House Highlight

Our house highlight for this week is a gorgeous 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on Broadfield Road in Manlius, NY. New construction with one floor living, beautiful hardwoods, stone fireplace, and open floor plan. See here for additional real estate info on this home or to contact the agent.

Staging highlight for this home - we created a restful atmosphere using a palette of browns, blues, and taupes. With an open floor plan, keeping the same color scheme throughout provides a cohesive flow.

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

The New and Improved Tax Credit

Good news - The extension to the home buyer tax credit has been approved. Yesterday, the Senate voted 98-0 in favor of the tax credit extension. It is up to the President now to put his signature on the bill for approval. The tax credit is $8000.00 for first time home owners and has been extended to June 30, 2010. Purchase offers must be in by April 30 with a closing date of no later than June 30.

Better news - The new bill has been expanded to include existing home owners. Those who have owned a home for at least 5 years can receive a tax credit of up to $6,500 when they purchase their next home. There are income limitations of $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for joint filers. The maximum purchase price of a home is $800,000 and vacation homes do not qualify. The same date deadlines above will apply.

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Green Tip

Looking for a way to warm up your toes this winter and keep them eco-friendly at the same time?

Consider rugs that are made with natural fibers (cotton, hemp, jute, and wool), are formaldehyde-free, and then lay them down on grip pads that are not made with carcinogen PVC.

The following are some nice green alternatives.

Prairie Rugs at Target

Felt Rugs at Peace Industry

Jute Rugs at West Elm

Cotton Chenille Rugs at Amazon.com

Information provided by Ideal Bite

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Question of the Week

This week's question comes from J.R. in Buffalo, NY

What paint should I use in my shower to keep mildew away?

Sherwin William's Bath Paint and Benjamin Moore's Kitchen and Bath Paint are both excellent.
The absolute best mildew resistant paint is Zinsser's Perma-White. It has a 5 year mold and mildew proof guarantee. The only drawback is, it's only tintable to off-whites or pastels.

Besides mildew proof paint, there are other things you can do to keep mildew under control.

Turn on the bathroom fan.

Fans will help pull moisture from the air, preventing the growth of mildew. If your bathroom doesn't have a fan, use a dehumidifier, air conditioner, or open a bathroom window. In the winter, turn on the heat. Heat will help dry the bathroom faster and remove excess moisture from the air.

Turn on the lights

Turn on lighting before, during and after a shower or hot bath. Mildew doesn't grow in well-lit areas. Leave lights on an extra fifteen minutes after showering.

Clean

Mildew feeds on body oils and soap scum trapped on painted surfaces, grout, shower doors, curtains, and tiling. Scrub bathroom shower walls and doors with a solution of bleach and water (1 cup chlorine bleach to 5 cups hot water). Bleach kills bacterias like molds and mildews. You can use regular household bleach or cleaners containing bleach. Wash the shower curtain regularly in hot water, adding a cup of bleach to the water.

Keep the area dry

Wipe down the shower and bath area after bathing to help remove moisture. Use a squeegee or sponge. Wet towels and washcloths are also hot spots for mildew growth. Hang towels, clothing and anything that can collect moisture.

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

House Highlight

Our house highlight for this week is a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch located in Fayetteville, NY. It is listed for $174, 900. This home boasts hardwood floors, a newly renovated kitchen with breakfast bar, updated baths, a wood burning fireplace and 2 new exterior decks. See here for additional real estate info on this home or to contact the agent.

Staging highlight for this home - we defined spaces with area rugs and furniture while maintaining the open feel of the home.

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Green Tip

When it comes time to move to your new abode consider hiring the services of Green Movers.

Many green movers offer reusable boxes, offset their emissions by planting trees and run their trucks with cleaner biodiesel (instead of regular diesel).

Check out Green Movers USA, they rate their affiliate movers so you can see exactly how eco friendly each one is.

Information provided by Ideal Bite

Smart Move Design is a Home Staging and Redesign company located near Syracuse, NY and serves the Central and Northern New York areas.

Staging a Vacant Home Makes a Difference

This was a vacant staging job we did for an article in our local paper.  The article came out on the cover of today's Home and Garden section in the Post Standard (May 9).  You can read the online article here (sans photos).

What the article didn't say:  We had 3 days to find a vacant home, pull the furniture and accessories together, then stage the home. On staging day, the "before" photo shoot was at 10:30 a.m., the "after" photo shoot was at 3:15 p.m. leaving us less than 5 hours to stage a vacant 1500 sf, 4 bedroom home from top to bottom!  A downpour during the move, airbeds that wouldn't stay up, last minute paint fixes, a few minor repairs, all the while neighbors, realtors, and clients decided to come through unexpectedly to look at the home made for a crazy (but exciting) day. 

 

This home was on the market for 30 days prior to staging. The seller received an offer within a week of staging and the home is sold!

Smart Move Design, a home staging and redesign company serving central and northern NY