Inspiring Home Styles

Being a new mom I feel like this is a great time to talk “Mom Caves” You’ve undoubtedly heard of the growth of the “man cave” in homes, that place of refuge for men to retreat to often outfitted with comfy chairs, a big screen TV and a mini fridge. But now the trend of mom’s are wanting their special space too: Welcome the Mom Cave.

 Moms want/need/deserve a peaceful place to unwind, often with soft hues, relaxing music, and an overall stylish decor to create their special retreat.  But with men taking the garage or basement as their place of refuge, where are moms to go for their own place in a home? Here is your start,  5 Steps to Make Your Own ‘Mom Cave’, design experts suggest that the perfect spot could be anywhere from an unused guest room to as small as a closet that you transform into a colorful space with a small desk and comfy chair. But whether it’s the closet or elsewhere, the perfect spot requires a place where a mom can close off the area from the rest of the house, creating a “kid-and-husband-free zone.”

Are you ready for your own “Mom Cave?”  I know I am!

Last year, turquoise brightened up home interiors across the country, but now a new color has stepped into the spotlight for 2011.

Honeysuckle — a reddish pink hue, a warm pink that straddles the line between coral and poppy red. — is this year’s “in” color.

“Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute commented that it is “perfect to ward off the blues.” The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. Honeysuckle adds a contemporary burst of color and a much-needed hit of summer during dreary winter months.

How can you use this bold color…. Liven up an interior space with honeysuckle patterned pillows, bedspreads, or tabletop accessories.  Or, for an even bigger statement, paint an accent wall in honeysuckle for a burst of energy in the kitchen, hallway, or family room.

The upcoming Valentine’s holiday makes us think of the color Red which is associated with passion and love.  No matter the shade or tone, it generates a lot of feelings.  Did you know that the color red causes you to do everything more?  If you want to stimulate conversations, paint a dining room wall in the various red tones.  However, if you are dieting, it is not a good idea to paint your kitchen red.  It will stimulate you to eat more!

When its time to move a parent or grandparent from a house to a nursing facility, it can be a very emotional and physical task to take on as a family member. By the year 2050, the U.S. Census figures there will be some 82 million Americans 65 and older living in this country — an impressive 137% increase from now. (Seniors Need Special Help When Selling a Home)

Bringing in a professional Home Stager who offers Senior Transition Services can help make this process seem manageable and less stressful for all parties.  They will provide assistance in organizing the movers, donating excess furniture to area charities, arranging for cleaning and painting, and staging the property for maximum appeal.

Clearing out the clutter & a few upgrades

Staging doesn’t necessarily involve major renovations.  One of the problems facing seniors trying to sell their homes is dealing with a lifetime’s worth of possessions and outdated decor.  Starting the process can simply be clearing out the clutter, removing dated wallpaper and slapping on contemporary paint colors over the occasional mint-green living room.  Senior Transition services involve whittling down a house full of furniture to the essential elements that will work with a senior’s new, smaller accommodations.  Stagers have a good eye for what furniture will fit in a space.

Senior Transition Services include (but are not limited to) 

• preparing a house for a ‘top dollar’ sale with staging
• selecting appropriately scaled furniture and furnishings for the new home
• coordinating redistribution of non-essential items
• organizing all aspects of moving day
• setting up the new place to reflect personalized style with an interior redesign

Fall is here and it came in quick. Leaves are changing, cool air and dark mornings.  Fall begins the season to start thinking about holidays and family gatherings.  

A few ways you can easily inexpensively change your decor with the season is by bringing in the warm colors of orange, red and greens will give you that cozy autumn feel in your home. 

• Cut branches (or find fallen branches on the ground) and spray paint them a color that will suit your fall decorating scheme. Place them in a vase and display them as you would flowers or put them in a larger vessel (such as an umbrella stand) and place it on the porch or inside the front door. If you can find branches with berries on them leave them as is (don’t paint them) and display them the same way.
• Gather a bunch of nuts such as walnuts or acorns and spray paint all of them in the same color. Display them in a clear glass vase or bowl on the coffee table, mantle, or dining table. For a stronger display use three vases or bowls of varying sizes and display them together.
• Spray paint pinecones and find a fun way to display them. Several of them together in a big bowl make a nice display centerpiece.

Here are some of the top decorating trends that can be done for the fall:

Vintage accents. What’s old is new again. French-burlap is no longer just for sack-racing. This Earth-friendly fiber is being used for chic pillows imprinted with a vintage stamped design or even a family initial.

Aged, color-washed wood accessories such as candlesticks, urns, and bowls are popular as oversized accessories to accent and update a time-worn look.

Wallpaper! With a decreasing demand for faux finishes and walls painted in solid primary colors, wallpaper is making a comeback in a big and decidedly fashionable way.

From bright and bold to subdued and elegant, today’s wallpapers are easy to apply and even easier to remove, making updating the seasonal look of a room easier than ever before.  There are a seemingly endless number of choices from solids to patters, and everything in between. 

Timeless art. When shopping for items to occupy wall space, ditch the quick fix, “matchy-matchy” picture. Art doesn’t have to be expensive but it should certainly have meaning. Buy what you love. Mix mediums and styles. To add depth and character to your pieces, forego the glass cover that can be distracting and casts a glare that actually detracts from your interior design.

Elemental color. While neutrals have made a strong showing in design this year for primary design elements like walls and baseline furnishings, boldly colored accent pieces give a space visual interest and appeal.

Brightly colored and/or patterned pillows, rugs and other accessories will bring an otherwise bland space to life. Of course, these accessories can be readily transitioned to exude the spirit of a given season.

Rug rage. There has never been a more exciting time than now in the area rug industry. Whatever style, shape, and design you can imagine is within your reach.

Even if a space has wall-to-wall carpeting, place an area rug to establish a layered look and add depth and personality to a room and also tie in other disparate color components. A rug’s color palette and pattern can easily establish the desired style and tone of a season.

Pillow talk. Today’s pillow designs offer an array of textures, colors, shapes, sizes, and accents, and can completely transform a room’s aesthetic. Accordingly, pillows have become the ultimate interior design accessory, especially since they are so versatile.

 Choose an assortment of pillows for the spring and summer and other set for the fall and winter. This is an easy way to seasonally transition a room in an easy and budget-friendly way.

Window treatments. While many love luscious fabrics, an overuse of material on your windows can quickly overpower an otherwise streamlined room. Linen panels are now very trendy since they beautifully outline and soften windows. This classic and timeless fabric is now available in a staggering array of colors to coordinate with any interior palette.

Brass. Yes, brass is back but a bit older and wiser. Antiqued brass and even antiqued gold have both made a large comeback on everything from drapery rods, to cocktail tables, to door and cabinet knobs to décor figurines.

