Holiday Decorating and Staging: Do They Mix?

!±8± Holiday Decorating and Staging: Do They Mix?

Now that the holiday season is officially here with Thanksgiving behind us, I have clients wondering "is it OK to decorate for Christmas (or Chanukah) even though we're selling our home?"

The answer: YES, but on a scaled-down, tasteful level. Don't put up an 8-foot tree unless you live in a very large house with a huge room where it will look scale appropriate. Even then, pare down the amount of decorations elsewhere so that visitors (i.e. buyers) aren't overwhelmed with holiday décor, especially village collections, ornaments on tables, dressers, hanging from lights, etc. and holiday-themed pillows, towels, placemats, tablecloths and bedding. All of that will look like clutter, which is a cardinal sin when it comes to staging! It will also look overwhelming to anyone but the most die-hard Christmas lovers, and you run the risk of turning buyers off with too-personal choices in décor. Save hanging the stockings and putting out presents for Xmas Eve.

What is the best type of décor to use? A single wreath on the front door, and natural greenery, white candles, and classy silver and gold ornaments add tastefulness to any home, as long as they are used in limited amounts, such as on a mantel and dining room table. Think "Pottery Barn" and you'll get the right idea!

Hopefully, it goes without saying to avoid putting out any religious items, such as Nativity sets indoors or out, or menorahs, in fact anything outdoors other than greenery and white lights is risking an overdone or "tacky" look. Avoid inflatable Christmas decorations that are overly commercial when they are up and running, and look like laundry on the ground during the day.

If you really feel you won't enjoy the holidays without dressing up your house to the nines, then hold off on listing - or put a moratorium on showings - until after the holidays. If buyers feel overwhelmed by lots of cute decorations, they won't be able to appreciate your home's features.

Holiday Decorating and Staging: Do They Mix?

Bremshey Elliptical Cross Trainer Best Quality

Phoenix Collection Queen Size Book Case Chest Bed w/Drawers

!±8±Phoenix Collection Queen Size Book Case Chest Bed w/Drawers

Brand : Coaster
Rate :
Price :
Post Date : Dec 27, 2011 08:26:53
N/A

Phoenix Collection Queen Size Book Case Chest Bed w/Drawers

• Dimension: 93"L 63"W 56"H
• Finish: Rich Deep Cappuccino
• Material: Solid Hardwood & Veneers
• Queen Size Bedroom from the Phoenix Collection.
• The Phoenix bedroom collection queen size bookcase chest bed is crafted from solid hardwood with maple veneers in a rich cappuccino finish.
• All drawers have beveled wood fronts and are accented with brushed nickel knobs.
• This bookcase chest bed features ten useable drawers
• The two drawers located on the bookcase headboard are felt lined.
• Matching Nightstand, Chest, Dresser, Mirror and TV Armoire are sold separately.

Garment Steam Cleaner Coupon

Part 08 - Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Chs 089-104)

!±8± Part 08 - Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Chs 089-104)

Part 8. Classic Literature VideoBook with synchronized text, interactive transcript, and closed captions in multiple languages. Audio courtesy of Librivox. Read by Stewart Wills. Playlist for Moby Dick by Herman Melville: www.youtube.com

Part 08 - Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Chs 089-104)

Prices Targus Power Inverter Best Prices High Pressure Garden Hose Nozzle Cheaper Vintage Pyrex

Amphora Pottery - Unlike Any Other

!±8± Amphora Pottery - Unlike Any Other

About fifteen years ago we met a couple we liked and a friendship developed. Our first visit to their house, however, made us wonder how the friendship had ever happened. To my rural and conservative eye, their living room looked as if it had been designed as a movie set about French royalty. It was all ornate curlicues and gilded swoops with nary a straight line in sight.

"What do you call this wonderful look you've created?" my wife asked. I had to turn away because all I could think of was "gilding the lily". Our hostess, at no loss for descriptive frills, explained it all using words like "baroque" and "rococo". I filed away these terms as things to avoid forever.

The look of the furniture that fills our house is the same as it was on that day. True to our heritage, we have mostly straight lined, tailored pieces, a few mission items mixed with mid-century Sears and late century garage sale. So it followed that when we started collecting pottery a few years ago, we stayed with the same look, mostly American art pottery and a lot of it within the general category of arts and crafts. We developed more than a nodding acquaintance with names like Rookwood, Van Briggle and Hampshire, to name a few. Eventually, our wall of shelves containing pitchers and vases came to include a few English items like Moorcroft and early Doulton, but nothing more daring.

Then one day we went to a country auction nearby. These local auctions in Maine generally have firkins, trenchers, snowshoes and very little pottery, but we go anyway to socialize and sometimes pick up a pot or two. On this day, however, there was a vase on one of the tables that looked like it had dropped in from outer space. It was all twists and turns and although we'd seen pictures of similar vases while browsing through our ceramic guidebooks, we'd never actually touched one.

I went over to the auctioneer and pointed at the strange piece."What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I have no idea. It says Austria on the bottom and that's all I know."

An hour later, he brought the vase up and, having begun to sort of like its looks, I bid . Nobody countered and so we now owned our first piece of Amphora pottery. Once we acquire something, we tend to study up on it, sort of like closing the barn door after the horse is gone. I know it sounds stupid but that's how we learn about what we have, bass ackwards.

Not long after, another nearby auction also had a piece of Amphora, even stranger looking, and we picked that up as well. We started studying in earnest and even bought a ridiculously priced book devoted entirely to the subject. And the more we studied, the more interesting Amphora and its cousins became.

First, let me explain that Amphora pottery comes out of the Bohemian region of what was then Austria. After World War I it became Czechoslovakia. Not so far away was Transylvania of the Dracula legends and Hungary, where Zsolnay Pottery originated. The gypsies came from there, too. These are all in what we think of as eastern Europe and they are way out there on the fringe. Maybe it was something in the water. At any rate, almost any other pottery looks tame compared to the weird dragons, beasts, birds, multiple spouts, gold, jewels and strange shapes you find in Amphora, Dresser, Royal Dux and other pottery that came out of that region from 1880 until about 1925. The movement was called different things in different countries, but now it's known generically as art nouveau, the original French term.

Virtually every antique guidebook has sections devoted to Amphora and its ilk. There are also very detailed and illustrated books on the subject, such as The House of Amphora and Maidens and Monsters, both published in the last few years. You can Google it to find these resources as well as examples.

Amphora Pottery - Unlike Any Other

Purchase Kitchenaid Professional 6 Discounted Surefire Executive Elite