A Secret Color All Designers Use

Debi is back and we’ve had such a great response to her article, she’s going to come on board! Give us a comment and let us know what you think. Her article today starts a series of posts about color. We are both color geeks, so we’re going to have fun with it!

Black! Black! Black! Black is my second favorite color to use in design. It’s quite possibly one of the most versatile colors on the spectrum. It’s also my “go to” color for many things- clothes, shoes, handbags- you name it- and when it comes to using black in interior design, well you cannot go wrong. 

Black anchors a room and adds an air of sophistication that is hard to achieve with many colors. It helps to enhance decorating schemes. You can use it in accessories, such as lamps, picture frames, dishes and glassware, vases, pillows, and rugs. You can use it on furniture- such as one of a kind painted pieces, headboard of a bed, exotic side chair or statement coffee table, and other furniture. You can use it on fixtures- such as light fixtures, kitchen and bath fixtures, tile and ceiling fans. I love to use black paint for mantles, front doors and trim around the room. I have even painted a ceiling black in a black and white toile bedroom, which added a level of drama that could never have been achieved with any other color. 

Black is to decorating what the “little black dress” is to fashion. Always beautiful and always in style. Always dramatic, never boring. When you use black in a room or space, anything you pair with it will auto a look better.

Every color goes with black. In the design world it is considered a favorite neutral. Try painting one wall in a bedroom black or all four walls in a dining room for a gorgeous ambience that works beautifully with fun crystal light fixtures. I love to use black and white together with a pop of just about any color- red, lime green, millennial pink and even orange. 

If you are feeling bold and adventurous, try painting your doors and window frames black and even the trim and molding in your rooms. I promise you, you will get compliments.

Here are just a few easy ways to incorporate black into your design if you are wanting to try it, but are afraid to fully commit: 

  1. Try re-framing all of your family pictures with black frames. It will bring cohesiveness to the hodgepodge that is your gallery wall. 

2) Paint your front door black. If you don’t like it, you can always repaint, but I’m willing to bet my firstborn that you will love it. Talk about a dramatic first impression!

3) Paint a tired old piece of furniture – maybe an accent chair, end table or dresser- black. Paint is the most inexpensive way to try something new. 

4) Try a large black framed mirror or art piece. It will be your stand out wall!

5) Try painting one wall or a mantle or built in bookcases. The result will be stunning.

6) Or if this is just too much, maybe small appliances- coffee pot, toaster, or hand towels in a guest bath. 

So now you know the secret color that virtually every designer uses. Try it! Who knows? You may get brave enough to paint your kitchen cabinets or an entire room in gorgeous, lovely black! I promise! You will love it!

Is Home Staging Worth It?

Note: We have a guest today. Debi Abood is an interior decorator and has agreed to do this article for us! Welcome, Debi!

Home staging doesn’t have to be intimidating. Staged homes sell faster and generally for more money. It’s satisfying to take on the challenge of taking a blank, dated, or cluttered space and giving it a new, fresh, inviting, and welcoming feel with a few simple updates.

If you are looking to stage a home, there are some simple tips to get you started. When stagers come in, they take tons (technical term) of pictures. Most of the time, a customer doesn’t realize how their own home looks, so when you show them the pictures, it can be quite a shock to see it from a different angle.

Staging makes that important first impression. Pro tip-learn to be dispassionate about the house. No one cares that Aunt Molly painted that wall purple and you just could never think of painting over it. The home isn’t yours any more and you need to see it through the new buyers eye. You’re going to have to take down your kids pictures, your wedding pictures, Aunt Mollie and her dog, and all personal items. It seems obvious but sometimes you just need a pro to iron things out for you.

Let’s get started.

The first place to start is to begin packing up items that you won’t be using during the selling process. Pack up personal items-pictures, clutter, knick knacks and collections, and anything else that looks dated or dingy.

If possible. touch up paint on walls and woodwork. If you don’t have touch up paint, consider a fresh coat. Concentrate on the kitchen and living room.

Start at the entry: clean or repaint your front door and place a fresh welcome mat and some flowers at the entry. First impressions matter.

Take down any sports memorabilia, dated lamps and rugs, and any other personalized items. It may seem drastic, but people need to see themselves in the home and pictures of your kids distracts from that. Now is not the time for you to show too much of your personality.

