fbpx
Category

Home Staging & Interior Design

Free Home Staging for Sellers - Sarasota Realty

Benefits of Staging Your Home When Selling

By | For Homeowners, For Sellers, Home Staging & Interior Design

Selling your home is a significant endeavour, and in today’s competitive real estate market, making a lasting impression is crucial. One strategy that has gained immense popularity is home staging. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the numerous benefits of staging your home when selling. But what sets us apart is that we offer home staging free of charge! Unlike other realtors who burden you with hefty fees, we believe in helping you maximize your home’s appeal without breaking the bank.

Staging Homes For Lasting Impressions

 

First impressions matter, and that’s where home staging comes into play. By strategically arranging furniture, decor, and personal touches, you can showcase your home’s best features and create a welcoming atmosphere. A well-staged home captivates potential buyers from the moment they step through the door.

 

Elevating Visual Appeal

 

Professional home staging enhances your property’s visual appeal in listing photos and during in-person showings. Bright, airy spaces with carefully curated furnishings make it easier for potential buyers to visualize themselves living in the space, increasing their emotional connection to the property.

 

Showcasing Functional Spaces

 

One of the key benefits of staging is its ability to highlight the functionality of different spaces. Whether it’s turning an underutilized corner into a cozy reading nook or transforming an empty room into a home office, staging demonstrates the versatility of your property.

 

Standing Out in a Competitive Market

 
The real estate market is competitive, and staged homes stand out. They leave a lasting impression on potential buyers, making your property more likely to be remembered among a sea of listings. Staging can help your home shine brighter and command attention.

Sarasota Realty FREE Home Staging

 
Unlike many other realtors who charge significant fees for home staging, we take a different approach. We believe in your home’s potential and are committed to helping you present it in the best light possible. That’s why we offer comprehensive home staging free of charge!

No Hidden Costs, No Monthly Fee

 

Other realtors may present home staging as an attractive option, only to burden you with hidden costs. Consultation fees, staging fees, and monthly rental fees for furniture can quickly add up. With us, you can enjoy the benefits of staging without financial stress. Our free home staging covers all aspects, from initial design to final setup.
Unlock the Power of Home Staging In the competitive world of real estate, home staging emerges as a powerful tool that can make all the difference. Some advantages are creating a captivating first impression, elevating your property’s appeal, and showcasing functional spaces. While other realtors charge significant fees for home staging, we stand by our commitment to helping you succeed without financial strain. Say goodbye to hidden costs and hello to a beautifully staged home that captures hearts and sells quickly!
Don’t miss out on our exclusive offer of free home staging. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you maximize your home’s potential and stand out in the market.

Virtual Staging: How to Attract Buyers to Your Home

By | For Sellers, Home Staging & Interior Design

Staging is a critical step in successfully selling your home that realtors recommend for a reason. Open houses are on their way out, and with the internet being the primary source of finding homes, virtual staging can make or break interest in your home.

 

What is Virtual Staging?

 

Virtual staging consists of decorating a home to make it more attractive to potential buyers – it’s a great way to get buyers to imagine their own furniture and décor in the space and feel at home.

 

Good photos that buyers can see online can help them cement their decision to see the home in person or put in an offer! A professional stager can use their expertise to create an aesthetic space buyers will love.

 

How is Virtual Staging Different Than Physical Staging?

 

Buyers appreciate staging even if they don’t consciously know it, and while physical staging is still valuable, virtual staging is a time saver. You don’t have to have a busy stager constantly in the home or wait for furniture or décor items to arrive.

 

The ultimate benefit is that stagers can easily make changes and adjust the look of the space more efficiently until it’s perfect. Whether your home is vacant and bare or has older furniture, virtual staging can completely remove older items and transform the space with new ones without lifting a finger.

 

Of course, you don’t have to commit to virtually staging your entire property. Focusing on a few rooms can make a significant impact.

 

Rooms That Benefit from Virtual Staging

 

If you want to limit your virtual staging to only a few rooms, some spaces benefit from virtual staging more than others.

 

Living Room

 

The living room of any house is full of personal items and photos, which makes it hard for buyers to imagine themselves in the space. Experts recommend keeping the virtual staging filled with muted colours and greenery to make the home feel neutral.