The light reflecting surface of brass adds warmth, glow and movement to a space and, thus, is perfect in a room with a fireplace.

 Pick out 1 or 2 of these trends and implement in your home for an easy update for the fall. Happy Decorating!

**Fall Trends provided by luxury interiors experts at Elaine Williamson Designs, a full service, award-winning firm specializing in high-end residential and commercial interior design www.ElaineWilliamsonDesigns.com

What furniture pieces should you spend a little more money on? The pieces that are going to be with you in a couple of homes and possibly passed down. Check out these shopping tips on Nead Inspiration.

You can find these great furniture pieces at the Amish Haus in Urbandale www.amishhausfurniture.com

Liz Nead and I talk about how to give you the magazine look in your home for low cost. Gordman’s is a great place to pick up some great accessories to make an impact in your room design.

Matching paint colors with your decor or trying to create a whole new look can sometimes be a nightmare for homeowners. There are so many choices and then the furstration of when you paint the wall the color is completely different from what you thought.  Matching paint colors is an art along with some trial and error.

A good rule to remember is to stick with 3-5 colors with 1 of those colors being your “pop” of color in the room, a color that is going to stand out and draw attention to itself. But to comply with this “rule”, you don’t have to use drastically different colors in your decor. In fact, even a monochromatic paint color palette can look interesting and diversified – you simply add variation through textures, patterns, darker/lighter and saturated/muted shades (yes, different shades of the same color “count” as a different color).

For your color scheme to work, there must be a relationship between wall paint colors and the colors of your fabrics, flooring, woodwork, and accents. But here’s the tricky part: even colors from the same color family can look totally unrelated and un-balanced when used together – if they have different undertones.

You can test undertones yourself  by painting on a white sheet of paper. Then use a painting knife or a brush to spread the paint very thinly until you can see through it.

Do you notice the yellow undertone in this red now? When a paint color is sheer, you can more easily detect its undertone.

You can often hear professional decorators say things like: “This beige has a pink undertone”, “This gray looks greenish”, or “There is some yellow in this red”. And while all this may seem mysterious, in reality there is no magic or super-human abilities involved. The pros simply know how to see subtle color.

Why do we suggest to limit your colors? As you can see color can look different depending on many different elements. So the more colors you use, the more difficult it becomes to control, balance and coordinate them all together.

Paint consultations can save you a lot of heartache and wasted paint. Work with your local desinger to help you determine the right color scheme for your room.

Local residents in search of an HGTV-style makeover or staging their home for sale need to search no further, HomeStyles Staging & ReDesign offers interior redesign, also commonly known as one-day room makeovers, staging (vacant & occupied, residential & commercial) and other design related services. Remarkably, the interior redesigns and staging transformations can be accomplished on any size budget.

Real Estate Staging prepares homes for sale using techniques proven to help sell properties. Home Stagers focus on the homes architectural features to help homeowners create a model home that will appeal to a variety of buyers. As the real estate market has cooled and many Real Estate Professionals and home sellers are struggling to sell their properties has quickly made home staging very popular. Listings that are staged and priced competitively sell in half the time that non-staged properties do

In addition to home staging, an increasingly popular style of decorating, interior redesign has seen tremendous growth in Des Moines. By using what a homeowner already owns, redesigned rooms are transformed through proper furniture placement, infusion of lighting, art and accessories. More innovative and less intimidating than traditional interior design, redesigners often “shop” the rest of the home for pieces that will work best in the room of focus. While it is an economical choice, interior redesign is not just for the budget conscious. Even in homes with the nicest things, there may be a room that could use a little help in achieving the best feel and flow possible.

Look around, think outside of the box, creativity is magic. There are so many wonderful treasures lurking around your yard, basement, closets, drawers that have been over looked. Time to turn them into fantastic art and accessories. Designing on a budget can be fun and rewarding. Invite friends over to show them your “old” to “new” treasures, they will be amazed by your creativity.

*Use fake palms in a shadow box to create wall art, add scrapbook paper for a colorful background.
* Frame magazine covers, inspiring articles, poems or quotes for timeless art
*Spay paint sticks in the backyard to bring in elements of nature with a splash of color, put them in a vase or on the fireplace mantle.
*Fill a glass vase with rocks, colored glass, corks, beans, etc. they are great room fillers.
*Create a new bathroom rug from old towels, using a grid mat tie cut towel strips to create a fluffy and warm rug for getting out of the shower.
* Take pictures of the fall trees, create wall art using a mixture of frame sizes. The color of the leaves will pop against any wall color.

Be brave enough to live creatively!

Cathy B~

Remove:
Packing away family photos, children’s toys (try for 75% rotate boxes to keep the kids happy) and other personal items. Also don’t forget to de-clutter the closets. This will create space and allow buyers to see the house as their potential home, not as another family’s home.
Use:
Accentuate the good things about the home. For example, if the home has a beautiful bookcase, place accessories on those shelves, but don’t clutter. If it has a beautiful fireplace arrange the furniture to showcase it and add candles or artwork to the mantel.
Furniture,  it doesn’t need to be flat against the walls. Placing furniture at angles in the room fills the space better and looks more inviting. But don’t go too far: Too many angles can make a room seem chaotic, so it’s best to keep all angles the same.
Add:
Greenery plants and trees adds life to a room, which is inviting to a buyer. Adding lamps to light up a room will draw a buyer’s eye into the room and will liven up the space.

Tone it down or go bright. It has less intensity than red or yellow; demanding attention without screaming it. As a warm color orange is a stimulant — stimulating the emotions and even the appetite. Orange can be found in nature in the changing leaves of fall, the setting sun, the skin and meat of citrus fruit, representing the change in seasons and good health.

A colorful throw on a beige sofa or orange in your kitchen tiles. It has taken a while to come into its own, but orange is now a very hot decorating color. If you really like the color, you can use it heavily in a room – or just accent with it. Orange goes well with white, beige, chocolate browns, purples, cranberries and blues. Put a bit of orange in your drapes, throw pillows, glass accents & candles or paint an accent wall.  

 The perfect combinations:

Soft orange & Buttercup- will bring instant sunny warmth

Terra-cotta & Deep Red – give a sensuous cozy atmosphere

Tangerine, Soft Yellow & Mulberry – make a sharp warm harmony

Don’t be afraid, a splash of color can increase your willingness to take risks!

Happy Halloween!

How well do you know your neighbors? It used to be that everyone knew their neighbors but today that is not always the case. You may find yourself in constant contact with them, or maybe you have lived there for 10 years and never met. How you co-exist can make all the difference between living happily ever after or litigiously ever after. There are different types of neighbors what does your “hood” consist of?   

