Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Stage your home and sell it!
By Julie Wiegan
With more than 3.8 million homes for sale in the United States, you need to find a way to up your chances of selling your home. SureFit.com, a slipcover and home solution company, has compiled a top 10 list to get your house off the market by staging your home on a tight budget.
Take down family photos
You may consider it the crown jewel of the living room, but future buyers will see outdated family photos as years of wear and tear. Clear the room of family portraits and other items that say “you don’t live here” to buyers.
Consider curb appeal
If you can’t hire a professional landscaper, make sure lawns are freshly mowed, leaves raked, and paths cleared. Scrub the front door, porch, railings and steps, pick up a new mailbox and welcome mat, and add a fresh coat of paint where needed. Add seasonal potted plants and a bench to the entryway to welcome visitors into a clean, fresh and relaxing space.
Rearrange refresh
Arrange the room in a conversational way. You may have preferred for every piece of furniture to face the television, but potential buyers will appreciate more of an open room vignette.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Make your home look well-traveled
Maybe you haven’t traveled the world, but you can still bring the world into your home! Andrea Evans, interior designer and owner of InThePinkBoutique.com shares her tips on how to decorate your place to make it look international.
Try different colors
Bring in colors such as black, white, royal blue, emerald green, crimson, and gold into a room using accessories that include pillows, lamps, painting a wall, and upholstered furniture, which can bring glamour and style to any type of space.
Artwork
Look for black and white postcards, sepia-tones photos, paintings, and etchings to make a room feel like you are living in an international city or town.
Furniture and accessories
These do not need to match the elements in your room. Find furniture and accessories that look old and used at antique stores or flea markets.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Bring summer into your home with Monica Pedersen
By Abbey Khan
Designer, lifestyle expert and HGTV host Monica Pedersen tells us how to make your home and patio more summer friendly so you can enjoy the warm weather in style. She also gives us the do’s and don’ts of shopping at garage sales and flea markets and lets us in on decorating ideas for her own home.
FUSN: Since summer is almost here, thank goodness, and people want to be outside, how should homeowners go about redesigning their outdoor space?
MP: You should spray paint your existing ironwood— patio furniture, light post, outdoor grill, etc. Bring some of the wonderful indoor/outdoor accessories into your outdoor space, like fantastic outdoor rugs that you can put on your patio or deck. Outdoor fabrics have gone wild in the past few years with the introduction of patterns that you typically would see on the fabrics in your home. Years ago, it was always stripes, now there are paisleys and other fun patterns.
FUSN: Is there a popular color or pattern for this season?
MP: Turquoise is super hot. It’s the color of the year. What’s fantastic about bringing a pop of turquoise is that it looks great against black furniture, wood tones, such as cedar or dark woods, and it’s also fun because it borrows from the sky— you’re in that blue color way and it pops. It looks great even with a punch of red or a punch of orange. Orange and turquoise are so colorful and it’s a ton of energy, definitely great for summer.
FUSN: What summer items would you splurge on?
MP: I would splurge on decorative urns, think overscale. Overscale, because they’re going to have a lot more impact and if you make the investment, you can use them year after year as opposed to making an investment in a ton of annuals. I would spend money on some great big garden products like huge containers and perennials and have fun with those.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Have a feng shui Thanksgiving
By Julie Wiegan
Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be stressful and can be the peaceful holiday it was meant to be. Create a warm and positive environment using these Feng Shui tips from ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Dr. Andie Pearson, DMD.
Clean and Clear
No matter what the occasion, the first step in Feng Shui is clearing clutter and cleaning the area.
Analyze
Decide on themes, purpose, how many people will be invited, who will be there, and what activities and foods you will have. This should help you with the rest of your planning.
Color It Warm
Plan the decorations with warm relaxing colors. Use goldenrod, earthy greens, tans, amber, deep rich reds or maroons.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Eliminate Allergens in Your Home
By Sara Moore
There are so many great things about warm weather, but allergies isn’t one of them. Michelle Rohrer-Lauer of Michelle’s Interiors gives us her top five tips to keep your house allergy proof.
Filter out dust and pollen
Buy an air cleaning machine or filter for your home. Air cleaning machines help filter out dust, pollen and other allergens from the air. These machines have removable filters which can be cleaned or replaced.
Get rid of carpeting
Carpets are a key place for dust mites, pollens and pet dander to harvest. Dust mites are especially difficult to remove from carpets. Replacing your carpeting with hard surfaces and area rugs will greatly reduce allergens in your home and besides bare floors are easier to clean.