The Ritual of Spring Cleaning

Any cleaning that happens during a certain three months could be considered spring cleaning, but we have given such a simple term a much grander meaning. Springtime is when we go through the items in the closets and spend hours cleaning parts of the house we often don't even remember exist. It hits us like an instinctual compulsion, and the more we get done the more rejuvenated we feel.

Spring cleaning gives us an opportunity to get our blood pumping again as we breathe in the air from our opened windows. It is truly rejuvenating to feel that breeze and hear the birds as we're on our hands and knees cleaning the baseboard. Spring cleaning is a spiritual ceremony of lightening ourselves and freeing us from the clutter that builds when we sit still for too long.

Yet even with all the benefits the idea of beginning our spring clean can be quite daunting. Here are a few things to consider:

• Make a list of all things you would like to replace, fix or give to charity, and prepare a budget if necessary.
• Take one room at a time: It does not matter how many rooms you have in your house, you cannot do your house in a single day even if you have only two rooms.
• Open the doors and let the fresh air in: open all the doors, let the fresh air in, start some music and start working in the room.
• Start cleaning from the top. Chandeliers and ceiling fans are hardest to clean so tackle them first.
• Wash the draperies after you have cleaned the room. If you have Venetian blinds, clean those with a wet cloth after you have dusted the room and vacuumed the carpet.
• Sort the useful and useless: In each room, sort the items you wish to keep and get rid of everything you don’t want. Open all the drawers and cupboards, and take out everything that you have not used recently and you are not likely to use, and store it separately for a garage sale or charity.
• Collect all the papers that you have in each room and organize them in two groups/piles. One pile you wish to keep and the other you want to throw away.
• When in doubt, throw it out.
• Recycle it permanently: If you are a firm believer in keeping things for use “just in case” you’ll collect many items that you’ll never need.
• Try to make spring-cleaning fun. If you can involve your family members, it will be just like the outing you are planning during the summer. Well, maybe not, but you can try!

All this work is definitely deserving of some sort of reward. For some of us, just the new openness and feeling of lightness our space provides is a great enough reward. The rest of us want a little something more. It can be good to redecorate a room or two. This allows us to maximize the positive changes we are making to our living environment.

Decorate Your Table for the 2010 Fall Season with Maple Leaf Dinnerware

The fall season is here and with it comes the hope of autumn festivities. Kick your season off right by following one of the freshest dinnerware trends of the 2010 fall season with maple leaf themed dinnerware. This delightful new pattern will transform your autumn table into a masterpiece of design without the boring themed tableware that lacks color and personality.

This season, autumn decorating styles have shifted more to traditional designs with more concentration on textures and colors. When using colorful maple leaf dishes, you can forgo the normal fall table decorations such as containers of flowers, vivid table linens, and so forth. This trend makes setting up an autumn table fast and easy.

To make the most out of this trend, mix and match the sizes and colors. One example would be to use the earthy brown plates with mugs of a contrasting color and bowls of still another color. If you have a favorite harvest tablecloth, you can still use this style, but opt instead for matching the tableware pieces in a color that contrasts to your tablecloth. The plan is to make your fall table decorations brilliant and attractive.

These fall table decorations are showing up in other rooms as well, taking their place in the family room as fabulous containers for pinecones or autumn treats. The subtle design makes it simple to switch these pieces from room to room and function to function.
Let Interiors Refined by Paula redesign your dining room this Fall.

Make a Statement with Home Staging Rental Furniture

In today's tough economic climate, few industries have taken a harder beating than the real estate market. That means that if you are trying to sell your home you have to be more of a stand out than ever before if you are going to woo those potential buyers into making the purchase. We all know how crucial landscaping and lawn work is to increase that all important curb appeal, but the simple fact is that all curb appeal can do is get potential buyers in the front door. What happens once they are inside?

