Best Styling Home Staging Accessories

Selling a house requires you to bring out its very best. Here’s a short list of my favorite home staging accessories. Why? ‘Cause they’re easy like Sunday morning. Easy to find, easy to style, BUT make a big impact on presenting your best space. Betcha you have these already, but if yours are tired, dated or you are moving to a new place that could use a few of them - I’ve got you cover in my last post.

Take a gander at the infographic and make sure to read the details. If you want to learn more about accessorizing, join me this Friday, the 17th via ZOOM hosted by MAINSTREET ASSOCATION OF REALTORS for my Accessorizing for Home Staging Workshop. Starts at 10am. If you are still in need of assistance , or want to get a pro’s home styling eye, call me - I’m happy to help you with your poor accessorizing aptitude. I can be reach by phone and text @ 708-543-8597.

15 Home Staging Props to Up-Style an Occupied Home

Last week’s home staging evaluation needed a shopping list.  Although this luxury home had it all, and may I say, was quite lovely - every home, no matter how fabulous, needs some level of home staging.

Most homes need to be weeded, packed, and organized. A well showcased home gives the potential buyer an explained lifestyle.  Make it easy for them to picture themselves living beautifully in the home; show off the details, and explain how wonderful it would be to own it. 

With that, there are three rooms in a home going on the market sellers need to focus on: The Living Room, The Kitchen and the Primary Bedroom. The NAR (National Association of REALTORS) in their annual Profile of Home Staging report stated that staging the living room was found to be very important for buyers (46%), followed by staging the master bedroom (43%), and staging the kitchen (35%). After all, we spend most of our time in these spaces.

• Kitchens need to follow form and function -showcase how the space will delight and how at ease it functions.

• Living rooms are for living, so comfortable, attractive aesthetics, family and entertaining friendly, and a great traffic pattern to get to and from.

• And then there is the primary bedroom, a power place for rest and respite after a full day.  

Showcasing these spaces and attracting buyers with home styling may include changing out or adding to the space to create that ideal environment. At all of my Home Staging Evaluations I offer a shopping list of staging props needed to up-style the home for market.

Here are 15 things I suggest in a home staging evaluation. Many of the items on this list can be used to style any home - whether selling or dwelling.

[Click on photo for direct links and details on Amazon. Please note that I have an AMAZON Store front receive a small commission. ]

1. Inviting, neutral, bedding. This simple, elegant duvet set is perfect for any bedroom. Too, you can slip any existing bedding into this envelope style bedding option making it super east to stage with it.

2. A chunky, textural throw. Add a lifestyle layer to any seating or bed. (Don’t you want to cuddle under it?) This Hygge style, big knit throw in a light tone creates a comfort cue to a staged space.

3. A washable area rug. Choose your size and area - a washable area rug is functional and beautiful.

4. White lacquer serving tray. A styling prop for any surface. It’s light color and modern style will enhance anything styled within it.

5. Silver, oblong serving bowl. Its perfect size, elegant shape and metallic finish is one of my favorite staging props. Empty or filled, a statement on any surface.

6. A pair of clear glass based tall 30” lamps for anywhere needed. You don’t want short scaled lamps to other things in a room. These fit any style in any space and are the right height for most furniture arrangements.

7. Round Mirror. Mirrors bring light and style into a space. A round mirror add interest and plays off all the square angles of most rooms.

8. Simple, neutral art/photo frame for anywhere needed. Perfect to replace family photo areas, or missing spots where needed.

9. Storage Baskets. Stylish, textural baskets to tidy any space.

10. White waffle weave shower curtain. Every stagers favorite shower curtain. (Rings included)

11. White, high-style, linen towels. A great set of fluffy, white towels can elevate any bath. For baths who’s finishes may not be to the tastes of today’s buyers - white towels can neutralize odd colors and patterns.

