First Impressions--start at the entrance

Curb Appeal--Feather Your Nest Transformation--

Its as important as what is inside. You know the old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". Well. that is exactly what people do-----on your home.

Whether you are sprucing up your own abode for yourself or trying to get your home ready to place on the market; the front entrance definitely needs some attention.  If it is un-inviting and/or drab, it sets the tone for what is to come. People tend to create first impressions in the first 10 seconds they meet you (or your home). Do yourself a favor and make those first few moments of meet & greet the best they can be.

Meet the old:

You can't get to much more boring than this. Don't you just love the wood covering the third story window?  Makes a statement right?

Now the unveil:

I sware these are completely un-touched photos.  So, how did we go from Drab to Fab?

Start with the Obvious:  The Front Door

The storm door was replaced about 4 years ago, and was in great shape.  What we needed to do was make the front look more inviting and give a hint as to what would be found on the inside.  The actual door is original to the home--and a strange 105 inches tall...so it would be a shame to try to replace it.  I say keep all elements that are salvageable intact for the integrity of the home's story.  This door is circa 1924, complete with brass door knob, plate and trim (that you can't see very well).  All it needed was a good sanding with a mouse sander using fine grit and primer and paint.  We chose this cool gold/yellow tone to complement the red-brick.

  

My all-time favorite color to accent dark/cherry cabinets, furniture or even this brick is Kilz brand Nacho-Chip.  It is great. This sample may look more brown, but in reality it is a warm golden yellow. You can find Kilz brand paint at Wal-Mart.

Next:  A bath

Take all the shutters off and power wash the brick--the entire house.  I am lucky because Mr. Perfect is very good at this.  But, if you have never used a power-washer before, you may want to hire this out.  1) Because if you use the wrong power, you can push the morter out between the bricks=BAD.  2) A professional can do it in a day.....time=money.

Don't forget to power-wash the shutters too.  Here is Mr. Perfect in action. (Yes, his nick-name from his teenage years was actually this)

Nice and clean and ready for painting.

Paint

We chose a great dark muted grey/blue color for the shutters.  The gal at Lowes suggested flat sheen for shutters--if I could do it over, I would choose a semi-gloss for sure, especially against the brick.  But it turned out fine.  We also painted all the window trim in a warm white.  Paint always makes things look newer and cleaner.  If someone saw chipped paint around a window, just because you didn't have time to take care of it; well, it may hint that you don't take care of other parts of your home.  Make sure you get severe weather paint and that it is mildew resistant.

Landscaping & Plants

If possible, add in some landscaping around your house.  It doesn't have to be crazy, just some easy-to care for plants and shrubs.  Anyone at a green-house or Lowes can help you pick what is best for your climate.  

Here we are getting ready for the landscaping. This isn't hard, just time-consuming and elbow grease. After you did up the area you want to plant, add in some Hummus.  Here is a great site that will help you get started if you are new to gardening: http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/beginner-gardening.html

It is always good to have some sort of plan.  I created a crude drawing of my idea of what I would like for my flower garden to look like.  Using the color scheme that we created for the house, I chose plants on size, color and care.  Then, set them out where I thought they would look best.  It is easy to make changes etc....before the plants are in-the ground.  You definitely need some height in the back and a mixture of shrubs and colored flowers.  It is good to plant things in groups of three to five for depth.

The finished result

Create an Outdoor Room

This picture was taken in the "during" phase as you can see.  We re-painted the porch black and used this side of the porch to create a room-like space. Again, using the color scheme for the interior of the home.

Here we started with an outdoor rug to ground the space. And, added in seating, a table and some greenery.  The cushions came from Marshalls and the setee and chair are from Pier One. The accessories are from Target and Hobby Lobby.

The rug is from Target, Planter from Marshalls and the Lantern is from Hobby Lobby.

The End Result

A definite Transformation without alot of money.  Mostly, cleaning, paint and Tim.....and little hard work :) Nothing worth having comes easy! Right?

 All of this porch furniture and accessories are available through our Feather Your Nest Staging Service.  If you would like to learn more about Home Staging click HERE 

And this House is actually on the market currently.  If you would like to learn about this property or see more pictures: Check it out HERE

 If you all have some curb appeal to share with us, drop us a line and show us today.  What are you waiting for.

Enjoy

Feather Your Nest--Seventh Street Transformation Week 2

Expect the Unexpected

As we all know, things don't always go as planned.  Well, that is what has happened during our Seventh Street Feather Your Nest Transformation house.  We have been at a stand still for over a month.  That is ions in house remodeling years.  And as they say,(whom ever "they" are)" time is money".  Another mortgage, more utilities, over-budget and over-time....it all costs.

So what is all the fuss about?  It is underfoot.  The floors.  This is something to leave to the professionals...we learned this the hard way....even thought "they" said they had experience etc.  Do yourself a favor....save time and money and hire a professional floor re-finisher.

Office Floor "before"

Bedroom Floor 'before"

Its not that the floors were horrible or anything.  But, they were different colors from floor to floor and even room to room as you can see above.

Guest bedroom Floor "before"

Yes, that is purple and green walls, lovely right?