The White Trash Neighbors – They just never seem to mow their lawn more than once or twice a year, and they seem to have an auto repair shop in their driveway. Kids seem to multiply faster than the beer cans.

The Haunted House Neighbor – Sad but true, some neighbors are not worth getting to know well.  And if you have young kids, you really should look at www.familywatchdog.us, the Web site for the National Sex Offender Registry. If there is anyone in your neighborhood you need to be aware of,  they’ll pop up on a map of your community.

The Jones’ – You try to keep up with, valiantly, but can’t. They’re always getting a new addition onto their home. They have the perfect blades of grass treated by a team of dedicated lawn professionals. They have the new Beemer parked in the driveway.

“That Neighbor”- They’re the opinionated neighbor who makes your life more complicated than it needs to be. The neighbor that everyone talks about at the neighborhood BBQ.

Don’t forget to decorate for the holidays!   

A little can go a long way when you also have your home listed to sell. Think festive yet simple to keep the model home look tasteful to all holiday buyers.  Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for economic friendly holiday decorating tips and ideas that you can do!

The case of too much furniture. People who have no direction on what they want to do with a room tend to collect furniture from friends and family. But with no rhyme or reason, and before long you have a room full of furniture.  I recently did a room redesign that had a bad case of oversized furniture going on. After a few debates I was able to convince the homeowners to part with the hand-me-downs.  Then clearing the room and reloading it with furniture to “fit” the room it created a cozy sitting area that you can breath in without feeling overwhelmed. Now instead of racing through the room when guest walk into their house they stop to say “wow” this is awesome! What is your house saying when guest walk in does it invite them in and make them feel comfortable?

After

After

Again I love “shopping a home” to create something new for homeowners.

Artwork

This time I found from the homeowner;  firewood, river rocks, wooden initial, candle holders and paint.  All I had to do was buy 3 canvases and some battery operated tea lights. And ta-da we have a series of artwork for their newly transformed room.  Done on a budget of $20!                              Think outside of the box there are so many opportunities for new visions all around you. The next time you are ready to rearrange your room I challenge you to “go green” instead of buying new,  look around I am positive there is something in your home just waiting for a trash to treasure makeover.  If you can’t find it call me and I will take on the challenge to find that treasure!

We are officially turkey stuffed and through Thanksgiving and it is time to think about Christmas.  Now I am okay with turning on some Christmas music and putting up the tree.  I just can’t get into that spirit until after Thanksgiving, I feel like I need to give the holiday a chance to stand on its own before puking Christmas everywhere for the next 25 days!

Holiday decorating can be a chore or it can be fun and exciting.  I love to come up with new decoration ideas each year and a lot of times using the same things just redesigning them to look different or adding in some new colors.

Christmas Topiary

Christmas topiaries can be created endless ways; christmas candy, feathers, spray paint, etc. The topiaries can be bought in  varied in heights or varied by using pie stands or candle sticks. Use them as table center pieces or mantle decorations.

Christmas bulbs

          Old Christmas bulbs that you have collected over the years. Bring them out and display together in a hurricane or any large vase. You could do all one color for a monochromatic theme or a variety of fun colors. This would be a good project for kids to help with let them make their own design.

Ice Sticks

                                                         And don’t forget the sticks! I love using sticks for so many different things. They are FREE! Spray paint them white and roll in sparkles to create the icicle look. You could use these in many ways from sticking in plants, vases, stockings or making bundles for bathroom decorations or slipping under napkin rings to add simple elegance to the table.

Let your imagination run wild this season and get into the holiday spirit, have fun decorating this year! And encourage your kids to help you, this is the time for family. They have so many creative ides let them inspire your home styles.

Happy Holidays!

Now that the first snow has hit the ground and it sounds like there is more (a lot more) to come I thought this would be a good time to post tips on selling during the holiday.

With the extension of tax credits stay proactive and don’t hesitate to put your home on the market during the holiday season, just remember taking a few extra home staging steps can make a big difference in your sale.  The more time your buyers spend in your home, the more they have invested in it.

Here are a few home staging strategies to help you sell your home during the holidays:

Holiday Staging the Exterior

1. Keep the mailbox, driveway, sidewalks and entrance clear of snow and slush
2. This is not the year to break out every blow-up Santa and snowman for a full lawn display a few strands of holiday lights, poinsettia or a door wreath are enough to give holiday cheer
3. If you neighbor is Clark Griswald take your house off the market for the holidays! If not coordinate with the neighborhood (to decorate or not to decorate outside) this will make buyers feel more comfortable. Stick to using white lights, leave the multi colors packed away for next year

Holiday Staging the Interior

1. Keep an abundance of wrapped gifts neatly stacked in a closet out of sight
2. Examine your room colors and compare to your decorations. If you have lots of colorful decorations choose one color that complements the home
3. Eliminate dingy and worn out holiday accessories such as throw pillows, tablecloths and runners, kitchen and bath towels.
4. Do not over decorate, use natural items such as pine cones, garland, and plants for decorations rather than lots of sparkling and plastic decorations.
5. Never cover an important architectural feature with decorations, do not use the mantle to display every card you received for the holiday
6. During the open house take the kids out for holiday activities such as plays, movies, tree lightings, and ice skating so that they don’t miss out on the holiday spirit.
7. Do not use religious holiday decorations. Decorating is personalizing, Staging is de-personalizing the rule totally applies to holiday decorations. The last thing you want to do is to turn off a prospective buyer because of different religious beliefs

How are you going to attract buyers to your house for sale during the holiday? People are buys shopping, wrapping, decorating and traveling do they really have time to stop at your open house when they are pretty sure it will still be there in January.

Hmm it is time to be unique…. to create a “buzz” about your open house! Don’t let them “assume” they can wait until after the holiday show them your motivation to sell. If you do something creative advertise it tell all your friends to tell their friends, use social media, spread the word something exciting is happening at your house.

1. Advertise experts on site (stagers, lenders, appraisers, etc)

2. Take a picture of the buyers in front of the house as a take away

3. Host a wine & cheese tasting

4. Use incentives, drawing or contest

5. Invite Santa to your house!

Click to see the latest House for Sale! The perfect home for a new family or first time home buyer. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, updated kitchen, finished basement, huge deck and fenced in yard. Located in a quiet Des Moines neighborhood.

Create a  Home Selling Team to ensure that your home is SOLD and does not sit on the market with the over 5,000 other homes in the Des Moines metro area.  In today’s competitive market you want to be at the top of your game to make sure you are getting what you want from the sale of your home.  Do you have all the players on your team or are they playing for the competitor? 2nd place never gets a chance to make the 1st place impression!