12. Covered glass storage jars. A perfect prop in any space. Showcase a lifestyle or corral a collection.

13. Up-style your pump soap to the next level. It’s the little luxury details that people notice.

14. White craft paper to “school” wrap your books to style a bookcase ot create a beautiful vignette.

15. Coffee Table Books to make your table look fancy.

Need expert and insightful advice for your home environment? Whether moving out, in, or at any chapter of your home experience, I can assist you with your decorating dilemmas. call/text 708.543.8597 email julea@julea.com

EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS: Join Julea at mainstreet organization of realtors for home staging education EVENTS

• Intro to COLOR workshop 2/27 @ 10-11:30am.

• Certified Staging Consultant 3/7 @ 9:00-1:00pm

Please note AMAZON ASSOCIATE DISCLAIMER [ *As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases.]

The Heritage Home Design Trend

Everything Old is New Again

It’s best to call it a NEW trend, especially for the younger generation home dwellers who abhor all décor of their parent’s abode.  We’ve seen home trending whiffs of a collective Grandmother direction worded as “Granny Chic” “Granny Millennium” and last summer’s “Coastal Grandmother” (brought on perhaps by watching too many newly discovered Nancy Meyers’ movies during the pandemic?). In any case the buzz worthy 2023 home interior design and styling trend has been coined “The Heritage Home”

The Heritage Home

My interpretation of this home styling trend means that old is finally and refreshingly OK, passed down is cool, and mixing old and new creates individuality. Mix + match is the trend, pairing your functional clean lined current furnishings with passed down and vintage. This combination results in a home that doesn’t look like this month’s home décor aisle at your favorite big box retail store - but one that’s style looks like has been curated and patiently collected for years. 

Items that may have been tucked away for years can be showcased, garage sale finds layered and celebrated in a new, fresh way and favorite pieces refreshed with a new coat of paint or fabric. The trend stems in pairing them with your present-day pieces to create a space that looks curated and developed and totally uniquely your own.

An accent table can be the perfect surface to showcase your vintage finds. (Photo: Reinventing Space)

Paint company Krylon chose their 2023 Color of the Year ( #COTY) Spanish Moss by this trend saying “The heritage trend style is increasingly growing in popularity - the comfort and reassurance found in the past. The color is seen in upcycle, recycled, vintage and antique furnishings and it inspires D-I-Yers to create inviting spaces full of comforting personal choices - ..offering a dose of nostalgia and familiarity at the same time.”

Reinvent an old tea/cocktail cart into something new and fresh for your home by giving it a makeover. The piece can be that infused celebration of “old + new.”

Krylon 2023 Color of the Year Spanish Moss ( photo: Krylon)

I like the phrase “full of comforting personal choices”.  If we’ve learned one thing about the past three years it’s that home IS truly our shelter from the storm.  It’s no wonder that our past down treasures and quirky vintage finds now find a special place in our home, and the need to refresh what we already have is our new home design mantra for 2023. 

Create a comfortable space filled with old and new (Photo: Reinventing Space)

The trend celebrates and embraces a home’s architecture and esthetics too - meaning not erasing the heritage of a home’s build era, but instead following its guidance to include the history and flavor of the home’s ambiance. Flippers are you listening?

Quirky Embraced

Your home’s bones should be embrace and celebrated. (Photo: Reinventing Space)

Pinterest calls it Hipstoric

Pinterest brands the trend “Hipstoric” and according to their data - “in 2023, people will find new ways to honor old stuff in their homes. Got a hand-me-down handy? These searches are helping people combine vintage—often inherited—pieces with their modern styles. Thanks to the Boomers and Gen X driving these trends, antiques have never looked so chic.”

High trending searches on Pinterest:

Eclectic interior design vintage+850%

Mixing modern and antique furniture+530%

Antique windows repurposed+50%

Maximalist decor vintage+350%

Mix + Match style with layers of personality. Furniture, pattern, eras, magically melded to create a one-of-kind space. From floral wallpapers, lush velvets, to repurposed vintage finds revitalized with peel and stick paper.