In the kitchen, clean first, wiping out the microwave and fridge, and clean the oven. Remove small appliances and buy more flowers for the counter. Try colorful jars and maybe an antique cookbook with a fresh hand towel and that’s it. The counters will look clean and spacious. Shine the appliances for that new look and make sure the oven isn’t dirty.

In the bathroom, clean the grout, remove rugs and old towels, and all makeup and personal items. Add fresh flowers and it will shine like new. Add a hand towel and if there is a window, make sure it’s clean.

For the bedrooms, make sure all beds are made, and remove furniture that’s taking up too much space. Bedside table with flowers and a book. Pack up any shoes and clothes that you won’t need for a month or so. Keep the closet organized and clean. If you have shelves, remove everything on them except for a couple of small things and take a pretty scarf and drape it.

This goes for the pantries, too. Pack up and clean! Fold linens and make sure the washer and dryer have been cleaned and the room has been organized.

For the living areas, remove excess furniture and clutter. In most cases, you just take what you have and rearrange to get the most out of the space. If you have a focal point like a fireplace or pretty window with a view, maximize that area. Draw attention to it. Think of using baskets with lids to store some of your clutter. If you have to use your own furniture, be creative, minimal, and open up those spaces. LESS IS MORE!! Use pillows, live plants, and more flowers.

Quick recap: use neutral colors on the walls, and spice it up a bit with pillows or throws. Ensure all window treatments are fashionable and work properly. Set the dinner table and other tables and bars in the house. This helps buyers see themselves in the home. Condense your dining table to it’s smallest size and the room will look bigger. Clean the carpets and replace any pieces that are damaged. Make sure all light bulbs work and turn them all on. All of them. You want every room to shine and the lights make the house look bigger. (Don’t believe me? Stop by any model home and it’s the first thing you won’t notice. It’s subtle but very important.)

DECLUTTERING MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!! That’s the biggest takeaway. If you don’t think you can do it yourself, reach out to a professional or your realtor. Contact me with any questions or advice. I’m happy to help! Debi.abood56@gmail.com

If you like this piece and would like to see more from Debi, comment below and we’ll see if we can twist her arm!

Going Deep. Very Deep.

I remember when I was a young lass of maybe, I don’t know, 22 and I bought my first house. Total mystery. I had no idea of where to start. I finally found a Realtor (wasn’t even sure where to look) and I got my first education in financing a home. Specifically, rent vs. own.

I had to do math. I compared renting vs owning over a 30 year period, the amount of time a mortgage is usually calculated. If you have a 600k house (don’t we all), after 25 years, your value is worth 900k plus tax benefits, rent income if that’s something you’re interested in, and more buying power.

If you are renting that same house, your value would be 432k with nothing to show for it. Renting makes sense sometimes but almost never. (just saying)

Homes have an historical appreciation of 3% so a 250k home would be worth more than 337k in 10 years. If it was 1%, it would go to just 276k. Either way, I see money signs.

We’ll talk about loan programs another time, but for now, let’s make the decision to buy instead of rent.

There is no denying that even with the meltdown, real estate has consistently performed better than any other asset type in the last 30 years.

Call me and we can talk in greater detail about this. It’s not my usual model home stuff, but you need to know this before we start looking for your new home.

Stop the madness

In keeping with my ‘details’ theme, let’s break bad on door stoppers. I know – what did they do to you? And that’s the point. So often, they don’t work and that just makes me mad. (And a hole in the wall).

Builders, builders, builders. Get with it. We talked about finials, doors, and switch plates. How can I make this easier? I used the Google and immediately came up with alternatives that aren’t dull and make me want to cry. To wit:

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These are alternatives that don’t break the bank but subtly make the room “finished”. Details, people.

Real Estate Disneyland

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the 2019 Hyde Park Home Tour. I had to. This is Model Home Porn, so duh. This area of town is always on it’s best behavior, so expectations were high. Tree lined streets, some of them still brick, take you right to Bayshore Blvd. and some of the prettiest views in Tampa Bay.IMG_6260

There were 9 homes on the tour and it took most of the day. Each home had catered food and drinks from small local businesses. There wasn’t a single moment of disappointment. Well, maybe. We’ll discuss later.

Homes are highlighted by historical significance and are an architecture lovers dream. I highly encourage you to take a look at some of South Tampa’s offerings. There is a Frank Loyd Wright house and plenty of authentic Craftsman homes. You can also find the occasional Post Modern design.

Put this on your calendar for 2020. It’s an election year, so make this a welcome respite for your overworked brain. I’m here for you.