We are getting ready to put our house on the market and because we had taken so many things to our other house in South Carolina, our house was pretty bare. We were able to live just fine in it but to try and sell a home with wide open spaces, it does not give a buyer a sense of what it could be. So we had it staged.
Staging a home requires someone to come into your house, take pictures, look around to get a feel of the house, and return later to change everything. This is what happened on Saturday, the 16th. The realtor we have, had someone that could do just that for us. We did not have a bed in the second bedroom and used that room more as a catch all. It now looks like a bedroom. They placed a day bed, covered it, put on some pillows and placed a tray with napkins and a clear coffee cup filled with coffee beans to represent a cup of coffee. She had us remove a book case (we had two) to make it less cluttered, move some things around and it looks like a regular bedroom now. I will have to post some pictures later.
The designer went to the master bedroom and really did not have to do too much. She placed another bedspread on top of the one we have, which had different shades of blue, added more pillows, and the room popped. Very pretty! We had a dull room after seeing what she chose. We did like the change.
The second bathroom was next. Really not too much was added but some small touches to the counter. It just dressed it up. Everything else stayed the same.
The main room took the biggest change. We had purchased a couch before Jennifer, Noah, and Madilynn came to visit, as we did not have seating for them. We had moved the leather couch we had, to South Carolina. All we had were two recliners for our own use. Those chairs and couch were moved from their original positions. The couch was moved to the place of the recliners. The recliners were moved to the opposite side, facing the couch with our large coffee table in between. It was a nice set up for visiting with people but not a great layout if everyone in the room wanted to see TV. Because it is just the two of us, it didn't matter, as long as we could see it.
We have a long room, so with the couch moved up, the room behind it was a place for a small table and two chairs. It was going to be set up to use as a game table or a place where you could play cards, or even for that cozy place to have a cup of coffee or tea, and to look at the great view we have.
An end table was repositioned with a lamp, a divider was put up with a large ceramic pot with reeds, and some other touches. The dining room table was kept pretty much the way it was except a table runner was used instead of the place mats. The other built-in we have contained the wine cooler, on top of the counter, had a large sailboat that Dad had put together. This was left in its place as well as an empty wine rack for the over flow of wine bottles that did not fit into the cooler. A decorative plate that went along with the wine theme, was placed. A painting, we had of dolphins and the undersea, was replaced with a mirror. Upon looking at the mirror, you had the reflection of our view.
Anyone that has placed a house for sale, knows the stress you get from having to make sure the house is the best it can be, for the buyers. Our house now looks great but it has caused some upheaval with me. Things have been moved and changed. I have been needing things to be kept in its place for my own cognitive needs. It has been stressful to not have that sameness. I will get used to the placement of the new things and where the old things were put, but it was a lot to handle in two hours.
We are hoping to sell the present home so we can take the proceeds to place on the new home in South Carolina. We are really hoping that it will be enough to pay that home off. We would then be without a mortgage. My car has been paid off. We don't have a lot of debt from credit cards either. A good position for retirement.
We would not move to the new house just yet but would rent for probably another year to a year and a half. Of course, this depends on how quickly it sells.
The For Sale sign has not been placed yet but should be in the next few days. Then the "fun" begins.
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