Expert bloggers

Much like detailing your car before selling it, staging your home is a MUST in the current market.  Buyers have a large inventory to choose from these days leaving no margin for error when it comes to preparing your home for sale. 

"Staging" is a buzz word that is being thrown around a lot these days but many people don't really understand what it's all about.  If you watch HGTV you see shows where a design team goes in and knocks down walls, replaces kitchen cabinets and does other major renovations to help a property sell.  But there are many levels of staging -the one depicted on HGTV being the most costly. 

Another level you may be familiar with is what is known as "vacant staging" where an empty property is filled with rented furniture resulting in a monthly rental fee being paid by the homeowner.   The goal here is to highlight architechtural elements and enable potential buyers to envision living there.  (A good stager can work with many different budgets.)

But have you heard of "occupied staging?"  This is where a staging professional comes into your home that you are still living in and  performs a comprehensive evaluation.  The homeowner is then presented with a "to do" list which includes simple, low, or no cost things that can be done to make a lasting impression on potential buyers.  Things as simple as cleaning, painting, removing extra furniture and de-cluttering may be suggested and could be just what it takes to make your home stand out from the others.  Although most of these things seem obvious, you'd be surprised at how many homes that are currently on the market could benefit from these simple suggestions. 

It's definately worth spending a small amount now for a staging consultaion rather than reducing your asking price later!

Happy Decorating!

Missy 

My bathroom update is complete!  Even thought I am a professional decorator, I continue to be amazed at how much difference a coat of paint and some new fixtures can make.  I changed the paint color from a sage green to a gorgeous gold to coordinate with my existing shower curtain, hung the new ($59) mirror and new towel bars, removed the ugly soffit that housed ugly flourescent lights and installed a new lighting fixture. With the help of my very handy husband this project cost less than $200 and took less than a week!  This is a great example of how a few simple changes can completley alter the look and feel of a room!

Happy Decorating!

Missy

If you are in the decorating business, January is a difficult month!  Very few people have the energy or money right after the holidays to think about decorating.   So, where does that leave those of us who have a decorating addiction and no outlet for our creative energies?  It sends us into major withdrawal symptoms and the sure fire remedy is to begin a project at our  OWN home. 

After spending 2 weeks cleaning and organizing my office and getting paperwork ready for taxes, I was in need of a "fix"!  It all started with a framed mirror that I found on sale at Kirkland's.  I thaought it would be great to hang over the bathroom vanity to replace the huge piece of standard builder mirror that was installed when the house was built.  Once I removed the old mirror, I realized that I was going to have to paint because the new mirror is smaller than the old mirror.  So, I thought "If I'm going to paint, I might as well choose a new color and paint the entire room.  Then, as I was getting ready to paint I decided that I should replace the towel bars because one was  white ceramic that was installed during construction and the other (installed by a previous owner) was silver resulting in a mistmatched set.  Once the ceramic towel rack was removed leaving 2 square holes in the wall, we needed to patch the drywall.  Well, since we were patching drywall, I thought "Now is a good time to eliminate the ugly medicine cabinet that no one ever uses. resulting in anther hole that needed to be patched. As my husband was patching all of the drywall, he started looking at the ugly soffit that houses the only light in the room and has decided that if would be really easy to remove the soffit and install a new lighing fixture above the new mirror that I bought.

So, as of today. the bathroom has no medicine cabinet or towel bars, there are drywall patches everywhere and two different "test" patches of paint color because I can't decide which one I like better.   All because of a $59 mirror I found at Kirkland's.

I sure hope business picks up soon....

Happy Decorating!

Missy

www.lastingimpressionsbymissy.com

I love my job!  It seems silly to admit that re-arranging furniture and hanging some pictures can give me such a feeling of satisfaction but yesterday was a good day because a new friend of mine called with a "decorating emergency."  She had bought a new piece of artwork and needed help incorporating the artpiece's new color palette with what she already had.  Since I haven't done any redesigning since before Christmas and am experiencing major withdrawal symptoms, I said as quickly as I can "I'll be right over!" 

As soon as I entered her home, my eye was drawn immediately to the entire back wall of windows that framed her beautifully landscaped back yard.  Unfortunately, there was a large sofa in front of the windows that interupted the view.  The first order of business was to MOVE THAT SOFA-usually the first step of any Redesign.  Once the sofa was located to it's proper place parallel to the fireplace, we got busy placing the rest of the furniture resulting in two cozy seating areas for reading in addtion to the main seating for TV viewing.

