Spring Transition - 2 of 3

These before pictures may be a little shocking. Those with heart conditions may want to look away.  Please lead small children out of the room.  OK, they're not that bad.

My January decorating style in these areas went way more minimalist than I had realized.  When I took these pictures, the nicest word I could come up with -- stark.  I really over do at Christmas.  This apparently was the sorbet, the palette cleanser, I needed to recover from the invasion of nutcrackers and greenery.

This vase is from a Southern Living house party

I have used it every day for 4 years

I love this table in our entryway.  My great-grandfather made it and painted it a long time ago. I love the patina -- it ain't the age boys, its the miles!  My mother had a tablecloth over it, because it looked "too shabby." Well, after she uttered that silly phrase, she lost custody and this has been my baby ever since.  I filled my favorite glass vase with hazelnut coffee and a candle.  It made me want to start a fresh pot every time I walked down the hallway.

You'll also notice my nemesis, the ceiling fan remote attached to the wall (as if one ugly light switch is not ugly enough.)

via Pinterest

• If you're getting ready to list your home, you should have some sort of a welcome statement at your main entrance. Even if you don't have a real foyer, a skinny table like this or even a floating shelf would work.

• You would want a piece of neautral art or framed mirror instead of the family picture I'm using here.

• This pin shows a great way to use an old table, yard sale find or goodwill treasure if you have a small entry space.

• Make sure you leave several Realtors' business cards on your entry table -- it makes people think lots of people are looking at your property.

You'll want to limit your accessories while you are staging.  I get to go a little Easter Bunny crazy because we are renting instead of staging.

I love the way that cut tulips droop in the most elegantly lazy way.  The problem is that cut flowers do not last as long as my enthusiasm for Spring.  Since Hobby Lobby had all their flowers on 50% off this week, I decided to try getting that lazy fresh look with the fakies that will make it all the way though Lent.

First, I clipped them off that spikey stem deally thing.  Then twisted and bent and shuffled them around till they look rather pretty -- I think.

They cover the switch plate that we don't use -- yay!  The obnoxiously huge, droopy silk bow also covers the wiry, fake stems.  My Charleston sweet grass basket holds all the necessities and reminds me of SC just as I am heading out the door (usually 15 minutes late and hollering at Girlies).

I wanted real flowers on our kitchen table, though.  I had this rustic, wooden trough that I'm pretty sure came with a set of bath products.  It was not anywhere near water tight. So, I used a huge garbage can liner. I planted these hot pink cyclamen from Home Depot -- this time of year they should just pay us in garden supplies.  Then we filled in with extra potting soil and trimmed the plastic back from around the edges.

Middle Girlie was my garden helper and then decided just how many eggs we needed to place around the edges. She was very particular about the placement of the colors.  Now she is very particular about watering them. That's good, because, I still hold the Target record for the most live plants damaged out in one month -- they were not so live after I got done with them.

taking a picture of my cell didn't turn out
perfect, but you get the idea

If you need extra help with your planting, make sure to scan this crazy symbol with your blackberry or smart phone (ScanLife is the ap I use).  It gives you way more advice than they could fit on the pick tag.

 I know I need as much help as I can get for these brown thumbs.



Whether you are staging your home for sale or just trying to live a little more visit ready, I hope you "bloom where you are planted."

just bec

linking up:

hookin up with hoh @ house of hepworths thrifty thursday @ tales from bloggeritaville thrifty thursday @ thrify decorating  show off your stuff @ fireflies and jellybeans  sugar & spice @ 733 - a creative blog crafty, scrappy, happy me @ crafty, scrappy, happy   show your stuff @ somewhat simple  100 ideas under $100 @ beyond the picket fence show me extraordinary @ the 36th avenue  pinspirational thursday @ the artsy girl connection get your brag on @ gluesticks  mad skills party @ mad in crafts  just something i whipped up @ the girl creative  make it yourself monday @ an original belle  craft link party @ polly want a crafter  pink hippo party @ pinkapotamus  anything goes at eye heart mondays @ eye heart  simply klassic sunday @ simply klassic home  its party time @ its so very cheri  the more the merrier @ diy home sweet home  mop it up mondays @ i should be mopping the floor  a round tuit @ creating my way to success  sunday showcase @ under the table and dreaming  show me what you got @ our delightful home  nifty thrifty tuesday @ coastal charm  manic monday @ serendipity and spice catch a glimpse @ a glimpse inside  pinworthy projects @ just us four friday free-for-all @ 5 days, 5 ways  anything goes @ bacon time  the pity party @ 30 handmade days  freestyle friday @ happy hour projects  flaunt it friday @ chic on a shoestring

Starting to Stage Bacon's House

Home Staging In Portland

When I grow up...  Now that you have that Pussycat Dolls song stuck in your head... or maybe that's just me. 

