Jacqueline's Fabulous Finds - Great Paint Colors

Selecting a paint color is sometimes so difficult. So many shades and so many hues of each color.
I recently re-painted my own house and found some great colors.

If you are looking for a perfect blue paint, try Catalina Blue by Benjamin Moore. It is such a soothing and relaxing shade of blue. Perfect for a bathroom or bedroom, it provides a calming spa like feeling.
It is the perfect hue to coordinate with dark or light furniture. Try accent colors in a warm orange or yellow.
You'll love the way the colors dance off the light.

For green lovers I always recommend Grasscloth by Behr's available at Home Depot. It's not too bright and not too soft. It is stunning with chocolate browns and reds.

Are you a neutral color lover? Quiet Avalanche by Behr's also available at Home Depot is a soft yellow with beige undertones. A soft, calming color perfect for hallways or bedrooms.

Always try your colors first with a small sample. Paint at least a 4ft x 6ft area and see how it looks in the day time at night. Make sure you can live with it for a few days before making a commitment to it.

When you have selected your perfect color, be sure to use a high quality primer before painting for great coverage. Always follow with two coats of paint for durability.

Best Wishes & Be Creative

Party Favors As Decorative Accessories

One of my greatest enjoyments is when I have a client that needs Event or Party Decorating!Large or small, in their home or at a catering hall I love to bring the room alive.The perfect finishing touch on any party table are the favors as they add some sparkle and a great touch of color.Party favors have come a long way over the years that I have been using left over favors as decorative accessories in other clients homes.

I've recently opened First Impression Favors at http://www.firstimpressionfavors.com/ to help others add the finishing touches to their parties.

Here are some great favors that can later be used as decorative accessories!

Pictured Top -This stunning votive candle in a chinese silken bag is a terrific decorative accent - try pairing three together on a shelf! Whether you have an Asian theme house or not the black and red will give your room a great "Pop".

Pictured Bottom - A set of Asian Theme Glass Photo Coasters are perfect to frame a triology of family photos set on a floating shelf. Or just use them as great accent coasters on your coffee table.

Visit our new website at http://www.firstimpressionfavors.com/
For The Perfect Thank You Gift!
Save 10% off any order with coupon code 10OFF (case sensitive)
Need help decorating your party table? Please email us at sales@firstimpressionfavors.com.
For full service party decorating in Palm Beach County, Florida please email us at info@impressionsstaging.com.

Best Wishes & Be Creative!

The Importance Of A First Impression - Staging Your Front Entrance

If your house is on the market, Staging the front entry area is extremely important.

Potential buyers will immediately get "turned off" if they don't see a welcoming area. Unfortunately that thought will stay with them as they tour the rest of your home so start your potential buyers off with a great First Impression!

Here are some inexpensive tips for staging your front entrance:

1- De-clutter - clean off any bicycles, shoes, dead plants etc. - your front porch should not be a storage area.

2- Clean the area - sweep and/or power wash the porch, repaint the front door if necessary, repaint any railings and fix any cracks or chips.

3- Make sure you have a new front entrance mat. A very small investment that has BIG impact.

4- Replace any outdoor lighting that is outdated or damaged. New front porch lights can be purchased at your local hardware store.

5- Replace any door knockers or kick plates that are scratched or damaged.

6- If your address numbers are near your front door - replace them with new or spray paint the old ones so they really stand out!

7- If your front door needs a new paint job - do it!!

8- When showing your home during a holiday season, keep decorations to a minimum. They should be tasteful and colorful but not overpowering.

The following front entrance was staged during the Halloween Season.

We used a small front door decoration, a new welcome mat in Fall colors and seasonal flowers as the perfect inviting accents.

Yellow flowers were specifically chosen as yellow

is psychologically a "cheery color" setting the right frame of mind for potential buyers as they enter.

Front Entrance Before And After Staging

Best Wishes & Be Creative!

Win A Free Decorating Theme Kit! A $75 Value

In response to the rush of emails lately, there seem to be alot of people looking to re-decorate or are in the middle of a decorating project. Impressions Staging & Decor is offering our creativity!

Impressions Staging & Decor will be giving away to one lucky winner a

$75 Decorating Theme Kit

when you sign up to receive our free newsletter!

Our newsletter is sent out 6 times a year with the Hottest Trends In Decorating and Home Staging, photos of our latest designs, coupon codes from our favorite shops, Jacqueline's Fabulous Finds and so much more!

