Eleven Expert Tips To Make Small Rooms Feel Larger
March 8, 2010
As a professional home stager in Pasadena and Los Angeles, one of my primary jobs is to make smaller homes feel larger, or at least, feel as large as they really are.
Here’s a list of my tips for making a small home feel larger. You can use these tips whether you are staging your home to sell or if you are planning to stay, but just need some help dealing with smaller rooms. These tips will work with either vacant or occupied homes:
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Pare down what you need to have in a smaller room to the essentials. Do you really need a chair in your bedroom, or can you sit on the bed to put your shoes on?
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Clutter makes a room feel smaller. Lots of smaller items, like your Hummel collection or your bowling trophies displayed on every horizontal surface, eat up visual space. Only display 3-5 items at a time. Store the rest and rotate them out of storage throughout the year. Not only will the room feel larger, but each item displayed will stand out more.
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Use fewer pieces of furniture. Its better to have one larger dresser than 2 smaller ones.
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Use appropriately sized furniture. Having a large sectional in a small family room will highlight how small the room is.
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Cooler colors recede, so painting a room a pale blue, green or gray will make it feel larger.
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Show more hardwood. The larger the expanse of hardwood, the larger the room will look. See how the room looks without an area rug.
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Try using one larger area rug instead of several smaller rugs.
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Use fewer patterns on upholstery and bedding. For instance, use a solid color blanket or bedspread on a bed in a small bedroom to make the room feel larger.
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Strategically placed mirrors make a room feel larger.
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A well lit room feels larger.
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Minimize window treatments. The simpler the better. Shutters, blinds or simple drapes (no flounces, ruffles, strong patterns or complicated valences) take up less “visual space”.
These home staging tips work if you are staging to sell or just want to make the home you are living in feel larger.
If you need some help figuring out how to make your home feel larger, consider hiring us for a home staging consultation. You’ll get some expert home staging and interior design tips from the Real Estate Staging Association 2010 Professional Stager of the Year. Prices start at $250 for a verbal consultation or $350 for a comprehensive written consultation. Its the best “bang for your buck” and it’s a great investment in preparing your home for sale, or making your home more livable if you are planning to stay.
Los Angeles Home Staging Video – Hollywood Condo Staging
February 27, 2010
We staged this Hollywood condo right after returning from the Real Estate Staging Association International Home Staging Conference at the end of January.
When I spoke to the listing agent, she told me that she had received multiple offers after the first open house!
Yay! Home staging in Los Angeles helps sell homes faster.
This was the first home staging video I’ve created using my Flip Camera. Some of my camerawork is lacking. I promise I’ll get better with practice!
A Real Estate Agent Gets Real About Home Staging
February 26, 2010
Here’s another animated video about home staging. In this video the real estate agent talks to her client about the necessity of hiring a professional home stager. The homeowner is a do-it-yourself home stager, and the results are, well, interesting.
©Copyright 2010 Michelle Minch & Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved. Copyright includes video, script and contents. Be original, don’t copy!
Pasadena Based Home Staging Business Gets Results!
February 21, 2010
This article recently appeared in the Pasadena Star News, on February 9, 2010. Very exciting!
Just click on the article to be taken to a PDF of the article.
Los Angeles Home Staging Video – A Real Estate Agent Talks About Home Staging
February 20, 2010
Here’s a video I created about home staging. A real estate agent talks about home staging to their client.
©2010 Copyright Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved. The contents of this video, including the dialog (spoken words) are protected by copyright. Please do not copy. You can create an original video at Xtranormal.com
Los Angeles Home Staging a Glendora Townhome
February 18, 2010
Today we staged a cute Glendora townhome, located one block from Historic Route 66.
The home owner found Moving Mountains Design as the result of a this Pasadena Home Stager in the Pasadena Star News that appeared last week.
Despite (or maybe because of) her Senior Citizen status, she recognized that home staging is a wonderful tool that could help get her Glendora condo sold.
She is a retired real estate agent, and she told me that she wished “home staging was around when I was selling real estate. How much easier it would have been”.
The home owner put a lot of effort and money into getting her townhome into market ready condition, but hasn’t caught any buyer’s attention….yet. Let’s see if home staging is the magic wand to get this cute Glendora townhouse sold.
This townhome is 1,426 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms and is listed for $359,000.
For more information about this Glendora townhouse, contact the listing agent, Chris Purkiss at (626)335-8118.
Altadena Home Staging An Occupied Home
February 18, 2010
I was hired to stage a beautiful Altadena home this week.
