Archive for January, 2009

25 WAYS TO SELL YOUR HOME

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

There are many different elements that can affect the sale of a home.  Usually, making the right first impression can be the key factor in promoting a good sale.  Try these 25 helpful ways to selling your home:

1.  Hide your personal items! Look around to see that your personal items are hidden away! Some examples are those items that are left out for one’s own daily convenience like; hats, shoes, hair brushes, coffee mugs, mail, newspapers, dog dishes and coats. Try to keep these things placed away from view.

2.  Eliminate any odours!  Try to eliminate odours that are unpleasing!  A buyer can become instantaneously turned off at the first hint of a bad smell.  Therefore, be sure to keep garbage out and pet items cleaned.  At times, adding a fragrance with scents can be a good effect, but be sure not to overwhelm your guests with too much perfume smells!

3.  De-clutter your rooms!  Be very sure to take out anything that is distracting to the eye!  This means taking out your clutter and re-organizing your rooms.  Be sure to keep your home neat by eliminating the clutter of items on floors, shelves, closets and table tops.  The less items that are visible, the bigger and better your home will feel!

4.  Cleanliness is a must!  Keeping your house clean is one of the most important factors when selling a home!  Be sure to keep your kitchen and bathrooms extra clean at all times.  This should be a priority when trying to sell your home because buyers inspect these areas closely.  Also, remove any stains or spots that might be give the wrong impression to buyers.

5.  Clean your carpets!   It is a good idea to professionally clean your carpets if there are stains or spots on them.  Making your carpets look clean and new can be an important feature in helping the sale of your home.  Do not show your home to potential buyers if the carpets are dirty because they will only focus on the dollar amount needed to change out the flooring.

6.  Remove items from your counter tops!  Clearing your kitchen and bathroom counter tops is a good way of creating space in these areas.  Removing counter top appliances like; toasters, kettles, containers, and other unnecessary items is essential for creating a clean and open look to your kitchen and/or bathroom space. More importantly, put away those toothbrushes and toothpaste!  Buyers do not want to envision your daily life routines!

7.  Repaint walls!  This might be an unpopular task to do before selling a home, but it definitely pays off in the long run.  A fresh coat of pait will automatically give your house a new fresh look and smell.  If you can-try to paint the walls in a neutral tone.

8.  Put away your family photographs! It is important to depersonalize your house by removing your family photographs.  It is important to allow the buyers to picture themselves living in your home instead of the original homeowners.  Remember that buying a home is emotional for buyers and most times buyers do not want to associate with the sellers.

9. Do your homework!  This means looking at comparable properties in your area and surrounding communities!  At times, you should even go inside these competitive listings to see how they compare to your property.  Be sure that your price point makes sense!  Ask yourself; “Would I purchase the same property for that price if I was a buyer?” Also, make sure that your house is the best one for sale for the same price of other homes in your area!

10.  Be real and objective!  Many sellers get emotionally charged when trying to sell a home depending on their circumstances.  Your realtor can keep you informed, but it is ultimately your own responsibility to know when to drop the price!  If you are a serious seller, then make sure that your house is the best one out there for the similar price as a property with less upgrades!  Get an extra edge by making the price of your home more appealing to buyers who know that your house offers more extras.

11. Don’t ask your friends and family for advice!  This is a common mistake that most people do when selling a home!  The truth is that most friends and family members will not tell you the truth about the pricing and look of your home.  Most times, people tell you what you want to hear…this means that even your own realtor can fall into this same situation.  If you are concerned about the look of your home, then try hiring a professional decorator who can give you some consultation and is removed from the sale process.

12. Be sure that your rooms have purpose!  There are many times when homeowners have converted a space into something else, but only confuses a potential buyer.  For example, there are some dens that are converted into bedrooms or dining rooms instead.  Whatever the purpose for making the change, be sure that the room looks like what you intended it to be!  This means, if the den is used as a bedroom, then be sure that there is a closet.  But, if there is none, then change it back to its original  design.  Always make sure that every room in a house for sale has a functional use.  Do not confuse your buyers with weird changes and designs.

13.  When in doubt, take it out!  If you have anything that is odd or unusual, then try to remove it before a viewing.  For example, try to remove any exotic reptiles, statues, paintings, wall murals, wall hangings, Playboy calendars and posters that might enshrine a room.  Many home buyers do not want to remember your home for these items. 

