Home Staging: Dining Room Tables

A budget is always a concern when staging a house for sale. One must be creative to stretch a dollar and cover most important rooms of the home. Dining rooms, although rarely used, are a must in a larger townhouses and single-family homes. They are usually located on the main floor and are perfect for "emotional spot" staging. The goal here is to appeal to the buyer's emotion, or a vision of a gathering by the table. So, don't leave this room empty!

Tip to sellers who do not have a dining room set or the set is more of a hand-me-down piece that does not tie to the rest of the house: think table skirts and chair covers!

A dining room can be any (found in the basement/garage or lent from friends) table of decent size and plastic folded chairs. Buy in bulk nicer linen chair covers, put a tablecloth on, and voila! You've got a dining room set.

Fitted table clothes feel more luxurious and for some homeowners may be an easy projects:


*Image from PalmerWeiss portfolio.
Here's another example from House Beautiful:And the chairs, slip covered for $7 a chair (Bed Bath and Beyond)

Home Staging: Foyers

Staging a foyer in a townhouse can be challenging due to the small size and a lack of usable wall space.

Traditionally, a mirror or picture and a console or a bench are placed in front of the entrance door.

Townhouses, however, present a challenge because there might not enough space or seemingly no space at all, like in my friends' house:

To stage this foyer, I'd suggest first to change the color. Right now the existing color has a pink undertone which makes this north-side part of the house feel cold and dated.To brighten up and warm up the space, I'd suggest to paint the foyer with warm beige color like Benjamin Moore Lighthouse Landing or similar warm colors.

Here's the example of the foyer painted with BM's Lighthouse Landing:

Notice how the white trims and doors pop-up against this darker yet warmer color?

Secondly, I'd recommend to place a darker and smaller accent rug which will help define the foyer area and bring out gorgeous wood floors.

Lastly, the accessories. Since the largest wall available cannot be used for a console (the door opens full swing to the right) then an artful mirror(s) or something playful can be hang here, to add interest.
The wall to the left from the entrance door would be an ideal place for a ledge and an art painting on canvas or black frame. It would help to define foyer's wall space and provide visual interest and even some practical purpose as a space for keys.

Lastly, scale and color of the accessories should tie to the existing space and the rest of the house. I suggested hints of black and red because this color can be found in the rest of the house in furniture, frames and accessories. Red and black also look modern and fresh against the suggested wall paint color, appealing to the larger number of buyers.

One last thing: foyer, as any other room, should have a focal point, and small as it is, there should not be 2 focal points competing with each other for attention. This may be fine for decorating but not staging. After all, we are not selling the decor but the house!

Kids Summer Week of July 13

Summer is in full swing and with 2 kids, ages 9 and 3, craving constant entertainment I turned to Internet to find free and other kids-friendly events going on in Northern Virginia area. Here is what caught my eye:

TUESDAY, July 14th:
- FREE KIDS Movie at participating Regal Theaters, 10 AM
- FREE Children's Show at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM

WEDNESDAY, July 15th:
- FREE KIDS Movie at participating Regal Theaters, 10 AM
- FREE KIDS Movie at Ashburn Library, 3 PM (Space Chimps)
- $5 per Child arts class at Reston Arts Center, 11 AM- 5 PM
- FREE Arts Workshop for kids, 3-5 PM at A.C Moore, Ashburn, VA
- FREE American Wildlife show at Sterling library at 4 PM
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM

THURSDAY, July 16th:
- FREE Children's Show at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- FREE Kids' Performance at Dulles Town Center at 1pm (General Foolishness)
- FREE Movie at Cascades Library at 2 PM

FRIDAY, July 17th:
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM
- FREE Messy Art class At Play Cafe, Reston, VA. 4 PM

SATURDAY, July 18th:
- $8 Wolf Trap Theatre-in-the-woods Kids Performance, 10AM
- FREE Children's Arts Workshop at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- FREE Unicycle Lady performance, Reston Town Center at 11 AM
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM
- Kids The Monkeys Of Dang Yang performance at Classika Theatre, tickets $12. 12:30 PM

SUNDAY, July 19th:
- FREE Sunday Family Funday Center Court, Dulles Town Center, 1-3 PM
- Kids The Monkeys Of Dang Yang performance at Classika Theatre, tickets $12. 12:30 PM
- FREE Movie On The Potomac, National Harbor, after sunset (Happy Feet)

New Car

I just found out there's one more incentive to buy a new car this year (besides low financing and lower sticker prices) - a gift from IRS!

For 2009 , sales tax on a purchase of a vehicle with a total price of up to $49,500 is deductible! And with phase-out limit starting at $250,000 for joint married filers, this option will be available for most of middle-class families! In state of Virginia with 5% sales taxes this may mean additional deduction (regardless if you itemize or not) of up to $2,475.

