Our business was predicated on the idea that your home environment matters, it influences how you live, and hopefully is a place you feel good in\u2014your haven. We continue to lean into our mission as more of our daily routines become fixed at home. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the biggest matters that are top of mind continue to be around healthcare, finances, and general stability. But also, as many probably feel, having a welcoming and well organized home for ourselves and our families has taken on new meaning and focus. <\/p>\n
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With so much time and activity shifting to the homestead, we\u2019ve seen a renewed significance being placed on how home both looks and feels. All of a sudden, that unadorned wall that was \u201cfine\u201d is driving us crazy, we\u2019re rethinking our layout and if it\u2019s best suited for our family, perhaps craving a fresh coat of paint to breathe new life into a room, or maybe deciding it\u2019s time to finally tackle that home project we said \u201cwe\u2019d get around to\u201d. <\/p>\n
People are not only more willing, but eager, to invest in home projects and furnishings to create a comfortable, stylish, and functional space. With the pandemic creating a culture of uncertainty and unknowns, people are desiring to come home to an inviting space that feels safe, cozy, and calming – now more than ever.<\/p>\n
That means when it comes to staging your home to sell, lean into all the cues to comfort. Soften the space with textiles (like plush pillows and throws) for added texture, hang art on your walls so they feel finished and complete, and scatter potted plants, fresh cut florals, and candles throughout your rooms. The goal is to evoke a stress-free sanctuary that will make people feel at home.<\/p>\n
CONTAIN THE CLUTTER<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Our day to day routine is being blown up now that so many of us have two people working at home, as well as kids attending virtual school. When you\u2019re being the professional, the mom, the teacher, and the entertainer all day, every day, it\u2019s easy to have your pens, pencils, and notepads get mixed up with laundry, school supplies, and toys. <\/p>\n To make your home as desirable as possible to a potential buyer, create order in the chaos with intentional organization. Buy different bins with closed tops so you can hide away clutter in a semi organized fashion in appropriate places, without adding a lot of extra work. Or consider investing in rolling organizers for mobility around the home, or a stationary set of storage drawers. Everything should have a place, and you should bring the room \u201cback to zero\u201d at the end of the day. <\/p>\n Not only will this reduce visual noise around your space to create a greater sense of calm to the buyer, but it also helps them visualize how they might adapt your space for their own multi purpose needs. <\/p>\n CREATING SOME DISTANCE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Some of us are blessed to have a devoted home office or playroom that can be fully used as we transition to virtual work and school models. However, for so many, the new work spot is a space that has been primarily used for living purposes. If your home doesn\u2019t<\/em> include a traditional home office or specific playroom, we believe it would be enticing to buyers to readily see how they could adapt your space to their own work or school from home needs.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen examples of people making good use of screens or temporary partitions to create some physical separation between their workspace and their bedrooms and living rooms. Perhaps style one in your space to illustrate how multifunctional a room could be. Even better, if you can, create a working nook, or a devoted desk space, within a dual purpose room (like living area or spare bedroom), as a clear indicator to the buyer that there is a ready made solution to delineate work life from home mode. <\/p>\n Here are some designer tips for making a separated work\/school space feel both cohesive and welcoming:<\/p>\n First off, stay within the room\u2019s palette and style for a sense of harmony and balance. If you\u2019ve got a dark and modern room, then your makeshift office should carry the same vibes. Or if your space is light, bright, and a little boho, infuse natural tones and global influences into your desk styling.<\/p>\n One thing designers frequently talk about is creating contrast, and it\u2019s certainly helpful in these situations. While you want the palette, or colors, to feel cohesive, your space will feel more finished and purposeful if there\u2019s some juxtaposition in texture or tones between the desk and the rest of the room. For example, if your space is mostly crisp whites and neutrals, add in warmth and interest with a wooden desk. This will keep everything from feeling too matchy-matchy or one dimensional. <\/p>\n Lastly, you\u2019ll want to treat your desk like it\u2019s very own vignette – which is just a fancy designer word for \u201cmoment.\u201d Style and accessorize both the surface, and the wall above, so that it feels complete and meaningful – perhaps with floating shelves, artwork, or a gallery wall.<\/p>\n DEFINED SPACE FOR NEW HOME ROUTINES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n When March happened, all of our preconceived notions about where certain activities should unfold completely shifted. Offices moved to remote work policies, school shut down, and gyms closed their doors, and we had to adapt our home environments to take on new roles out of sheer necessity. Living rooms and bedrooms became workstations, dining rooms doubled as home school desks, garages were co-opted for gym equipment, and backyards doubled as patio bars.<\/p>\n At first, we thought this was a matter of mere weeks and things would resume to \u201cnormal.\u201d But now that we\u2019re going on 7 months of a remote structure, with plans to remain that way well into the new year, it\u2019s time to go beyond a temporary mindset to more sustainable solutions for new home routines. Our goal is to experience the same productivity and inspiration at home as we would have when physically going into an office, school, or gym. Consider staging in equipment and decor that cues to how adaptable your space is for all variety of needs. That could be as simple as adding in some floor mats and weights in the garage for workout needs, or adding in an affordable Target desk into a guest bedroom to show how it could double as a home office.<\/p>\n