Drew Barrymore for Walmart (Photo: Walmart)

The English Home

Across the pond, and always a jump ahead, this trend has been in full  embraced in 2020 -

“As the latest spring home décor collections preview at London Design Week (LDW) 2020, it’s clear that heritage design principles continue to influence the work of today’s leading interior designers.

Whilst new design ideas offer innovative inspiration to those updating their homes, they also incorporate style from the past – bringing colour palettes and patterns back from the archives. Interior experts are guided by time‐honoured techniques and architectural features, too, celebrating the importance of skill and craftsmanship in home décor.” - The English Home

Home Entertaining + Celebrations

82% of consumers surveyed said they plan on entertaining at home as much or more than 2022 (International Housewares Association) 

Heritage Trend - Traditional dinner entertaining (Photo: Pottery Barn)

Scroll through any online home furniture/lifestyle retailer and you’ll find the Tabletop/Entertaining tab is chocked full of product and explained inspiration.  Home entertaining and daily traditional home rituals seem to be très chic, from afternoon tea in lovely antique cups, to sit down dinner parties with friends. Perhaps there is still hope for us Boomers to pass down generational China sets and silver serving ware!

As an Interior Stylist I straddle two worlds - I consult home dwellers how to fully embrace, personalize and celebrate their home, and home sellers who want to prepare their space for a new family by removing that personalized stamp.  The 2023 Heritage Trend can be fully embraced by both dwellers and sellers.

• Mix + Match -  Erase the idea that you need a matching “suite” of furnishings. Create a room that incorporates many styles and eras.

• Repurpose and Reinvent - Have a passed down or well loved piece?  Don’t be fearful of reinventing it with a coat of paint or new fabric. 

• Consider traditional updates to a home. Celebrate the bones of your home. Instead of erasing the past, embrace it.  From lighting  architectural elements, to color palette - consider following a guide to the past to update.

• Maximalist or Minimalist, all are welcome with this trend and can work to both’s advantage

• Curate collections and passed down heritage - whether in a bookcase vignette or as your daily dinnerware, personalized and individual are key ingredients.

• Infuse old and new -  Daily function always trumps fussy, the goal is a space that looks like it has been layered over the years.

In conclusion - Shop your home and unearth passed down and forgotten treasures. Repurpose and reinvent them if you want to put your fingerprint on them. Consider adding some traditional and old design styles into your home whether with color, fabric, wallpaper or architectural elements. Create a home that celebrates its heritage, your own heritage and create a space that is individually yours.

- Julea

Can’t figure out how to pull your it all together? My business model is based on using what you have 1st before buying new. I’m happy to help you create a curated home whether in person or on-line. Call or text me at 708-543-8597.

Reference Links:
(https://www.homeaccentstoday.com/trends/mother-nature-inspires-2023-colors-of-the-year/)

(https://business.pinterest.com/en-us/pinterest-predicts/2023/hipstoric-home/)

(https://www.theenglishhome.co.uk/the-top-5-heritage-design-elements-for-elegant-homes/

New Year New Room Re-style - Shake up your space with these post holiday styling ideas

STOP!  Before you start shoving your furniture back into its old spots after you’ve packed away your holiday décor, consider this instead – Why not give your space a new perspective by re-styling things? After all isn’t the New Year all about making changes?  And don’t give me the excuse that if you move stuff around what will you do about those carpet divots. Please…

A fresh perspective is a good thing, especially in your home environment.

[1st things first. Start the new year with clearing your home of the past year. Scientists have observed that sage can clear up to 94 percent of airborne bacteria in a space and disinfect the air. The Latin word for sage salvia stems form the word heal. Light an essential oil Sage candle and start the new year with a fresh, cleared space.]

Here are some things you can do to up-style and reinvent your rooms and home spaces.  