Is it high, low, too far to the left or right.  Is there really a correct way or is it all by your taste as to what you think looks good?  Well a little of both and the reason I decided to touch on this subject this week is because I was recently quoted in the local paper for saying art work should be hung 34 inches from the ground up…YIKES that is like saying it should only be 3ft off the floor…hmm obviously very wrong.  It should have said 34 in approx from top down.  Because this is also one thing that I most commonly see throwing off a room I thought I would run down some guidelines to help you the next time you get a fabulous new piece of art (or any wall hanging/picture) and wonder where do I start to hang it without putting 10 holes in the wall before getting it right.

1.  Eye level is a pretty good approx to think about. But remember not everyone is the same eye level so try to think about the average person and what is going to create a smooth flow through the room.

2.  Measurements to think about 60-65 floor up to middle of picture if no other furniture is on the wall (therefore approx 34 in ceiling down).

3. If hanging above the sofa then measure 6-12 in above (bottom of frame), it should look like an extension of the furniture. Just make sure the piece is not longer than the sofa (or furniture you are hanging above).

4.  In a room that is mainly used for sitting art should be hung slightly lower to  accommodate the eye flow at a seated level.

5.  When hanging groups of art think of it as one piece and focus on the center first.

Hot Tip: Trace the size of the art onto a paper cutout (tissue paper works best) and hang on the wall with painters tape,  step back and look to see if it looks right.  This is also a good way to see where your nails should go.

If you are still hesitant on hanging your design pieces in the right spot email me at cathy@homestylestaging.com and I will come to your rescue.

Happy Hanging!

This feels like the coldest snowy winter ever so far! Which does not make showing and selling a house easy but we are Iowan’s and the sale must go on. When selling in the winter make sure your home is maintained and ready for sellers to walk through and not freeze while they are there, even if the home is vacant! Follow these 3 rules to avoid any red flags from buyers.

 The kitchen is the heart of the home where family and friends gather the most. This is why buyers are now paying the most attention to this room. Remodeling magazine reports that a kitchen remodel generates one of the largest returns of 79% on the investment.

Would your kitchen benefit from a mini-makeover? If it is more than just a few years old, some easy updates will make a big difference. Consider these quick and easy kitchen fixes to help sell your home faster and for more money:

staged kitchen

1. Clean and declutter countertops and sinks. Nothing should be left out including; toaster, coffee pot, cutting boards, etc. Remove all cleaning products and sponges. 

2. Replace linoleum or vinyl flooring with ceramic tiles.

3. Update gold fixtures! Updating your lighting is a quick and inexpensive way to make your kitchen look more current. Wish you had under cabinet lighting for your counters? Use a small decorative lamp on the counter (be sure to conceal the cord) or add an up-light in the back corner with a decorative plate on a stand sitting in front of  it for dark counters spaces.

4. If needed update appliances to make sure they all match.  The refrigerator needs to be free of all magnets, children’s artwork, post-it notes, photos, and nothing on top. Don’t forget about the inside, people are curious and they will open that door just to take a peak. So the inside should be pleasant smelling (use the open box of baking soda tucked in the back and out of view) and it should be neatly arranged and not crowded with lots of containers filled with leftovers. Use bottled water and add some fresh fruit to create an organized feel. Stove, range hood and microwave must be spotless inside and out. All the light bulbs need to be in working order. Consider replacing extremely dirty drip pans under the burners on the stove. Pull off the stove knobs and polish them.

5. Next, look at your cabinets. Is the finish looking worn or outdated? Consider painting them. Cream, black, and espresso brown are popular colors. And don’t forget to updated knobs to inexpensively transform the look of your kitchen.

6. The walls. Do you have wallpaper or borders? These are just too taste specific. Many buyers have walked away from a house because they did not want to have to remove the wallpaper. Take the wallpaper down and put a fresh coat of neutral paint on the walls.

Lastly the final touches that will really help your buyers emotionally connect with your kitchen. A vase of fresh flowers on the table, bowl of  fruit, a couple decorative vinegar or oil bottles, or a plant on the counter are all perfect touches that warm up the space.

Open House Day!

1. Think sparkle clean. Don’t forget to wipe the baseboards and vacuum the corners. Polish chrome fixtures & dust ceiling fans.

2. If you typically cook meals that leave a lingering odor, consider dining out the day before an Open House. You don’t want a buyer walking into the house, sniffing the air and exclaiming, “wow, smells like fried chicken.”

3. Don’t ever leave dirty dishes in the sink nor in the dishwasher. Buyers open dishwashers!

4. Remove the coffee pot from the counter

5. Empty the garbage can

Remember, people spend a lot of time in their kitchens, and most homeowners realize that they are a resale value item of importance. If you spend some extra time or money anywhere while staging your home for sale, the kitchen is the place to do it. You’ve heard it before, kitchens sell houses. In fact, many buyers are willing to pay top dollar for a spectacular kitchen!

Now take a look at yours what does it say to you?

More and more ceilings are becoming a design aspect of a room, they are the 5th wall.  Homeowners are no longer settling for a plain Jane white ceilings!

Here are some options to change up a ceiling in a room. You will want your guests to Look Up!

1. Paint- The ceiling, the fifth wall many decorators and designers feel that keeping the ceiling white is like “throwing a sheet over the room” said by designer, Christopher Lowell.  There are a few things to consider before painting the ceiling anything other than white, the Color Coach will guide you though these steps.  A popular suggestion is doing the monochromatic scheme, and use a lighter tone to keep the ceiling height (top picture). Typically monochromatic schemes (single color, various shades; tone on tone) give uninterrupted flow to small spaces. In theory, the eye scanning a small room done in a monochromatic scheme will not stop or pause; the eyes move uninterrupted through the space.

2. Focal Point- Make the ceiling the focal point for the room, with a beautiful chandelier and a round decorative medallion. Look for one that matches your home’s era, architecture and size. Check out HGTV’s guide to Choosing The Right Chandelier for your space.

3. Architecture- Ceilings styles that start in the building plans. Amber Salmon of Prudential First Realty breaks down the difference between coffered and tray ceilings. Check out pictures of these ceiling types on Amber’s blog

Coffered ceilings offer squares or rectangles on the ceiling and has beams that make a pattern appealing to your eye. Many elegant homes will use this ceiling to add detailing with woodwork or to blend in support beams that may be in the middle of the room.

A tray ceiling is a “drop” ceiling that can also be detailed.  They can be dressed up with crown molding, lighting, or can have more than one layer. Also very pleasing to the eye.

So look up… are you taking advantage of your 5th wall to compliment your space or is it just there as a necessity?

Is there really a benefit to staging a vacant property? Is it worth the monthly investment to have furniture in the home?    

