Interior designers and home stagers can supply you with the best ways to care for your home. Enjoy our cleaning tips that will help you make your furniture look it’s best and prepare your home for sale:

Blood – Cover the stain immediately with a cornstarch and cold water paste. Lightly rub the mixture and place the peice in the sun to dry. The sun and starch will pull the stain out. Brush off the powder. Repeat if necessary.

Candle Wax – Soften wax with a warm hair dryer then scrape off excess. Use paper towels, water, and vinegar to remove remaining wax.

Chrome - Clean with a lint free cloth and ammonia.

Cotton Upholstery – Remove soil by rubbing with an artgum eraser, available in art or craft stores.

Glass Tables – To remove small scratches, rub a small amount of toothpaste and wipe away excess. For a natural cleaner, use lemon juice and dry with newspaper.

Glue - To remove glue from furniture rub with vegetable or mineral oil.

Grease and Oil - Pour salt on immediately grease spills to absorb and prevent a stain. Talcum powder or cornstarch can be used  instead but need rubbed into the spot. Let the spill soak into the salt or powder then wipe up or vacuum up excess.

Leather Upholstery – Lemon oil or saddle soap are good cleansers.

Marble Tables – Stains on marble can be cleaned up by scouring with a paste made of baking soda and water. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes then remove with warm water. Or sprinkle salt onto a cut lemon and rub the lemon on the stained area. Rinse with warm water.

For more furniture care tips check out Part 2.

In fashion we always hear, “this color is the new black.” Now black is becoming the new wood. Think about the last time you looked through a Pottery Barn catalog. Black painted furniture can look so chic and upscale, or in another setting it looks so relaxed and traditional. Black is a great accent color. It provides contrast. It is the darkest of neutrals and works with everything.

The 23rd Annual Kitchen and Bath Business Market Forecaster revealed its expectations for the industry in this rough economy based on consumer expectations from the last quarter of 2007. Both kitchen and bath remodeling project spending are expected to drop 14% which amounts to over a $118 billion drop. Parallel to this decrease in spending is the decrease in jobs in the bath sector of the industry, which is predicted to decrease around 14%. The kitchen industry expects only a 1% gain in jobs. With the threat of recession, lowered housing starts, and the weak real estate market, it is no surprise that consumers are spending less on interior design and home remodeling. In home staging we often see how reluctant homeowners are to remodel bathrooms, but notice that they are more likely to remodel kitchens. Bathrooms are private spaces and get little attention when it comes to home improvement. Kitchens on the other hand have become showy social places and the key selling feature of homes.

Figures from K+BB January 2008 issue

Kitchen cabinet refacing is a great way to get the look of new cabinets for less. Refacing uses existing cabinet boxes and avoids using or throwing out high-polluting and off-gassing particle board or plywood. That new cabinet box smell is formaldehyde…yuck. Today’s cabinet faces are typically made from 1/4 inch thick wood stock versus the old environmentally unfriendly plastic laminate refacing option.

Joel Testa of Testa Companies in Ohio is the president of the Home Builder’s Association Serving Portage and Summit Counties and is a featured writer in the Akron Beacon Journal’s Home Hunter magazine. In the February 2nd issue he gives great advice on selling your home, “By expending a bit of effort before it goes on the market, you can ensure that your home presents well, stands out from the crowd and doesn’t turn off potential buyers so that you can sell quickly and at the best price.”

Here is a summary of his tips:

“Tone down personality” In this section he addresses clutter, bookshelves, collectibles, family pictures, and neutralizing colors.

“Don’t burden the buyer with repairs” Here he suggests all repairs be made before showing the home. In this competitive market, the home in the best move-in ready condition wins the sale.

“Maximize exposure” This last section refers to using a true professional: a Realtor who uses Multiple Listing Service, the newspaper, and online resources.

100% of his article is on key, possibly his best peice of advice is to “consider using a Realtor who can prove results and a staging expert who can give you many more tips and suggestions.”

What makes selling a home more stressful? Selling it in the middle of winter.  The lawn is brown, the weather is usually bad and, unlike the longer days of summer, you have less time to show it off during daylight hours.But not everyone has the luxury of waiting until the traditional spring or summer home buying season to plant that “for sale” sign, and while it’s true that in most areas you’ll probably have fewer buyers during the winter, you will have less competition from other sellers.That makes staging — the concept of showing your house at its best — even more important.
Be prepared to put a little effort into it. “It’s more difficult to make something look really appealing this time of year,” says Ron Phipps, broker with Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I.

If you do it right, you can really make your house stand out.

