The Wonderful Surprise at The Merchandise Mart --- LinenMe

As promised, my Friday treat will be more information about LinenMe, a wonderful surprise during our recent visit to the Chicago Merchandise Mart.  We met, LinenMe showroom manager, Nancy Hosty, who educated us on the great things produced by LinenMe.  We learned so much about their draperies, bedding, table clothes, bath towels, scarves and clothes.  All LinenMe clothes and accessories are made of 100% natural linen. 

The LinenMe textile designs are produced in a small family-owned manufacturing facility in Lithuania.  As they explain on their website (http://www.linenme.com/ ), it is “a country with deep traditions in flax growing, weaving and linen production. It’s an honour to be able to present a little piece of heritage of this small Baltic country with true masters of hand hemstitching and embroidering.”

We have a sample of photos that illustrate some of the incredible things the LinenMe team is producing with their versatile and beautiful natural linen.  Spend some time with our photos and make sure to visit their website. 

Remember to always dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Home Staging Areas of Concentration – Furniture Arrangement – Part 2

As I wrote yesterday, furniture arrangement is the vehicle to accomplish some of the other areas of home staging concentration.  Furniture arrangement can help define the focal points, provide the easy flow of a home and lead a potential buyer’s eye around a room. 

After I defined the original intent of the room and made sure the furniture in the room is consistent with this intent, the next questions I ask myself are:

·         Does the furniture arrangement direct the eye to the features of the space?

·         Does the furniture arrangement consider the view from the entry point of the room?

Today’s “before” and “after” pictures illustrate another home staging principle:

Furnishings should complement the space, not take it over.

Before staging, the furniture arrangement did nothing to complement the spacious, bright room with nice new tile (laid in an interesting pattern).  The furniture arrangement consisted of a too small rug, furniture lined up directly along the walls, a key board and a chair blocking the entry.  When you entered the room, the view was of the side of a cabinet. 

We remedied the situation by first moving the cabinet to a large bare wall, relocating the key board to another room and floating the sofa and two chairs away from the wall and arranging them on the diagonal.  This opened up the room and highlighted the diagonal pattern of the floor tile.  A second seating area was formed with other furniture and accessories. A larger rug brought in from the family room unified the whole space.  Silk drapery panels highlighted the large window and added the dimension of a view of the lush front lawn.

Now, the nice vignette of two chairs and a nicely accessorized console make a nice entry point to this large bright and interesting room.

Yes, these are pictures from our “Homeowner of the Week” home.  After I finished writing my blog article yesterday, I checked in to see how things went on the first day on the market.  Evidently, there was a flurry of activity.  So far so good……….

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Home Staging Areas of Concentration – Furniture Arrangement

Today and tomorrow (and maybe the next day) we will examine furniture arrangement.

Furniture arrangement is the vehicle to accomplish some of the other areas of concentration that we discussed.  Furniture arrangement can help define the focal points and provide the easy flow of a home.

A couple of important questions that I ask as I am assessing a house for the furniture arrangement include:

·         What role does this room play in the house? 

·         Are there pieces of furniture that are inconsistent with the purpose of the room? 

The pictures to the right are hot off the press.  We finished this staging project just this morning.  I knew they were the perfect pictures for today’s discussion of furniture arrangement.

These “before” and “after” pictures perfectly demonstrate an important principle of home staging:

Each room in a home should have a clear purpose and be staged to enhance its original intent.

As you can see from the “before” pre-staging (the day before yesterday) pictures, this room was used and furnished as a home office. 

To get a perspective on the situation, think of a traditional home built in the 1970s. You are entering the front door, off the small entry to the right is the formal living room and to the left is the…… home office (?) or is it the dining room(?).  If it’s the home office where is the dining room (?)  Questions and confusion, right off the bat.

As you can see from the “after” staging (just this morning) pictures, this room is now staged to enhance the original intent as a formal dining room.  We removed the desk and storage cabinet and relocated and repurposed the printer cabinet.  We brought in a dining room table and chairs and placed it on a more proportional rug, accessorized the table, hung some silk drapery panels, added some artwork and positioned the chandelier over the table.  The room looks ready for a dinner party!  The furniture is arranged to enhance the room’s original intent. 

I have to say this homeowner deserves the “Homeowner of the Week” award.  He was willing to immediately get the desk and cabinet moved out of the room even though it was heavy and functional to his lifestyle.  He also gave me carte blanche to do anything and everything needed to properly stage his home for sale.  You will see more pictures of this fun project.

I will keep you posted because I think he will get results . . . and quickly. 

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Home Staging Areas of Concentration – Flow

We are picking up our discussions of home staging areas of concentration after a few days of sharing the limitless possibilities at the Chicago Merchandise Mart.  Today, we will examine flow.

Flow generally refers to the even pace in which one moves from space-to-space and room-to-room in a house.  The flow of a house can be a subtle characteristic of a house if done well but can be jarringly obvious if not done well.

·         Do the rooms and space feel connected? 

·         Is there a choppy and broken feeling as you move from room-to-room? 

·         Does the eye flow across a room or are there things like furniture placement, colors or clutter that get in the way? 

·         Are the colors consistent from room-to-room?

For some situations, I provide paint consultation because the existing paint colors are inconsistent, dated or dirty.  In other cases, the first phase of home staging involves major de-cluttering.  Also, furniture placement and scale affect “flow”.

While poor flow is obvious, I believe that creating an even pace with movement from space-to-space takes the experience and expertise of a professional home stager. 

In summary, when attention has been paid to this concept of “flow”, a house has a peaceful, easy feeling (Do you hear The Eagles singing in the background?).  Isn’t that what we all want in our home?

Building subtle flow is a clear example of the art of home staging.

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

PART II - Possibilities Abound . . . at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago

As promised, today I will share more details about the beautiful things and trends in kitchens and baths that I saw and experienced at the Chicago Merchandise Mart (http://www.mmart.com).  Where do I begin?

How about starting with kitchens?

·         For a traditional and authentic kitchen – “Woodland Artisan Cabinetry” What a feast for the eye! 

·         British luxury – of course “Clive Christian” and “Christopher Peacock” for the very finest in handmade cabinetry

·         I found my personal VERY favorite kitchen at “Smartrooms: A Spaces and Views Showroom” This kitchen consisted of white cabinetry, honed absolute black granite and dark wood surfaces, Ann Sacks tile work.  Wow, it had my name all over it……… 

Then there were the beautiful things and trends in baths!

·         Wash stand vanities (contemporary to Victorian) are everywhere!

·         I loved the “Porcelanosa” showroom with their innovative finishes for the home

·         “Urban Archaeology” is one of my favorite showrooms for lighting and bath furnishings.  According to their listing in the LuxeHome 2010 directory, “new product lines draw inspiration from our roots in architectural salvage summoning designs from the turn of the 19^th century through the mid-20^th century”

I could go on and on and on …….

Visiting “The Mart” showrooms and talking with the reps is such a wonderful sensory experience.  I love seeing and touching the counter tops, cabinet doors, hardware, floor and backsplash tiles, bathroom fixtures, sinks and faucets.  These opportunities help me train my eye so that I can bring home these ideas, trends and innovations and apply them in my work of staging, restyling homes and interior design..  The possibilities for applying these experiences truly are limitless!!

It is so much fun sharing so many possibilities with you!!! 

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy