staging

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

January 23, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 19 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 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.

One of my favorite things about this home is the amazing fireplaces in many of its rooms.

DSC 3015 A Victorian Christmas

Sometimes Better is Good Enough

June 29, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 13 Comments

Yesterday I staged a home that was quite a challenge, stylistically. The furnishings and accessories were so style-specific, that it was extremely difficult to turn them in the right direction. I did the best I could, with what I had to work with. As I looked at the photos I took at the end of the day, I was bummed that it hadn’t turned out better. After a long, hard day I felt a bit defeated – like I hadn’t done my best work.

Living Room After

But then I pulled out the before photos. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot what the room looked like before: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: before and after interiors, before and after room, staged home, staged rooms, staging

Small Changes, Big Impact

April 29, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 14 Comments

I staged a home yesterday for sale and thought I’d share with my readers how small changes can make a big impact. Most of the changes here involved removing and pairing down tired accessories and furnishings, then adding a few on-trend accessories.

Beautiful Brick Home for Sale by Realtor Jim Allen with ReMax in Brentwood, TN

This is how the entry looked prior to staging with The Decorologist:

Entry Before Staging

Nashville Home Stager: How to Save $$$ When Selling Your Home

April 15, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 10 Comments

I did a Staging Consultation with a couple who were already making improvements in order to put their home on the market. Very honestly, they admitted to me that they had not planned on hiring a Professional Stager because they needed to save money. In the end, they became overwhelmed and called me in to assist in picking out finishes.

DSC 6143 Nashville Home Stager: How to Save $$$ When Selling Your Home

staged home

The husband thought it was necessary to replace the expensive screened door on the back of their home. Because it was broken, a home inspector would surely insist that it be replaced ($$$). [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: home staging, how to save money with staging, nashville home stager, nashville home staging, nashville stager, nashville staging company, painting light fixtures, staged bedroom, staged dining room, staged homes, staging, the decorologist

3 Things You Desperately Need To Know To Sell Your Home

April 8, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 8 Comments

Last week, a lovely lady sent me a desperate email. Attempting to update her home before putting it on the market, she was sitting in a pile of granite and hardwood samples and was completely overwhelmed.

source

When I arrived at her home, she showed me her favorite hardwood sample – although the small sample looked nice, I knew that when it covered the entire floor it would read orangy-red. Orangy-red undertones DON”T SELL in today’s market. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: choosing granite, choosing hardwood, choosing paint, color trends, kitchen trends, nashville stager, staging, the decorologist

Faith in Staging

March 11, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 33 Comments

My least favorite part of staging and decorating homes is selling myself and my vision to the homeowner. I realize it is absolutely necessary, but I know they can’t see what I’m seeing in my mind’s eye and that can be frustrating. My best days are those when I do a staging (or decorating or color) consultation, and my client says, “OK, I trust you. Let’s do it.” That’s exactly what this homeowner said to me when she hired me to stage her home for sale.

The ranch-style home had a living/dining room combo that wasn’t working very well – it was primarily used as an office space and repository for “stuff.” My client had to trust me when I told her the wallpaper and sponge-painting had to go, and that the rooms had to be repurposed.

before

Staging a Snow Fort

January 22, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 5 Comments

Happy weekend to my treasured readers!

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve already seen this – but I just had to share the fabulous fort Mr. Man and my girls made last week in our front yard. We only had a couple of inches of snow here in Nashville. But as you can see, Mr. Man always goes above and beyond – no shrimpy snowmen around here.

And yes, I staged it out a bit – Momma has to do her part!

Filed Under: Seasonal Meditations Tagged With: snow fort, staging

What NOT to Do When Trying to Sell Your Home

September 1, 2010 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

I’m a Home Stager, and I’ve staged all kinds of homes over the last 5 years - from small condos to multi-million dollar mansions. Did you know that staged homes sell for 10-17% more in 1/3 of the time of unstaged homes? Good staging is a must in today’s difficult real estate market. You have only one chance and about 15 minutes to make a prospective buyer fall in love with your home. With fewer eligible buyers, you have to make every showing count – bigtime.

DSC 6185 1024x684 What NOT to Do When Trying to Sell Your Home

The following photographs are “befores” of some of my client’s homes. All of my clients are wonderful and talented people – but everyone needs a little help to make the sign in the front yard go from “For Sale” to “Sold.” Names are withheld to protect the innocent and the unstaged.

home for sale sign 300x224 What NOT to Do When Trying to Sell Your Home

Staging Homes in the Twilight Zone

June 24, 2010 By Kristie Barnett 10 Comments

Yesterday, I had a fairly straight-forward home staging gig. The owners had already moved out and needed to get this puppy sold ASAP. I had helped them pick some good paint colors and they had the house ready to go. So I headed over to get it “show-ready” with one of my lovely assistants, Taylor. On the drive over, Taylor commented that she was born in this particular Nashville suburb and lived in a house here with her family as a young child. She couldn’t recall much about it and had no idea where it was.