Next came the fun part-accessorizing!  We hung the new art over the fireplace and flanked it with 2 metal candle sconces.  We borrowed some multi color candles from another set of sconces that matched the art perfectly.  We then proceeded to add "pops" of color from the artwork-orange and turquoise around the rest of the room.  We added some silk flowers to her exisiting greenery and hung some decorative plates on the wall.  We used an antique barrel as a side table for one of the reading chairs and we found a great wooden tray that we used to display magazines, a candle and a small container of greenery on her coffee table.  We scattered some orange pepples on a tray on the foyer table and created a table runner for her dining room table using 3 round, orange placemats.

In just a few, short, fun hours we gave her home a fresh, new look, with a new color palette, without painting and without buying a thing!  That is the beauty of Redesign!  The highlight of the day was when her 4 year old daughter came into the room and said "It's beautiful in here."

Happy Decorating!  Remember:what I always say:  Your stuff...My ideas...Great Results!

Missy 

Call it decorating with a conscience-the current “green” trend is all about using and buying recycled and re-purposed products.  But, why not take it one step further by decorating without buying anything at all?  With the help of your local Redesigner, you can breathe new life into your old things thus transforming your space without purchasing anything new. It’s the perfect solution to eco-friendly decorating. 

Also known as ‘one day” or “no cost” decorating, Redesign is all about using your existing furniture, artwork and accessories in new, creative ways instead going shopping for new items. 

It begins with a consultation. The space and floor plan are analyzed to determine best furniture placement.  The goal here is to establish or create a focal point in the room.  The furniture will be positioned so that the focal point is engaged and traffic and conversation can flow easily.   Next is a “shopping trip” through the rest of the home to see what furniture, artwork and accessories are available to use.  Often times, there are things in other rooms that are better suited to the room being redesigned.  For example, a small accent chair in the guest room can be brought into the space for extra seating or a trunk in the garage can be re-purposed as a coffee table-this is where the Redigner’s creativity will really shine!  Scraps of fabric from your craft room or tablecloths from the linen closet can be used to change or hide outdated upholstery.  And anything that can be hung on the wall can become original artwork!

After clearing the room of all contents, the furniture, artwork and accessories are brought back into the room following a formula based on basic design principles.  In a few short hours, voila!! Your room has a fresh, new, look without buying a thing.  Now, how much more Earth Friendly can you get than that?

For more information on Redesign or decorating, contact Missy at (904) 710-6510

or visit WWW.lastingimpressionsbymissy.com

What an amazing experience this project has been!  I have had the privledge of working with some caring, talented people these past several weeks and I am proud to be a member of The Society of Decorating Professionals.  As I mentioned before, the SDP challenged us to "pay it forward" by finding a local person that would benefit from a complimentary redesign. 

Thanks to the American Cancer Society, we met Marie and offered our services to her and her family.  Marie has cancer and is a photographer who has turned her family room into a photography studio where she offers free photo sessions to anyone suffering from cancer.  In doing this,  a small room that was intended to be an office is now her family room.  This small room, where her family gathers to watch TV, was stuffed full of furniture that was way too big for the space and poorly arranged.  We knew instantly what was needed to transform this room:  New, smaller scaled furniture, a fresh coat of paint and some new window treatments!

Marie's house turned out beautifully!  We did a complete redesign of her kitchen and family room and she now has 2 fresh, updated rooms for her and her family to spend time in while she battles her cancer.

I'd like to acknowledge the people who helped make this project  a success with their hard work and donations:

Renee Lambing of www.cyrstalredesigns.com

Connie McCullum of www.sensible-redesigns.com

Deb Wehmer of www.redesign4you.com

Brian Smith of Colorworks Painting

Fleming Island Sherwin Williams

Fleming Island Home Depot

Blessings and Happy Decorating!

Missy Scherzer, IRIS, SDP

Lasting Impressions Redesign and Decorating

www.lastingimpressionsbymissy.com

Have you fallen out of love with your home?  Are there rooms that you avoid because they just aren't comfortable and inviting?  If you get overwhelmed with the thought of redecorating because you think it's going to cost a lot of money, consider giving you local Redesigner a call.

A Redesigner is a trained decorating professional who specializes in "one day" or "no cost" decorating.  Using the furniture, artwork and accessories you already own, she can transform those rooms that you avoid into warm, inviting spaces in just a few, short hours without buying a thing.

A Room Redesign often begins with de-cluttering and organizing.  Most people simply have TOO MUCH STUFF!  Often times certain rooms become dumping grounds for items that you don't know what to do with or haven't  gotten around to putting away.  Your Redesigner can help you decide what to keep, what to donate and what to throw away.

