Traditional Elegance
This beautiful home had great bones. Four bedrooms, three baths, big fireplace, attached two-car garage, main floor laundry, big open kitchen. The previous owner had renters for many years so it needed everything - new septic, supplemental system for a well that was underproducing, electrical work, and updating throughout. The twist that allowed us to acquire it without a bidding war? A dilapidated tennis court in the back yard.
When your property has drawbacks you can’t change, like a busy street or a cracked tennis court, you have to overcome it with a jaw-dropping renovation and staging plan. Every detail matters, including little moments of joy, like the pop of color and pattern in this laundry closet. Buyers were enchanted with this tiny detail and it only took half a roll of peel and stick wall paper! Or the staging of the formal dining room as an elegant home office. We added a barn door for privacy and hung a few vintage tennis racquets as a nod to the tennis court in the back yard. It’s easy to see a dining room as a dining room, but with the big eat-in kitchen and island in this home, we wanted to suggest a different use of this space.
Make it stand out
Achieve a high-end look for less by shopping big box stores. Keep an eye on design trends shown by top designers on HGTV, Dream Home Makeover on Netflix, and Instagram feeds from designers, magazines (follow Traditional Home), and retailers like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Absorb design choices and details, take screen shots of posts you love, and then shop the look at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Floor & Decor and Amazon.
Elevated fixtures & finishes
Once a listing goes live, you’ll have potential buyers and agents driving by day and night. Be sure your home is picture perfect at all times during your time on market. Sweep the porch. Plant your pots (even in winter, which is when this photo was taken!). Mulch your flower beds and keep the grass trimmed and free of leaves and debris. If you’re not living in the home, keep the porch lights and a few interior lights on or set on timers, so the house looks great day and night.
