staging

The Proof is in the Results: Speed Staging by The Decorologist

May 4, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 5 Comments

Remember the post I did recently about my Speed Staging services? These are the Realtor photos of the home that my assistant and I staged in 2 hours flat.

dining 1 The Proof is in the Results: Speed Staging by The Decorologist

Staged Dining Room

Jim and Melissa Allen are my favorite local Realtors, specializing in the areas of Brentwood, Franklin, and Nashville, Tennessee. Because they’ve seen the power of good staging in the many jobs we have done together, they now provide their clients with a Staging Consultation or Speed Staging by The Decorologist as part of their listing agreement. For FREE!

master alt 1 The Proof is in the Results: Speed Staging by The Decorologist

Staged Bedroom by The Decorologist

The Allens know how to sell houses – they already have brought in 2 offers on this very home – and it’s not even listed on MLS yet!!!

kitchen alt 1 The Proof is in the Results: Speed Staging by The Decorologist

Staged Kitchen

Looks like quality Realtors and a quality Home Stager may have this home sold without even having to put it on the market officially!

living alt 3 1 The Proof is in the Results: Speed Staging by The Decorologist

Staged Living Room

If you want to experience the staging process and see some “before” and “afters” of this beautiful home, read my post called Speed Staging with The Decorologist. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Greater Nashville area, contact Jim and Melissa Allen. And tell them The Decorologist sent you.

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: brentwood, brentwood area homes, decorologist, franklin, home, jim allen, melissa allen, nashville, nashville home stager, nashville home staging, realtor, remax, speed staging, stager, staging, tennessee, tn

How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

April 30, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

Do you believe that first impressions count? What impression do your front door and entry make on your guests?

DSC 61571 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Newly-Painted Black Front Door

I recently did a Color Consultation for a Nashville client who needed to get her home ready to sell. The outside needed a pick-me-up, as you can see: pic1 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Tired Oak Door

This oak entry had been battered by the elements. When I suggested painting the entire thing black, I think my client was taken a little aback that I didn’t suggest re-staining it instead. A little black paint can be a powerful thing:

DSC 61541 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Updated House Exterior

The area around the double windows in the front, as well as the boxes below all the front windows were previously painted in a pinky-beige color.

pic2 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Exterior Before

I specified a slightly different neutral with a more current undertone (green), which makes the house look more sophisticated and current. Oh, and I also had her spray paint her existing worn sconces black. I was so happy to see how well it turned out:

DSC 6155 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Fresh and Current Exterior

The makeover extended past the front door into the entry. This is what the entry looked like before – notice the floors and how they don’t seem to fit with the faux-finished wall treatment.

house How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Entry Before

And this is a view of the entry from the open front door. The door you see straight ahead leads into the main living area of the house.

pic4 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Interior Entry Before

I had my client just remove that awkward door so that it opened up the space. The black door ties into the grout of the flooring, and the new wall color is lighter and more welcoming than the previous dark faux-finished color.

DSC 6207 001 How the Right Paint Colors Can Make A Great First Impression

Updated Entry Colors

I think this project was definitely a success and goes to show you what a little paint and a little know-how can do! If you want to improve your current paint color scheme, contact The Decorologist to schedule a Color Consultation.

Filed Under: Color Consultation Tagged With: black door, color, color consultant, consultation, decorologist, expert, exterior paint color, nashville, paint, staging, updated

3 Ways to Freshen Up an Older or Historic Home

April 27, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 18 Comments

This week I got to stage a beautiful historic property to sell. It was a Bed & Breakfast for years, and formerly served as a girls’ academy in the early 20th century. Staging a home like this is a challenge. While you want to make it appeal to the widest audience possible, you have to realize that most of the people interested in buying that type of home are attracted to historically-decorated interiors.

DSC 6144 3 Ways to Freshen Up an Older or Historic Home

Staged Historic Property

So, a balance must be struck. I’m going to share 3 things that were important to freshening up this older home. These tips are applicable whether you are selling your home, or you just want to update without losing the character of your older home.

If the wallpaper [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: adams gold, bed and breakfast, benjamin moore, georgian green, historic, historic colors, home, paint colors, palladian blue, real estate, stager, staging, victorian, vintage, wallpaper

Dueling Homes – Which Will Sell First?

April 23, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 18 Comments

Two homes with the same layout in the same neighborhood. If they are similarly priced, which one’s going to sell and which is going to flounder on the market?

DSC 6010 Dueling Homes Which Will Sell First?

The Decorologist

Why don’t we start with House #1? Here’s a brief tour of the home:

DSC 5747 Dueling Homes Which Will Sell First?

Living Room

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: color, consulting, decorologist, home stager, nashville, paint, stager, staging

Speed Staging with The Decorologist

April 11, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 14 Comments

No, I didn’t say Speed Dating! A few months ago, I began offering a “Speed Staging” service as an option for those putting their homes on the market. It works well for homeowners who have nice furniture and a good supply of decor items.

DSC 5795 Speed Staging with The Decorologist

The Decorologist Home Staging in the Greater Nashville Area

How it works: The Decorologist and an assistant show up (never having viewed the home), make a quick appraisal of what needs to be done, then Speed Staging begins! Below is the living room of a home I worked in yesterday – take a minute and think about what you would do to make it market-ready before you move on to the “after” photo.

