The Inviting Home

Archives for March 2023

DIY: A Closet Door Upgrade!

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Happy Spring, everyone! I’m coming at you today with a very fun, quick, easy, and impactful DIY!

These closet doors were very basic. I wanted to replace them… but replacing felt wasteful to me …. so I was thrilled to come up with an upgrade solution. I’ve had extra blind “slats” hanging around forever and decided to see if I could create box molding on the doors with the slats. Turns out they were the perfect thickness to allow the doors to still open.

Here are the doors BEFORE.
Figuring out a configuration with the “blind slats!”
I cut the slats to length, then glued them onto the doors with Wood Glue.
I caulked the edges, filled and sanded the joints… and they’re ready for paint!
I’m so happy with the interest and dimension the slats create on these basic sliding doors! I used SW Evergreen Fog and absolutely love how this space turned out. The trim on the doors elevates the doors’ very basic beginnings!!

I love a good DIY and this was certainly a favorite: fun, quick, economical and I LOVE the interest the box molding created! Stick around for more DIY’s!

Filed Under: DIY

The Emotions of Home Selling!

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Vacant Staging by The Inviting Home – Photo by EP Studios

Home Seller tip #1: As soon as you can, disconnect from your emotional attachment to your home! Easier said than done, right? Last week, we talked about the emotions of Home Buying, so now, lets flip the script and look into the emotions of Homeowners. I get it… we are all sooo connected to our homes. And for good reason. They’ve sheltered us, watched our kiddos grow up, been our haven, and have heard all the weird, wacky and serious conversations. Our homes have been the one place to truly be ourselves, a place to create memories, bring babies home, and a place to care. To love. To grow.  To feel safe.  And now we’re moving on, selling, and hoping someone loves our haven as much as we do. Complicated feelings, for sure.

I don’t know what your process will look like… but somehow, I encourage you to embrace, celebrate, and thank your home… and then disconnect from your emotional attachment to it. From a home… to an investment. This may sound jaded… so here’s the why: you don’t want your emotions to cloud how prospective buyers will view your home.  You view it one way… the way you’ve lived best in it. But the potential buyer may want to live in it another way… and if you hang onto your personal feelings, you can cloud the potential.

For example…recently I staged a “sunroom” as an office after the homeowner staged it as a playroom. The playroom served the homeowner well… it was cute and tidy… but the space wasn’t relatable to most buyers.  The homeowner had to say an emotional goodbye to the adorable playroom, and think about maximizing her sale and appealing to the majority of buyers who would tour the home. She made the shift from home and baby moments… to investment. She didn’t need buyers to like how she lived in the home… she needed a buyer to want to BUY her home.

I’m not saying it will be easy… I’m encouraging you to shift your mindset from all the feelings of “home” to “what can I do to appeal to the majority of my potential buyers?” It’ll mean taking “home” out of your home.  Worth it, right?… if it leads to a buyer being able to see living their best life there?!

The Emotions of Home Buying!

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Vacant Staging by The Inviting Home – photo by Jonah Gustavson

Buying a home is not just a financial decision… it’s also an emotional one!  The entire process can be a rollercoaster of emotion from excitement and joy to uncertainty. This is because, most often, home buying is more than simply acquiring a property.  It’s about finding a place to create life, build memories, and feel safe, happy and secure. It’s about investing in a community, a neighborhood, and creating a sense of  belonging.  Unless your buyer is looking for a property to flip, more often than not, they’re feeling all the feels. They’re looking for a home that checks all their boxes from belonging and attachment to memory making and feeling secure.

Knowing this, your staging should play to the emotions of your buyer!  Home staging is visual marketing… show them how beautiful life can be living in your home! Show your buyer how living in your home will be a haven to them.  Show spaces that are warm and inviting… that beckon the buyer in and helps him/her see themselves living an amazing life there. A place of contentment and memories. Your buyer wants to purchase HOME and a well staged/styled home can evoke these feelings in your buyers.