HOME RENOVATION TO SELL: READY FOR THE MARKET
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Welcome back to the wrap-up of this Home Renovation project to sell. This project went extremely fast. In fact, it was completed within 2.5 weeks. If you didn't catch where we started, and what happened in week 1, and week 2, I encourage you to go back and see the progress that took place. By the end of week 2, we were pretty much done. We had some final details to complete, then it was time to stage, and it's officially on the market. I cannot express how important it is to get your windows professionally cleaned. I've been using the same person for over a decade and he's worth every penny...especially if a) you have a 2 or 3 story home and b) if you've never cleaned your windows before. Trust me when I say spraying your windows with a garden hose is a BAAAAD idea. Not only did he clean the windows, inside and out, but he also cleaned the screens and took all the blinds off and cleaned them ultrasonically at his shop and returned the next day to reinstall them. There is not one person in this world that can clean a metal or plastic blind by hand better than a machine. At about $12/blind, it's a no-brainer!
Let me walk you through some of the key changes we did and show you the BEFORE and AFTER shots...here we go! Starting at the front entry...the main star here is we stained the wood door with a dark espresso finish. The richer color really made the entry pop against the yellow exterior paint color and it picked up on the richer finishes and colors that we incorporated into the interior of the house. I'm so bummed that I don't have a true before photo of the this entry because that would have made for a much more dramatic transformation, but that was a fail on my part. Just imagine there was 2 different kinds of wallpaper on either side of the entry walls, 2 framed sheet mirrors that were glued to the left wall as you're looking at the photo, wimpy baseboards and of course, the old linoleum. All the wallpaper, mirror and wood trim was removed and painted a very elegant grey, new 20x20 vinyl tile floors were installed and larger scale baseboards make this an entry to be reckoned with..."how you like me now?!!"
Along that same entry area is an old school door chime. Yes, it's big and if you could have seen my electrician's reaction to it, you'd pee your pants crying. I'm sure it's older than he is, but I just didn't want to deal with removing it, replacing it, etc. We had much bigger fish to fry. Once all the wallpaper was removed, it looked a little unfinished so I had my contractor add trim that matched the closet door next to it and voila...mo betta!
As you enter the house and turn to your left, there's the dining room. As you can see in the before, there was that lovely faux brick paneling that wrapped that dining side of the room. No doubt that had to go! Then there was that built-in china cabinet that I contemplated keeping for 2 seconds, but am so glad I had the painters remove it and drywall over the opening. The space actually looks bigger. So...remove the paneling, wimpy crown, built-in china cabinet, vertical blinds, and dated chandelier and we paint the walls, add beefier crown and baseboards, continued that same 20x20 vinyl tile into this area and the kitchen, add a contemporary pendant chandelier and we've got a really cute dining nook to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Directly across from the dining area is the kitchen. As we all know, kitchens sell a house and unfortunately, the BEFORE kitchen wasn't doing this house any favors. We did a lot of work in this space including refinishing the cabinets - painted them and added a glaze to really give it character (see the close-up shot), installed all new hardware including hinges, knobs and pulls, installed a granite countertop and coordinating glass tile backsplash, replaced the sink, faucet, vent hood, stove and refrigerator, and continued the vinyl tile flooring in here. The results are spectacular! We had lots of great reviews on this kitchen and people came to visit the house just to see this kitchen when they saw pictures of it. Pretty cool right?
Here's the close-up shot of the cabinetry I promised you...
Thought you'd also like an up close look at the back splash tile...it's truly the wow factor!!
The family room is a step down from the kitchen. We didn't do a lot to this space, but what we did made a big difference. The most obvious transformation is the fireplace. We painted the brick 2 shades darker than the walls, we took out the wimpy trim that was pretending to be crown and added the beefy crown to this room which many people commented on during the open houses. The painters had to pull out the fireplace insert to paint around the hearth and I was so happy to see it out, I chose to dispose of it rather than reinstall it. We replaced the ceiling fan with a remote control operated contemporary version and if you notice around the two skinny windows on either side of the fireplace...I had the painters cut the arms and legs off of the wood frame so we didn't have that awkward look distracting the eye. It turned out great. Oh by the way, that's exactly the framing that was at the entry...just imagine it wider with mirror in it instead of a window...two, side by side, staggered. Aren't you glad it's gone? I know I am and I'm sure the new owners are!