DSC 5773 Speed Staging with The Decorologist

Living Room Before Speed Staging

You can see it’s a nice room, but a few important changes will make the room a WOW room. This view is from the entry of the living room. You have to navigate a bit to get through to the kitchen, right? Now, for the after. This is what we did, using only the homeowner’s furnishings and decorative accessories: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention, My Decorology Tagged With: conversation area, decorologist, furniture arrangement, home, living room, nashville, speed staging, stager, staging

Color and The Hunger Games

April 6, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 10 Comments

Wowza. It’s been a crazy week around here. My kids have been on Spring Break, I’ve done six Color Consultations, and I received a nifty little award from Greater Nashville House & Home.

DSC 55142 1024x838 Color and The Hunger Games

House & Home Magazine

Greater Nashville House & Home is the only shelter magazine in the Nashville area, and they awarded The Decorologist with a Reader’s Favorite Award for Best Staging & Redesign Company. I knew nothing about the Reader’s Poll or award until the magazine contacted me, so that was a nice surprise! Thanks to all my Nashville clients who voted for me!

DSC 5512 1024x859 Color and The Hunger Games

2nd Place Winner – Home Staging/Redesign Company

I finally saw The Hunger Games last night, and I thought it was AMAZING. So well-done, in every way. I couldn’t help notice the sets and costuming, of course. It was so interesting how they juxtaposed the colorful and outrageous citizens of The Capital with the muted, almost-colorless citizens of District 12.

Effie Katniss via mockingjay net Color and The Hunger Games

Effie & Katniss – Color Contrast

Take a look at the clothing colors in this shot of the movie:

panem colors via mtv Color and The Hunger Games

Color in Panem

Was I the only one that immediately thought of Target‘s ”Color Changes Everything” ad campaign?

Target color changes everything visualinvolved Color and The Hunger Games

Color Changes Everything

I hope you all have a colorful weekend, and “may the odds ever be in your favor!”

Filed Under: Color Consultation, My Decorology Tagged With: award, best, color, color changes everything, consultant, consultation, decorologist, favorite, greater nashville house & home, house & home, may the odds ever be in your favor, nashville, nashville stager, nashville staging company, reader's choice, redesign, stager, staging, target ad, the hunger games

Are Your Paint Colors Chopping Up Your Flow?

March 28, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

Many homes don’t have a thought-out plan for the interior paint color palette. It seems that most people just decide, for example, to paint one room a color they like. Then at some point they decide to try out some other color in another room, without much thought to the colors that are in the adjoining room. Then they decide they love dark red but are afraid to paint the whole room that color, so up goes the ever-popular accent wall. This lack of planning results in a choppy look, or lack of “flow”.

pillows Are Your Paint Colors Chopping Up Your Flow?

via Pinterest

So, take a look at the “before” state of this entry. Notice the pinky beige on the large wall, the green on the left, the two shades of brown in the adjoining dining room, and the orange hardwood. That’s four paint colors + orange that you see when walk in the front door. This home is way too traditional to have this kind of color blocking going on. Not to mention the dated ceiling light fixture.

DSC 0397 Are Your Paint Colors Chopping Up Your Flow?

Choppy Entry “Before”

Get Your Furniture Arrangement In Balance

March 26, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

I see it all the time: rooms that lack balance. When your furniture is not balanced, the whole room feels off-kilter.

house beautiful living room Get Your Furniture Arrangement In Balance

source

Here’s a good example off an off-kilter room I worked in last week. From this angle it didn’t look so bad, in regard to furniture placement. There wasn’t a lot of color in the room, obviously. First of all, I suggested we move away from the paint color that looked a bit like a band-aid. Sorry, but pinky-beige is not your friend. Just ask Color Expert Maria Killam how she feels about pinky-beige!

DSC 0422 Get Your Furniture Arrangement In Balance

Before

Nashville Home Stager Shares the #1 Secret to Getting Your House Sold

January 23, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 21 Comments

I started out in this field as a Home Stager before I became an Interior Decorator, Color Consultant, and Design Blogger. I guess I just don’t know when to stop! I actually don’t do as much staging as I used to – that’s because I am typically booked out too far to be ready to “stop-drop-and stage”, which is what is typically needed when time is of the essence.

Cutest Doggie Ever

But I love a good stage – it’s definitely a wham-bam, thank-you-mam kind of deal. Instant gratification for a design addict like me. I’m sharing my latest home staging in this post, as well as the #1 secret to getting your house sold. See if you can figure it out as we go along. Let’s start with the “before” photographs of this house. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention, Popular Posts Tagged With: color consultant, decorator, design blogger, home, home stager, interior decorator, kristie barnett, mls, nashville, realtor, realtracs, stager, staging, the decorologist

A Victorian Christmas

December 19, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 7 Comments

The Christmas festivities have begun – my family and I travelled to my husband’s aunt and uncle’s home yesterday for our annual family Christmas get-together. I just have to share a little of my aunt and uncle’s historic home.

DSC 3040 A Victorian Christmas

They have lived in this lovely Victorian home for the last 20 years, and it has been a popular Bed and Breakfast for several of those years. It even has it’s own fancy name: Academy Place – named for the girl’s school it used to house a century ago.