We were contacted last week by a homeowner in a panic, they were the sellers of a gorgeous town home that had not sold. They were having another open house in a few days and felt they needed to do something different. They had already paid a staging company in the beginning so understandbly they were not eager to pay for the same service twice.
We suggested we came over to do a consultation and look to find an area in the home which could be improved without too much expense.
and we did!
The house as they had told us, was stunning, new kitchen, new bathrooms, no clutter, modern furniture, freshly painted, wonderful. A house that should have sold in a heartbeat. Then we saw it... off the living room was the outdoor patio area that on this cold chilly winters day looked so sad and gray. No buyer would ever be drawn to going outside and seeing its potential. We knew in the springtime this was a place to hang out and grill, read the Sunday morning newspapers or sip tea in the mornings before heading off to work. We wanted buyers to see its charm, to see it as another room and imagine being in this space.
design...
It was important to style it in keeping with the clean linear lines of the homes design ascetics. We wanted to use a complementary color palette to the house interior, but still chose something with enough warmth that visually would imitate summer days.
to prepare...
We cleared the space, put away all the unwanted items like hose pipes and yard equipment and hid the trash cans out of sight. We cleaned down the grill, pulled up the weeds and mulched to make it look neater. We washed the patio set, and made sure the glass in the french doors leading out to the patio was sparkling - we wanted buyers to have the perfect view!
bringing in the details...
The first layer of our design was to place an outdoor rug. The colors were rich and vibrant and the rug was intentionally oversized, this immediately caught your interest from inside the home. On top of the rug we placed the homeowners black patio table and four chairs. We added deep modern cushions to the chair seats that matched the color of our homeowners sofa in the living room. Again, something to bring your eye from the inside to the new outdoor space. We installed a patio umbrella over the table and set up the tabletop with a place setting, using large square chargers and paper lanterns. We really wanted it to send out the message 'come outside and sit down'. With non of the homeowners plants making an appearance at this time of the year, we bought in and arranged tall contemporary containers, planted with evergreens and winter flowers to frame the area. With a few more accessories added, more lanterns and a bench for underneath the tree this easy transformation was complete. The once gray patio area now looked visually attractive and tempting, it wasn't hard to imagine, how relaxing in this space would feel in the warmer months to come.
Update...
At the open house that weekend, this home found a new buyer! Sold!
Staged Space Tip
