able to fit at least one car inside after all it is a garage.

First and foremost make sure it is clean and well lit.  These two things are the single most important improvements you can make that will have buyers remembering the space when looking at the competition. 

Women value storage space just as much as men appreciate a large garage and a place to hang out or work on home improvment projects. For example in this space below, all that is needed is a little decluttering, sweeping and organizing.  What does that cost? ZERO!

Storage, storage, storage!  Dedicate one area of your garage that makes sense to storage and make the display neat and easy to get to so that buyers may picture the space WITH a car in the area.  A compact and neat tool bench or a simple arrangement of stackable shelves can be found at local box stores for next to nothing. 

Pack away smaller items in labeled containers and place on the shelves.  Hang up your garden tools and bikes.  Another great way to create storage is to purchase cabinet remnants from kitchen and bath jobs.  Box stores many times sell these left over items at a discount.  They can be easily stacked or mounted in your garage for use.  Drywalling and painting an unfinished garage will put dollars in your pocket even if nothing else is done.

Even if you are not selling, these simple improvments will make your life a whole lot easier.

AccentPositives provides effective and economical Home Staging and Redesign Consultations on site and online.  We are located in Corona and service the Inland Empire of Southern California and the Palm Springs area.  Call 951 833 8529.  Email staging@accentpositives.com.  Visit www.accentpositives.com and www.accentingspaces.com.

Who would want their home making it to this website?

Photo by http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/. 

Listing during the holidays is stressful enough, so give yourself a gift and remember these simple tips...

Stay away from the blow up decorations for your lawn and porch.  Nothing looks worse than seeing them flattened on your lawn during the daytime.  The scene above looks more like a drive by shooting than holiday cheer.

Less is more, so instead of spending endless hours putting up lights and decorations, go small. If you have Tim "the tool man" Taylor complex, you could be in trouble. Now is not the time for "more power.!"

Make sure your decorations don't interfere with pathways through the home or take up large chunks of your space. Buyers don't want to fight through tinsel and mistletoe, they want to see your space, even if it is the holidays.  If everything is covered from head to toe, they won't remember a thing about the place except that it looked like a mini Santa's workshop.

Try to make your decor more of a seasonal theme. It will appeal to most everyone who enters your home for showings.  Concentrate more on warm lighting than shiny sparklies and you will create a welcoming holiday spirit in just about any space. 

Following these few simple tips will make your listing period less stressful and present your spaces in a beautifully wrapped package hard for anyone to resist.

When the holidays end, that tree and all those lovely lights should be taken down as soon as possible.

 AccentPositives provides effective and economical Home Staging and Redesign Consultations on site and online.  We are located in Corona and service the Inland Empire of Southern California and the Palm Springs area.  Call 951 833 8529. Email staging@accentpositives.com.  Visit www.accentpositives.com and www.accentingspaces.com.

Those big sectionals are really great, especially if you have a big family.  The problem is many times they are so big they can overtake the whole room.  The most common mistake made with this type of furniture is to mash it up against a wall, the largest wall in the room. 

What happens then is you have the big hole in the room and nothing to look at but a big fat couch!

This room redesign also included removing clutter from a very interesting and unusually shaped fireplace so that it could be the star of the room.

Repositioning the sectional and adding splashes of color make the couch less the clumsy main attraction and more the warm place to hang out.

It doesn't take much to change the entire look of a space.  A little courage when it comes to color and pattern can spice things up and create a whole new room.  Don't be afraid to mix and match styles and colors. 

Of course if you need assistance, we are only a phone call away!

 AccentPositives provides effective and economical Home Staging and Redesign Consultations on site and online.  We are located in Corona and service the Inland Empire of Southern California and the Palm Springs area.  Call 951 833 8529   Email staging@accentpositives.com.  Visit www.accentpositives.com and www.accentingspaces.com.