Enhance Your Home With Lighting

The home design industry often focuses on the latest colors and design styles, but the lighting in a home has a profound effect on the appearance of all design choices. The right lighting will highlight a home’s architectural and design features, making a home feel more open and inviting. While poor lighting can change the look of colors and spaces in a home and diminishes an otherwise well decorated room. Whether you are planning to list a St. Louis or St. Charles County area home for sale, or just want to present your home in the best light, try these lighting tips to make your home look its best.

Audit the lighting in the rooms of your home.

Consider the amount of natural light in your home and if there is enough. Check to make sure artificial lighting fully illuminates the entire room. Discover if your current lighting casts any hues that change the appearance of your paint and fabric colors. The results of your audit will help determine where to make any adjustments necessary to improve the lighting in your home.

Let in natural light from the windows.

A natural build up of dirt and debris from wind and rain can block the light coming in. Give the windows a good scrub on both sides and rinse off the screens. Pull the curtains open wide and lift any blinds. You can even expand the appearance of the size of windows by extending curtain rods eight inches on either side of the window. This trick allows room for draperies while still letting in plenty of natural light. Don’t forget to look outside the window. If there is foliage blocking the window from outside the home, manicure the landscaping to reveal the windows.

Choose the right light fixtures.

If you love your current light fixtures, give them a good cleaning. But if they are outdated and older than you are, replace them. Choosing the right fixture depends on the room size and use. Large fixtures are great for making any space cozier. Small fixtures are great for hallways and smaller spaces. A great way to create ambience is with a combination of overhead lighting and two other lighting sources like lamps.

When choosing fixture color, go with a color that matches or compliments other design features in the home. For example, match the metal color on a kitchen light fixture to the metal color of the kitchen cabinet pulls. Also, clean or replace any dirty or damaged light switch plates.

Pick the right light bulbs.

Use the highest wattage light bulb you can as directed by the lighting manufacturer.  If you don’t like bright lighting in your home, install dimmer switches. This will allow for bright lighting when needed and energy-saving mood lighting when you want it. Softer lighting is OK for accent lights and wall sconces. Don’t forget to audit the hue of the light bulbs in your home. It’s OK if you prefer bulbs that are soft white or rose-tinted. Just be sure that you use the same color of light bulbs in all of the fixtures within the same room to avoid a chaotic look.

Choose feature-enhancing exterior lighting.

A current trend for home listing photos is a picture taken at dusk to show exterior home lighting. Even if you’re not having a dusk photo shoot of your home, exterior lighting choices can greatly affect the curb appeal. Potential homebuyers may drive by at any hour to check out your home and neighborhood. A well-lit home exterior is inviting to homebuyers and discourages burglars. Good exterior lighting will make your home and neighborhood appear safer. Speaking of safety, path lighting helps prevent tripping hazards as well and creates a welcoming impression.

Contact The Boehmer Team when you’re ready to list.

If the reason you want to improve the lighting of your home is to highlight its best features for a home sale, contact The Boehmer Team. We offer home staging advice and services that are proven to help sell homes for the most value. We also use professional photography to be sure a home listed with The Boehmer Team is always shown in the best possible light.

References:

http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/top-10-rules-for-staging-homes-from-the-stagers

https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/stage-your-house-in-the-right-light/

http://www.homestagingofhouston.com/home-staging-in-houston-make-your-space-light-bright/

Advice From Award Winning Home Stagers – Part 2

With so much great advice to share from award winning home staging company INhance IT!, we had to create two articles. In the last article we discussed ways that homeowners can stage the inside and outside of a home to look great and to increase value when selling a St. Louis or St. Charles County, Missouri home. In this article we’ll reveal answers to the most asked questions on current home décor trends in color, fixtures, artwork and more.

The Boehmer Team: What are the best colors to use in the home and why?

INhance IT!: A couple of years ago we began reporting, “grey as the new beige”.  Homebuilders, flippers, and sellers are still embracing grey. Sherwin Williams 2017 color of the year is Poised Taupe. This is a warmer shade that blends well with a variety of wood tones and countertop surfaces. 

White is definitely the “in” color for kitchens and baths. Gone are the days of dark espresso cabinets and dark granite countertops. Kitchens and baths are light and bright with white quartz being the preferred countertop surface.

In the kitchen, we continue to see “tuxedo” cabinets and islands. This is the technique of painting the island a contrasting color from the cabinets and/or painting the upper and lower cabinets different tones. Most frequently seen are the combination of grey and white.

The Boehmer Team: What about ceilings? Is it always best to paint a ceiling white?

INhance IT!: When listing your home, don’t forget to look up.  Is your ceiling a fresh, bright white?  If not, a fresh coat of paint is imperative. Buyers sometimes avoid properties with popcorn ceilings…if you have them it’s a good idea to have the popcorn removed.

The Boehmer Team: What do you recommend for light fixtures?

INhance IT!: Lighting styles run the gamut from rustic/industrial to bling-bling glam.  Updated lighting, especially on the exterior front of the home, foyer and dining room bring value to the home. One of the best looking new trends in lighting includes pieces that feature matte black exterior with brushed gold accents.

The Boehmer Team: What about faucets and fixture colors that should be used or avoided?