Click here to enter: http://www.impressionsstaging.com/FreeDecoratingTips.html

One email address per entry please. Refer a friend!

Best Wishes & Be Creative!

Low Cost Decorative Solutions For Empty Spaces

As a professional Home Decorator and Stager I have "issues" with empty spaces on walls. Sounds crazy but it I look at an dull space and feel compelled to dress it up. My compulsion extends to my friends and clients homes as well. I LOVE when someone asks me "What should I do here?". I'm so glad they asked as it just opens up a can of creative worms for me and the ideas start flowing. Fortunately I seem to have a "knack" to accent these blank spaces on a low budget.





Pictured is one of those "empty spaces" I had an issue with. In this powder room, just above the toilet there is interesting architectural detail that screamed "Please dress me up!" We started with white walls (one of my pet peeves as well, everything needs a little color) and painted it with some leftover paint the homeowner had from a previous project. It was called "Peanut Butter" - a rich yet warm color - Perfect! Next I took a shelf the homeowner wasn't using and was stored in the garage and painted it white.

I accented the architectural detail by using a roll of vinyl wall decal in Chocolate Brown from Wall Pops (only $10 at Home Depot). By adding a tray of potpourri (only $2), a reed difuser ($5 on the clearance rack at Home Goods) and a small vase of fragrant roses the homeowner already owned, this blank space now has some personality. Total cost - $17.00!!!

The backsplash above the kitchen stove is always a blank space that needs to be addressed. My client for this project is renting her home and did not want to invest a lot of money in her kitchen, yet wanted a backspash for easy clean up and for decorative purposes. My solution only cost her $19.20!! We went shopping together at Home Depot and purchased 4 sheets of wall tile at $2.30 per sheet. To accent and finish off the tile, we purchased a sheet of smaller glass block tiles in greens and browns to match her kitchen wall paint for only $10. Fortunately her brother knew how to install tile so off course it cost her nothing! For this small area the installation took less than an hour to do. She now has a decorative backsplash that is easy to clean as well. Both issues resolved!

The same client wanted to dress up her kitchen window with a clean, sleek design. Since her rental came with white vertical blinds that allowed fantastic natural sunlight in, I decided to create an inexpensive valance for a decorative touch. Shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond, I purchased 3 bamboo kitchen placemats for only $1.99 each. I used 10 curtain clips (total cost $9.32) and attached them to the placemats. A coordinating curtain rod on the clearance rack for $13.96 was perfect to display this inexpensive valance.

For a total cost of $29.25 this once blank space now has a decorator's professional touch!
I hope you are inspired to dress up your blank spaces too!

Tips on Investing in Your Nursery Decor

Decorating a nursery for a new arrival can become very expensive. Most new moms want their child's room to have a "baby" feel, only to have to redecorate a few years later when the child is older. Here are are a few tips on how to purchase furniture and accessories that will last through the adolescent years, helping you save money in the long run.

1- Buy bedding that converts from a crib to a toddler bed. Gustav Maxwell has a retro line of bedding designed to convert to a toddler bed when the time comes. You will be investing in designer bedding set that will last you for years. Don't forget to buy extra sheets!

2- Nursery chandeliers are the newest rage in nursery decor. The wonderful thing about them is that the shades can be changed. You can start off with a basic color chandelier, with "baby" theme shades. Later, you can simply change the shades when your child grows

3- For an inexpensive way to decorate nursery windows, start off with a solid color in curtains or blinds that fit the room's color scheme. Purchase a valance to coordinate with the nursery fabric or decor and later changethe valance to a more suitable theme as your child grows. Valances are relatively inexpensive which makes them a great way to change the look in a room.



4-Hand painted wooden letters are a great accessory for any child as they love to see their on name on the wall. Since they are made of wood, they can be repainted to grow with a changing room decor. Simply apply a coat of primer, two coats of your choice of color acrylic paint, and top it off with a coat of polyurethane. If your letter hang by a piece of ribbon, you can always purchase new ribbon at any crat supply store and your letters will have a whole new look.

5- Purchasing furniture for any room is an investment. When decorating a baby or child's room, you want to make the furniture last as long as possible. Try to buy cribs that convert to beds as the child grows, because they can save you money on buying a toddler bed. Also look into investing in custom hand-painted furniture. There are a variety of themes and colors that can take you from a baby theme, all the way through pre-teen years. For example, try a furniture set painted with pink roses or patterns of dots and stripes for a baby girl who will soon grow through her adolescent years. A set hand painted in a vintage airplane or baseball theme is perfect for a boy. Make sure hand-painted pieces you are purchasing are made of pine and coated for easy clean up.