Here are 3 quick points to think about:     

1. Statistically speaking 63% of buyers want (and will pay a higher price for) a perceived move in ready home. People are very visual, they want to know if a king bed will fit in the master and where the couch is going to go. Why wouldn’t you want to set that scene for them and take out all the wondering thoughts in their head.  I know many of you in Des Moines have heard me say ‘a buyer makes up their mind within the first 10 seconds of walking in the door’ well what does a cold empty property say when you walk in the door? It doesn’t scream Welcome Home, that is for sure. It directs the buyers to focus on the negatives. They have nothing else to look at so their eyes will zero in on the negatives i.e. the small crack in the wall, the tile that is chipped, the carpeting that needs to be replaced, or the wallcovering in the master bath that they really don’t like.  Home Staging is designed to accentuate the positive features of the home while de-emphasizing the negatives.    

2. A vacant property also raises a lot of safety issues. There are more break ins  and vandalizing with vacant properties. If a home looks abandoned day after day, into months criminals start to watch that.  I once heard a Realtor say that he found a crack head dead on the front step of his listing, hmm, I definitely know that does not say Welcome Home! Most stagers offer property management with their packages. This maintains the look of an occupied home, keeping the outside in the same model condition as the inside, (no surprises corpses).  

 3. A buyer is shopping the internet FIRST – statistics have shown that 90% of buyers are starting the home buying process by surfing the net before even contacting a realtor.  And because many of the photographs are so poor on the MLS listings, there are great homes that are not even being seen physically. Needless to say, a large number of the homes that fall into this category are vacant.  How well do you think they compete with pictures of rooms that have been staged?

 Vacant homes statistically stay on the market longer than a home that has been staged and will send out a distress signal . . .  suggesting to buyers that you, the sellers, have moved on and are going to be  desperate to sell. Invariably, this will result in receiving lower offers.  It is certainly better to price your home attractively, and give the appearance of occupancy.  Homes that have been staged are viewed by appraisers and buyers as well maintained and appraised higher sell more quickly, and for top dollar!

Besides the kitchen the master suite is a huge part of the deciding factor when a buyer looks at a home. Today people associate the master bed & bath with spa like luxury, a place to getaway from the chaos of the day.

This can be created by simply changing the decor in the room to going into a full renovation. As the homeowner you need to decide what is going to be worth the investment.  Houselogic.com is a great site to help with these decisions. According to Remodeling magazine a Master Suite upgrade is going to bring in about a 65% return on investment in the Des Moines Metro. (Cost vs. Value Report)

Top 3 upgrades (or must haves when building) suggested by your Home Stylist at HomeStyles Staging & ReDesign and Houselogic.com

No master suite should be without these features:

A large shower. An enclosure that’s at least 36 by 42 inches provides space for two bathers. It should have a zero-clearance door so you can walk right in and a bench where a woman can sit to shave her legs. Cost: $3,000-$5,000

A generous walk-in closet. Make it at least 7 by 10 feet if it’s just for her, 10 by 10 if it’s shared, which gives enough room for clothes plus a spot for a comfy chair to sit in while getting dressed. And you’ll want built-in organizers with well-designed compartments for easy access to all your wardrobe items. Cost: $3,000-$8,000, depending on the organization system you choose.

His and hers grooming stations. Each should have its own sink, mirror, and counter space. Cost: $2,500-$5,000

Maybe you are not selling today but why not look at some upgrades now and enjoy them while it’s your home.

Spring is so close and we are ready for it. The sun is shining and the warm air feels good (yes 30 degrees counts as warm air). With the spring comes spring cleaning from what the winter has left behind.  If you are listing your home for the spring market make sure it is in tip top shape before buyers and inspectors take a look inside.

For example this year a lot of homeowners experienced the trouble of ice dams. What are ice dams? Amber Salmon does a nice job explaining it in her blog. When ice builds up on your roof, whether at the gutter, or in the middle of your roof, it forms a wall which traps water on top of your roof.  When the water pools, it can leak under your shingles and cause damage to your home (learn more)...  Unfortunately I was one of those homeowners.

Here is what ice dams on the outside of the house look like.

Here is the damage they cause to the inside of your house as the water starts to melt.When the water starts to melt if it is leaking through the insulation it begins to mold which can be a very hazards situation. Mold grows on moist materials, so mold growth is likely in areas wet by water leaks and flooding. Walls need to be opened and rapidly dried to prevent mold growth. Any area that is stained from water should be examined for mold growth. Peeling paint may be an indication of wet walls, which is where my journey began and Paul Davis Restoration came to a quick rescue. They have patiently worked with me through the process of ice dam removal, tearing apart walls, finding mold, and the placement of large air dryers (that totally scare my dogs).

After the walls are dried, repaired, repainted and retested there will be no worries for me or the new homeowners when it comes to inspection time. Taking care of winter maintenance and damage early makes for a quick and easy transition at selling time.

Are you listing your home for the spring market? Be proactive, with your repairs, if a sale falls through 90% of the time there are no 2nd chances.

Creating pockets of emotions, often used in staging a home. Making buyers not only feel warm and cozy but giving them a sense of a luxury retreat in their new master suite is where props like Ellie come into play. After a buyer walks through many homes what are they going to remember? They are going to remember the home that gave them a warm fuzzy feeling and that is the home they will choose.

Thanks to KDC for letting Ellie come to life to check out the architecture of a custom built KDC home. Ellie is a lady of luxury so she felt like she was a home there.

Spring will be here in 11 days! Are your ready to be part of the spring market? If you want to be in your new house to enjoy the summer you need to get serious about selling your house. Spring is the optimum time to sell a home. Regardless of whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, inventory almost always rises in the spring. Why? Because the largest number of buyers are actively searching for a new home during the months of April, May and June.

After a long hard winter here are 5 things you can do before calling your Realtor and Stager to improve the odds that your home will stand out among the sea of new listings flooding the spring-time real estate market:

1) Wash windows inside and out:  Sparkle is free, and sparkle sells homes. A potential buyer may not realize why your home seems so inviting but will feel drawn to it if the windows are spotless. Deep cleaning is the first step to preparing your home for sale.

2) Freshen up the landscape:  Clean out dead leaves and debris in your lawn, trim the bushes. Don’t let overgrown vegetation block the windows or path to the entrance. Cutting bushes and tree limbs will let the sun inside and showcase the exterior of your home. Mow diagonally and edge lawn along driveway / sidewalks. Artfully manicured lawns are edged and tell buyers you pay attention to small details. Diagonally mowed lawns make your yard appear larger. Transplant tulips and daffodils or buy flowers in containers. Yellow flowers stimulate buying urges. After a long winter, everybody is anxious to see the first signs of spring. Yellow tulips and daffodils induce feelings of happiness and contentment. Arrange containers in groups of three or five near the entrance.