The next step of a Redesign is to "shop the home."  This allows the Redesigner to see what items are available in other rooms that may be more suited to the room in quesiton.  Most people have items in closets, under beds and in the garage that have been slated for the next yard sale that with a Redesigners creative eye can by repurposed and given new life.

After clearing the room of all it's current contents, we begin the process of bringing the new items back into the room.  Using a formula based on tried and true design principles, the room is transformed into a fresh, updated space that you and your family will love again!

Fall is the perfect time for a Redesign.  The holidays are just around the corner and so are the visiting relatives....

For more information on how you can Fall in Love with Your Home Again, contact Missy at WWW.lastingimpressionsbymissy.com or call 904-710-6510.

Wow!  It's been a busy week!  But I wanted to take a minute to give a progress report on Marie's Redesign. 

Monday I spent most of the day at Marie's clearing out the family room and kitchen to get ready for painting.  I really enjoyed spending the day chatting with Marie and getting to know her better.  I felt like we connected instantly and were very comfortable with one another. It's kind of an odd thing if you think about it....here is this perfect stranger (me) in her home touching and moving all of her things as I repeatedly tell her sit down and let me do the work.   It quickly became obvious to me  that Marie is not one to sit and let others do anything for her-that she is much more comfortable doing for others.  By the end of the day she was calling me "Mom" because of my constant nagging to sit down and rest.  

Wednesday my friend Brian, owner of Colorworks Painting, was at Marie's bright and early to paint.  We chose Sherwin William "Restrained Gold" for the Family Room and "Svelte Sage" for the kitchen.  Instantly the rooms came to life!  It's amazing how a new coat of paint adds instant life to a space-for very little cost!

Due to an unexpected twist with the flooring, the final installation has been rescheduled for next Thursday.  It will be a busy day installing new furnirture and window treatments, hanging artwork and accessorizing.  I will be posting "before and after" pictures soon.

Thank you for all who have taken an interest in this project!

Blessings and Happy Decorating!

Missy

Fleming Island Home Depot is awesome!.  With their generous donation to our Deserving Spaces project I was able to purchase items at their store to complete my shopping list for Marie's Redesign.  By Friday she and her family will have a warm, inviting space to spend time together. 

Today begins the installation phase.  We'll be clearing the rooms and patching holes in the walls to prepare for the painter.

Thanks to all who have taken an interest in this project.  I'll keep you posted this week on our progress and will post pictures at the end of the week.

 Blessings and Happpy Decorating!

Missy

Don't you love it when you have a great day?  I'm sitting here at 10:30pm thinking about all the great things that happend today and felt the need to "blog" about it.  Never one to keep a journal, I have to say I'm really enjoying this new activity.

I have been give a wonderful opportunity.  I am a member of an organization called SDP-The Society of Decorating Professionals.  To celebrate their anniversary they have asked their members to participate in their "Deserving Spaces" campaign.  In the spirit of "paying it forward" they have asked us to find a local person(s) that would benefit from a complimentary Redesign. 

 With the assistance of the American Cancer Society I have met a wonderful woman named Marie.  Marie is 42 years old and has breast cancer.  She was featured on First Coast News in July with Jeanne Blaylock because of the way that she "pays it forward."  Marie is a photographer and she provides complimentary photo sessions to anyone who is suffering from cancer.   She has turned her living room into a photography studio and her family room is now a small, drab, cramped room that was intended to be a small office.  The carpet is old, the paint is worn and the furniture is way too big because it was purchased for the bigger living room.

Two other redesigners and myself who are working on this project have been making the rounds asking for donations for Marie's Redesign.  I am so proud to report that so far we have donations of a sofa and love seat, fabric and labor for window treatments, paint from our Fleming Island Sherwin Williams store and a painter from the Fleming Island business, Color Works who is going to donate his time to paint.  With these items alone we can transform Marie's new family room into a fresh, new space for her and her family to enjoy and spend time together.  BUT, to really put the finishing touch on this room, we would love to replace the flooring.  So, we are in need of a donation of carpet for a 12x13 room and labor to install it.  

I thought this blog would be the perfect place to ask for help-if anyone reading this has a flooring connection who would be willing to help with this project,  please contact me.

If you'd like to learn more about Marie, visit http://www.firstcoastnews.com and click on the health link and then the Buddy Check 12 Link.  Her story is titled " You are not ugly."  I encourage you to watch the video clip about her.

Blessings and happy decorating!

Missy