Author Jaqueline Oddo is the owner and head decorator of Impressions Staging & Decor offering professional interior decorating and home staging. Visit her site at http://www.impressionsstaging.com/

Desperate Sellers Call For A Professional Home Stager

I received a phone call two days ago from a Realtor I often work with. He took a listing on a house 8 months ago and advised that his clients have their house professionally Staged as he always does when he receives a new listing. The clients did not want to spend the money for Home Staging.

It's eight months later and now his clients are "desperate to sell their house." The house has been sitting on the market and they already have reduced their asking price twice, totaling a whopping $25, 000 reduction. They've tried adding more photos to their online listing and a virtual tour - still no offers and very little traffic. Finally they agreed to have their home Professionally Staged.

Of course I'm happy to take the referral and will be Staging their home. Unfortunately if the house was Staged BEFORE it was put on the market the seller's may not have had to reduce their asking price and may have even had a higher offer! If your thinking of selling your home, think about professional Staging before you sign on the dotted line.

According to the Real Estate Staging Association's (RESA)February 2009 report:

• With more people becoming internet savvy according to the NAR Profile of Home Buyers and sellers 2008, 87% of ALL home buyers and 94% of buyers age 25 to 44 use the internet to search for homes. Staging continues to be a valuable tool to gain more buyer interest with their initial search on the internet. Homes today are being eliminated from the "must see" list from the photographs from the internet. Professional staging is the key to the quality of those photos.
• Stagers do more than just "arrange furniture and reduce clutter". Professional Stagers have targeted skill sets that include demographics, color, green consults, color consults, updating consults AND the support of specialized teams to meet every homeowner selling situation.
• Buyers benefit by purchasing homes that have issues resolved and are move in ready. A Maritz survey says that 63% of buyers will pay more for a move in ready house.
• Staging is no longer "nice to have", it is mandatory to maximize equity and makes good business sense for Realtors, homeowners and prospective buyers.
• In 2008 occupied homes in our study that were previously on the market an average of 57 days as 'unstaged properties', had not sold. Those same homes were taken off the market, staged and re-listed. Those properties on average sold after 6 days on the market after they were staged which is 89% less time on the market.

In today's real estate market, Staging your property is a necessity and a small investment compared to your first, second or third price reduction.

Thinking of selling your home? Let Impressions Staging & Decor Professionally Stage your home BEFORE you list it. Contact us at info@impressionstaging com or visit us at http://www.impressionsstaging.com/ for our list of services.

A Stager That Can't Find A House To Buy

Yes it's true! I am a Home Stager and I've been looking for my "dream home" on and off for almost two years now in New Jersey and in Florida. By this time I've viewed over 75 properties not including the listings I simply passed over online. One would think with all the contacts I have in the Real Estate Industry and in the current Buyer's Market finding a house should be easy, but it isn't.

So I've started wondering - Am I too picky? Am I expecting too much? Honestly I don't think so after all I've seen on the market right now.

Here's a little about me and what I'm looking for. I'm a single mother of two teenage girls working full time as a Home Stager and Interior Decorator. I've owned homes in the past that were "fixer uppers". Been there, done that and don't want to do it again. I want move in condition as I do not want a house that will bring me a new project every weekend. I already spend enough time in Lowe's and Home Depot for my job. I want to be able to travel, relax on the weekends and enjoy my home during my time off. At my age (let's just say 40++) I don't think that is too much to ask for. Are there any others out there like me?

As a Home Stager I can "see past the clutter" and "imaging my furniture in a vacant room" so that isn't the problem - or is it? Am I mentally staging every property I see? I probably am but I can't turn it off.

So I decided to write a list thru a Buyer's And Home Stagers' eyes to all those selling their home as to why I didn't buy their house and it is still sitting on the market. Any sarcasm comes from utter frustration so I apologize ahead of time.

1- Your house is priced way too high and you wouldn't accept my comparable offer. I know you think your house is worth more money but the fact is that in this economy it isn't. Even if I was willing to pay your asking price, the property would never appraise with the bank. There were recently two homes in your neighborhood that sold for much less. The bank doesn't think your house is worth what you think it is. Sorry but that is out of a buyer's control. Please hire a realtor and/or have your realtor price your house realistically.

2- Why is half of your kitchen floor roll out linoleum and the other half is new tile? I'm going to have to put in a new kitchen floor one way or another.