Same Green bedroom floor "during" after the second sanding. (Notice the primer on the wall)

Different angle of bedroom floor after sanding

Office floor, "during"

Picking out a floor color isn't rocket science, but you need to definitely be patient.  Just like paint colors, it is important to take a few samples of stain back and try a few on the floor to see what looks best.

You can get stain at Lowes, HomeDepot or most any paint or hardware stores.

Minwax is a good brand that has stain and sealant mixed in.  We tried a few colors of stain.

And, settled on Provincial colored stain from Home Depot. It is the next to the end on the right side. Click here to see more.

Hardwood floor is a huge feature to help sell your home. If they are in good condition and uniform in color, it creates flow throughout your home from room to room.  If you do not have have hard-wood, there are many options currently for not much money.  Again, look to Home Depot or Lowes as well as your local carpet store. Click here for ideas.

Vinyl tile has also come a long way from the black and white tiles in your grandma's kitchen.  There are many vinyl options out there that look like hardwood.  I wouldn't hesitate you use something like this below.

To check out this tile click here

Cherry looking vinyl tile above even has the texture of hard-wood.  Check it out here

Bedroom After

Office after

Although the floors look different above, just blame it on my amature photoshop skills.  Trust me, they are the same.  You will have to come and see for yourself when we have our "Grand reveal" open house.  If you are interested in coming to see our Feather Your Nest Transformation House, please comment on this post and we will add you to our mailing list so you will receive an invite.

So what did we do with our four weeks when we couldn't get inside the house to work while the floors were being dealt with?  We sourced products and picked the color scheme for the rest of the house.

Here are a few sneak peeks for future blog posts and transformational home decor.

So all-in-all just know things can and will go wrong...not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not according to plan. You have to be flexible and stay positive and it all will work out in the end.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about our transformation. And, watch this beautiful 1950's buffet (that I found at the flea-market for $65.00) change into a hip, fun and modern piece.

"I got $20 dollars in my pocket"

let us know if you have scored a cool piece of furniture that only needed a coat of paint to breath new life into it.

ENJOY!

Feather Your Nest--Seventh Street Transformation

Welcome to How to Get Started:

Are you having a streak of Spring Fever? Has spring showers gotten you confused on where to put your umbrella?  Writers block, or in this case, creativity block, can happen to the best of us.  But, it doesn't have to be hard--it should be fun to update your space.

We all are inspired almost daily.  Whether its a stroll on the beach, a winter landscape or a colorful oil painting; images. as well as music and aromas, evoke our senses and touches on our emotions.  If you would like to update your space around you, turn to the things that comfort you and/or inspire you and make you happy.

As we embark on this huge Feather Your Nest project of transforming an entire home--inside & out, top to bottom--at 1028 Seventh Street, Huntington, WV:  How do we even start such an endeavor? 

Quick peep at the property

How do we make make the spaces cohesive and flow from room to room--with such a huge undertaking?  And, most importantly, how do we stay motivated:

We simply take our own advice and start with something that inspires us and keeps us on track:

Our design team at Feather Your Nest, fell in love with this beautiful oil painting.We felt this reminded us of a spring day that took orange and blue to a new level. With hints of green, grey and taupe: there we have our color pallet for the 7th street home transformation-all from one single painting (& a few opinions, of course)

Next, choose a color from that inspiration (for us the painting) to paint the wall & to create the dominate tones of the room:  

Its much easier to choose a few of the paint colors and buy samples sizes for approx $3 and try them on the room next to a window for light and also to see how it looks next to the woodwork.  It is best to let the color then sit for a few days and look at it periodically at different times of the day to see the best options.

Nest, choose a few other colors from the same inspiration:  either complementary tones: or complete opposites--these will serve as your "accent" colors.  We chose, blue, grey and taupe.

There are area  few rules to follow to give you guidance as you update a room or space within your home:

Rule 1).  Typically your floor cover should be a bit darker than your walls to anchor your space

This rug is vibrant and bright and has the main tones of the inspiration in it.  It would be a great piece to anchor any room.

Rule 2).  Add elements of texture

This is important to add depth to a space and makes room feel comfortable and inviting.  Examples would be:  

A driftwood sconce

A cable knit throw

A collection of rope baskets for holding magazines or blankets

A reclaimed barn-wood wood table

Rule 3) You need something neutral that will fill in the gaps of the room to make it more cohesive

This linen chair would be perfect 

A shabby amiore would do the trick

Rule 4).  Add in something shinny:  to bring contrast & interest

A beautiful mirror such as this one would do the trick

A glazed lamp would also bring in a shinny element:

Rule 5).  Lastly, something green is always good; 

A fresh vase of flowers

Or add in plants:  if you are not a green thumb, like be then a "faux" topiary like these above will do the trick. Flowers & Plants help soften a space and help to take the "just decorated" edge off.

We will be following these rules during our entire Feather Your Nest "Drab to Fab" Seventh Street transformation:  

We invite you to follow along during this 6 week process until the Grand Reveal. Pick up How to's and gain some ideas for your own next as we transform this house into a fun, modern family home.

Enjoy!