Putting your house on the market is always a challenge in that you must look for ways to make it the most appealing it can be to potential buyers. Beyond the tried and true rules of emptying closets and keeping all rooms tidy and clean, here are some things you may not have thought of that can have major impact during a showing or open house.  By the way, hiring a professional home stager almost always is a great investment. 

• If you have a small room in your home that you would like to appear more spacious, paint it the same color as the room it is attached to. This will convey a more seamless, spacious feel. Another trick to convey spaciousness is to keep all window treatments in small rooms the same shade as the walls.
• Paint your sun room an attractive shade of green. It really does help to bring the outside in!
• If you have a narrow room, add wall shelving. This gives the space depth, without crowding out occupants.
• If you are upgrading to sell, choose Eco-friendly materials. Buyers are showing more interest in homes with these materials. For example, consider cost-efficient and “green” cork flooring instead of hardwoods.
• Consider breaking up a finished basement into “zones”. For example, furnish one area for reading, another area for a bar, one for games, one for a workspace with a desk and another for lounging in front of the television.
• If your kitchen is outdated and you do not want to renovate, replacing old appliances is highly suggested. Studies show that sellers recoup every penny spent on new appliances!

Not only is bamboo beautiful to look at, but it is one of the most sustainable materials out there. Other harvested hardwoods are clear-cut and then need another thirty years before harvesting again. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass and is used for so many things that when the last part of a stand of bamboo is harvested, it’s very likely that the first part has already recovered. In other words, it is almost impossible to deplete bamboo’s availability. When bamboo is used for flooring it is sliced, pressed, molded and then carbonized. Carbonization is when the bamboo is exposed to heat so that it will harden.

Bamboo flooring comes in traditional plank styles and is installed similarly to traditional hardwood flooring. It is made with a tongue and groove, an underlayment is set down and then the fitted pieces are tacked down with a nail gun. Bamboo flooring maintenance is almost identical to other hardwood flooring, except that water should be removed as quickly as possible as bamboo’s fibers will expand more easily. Simple sweeping and mopping with a gentle cleanser will be enough to keep it looking clean and beautiful. Avoid getting gashes in the wood as bamboo is more difficult to buff or fill in than hardwood flooring.

For more tips, visit my St. Louis home guide website.  Or call me at 314 267 2636.

With the warm weather approaching and landscaping on everyone’e minds, today we are going to talk about 7 things that are referred to as the seven deadly landscaping sins. Don’t be surprised if your guilty of one or more of these.

Sin #1: The meatball shrub
Don’t prune your shrubs or bushes into boxes, balls, squares, triangles, or rectangles. This makes the entrance of your house uninviting and fortress like. The curb appeal of a house is the wow factor and invited buyers into your home, but by pruning your shrubs this way make it unappealing.

Sin #2: Marching flowers
Don’t plant flowers in a straight row both individually or in a group. This looks unnatural and nature doesn’t work in strict rows. The only time you want to plant singularly is when you plant a tree and you want it to stand out.

Sin #3: Dyed mulch
Don’t used dyed mulch when landscaping. By using dyed mulch you take the attention away from the plant or shrub that you are planting by using unnaturally red or orange colored mulch. The human eye is naturally attracted to the bold color or these type mulches and takes the attention off the plant that you are trying to show off. Use natural colored mulches or rocks.

Sin #4: Too much — of everything
Don’t over plant with a hodgepodge of different colored plants that don’t complement the house. Like many homeowners that like to clutter up there house this same problem happens often when planting plants and flowers. It is important to remember to use a scattergram effect when planting and think about using complementary colors on the color wheel.

Sin #5: Bad proportions
Don’t be unaware of what size plants or lawn features would best suit your home. It is important to ask a landscaping professional before making that big investment. Homeowners often use plants that are too small or front yard features like gardens or islands that are way too small. This will undermine what the homeowner was trying to achieve and be overlooked by future buyers.

Sin #6: Skinny sidewalks
Don’t resort to those skinny standard-issue sidewalks that contractor originally installed when you house way built. These small sidewalks that are only wide enough for one person aren’t landscape friendly when trying to layer plants and make it look natural. By widening these sidewalks a homeowner can get more welcoming and natural look for a walkway.

Sin #7: House-hugging plants and their bad beds
Don’t plant flower beds too close to your home. Be creative when planting flower beds and don’t settle for those small house hugging beds that contractors like to plant when selling spec homes. A good rule of thumb is to have a flower bed that is one or two thirds as wide as the height of the house at that location.

Let the Nolting Real Estate team put you on our most prestigious list of clients and give you the monthly items of value that all our top clients receive.

Nolting Real Estate
14272 Manchester Road
Manchester, Mo 63011

NoltingRealEstate.com and/or
(636) 391-9997