You have cleaned and scrubbed and primed and painted, but is your place really ready for prime time? Before the open house, you have got to do your homework and understand a few basics of home preparation. Though it may seem like overkill and it may be a little emotional for you, it is strongly suggested that you remove family photos, collections and other personal items like trophies and awards before showing your home. Many opt to clear out the house entirely, making use of home staging rentals as props to show the property in its best possible light.

Home staging rentals have been a trade secret of home staging experts for years, but with the increase in the necessity of staging, more and more people are catching on, de-cluttering and cashing in. With housing sales at near record lows, we have to do everything we can to be memorable and by renting furniture and accessories to stage your home you accent the best points while drawing attention away from the down sides.

By using home staging rentals you can instantly transform that small, cramped bedroom into a cozy study or home office that's just perfect for an on-the-go lifestyle. Replacing a heavy antique table with a smaller, more neutral dining table and accessorizing simply with candles or basic plants can make the most of a dining room when finances are causing many of us to remember the importance of having dinner at home again.

By using home staging rentals and removing the majority of your own furniture and personal items from the home before your open house you are not only helping buyers to see themselves in the house, you are also getting a jump on your own packing and moving. With your things well packed you might even consider using a portable storage unit that can be delivered to your new home or apartment to make the moving process that much easier!

In the end the most important thing to remember is that while the house you are hoping to sell may have been your home, you have to depersonalize the process to make the most of this volatile real estate market and close that sale. Home staging rentals help to neutralize the space and make it more appealing to a wider audience, thus making it possible for buyers to envision themselves in the space.

Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for information on rental furniture for your home

Is Your Property for Sale? Make Sure You Adopt the Right Selling Tactics

The world economy has recovered from the recession. However the US is still facing slow recovery and unemployment problems. Moreover real estate sentiment is still cautious and anyone selling a property has to adopt the right marketing tactics. To get the maximum price from the property for sale and ensure its quick sale, it’s necessary to follow the below mentioned steps:

Get the Help of a Professional Home Stager. The recession had given rise to professional home staging because selling a property has become arduous in these difficult times. A professional stager visits a property for sale and highlights the defects that should be rectified by the owner. The aim is to make the property attractive to prospective buyers.

Give the Property Greater Visibility. Once staging is done, it is time to market the property. Marketing means providing greater visibility to the home so that larger numbers of prospective buyers are able to see it. This increases the probability of finding the right buyer.

The owner of the property should have it photographed by a professional certified home stager. Vivid, impactful photographs of the interior and exterior are then uploaded on the realtor site. Since 90% of buyers are online first before they visit the home, the property gets great exposure.

Professional Help and Right Pricing. There are many real estate agents out there who are well versed in the business. The owner can gain immensely from their knowledge and get the right price for the home. Price plays an important role in the sale of the property.

The owner of the property (with the help of the real estate agent) should study the prevailing market conditions and price the property according to the prevailing rates. Professionally staging the property will result in a quicker sale even now when the real estate market is struggling. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for a consultation.

Place Looking Tired? Simple Tricks to Update Your Home Now

Look around and ask yourself how your home looks and feels- Right now. Is your environment supporting a harmonious state of mind? Do your surroundings uplift or inspire? It's easy to breathe new life into a tired space. Here are 5 basic and inexpensive ways to refresh and revive your home today!

Restore Your Door. If your front door is old, worn out or has peeling paint, you have several options. Buy a replacement door from a building center for as little as $165. Paint your door a signature colour, or install a decorative window and let light in. A door with character will enhance curb appeal and bring a smile to your face every time you come home.

Rejuvenate with Color. Refreshing home areas that are used most (the foyer, living room or kitchen for example) will create impact and energy. Deliver design punch to rooms with interesting accent cushions, bright curtain panels or a bold accent wall.

Refresh the Trim. Think about replacing or painting any scuffed or non-existent baseboards and/or trim. Home Depot and Lowes as well as other home improvement centers have new trim starts at less than a dollar per linear foot for pre-painted “easy to install” plastic. Crown molding adds drama and architecture to a foyer, living room or dining room.

