Staging: Mixing it Up

 A mix of real art and furniture and virtual elements. Can you tell which is which?

Staging: Virtual Staging From Two Angles

 

Staging: Virtual Staging

 I know that agents, stagers, and sellers all have mixed opinions about virtual staging, but it can be a great tool for helping buyers visualize how a space can be used, and it is especially helpful for larger rooms. (Just keep it ethical and don't add things like flooring or ceiling fixtures that aren't actually there.) As a stager and a photographer, one trick I found that really helps the room to look authentic is to photograph it with one or two actual pieces of furniture or artwork and then fill in the space digitally.

Reroofing after a Hail Storm

 This is the story of the roofing cowboy:

This is the roofing cowboy.

This is my little house.

This is the hail that literally pounded the tar out of my little roof May of 2021. Due to supply chain problems and the hurricane in LA, we were not able to get shingles until this year. The roofing cowboy had to drive to 3 different Lowe's in 3 different towns to get enough shingles to do the whole house because the stores were limiting how many a person could buy.

This is the truck that was used to haul the shingles.

This is the shingle elevator the roofing cowboy built so he doesn't have to carry shingles up the ladder.

This is the dump trailer the roofing cowboy agreed to repair for the rental company in exchange for getting to use it. Also note: the mighty Gorilla Cart being dwarfed by the trailer.

After completing the back of the house, the roofing cowboy decided it was taking too much time to carry the shingles across the roof to throw in the dump trailer and it would be faster and easier for him to throw them on the ground for his ground crew (aka me) to load into the mighty Gorilla Cart and throw into the dump trailer. Note: the ground crew did not pre-approve this new plan.

This is the rest of the ground crew. This is what you get when you hire cheap labor.

Due to the shingle shortage I had a choice of brown, black, or gray. A lot of the neighbors went with black and it looks sharp, but I decided on gray to match our siding. The old shingles were more brown with lots of little red rocks in them, perhaps to match the bricks. I prefer the look of the new ones.

This is the nail picker-upper magnet. It makes a sound like one of those popcorn-vacuum toys people my age had as kids. I actually love using it.

This is the roofing cowboy finishing off the back of the house.

The End

For Now

A Kitchen in Progress

This is what the kitchen at our project house looked like when we bought the house. This is the agent's listing photo. Lots of doors that didn't close, dark brown on the soffit and a tile counter top. The peninsula was not photographed for listing because many of the tiles on it were broken. However the tile back splash is beautiful and was worth saving. The cabinets were in good shape for the most part as well and were much more solid than what you would buy today.

There was a see through glass cabinet over the peninsula that made the room feel small and cut off from the dining area. I pulled it down but discovered that the board it was mounted on was not coming down without heavy equipment and major damage to the ceiling. We took this opportunity to add some lighting and architecture with two drop lights and some decorative trim pieces. I also decided to do a waterfall end on the cabinets just because I like the way it looks. 

We replaced the dated light fixture with one that is more sleek and modern and replaced the scalloped trim above the sink with a simpler design that opens up the space above the sink and lets in more light.

 

Staging: The Front Door

 This may be the prettiest photo I have ever taken. We staged the front porch with items that were free, from the Dollar Tree, or Family Dollar. Staging cost was under $20. Fresh paint on the door in a beautiful color, and a fresh coat of light blue on the ceiling provide a gorgeous backdrop for simple, elegant items. This is proof that creativity will always be worth more than a hefty budget.

Project House: DIY Granite Countertop

 Normally one thing we leave to the professionals is granite installation. However, in this case, I had purchased a piece of granite from the Sealy city wide garage sale for $25 that was perfect for our project, so we figured, "What have we got to lose?"

The original counter tops were 1970s butcher block look laminate with 1980s tile glued over them. The neutral color might have gotten by me for a bathroom, but the uneven application of the tiles, especially at the front, drove my OCD over the edge.

This is what we started with. The uneven front tiles were more than we could handle.

The husband unit made this video of the process. This time it was Safety 4th: safety goggles, ear protection, dust mask, and a face shield. Jeans might have been a good ideas too, but he escaped with no nicks or cuts from any chips that may have flown off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGtV5bsuPJU

We also swapped out the Hollywood vanity lights, got a new sink and faucet, distressed the doors and added new hardware, and added medicine cabinet for storage. Not as pretty as the mirror, but practical.