 

Kitchen

 

For food lovers and amateur chefs, the kitchen is one of the most central spaces in the home. Some buyers make their entire decision based on the kitchen, so it’s important to stage it to make it appealing. Buyers want to see minimal décor and the storage space – light, fresh paint is necessary to make the kitchen look well-maintained.

 

Master Bedroom

 

Master bedrooms are another critical space that buyers take seriously. This is another room that holds many personal items, and virtual staging can remove them. People also want to see storage and closet space and the ensuite bathroom. Adding texture through textiles during the virtual staging can fill the room beautifully.

FAQ

Pros and Cons of Virtual Staging

 

Pros

 

  • Practical and convenient: With virtual staging, you’re not physically moving things in and out of the house. As a bonus, you don’t have to coordinate schedules with multiple people to stage.
  • Flexible: A top benefit of virtual staging is that you can design the same room with different functionalities. You can turn your spare bedroom into a home office or an exercise space – it leaves you with so many options.
  • Quick: It goes without saying that virtual staging is less of a time commitment than physical staging. You’re not waiting for physical items or furniture to complete the look.

 

Cons

 

  • Physical showings will look different: After looking at the stunning virtual staging photos, the showing will look different in comparison, which can be a little unexpected for buyers.
  • Furnished homes can be more challenging: Vacant homes are easier to stage virtually because they’re a blank slate. Occupied homes are trickier. Designers will have to remove furniture digitally before going back to stage, raising the cost.

 

Is Virtual Staging Right for You?

 

The choice between traditional staging and virtual staging can be challenging. At Sarasota Realty, our professional realtors can suggest the best route for your space to help your home sell faster. Contact Sarasota Realty to help you sell your home and find another one.

The Skinny Home Trend

By | Home Staging & Interior Design

Skinny homes are a trending movement that can be spotted all over our beautiful city. These skinny homes are economical and sometimes profitable spaces for comfy living. Skinny houses have also become the most publicly accepted form of infill housing in certain neighborhoods.  

Skinny homes usually have a modern yet minimalistic look and most of them are custom built allowing for your unique tastes to come out!  They are built in a way to accommodate all the amenities of a traditionally larger home. Many younger families appreciate the nod to minimalism and simplicity (think Marie Kondo) and flock to the opportunity to downsize. Downsizing is not only economical, it is very much less complex and intimidating than buying a big house.

Many buyers are choosing skinny homes as investment properties and choose to rent out parts of the house. Although these homes are skinny there is a lot more space than what meets the eye.

Will I Have Enough Options in a Skinny Home?

Definitely! It’s also dependent on the space, but working with a custom builder allows you to pick and choose different amenities that are important to you.  For instance, in the bathroom, you will need to decide if you want to have a bathtub or if you feel better with just a standing shower. You will typically have a smaller but complete kitchen to let you make an enjoyable meal and a living room cozy enough to lounge around in. In addition to all the rooms, the skinny houses can also have a cute outside patio and lawn area! 

With the news that property prices have reached (another) record high, it’s hardly surprising that property buyers are having to stretch their finances further to buy what is, sometimes, quite literally nothing more than a room with enough space to turn around in. Would you buy a skinny property? 

Contact us to explore the skinny houses available on the market.

 

homely-design-small-backyard-patio

Bumpin’ Backyards

By | For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Home Staging & Interior Design, Lifestyle, NEW, Real Estate

SUMMER 2021… #yardgoals

While we were livin la vida covid this summer we made a list of outdoor livingspace renos for safe + enjoyable summer fun. Is it time to spruce up your backyard? Planning to host an outdoor gathering and need a revamp? We have you covered with the top summer patio trends of 2021.

 

Take a peak and start your 2021 yard remodel plan now!
backyards

Dream it.

What do you and/or your family need from  your yard space – privacy, shelter, views, entertainment space, playing room, etc?  This will dictate your layout and materials used.  Scour the internet for inspiration pictures to drive your vision. Just make sure your photos are relevant to our climate so the dream is realistic. I mean, I  love me some oversized banana trees, but our reality is more “ Alberta reed grass.”  Establish a timeline and a budget for your project to set the wheels in motion.

blog squares3

Prep it.

