Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Look at the trends we found




Charles and I spent the day in New York City at the NY Now Summer Market for Home, Lifestyle and Gift Show at the Javits Center.

Our first stop was at Roost where we proceeded to place an order for some new items for our clients and for staging...they have a great selection from lighting, mirrors, furniture, and even jewelry....I had to buy a piece of jewelry...

The very first thing that we noticed was the trending in tribal arts, furnishing and accessories through out the entire show. Lots of African Artisans.   


The next trend is tassels and pom- poms  on pillows, blankets rugs



Bright bold colors from a designer in Brooklyn that has all her work done in Ethiopia -

Bird feathers every where....in frames, etchings, paintings on pillows



Maps is another thing that seems to be very popular in décor both vintage and bold


Our favorite booths would have to be Roost, Go Home and V rugs and home

This is products from V

We hope that you enjoyed the market trends.....there was so much to see in just a few hours..  Show ends today at 2:00 pm -





































Friday, August 19, 2016

How to create a mood of belonging



When Harmonizing Homes  approaches a staging job, we take it one step at a time. Feeling each space, making sure we are creating a mood/feeling. When people walk into a room, they should "feel" the space. We want the prospective buyers to have an emotional reaction to the spaces that we create. The emotion is a  state of mind deriving from a mood.  We create that mood of  belonging and love. For more information on this home click on the force group Keller Williams










Reference
Photography - Motion City Media
Listing Agent - Theresa Kuyl
Staging Company - Harmonizing Homes

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Its time to think about the HOLIDAYS!



There is school supplies, fall decorations, and Halloween candy in the stores..

Its all most September...and before you know it in 14 weeks it is Thanksgiving..

IS YOUR HOME READY??








Harmonizing Homes can help you prepare however if you want to do it, you have to do it now...so that we can schedule painters, order furniture, etc.....

We recently worked with a couple in West Caldwell spruce up their living room..... they really wanted the "Joanna Gaines" look....Here are some before photo's that we took. They had a limited budget so we were able to help them achieve their goals... as you can see from the photo below, we added some tables that were purchased from the collection of Magnolia Homes; Joanne Gaines new furniture collection that was recently released this past Spring in High Point North Carolina. Be sure to check out the link....


 We changed out the picture, added some table lamps and some throw pillows to bring it all together.

 
The book case is a collectable piece that the family wanted to keep in the room, so we just did a bit of editing to the shelves, adding some ceramic pieces and adding a cottage style home sign...



We will be painting the mirror that you see on the floor in the first picture with Annie Sloan Chalk paint and install that on the wall between the two windows over the occasional table.  We really can't wait to see the draperies.....

So allow your self 8-10 weeks if you are needing to have a room redesigned..
Call us today to schedule an appointment 917-699-1262
Or visit our website at Harmonizing Homes or just check out our portfolio
You can also email Charles or I ..
CharlesMessenger@harmonizehomes.com
CorinneKaas@harmonizehomes.com



Friday, August 12, 2016

Are you embarrassed by your master bedroom?

Hello Friends,

I'm not sure why our master bedrooms are so neglected.. Maybe its because we figure no one is going to see it...or I need to take care of other things in the house...my kids need new lacrosse sticks or gymnastics' lessons  and on and one. 

Regardless on how big it is whether you have an on suite, a walk in closet it doesn't matter.  Your master bedroom should act as a sanctuary for couples.  Its a place of refuge at the end of he day.  You should not have your children's toys in there along with piles of unfolded clothes... Think about how you feel when you go on vacation and you walk into a well appointed suite....

These pictures are of a home that we are currently working on.  The kids are all gone to college and its time to work on the master bedroom. 
When you feel it is time to work on your master bedroom...Have an open communication with your partner regarding budget...What ever realistic budget you come up with we will try our best to give you the look that you are wanting. 

Here are a few inspiration pictures - when you are ready to do your master bedroom or any other room in the house give us a call. 












Our team would love to help you with your decorating needs.  Visit our portfolio  or our website at www.harmonizehomes.com

When you are ready give us a call at 917-699-1262 or email us at corinnekaas@harmonizehomes.com

We will make your dreams come true!




Tuesday, August 9, 2016

TO STAGE A HOME OR NOT TO STAGE A HOME????

Its August and its hot and humid out side which requires air conditioning, watering the grass and landscape....which transfers to $$$$$$. You may be asking why I'm I beginning a blog speaking about the amount of money that it cost for air conditioning and water. I'm getting there.....I am doing a study on a home that we were asked to visit the property and come up with a proposal for staging. The home has a odd layout for the family and dining area....The feed back from other brokers determined that staging was needed. There are FIVE bedrooms, with very little living space.
Below is an example of vacant vs staged - For more of our portfolio please click on the link




So here are the statistic: It went on the market on April 06, 2016 for 545,00 - We went in on April 15, 2016 to come up with a floor plan and cost for the staging.- We quoted the investors for Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen, Master bedroom. the furniture rental per month was 1,526. They didn't want to stage due to the cost.  There are two issues, the was priced too high to begin with and the home has 5 bedrooms and a small living space.

April 27, 2016 reduced to 526,000. May 25, 2016 reduced to 499,600. June property reduced again to 449,500. July comes around and the agent calls me and asks me to come up with another proposal, perhaps not including the master and to present to other partner investor in Florida...I do so....July 4th I submit a floor plan and proposal to other partner - We come in at a little less per month without master bedroom. The proposal was not excepted.

July 26, 2016 you guess it property reduced again for a total of 115,100 in reductions.

Assuming they have invested 276,00 between purchase and investments in building and landscape.
If their mortgage and insurance is 653.00 per month and their direct expenses a month are 150.00 their total carrying cost per month would be 803.00


Our study shows home owners had their property on the market for an average of 9 months x carrying cost = 7,227.
Had the homeowner's or in this case investors staged first, they would have cut their days on a average of 7 months. Carry costs x 7 months = 5,621 ( which is the price of the staging)....So why would someone continue showing a home that has some deficits with out staging it from the very beginning. I've shared the link below of the property.
1450 Old Freehold Road Toms River NJ
Should you have any questions, please feel free to call me..

Corinne