This post is so fun! Fun all around: fun to have the contest, fun to pick the winner and learn her familie's story, fun to stage and fun see the before and after photos!
So during our 1 Year Anniversary Celebration in October, we had a drawing for a 1 hr home staging visit for one room in your home! Of the 85 name collected, Ms. Krystal of Zimmerman won! Before I even met Krystal, I knew just by speaking with her that this would turn out to be a fun experiance for all of us! And I was right!
Here is a photo of Krystal with her cutie-patootie son standing in the kitchen. (Her man was no where to be found for the photo- Most likey he didn't want me asking him to move anyother pieces of furniture. Ha Ha)
Here is a photo of Krystal with her cutie-patootie son standing in the kitchen. (Her man was no where to be found for the photo- Most likey he didn't want me asking him to move anyother pieces of furniture. Ha Ha)
The back story on the home: This darling young family lives in a turn of the century white 2-story farm house. (Sidenote: Owning an old farm house has been a dream of mine, so as you can imagin I was estatic when she first told me!) Well, this isn't just any-old farm house this house has been in her family for three generations! Her father's parents, her grandparents, lived in the home in it original location on land that is now the Refuge. Later they moved the home to where it currently sits, just to the east of the Refuge. As a tribute to this legacy, Krystal has her grandparent wedding photo hanging up in the dining room and a has kept a beautiful wood buffet that has always been in the home since when her grandparent lived there! Kystal had chosen her living room to be the room for the staging visit. It is a nice size room with two windows. The living room is to your right as you come in the front door, and shares the main level with the dining room (directly to your left) and the kitchen that has been opened up to the dining room.
Here are the before photos of the living room:
Krystal and I, before we got started
This photo is a view when first looking in the room standing in the entry/dining room.
Notice the beautiful mirror and beautiful gray walls!
Tip: A mirror on the opposite wall of a window is a great way to gather more natural light in a home, especially in the winter time or if a room faces the North (Norther exposure = very little to no sun). Way to go Krystal!
Photo taken standing square in the dining room facing towards front window.
So the first thing I looked for was the natural or structural focal point of the room (the area where we are naturally drawn) And in this room, it is the windows or the space between the windows. So with that, the staging began! With switching the focal point (from the TV to the windows), that meant all the furniture had to be switched up! Krystal didn't like her black TV stand so we were able to swap out that one (and we even had her hunny take it out to the barn) and replaced it with a much more unique option! We used her grandmother's buffet as the TV stand! Louise's Lady- Patti chimed in with that idea and so glad she did. It really wasn't getting the attention it deserved in the corner of the dining room!
(Krystal agreed with that too!)
It worked perfectly and looks amazing! And they now have a lot more space in the dining room too!
Thank heaven the large mirror didn't have to be moved! Their sofa fit nicely under it.
Here is the beautiful natural wood buffet turned TV stand!
They can still be used as storage for china or linens but maybe even all the remotes
or a DVD collection)
We pulled in a chair off her back porch,
Tip: We angled the rug to match the angle of the buffet.
Tip: A light right under a window doesn't create a "fish bowl" where everyone can see in your home from the outside, like when using over head lighting or putting a lamp opposite a window.
From the street you couldn't see past the light of the lamp as we left.
(Tip on Blinds: it is till best to angle blinds upwards (rather than down) so people aren't able to see in if they are walking closer to your house-or cafe curtains are good for privacy too. People cannot see in but they still allow you to look out above the curtain (and with cafe curtains, in the winter you block out the view of all the snow on the ground and are just able to see the tree tops, the sky and hopefully the Sun now and again! ha ha)
These are all her fun pieces- I love the crisp line modern furniture and lighting mixed in with the softness of the wood box, lines in the birdcage and the plushness of the sofa.
Such a neat look!
The TV was moved between the windows, so the natural focal point of the windows wasn't fighting with the TV for attention. Now these two elements share the attention! And we noticed after staging, that with the TV in this location, they are able to watch TV while cooking or cleaning the main level! The richness of the wood buffet truly did complemented the modern more industrial style of Krystal's accent pieces. It became a beautiful melding of old and new, just like the fun history of the home! I think her grandparents are looking down, and are so proud of Krystal and her little family that now live in this home! Like I said above, it truly was a fun experience all around. It was wonderful to meet Krystal and I am grateful to her for allowing us to share this with all of you!
Thank you Krystal, take care and enjoy,
Kelly Louise
ps. I think we need to hunt you down a coffee table- thinking it should be more modern or industrial- white or possibly metallic like the lamp and vase-
