BG Property Styling

Updating Tiles and Surfaces: 3 Inexpensive Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Property

Belinda Grundy — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:23 +0000

There’s no question that tiles add style to a room. A quick update of the benchtops, flooring, and/or wall tiles can easily make the difference for your home. We understand that not all sellers have the money for this additional expense. So we have come up with three (3) inexpensive ways of transforming your tiles that will surely convert your home from old to sold.

1. Clean, clean, and clean all tiles and surfaces. This need not be emphasized more clearly. Nothing turns a potential buyer off more than a dirty kitchen, bathroom, or floor. Anywhere you have tile or linoleum flooring, you should clean daily. Make your floors and tiled surfaces shine. When getting your home fresh and clean, don’t forget the bathroom! Here’s a green cleaning recipe from Staging Channel.

Step 1 Sprinkle baking soda like you would scouring powder into the bathtub/shower area. Rub with a damp sponge. Rinse thoroughly. Step 2 To remove film buildup on bathtubs, apply white vinegar full-strength to a sponge and wipe. Next, use baking soda as you would scouring powder. Rub with a damp sponge and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Step 3 Vinegar removes most dirt without scrubbing and doesn’t leave a film. Use 1/4 cup (or more) vinegar to 1-gallon water. Step 4 To clean grout, put 3 cups baking soda into a medium-sized bowl and add 1-cup warm water. Mix into a smooth paste and scrub into grout with a sponge or toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly and dispose of leftover paste when finished.

2. Create a better flow in the house by starting with the floor. If you want to create better flow in your home, start with the floor. You can easily join two rooms together by using vinyl tile — perhaps the most cost-efficient material in the book. First, use a snap-line to create a center point between the two rooms. Then peel and stick the new vinyl tile down. It’s easy, fast — and most importantly, inexpensive. One piece of advice: Avoid laying patterns that look too perfect. Make sure to switch up the direction and placement of the tiles to mix the tones. That way, you end up with a floor that has a natural feel. 3. Update tiles by painting. Dated tiles need to be updated if you want to sell your property quickly. Replacing all the tiles would definitely be time-consuming and of course, expensive. A cheaper alternative to this is to use paint. It’s fast and easy: First, you need to coat the tiles with a high-adhesion primer. Then, brush on a special ceramic epoxy covering. For a fraction of the cost of new tile, you will have an up-to-date look of your floor, walls, and surfaces. Staging your home for selling need not be too expensive. For more property styling tips, visit our website and get your FREE copy of the Hottest Tips from the 7 Secrets to Property Selling. If you need more help, contact the Property Styling Sydney Experts or call 0433 400 139.

A Beautiful Garden Can Sell Your Home!

B Grundy — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:55:07 +0000

There’s going to come a time when you may need to sell your home and move to another place but selling your home isn’t going to be that easy and getting a reasonable offer may even be harder. So you need everything to close that deal and get what you deserve. If you live in a house, there’s a big possibility that you do have a garden. A beautiful garden may be one of the factors that would speed things up but having an unkept garden may be a deal breaker when showing your home so why don’t you add more selling points to your home and spruce up that garden. It’s not that hard and won’t take a lot of your time.

Here’s a few useful tips we got from Laura Suckling’s article “Garden Makeover Can Be Rewarding: Soft Touch Adds Colour and Value” (Parramatta Advertiser, Trade + services Section, April 4, 2012):

Make a plan – Before you plant so much as a pansy, draw up a plan or have one drawn up for you by your landscaper, or garden designer if the property requires it.
Choose carefully – Choose your plants and hard landscaping carefully. If the site conditions do not suit them, very few plants will thrive. Hard landscaping is meant to last and you have to live with it for a long time.
Cost – Garden makeovers range in price from about $2000 for a few new plants, and some cutting back to $10,000 for a decent overhaul of your garden space. The cost will depend on what type of plants you use and how many plants. When using hard landscaping materials expect prices for a full garden makeover to start at around $15,000.

Do’s	Don’ts
Plan for a year-round colour. Consider the entire area available to you before you design an element. Develop a focal point such as a water feature or entertaining area.	Plant too much of the same thing Let ivy climb your house unless you are ready to do annual pruning. Take on multiple styles – be consistent.

BG Property Styling Sydney recommends that you follow these useful tips if you’re selling your home, home staging, or just home styling. Try it and you won’t regret it.

