Tag: team:kitchen

Despite Chip and Joanna Gaines’ love for shiplap walls, wood paneling isn’t everyone’s favorite interior design choice. That was the first thing that struck Mia Carella, the founder of Color by Design Home Staging, when she entered the living room of a 1,430-square-foot house in Pittsburg, California, that she was hired to stage. 

Even though the paneling only covered one wall, the room had a high ceiling, so it dominated the space and instantly dated it. “The wood paneling was a huge eye sore and would be a big negative for any buyers,” says Carella, who serves the San Francisco Bay area.

And that wasn’t the only problem with the three-bed, two-bath home. “It was overflowing with clothes and toys — every surface was cluttered,” she recalls. “It was also extremely dark and had old dirty carpeting.”

Her plan was to clear out the clutter, brighten the room, and modernize it for today’s homebuyer. “I wanted potential buyers to be able to picture themselves in the space easily,” Carella says. “I wanted it to be inviting and comfortable.”

The first step was removing all the clutter and bringing in professional cleaners to give the home a deep clean. The old carpeting, which made the living room feel “small and dirty,” she says, was replaced with engineered hardwood in a light oak hue, and the walls were painted a crisp white — including that wall of wood paneling.

With this blank canvas, Carella sought to establish a bright and clean aesthetic with modern lines. She wanted ample seating, so she placed a light gray sofa on the paneled wall, facing two bright green accent chairs. Their curves — in addition to those of the round marble-topped coffee table — help offset all the straight lines in the room, she notes. A light gray area rug anchors the seating arrangement and adds texture, while neutral throw pillows on the sofa and a blanket on one chair provide softness.

To “give the eye somewhere to fall upon walking in the room,” Carella hung two large pieces of abstract artwork above the sofa. Their green, black, and gray hues are echoed throughout the living room. Black accents were also repeated in the side tables and the round mirror above the fireplace, which created “rhythm and balance,” she notes. The fireplace, flanked by windows, ties into the color scheme with its gray surround and serves as another focal point in the room.

Next, Carella turned to strategic lighting, which she says is key to staging any space. “Lighting makes the rooms feel brighter, larger, and more welcoming, especially in photos, so I always try to add as much light as possible,” she says. For this room, that meant a pair of lamps on the side tables and four recessed lights on the ceiling. The artificial and natural light bounce off the bright white walls and ceiling, making the space seem larger.

As the final touch, Carella says she always incorporates greenery into her design. “Bringing plants into any space makes the space instantly come to life and provides a sense of peace and tranquility,” she says. A small plant rests on the side table, two grassy plants adorn the mantle (in addition to a pair of black candle holders), and a larger plant sits in a modern white planter on legs to the right of the fireplace.

When it comes to staging homes, Nahal Robertson and Newsha Talebi, the duo behind Splendid & Swanky, a Washington, DC-based staging and interior design firm, know that the way to a buyer’s heart is creating a space that’s warm, welcoming, and easy to imagine living in.

“Our philosophy is centered around leveraging colors to evoke an emotional connection for the potential buyer to the home,” says Robertson. “We like the home to look lived in and ready to move into.” They put this idea into practice recently while working with listing agent Eddie Suarez of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty on a property in Washington, DC.

The home, an investment property owned by a family who relocated to another state a couple of years ago, already had a lot going for it. The one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo has abundant natural light and warm wood floors, is located in a walkable area, and comes with its own parking space — a hugely prized feature in any urban area. Suarez and the Splendid & Swanky team knew the condo would be ideal for a young professional looking for a DC address. The challenge was to inject some personality into the all-white space.

Keeping the vibe light and airy, Robertson and Talebi introduced living room furniture with warm wood tones and brought in color through artwork. “We added a gallery wall to the living room to create a colorful focal point in the space. It made the property evoke a warm and welcoming feeling versus a sterile, model home vibe,” says Talebi.

A textured rug, cozy throws, curtains, and a bevy of coordinating pillows added to the homeyness of the living space. “We added a neutral pop of color with new drapery in a linen fabric to soften and warm up the space,” adds Robertson. To balance the straight lines in the home, such as the long kitchen counter, Robertson and Talebi incorporated furniture with curves including the dining table, dining chairs, and sofa. Hits of texture in the form of woven placemats on the dining table and baskets in the kitchen kept things cozy, as did gold accents such as light fixtures, a large round mirror, and a bar cart placed throughout the open-concept space.

The biggest change in the home was simple but majorly effective: They added a wall near the kitchen which offered some separation and privacy between the main living area and the bedroom/bathroom area of the condo. As a bonus, the new wall provided a backdrop where the design team anchored a desk and chair to create a work-from-home space. The result: A home that packs a lot of function and personality into a 735-square-foot space.

The fresh but cozy feel of the main living space continued in the bedroom, where a color scheme of mostly neutrals with a pop of rust created a space that’s both tranquil and energetic. The generously sized room had enough space for a bed, matching nightstands, and even a reading nook.