3) Clean drapes, curtains & blinds and open every window:  Send your window coverings to the dry cleaners or wash, dry and press. Toss blinds into a soapy bathtub for a quick wash. Get rid of all accumulated dust and spider webs. Crisp linens and a spring-time breeze through the windows invites the season inside.

4) Polish floors to a high gloss:  Your hardwood floors should be refinished, if necessary. Make your ceramic and linoleum floors twinkle and shine. Bleach dull grout. Thoroughly clean all area rugs.

5) Replace outside mat for cleaning shoes & put umbrella stand at entrance:  Spring weather is often unpredictable. If it’s raining, give buyers a place to stash umbrellas and wipe their feet before entering your home. Do not lay down plastic runners across floors for protection, it tends to ruin the effect of a glittering polish job.

If you are listing for the spring market this is a good start to preparing your home. Before listing and taking photos call your local Stager to ensure your home is in model condition to appeal to a variety of buyers. Staged homes in Des Moines sell on average in 41 days giving you plenty of summer to enjoy your new home!

 Spring traditionally evokes a sense of freshness and new beginnings, with blossoming flowers that inspire designers to breakout of the winter doldrums. Yellow is the color most associate with the spring season. The beautiful blooming daffodils and tulips make us feel warm and happy. Color researchers believe the color Yellow to increase self-esteem and strengthen overall well-being.

If using yellow as the primary color pair it with lots of white accents for a fresh look. Most of the time yellow works best as a companion to other colors in the following ways:

*Bright yellow to create excitement when red or orange may be too strong or too dark

*Yellow can be the perky sunshine to brighten a more subdued cool palette of blues and grays

*Lemon yellow with orange to carry out a healthy, summery, citrus theme

*Very pale yellows can work as neutrals alongside darker or richer colors

*Yellow and blue are a high contrast, eye-popping combination

*Mix yellow with neutral gray and a dash of black for a high-tech look

*Mix yellow, olive green, and brown for an earthy fall palette  

Don’t be afraid of color!

Every girl needs a special place to call her own. A place to escape sisters, brothers and parents. Somewhere she can do homework, talk on the phone and dream about boys. This is the vision that I had when redesigning this room. We choose her favorite color for the walls and got creative from there. Take a look….

And this is what her little sister had to say about the new room! Even the smallest appreciate some color and design in a room

 Spring cleaning time is here and those paint cans that have been lingering year after year, it’s time to get rid of them! They are taking up valuable space and if you are trying to sell space is money!

So what should you do. Should you hold on to them for touch-up jobs? Bring them to your municipal recycling center? Find an organization to donate them to?

Keeping a can of the leftover paint of your current home colors is definitely a better move than tossing it in the trash in an unsafe way; at least that way the paint stays out of the waste stream, where it could contaminate soil and groundwater. And you can use it for future touch ups.

Here are some safe options for clearing out your paint can clutter:

Donate it for reuse. Some organizations will accept paint that’s in good condition, meaning it can be easily stirred to a smooth consistency and is uncontaminated. The paint should also be in an intact, labeled container. Give the paint away as a means of reusing. If you don’t have a friend who will be painting soon, consider donating to a local theatre group or school performing arts department a religious groups or charities, like Habitat for Humanity that can use leftover paint.
Recycle it. Some communities offer recycling programs for old paint and empty paint cans. Water-based, or latex, paint can be recycled into new paint or it can even be used to create nonpaint products such as cement. Oil-based, or alkyd, paint is usually used for fuel blending—meaning it’s burned to create energy at a power plant. You can also search for recycling options by ZIP code by clicking on “Paint recycling” at Earth911

Other options for recycling paint include:

Mix light colors with other light colors, or dark colors with other dark colors and use the combination to paint a room such as a garage.

Use your mixture as a basecoat. A shade of gray or brown may make a good base for further painting depending on the final coat you plan on using.

Mix a quick-drying concrete product per the instructions. Add no more than two quarts of the leftover paint. Mix thoroughly and pour into forms to make pastel stepping stones.

Dispose of it. It may be illegal, and some would say that it is immoral to sneak your paint out with the household trash or throw it in someone’s dumpster. When you place your trash in someone else’s dumpster, you are stealing trash removal services. This kind of behavior is often punishable by stiff fine and improperly disposed paint poses an environmental hazard that could linger for eons.

Check the label. Paint made before 1978 might contain lead (yes these are still hanging out in some basements), and paint made before 1991 might contain mercury. Both materials should be listed on the paint label. (For more information on the environmental health impacts of lead and mercury, use the Toxics search on GreenerChoices.org.) Oil-based paint is always considered hazardous and should be disposed of at a household-hazardous-waste collection facility.

For Des Moines Metro residence, the Regional Collection Center located in Bondurant at 225 Prairie Drive in Bondurant offers the following suggestions:

Full or partial cans of latex paint can be taken to the Regional Collection Center for Household Hazardous Waste (RCC) in Bondurant, and disposed of for a charge of $5 per five gallon container or $1 each for smaller containers. Stains and oil based paints are hazardous and can be disposed of at the RCC at no charge.

Latex paint, is non-hazardous and can be disposed of at home by drying out containers that are less than half full. Juli Applegate from Waste Management suggested, “As long as the remaining remnants of the paint is completely dry in the can, you can dispose of the can. A couple of suggestions on making sure the paint is dry or to speed up the “drying” process, would be to add kitty litter to the paint container. The litter soaks up the remaining paint. Or you can spread the paint out on cardboard and let dry, and then put litter in the can to ensure the can is dry and dispose of the cardboard with the dried paint.” Sawdust  is another option to stir into the paint, and in a few days it will be dry. Then the container (with the lid off) can be placed with regular garbage. Paint thrown in regular trash can make a terrible mess when the garbage truck compacts the cans and the paint is released. This is one of the main reasons most municipalities require paints to be dried out or solidified before disposal.

The Regional Collection Center for household hazardous waste holds “Clean Up Crew” events throughout the metro where you can dispose of oil-based paints, chemicals, lawn products, CFLs, cleaners and the like. The first collection event of the season will be offered by Metro Waste Authority  coming up on March 27 from 8 a.m. to noon in Urbandale at the Middle School on Aurora Ave.

With my creative side here are my suggestions to recycle the paint cans within your own home.

Use paint cans to organize. Decorate each one. You could use wrapping paper, old wall paper, or even paint them. You can also line the inside with paper or cloth if you’d like. Using a hot glue gun, glue the paint cans together on their sides, creating a pyramid form, with all the openings facing the same direction. You can also use strips of Velcro. Use your pyramid to store office supplies, or kitchen things like cloth napkins, extra silverware, art supplies, magazines, mail etc.