Don’t Forget the Outdoors

Bel Grundy — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:38:39 +0000

Did you know that you need to pay attention to your outdoors even when the weather starts to cool down? Here are a few tips to keep you motivated.

Keep the lawn tidy. This means picking up leaves or other things that may be lying around.
Wash the outdoor furniture regularly. If you aren’t going to store it away, be sure to keep it clean for your prospects!
Stage the outdoors, this means that even in cooler weather, people will go outdoors to see what your property has to offer.
Wash the outdoor windows. Same thing goes, you have to maintain everything even in the cooler seasons.
Winterise your pool and keep it free of debris. Nothing turns off prospective buyers like a green pool with rubbish in it!

So whilst you may not have to tend to your garden during these months you do need to maintain the areas. Store anything away that won’t be used and keep an eye on the leaves and grass to be sure all looks well. Forgetting about it and turning a cheek is probably the biggest mistake you can make.

We’d love to help you make your outdoors shine in the cooler months. Tell us what stumps you below and we will try and help!

Overkill

Bel Grundy — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:50:29 +0000

Source: google.com.au via Rhaine on Pinterest

Can we say overkill? Too much of one thing is usually overkill. When listing your property for sale keep this in mind. Going all out with one colour can give the wrong impression. It can also date the room, such as the one above, dating it back to the 70′s! So a few things to look out for:

Collections of any kind, put them away during the for sale period.
Too much of one colour, no need to make people’s eyes strain!
Outdated furnishings from one particular era. Update!

It’s OK to splash a 70′s pattern on a pillow or throw. In fact vintage is in. Keep in mind that it is all about moderation. So when staging your home, remember to look out for overkill! Do you have anything in your home that may be overkill?

What Age is Your Property?

Bel Grundy — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:02:47 +0000

Knowing when and what to update is a fantastic way to get your property in tip top shape. If you have anything that dates back too far to remember it may be time to update it! The photo to the left depicts a typical 80′s style lounge. Lights that need updating, a wall of fabric curtains that need to be refreshed and colours that wash the entire room out. So where does your property rate on the scale of being fresh and up to date? We have a mini exercise you can do to figure it out! Try it out: Go from room to room and rate each walled area on a scale from 1 to 5. With 1 being very old and a 5 being fresh and up to date. When doing this remember to do each walled area, so everything along the wall including furniture. So you will end up with multiple scores in each room/area. When finished with the room, tally up the score for the entire room and then take the average. If the room scores below a 3, you need to seriously look at updating! If the room scores a 3, you may want to look at updating a few minor things to give the room a fresh look. If your room scored a 4 or 5 then kudos! This is exactly where you want to be. In a highly competitive market you should think about what kind of updates your property needs. This doesn’t mean you have to do them all but you should think about consulting with a professional to see which ones could get you the most return on your investments. Also remember that there are several homes that were built quite a bit ago that have some elements that you don’t want to update because it would reduce the asking price. Although in most cases, some kind of update may work wonders! We’d love to hear what types of things you’ve found in your property that need updating from the 50′s to the 90′s!

Researching Your Market

B Grundy — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:57:58 +0000

If you have a small business or a home based business, and it seems that you’re running out of ideas to make it grow, or at least make more than what it’s making now, then this mini workshop may be for you. Most women find it rather difficult getting advice or some kind of technical or entrepreneurial know-how from reliable sources. Of course the internet can be a source of knowledge with its endless resources but its accuracy can sometimes be a big question mark. A solution would be to attend the Mona Vale Library workshop which will offer a short course for women on greatly improving your small business skills. This short course would help you identify your niche markets, finding your business markets through the internet and maximizing your business exposure and other extremely helpful factors in making your business enter the circle of success. It’s on the 12^th of May 2012 at the Mona Vale library and has a reasonable cost. So if you’re someone who wants to take your business to the next level, then this opportunity might be the answer. Please click here for more details.