Update Switches, Plugs and Plates. An often overlooked but effective home update is replacing all old and painted over light switches with new plates, and to buy new dimmers, controls and plugs. It’s possible to refresh an entire house for less than $100. If you are handy, plug receptacles can be replaced with a newer, square style.

Make Over Dull Interior Doors. Take all ugly brown slab doors, add some inexpensive molding and paint them white. While this final project suggestion is a bit more intensive overall, the payoff is basic hollow-core doors transformed to appear expensive, clean and unified. Find an attractive new doorknob or handle in a complementary style or finish from about $10.

It’s easy to renew the spark in your home relationship. These refreshing and easy changes will increase the value of your home and can have you “loving it again”.

Curb Appeal - The Do's and Don’ts That Will Get You the Most Return

You have considered the turmoil in the real estate market. You have seen the highs over the past years and the very lows of the recent years. Now with the ups and downs you have decided to put your property on the market.

Regardless of how good the inside might look, if you can't get potential buyers past the front door, it won't really matter. The small bit of peeling paint on the front porch and the bare spots on the lawn should not bother the interested buyer, right? Maybe yes, maybe no, but then again they could see these small flaws and drive right by – thinking "if there are flaws out here, then there has to be problems inside as well". Don't under estimate the value of a first impression. And furthermore don't underestimate the importance of a house's curb appeal.

Basically, "curb appeal" is the impression a property makes when first seen, either during a drive by in a car or walking past from the sidewalk. If the outside is clean and neat, buyers will walk into the house with the idea that the inside will be the same. If the outside is disheveled and unkempt, they (the buyers) may not be interested in walking in and possibly will never see the work that you have done.

So here are some "don'ts" to a property's curb appeal:

-Don't let vegetation grow into a jungle. Remove dead trees and branches and prune overgrown shrubs.
-Don't let peeling paint or deteriorating wood go unaddressed. If cleaning doesn't help, you can always revive it with a fresh coat of paint.
-Don't put off repairs; if you can’t fix it, hire a handy man and get it done.
-Don't leave random items in the lawn or have broken furniture scatted about; it will make the place seem cluttered and distract the buyer. And finally,
-Don't leave burned out lighting – light is a huge part of a first impression, so make sure all the outdoor lighting is working.

Here are some quick "dos" for the property:

-Do take a tour of the exterior and note any problems.
-Do relocate unwanted items (like trash cans) to an unseen area.
-Do make windows sparkle – a little cleaning goes a long way.
-Do focus on small things like your mail box, your house number, or some healthy potted plants. And finally,
-Do make sure your home is properly lit and add lights if necessary.

Don't hesitate to contact Interiors Refined by Paula when you decide to put your home on the market.

It’s a Bad Idea to Leave Rooms Empty When Showing Your House

1. People don't buy houses; they buy homes.

2. It is difficult to understand how large a room is when there's nothing in it to use as a reference point.

3. People can't visualize how furniture will fit in an empty space, and if they're unsure, they don't buy.

4. When a room is empty, prospective buyers focus on negative details instead of falling in love with the overall space. Rather than looking at the flow of one room to another, prospective buyers get bogged down in questions like: Is the drywall smooth? Will those bumps in the carpet come out? Why doesn't the closet have a hanging bar? Why doesn't that molding fit perfectly? Why is the light switch in the middle of the wall?

5. When a house or even a few rooms are empty, prospective buyers may become distracted from the house itself and shift their focus to the homeowners. Instead of focusing on whether this is the home for them, they may be busy wondering: Is this couple getting a divorce? Has the family left town? Are they selling because they have money problems? This train of thought can then prompt buyers to begin thinking, "Maybe I can put in a low-ball offer since the seller might be desperate." Definitely not the picture you are trying to paint!

Home staging is about packaging a home to show off its best features and downplay the flaws. You romance the buyer and entice them into making an emotional connection with your house. So, bring in some furnishings and accessories to add character and warmth to the home. Taking the time for these final details will ultimately translate into a higher return on your investment.

Written by home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®, www.stagingdiva.com. © 2008, Six Elements Inc. Used with permission.

http://www.InteriorsRefinedNow.com

5 Effective Tips for Decorating Your Home on a Budget!

Are you sick of looking at the newest styles of brand name furnishing catalogues and stores for your home, just to realize that the price for small coffee tables are equal to half of your salary per month? Do not let this discourage you. With some ingenuity, any home can become as stylish and beautiful as a celebrity’s, for a much lower price. Here’s how!

1. Begin with your walls. It is quite easy to just forget that a fresh new color of paint on your walls could give any room a whole new feel and look. Wallpapering is another way to spice up a room. However, do not go over your budget by hiring contractors. Think about wallpapering only a single wall or just the borders.

2. Accessorize. Yet another cheap way to produce designer looks would be by purchasing several key accessories, such as throws, scented candles, and silk pillows. Pick elegant centerpieces for the dining room table, such as fruit bowls, fresh flowers or floating candles. Photographs, paintings and prints can also be hung up throughout the room to produce any look you want. Shop at thrift stores and flea markets for interesting prints and photographs, or visit discount stores for frames to hang several personal creations.

3. Buy “budget” furniture. Shop intelligently for couches, entertainment centers, lamps, and tables! Consignment stores, estate sales, flea markets, thrift and junk stores could become gold mines when it comes to stylish second-hand furniture. If second-hand isn’t your thing, shop online or at clearance sales. Furniture stores on the internet can sometimes be treasure chests for awesome deals.

4. Create your own atmosphere. Do not underestimate a lamp’s power. The perfect lighting can easily transform a room. Avoid halogen unless they actually match your decorative scheme. A great way of providing style to a room would be with wall sconces. Search for sconces that are easy to install yourself.

5. Sew. If you cannot afford a new couch and know how to sew, make use of discounted fabric to create new couch covers. Produce even more beautiful and cheap furniture simply by making chair covers or seat cushions for the dining room. You can also find slipcovers at Surefit.com

Finally, think about just rearranging the furniture you already have. Finding another wall to move your couch against can produce a brand new look. For help contact Interiors Refined by Paula.

These tips can help you achieve the style you desire for a very low cost. Surprise your family and friends with a stylish home and dazzle everyone with the very low budget you actually worked with.

Redesign ‘n Stay or Stage ‘n Go!!!!

Many people today are planning to redesign their home for a new look or stage their home for sale. First, why are many people doing a home redesign? The economy today has a lot to do with it. The housing market has lost approximately 50% of its value so selling a home and purchasing a new one is difficult or impossible if you have a mortgage. The option to a new home is to redesign the old one.

Doing a home redesign is very intimidating for many people. It involves a number of areas of expertise such as design theme, furniture selection, layout, color theory, accessories, fabrics, arrangements, cost control and budgeting, etc. In today’s economy many people are looking for ways to do it without spending a fortune. Fortunately, that’s where we come in. Contact us to stage your home for sale or redesign it to stay.

More difficult for many owners is having to sell their home. Again the economy is the culprit. Realtors are not stagers, so what are your options? What is staging a home in the first place and why do you need to do it. Why can’t you just sell your home as is and the prospects can take it as is. Well, here are the reasons given by most professional stagers.

First, over time most families accumulate an enormous amount of furniture and goods. Unless you are a minimalist, your place will probably look cluttered to the prospect who is trying to visualize their furniture in your home. The prospect buys on emotion and you must appeal to them. Therefore, less is more appealing. Staging professionals know what to keep and what to discard. They know how to layout to create a pleasing visual arrangement to the prospective buyer. Second, color and arrangements are vital to get a quick sale and an acceptable price. Professional stagers have a list of key buying factors that are paramount to success. The success of stagers are evident if you watch HGTV go into a home that is not selling and by using staging techniques, help the owners to a successful sale.

Should you decide to sell your home and you need a professional stager, contact Interiors Refined by Paula to help you accomplish these tasks.