Page 7 - Allisons Newsletter, Lakewood Edge - Jan 2019 Issue

this month: refreshening l
© 2018 Distributed by Tribune DESIGN & DECOR

by Mary Carol Garrity

very year when I take down Rethink your
my holiday decorations, my
Ehouse seems a little cold and
empty. Stripped bare of all those
festive greens, ribbons and shining
objects, I see everything I am not style in
so crazy about in my home’s decor,
from the nicks and scratches on the
walls to the dog hair. While I don’t
always like what I see when faced
with the naked truth, I have come to
look forward to this eyes-wide-open 2019
time of year because it spurs me to
make much-needed changes in my
home. The quieter winter months
are the perfect time for many of us
reevaluate our home’s interior and
make some changes.
But where do you start? Here are
some ideas for refreshing your home
for the new year from a friend and
customer of mine, Tracy, whose
company LWP Advisory LLC “flips”
homes and is hired by realtors to stage
homes for sale. The photo is from a
Kansas City, Mo., house Tracy had
just renovated using some furnishings
from Nell Hill’s.
on each step, one a plaid, the next tone helps the rooms flow one into your home,” Tracy says. “You can
APPROACH YOUR HOME a botanical. “You have to use a light the other. have all the best furniture in the
WITH FRESH EYES hand when working with a theme,” world, but if you have the wrong
Tracy says we get emotionally she cautioned. If you overdo, you UPDATE YOUR FURNISHINGS art and rugs, you can ruin it. Great
attached to the way our homes look, spoil the effect. So, edit yourself Take an honest look at your art sets off a room.” The art and
from the floorplan to the furnishings, mercilessly. furniture. Do you love it? Is it in rugs you pick need to speak to
so it’s often hard for us to see it good shape? How well does each you, because they are at the heart
through new eyes and imagine CREATE A PALETTE YOU piece work in your newly freshened of the space you are creating, she
changes. So she suggests clearing out a CAN BUILD UPON space? Maybe this is the time to explains. You have to be passionate
room you want to rework. Declutter. Does your home’s current palette replace a piece or two. Tracy and about them. Never, ever buy a piece
Move furniture out of the space. Do allow you enough flexibility to make I agree that adding an upholstered of art you aren’t crazy about just
whatever it takes to clear your mind changes when you want? Or, are ottoman is a great way to give a room because the colors work over your
and see the room as a blank slate. you locked in to a color scheme a B12 shot. If you have a favorite, sofa, she cautions. Similarly, select
that you no longer love? Tracy comfy but worn-out chair, get it accents that reflect your personality
CALL ATTENTION and I both believe strongly in the reupholstered in a fresh new fabric. and interests, that tell your family’s
TO INTERESTING power of starting your home with Perhaps all you need is a new set story.
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES a neutral palette, which acts like a of accent pillows on you sofa and
Does your home have interesting blank canvass. When you go more chairs. DON’T BE IN A RUSH
architectural elements you can neutral in your flooring and walls, for When you get in a hurry to redo
highlight in your re-do? Maybe example, it allows you the freedom CREATE DRAMA a room, you make mistakes, Tracy
you have arched doorways, lovely to go many different directions with We all need a little drama in our warns. Take your time determining
windows or unique built-in cabinetry. your furniture, fabrics and accents. lives, don’t we? When she stages your vision for your entire home
In her model home, Tracy wanted to homes for resale, Tracy always makes and the space you’re focusing on.
focus in on the reclaimed wood she FRESHEN UP YOUR PAINT sure each room has a little shock and Instead of picking up pieces for the
used throughout, from the ceiling Paint has the power to completely awe. Among her favorite tools are room here and there, she creates
beams to an old barn door she put on transform the look of a space. Every architectural elements like columns a master plan, then is purposeful
sliders. She kept her palette neutral January, we touch up all our paint, because she knows that when you about finding the individual
so your attention would go to things and I’m always amazed by how much bring in height, drama follows. She elements that will bring it to life.
like the stone fireplace and reclaimed brighter and cleaner the store looks tops them with urns filled with organic She pulls out swatches and selects
wood paneling. with a fresh coat. Your home is the elements. She is partial to decorating the window treatments, upholstered
Then, she played up her theme same, whether you are repainting with with rustic pieces like driftwood and furniture, pillows and trim, and
just a touch by adding in a few the same colors or going in a brand aged wooden dough bowls. bedding so the fabrics work well
industrial elements, like using rebar new direction. When Tracy repaints together throughout the entire
as spindles in the stairway leading the homes she flips, she selects a MAKE A ROOM SING house. n
to the basement. I fell in love with color she likes, then has it mixed in WITH ARTWORK, AREA RUGS
the unique carpet treatment she used a light, medium and darker version. AND ACCENTS
on the stairs—alternating patterns She likes how using variations on one “Art and rugs can make or break Content Agency, LLC.
TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CLIENTS:

CALL US TO EXPERIENCE THE SAME SERVICE AT 562-882-1581

NACHOKO L: RUTH AND KEN G:
“You were always there to answer our questions, dropped in “Allison was recommended to us by a casual acquaintance. At
often to check on how things were, or just to cheer me up as the time we intended to sell our Lakewood Park home by owner.
I worried about everything while treading untested water. Your We would have been making a big mistake. The price she pro-
expertise and experience in Long Beach and Lakewood contrib- jected would have netted us only slightly less than if we sold the
uted to the quick sale of our house with the price that was higher house ourselves at the price we intended to ask. Comparing the
than we expected.” slight difference in net profit to the hassle of selling by owner,
we decided to go with Allison. Three weeks later, the day of
TOM L: listing, she suggested a substantial increase in price. The house
“YOU’RE INCREDIBLE!!! When I asked you to sell my house sold quickly even at the higher price and we ended up with con-
‘quickly’, I had no idea you could do it in 2 weeks. As far as I’m siderably more money than if we had sold by owner. We highly
concerned, yours is the only name that will cross my lips when recommend Allison Van Wig!”
I’m asked ‘Who’s the best Realtor in the Long Beach area?”

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