14.  Repair and Fix!  Do not put your house up for sale if there are still things to be repaired.  This is a great way to turn off any potential home buyers if your house has things to be fixed.

15.  Give your outside curb appeal!  Remember that the first thing that a home buyer sees before entering your home is the outside.  So, try to keep your outside as appealing.  This means to clear off cob webs, sweep off dirt at the front door, repaint any garages, remove trash bins, maintain lawns and hedges.

16.  Replace light bulbs!  This is a simple way to keep your rooms looking bright.  Many times people forget to change the burned out light bulbs in bathrooms, kitchens, basements and bedrooms. 

17.  Turn on the lights!  Be sure to keep those lights on during a showing so that people can see well. 

18.  Open the curtains!  Keep natural light in when its appropriate.  If you have a great backyard or view, then remember to keep those curtains open.  However, if you have messy neighbours, then try to camouflage a bit with semi-open curtains.

19.  Create interesting reading material!  Make sure that those realtor brochures include attractive photographs and detail descriptions.  Most times, a potential home buyer will look at the reading material prior to setting up an appointment to view a home..  Include as many wonderful photos of your house as possible.  Also, include summer photographs of your yard if you life in a wintry place.

20.  Communicate with your realtor!  A good realtor will follow up on showings and review with you any feedback that he/she might have heard.  The information that you get from showings if very important because it allows you to understand what others think about your listing.  More importantly, you will soon know if your pricing is too high! (Which is not a good thing.)

21.  Be flexible!  During the sale of your home, you must be at the mercy of both Realtors and buyers!  Do not put restrictions on the times for showings because this will only annoy the agents.  Remember that you are not only working with your own realtor, but every other realtor in your city.  Try to accommodate all showings no matter how inconvenient they are.

22.  Be open minded with your closing dates! When it is time to list your home, be willing to accommodate for different closing dates.  Try to accommodate your buyer’s closing dates if possible.

23. Have Open Houses! Try to have as many open houses as possible.  Sometimes agents do not like having them because open houses can interfere with schedules.  But, in today’s market, sellers should try having more than the usual.

24.  Create flow!  Try to create a continuous flow from room to room with color scheme and furniture placement.  If your family room is “over stuffed” with furniture, then try to move or remove items like extra chairs, tables and/or floor lamps.  Do not be afraid to take out furniture so that your room appears bigger.

25.  Easy Decor! Add some new decor if your budget allows.  Some simple ways to get a new look is to add new towels, bath mats, and shower curtains in bathrooms; or try to add table mats, napkins, fresh flowers and fruit in a kitchen.

Copyright 2009 Home Link Design Inc.

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Purple Mania Bedrooms!

Saturday, January 10th, 2009



Purple has become the fashion color choice today in both clothing wear and home decor styles.  There are many different shades of purples that can be coordinated together to create a modern look and ambiance in interior design.  However, choosing and incorporating the right purple hue can be a difficult task if it is done incorrectly.

Home Link Design has recently completed two unique room makeovers using purple as a feature color in two girls’ bedrooms.  We will share Home Link Design’s project experience with coordinating purple as the schematic color choice in two separate rooms.

The Project Purple

A month before the holidays, a client asked Home Link Design to complete two room makeovers as a surprise for their two teenage daughters. The idea was both exciting and complex because the room makeovers had to be created without the girls knowing about it!  But, with luck on the design team’s side, the client arranged to have their daughters stay with grandma for one week while Home Link Design busily finished the bedrooms. 

Before the project got started, Home Link Design had to ask the right questions to better understand the needs and objectives of the client’s design wishes.  The important questions asked were: (1) what function would the bedrooms play within the teenage daily lifestyles? (2) What style and mood had to be created in both bedrooms? (3) What was the budget plan? And (4) what colors were favoured for this project?

Of course, there were other questions asked during the process, but these basic questions were important as a starting point in understanding the clients. Not only did Home Link Design have to listen to the needs of the “mom” client, but they had to learn more about the likes and dislikes of her “absent” daughters.  Initially, the thought of creating surprise room makeovers for two teenage girls was unnerving because the designers could not personally meet the client’s daughters to find out their likes since it had to be a complete surprise.  So, the goal was to interpret their preferences at a glance from their existing bedrooms. At first hand, this did not appear to be an easy task, but as experienced designers they learned to quickly gather ideas and understandings about their clients from the personal objects and items found in their spaces.  Therefore, Home Link Design’s experienced designer minds began to conjure creative ideas after observing the existing bedrooms.

