Author Archives kathyregini

Bedroom sets are bulky, making a bedroom feel cramped and small. Also, it’s a dated concept, right up there with oak furnishings. Funny how those two things in the 80’s frequently went together! Individual pieces are much more interesting…only way I stage a bedroom.

Take the time to find small things that will be noticed and remembered in your home. Choose your objects carefully, and buy only what you love.

– Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details

And I’ll tell you a secret…when I stage a home to sell, the details is what really makes a room come to life and creates that “wow” factor. Good furniture is important but just like a good outfit, you must accessorize!

Frequently kitchen back splashes compete with the movement in our ever popular granite counters. These won’t! These have just the right amount of texture to be interesting, but little color variation so they are not busy. I have been recommending this approach to my clients redesigning their kitchens, and it is a big improvement!

Don’t under estimate the importance of a welcoming front door and porch! Especially if you are selling your home. Take the time to make that great first impression!

With an open floor plan, it’s important to keep the color palette cohesive, because you see all the areas at a glance. And even with a more traditional layout, colors in adjacent rooms should be harmonious and complementary to one another. Someone strolling from room to room should not be startled by a crazy room color.  Using unrelated colors throughout can make the home feel like a disjointed series of spaces. The house should flow and rooms should all be considered part of the big picture when decorating. A neutral palette with just a pop of color makes this easy.   A signature bright color ties your floor plan together…put a touch of it in every room. And if you tire of it, just change that signature color (bulk of your furnishings & accessories stay the same), and you will get a whole new look!

In case you are considering staging your home to help it sell quicker, here a a three before & after shots to show you what a dramatic difference it can make!

My favorite interior design book right now is Remodelista by Julia Carlson

In a nut shell: classic pieces trump trendy and transient design. Well edited spaces, never cluttered. This book is written like a manual, and it’s for all budgets!

You know this mantra. Simply put, it means identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. Better to buy the worst home in a good neighborhood than the best house on the block in an iffy neighborhood. Why? Because you can change structures, layouts and finishes of a home, but you can’t (usually!) move the house to a better place.

It cracks me up when I’m watching House Hunters, an HGTV show about people looking for homes to buy. I’m always amazed how quickly a house can be disregarded because of bad paint, wall paper and dated brass light fixtures. That’s all cosmetic and can be fixed so easily. But most people can’t see beyond ugly details. That’s why I stage homes!

If the house is in a good neighborhood and fits your budget, most anything else can be changed. Of course if you need to totally remodel the kitchen and baths, or make structural upgrades, you will need to see if it is still, in fact, in your “budget”. But most anything can be changed with the right amount of money!

When staging a home to sell, I try to float the furniture away from the walls whenever possible, repositioning sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groups. It opens up the room and makes it feel larger.