3- I know your little son Johnny loves the New York Mets and so do I but his royal blue and orange painted bedroom screams to me "Five Coats of Primer Please!" So does little Mikey's red and yellow barnyard mural in his bedroom.

4-I know you have cats and they are your "babies" but I happen to be highly allergic to them. When I stepped into your lovely home your three "babies" came to greet me along with the visible cat hair on the carpet I had an allergy attack. Sorry I couldn't stay to see the rest of the house (for the fifth time) but I needed to breath. I've started carrying Benadryl with me while house shopping just in case.

5-While we're talking animals, I love dogs - I really do and have one of my own. Unfortunately I don't love doggie print wallpaper in the bathroom. I really don't feel comfortable bathing while they are staring at me naked for even one day until I can take the wall paper down.

6- Why did you decide to glue down faux grass on your beautiful, huge 20 foot wood deck? I really don't want to walk where your wet feet have been so all I see in my future is pulling it up, removing the glue and re-sanding the deck. Work, work and more work.

7- Your collection of family wall photos from floor to ceiling is truly sentimental. I actually have my own collection. But while viewing yours I see alot of spackle and painting in my future and can't help but notice how cute your niece is while I'm supposed to be looking at the bones of the house.

8- Why did you change the garage into a den and tell me "Don't worry you can change it back"?
I don't want to change it back I want a garage! Changing it back to a garage cost money and once again more work for me.

9- Why is the carpeting stained in every room? And the walls too? Makes me wonder what went on in your house.

10- I absolutely respect your religious beliefs and that you converted the only linen closet into a prayer room. I respect the sign you put up stating "Buyers please don't open this door - it is a prayer room." It makes me wonder where you are keeping your linens if they aren't in the linen closet and how can I buy a house without seeing the linen closet first? That's a pretty important closet.

11- I really didn't know your house was two stories! Embarassing but true! With all the overgrown shrubbery I thought I was walking into a ranch style home. Landscaping is expensive so that will be a major consideration if I make an offer.

12- Please, please I'm begging you to come back from the 70's and 80's!! All I see is the work involved and thousands of dollars to update the kitchen and bathrooms, tearing down huge floral print wallpaper, dismantling purple satin pleated window valances and replacing 30 year old 4" shag carpeting. Besides all of that your house has a great floor plan!

13- Why aren't there any hand railings on the interior and exterior stairways? How is my 92 year old grandmother supposed to come visit me? Don't you see that as a safety issue?

14- Why are all the flowers in your garden dead? Is is a soil problem or simply neglect? If it's neglect what else have you neglected in your house?

15-Did you not have time to clean the orange soap scum in the bath tubs or did you just not see it? What else haven't you cleaned?

I can go on with other oddities I've seen while viewing houses to buy but I think any reader can get the idea - If you want to get your house sold get it PROFESSIONALLY STAGED.

Clean, de-clutter, paint in neutral colors, de-personalize it, show me some curb appeal and we'll have a deal. Show me and other potential buyers that we aren't buying someone else's headache.

NEW Decorating Theme Kits!

Impressions Staging & Decor is proud to announce our new "Decorating Theme Kits".
DIY Decorating has never been easier for Moms on the go or for anyone that needs a little inspiration! Perfect for any room in your home on ANY BUDGET!!!

Your Kit will include everything you need to decorate on your own! Fabrics, paint colors, bedding, lighting, accessories! Links to online and retail shops with pricing including in your kit!
Plus our Free Decorating Tips Newsletter!

"Beach Baby" Small Theme Kit

"Perfectly Pink"

Large Theme Kit

To Order Yours Today Or For More Infomation Please Visit Us At
http://www.impressionsstaging.com

Jacqueline's Fabulous Finds!

RUB ON WALL MURALS - We just love the rub on transfer wall murals by Tatouge Designs available online at http://www.sweetsurprisesbyteri.com/.

Get the look of a hand painted mural for a fraction of the cost!
Let your creativity run wild with these easy to apply decals! Designs available for any room in your home! Need ideas on how to decorate with decals? Email us info@impressionsstaging.com

The perfect theme for a child's bedroom or playroom!



ANIMAL PRINT "Scentsy Warmers" available at http://www.scentsy.com/kirstencunningham are a most unique find!! Candles are always a great decorative accents. These warmers will freshen your home in a variety of scents! We love the animal patterns (which are ultra chic right now) and the neutral colors will accent any decor. Mix and match and get creative!