You should always start with a solid clean up of your yard to set the stage. Remove fallen leaves, spread around existing mulch as it can move and build up with the elements, prune overgrown bushes/trees, rake dead grass spots, remove overseeded plants and pick every last weed down to the root. Look for signs of water, rodents, fence durability, pet damage etc.

backyards

Plan it.

Map out your space to visually understand what you’re working with – what areas get sun / shade?  This will help when you’re plant shopping to ensure you have plants that are well suited to their growing environment.  This is the  “green thumb” – “black thumb” difference and will help reduce the costs of replacing plants down the road. If you’re going for a larger scale plan – do any major services need to be moved? Remember to call before you dig.

Decor Tips: Beef up your planter game.  Make sure your planters themselves compliment each other in size and color. Inside, add an element for height, an element for full and an element for trailing. A trio of planters if you have the space make for a summer statement. Add a fresh weather resistant rug and toss cushions to pull your color scheme together.

backyards3

Do it.

No money option – Do a plant swap with friends. Either propagated or full plant removal, this can provide you with better suited plants for your space and give your inner plant mama a new baby to tend to.   Refurbishing planters w/ spray paint and planting grass seed are also an inexpensive ways to freshen up your yard quickly and easily.

Mo money option –  Invest wisely in maintenance free materials – decking, drought resistant perennials, quality artificial plants, xeriscaping, easy clean/putaway furniture  etc. It’s also important to invest in quality work. Don’t be afraid to hire out the professionals to do jobs like land  prep, pouring level concrete, building a pergola, pond, 3 season room, or  maintenance free deck, doing oversized tree removal, etc.

Light it up.  Once everything is in place – add a few elements of light to add ambiance.  String lights from the top of a pergola or privacy wall, add upward facing spotlights to reed grass, a tree, or fountain feature or add integrated lighting to your deck/patio space + stairs. This is going to be epic!

Get Inspired.

Open Shelving Six Ways

By | Home Staging & Interior Design, Lifestyle, Sarasota Homes

Open shelving has been one of those things lately that you see everywhere. We have used it quite often in our show homes, as well as in our custom built homes. It is becoming a popular request and we love doing it! It can be a little intimidating to have your kitchen ware or other household items on display, but don’t fret! We’ve got some tips to make decorating easy + effortless.

make life easier

MAKE LIFE EASIER

Open shelving in the kitchen is both beautiful and convenient! Choose the items that you use the most often while cooking, and display them in clear jars on your shelves. Throw in a couple cook books and you have a multi purpose station that makes cooking after a long day a little easier!

thoughtful storage

THOUGHTFUL STORAGE

This built in wine rack is brilliant! It frees up space along your walls or wherever you would normally have your wine rack. More space for more open shelving?! We think so!

consistent color palette

CONSISTENT COLOR PALETTE

Sticking with a consistent color palette makes things look even and uniform. Black, white, and grey are perfect neutrals that mix well with other colors. If you are wanting to add a bit more interest, pull colors from the furniture or rugs that you already have to help everything blend together.

 

create groupings

CREATE GROUPINGS

Choose a few different themes and group like objects together. Here we have a coffee bar that is again both useful and pretty! Stacks of bowls and plates peppered around the shelves are also an easy way to fill the space. Repeat groupings with slight differences across your shelves, playing around with different heights and shapes!

create variety

CREATE VARIETY

Try not to have all of the same type of objects on your shelves. Here there are a few different shapes and sizes to add visual interest to the kitchen! Open shelves also make for great whiskey bottle holders!

negative space

NEGATIVE SPACE

Be sure to keep some open space or choose quieter pieces as to not overwhelm the area. If you want to go the simpler route, choose a couple dishes that you use often and display only those! The rest of the shelves speak for themselves!

