Start Curb Appeal at the Front Door

Hello! I'm Jen from the blog Migonis Home. My husband grew up in the same town in upstate New York as Kim and since she's moved across the country and AJ and I have met, married and settled into Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA where we are fixing up a small Cape.

I have a new favorite inexpensive improvement to our house. This post has been in the works for years. I mean years. My most memorable home design magazine cover is without a doubt Martha Stewart's {now defunct} Blueprint magazine. The cover showed an incredibly sharp door and I decided to recreate it for myself. After receiving paint from Behr for a house makeover I had the front door paint just waiting to go on the door. I knew that would be an easy to tackle project.

To say I'm thrilled would be an understatement. :)

The door is Club Navy by Behr.

Here's how I did it...

Once I painted the door navy I made a stencil for myself. I traced the characters that I taped to the door and then did a little free-handing on the "N" where the closest font in Word didn't match up to the vision I had for the door based off the Blueprint magazine photo.

pardon the huge dot on the photo... something was on my lens. :)

I made sure to press down incredibly hard with my pen so there would be a faint outline that I could use while painting. Once I was done attempting to fill in the outline with Country Chic Paint's Simplicity for the numbers I realized I had to do some touch-ups with my navy paint after it had thoroughly dried. 

Does it look as crisp as vinyl letters would? No. But I love knowing that I did a custom job myself and that it was a $0 update. 

I used plastic garbage bags and painter's tape to tape off the door and I spray painted the door knocker and door knob. They are so sharp and really pop now. 

It's definitely makes our house stand out far more than it did previously. If you are looking for a quick weekend project to bring some character to your home then look no farther... I'd love for  you to follow Migonis Home for new posts and daily inspiration:

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Thank you, Kim, for letting me pop by your blog today and chat about a simple upgrade to your home! :)

Bad MLS Photography (Part Two)

Are you ready for another  bad MLS photo post?

You know... the kind of photos that DON'T sell a house? Here are three photos that were taken from actual listings... and how they could have been done better.

This photo doesn't show off that this could be a good space... at all. This photo immediately makes the house look like a fixer upper.

Ways the photo could be done better to {hopefully} get more people through the doors:

1. Move the car so you see more of the property.

2. Clean the junk out of the yard... do you really need a table and chairs that have fallen over sitting in the front yard? Or something blocking the front door? Nothing says "welcome!" like that.

3. Have the home owners take 15 minutes to mow their gorgeous green grass!

Just in time for a summer swim...

Nothing says "Buy Me" like turning your pool into a trash and compost bin.

Ways this photo could have been better:

1. Take it from an angle where you only get the yellow part of the house. NO POOL.

2. Move the ladder off the house. You don't want future buyers wondering what you were fixing. (Although chances are there is a lot of work to be done to the house if the backyard looks like this.)

We still see you... 

Ways this photo could be better:

1. Move all the towels and robes out of the photo.

2. Take the photo from inside the shower... if you shoot from an angle there is a better chance you won't be in the photo...

OR 

Kneel on the floor where the photographer is standing. You'll get the same shot if you position yourself correctly.

What are some of the worst MLS photos you've seen?

Staged to Sell

I love hosting open houses. Especially well staged open houses that really give a potential buyer a feel for how a particularly tricky spot can be laid out... like this little desk right in the entryway. 

I visited some open houses a few weekends ago with some real estate clients and came across this little ranch. It was a flip and because no one was living there after the work was completed they had it staged. The photos of a vacant home are typically not interesting and not interesting leads to less showings. Staged homes generally sell for more than unstaged homes.

I want to show off this particular home because I think the stager (unfortunately I have no idea who they were) did a great job finding tasteful furnishings that accurately showed off the size of the house. You'll probably notice that every room has a neutral paint color... which could look very blah to potential buyers if it wasn't paired with great pops of color. When repainting to sell your home you can't go wrong with a neutral wall color... buyers will have a much easier time envisioning their own belongings in the space if they aren't imagining how much work it'll take to paint over a bold or bright color.

I find staging to be especially helpful when you have small bedrooms. A typical home buyer has no idea what size bed would fit into a small space but it's must easier to envision your things in that house if you see that a full sized bed is able to fit with two end tables, for example. Simply staging the bedrooms could protect a buyer from just walking away believing the rooms / house to be too small for them.

The person who staged this home did a great job making the bathrooms feel spa-like with white towels, zero clutter and calming accessories. If you are selling your house, or intending to, take the lead from this home and have zero clutter out (ie: buyers don't need to see any of your toiletries)... it's amazing how much more restful it makes the home feel.

Every home buyer wants a workable kitchen and if staged take the lead from this kitchen and use plants, food that wont spoil and white or neutral dishes.

What are some great home staging tips you've seen?

Lyon Real Estate Dinner

Recently I went to an incredible event put on by Lyon Real Estate for their 900 agents. The night was designed to honor the hard work that went into making of 2013 a successful year in real estate. 

In addition to the fantastic dinner and dancing I was very honored to come home with some new "bling" for my desk. I’m so appreciative of my wonderful clients that made it possible!

I’m looking forward to another strong year in 2014!