Consumer Reports has possibly the best reputation for giving consumers advice on pretty much anything that can be tested or studied by experts and then put on the market for sale… even homes. They recently wrote a fantastic blog called “Tips on Selling Your Home in a Slow Market.” Of the four tips that they stress, staging is one of them. They say, “Use staging to enhance your home’s curb appeal. A professional home stager can make over your home to de-emphasize your taste and make it more appealing to a broad range of buyers. A two-hour consultation can run around $300.” (Which we can do it for a lot less!) Find out what the other tips are to help sell your home.

The first of the nation’s 76 million baby boomers are expected to reach retirement age in 2011…

Senior moving services, a growing $7 billion dollar industry, is increasingly in demand. Seniors’ children are busy business people with their own children and daily duties. To make their parents’ moves easier on both the elderly loved ones and the family member, there are many companies offering senior moving services. Of course it is crucial that the children stay involved during this difficult time to be there for comfort. But these movers do everything possible to make the homeowner feel at home. An example of this is literally photographing bookshelves and setting them up in the new home exactly like they were in the previous home.

We have listed some of our resources to help make the transistion as comfortable as possible.

Organizers - The first step is to have someone come in and organize the years of build up. Belongings will be sorted and like-items will be with other like-items. This is a key to packing.

   National Association of Professional Organizers - http://www.association-office.com/napo/referral/index.cfm

Stagers and interior designers- As stagers we can help a homeowner make decisions on which items to keep and which ones they can take along to the new home. We also help shop for new furnishings that fit the smaller home.

    Staged Makeovers  www.stagedmakeovers.com

Senior moving services - These specialists make the move seemless and preserve the memories and comfort of the homeowners.

   Smooth Transistions - http://www.movingforseniors.com/about.html

Many sellers and buyers are ready to downsize. Some do it because they are empty nesters or single and don’t need that much house. Others don’t want to deal with the maintenance. And some do it for health reasons, moving to wheelchair friendly or one-story homes.Whatever the reason is, downsizing can be a challenge. Homeowners are faced with many decisions and finding a new home is just one of them. They must evaluate their lifestyle and plan for the future. They must make decisions on what items to take from their home and what to leave behind. We can help them decide which belongings are best to keep and where all of their favorite items should go in their new home. We can also help them find resources for the items they no longer want. Staging to live and interior design are just some of the services we offer to help downsizers move along.

Mythic paint introduced a revolutionary new non-toxic paint line that protects the environment and your health. “Traditional household paints contain cancer-causing toxins that can still be released into the air years after drying.” The paint contains zero VOC’s, no harmful toxins, and no unpleasant odors. The paint is also washable and offers the same quality performance and durability.

VOC’s are defined in another part of our blog. You’re sucking them in, you might as well find out what they are.

This definition of VOC came from one of our favorite design websites, Plinth and Chintz, were you can find almost any interior design related term. Plus they have the best newsletter in the design industry.

“The initials V-O-C stand for “volatile organic compound,” which is essentially any organic compound which evaporates readily to the atmosphere. Why are we listing this term in the DESIGN SPEAK section? Because they are a hot topic in the growing Sustainable Design trend. VOCs contribute significantly to photochemical smog production and certain health problems. These organic substances easily become vaporous / gaseous, and they are often used as quick dry solvents which, upon evaporation, give off volatiles, an increasing environmental concern. You know that “new car smell” or the lingering aroma hanging in the air after the installation of new carpet, hard-surface flooring, paint, or wallcovering? VOCs! Therefore, in an effort to improve the health of the planet, as well as the health of the end-users of their products, many manufacturers have developed (and are continually refining) production methods to lower, and ultimately eliminate, VOCs in their products.”

Hmmm… I heard that the new car smell is actually formaldehyde. Why would anyone love that smell?

Earlier this month beloved Bombay, a furniture and accessories company, filed bankruptcy. 420 stores are now liquidating and that means complete clearance of the inventory. Stores will start closing soon. Now is the time to stock up on some really great accessories for your home. Happy shopping. Bombay will be missed.

The first ever Staged Makeovers’ Bulletin is ready! You will enjoy a real estate cartoon from world renowned cartoonist Jerry King, a motivational quote, timely tip, and short article packed with only great info. Sign up by visiting our website.

What is Freecycle? “It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills… Membership is free.” FREE! Yippee! And you can clean out your own junk and someone else will come and get it.

Here’s what freecycle has done for me… I’ve unloaded so much stuff on others who needed it:

• Carpet samples went to an animal shelter to keep the pups warm and cozy
• Wallpaper samples went to local girl scouts for crafts
• Household items went to a local woman in need
• Shoes, belts, and handbags - this post reunited me with a highschool friend.

The list goes on and on. I’ve even got a few goodies myself. I needed new speaker for my computer, a pair of baseball pants for a costume, an adapter for a label maker, etc. etc.

So if you want everyday to feel like your birthday, save some cash, lessen the landfill load, and help others in need, join your local freecycle group. It’s easy. 

PS I highly recommend using the daily digest setting to receive your freecycle messages otherwise you will get hundreds of e-mails a week.

Just because your mother doesn’t live with you doesn’t mean that you don’t have to make your bed. This is especially true when it comes to presenting your home for sale. All too often we have to tell homeowners to make the bed. We even go as far as demonstrating how to make it picture perfect. Lucky for you Pottery Barn Teen has a page called How to Make a Bed: Layer by Layer which applies to basically any bed not just a teen’s. Use it yourself, give it to your kids, or if you are a real estate agent or stager give it to your sellers.

Check out this great article with even better pictures and links on a really cool site called Glam Nest. Kate Berezich, a northern California interior designer recommended her favorite place to shop… online! What does that mean? You can shop there too, and you don’t have to live in Cali.