1. Keep snow and ice at bay. The top tip from Realtors: If the buyer can’t get in easily, the house won’t sell. That means keeping walkways and driveways free of the frozen stuff. Just like trimming the lawn in the summer, you want to make the home look like it’s been maintained. If you’re away frequently or live in an area that’s subject to bad weather, it can pay to hire a service to regularly salts or shovels the driveway and sidewalks.
2. Warm it up. If you’re showing during the winter, think “warm, cozy and homey,” says Ken Libby, owner of Stowe Realty in Stowe, Vt., and a regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors.Before a buyer comes through, adjust the thermostat to a warmer temperature to make it welcoming. “Sellers like to turn the temperature down because of heat costs,” says David Ledebuhr, president and owner of Musselman Realty in East Lansing, Mich., and a regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors. “But buyers who come in and aren’t comfortable won’t stay long.”If you have a gas fireplace, turning it on right before the tour can give the house “a little ambience,” says Libby.With a wood-burning fireplace, you’ve got to be a little more careful. If the house is vacant, don’t chance it. If you’re still living there and will be there during the tour, it can be a nice touch. Many times, sellers leave right before the agent and prospective buyers arrive. In that case, adjust the heat to a comfortable temperature and have the hearth set for a fire. Buyers feel the warmth and see the potential, and you don’t have to worry about safety concerns.
3. Take advantage of natural light. “Encourage showing during the high-daylight hours,” says Ledebuhr. At this time of year, “if you show after work, you’re totally in the dark.”Make the most of the light you do have. Have the curtains and blinds cleaned and open them as wide as possible during daytime showings. Clean all the lamps and built-in fixtures, and replace the bulbs with the highest wattage that they will safely accommodate. Before you show the house, turn on all the lights.
4. Get the windows washed. “Buyers act on the first impression,” says Ledebuhr. Windows are one thing that many sellers don’t even consider. In winter that strong southern light can reveal grime and make it look like the home hasn’t been well-maintained.
5. Play music softly in the background. To create a little atmosphere, tune the radio to the local classical station. Turn it down so that you just hear it quietly in the background. ”It’s soothing,” says Libby, who finds that soft classical music tends to have the most appeal to buyers. ”I think people tend to stay around a little longer and look a little longer.” 6. Make it comfortable and cozy. Set the scene and help the buyers see themselves living happily in this house. Consider things such as putting a warm throw on the sofa or folding back the thick comforter on the bed. Tap into “the simple things this time of year that make you feel like you’re home,” says Phipps.
7. Emphasize winter positives. Is your home on a bus route or some other vital service that means it’s plowed or de-iced regularly in bad weather? Be sure to mention that to the buyers.
8. Set up timers. You want your home to look warm and welcoming whenever prospective buyers drive past. But you’re not home all the time, so put indoor and outdoor lights on timers, says Phipps. Look at the outside lighting around the door. Is there enough illumination to make it inviting? If not, either get the fixtures changed or have new ones added.
9. Make it festive. Even if you’re not actually going to be present, greet your buyers as if they were going to be guests at a party, says Phipps. Set up the dinner table with the good china and silver. Have a plate of cookies for your guests, some warm cider or even chilled bottles of water. “First impressions are so powerful,” says Phipps. “If it looks like you’re expecting me and greeting me as company, that’s a powerful impact.”
10. Give the home a nice aroma. The No. 1 favorite? “Chocolate chip cookies,” says Libby. “Just about everybody likes that smell.”Other popular scents: cinnamon rolls, freshly baked bread, apple pie, apple cider or anything with vanilla, cinnamon or yeast. “But don’t overdo it, either,” says Ledebuhr. Scented candles in every room or those plug-in air fresheners can leave buyers wondering what you’re trying to mask.Watch the bad smells, too. Pet smells, smoke and musty odors can cling to curtains and carpets. Ask your real estate agent or a friend to give it a sniff test. Then clean the house, air it out and replace drapes, carpets or rugs before you show it.
11. Protect your investment. Some sellers (or their agents) will ask buyers to either remove shoes or slip on paper “booties” over their footwear before touring the house. Many buyers like that, says Phipps. It indicates a “pride of ownership and meticulousness that resonates with buyers,” he says.�
12. Use the season to your advantage. While the holidays are over (and the Christmas and Hanukkah stuff should come down), you can still use winter wreaths and dried arrangements around the door to give interest. “Anything seasonally appropriate is fun,” says Phipps.In the winter, with the leaves off the trees, you might also have a nice view that isn’t as apparent in the spring and summer months. It’s a great time to sell waterfront properties, says Phipps. “You can see the views better this time of year.”
13. Consider the area. In some parts of the country, such as ski areas or warmer regions where the snow birds flock, winter weather can actually be a selling point. “We’re right in the middle of our selling season,” says Libby. “It’s not always spring and summer.”
 Article written by Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

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