Staged To Sell – Meet Our Team: Kristen

By | Home Staging & Interior Design
Staging by Sarasota Realty, St. Albert

Talented Artist + Interior Decorator

Kristen’s eye for detail goes unmatched! It is no wonder she is our in house creative and perfectionist - meticulously tucking away cords and tags, ensuring each piece of furniture is perfectly fluffed and cleaned, and expertly hanging artwork. With Kristen on the job, you can be rest assured that your home will be staged with excellence as she knows just what to do to make your home shine! When she’s not staging homes to sell, you can find her making memories with her beautiful family and friends, or creating amazing works of art for Sarasota. Follow her on Instagram: @kguiltz

Staging by Sarasota Realty, St. Albert

Staged To Sell

: Staging your St. Albert home to sell – for free. Our multi-talented team of home stagers are well versed in the art of creating spaces that appeal to the tastes and desires of BUYERS.

Learn More

Staged To Sell – Meet Our Team: Lisette

By | For Sellers, Home Staging & Interior Design, The Sarasota Team
Staging by Sarasota Realty, St. Albert

Home Stylist + Interior Decor Professional

With her education in interior decor and over a decade of experience in visual displays and spatial planning, Lisette has an eye for creating beautiful spaces that appeal to the masses. Whether it’s incorporating the right accessories, accentuating spaces with color, or simply decluttering a space, with Lisette on the job she’s sure to make you and your potential buyer LOVE your LIST. When she’s not staging homes to sell, you can find her laughing the night away with her family, red wine in tow for sure. Follow her adventures in design and motherhood on Instagram: @sluser.

Staging by Sarasota Realty, St. Albert

Staged To Sell

: Staging your St. Albert home to sell – for free. Our multi-talented team of home stagers are well versed in the art of creating spaces that appeal to the tastes and desires of BUYERS.

Learn More

Selling Your Home with Professional Photography

By | For Buyers, For Sellers, Home Staging & Interior Design, Lifestyle, New Homes For Sale, Real Estate, Uncategorized

With the Alberta market slowing down economically, 2016 is proving to be a buyers market.  That said, it is ever so important for sellers to select the right real estate company to represent their home and ensure that their house is the one that’s SOLD before the competition.

Web appeal is vital with 80-90% of potential clients reviewing listings online prior to visiting the home. In fact, without an online presence or photos to review, you can bet that your property will virtually go unnoticed by potential buyers. Attention spans are low and competition is high – what are you going to do to make your listing worth looking at?

There are some things that are within your power as a seller – cleaning, decluttering, and working on curb appeal. If you select Sarasota Realty, you can also have your home staged (alongside light touch up work completed) for free in St. Albert – which can take your home from shabby to chic in just a few hours. But a perfectly manicured home needs to be displayed properly to sell – and a professional photographer is what’s needed to do the job. Sarasota Realty also offers this free of charge to all of their clients, to ensure their listings are presented at their best.

did you know…

Professionally taken photos of homes continue to sell for more on average – receiving more attention both online and in showings. This is because a professional photographer understands photo composition, lighting requirements, and editing skills to make sure that the photo perfectly represents the space. They know exactly what to focus on in a picture to grab a buyer’s attention. They not only have the proper equipment (including a tripod at the perfect height), but they know how to use it. Most importantly, a professional photographer can match a buyer’s expectations to what they receive – never over promising or under promising. This in itself will bring in the right group of potential buyers. Chance yourself with a realtor that uses an IPhone or handheld camera for your photos, and you chance having your home sit on the market for longer than it should. This is something that you just can’t risk today.

Let Sarasota Realty showcase your home – professionally accentuating the best of your interior. Our approach generates multiple showings and helps to sell homes in even the toughest of markets.

Here are a few Iphone vs professional photos to prove why our photographers help sell our listings, fast!

(First shots taken are Iphone, second shots are professional)

Lisette Sluser

She’s our in-house interior designer, stager, full-time comedian, and part-time caffeine drinker.

Lisette's Instagram

Valentines Day Gift Ideas

By | Home Staging & Interior Design, Lifestyle, St Albert Community and Events

To all of you love birds out there, I shopped St.Albert for the latest and greatest Valentine’s Day gift ideas. We have so many great options in St.Albert, so there’s really no reason to leave the bubble.

