Photos for selling our home

Feb11

When selling a property, the most important part of the advertisement – beyond floor map – are the pictures taken of it. According to the experience, it’s not quite obvious how to take some such quality photos, which will “sell” the property for us.
Before we start, let’s clean up! It’s a great mistake if we think, that the several weeks old mist or the lack of mopping will not be noticed on the pictures. Another essential task is tidying up. Everything should be put to its place and let’s check, how could be the space even more spectacular. Let’s look at a few interior design magazines and get some ideas from the photos in them: there is no mess, color- and style cavalcade or too many decorations. It’s advised to move from room to room and always prepare the given room for the perfect photo. This can be quite difficult task when the property is inhabited, since the amount of personal objects and furniture should be decreased to a level acceptable by an outsider. If necessary, move the excess chair or commode to another room during taking pictures. Most of the decorations should be placed behind closed doors and the remaining should be arranged nicely. Let’s turn on all the lights even in daylight! Use wide angle lens to catch the most of the room in one frame. Emphasize the good features, such as large window, cozy alcove or the beautiful hardwood flooring. At bathroom and kitchen, the feeling of hygiene is the most important. Here the metal surfaces should be shiny, glass doors and mirrors should be freshly cleaned to show the glamour. If possible, let’s provide a picture of all the rooms to the advertisement.
Some disincentive examples that are regularly appear among property advertising: drying underwear in the bathroom, full trash bin in the kitchen, unmade bed in the bedroom, or dirty clothes on the floor. Although the prospective buyer will purchase the property not our personal objects, yet all this counts a lot with him when deciding, whether he comes to see the apartment or house, or not. In case of a house, choose a shiny day for taking outdoor pictures for the sake of real bright colors. The principle of order still should be valid: tidy up the garden, trim the grass, even stairs and paved parts should be washed up. Take several photos of both the house and garden from different angles.
If you would like to distinguish your advertisement among the lots of others, ask home staging advices from an interior designer for the preparation.

Color pairs 2.

Feb10

Color pairs: yellow-orange

Variations 1.

Feb9

Variations for a theme: shipping

Carnival

Feb8

The carnival season starts at Epiphany and lasts to Ash Wednesday, its end is also a winter farewell. This is the traditional period of carnivals and masquerades. In Hungary, it’s used to be celebrated mostly in schools and kindergartens, but costume parties are more and more popular at the adults also. Let’s organize a light and funny evening for our friends in carnival spirit.
We can use many of the New Years scenery: caps, masks, serpentines. As the carnival is also about the cavalcade of colors, we can be quite daring in this topic. Let’s choose three powerful color hues and use it as a base of decoration. They can be e.g. deep purple, turquoise and lime green. The best if we purchase decorations made of shimmering material. Their concentrated effect can be compensated using white, black and silver colors. When having a masquerade party, we can ask our guests to wear the same, ambient colors in clothing (e.g.: white, black, gray), but their masks should reflect the above main colors. If the party will be a costume event, the complete costume should be designed with the given three colors regardless to the theme.
For this occasion, Swedish buffet fits the best. Sweet and salty snacks can be eaten while standing, they also can be decorated fitting the color scheme. Cookies can be colored by frosting or marzipan decorations. Sandwiches can be topped by lime slices, or butter crème roses tinted by food coloring. Napkins, straws and cocktail sticks are easy to be purchased in lots of different colors.
To plan and select the colors for a real elegant style of serving, ask for help from a style expert before sending out the invitations.

Special heaters

Feb7

Heaters to cover is a mistake

Heater cover

Feb6

Classic heater covers for the more pleasurable view

Scents of our home

Feb5

When guests arrive to our home, beyond the colors, forms and lights, the scents are the first they encounter even subconsciously. Because of this, our home should have a pleasant fragrance, not only a nice look. This is even more important when selling an apartment, because it depends on the first five seconds, if the potential buyer will have a good impression of the home or not. For this, scents are essential. With some simple tricks we can provide a delectable environment for ourselves.
Instead of artificial sprays and electric fragrance gadgets, let’s use the treasury of nature. The most simple solution is using natural, essential oils into the evaporators. We can choose from lots of scents, but the best are the light, fresh ones (e.g.: citrus, lavender), since they are concentrated and they shouldn’t be too dominant. In heating season, the peel of orange, tangerine or apple can be placed on top of the radiators. The result is less intensive, only the pleasant impression remains in guests. Fragrance candles can also act as visual decoration.
Our clothes will remain fresh out of season by inserting dried flowers, spices among them in small fabric bags. Cloves, cinnamon, lavender, rose, rosemary are great for this purpose. They keep the moths away also.
Just before the estate agent arrives with the potential buyer, let’s bake some sort of cake, even if only a few pieces. The fine scent (e.g.: cinnamon) will fill the home. According to scientific researches, as an effect of the fragrance of the cake, people will “fall in love” with the home much more easily.
Wherever we safely can, let’s place fresh flowers, both cut, or potted. Beyond the intensive scent of rose, lily and hyacinth, there will be no need for any other trick.
In the bathroom, let’s place a soap with intensive fragrance on a shelf, without its packaging. Even it’s not used, the scent will result a boudoir mood in the relatively humid environment.
Of course, these tricks don’t eliminate the need of regular cleaning and airing. There is no fragrance or scent that covers stale or musty air. If you plan to sell your real estate, consult with an interior designer for home staging before the potential buyers arrive.

Winter garden

Feb4

The beauties of the winter garden

Spare fabrics

Feb3

Some ideas for using spare fabrics

Ceiling

Feb2

The ceiling is the sixth side of the room which we often forget. In old times, the ceiling was rarely left white, it was mostly richly decorated or colored. Why cannot we evoke this practice?
The style of the room can be highlighted with the color or decoration of the ceiling, it can complement the sight of furnishing or even can be an additional twist for the mood. For these, the first and most important question is: what is the room height? The dark painted ceiling visually gets lower, while the light colored raises the eye. It can be for example coffee brown with 250cm room height also if a cozier mood is required – let’s say in the case of a library – and it can be painted in light blue with 360 cm room height if an airy effect is desired – for example in a bedroom. Note, that the color of the walls is reflected to the ceiling and vice versa. Besides colors, decoration elements can help in emphasizing the ceiling: stuccos, mouldings, rosettes. These can be made of gypsum, polystyrene or wood. Their basic color is commonly white but can be painted to any desired color. Rosettes usually placed to the fixing of chandeliers and pendants. Its diameter should be a bit smaller than the chandelier’s. But this rule can be broken if the oversized decorating element is designed for attracting the guest’s eye upward as entering. Crown mouldings hide the joint of the wall and the ceiling, this way they visually make the room higher. The mouldings are placed on the wall right below the ceiling. If these are painted to the color of the ceiling, the room seems to be lower. Stuccos can be placed in the corners or even around the rosette. The desired decoration is up to the taste. Their effect can be buffered with painting the whole ceiling to a plain, neutral shade.
A similar effect can be reached with hand-painted decoration of the ceiling instead of decorating elements (stencil, pictures, stripes etc.). This is a much cheaper solution but requires great handcraft. Even faux-beams can be placed if the style of the flat/house allows it. They don’t have to be necessarily painted to a different color as the ceiling to be highlighted. Metal tile is a showy solution also.
Get inspiration from visiting old historical buildings, it can be a castle, museum or a public institution in such a building, then ask for help of an interior designer for implementing these in your home also.