Staging 101 - Where have I been?

Wow - it's been awhile!!!!!

Just after my last post, I found out we had an opportunity to move somewhere new in our 'hood but it meant that I had to have the house ready for sale in just over a week  Wow - talk about stress.  I purged and I purged then I cleaned then I staged and now I just keep cleaning.  What a roller coaster.

To make up for my lack of posts ... this is going to be a long one!

Of course to stage for sale means streamlining.  My before was a few years ago now so I must say that I had already streamlined a fair bit before "the after" that you see.  The biggest difference is the wonderful pillows I had already ordered and added to this room, this summer.  They come from an online store called Tonic Living - really great service.  I actually found out about them from a blog outside of Canada but then I found out they are just down the street from me - too great right?

I needed a modern look to the room.  I have the habit of always picking washed out blues and linens - I needed a little infusion of colour!

Now the bedroom "before" was from when we moved in, 10 years ago.  Hand me down nightstands and a cute iron bed that was not at all practical.  I LOVE the space now - Cynthia Zamaria, that helped stage our place, makes a mean bed.  I actually had Scott take pictures so I could remember how she set it up.  She just won Four Houses and has started a design/staging business.

Our basement was a catchall for all the lonely pieces of furniture we have collected over the years.  The before was taken when the girls were little.  I had already added the Crate and Barrel couch but Cynthia really made this space a room.  She used my own pieces but added a shelf over the t.v. and a carpet (from a hardware store believe it or not) to anchor the space.  She beefed up the pillow quotient and if it didn't have to be so clean I think this would be "the hangout" for the girls.

I don't have a before for the office - just trust me...  It was a mess!!  We got rid of two desks, added Cynthia's great console table from Ikea (I think I am going to buy my own - it is so nice) and lots and lots of great accessories.  Still to do - paint that upper deck sign blue and green to match.  Note to self ... do that!

Normally I am making crafts and tutorials to share in this space but today since I have the pictures - I thought I would give you a tour of the space.  These pics aren't mine - by the way.  I broke my camera lens during the purging process.  These are the pics they use for the listing so the quality by the time they have reached me - isn't the greatest.  So forgive me.  The house isn't really that big but with the aid of a real estate's wide angle lens I have so much more room!!!

The one thing that is missing in these spaces is our personality.  Yes family photos have been replaced with images of surf, sand, rocks and the general theme of a beach house.  It was fun to do but it really lacks character - you'll see what I mean.

This is Ali's room - and the one little kind of how-to I had time for was to take fabric from pillows and bedding that we used in her room and wrap them around old canvas frames we already had.  It was a quick way to tie the room together.  She had a wonderful organic flow of magazine clippings, make-up, fashion, etc. all over the top of her bed - that had to go.  For now.

We decided to really play up the cosiness of our bedroom and not remove the big chair.  Cynthia's painting ties the colours all together - I really appreciate original art.  I guess she will want it back, though.  Oh well.  For now I can pretend it is mine and pretend I have time to relax in the window seat.

Helana's room is pretty much how it started out.  Only a bit neater with the addition of a throw and lamp... and a few zebra accessories.  She had pictures printed out of all her friends, camp, family, school etc all printed like polaroids - neatly covering an entire wall in the desk nook.  That had to go for now as well.

The guest room just had a little rejigging.  Cynthia's bed making talents made a big difference here.

The front of the house is what is so special about this spot.  Nestled amongst the trees it is sometimes hard to believe I am 10 minutes from downtown.

The family room is streamlined and clean.  Except when rufus is around.  I have to cover everything in sheets to save myself from vacuuming more than I already have to!

The kitchen was just de-cluttered with a few more blue/turquoise accents added.  I miss all my" mom scheduling" on the blackboard.  Oh well ... hope I don't forget a practice !

The living room/dining room was brightened up with some of Cynthia's gorgeous lamps.  I never really appreciated a good lamp until now.

That's the craft area behind the couch - all my craft books lined up and all my projects in baskets.  I can't wait to get back to it ... but for now it will have to wait.

I really love this house.  And to say there were some tears when I first saw the sign on the lawn is an understatement.  If all goes well, we can start again on another adventure - I think it is time for a change.   If it doesn't work out - that's okay.  I got rid of alot of stuff - of course you have to keep your sense of humour at a stressful time like this.  We have all our potential garage sale/purge items in storage - and Scott realized delivering them to storage and keeping it all there is costing probably more than what we will ever get for it.  

Oh well - you have to laugh right?  That is what is getting me through the cleaning, purging,wiping, fixing, painting ...

Thanks for putting up with me ... who knows when I can get back to this.  I am going to try and throw in a little tutorial here and there.  Wish me luck!