Here is a list of 10 Great Gift ideas for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. If anyone wants to suggest any to my husband too hahah I would love that.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so you better get out there. #shopt8n #bemyvalentine

No. 1
flowers

SWISH Flowers

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to say “I love you” with fresh flowers. The floral arrangements at SWISH Flowers are custom designed with care and the highest quality blooms. This year for Valentine’s Day, SWISH Flowers is featuring beautiful colour palates and lush, exotic blooms from around the world. Choose between light pastel blooms in a garden-like mix or a bold mix of blues, deep reds, and purples. For the unconventional Valentine, choose a mix of springy and fun tulips or an arrangement including tropical flowers. For the classic Valentine, choose an elegant dozen roses in red, white or pink. When you call to place an order for flowers, we will help you curate the details to customize your order.

SWISH Flowers is feeling the love this Valentine’s Day!

No. 2
CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRIES

Edible Arrangements

Get your sweet and simple gourmet semisweet chocolate dipped strawberries from Edible Arrangements!

No. 3
VOLUSPA CANDLE

Chapters 

The VOLUSPA Prosecco Rose candle is hand poured with a luxurious, clean-burning coconut wax blend.  This candle is a story of fragrance written in wax and poured into a glowing distressed glass container.

No. 4
champagne

Hicks Fine Wines

Hicks Fine Wines suggest the delectable bottle of Moet & Chandon Rose Imperial Champagne. This Champagne is  the perfect match to enjoy with your chocolate dipped strawberries. Brut Imperial Rosé is a blend of the three wine varieties, with an emphasis on Pinot Noir, embodying a fruity and daring character. Rose with shades of copper, good intensity This Champagne displays lively, expressive, aromas dominated by the scent of wild strawberries. It is full-bodied, with zestful, assertive fruitiness.

No. 5
hanky panky panties

Cloud Nine Pajamas

You can never go wrong with the one size fits most thong in their signature stretch lace. The blushing light pink color is so pretty for Valentines day too. Hanky Panky are also know to be the World’s Most Comfortable Thong®

No. 6
essie nail polish

Shoppers Drug Mart

Essie Nail Polish – enjoy the view from the top. In this scenic powder pink, it’s the place to be, in all its pretty glory.

No. 7
Peak-A-Boo Ball Earrings

Bella Maas

Treat your sweetheart to these versatile Peak-A-Boo earrings. Worn with the metallic pink finish ball back or simply as a polished metal stud.

No. 8
Graphic Shirts

Who Care’s Wear

Champagne Love Me Graphic Shirt – A statement graphic shirt is a staple item in most girls closets. Especially when the statement is so accurate. Cheers

No. 9
bare necessities sock bag

Sculpt Barre

A must no matter what the occasion!

No. 9
fujifilm instax polAroid

London Drugs

To capture your Valentines Day moments

Kristin Boser

Local St. Albert realtor, head of Sarasota Staging, proud St. Albert resident, and mama of 3 glitter filled girls!

 

DIY’s to Get Down with Your Crafty Self

By | Home Staging & Interior Design, Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Whether you’re looking for new crafting ideas to get you through the winter months, or simply trying to cut back on expenses in this economy, we have done our research to find you the best home décor DIY’s for every type of space. Look for some of these great ideas in our upcoming showhomes!

Accessorize the Man Cave

No. 1
Jack Daniels Soap pump

You could always use another favourite bottle if you’d prefer. The fun to this project is the process of emptying the bottle…

All you need to complete this is an empty bottle and a soap pump that has a universal size pump thread with a tight spring. You may want to bring your empty bottle discretely to the store and fit it to the correct sized pump. This great idea from Curlybirds can be found on her website here.

What a great idea for a Man Cave bathroom or bar!

No. 2
PIPE SHELVING

Pipe shelving is a wallet friendly option that you can either create yourself, or purchase off of websites like Etsy, here.

Luckily, HomeDepot has a ‘how to’ blog post on how to create these customizable shelves so you can create various sizes and orientations to hold your shelf worthy items. Note: most Home Depot’s will also cut and thread piping in house.  Before your trip to the store, make sure you are aware of the size of shelving unit you want to create so an associate can provide you with the right amount of materials.

