Wall Display

Have you ever been in a model home?  You know, one of those houses that builders use to entice you to build by making it look amazing.  Have you ever watched a TV program about buying/selling a house?  Designed To Sell, House Hunters, why won't my house sell?  Ok, so the last one I made up in fun, but you know what I'm talking about.

What's the key?  Staging.  Staging.  STAGING. 

When my husband and I were getting ready to sell our house in Ohio, I spent 2 months staging it.  Yep.  I made sure every single nook & cranny of that place was sellable.  Even the laundry room.... even the shabby stone patio on the back of the house that only looked into EVERYONE else's back yard! 

What's the key to staging?  Making sure everyone who walks in feels like they could live there.  Yep - that means taking down personal items and replacing them with universal things that appeal to a wide variety of tastes. 

The house was displayed to realtors on Tuesday - one of which bought my entire living room suit.  Thursday it officially went on the market, and by the following Tuesday we closed on a sale.  Done deal!

BUT - how many of us live in houses staged to sell?  Who, I ask, would want to?  The personal things in my home make it mine.  Those are my memories, thank you very much!  And I want to see them. 

Still, I'm notorious about wanting my home designed in such a way that is stylish, cohesive, and modern.  Here enters the dilemma.  I love pictures.  Always have.  Always will.  How do I get those pictures displayed well, without my house turning into a wild conglomeration of stacked picture frames that cover every inch of end table?  And if I put them on the wall, how do I keep it from feeling like a strange "find and open spot and hang it" moment hit?

 

ok, to me this is just play scary

Answers coming tomorrow!