You would think that with the preparation that we put into it, we would have been ready for the sale. Over the course of two weeks we had five different groups of people come through the house, four of which came back twice, one came back three times. We sold on the 14th day and didn’t know where we were going. I ascribe to the rule that if you have a good and reasonable buyer who is paying a good price… you take it and figure things out from there.
We started planning for our home sale early.. doing things to the house that we would enjoy but with an eye towards salability. While many of the working systems in the house were older (but well maintained) we were able to counter that by offering a home warranty because everything that you could readily see, looked so good.
Janet Kidston of Inspired to Sell™; Our Home Stager (A complimentary service that I offer to my home sellers in most cases) did a terrific job enhancing what we had and adding important touches to the home.
We were ready for her, but she cleaned and organized and rearranged. Here are just a few examples:
In the Family Room, Janet rearranged the furniture to showcase the huge yard and the fireplace she also rearranged the bookcases
In the Living Room Janet moved one of our wrought iron tables out and softened the room with one of our taller wood tables:

In the Upstairs Office, she added the lamp, the picture, the basket to hide sloppy papers and the pillows… she also re-purposed the twig wreath.

In the Kitchen, Janet picked out the large corner cabinet and said it needed to look big inside… she was in for a little disappointment when she discovered that was our nightmare Tupperware cabinet! We couldn’t find anything in there. She reorganized it and gave us some hints to keep it that way… so far… so good (even at the new place!) She also told me what to put away and what to keep out (it wasn’t until the walk through that the buyer asked where I kept my microwave) and then supplied a fall cookbook for our book holder and a bowl of green apples to accent the colors in the room

While Janet staged or organized all of the rooms in the house (except the storage room… but she kept checking on me) I’ll share just a couple more:
The Master Bath looked great after all the work had been done, but it was cold and impersonal. Janet supplied all of the wall hangings and a vase with twigs for the corner of the tub, she also brought in the color purple with the towels, brought in nesting baskets for height and to de-emphasize the corner, and used one of our vases to hold cuttings with red berries from a tree outside. It was a warm effect adding some drama and color.

Trevors room needed some work (as most teenagers rooms do…) We had the room painted in Shaker Beige (Sherwin Williams) in preparation for Home Staging. Janet moved the bed, reworked some posters, moved the desk, loaned us the office chair, cleaned the closet and showcased the things that were important to him… the XBOX was hiding as were the games.

The Basement Bedroom was really more of a storage area and while it connects to the full bath, it never got much use. Janet moved the bed and cleared things out, she pulled an unused poster from our storage and leaned it against the wall for color. Her changes made the room look large and inviting:

Lastly, for now… she didn’t forget about the front of the house… she added some mums for color:

If you are looking for a great Home Stager you can reach Janet at:
Janet Kidston
Inspired to Sell™
(630) 399-1484
And if all of this work seems daunting… call me and we can go through your property together to help you plan for the future. If you need to sell right away, I know some quality contractors and can supply Home Staging services