• Transfer this idea on the wall, so instead of glueing these paint cans together for a desktop organizer, you could nail the bottoms to the wall. These are great for storing hats and mittens when you walk in the door.
• Nail the paint cans horizontally, leaving space in between each one, vertically, or even do a wavy design.                                                       
• Use them as  flower pots!
• Coin banks, this would be a great project to do with kids.

Do you have any creative suggestions for reusing paint cans? Please Share!

It’s here the sun is out and the weather is warm.  Now a pedicure is on the top of the list! The Des Moines Register put out a great article in the Sunday paper last week so I thought I would share it with everyone.

Check out these 13 tips that can be done by any DIYer:

Gone is a winter to be forgotten. “People were cooped up for so long,” Cathy Bormann of HomeStyles Staging & ReDesign in Urbandale said. “Now, they’re looking at their homes for where they can put some sunshine back in their lives.” Three central Iowa home stylists give us good news. There are plenty of hot design touches to melt away memories of this year’s cold and snow.

1. Perking up a spot doesn’t have to be costly, designer Cathy Bormann said. “Something as simple as changing the mat at the front door is an easy, low-budget step.”

2. Revisit ornamental accessories around the house, such as pieces above kitchen cabinets, experts agreed. “Incorporating new or different accessories can truly update and freshen a room,” Bormann said. “The right pieces in the right places can make a difference,” said Julie Youngblade of JY Design, Ankeny.

Check out the rest of the article…

Happy Spring!

I am so excited to share with you this week my Habitat for Humanity ReStore find.  I needed a chandiler for a home I was staging.  I had a limited budget so this worked out perfect. I have seen this done many times but never attempted to do it myself.  It was soooo easy and turned out perfect for the room. Take a look and let me know what you think.

This project had a total cost of: $30

Chandiler: $8

Spray paint: $10 ( 1 primer & 1 color)

Crystals: $12

Before                                                                                           

Trash to treasure projects like this can be so rewarding! Let me know if you have ever done this before and how your new chandiler turned out.

Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and an effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of well-being. Turquoise is a color that most people respond to positively. It is universally flattering, has appeal for men and women, and translates easily to fashion and interiors.

With both warm and cool undertones, Turquoise pairs nicely with any other color in the spectrum. Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens

Inexpensive ways to incorporate the color of the year can be done in the following ways; A pillow in a floral print could include yellow, coral and turquoise for a fresh look in a room full of beige. Or, bringing in a geometric window drapery in tomato red may be a lovely contrast to a new painting done in tones of turquoise, coffee brown and rich gold. A new area rug can work wonders in a tired room. Making sure the rug includes colors already found in the room, along with the trend color, is a sure way to bring the color into a home seamlessly. Reinforcing the color trend with a few final accessories will complete the new look. Be on the lookout for a new vase, piece of wall art, floral arrangement or other accessory item that includes the trend color in it. A pop of turquoise flowers in a gold vase brightens up even the darkest corner of a room. None of these items needs to be expensive; in fact, the trendiest home accessories can be found at discount and department stores.

Recycle, Renew, Reuse….it’s Earth Day.

Take a look at my Earth Day project.  So simple to do all you need is scrap fabric, ribbon, tubes and glue.

The tubes can be from paper towels, fabric or wrapping paper. Ask your local fabric store for the empty rolls, that’s what I did then cut them to the size you want.

Start laying out your pattern. Mehka in this case was not much of a helper

And ta-da tou have some fun wall art!

What are you doing to recycle, reuse and renew?

Happy Earth Day

When it comes to selling a home the front door is the very first impression your buyers get of the home. Don’t let something as simple as a worn out door ruin your chances for a sale.

A front door can play two roles:

1. Welcome Home! Is that what your front door says? Does it invite your friends and family in? Or does your front door leave a home to be desired. The front door is the gateway to the beginning of a story,  it intrigues people to want to walk in and explore whats behind this grand door.

2. Get out! Your front door keeps intruders out, it is the security of keeping your family safe. Does your front door stand up to this security test? Or is it just waiting to welcome the next burglar in?

Changing a door can be a simple as a fresh coat of paint and a decorative wreath or it can be as extensive as changing it to a whole new style. This Old House gives us some great tips on How to Pick a Front Door . 

If you are painting here are some great Feng Shui tips to follow when choosing the color:

Black & Dark Blue

Generally associated with North facing doors, black and blue are very good colours for those of use who are seeking new career success, direction or opportunity.

White, Silver, Copper or Gold

Generally associated with the West. & Northwest, White doors are metal energy and great for creative pursuits Green & Blue Generally associated with East and South East facing door, these colours are associate with new growth, new beginnings, and strong vitality and health.

Brown & Yellow

Generally associated with the North East or the South West – this earth energy is grounding and quiet, so not the best choice for an active front door, unless the stars look favourably upon instilling additional earth energy here.

Red, Pink & Purple

Generally associated with the South , this fire energy is associated with fame, reputation and prosperity.

If you think you have the best front door in town email a picture (cathy@homestylesstaging.com) I will post them for readers to vote on. The door they find the most inviting will win a surprise gift basket at their front door! Do you dare to put your door up against your Des Moines Metro neighbors?

Nead Inspiration airs on Sundays at 11:00 on KCWI

This is one of the questions that come up often when doing a walk thru on a resale with a homeowner. Window treatments are just like furnishings, art and wall treatments,  they can make a room look cluttered or even small, leaving a negative impression with potential buyers.  Remember, 90% of buyers cannot create their own visions they see what is, not what the potential is!In many cases window treatments are out dated and are covering too much of a great view. You want to showcase the house in it’s best light by letting that natural light in and let the view help sell the expereince.The room size seems to increase, as the light opens everything up and the home instantly takes on a new character.

Home staging should show off the great features of your listing and diminish the negative ones. It’s all about marketing that feeling of the good life and what is possible for the room without going overboard.
 12 Tacky Techniques: 

1. Old bath towels hanging on a bar with ribbon (Old towels will not give a buyer the spa feeling, even with a ribbon.)
   
2. Single piece of artwork on a wall with nothing else in the room (Buyers will only see the art and not the room, especially online.)
   
3. Furniture store tags on items that are for sale (Staging should be about the house and not what furniture is being sold by a store.)
   
4. Old, dirty rugs (Rugs should only be used to define space or add color. Buyers need to see the floors and what they are buying.)
   
5. Dusty, plastic trees with only a few branches (I don’t mind trees, but they have to look nice.)
   
6. Accessories that have nothing to do with the style of the home (Example: You can’t take a country look and put it in a contemporary house.)
   