INhance IT!: Believe it or not, now that we’ve all pretty much removed the 80’s brass from our homes, brass is back in vogue. Today’s brass is definitely not your grandma’s brass.  Silhouettes are very clean lined and today’s brass has a brushed, soft patina. We’re seeing a plethora of shiny stainless as opposed to the brushed nickel of a few years back. Oil rubbed bronze is still going strong, but only in the industrial-look. 

The Boehmer Team: Do you have any suggestions for wall decor?

INhance IT!: When it comes to real estate staging, the larger the artwork the better. We avoid using groupings of smaller art to keep nail holes to a minimum. Large abstract canvas pieces work well for staging purposes. Some of today’s most popular styles of art are abstract pieces utilizing actual geodes or geode patterns incorporating gold and silver metallic accents.

The Boehmer Team: What are some of the best trends in home decor that INhance IT utilizes?

INhance IT!: The INhance It! team travels to various furniture markets (Las Vegas, High Point, Atlanta) throughout the year to keep abreast of the latest home décor trends. The key to effective real estate staging is creating memory points without detracting from the architecture of the home. 

Most of the upholstered pieces we use are pale beige or grey tones and are accented with luxury throw pillows. Our current go-to color pallets are a combination of beige, grey and cream accented with silver and gold metallic. We are also utilizing some of the new industrial look in dining tables, sideboards, coffee and end tables. There is definitely an art to mixing and matching styles and textures. Our favorite “pop of color” is aqua in artwork, pillows and accessories.

The Boehmer Team: Any design trends that you think will be big?

INhance IT!: The industrial design trend is still going strong.  Also, reclaimed wood for furnishings, accent walls and ceilings makes a statement. The “Fixer Upper” farmhouse style remains popular. Mid century modern is also growing in popularity.

Linda and Kelly Boehmer are both big fans of vintage and retro decor. We were pleased to learn that incorporating our vintage finds into our home décor is on trend with farmhouse and mid century styles. In every home we see pieces that standout because they tell a story about the homeowner, of favorite memories or of what someone aspires to be. You don’t have to remove something special due to design trends, just find a new way to incorporate it in an updated way.

One of the great things about working with The Boehmer Team when selling St. Louis or St. Charles County area real estate is that we give staging advice to our home sellers. Our years of experience marketing homes and working with home stagers like INhance IT! lead to better sales results for our sellers. Thinking of making a move? Contact TheBoehmer Team.

Did you miss Advice From Award Winning Home Stagers - Part 1? CLICK HERE to read it.

Advice From Award Winning Home Stagers

Whether selling a St. Louis or St. Charles County area home, preparing for a party, or just wanting to make a home beautiful, our friends at INhance IT! Home Staging have some great tips for you. We’ve trusted and been delighted by the work of INhance IT! for years and learned they recently received the Top 10 Best Vacant Home Stager of The Year AND Top 10 Best Home Staging Team of The Year by RESA®.  So who better to ask for home staging advice? We sat down and asked these experts the questions that are on home sellers’ minds.

The Boehmer Team: What are the most important things a homeowner can do to stage their home or just make it beautiful?

INhance IT!: Staging is a catchall word for condition.  In order for a seller to receive the highest return on equity for their home it must be in immaculate condition prior to listing.  This involves a curb-to-basement assessment of every aspect of the property.  The three key things a homeowner can do are:

Paint – we call it money in a can.

Edit – pack away personal collections, personal photos, and items that might distract a buyer.

Clean – buyers want a home that is move-in ready. It pays off handsomely to bring in a professional cleaning crew (don’t forget grout, carpet and windows) prior to listing a home or just to make it appealing.

The Boehmer Team: Are there any ways you recommend to stage/beautify the outside of a home?

INhance IT!: The old saying “you only have one chance to make a first impression” holds true when marketing a property for sale.  Sellers or those just wanting great curb appeal should take a close look at:

Lawn – lawns cut on the diagonal appear larger.

Mailbox condition – make sure it is clean, sturdy and level.

Front door – check the condition of the hardware, choose a good paint color.

Welcome mat – get one, replace or clean the old one.

Healthy potted plants – add character and charm.

Cleanliness – remove any clutter, trash, insects or cobwebs from the outside entryway.

The Boehmer Team: What is the question you get most from home sellers?

INhance IT!: The main question we have been presented with in 2017 is “Why should I stage my home in a hot real estate market”?  The answer is simple.  Real estate staging brings a higher perceived value to the home in any market.  We have seen staged homes receive multiple offers within one day on the market, many receiving offers of $25K or more over list price.  Our motto remains the same in any market “the cost of home staging is less than your first price reduction”.

The Boehmer Team agrees. It’s been proven that beautifully staged homes sell faster and for more money than vacant or cluttered homes. So how do you determine if your home is up to snuff or if you need the help of a home stager? If you are listing your home, The Boehmer Team will meet you at your home to go over the tried-and-true décor updates that help sell homes. If you are a candidate for home staging, we’ll connect you with an experienced home stager such as INhance IT! 

We couldn’t fit all of our questions and answers into this one article. So stay tuned for Part 2 where we discuss the latest home décor trends for homes with the experienced designers at INhance IT! Home Staging. Or for more great home staging advice, check out the INhance IT! blog here. Thinking of listing a home for sale? Contact The Boehmer Team.

Don't forget to check out Advice From Award Winning Home Stagers Part 2

Sources:

https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/is-it-worth-it-to-stage-your-home-when-you-put-it-on-the-market