Charlotte Homes for Sale
Nina Hollander
(704)779-0813

      It’s that time of year again…. getting your house decorated for the holidays! But what if you are in the process of selling your home? Just how much decorating should you do without “turning off” potential home buyers? Some home sellers are afraid of decorating at all. But if you are still living in your home, while selling it, you should celebrate and enjoy the holiday spirit that comes from decorating your home. Some people actually take their homes off the market during the holiday season. We always recommend to our clients that they keep marketing their homes during the holidays. Here’s why: While there are fewer buyers in the market during the holiday season, those that do look typically are much more serious buyers and many need to make a purchase decision before the end of the year. And a beautifully decorated holiday home is inviting and buyers enjoy looking and often get more excited about making offers.

Here are some great tips on what to do and not to do:

• Don’t Over-Decorate: keep it simple; don’t overwhelm a room with decorations. Simply touches of holiday decor work best. Fireplaces are often a prime selling feature of a home, so don’t overload the decorations and Christmas stockings so people can see the fireplace and appreciate it. Minimize the number of Christmas trees you have in the home and maybe even put up a smaller tree so it doesn’t dominate the room or block windows and light.
• Add Splashes of Holiday Colors: add fresh greenery; add some red accents; bows and ribbons go a long way to dress up candles, wreaths, etc. But you can also use neutrals and add some glitter with silver and gold accents. If you decorate in multiple rooms, stay with the same color theme.
• Set the Holiday Mood: holiday music playing softly in the background; holiday scents (cinammon, pine, cider, vanilla) add to the atmosphere. Research has shown that when there is holiday music playing softly in the background, home buyers were more eager to buy.
• Christmas tree decor: keep it simple; keep it elegant; keep it minimized. If you do have a very large tree, remove some furniture from the room so it looks less crowded.
• Don’t forget curb appeal: but don’t overdo the outdoor lighting. Clear, white lights are the only ones you should use. Don’t forget a pretty wreath for your front door. And don’t forget to add some lights to the deck for evening showings. Battery-powered candles in windows make a wonderful first impression for buyers, if you have window sills that can hold them.
• Remove all the holiday decorations by January 2nd!

Have you discovered WorldofChristmas.net? This site is a treasure-trove of decorating ideas for all budgets. Check it out and remember to keep it simple.

Looking for more ideas and tips? Contact Carolinas Realty Partners–we’d be delighted to help!

Turquoise is the hot, hot, hot color for 2010 if you are staging or decorating your home! It’s considerd the new “neutral;” a color that most people respond to positively and is universally flattering appealing to both men and women. When home buyers enter a room with turquoise, they instantly get a mood lift.  Color specialists claim that turquoise restores a sense of well-being. And most any color goes with turquoise, as well, including neutrals, browns, greens, etc. Plus, there are lots of different shades of turquoise, which can flatter any neutral and any room.

There’s a huge misconception that when you are staging your home for sale you need to make everyting beige or white and delete all color. In fact, a pop of color instantly brightens and updates any room. This year, the color to use is turquoise. And keep in mind, you don’t need to paint all your walls turquoise–you can just do an accent wall if you’re so inclined. But if you keep everything else neutral–carpet, wall color, upholstery–you can simply add turquoise accents to “pop the color” by adding turquoise lamps, pillows, accessories, candles, etc. Keep in mind that when you decide on a strong color like turquoise to enhance your decor, you should stay with the same color family throughout the home to provide visual continuity.

Anytime you are staging your home, keep the following “rules” in mind:

• De-personalize and de-clutter each room–many stagers suggest removing 65% of what’s in each room to open it up and make it look more spacious. (Think of it as advanced packing, which you’d have to do anyway once your home sells.)
• 60% of each room should be one color.
• 30% of each room should be another color.
• 10% of each room is your accent color–like turquoise.