* Make sure you purchase dry wall anchors as well to ensure a sturdy shelf.

No. 3
PALETte bar

This palette bar from 1001pallets.com is a simple and cost effective way to incorporate a bar into your ManCave or on your patio.

Depending on how rustic you want this piece, you can paint the palettes, stain them, or leave them raw (just be sure to sand these down as they can be quite rough).  As per the website, they advise removing the bottom 3 boards, nailing the palettes together and adding some glue for extra hold. Depending on where this bar will be, you can always anchor it to a wall or down to a deck for safety. The pavers can also be mortared on if you want more stability.

Spray Painting Your Home Pretty

No. 1
letter Art

I LOVE this idea with the new white trend, but any color would be fabulous!

For this project, a quick trip to Michaels will provide everything you need to finish this in an afternoon. Purchase some wooden letters, a canvas, and (white) spray paint (all sized to your liking). Layout how you want the piece to look – heart shaped, linear, etc. You may want to place some light guide lines on your canvas to avoid any crooked lines. Glue the wooden letters to the canvas and let dry. Spray paint the canvas in a gentle sweeping motion to avoid pooling of paint.

This idea was found here.

No. 2
copper tin cans

After making a pasta sauce, I’m sure you’ll have a few extra large tin cans hanging around in the recycling bin. Why not reuse them, and get your Spring gardening started early this year? Rinse and remove the excess label glue from the cans, and let dry completely. Again, Michaels has the rest of the supplies you’ll need: copper paint, mini chalkboards, and twine string. Paint the cans upside down and evenly coat them with paint. After a few coats and sufficient drying time, your cans are ready for the twine and chalkboards! Puncture the base of the can with a nail if you want drainage in your cans, or place a base of rocks before adding dirt and plants.

This fun idea is thanks to this site, here.

No. 3
spray painting fabric

Who knew this even existed!? Simply Spray Upholstery Fabric Paint is a spray paint made specifically for fabric. Now you can update your grungy patio furniture or make custom pillows with a stencil for less than new cushions.

As per the Happier Homemaker, who provided this idea, it takes up to 4 cans for pure coverage on large surfaces. Like spray painting furniture, make sure your sprays are continuous and even to avoid streaks or pooling. Can’t wait to try this!

Bring Your Accessories To Life

No. 1
marble-ize your serving tray

This is a beautiful way to take a plain or beat up tray and give it a whole new look.

The idea and photo are from mydubio.com, using simple shelf liner. You could always use a laminate instead depending on your budget. Look for a marble effect liner or adhesive film from Walmart, HomeDepot, or Amazon with a contact backing for this project. Measure twice, cut once. Remove backing and slowly seal the liner to the tray. You now have a brand new looking tray!

Now to get someone to bring you breakfast in bed with it….

No. 2
create an acrylic side table

Create this modern table with a few simple tools. The website Brit + Co that created this DIY also provides a website to purchase the acrylic piece from if you don’t want to search on your own!

Take an old TV tray or purchase a new one, and ensure your acrylic top will cover the base of the table.  Take the TV tray apart to spray paint it the color of your choice (perhaps a hot new metallic for 2016?).  Measure and drill holes into the acrylic to fit your table. Screw the two together and cover nail heads with stud beads.

BOOM – you just made a show stopping side table.

No. 3
further benefits of wine…art!

If you’ve been collecting corks for quite some time, but haven’t yet found a use for them, look no further.

Create this stunning cork art with an ombre effect. Separate your corks by color, push them together, and assess the size of the heart (or other shape) you are going to create. If it is too small, you can always purchase new corks at craft stores, or see if any liquor stores have corks to give away. Use a wooden shape from Michaels or online to use as the backing, or apply to a canvas. Next, place the corks on the board to ensure full coverage. Once ready, hot glue or cement-glue your corks down.

We spelled out the word WINE for our newest spec home in Lapierre!

Lisette Sluser

She’s our in-house interior designer, stager, full-time comedian, and part-time caffeine drinker.

Lisette's Instagram

SARASOTA REALTY p. (780) 460 2222 f. (780) 458 4821 25 Carleton Drive St. Albert, Alberta T8N 7K9