Move What You Have Around:  Start with what you already have.  Take a stroll through your home and inventory the furniture you have from attic to garage.  Could that consignment shop find desk up in the spare room work as a sofa table or would that rug in the dining room look really nice in the living room? After you do some mental inventory, address the room you want to reinvent. Consider flip flopping the sofas, changing the room's focal point to a different wall or changing the entire feel of the space by swapping pieces from other rooms to make it more formal or casual.  If these suggestions are a bit overwhelming to you, our One Day Makeover services can breath a fresh new perspective into your spaces and uncover things you’ve haven’t used in years.

Our One Day Room Makeover services recreate a space in a matter of hours - (Photo: Julea Joseph)

Accessory Re-Styling:  Rotate it, archive them or repurpose it!  From tabletops to bookcases to wall art, your accessories can always use a new look. The same family photos in the same frame in the same space aren't even seen anymore.  Your very favorite piece of art hanging in the dining room isn't being celebrated there - move it to a spot so you can view it all the time.  That boring bookcase or China hutch could make your room POP if you rotated and swapped the pieces.  Give a lamp a new look with a new shade, harp, finial, or re-style it - by raising it up with a stack of books or painting the base.

Flip your shades. Change out your lamp shades, and/or lamp finials. (PHOTO: One Kings Lane)

Furniture Reinvention: Can you reupholster, slipcover, paint it?  If your furniture is good, if you love the lines or it has sentimental value, keep it, and improve it.  

We are pros at offering advice on how to reinvent your treasured furniture (PHOTO: Julea Joseph)

Paint Color Up Grade:  Once you get your room rearranged, you may want to take the next step and change the paint color as well.  If you have had the same color on your walls for years, a new hue can upgrade your furniture, accessories and art.  2023 offers a plethora of amazing trending paint color to choose from. Try just painting an accent wall, or, try a wall of wallpaper.

2023 Paint Colors of the Year (PHOTO: Source/Julea Joseph)

A Few New Purchases: Any room could use a few new things.  It could be as simple as a lovely potted plant on your cocktail table, a new fun rug in a bold hue or pattern to take your formal living room from boring to spectacular. A new accent collection in a trending color, or a new piece of furniture to refresh the old.  Feel free to shop for a few new items, but only after your room has been re-styled. Consider the new items as the frosting, not the cake.

Refresh a room with a new piece or two - rug. (PHOTO: Amazon)

No time for shopping - Here’s a few examples for you on AMAZON - From a Sage candle to furniture pieces. Julea’s January finds on AMAZON

Don't have the time or talent to do this yourself?  Good news, we can help.  We're interior arrangement experts, have fabulous ideas on how to give your old stuff a new life and don't even get me started on what we can find with our shopping skills!  Give me a jingle, send an email my way and let's talk.  We offer both on-location and e-makeover sessions.  Let's get your home refreshed, restyled and reinvented.  Biz phone: 708-543-8597 M 708-448-7500 B Email: Julea@Julea.com.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Visit my website for my upcoming workshops, education and training. JULEA’S SPEAKING & EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS

Oh... and those divots - Add crushed ice to the dent, let melt and then use an old hairbrush to re-fluff your carpet. Refluff again after drying.  Divots gone! - JULEA

Building Block Home Decorating Accessories You Need!

Whether you live small or large, this accessory collection can seamless change from decorating to entertaining in an instant. Use my "Good Bone" accessories as your base template for styling your home. Each can be used in multiple ways, be changed out quickly space to space, for a season or the holidays. These accessories too can make you a bit more organized, and when entertaining - some, can be staples and service any of your hosting areas from bar to buffet. Win, win.

(** Heads-up, if you’d like to shop my collections, the links are in the item and the picture - I’m part of the Amazon Influencer program and receive a small commission of sold items.)** Link to entire collection - LINK

JULEA’S LIST OF BUILDING BLOCK HOME ACCESSORIES

TALL CANDLESTICKS: A set of tall candlesticks elevate your styling whether topped with candles or any scale friendly object you want to display. Their height is the key ingredient to great accessorizing - Always perfect for a mantle, but also should be considered on a coffee table, kitchen island, or even in a bookcase. For entertaining, add a plate (use poster tack putty) and your buffet or bar will be elevated to new heights.