The family room connects to a room addition done by a previous owner which I've dubbed the Rec room. This was one of the biggest eyesores when we started this process. All that brown wood paneling dated the room and made it very dim. Also, the acrylic light diffusers on the fluorescent lights were yellowed from age and needed to be changed so...we (I mean the painters) primed and painted all the wood paneling the same color as the rest of the house, we changed all the acrylic light diffusers, had the carpet cleaned and cleared out a lot of stuff so now, you've got an extra space that can be used as a rec room, a play room, an office, a man cave, an additional living space...whatever your lifestyle needs are.
Ok...now we head to the other side of the house. First stop is the hall bath. I'm sure you've heard that kitchens and baths sell a house...we needed that to be true for these buyers so this hall bath needed an overhaul. Initially we thought we'd gut renovate it, but the budget did not allow for that to happen so instead, we kept the vanity and had it painted a dark gray and changed out the hardware which included hinges and pulls. The cultured marble sink/countertop was glazed a nice bright white which matched the newly glazed tile shower surround and bathtub. We kept the medicine cabinet, replaced the light fixture, removed the storage cabinet above the toilet, kept the same toilet, replaced the shower/tub faucet, installed the same 20x20 vinyl tiles we used in the entry/dining/kitchen in this space and replaced the towel bar. It's a completely different space...so fresh and contemporary!
Moving onto the Master Bath...what I agonized over was this vanity area which I spoke about in the last post. It actually turned out really nice. Before, it felt very cramped in this space and semi-claustrophobic, but post makeover it looks really fresh and bright. We kept the same configuration and had the cabinetry refinished, painted and glazed just like the kitchen. We installed new hardware - hinges, knobs and pulls, replaced the countertop with a new white quartz counter and undermount sink...bye-bye scalloped sink! We swapped out the Hollywood strip light with a very pretty light fixture, removed the two old school recessed lights in the drop down ceiling which I found very redundant, painted the walls and the trim around the medicine cabinet and mirror on the back wall and now, we are ready to be admired...heeyyy!
The separate toilet and shower room is pretty astonishing. It's a very tight space but it looks so much bigger and brighter after we removed the wallpaper, took down the storage cabinet, painted the walls and trim, replaced the shower door, had the pink tile surround glazed a bright white like in the hall bath and installed a new 12x12 vinyl tile floor to complement the wood floors adjacent to it while adding some texture and color at the same time.
Here's a close-up shot of the newly glazed shower area. We also replaced the shower faucet which again, was not an easy task. The contractor had to remove a few tiles to install a new valve because retrofitting proved unsuccessful!!! Don't worry, we did install a trim piece around the shower head...I just took this picture before that was done.
I'm not showing before and after shots of the other spaces because it's not that exciting. We painted throughout the house (I chose to go with the same color to make it cohesive), added new baseboard throughout, changed out light fixtures throughout, replaced light switch and plug plates as needed, updated door knobs, removed A LOT of junk and personal belongings, cleaned and had the house professionally staged by iDekor Staging. They are fantastic and really added the personality and wow factor that took us over the top. In trying to keep everything within budget, the Realtor did ask if we really had to stage and I just gave her the evil look that basically translates to "are you kidding me?!" I am proud of the transformation we did on this house. The new owners will be getting a fully turn-key property which is a lot more than I can say about the neighboring listings, but even with all the changes, there's nothing like furniture and accessories to pull it all together. We did fairly neutral finishes and the staging adds the color that brings it all to life. I could go on and on about staging, but you get the idea. Don't cheap out...you'll regret it!!!Here's a shot of the iDekor Staging team in action...
Click here to see a full tour of the professional MLS photos for this home. So...this house went on the market during that third week. The Broker's tour was that Thursday followed by two back-to-back weekends of public open houses on Saturday and Sunday and to no one's surprise, they received multiple offers at a sales price well over asking...woo hoo!!! They are set to close next month so you'll have to check public records for the full deets as I'm not at liberty to disclose that info. Ultimately, by my calculation, they have received over 300% ROI on this renovation. I'd say that it was worth it wouldn't you? Doing the happy dance on their behalf!!!Are you ready dance with me? Call me, we'll talk! ;)Onto the next project...you'll hear from me soon.
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