Staging this 4-bedroom house, for sale came with some challenges. Walls and ceilings painted the same color were making the house feel dark and were not showcasing the architectural features of the house. I found a new appreciation for Navajo White and Alabaster White on this project. The initial plan was to paint a few key rooms, but as the project unfolded, it was clear the new paint was making the rest of the 18-year-old house show its age. The new wall and ceiling colors helped show off the natural wood trim and frame the beautiful exterior views. Queue the elk and cross-country skiers on the snow-covered bike path. The next challenge was furniture. A mixed variety of furniture styles were a distraction to the eye. This drew focus away from highlighting the house’s large spaces. We edited out all of the distracting and mismatched pieces then decided to stage with empty bedrooms rather than spend money on bedding and accessories. Next, space planning. During the initial build of the home a 900-foot bonus room was created over the 3-car garage. It was a huge multipurpose space that was underutilized for day to day living. The family room furniture was moved out of a cozy first floor guest bedroom and into the bonus space. The new family room now had purpose and allowed the first-floor guest room to be staged as a 4th bedroom. Finally, lighting and art. Dining, kitchen and living area lighting was updated from traditional craftsman fixtures to more current fixtures with a mix of bronze and clear glass. Eddison, filament style bulbs made the fixtures interesting and added warmth. Several track lights were replaced with can lights including the one highlighting new art over the fireplace. Simple things like changing outlets, switches and covers cleaned up the walls. Carpet stretching and cleaning brought a fresh clean look to the carpeted areas while cleaning and buffing the wood and concrete floors brought back their original shine.

This house, built in 1974 in North Dallas had its original touches from the 70’s including old school cabinets with bronze exposed hinges, exposed AC returns underneath the bookshelves, as well as some windows that had been leaking for several years. The homeowner likes to exercise, practice yoga and meditate in the space while watching the sunset through the big windows. They wanted to be able to have easy access to the patio and open the windows to enjoy while entertaining friends and family. We removed the engineered hardwood floor and added some 2 1/4” solid hardwood, removed the existing cabinet and built a brand new bottom cabinet, upper floating shelves with a dimmable LED strip to create the perfect ambiance and accent the decor pieces and books. We also removed the windows and installed a custom 12’ french door with dual functionality and sidelights. The final design edit included removing all paneling and replacing it with a cozy white paint on the walls, ceiling and fireplace to accent their artwork.