7. A card table with a sheet covering it in a dining room (A cheap look and does not represent the room dimensions.)
   
8. Plants or greenery over window treatments (Shows off bad decorating, and again takes the buyer away from the overall room.)
   
9. Plastic patio furniture inside that is covered or not (Just don’t!)
   
10. Cheesy old lamps (Get the granny lamps out.)
    
11. Cheap plastic flowers (What I like to call “forever flowers” usually found at dollar stores.)
    
12. Sofa covered with a sheet as a slipcover (Planning on painting anytime soon?)
    

Tacky staging can spell disaster for your listing. Why? Because we remember tacky! What you put in the home is the perception of what the value of the home is worth. Your poorly staged listing becomes, “That house with the saggy, deflated blow up bed,” or “That place with the cheesy lamp like the one in my parents’ house.”

If the accessories and furniture looks like you got it out of grandma’s attic or down the street at a yard sale, the buyer could expect a yard sale price tag on the house. It is better to leave a house empty then to use bad décor! Staging should enhance the architecture of the home, not show off poor decorating ideas. Bad staging draws attention to itself – and distracts your buyer from your listing!

Summer is here! Enjoy being outside and give your house a little TLC. If you are selling or not selling curb appeal will keep you on the good list with your neighbors.  We have all seen or maybe had the neighbor who never mows their lawn, has multiple cars parked outside, weeds that, well by now they are probably trickling into your yard.  So don’t be that neighbor! 

Landscaping can be as easy or as extravagant as you want to make it. Do what fits your lifestyle and budget. A few colorful flowers, keeping the yard manicured and weeds pulled are all low maintenance things that can be done in a weekend. 

When you are selling your home curb appeal could be the deciding factor if a buyer decides to stop at your open house or not. The pictures they saw on the internet of the inside are beautiful, but they drive by and your curb appeal is a disaster, guaranteed they will change their mind about going in. If you are not taking care of your yard what else is slipping through the cracks. 

Check out some helpful tips from Katie Ketelsen at TimberPine: 

1. A fresh layer of mulch goes a long way! 2. If you don’t have ANY landscape, spend money on foundation plants that are substantial in size~ don’t skimp here. 

 3. Simply adding annuals to the front, brings inexpensive color -consider planting evergreens like boxwood or ornamental grasses to ensure curb appeal in the winter. 

4. Shade trees are a huge value to any property. 2-3 trees in the yard is a good number

Jake Boyd Photo-Click for an inside tour

 In many cases Stagers will look to landscape experts to improve curb appeal, Katie Ketelsen from the TimberPine Landscape Design team commented, ”Just as you would think about the style of the interior, think about the style of the landscape. minimizing, generalizing the plant materials might keep a potential homeowner from being overwhelmed with the landscape”.   You can find more great tips and ideas from Katie on the TimberPine Blog 

One of the biggest and first rule of staging is a CLEAN HOUSE! Not a surface clean but a deep spring clean, every nook, every crack and every corner gets cleaned. Your house should pass the white glove inspection when buyers walk through. It give them a sense of peace that the house has been taken care of.

Here are some simple green cleaning ingredients that will work wonders at giving you a clean and fresh smelling home, toxic free.

1. CASTILLE SOAP

A natural multi-purpose liquid soap made from vegetable oils

Floor Cleaner: Mop almost any type of floor with a solution of 1/4 cup liquid Castile soap and 2 gallons warm water. If the floors are greasy, add 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar to the bucket.

Wood Cleaner: 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar 1/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon liquid castile soap 5 drops jojoba or olive oil. Then add 5-10 drops of pure essential oils i.e: lemon, pine, spruce.

2. VINEGAR

Distilled white vinegar cuts soap scum, creates an environment that inhibits the growth of mold, mildew, and some bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella.

Windows: Mix 2 ounces water, 1 ounce white vinegar and 10 drops lavender, lemon or lemongrass oil to wipe grime off windows. Bonus: These oils may repel insects!

Mould: Spray vinegar on the affected areas. After about 15 minutes, rinse and let dry thoroughly. Add drops of tea tree or thyme essential oil for powerful anti-microbial /anti-fungal effect.

3. BORAX

Baseboards, Countertops, and Walls: Dissolve 1 part borax in 2 parts hot water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spray generously on surfaces, wipe down with a damp cloth, and let air-dry.

Toilet Bowl: Pour a cup of white vinegar into the toilet with a handful of baking soda and soak about 10 minutes. Swish with toilet brush and flush. Option: Pour borax in the bowl and let sit overnight. Scrub and flush the next day. Borax will help to remove rust stains.

4. BAKING SODA

Baking soda’s fine, gritty texture makes it an excellent gentle abrasive cleaner. Its neutralizing action on scent molecules makes baking soda an effective deodorizer also.

Homemade Soft Scrubber: Slowly pour liquid castile soap into ½ cup baking soda-stirring constantly, until the consistency resembles frosting. Add drops of essential oil or oils if desired. Scoop the creamy mixture onto a sponge, scrub the surface, and then rinse.

Upholstery and Carpets: Sprinkle on soda, wait a bit then vacuum.

Deodorize / Clear Drains: Pour 1 cup baking soda and one cup hot distilled white vinegar down the drain. Rinse after 5 minutes.

5. ESSENTIAL OILS

These are powerful, pure botanical distillations. Some essential oils traditionally used in cleaning recipes include lavender, tea tree, orange, lemon, pine and rosemary.

 Floor Wash: Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to a bucket of water. Add 10 – 20 drops of your favourite essential oil(s). Peppermint oil repels mice and ants, try lavender and orange oils to refresh and uplift.

Pest Control: Create a safe bug spray for people and pets. Create a base of half distilled water and half witch hazel. Add 10 drops of essential oil(s) for every 1 oz of base. Great oils for repelling bugs include lemongrass, lavender, tea tree, geranium and eucalyptus.

Club Soda: You’ve probably heard the old adage that club soda works well on carpet stains. But you have to attack the mess right away. Lift off any solids, then liberally pour on club soda. Blot with an old rag. The soda’s carbonation brings the spill to the surface, and the salts in the soda thwart staining.
Cornmeal: For big spills, dump cornmeal on the mess, wait 5 to 15 minutes, and vacuum up the gunk.
Spot Cleaner: Make your own by mixing: 1/4 cup liquid soap or detergent in a blender, with 1/3 cup water. Mix until foamy. Spray on, then rinse with vinegar.
To Deodorize: Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the carpet or rug, using about 1 cup per medium-sized room. Vacuum after 30 minutes.

Check out The Daily Green for more green cleaning tips. Support the environmental harmony inside and outside your home. Use these green cleaning tips to tackle any household grime, safely and organically.