Fun With Art

So, I am staging a house. In the dining nook, there is a huge, white, empty wall. Not good. The space is too big, it makes the dining set look out of proportion and small. I need a giant piece of art to break up and enhance the space.

But, I am doing this on a tight budget. I cannot just go buy a huge painting. And, I have nothing appropriate in my inventory - almost all the big pieces are currently rented to sellers whose houses I staged.

What to do? What to do?

Well, actually, if you have read other entries on this blog or on my website, you already know this is not a challenge, this is an OPPORTUNITY.

I do have a more-or-less 4x4 foot frame I picked up at a thrift store a year or so ago. And, I have a huge reserve of fabric remnants.

It does not take long to find a big swatch of upholstery fabric in the right colors. It does not take long to attach it to the frame.

Hmmm, still not right. Sometimes just the fabric swatch is enough to create "art". In this case, it is too plain, too large. Just like the wall space, it needs to be broken up. Since this is a rustic house, some shape taken from nature would be perfect.

Nothing that will work in my remnants...... But, look! There in the box of discarded things to be donated! What do I see?

I see a pair of old slacks in a cream/brown color.

Perfect to make a tree!

I slice up the pants, cut irregular pieces from both fabrics and go to work making a contemporary tree.

Perfect! Perfect size, shape, and color. Breaks up the big, empty wall beautifully. And all of it make from discarded items in under an hour.

The first photo shows the art I made. The other two photos are of simple staging art I made earlier using a different fabric remnant.

Not bad for a fabric remnant and an old pair of pants, huh?

Spare Time II

Another thing I do with my oh-so-seldom free time is browse Rate My Space on hgtv.com.

Have you seen this? It is as compulsive-making as eating popcorn or searching the dark corners of junk stores.

People upload pictures of various rooms in their houses. Anyone viewing can attach comments, suggestions, compliments, questions.

Sometimes the people upload pics to show off their truly wonderful decorating. Sometimes they ask for help. Sometimes they THINK they are showing off but the audience' responds by suggesting ways to fix it.

I revel in the beauty. But, I really like to look for pics that are so bad only very brave souls are willing to offer advice. There was one, a living room, where the only advice was: throw away every piece of furniture, repaint, start over.

I find those, the lost and awful. I study the pics. I really put a lot of thought into the room, the furnishings, the arrangement, the colors. Then, I offer advice. Sometimes I am the only person who does.

That feels good, maybe I have helped someone.

Of course, when the room is stunning, gorgeous, magnificent; you better believe I happily add my voice to the cheering multitude.

http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/multigallery.esi

Spare Time

What do I do in those rare moments I have spare time? Say I have 15 minutes before I have to leave for a client's home. The last project is done and there is not enough time to start on the next....

I go to realtor.com, select a location, select a price range, and look at the for-sale photos.

Sometimes the house has been beautifully staged. Here, I seek new ideas and admire the work. I try to learn from other professionals.

Sometimes the house has been poorly staged. I can see signs this is not the way to sellers lived in it when it was their Home, but it is not well-merchandised as a Product. I really, really try to learn what does not work from these photos.

Sometimes the house is unstaged. In my mind, stage it. I think about whether painting would be cost-effective. I look at the tschotckes and decide what is clutter to remove, what is an accessory and where it should be placed to showcase the room. I move rugs around or remove them. I rearrange the furniture.

Yep, everyone has their own idea of fun.

Like most Stagers, staging is one of mine.

Stage To Sell: Vacation Home

Last weekend my friend and I Staged a vacation house in the mountains. It has been for sale for several months. The price is attractive and in keeping with the neighborhood/economy. It is being shown fairly regularly. But it is not moving.

Feedback from potential buyers was that the Great Room was too small.

And, it is a very tiny Great Room. Worse, it was cluttered. Tiny pictures decorated the walls. A big rug reduced the visual space on the floor. Numerous chairs covered valuable floor space. Decorative things hung here, there, and everywhere. The end result was a tiny GR looked and felt positively minuscule. When we saw it, we did not blame buyers for being scared away.

It took us about seven hours to address the whole house. But, Staging the GR took under an hour: remove the hanging decorative items, remove the tiny pictures, replace them with a big, & simple wall hanging I made, store the chairs where renters could easily find them but they would not be distracting to buyers, move the rug and the large coffee table to other rooms, put in a smaller coffee table my friend brought.

When we were done, we were very pleased. The GR is still small - nothing short of renovation will change that. But, the GR looked and felt much larger, more open, updated, and welcoming.

Now, we watch to see how the Staging impacts the next showings. This is most exciting!