When you move into a new home, wouldn’t you like to have someone else place the furniture and arrange things for you? Or, maybe give a new look to your existing furnishings and accessories?
Working with clients from San Francisco to San Jose, Julieann Powers does just that for her clients with ciao bella Interiors – “hello beautiful” in Italian.
Powers, a Los Altos resident, also does staging for owners preparing their home for sale.
“The shelves at the supermarket feature items and benefits and compete with other items. That’s the same as your house,” said Powers. “To get your top dollar, you have to show better than the competition so the house sells quickly.”
When an owner plans to sell a home and move elsewhere, eventually everything in the house has to be packed. Powers’ recommendation is to pack anything that can go, early. Start staging long before the move.
“Stand in the doorway of every room and look at the room through the eyes of a guest or a buyer. What do you see?” asked Powers. “Be tough on yourself. What can you live without while your home is on the market?”
Buyers typically only visualize what they can see, not the way the house could be.
One of the first things noticed on entering a room is the carpet. Carpets should be professionally cleaned or replaced before a home goes on the market.
“Offering a buyer a credit to pick his or her own new carpet or a discount off the price is far less effective and will always end up costing more money and slow the selling process,” Powers said. “If you are selling, pick a light-colored short plush or Berber carpet. Beige is the safest color.”
Other Powers’ suggestions include: repair and repaint cracks on walls and ceilings; reduce the number of pillows on couches to two or none; remove Afghans and blankets; pack up all valuable items to protect them; and take a hard look at the houseplants and prune them.
ciao bella Interiors is located at Powers’ home, 870 Berry Ave., Los Altos. For more information, call 515-4566 or e-mail [email protected]