DOUGH BOWL - The perfect decorating vessel. Rustic, organic, Farmhouse style, with just the right ‘opposites attract’ interior design element that any room needs. Fill it with whatever you please, from holiday greens for the season to faux succulents as a centerpiece. Line it with cloth napkins and for entertaining - it’s the best baguette holder for your dinner party.

LARGE BLANKET BASKET - A large blanket basket can service besides blankets, entry shoes, seasonal wear, kids/dog toys, a statement in-door plant, towels, laundry. Too, it brings texture to a space, and its lovely form offers a pretty visual for a storage piece.

LONG WICKER TRAY - A nice long wicker tray adds casualness and texture to a surface. Great topped on a granite island, your dining room table or to house personal items on a bathroom counter or nightstand. A tray too offers a template to decorate in. For entertaining, pop in a long platter or bowls with your favorite sides, or use for serve items such as napkins, silverware, plates, or more.

WIRED CLOCHE - Bring the outside in with a wire cloche. Casual, unbreakable, and easy to use and store. Anything under a dome becomes more important and adds an element of surprise to your accessorizing.

CAKE STAND - A cake stand can hold more than cakes - as a decorating element, it can be the needed centerpiece element to an arrangement. Alone, or with an added plate, the stand can make something simple stand out and up. Add to the cake stand with the above cloche and you have real WOW factor decorating accessory!

NATURAL ABOLONE SHELL - I know it sounds a bit weird that a shell would make my ‘must have’ list. But I stand by my shell. This pretty, small, vessel can be a lovely natural addition to a side table or a vignette on your coffee table. Perfect in a Powder Room with a bar of soap, wrapped candies, on your kitchen windowsill to hold your rings, or a spoon rest when entertaining or as a salt cellar. It too can sit alone on a bookcase or in a cubby. I found mine while walking on a beach in Half Moon Bay, CA, so besides being functional, it holds a special memory.

WINE/CHAMPAGNE BUCKET - Iconic shape, better than a bowl, Can house ice to a tabletop Christmas Tree. What’s not to love about an oversize wine bucket? On your dining room table as a centerpiece, in your foyer with floral arrangement, on your coffee table with magazines and books. You know what to do with it for entertaining…

SILVER TRAY - Anything silver adds panache, especially a tray. In baths to entry tables - this fancy tray makes anything on it, special and upscale.

FAUX BOOKS - Faux books are a favorite for any home stylist. An added element horizontally, or vertical, they add dimension to any display.

FOOTED HURRICANE VASE - A workhorse accessory. A footed hurricane vase can be your standard decorating element in one spot. It can change each month with fresh flowers, change seasonally or with a holiday. It can be flipped over and used as a candle stand, or as a lift for a buffet with an added plate, bowl or platter. In a bathroom with bath salts, washcloths or kid’s toys, in the kitchen as a terrarium or water garden, and in the laundry with laundry care products.

RECHARGEABLE ELECTRIC CANDLES - Oh happy day! No more batteries. Candles add that ambiance and the 5 sense element needed in a space. These offer a timer, and a remote for ease of use, and then when spent, you just recharge them. We all know where to use them, and if you need direction, see above list. One added idea, since they come in a trio, consider ribboning them together as 1 cluster.

I hope you were inspired to weed through your current accessories, perhaps shop for some new ones, and use these great building block accessories in creative ways. Please share if you use one of these accessories in an different way, we’d love to know!

Stay tuned for a new collection - HOME STYLING or STAGING TOOL KIT FAVORITES. Staples and tools that I have in my tool bag when I head to interior style and home stage a home. - JULEA.

Style your Holidays Foundations 2022

I’m super excited to announce that I am now an Amazon Influencer. With that, I am able to share with you my new page Reinventing Space with Julea on Amazon. I’ll be adding collections to my shopping and with a click, you can use my shopping lists to style and decorate your home.