I check out lots of blogs. I watch HGTV till Hunky Husband wants to poke his own eyes out. I cruise Pinterest for hours. I'm writing this blog, taking pictures and linking.  But what I really want to do is become a Professional Stager like Miss Maureen of Room Solutions Home Staging in Portland, Oregon.

• with a storage space full of inventory furniture to stage vacant properties
• with classes under my belt and certifications
• with fancy association buttons to put on my web site
• with all the answers for my clients on how to sell their homes quick & for top dollar

In the mean time, I'm helping my friend Bacon (really, that's her last name) get her house ready to put on the market before her husband leaves on his next deployment. 

this is a day time photo with flash, like I said daaaarrk

Martha Stewart Rainwater
via Home Depot

We have to start with paint.  Her living room is a dark taupe and a gorgeous shade of Ohio State crimson. The fireplace surround is white builder grade tile and the mantle is Ohio State Gray.  It matches her husband's fan flags -- it is perfect for them to live in. GO BUCKEYES! It is a comfy, cozy cave.  However, the dark colors suck every bit of light out of the room. For listing pictures, we need to brighten & lighten. Primer + paint and it will sound like a good episode of House Hunters.  "I love the light. Good space. Great light in here."

We live in sunny Florida and the room has 20' vaulted ceilings and glass doors that open out to the back yard.  Once we throw on some Martha Stewart colors in Behr paint in a light gray tone, it will sparkle and glow.  

Martha Stewart Enamelware
via Home Depot

We are trying test boards of Rainwater and Enamelware on sheets of foam core. I think the Enamelware is a little too blue, but every paint does funny things in different light.  -We shall see. Either of the sea glass gray tones will really pop against the dark hard wood floors.  We are also going to try this trim trick I found on Pinterest to visually bulk up the baseboards.

via Pinterest

Her kitchen cabinets are the same dark gray color as the mantle.  She was afraid we would have to repaint them all.  Then I showed her the pretty two-toned scheme that Miss Layla has in her The Lettered Cottage kitchen.  Perfection. So, we can paint just the uppers and trade out hardware.

Miss Layla in her TLC kitchen

Martha Stewart Sea Anemone
via Home Depot

The kitchen opens into the living room so the two colors will bump up against each other in one corner and have to play nice.  We are going for a fresh green yellow (and crossing our fingers that it doesn't come out looking like lime sherbet).  For now, Sea Anemone is the front runner.  It looks so pretty against Rainwater and the lower cabinets.

via Pinterest

Bacon just loves the look of white subway tiles. They are classic and cheap economical per square foot. Her next door neighbor and my Hunky Husband are awesome tile guys and their rates are reasonable (coke & pizza till the job is done).


As we start projects, I'll include some before shots.  This is the dreamy post about all our wanna/gonna ideas.  I also have to let Bacon scrub her house before I take any pictures. She is one of those clean for the cleaning lady, stage for the stager kind of girls.  I'm so thankful she is letting me share her house with you.  We are both crazy country girls, so I'm sure there will be some shenanigans along the way to share, too.



Hunky Husband is also going to price out one more project for us. The kitchen is on the smaller side and doesn't have a lot of storage, but it does have super high ceilings.  I think it would be great to build boxes on top -- it turns standard height cabinets into extra tall ones. 

boxes with crown via Remodelaholic

We want to be very careful with the budget.  Every dime that goes in needs to really come back as a quarter.  I'll let you in on every way we stretch it (like color matching any fancy color into Behr paint).  You can also check out this project as it grows on my Pinterest board -- Bacon's house.

just bec