Décor Sells?

 Décor trends, as seen in home-beautiful magazines puts pressure on home owners like never before. Fortunately, the all-white-is-the-only-right fad is ending. What is NOW, is being environmentally responsible, with less fad or big empty spaces, into pragmatism. There is no such thing as minimalism any more. It never happened anyway. When the new owner moved in, their stuff did too. The stagers who shove the seller out of the way and  basically tell them "Lovely, but your stuff is out, and mine's in. People want to imagine their own things here and yours just distract them". But don't forget,  your home is yours alone. You call the shots. Be firm.  Decor is important. No doubt. But, the main rule is simple: some kind of order and always, cleanliness. It's like gardening. You can make tight little straight rows marching along, or group. If you are collector of objects, arrange a group or scene. Some, as you, I  put on shelves, things I have collected to make memories. If so, we could arrange to tell a tale. If it's little china figurines, place them to "say" something. If it's baseball caps on the wall, put them in some order. That gives the person who looks on, a story and we all enjoy a story.  As to the big furniture, never line it up along the walls. A room is not an arena. A room is a place to sit down and converse with others. Let your your visitors find there, a comfortable spot to sit with you. Those who live in palaces with gigantic rooms, know how to do it. In their big empty spaces, they make cozy seating arrangements and a nice place between the two, to put things upon. The other parts of the room, if big enough, can hold small groupings: a games table  or a reading corner. Even a small room can do this. Make your rooms places for people, not realty camera men with  expanding lenses. Those things lie and we all know it.  When buyers come around, if they can't see that you have a place for real and warm people, not movie stars, they will know it. They might not buy it, but they can see the potential. They are not idiots with pockets full of money. They're going to renovate anyway. Remember that your realtor is not your BFF. It is somebody who is  doing business.  They are terrific, hard-working folk, and their warmth is part of what they do to make a living. Here today and gone tomorrow. Richer.  And let's all get away from the white and grey paint thing. If you like red, do red. But do it with love. When I sold my last place, I said no thanks to the stager.  My new renovated place is also me and my lifestyle. I don't live in a magazine. I am the one who lives here, not the mag editor. Make your home a place that you love to come home to. Your buyer will know it. It will still sell. Like you,  another city dweller , I get realtor calls many times a week. I say politely, "It's not for sale. I'll call you if it is. This is MY home."