It did not take long to factor in that the hippest color choice available was purple for an adolescent bedroom!   Not only were the clients young and cool, but they were also sassy females who would absolutely love and appreciate the hip purple color trend of today. The focus was to create feminine rooms that incorporated different purple hues with a sleek and modern twist.  Home Link Design’s objective was to create two distinctive rooms using a chic color choice without being redundant and boring.  Therefore, the idea was to blend purple and black together to produce a trendy and stylish appearance.  The choice to combine comparable lighting effects, fabrics, textures and products to recreate two purple themed rooms was imperative so that each flowed together, but were also individual in look.

Before choosing the type of purple shade, Home Link Design asked the client to personally select two distinctive purple hues from an array of paint selections.  This was very important because most people perceive the color purple differently than others.  For example, some clients view the color purple as more “pink” or “violet” in color, where others may view the color purple as “lilac” or “bluish” in tone.  For this reason, it was important to have the client select two purple color choices that could be used as the themed color selection for each bedroom. (The accent wall color selections used in the bedrooms were General Paint’s Harmony: CL 2474M and Flirt: CL 2464M). Both paint colors were different in appearance, but incorporated tones of purple that were different from each other.

Once the paint selections were chosen, Home Link Design’s team started to recreate the rooms.  The measurements, functionality, and furniture dimensions were taken into account before selecting and purchasing any items in the stores.  Additionally, the type of products and furniture choices were important for creating the look and appearance of each bedroom.  The client had specified that each bedroom had to utilize storage space effectively for books, clothes and other girly items like cosmetics. 

The design process began with planning zones for each bedroom space that incorporated purpose, flow and functionality.  There were four different areas created in each bedroom to create a sense of design and fluidity: Zone 1-Sleeping Area, Zone 2-Reading Area, Zone 3-Studying Area and Zone 4-Dressing Area.   These main zones were important for creating proper placement of furniture and accessories within the spaces.  

 

Even though each bedroom needed specific areas for purpose and function, Home Link Design had to consider that both bedrooms differed in square footage and shape.  Therefore, the planning process was extremely important so that the size and dimensions of the furniture would fit appropriately.  The use of streamlined furniture and sleek glass was an important aspect for creating an airy feel.  The desks incorporated glass elements with plenty of storage space for papers, books and pens.  Also, a trendy look was created with the use of filing cabinets with wheel casters so that the girls could easily pull out the storage for access and use.  Another key furniture accessory was the floating shelves mounted to the walls for placing books and items.  Even though each bedroom had different shelving units, the objective was to utilize the walls to create more storage instead of taking up floor space.  The use of clear plastic boxes for storing items was a useful tool to incorporate storage areas underneath benches and shelving areas.  However, the most important element in creating an open feel to each bedroom was the use of long vertical mirrors with miniature spot lights placed above for an elegant affect.  These modern mirrors opened up the space while creating a focal point on the walls. Also, the importance of adding different lighting was beneficial in creating mood and ambiance within each space.  There were long rope lightings attached below the bed frames to create a distinctive look in the rooms.  Additionally, there were square panel lightings added above one of the head boards to make the bed appear customized, while panels of fabric were added as a backdrop behind the head board of the other bed set.  These simple ideas created both a focal point and stimulating appearance. The dramatic look of both rooms were created by adding deep rich purple comforters with light purplish pink pillows as accents and bold area carpets to ground the floor space.  Furthermore, the stylish dark furniture created an impact against the brighter purple colors of the feature walls and fabrics so that the purples contrasted more. 

Similarly, both rooms included colors that were individually different, but similar.  The various hues of purples and pink tones created warmth and style together with unique lightings and modern furnishings. The end results were the creation of two awe inspiring rooms that were hip, stylish, and comfortable.  The most important aspect of each bedroom is that Home Link Design was able to capture the individual personalities of both daughters without even having met them.  Each bedroom portrayed unique qualities that gave way to two impressive design impressions.

 

 

 

Copyright 2009 Home Link Design Inc.

 

 

 

 

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