House Highlight

This beautiful center hall transitional is located in Brittany Hills, a private neighborhood on Onondaga Hill. The eat in kitchen steps down to the open family room with fireplace. The first floor has formal living, dining, and a study. The second floor has a master suite and 3 additional bedrooms. The back yard is wooded and during open house we spotted two fawns.

Staging highlight for this home - we chose minimal furnishings to show off the home's best features (large windows, wainscoting, open floor plan) while adding accessories to give it warmth. If a home is overcrowded with furnishings, the beauty of the home can get lost.

Click here for more info on the home or to contact the real estate agent.

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

Tis the season for holiday lighting!

Try switching your holiday lights to LEDs this season.

Check out the benefits of using light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs for short)

LED bulbs use 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.

If you switch over to LED holiday lights, you'll save an average of $50 over the holiday season on your energy bills.

LEDs last about 6 times as long as CFLs and 60 times as long as old-school incandescent bulbs, so you have to change them less often.

They're less likely to cause fires (as much as 90% of the energy consumed by incandescent lights is given off as heat).

Unlike CFLs, LEDs contain no mercury.

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 V.S. in Liverpool, NY.

Any ideas for storing a sewing machine so it's accessible but not intrusive? All we have is the machine - no table yet.

An armoire would be a nice option. Install a pullout shelf to put the sewing machine on and bring in a comfy side chair.


Another option - keep it on a rolling cart or table in the corner of a room. Hide it behind a decorative screen that can be moved when you want to access your sewing corner or pull out the cart.



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 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

Transformation - Plum Court Condo in Franklin Square

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Our staging inspiration - we kept a contemporary look using clean lines in cream and black. We drew in red from the exposed brick and green from the stained glasss light in the kitchen area (as well as the outdoor courtyard).  We carried the colors throughout the first floor.  Upstairs we had the blue/gray carpet to draw from.

The asking price on this condo is $299,900.  It is a first floor condo in Plum Court.  Open floor plan,  1st floor location with private courtyard, high ceilings, gas stove, hardwood floors, marble, exposed brick, 1st floor laundry,  pantry, 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.

Plum Court is located in a renovated warehouse in Franklin Square, Syracuse, NY.  

Email for additional info on home staging or realtor contact info.

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

Looking to buy your first home this year?

If you're a first time home buyer, you'll get a significant tax credit for signing a mortgage this year. The new stimulus bill will give you a refund for 10% (up to $8,000) of the total amount paid for your new house. Just don't sign a subprime mortgage.

What's Your Style?

I am Cottage Chic.

Shabby, yet stylish. Cozy and comfortable with muted shades taken straight from a flower garden. 

Shabby Chic and Cottage work in my home.

What's your style?  Follow the link below and click on "restart quiz".  The site may prompt you to sign up for a free account at HGTV, so go ahead, sign up. Then click the link below again and find out what your decorating style is. 

What's your style?

Reclaimed Timber Wall

I have been inspired in the last few weeks to take a closer look at eco friendly products and materials.  

We are re-doing our camp in the 1000 islands and found this cool wall at Livingetc.  It is made out of reclaimed timber. 

I could see doing one wall like this. What a great focal point it would make!

Staging Fixes

Problem:  large outdated furniture,  wall print too small for the space, no coversation area, awkward flow

Fix:  Rearrange furniture to create better conversation area and flow, replace small print with large print, separate furniture, add pillows and throw to distract from outdated furniture.

Problem: Bookshelves look messy, broken ottoman stored under shelf, bar and kitchen area is lost behind clutter

Fix: pack away half the toys, remove ottoman and organize bookshelves, clear bar to show the  potential of kitchen area

Problem: furniture and packed boxes stored here for moving. Area shows messy and with no purpose.

Fix: Packed boxes moved to an outside rented storage unit. Oversized and outdated kitchen set was moved downstairs to give this space purpose and free up space in the kitchen.  Stereo was removed from the over crowded living room and moved down to the family room.

Home Staging Tip

Here are some handy dandy household uses for dryer sheets.  Some would be quite helpful for quick clean ups when showing your home.

1. Freshen smelly shoes. Insert a dryer sheet into the offending pair and let sit overnight. 
2. Remove static from clothing, hair, TV screens, and computer monitors. Wipe the surface with a sheet. 
3. Clean pet hair from the floor or furniture. Rub a dryer sheet over the spot where Fluffy left her fur. 
4. Replace a sachet. Keep a dresser drawer smelling fresh and clean by placing a dryer sheet on the bottom of it. 
5. Loosen caked-on food from a pan. Place a fresh sheet in the bottom of a dirty pan, fill with lukewarm tap water, and let sit in the sink overnight. The pan will be easier to clean in the morning. 
6. Tackle suitcase and gym-bag odors. Place a dryer sheet in your suitcase or gym bag so your clean clothes won’t take on the odors of the dirty ones. 
7. Prevent old books from smelling musty when in storage.Stick a dryer sheet between the pages of your beloved copy of Pride and Prejudice. 
8. Wipe up sawdust after working in the garage. Rub a dryer sheet over the fine wood particles. 
9. Prevent thread from tangling when sewing. Run a threaded needle through a dryer sheet right before you begin your handiwork. 
10. Dust venetian blinds. Close the blinds, then wipe up and down with a dryer sheet.

credit: www.realsimple.com

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