Wainscoting – A Cost Effective Way To Add Architectural Interest To Your Home

Wainscoting dates back to 16th century England and today it can add old world charm and interest to your home. There are endless styles of wainscoting, the design choice is yours.

Traditionally wainscoting was added by creating panels which would be installed below chair rails. But the same look can easily be created using 1 x 4 boards installed directly over drywall. Then they can be trimmed out in many different ways and painted.

The wainscoting in the photo above is in a very formal home with 10 foot ceilings. Typical wainscoting is 36 inches high, but because of the ceiling height they chose to make it four feet in height. Each square has been trimmed out to create a very finished look.

It does take skill to create a quality finished product. But the materials can be inexpensive and the final product can add great interest and good value to your home.

Follow this link to see photos of wainscoting ideas: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=wainscoting+pictures&gbv=2&aq=1&aqi=g9g-m1&aql=&oq=wainscoting

Amazing Design in a Free Standing Fireplace

Now this is a design wonder. From Eco Smart Fire, this is the Igloo. It has a 'toughened glass surround' with a stainless fire tray. Follow this link to see some great photos of this fireplace in a variety of different residential settings:

http://www.ecosmartfire.com/en/freestanding-fireplace-designs/contemporary-igloo-glass-fireplace

The fireplace is fueled with denatured ethanol which is an environmentally friendly and sustainable resource.

Check out their website for more designs and styles. This is such a unique way to add a fireplace to your home without construction.

http://www.ecosmartfire.com/

Staging Props...some are not needed

While checking out staging websites I came across a retail site for prop items intended for home stagers. At left is their 'Cream Dipped Strawberry'. You can purchase a set of ten for $20.80.

The world of home staging is full of plastic props that are intended to make the staged home look as if Martha Stewart was just working in the kitchen.

There are countless amounts of plastic props from 'filled pitchers of iced tea' for $54.49 to 'bowls of cornflakes with strawberries' for $18.01. Now who really leaves their house so quickly for a showing that they forget to empty their bowl of morning cereal?

Gallery Staging

THE ART OF STAGING: Staging is simply making the best of an environment and giving it ultimate appeal. A wonderful example of staging, in a non-typical manner, is shown in the above photo.

This space is home to a gallery located in historic Hudson, New York. This gallery space is in an old four story former carriage house. The walls are brick and block and the floor is concrete. But through lighting and correct placement of objects in the space, it has been transformed into an amazing and visually exciting space.

The same can be done for any home. Finding just the right furniture and lighting to enhance and accentuate the architectural feel of a home can bring about new and thrilling results.

For those not familiar with Hudson, New York, it is located on the Hudson River about two hours north of Manhattan. A once thriving river town, it went through a difficult time for a few decades. But in the late 1990's, several New Yorkers found the main street, named Warren Street, very enticing. Over the past decade the city has transformed itself into an antique and shopping mecca. With direct train service to Manhattan, it has become a favorite day trip and weekend destination. It's great fun to walk the streets and shop and eat at great restaurants.

Jonathan Adler Sale

Jonathan Adler is one of my favorite designers. You'll soon see photos here of a new space in Bloomington featuring one of his fabulous light fixtures. I first came across his work at his design showroom in Manhattan. He now has locations all over New York City, Boston, Chicago and multiple locations in California.

If you are looking to make a big splash with a new piece of furniture, now might be the time as Jonathan Adler is having a sale on upholstered furniture until March 14th.

The chair to the right is his Addison Chair. It has a white wooden base and you can pick the fabric of your choice. You can even provide your own fabric if you have a favorite. The base price of the chair is typically $1495, now it's on sale for $1270.75

Follow the link for a much better picture and more information:

http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/index.php

No or Low VOC Paint Options

Painting is of course one of the best ways to freshen the look of any home. But recently the issue of VOC's (volatile organic compounds) has arisen. VOC's are found in most paints and they contribute that 'just painted' smell. They also can be released into the air for years after painting and they have been linked to a number of health problems.

Stephen Treffinger of the New York Times ran a test of several new paint options that have low or no levels of VOC's. Some of these paints cost as much at $80 per gallon (Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion) but one of his top picks that he tested was Benjamin Moore Natura. This paint costs $49.95 per gallon and is available locally. Stephen said about the paint "It can be tinted 3000 shades, went on smoothly and was relatively easy to clean.

So in this world of greener and healthier choices, it makes sense to choose a paint that will help to build a healthy environment in our homes.

Style, Food and a Great Cause

Here's a shout-out for a great new cookbook with awesome photos of interior design from some of the most gorgeous apartments on Manhattan's upper east side.

The cookbook, Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations is available from www.amazon.com. The recipes are mostly classic style recipes that the ladies and gentlemen on Park Avenue use for entertaining. They including: beef bourguignon, bouillabaisse, beef Stroganoff ("in a New York minute"), bean salad, just to mention recipes from the 'b' section of the index. I've made several of these recipes and they are wonderful.

In addition, photographer Ben Fink offers snap shot views into the homes and gardens in both Manhattan and the Hamptons. The photos are of gorgeous place settings, classic dining rooms, warm and elegant living rooms and so much more.

In addition, profits from the sale of this book go to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. So put"Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations: Entertaining at Home with New York's Savviest Hostesses" on your book list. Here's a link to ordering information: http://www.amazon.com/Park-Avenue-Potluck-Celebrations-Entertaining/dp/0847833445

The Rechter Project is one of Bloomington Staging & Designs most recent endeavors and this past Thursday evening we hosted a publicity event to showcase the home. We'll be posting before and after photos of the home over the next week.

The event was attended by 50+ Bloomington residents who were interested in seeing this transformation. We had great food, great wine, all in a great setting.

The Rechter Project entailed furnishing an eleven room house that was to be offered for sale. The floor plan of the house, with so many rooms, was difficult to understand. The job of Bloomington Staging & Design was to make sense of each room, giving it a distinct purpose and feel.

And the Rechter Project Publicity Event was a great success. If you'd like to be included in our mailing list for future events, please contact us at matthew@BloomingtonStaging.com

Welcome to Bloomington Staging & Design's new web log. We'll be documenting some of our work and sharing ideas and resources on this site.

A little history, Bloomington Staging was created last August (2009) to meet the needs of the real estate community in the Bloomington area. Home staging is a relatively new concept for this real estate market. Having moved from the east coast where home staging is prevalent, I thought this was the ideal market in which to start this business.

I have spent years staging and remodeling homes in both New York and North Carolina, so I was excited to get started here in the mid-west.

Soon after the creation of Bloomington Staging, many of my clients for whom I was doing design work for said that the business name did not describe the full picture of my business. So at the first of this year, the name was changed to Bloomington Staging & Design.

Staging and design go hand in hand as is shown in the photo above. This picture was taken at Gump's in San Francisco this past week. The photo is of the center stair case in this fabulous store. These lights create a unique and vibrant look that moves throughout the store. If you are not familiar with Gump's, please visit their website at http://www.gumps.com/. Awesome place!