Here's the LINK

Cheers!

LifeTime Fitness Event

We are checking out Lifetime Fitness club this weekend, a great place for a family to spend time, and I wanted to share a promotional e-mail I received:

We invite you to join us for our Open House July 11-12 and see what Life Time is all about.

Plus, if you join this weekend, you’ll receive a FREE Spa and Personal Training package valued at $190.*

This amazing package includes:

· $50 certificate for LifeSpa and Salon Services
· Free FitPoint Assessment
· Free Personal Training session

Schedule an appointment through me for Saturday or Sunday and we will buy you lunch at our LifeCafe.** First-time guests will enjoy access to the club and a VIP tour of our incredible facilities during this event. If you’ve tried us before, please make sure to set up an appointment ahead of your visit so we can approve a free workout for you and your family.

Email me to learn more. July 11-12 is your weekend to experience Life Time and take advantage of a spectacular offer. If you can’t make it in for the Open House, I can set up an appointment for a day next week. You can take advantage of this phenomenal Spa and Training package offer until Wednesday, July 15.

In good health,
Mimi Yule
Web Specialist
LIFE TIME FITNESS Life Time Athletic
myule@lifetimefitness.com

*$190 Spa and Personal Training package valid with new memberships purchased July 1-15, 2009. One certificate per membership only. Valid for one-time visit on services only (not applicable to gratuity). Remaining balance cannot be used at a later date. No cash back. Cannot be combined with other discounts or offers. Other restrictions apply. Certificate expires August 15, 2009. **Lunch Certificate only valid between Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, June 12, 2009. No cash value. Maximum value of $9 per guest. Maximum of four guests. Cash back will not be provided if value provided is less than $9 per guest. Limit one voucher per guest during promotion period. Certificate must be presented at time of purchase.

Cadence and Running

As an aspiring marathon trainee, I've browsed a lot of info both on the net and in the library regarding injury prevention. During my search I came across Chi Running and Pose Method techniques which are quite similar.

Interesting and totally new subject for me was Cadence, a rhythm of running. It's recommended to run at 85-90 steps, or foot strikes per minute. It translates to 170-180 beat per minute in music, if one needs a help of metronome (count 1-2 for each one step). Today I discovered a cool site with a FREE (I love free!) music geared to any cadence. Here's the link.
Listening to recommended cadence, I was surprised how fast it actually is! The trick is to run shorter strides. I will try it tomorrow on my long run and will post results. Kinda curious myself if I can keep up.

Cheers!

Weekend Kid-Friendly Options

It looks like it's going to be a hot weekend on July 11-12. Craving for some cool-down time, but a little more than community pools, I find these options very appealing:

- Water Mine Park in Reston, VA
- Leesburg Aquatic Center in Leesburg, VA
- Cub Run Aquatic Center in Centreville, VA
- Camp Marryelande, a surprisingly nice little beach island on a Chesapeake Bay

Kids Summer Week of July 6

Summer is in full swing and with 2 kids, ages 9 and 3, craving constant entertainment I turned to Internet to find free and other kids-friendly events going on in Northern Virginia area. Here is what caught my eye:

MONDAY, July 6th:
- FREE Kaydee Puppets Performance at Ashburn Library at 7 PM
- FREE Journey to the Jungle at Centreville Library at 2:30 PM
- FREE Outdoor Movie Superman 5: Superman Returns at Crystal City

TUESDAY, July 7th:
- FREE KIDS Movie at participating Regal Theaters, 10 AM
- FREE Children's Show at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM
- FREE KIDS Night at Rockville Town Square, Bert the Nerd' stunt and magic show, Rockville, MD at 6:30 PM
- FREE Hip-Hop Theater Festival at Kennedy Center, 6 PM

WEDNESDAY, July 8th:
- FREE KIDS Movie at participating Regal Theaters, 10 AM
- FREE KIDS Movie at Ashburn Library, 3 PM (Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa)
- $5 per Child arts class at Reston Arts Center, 11 AM- 5 PM
- FREE Concert at Chantilly Library at 7 PM
- FREE Bowling at AMF Bowling Centers,10am-5 PM

THURSDAY, July 9th:
- FREE Children's Show at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- FREE Kids' Performance at Dulles Town Center at 11AM (Banjo Man)
- FREE Movie at Cascades Library at 2 PM
- FREE Raptor Conservancy event at Great Falls Library at 2:30PM

SATURDAY, July 11th:
- FREE Children's Arts Workshop at Lake Anne Plaza, Reston VA at 11 AM
- Reston Town Center Festival with FREE Summer Concert
- FREE YoJo Show for kids in Chantilly, VA
- FREE Movie King Fu Panda in Broadlands at 8:35 PM