Style your Holidays foundations 2022

With the holidays just around the corner, start with these great home styling foundation accessory, entertaining and styling pieces for your holiday decorating this year. They will elevate what you already have this year when decking the halls and entertaining and make everyone in your home - feel the holiday spirit!

FURNISHINGS FOUNDATIONS -

Hourglass Wicker Table: With entertaining and rearranging furniture to fit in the tree - this great, little, sexy table can hold host your guest’s drinks, and can even replace a larger side table for the season.

Clear Glass Based Lamp: With all the decking the halls, this simple statement lamp can calm your very busy space. If your room is lighting poor - it's the perfect lamp for any style all year round.

Big Ass Knit Throw: Toasty! Cozy, chunky, seasonal - flip the switch for your living spaces to cozy up your space for the chilly weather season with this great throw. HINT: Can also double as a tree skirt.

HOLIDAY DECORATING FOUNDATIONS -

Open Wood Lantern: An open lantern can house anything. Stacked it on a stand, perched on a set of books or on a lift. Add it on the foyer entry table, or the pair the floor next to the door, as a centerpiece for your holiday table with fresh floral - On the buffet as the napkin or plate holder.

Marble Edge Riser Set: Lifts offer unlimited options when styling for the holidays. Anything lifted becomes more important, and creates interest. This set is made of marble with edgy gold accents and hairpin legs making anything on them very chic.

Natural Fiber Tree Collar: Tree collars are the best - they hide the mess under the tree, balance its stature, and this one brings texture and a clean, modern style to a space.

SCENTS OF THE SEASON -

Fresh Bay Leaf Wreath: A fresh Bay leaf wreath (this one has rosemary too!) is the quintessential holiday wreath and my Mom’s favorite. Lovely, richly scented, and it serves double duty in the kitchen (all organic) when cooking your favorite dishes. Just snip off a leaf or two. After the holidays, it will dry out perfectly to be a mainstay on a wall in the kitchen or pantry or broken down into jars or sachets.

Douglas Fir Essential Oil: O Tannenbaum. The scent of the season. Add few drops in a sprayer with Witch Hazel to freshen your linens, in your diffuser, scent your pine cone display or candles. Heavenly.

Rosemary/Mint French Milled Soap: French milled soap is the perfect hand cleanser in a guest bath. A little touch of panache for your holiday visitors. Rosemary and mint scented, a perfect scent for winter.

ENTERTAINING & HOME STYLING FOUNDATIONS:

Holiday Special American Old Fashioned Hard Candy: Little bowls of old fashion wrapped candies remind me of my Grandparents. These old favorites make any day during the holidays a celebration.

Monogram Guest Hand Towels: Pamper your guests with high quality paper in the powder room or table. They’ll feel like they’re at Downton Abbey.

Footed Raised Tray: A raised surface is the perfect starting point to any vignette accessorizing. Also great for your holiday entertaining to raise what you are serving.

Three Tiered Tray: Vertical decorating saves space and creates interest. Treasured collections look lovely on a table or the island. For entertaining - a coffee/tea station, for cookies, or nibbles. This fancy tiered tray comes apart too for more decorating options.

Clear Ice Bucket: Wine, ice, water, flowers, holiday treats, chips or bread when entertaining.

Marble Board: This marble pastry/cutting board can be used as a platform for decorating on your kitchen island, bar area, or is perfect as an appetizer board. Too looks lovely with potted plants on display.

Cheese Markers: Perfect and clever ”fork” cheese markers for your holiday spread.

Black ‘Chalk’ Paper: Buffet saver! Roll out this black craft paper and write your dishes on it with a white chalk pen. Great for the kids table and stylish paper for wrapping gifts.

Parchment Leaves Sheets: Up your cheese board cred with these sassy parchment leaves. Placed beneath your cheeses or fruits, it makes your platter a bit more special. Also great for desserts.

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