Garage Sale Trail

B Grundy — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:10:22 +0000

The Garage Sale Trail will be held on Saturday, 5^th of May 2012. We, at BG Property Styling Sydney, give our full support in this event. First of all, we don’t like clutter. We always tell our clients to de-clutter and give their excess stuff in their houses to charity when they’re home staging or downsizing. Or, you can always sell them through the Garage Sale Trail and earn a few bucks, right? Being a part of this event is not only a good way for you to earn money, but also a good chance for you to meet interesting people or find treasures that you’ve been searching for. There will be many sellers from different fields like makers and creators, local businesses, families, institutions, charities and even community groups. The variety of people joining this event is really amazing. Besides meeting a lot of people, this is also the time when you can have fun shopping and bargaining! Imagine yourself eyeing a product that may cost too much for you and being able to get it at a price within your budget. Imagine doing that in a shopping mall? But at the Garage Sale, you do things at your own terms. Bargaining, selling and socializing can be fun and it’s all worth it, plus you get to save, you get to sell and most importantly, you get to make a difference. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to Misfit Aid, a non-profit organisation which conducts long-term disaster relief projects overseas. Currently, Misfit Aid is helping the people in Chile rebuild their homes. In a nutshell, the Garage Sale Trail is really a fun-filled, meaningful event which benefits you, the community and people in need. So, if you want to make a difference, make a few bucks, and hone your bargaining skills, go ahead and join this event. You can go to www.garagesaletrail.com.au to register your garage sale or plan your trail. You can also check the Garage Sale near you by going to www.truelocal.com.au on the day itself. *sources: Manly Daily Digital Edition , Sustainable Cities Net

Don’t Let Colour Scare You!

Bel Grundy — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:19:23 +0000

Colour schemes are so important in the design world! Whether doing a reno or sprucing up for sale it’s something you need to plan out based on the canvas ( or walls ) that you will be using. When clients consult us on colour, our immediate thought is to make sure we are playing up the particular area and showcasing it properly. What kind of colour is needed to make the area really wow prospective buyers? Most sellers assume we will slap up some beige paint and move along. This isn’t always the case. Paint colour can affect mood and this is a very important reason to pay attention to what colour is on your walls. A bright red room with flaws can really stand out. A dark coloured room can feel small and depending on the chosen colour also seem cold and uninviting. Sometimes paint colour is used to frame an area or brighten up a particular spot. There is an article on smh.com.au called DIY Colou r that has some good advice in regards to colour. When applying these ideas to staging you have to realise that a little colour can be good, an entire colour pallet across the home may not be so good. It’s all about finding a fine and delicate balance. So tell us what colour do you have on your walls that you love or hate? Is there a colour you really want to use but are afraid to?

Free E-Waste Collection in Manly LGA

B Grundy — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:47:28 +0000

We at BG Property Styling Sydney support the E-waste Collection by the Manly Council. As property stylists, it’s not just the designing that matters to us. We also care about the environment and everybody’s health. Seeing a pile of e-wastes in our garage is repelling but what we don’t know is that it is also detrimental to our family’s health. It’s better to dispose of them than let them sit there for ages. If you’re selling your home or home staging, you might discover that you have tons of e-wastes in the storage room. Now is your chance to get rid of them. Saving the environment and everybody’s health can give us a feeling of satisfaction. But not only that, you also saved a lot of space which you can use for other purposes.

That’s why we encourage everybody to take part in this activity which will last for 5 days. The collection commenced on April 30^th at Manly Local Government Area: Manly, Fairlight, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, and Seaforth. Just make sure to hand over only the items in the list and neatly present them on the kerbside in the designated areas.

How to Deal with Messy Rooms

Bel Grundy — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:23:35 +0000

How to Deal with Messy Rooms when Staging your Home

Does your home look like this on a daily basis?

Source: orgjunkie.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Hopefully not! But if it does and you are selling your property you will need to remedy a few things to make sure this doesn’t happen again. When listing your property you never know when a surprise guest will show up. You want your home to be as close to show ready as possible at all times. So the first thing that comes to mind is paperwork. It is important to make sure all paperwork has a home. It’s even more important to do this when your home is for sale! Take anything you need on a daily basis and find it a home. No piles! Take any papers that are important or that you won’t need in the coming months and store it away. You may want to think about storing it in a locked filing cabinet or better if you have a lot bringing them to storage offsite. It’s easy to clean up the little things kids leave behind but if you leave their entire inventory of toys out, the straitening up job will be overwhelming. Keep out the most relevant toys but find a good hideaway storage solution. Everything else needs to go offsite if possible or at the very least into a neat storage bin and packed away out of sight. Be sure and subscribe to our blog for more property selling organising shortcuts!