The homeowners are moving to a larger home to accommodate their growing family. I was called in by the real estate agent to help the homeowners prepare the home for sale, to maximize the size of the rooms, accentuate the beautiful architectural features and give each room a clearly defined purpose.
The formal living room was being used as the master bedroom, which worked fine for them, but might have caused some confusion for potential buyers.
I suggested they move the master bedroom to one of the large, airy bedrooms, and gain a living room in the process.
The piano was moved from the dining room to the living room. It made the dining room feel larger and there was plenty of space in the living room to accommodate a piano.
Here’s a few shots of the bedrooms after staging:
And a lovely vignette shot:
For more information about this beautiful Altadena pool home, contact the listing agent Bettina Rosenfeld, Coldwell Banker, at (626)827-6114.
This Los Angeles Home Stager Has Earned Her RESA-PRO Designation!
February 14, 2010
I’ve earned the RESA-PRO designation. Yay!
I’ve met all the requirements, passed all the tests, and now I have the right to use the RESA-PRO badge on my website. As a home stager in Los Angeles and Pasadena, I need to prove to my clients that they are getting the best of the best. The RESA-PRO designation proves that I am experienced, I am professional, I am ethical, I am insured and I recognize the importance of continuing my education.
RESA-PRO home stagers:
- Must adhere to the Real Estate Staging Association Code of Ethics
- Must pass the RESA Ethics Exam with a score of 80% or higher
- Must be in business for at least one year
- Must show proof of home staging business insurance
- Must prove they have a business bank account in their company name
In addition, RESA-PROs must complete a number of home staging contiuning education classes over the course of 2 years in order to maintain their RESA_PRO status
As a home owner or a real estate agent, seeing the RESA-PRO designation gives you an extra measure of assurance that I’m a true professional (not a hobbiest) and you’ll be treated ethically.
If you’d like to find out more about the RESA-PRO designation, visit the RESA-PRO website.
Happy Chinese New Year To All My Chinese Friends & Clients!
February 14, 2010
Gong Xi Fa Cai!(Mandarin)
GungHei Fat Choy! (Cantonese)
Happy Lunar New
Year to all my Chinese friends & clients
While most of the Western
World is celebrating Valentines Day today, Chinese people the world
over are celebrating the Year of the Tiger.
I have the great good fortune to work with many Chinese clients staging their homes in Arcadia, San Marino and Pasadena. I want to wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.
Chinese New Year, also know as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. Regional customs and family traditions vary widely for the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Traditionally, every family thoroughly cleans their home to sweep away any bad fortune. This makes way for good luck to come in. Windows are opened and rooms are aired out. Brooms and cleaning rags are thrown away and trash is emptied so that no dirt of misfortune is carried into the New Year.
Starting today, Chinese people all over the world engage in a wide variety of traditional customs and practices that involve food and gift giving. Dumplings (sometimes known as Dim Sum) that are shaped like gold bars are eaten. Children receive small amounts of money in red envelopes (Hong Bao). Adults may receive a gift of tangerines, which are symbols of prosperity and happiness, or kumquats, which are another prosperity symbol. Schools and businesses in China close for at least a week.
My nephew, who is an architect in Shanghai, says they don’t get much sleep during this week due to all the firecrackers going off at all hours of the night.
The Chinese Lunar Calendar is set up in 12 year cycles and each year in the cycle is associated with an animal. This coming year is the Year of the Tiger, the third year in the Chinese Zodiac. The tiger is a symbol of Courage, Strength and Prosperity. According to legend, Lord Buddha summoned the animals to him before he departed the earth. Only 12 came to bid him farewell and so he named a year after each one as a reward. It is believed that the animal ruling the birth year of a person has a profound impact on their personality.
Despite diverse customs and traditions across China, and for Chinese living in other parts of the world, the sentiment infusing Lunar New Year is one of peace, prosperity and happiness.
Happy Lunar New Year to all my Chinese friends, clients & business associates. I wish you much happiness, good health and prosperity in the coming year!
Los Angeles Home Staging A Hollywood Condo – Multiple Offers After 1st Open House!
February 13, 2010
We were hired to stage this vacant Hollywood Condo by the homeowner, who was also the listing agent.
She chose Moving Mountains Design because we are professional and experienced and because she liked the photos in our home staging portfolio.
The condo was vacant after having been rented to tenants for some time. The REALTOR wisely put a lot of energy and effort getting the condo into market condition. She did everything right to get it sold:
- She hired an experienced, professional home stager to make the condo more appealing to buyers
- She priced it right
- She marketed it well
For more information about this Hollywood Blvd. adjacent condo, contact the listing agent, Judy Oroshnik, Prudential California Realty, at (323)671-1248.
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