Archive for month: September, 2015

How important is landscape design when staging and selling your home in North Scottsdale?

While most people know the importance of staging a home in preparation for sale, the exterior landscape of the home may not be given the importance that it is due.  Curb appeal is the initial advertisement of the home for potential buyers.  If it’s not up to par with the neighborhood, for example, that showing may turn into a drive-by, with the potential buyers not wanting to step inside to see the home itself.

You can avoid this lost opportunity by taking a few simple steps to update and maintain a beautiful exterior, inviting home buyers to come closer to check out all that your home has to offer.  First, clean up your landscaping.  It sounds simple, but nothing says deferred maintenance like a shaggy lawn, or a desert landscape strewn with weeds and overgrown trees.  This cleaning should also happen to your driveway and paths, with a good hosing or power washing of these areas.

If you’re lucky enough to have a patio area or large entry way, place a chair or two here, to showcase a conversation area to your potential buyers as they are walking into your home.  However, the decluttering and simplifying rule that applies to the interior of your home also applies to the exterior and landscaping, so be sure to remove any yard or lawn art from your front yard and entry way.  Keeping the door clean of decorations is another way to showcase the architecture and beauty of your home without distracting potential buyers unnecessarily.  Finally, be sure that your windows sparkle in the Arizona sun, so buyers looking out to the front yard can appreciate and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Whether you are a homeowner seeking to sell your home, or a homeowner who wants to transform your space, there are some general principles of good design that will maximize your space, no matter your ultimate goal.  For example, the living room or great room is usually a room that most potential buyers will view immediately upon entering your home, and it’s a room that most homeowners enjoy on a daily basis.

First, consider the art of furniture arrangement.  There are a few simple design rules that are easy to remember and follow when it comes to placing furniture.  Always create a comfortable walking space between a sofa and a coffee table, with a minimum of 12 inches but 18 inches is ideal here.  Any furniture in a conversation area should be no more than 8 feet apart.  Appropriate lighting for reading in your seating arrangement is a must.  (This lighting will both brighten and showcase your space for potential buyers, as well as help you to maximize your own enjoyment of this space).  Finally, anchor your conversation area with rugs if you have hardwood or tile floors.

Second, address the arrangement of accessories in your space.  Accessories and artwork are small investments in modernizing your home as these details really count.  If you’re staging your home for sale, keep accessories and art that are universal, and that don’t showcase your personal hobbies or tastes.  If you’re redesigning your home, then be sure to surround yourself with all of the things you love.  Regardless of your motivation, there are some general design rules when it comes to accessories.  Group in odd numbers, preferably with three or five pieces.  Try to group accessories in different heights; for example, use one tall, one small and one medium piece, to create visual interest.  Finally, try to always incorporate a living accessory such as a plant or shell into each room, to infuse life into the room.

Finally, the art of wall arrangement is the last item to consider when it comes to staging or redesign.  Wall art can help to add balance as well as texture or drama to a room.  Wall art can be paintings, mirrors, sconces, shelving, or ironwork.   The right height of this art is critical.  Generally speaking, a center of a painting should be at eye level as you are entering the room.  Also, scale is very important.  For example, hanging any type of art over a couch, the art or grouping should be at least 3 feet across, but ideally is 4 to 5 feet across.  Finally, in the case of groupings of wall art, don’t separate artwork more than 5 inches away from each other.

These are just some starting points of staging and home design, as the possibilities are endless.  When all is said and done, the art of staging a home is similar to the art of redesign in that the goal is to create a home in which someone would aspire to live.  If you will continue to live there, then all the better!

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