By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Should interior designers be licensed? The question is being debated among a Pennsylvania House panel on whether to require interior designers to get licensed in the state.
Nevada, Florida, and Louisiana currently are the only states that require such a license.
The Pennsylvania bill, if passed, would require interior designers to hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an approved program, have two years of professional experience, and pass the National Council for Interior Design Qualification exam or an equivalent test.
The license requirement would apply to interior designers who work closely with architects and would not apply to those who work as decorators or kitchen and bath remodelers. Stagers who are prepping a home for sale, therefore, would not be mandated to be licensed.
However, “those not in the ‘elite’ category could be referred to as unregulated and therefore considered as unprofessional, demoting us in the eyes of the public,” Nancy LeRoy, president of Special Spaces in Mechanicsburg, told The Patriot-News about her concerns regarding the proposed bill (Read: Interior Designers Clash Over Licensing).
By Charlene Storozuk, Dezigner Digz
Staging a Man Cave - BEFORE
As you know, in real estate every square foot counts (especially when it can be turned into liveable space). That’s just what we did on this project. This vacant attic had great bones and a lot of potential for many uses such as an additional bedroom or a home office.
Since this home already had four bedrooms and a fifth bedroom staged as a home office, I chose to go with something a little less conventional for this room. In fact, this was a first for me.
I decided to turn the attic into a “man cave.” The room’s shape and the fact that the home owner was not finishing the walls with drywall, leant itself to the feel of a cave.
The living room in this home had orange broadloom, which we had previously ripped up to expose the hardwood underneath. We decided to take that broadloom upstairs and lay it down in our newly created man cave. Continue reading »
By G. M. Filisko, contributing writer, HouseLogic
Sellers who replace their front door may get a full return on their investment or even turn a profit from the increase in their home’s value, according to Remodeling Magazine’s most recent annual Cost vs. Value Report. A new door will also boost their home’s curb appeal—and may even be eligible for a tax credit to boot.
Help sellers sift through their front-door options—steel, fiberglass, or wood—with tips now available in the June “Exterior Upgrades” package of articles at the REALTOR® Content Resource. Here are some of the pros and cons of steel doors:
1. If you’re looking to save money, a steel door may be a good choice, particularly if you have the skills to hang it yourself. A simple, unadorned steel door can sell for as little as $150 (not including hardware, lock set, paint, or labor) and typically runs as much as $400 at big-box retailers. Steel offers the strongest barrier against intruders, although its advantage over fiberglass and wood in this area is slight.
2. Replacing your entry door with a steel model actually reaps a profit in added home value. Remodeling Magazine estimates the total project cost of installing a 20-gauge steel door at about $1,200—and the project, on average, returns about 129% of cost or $1,400. Continue reading »
By Barbara Ballinger, Architecture Coach columnist
Cash-conscious consumers continue to seek value, whether they purchase a $10,000 bathtub with jets, chromatherapy, and soothing sounds, or a $25 gallon of low- or no-VOC paint in chic fashion-forward hues.
Part of building in value is having the ability to make selections, then change them affordably as lifestyles change. A host of products at were showcased at the the annual National Kitchen & Bath Association show in Chicago in April. They demonstrated how flexible and cost-effective kitchen and bathroom products have become. Some innovative designs on view:
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Rev-a-Shelf
Rev-a-Shelf’s space-saving interior systems now include glass-lined shelves that can be adjusted up and down or left to right, depending on a cabinet’s shape and size and what’s stored. One pull-out “basket” turns 360 degrees to provide complete access. The glass is finished to prevent items from sliding. Continue reading »
By Julie Chrissis, New England Staging Group
BEFORE
Selling a vacant home poses all sorts of challenges for real estate professionals. It feels uninspiring, doesn’t photograph well, the rooms appear smaller than they are, there is typically a lack of light, and you often are competing with furnished homes in your price point.
Staging a vacant home with furniture solves all of these problems and more.
So what do you need to know about renting furniture?
AFTER
- There is typically a minimum rental term. Industry standard is three months. Shorter terms often require a surcharge.
- Payment requirements vary. Some companies require the entire rental to be paid upfront, others charge monthly with a security deposit required upfront.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Sometimes what works in creating a great photo of a home doesn’t work in reality. That’s the main point of an article on “10 Decor Trends to Skip,” written by The Nest and reprinted at MSN.com. It’s always amusing to read the latest fashion faux pas when it comes to home design.
Here are some of the design blunders that made The Nest’s list.
- Antlers: Mounted horns displayed on walls became popular accessories in magazine home design spreads. But it’s now best to leave the horns on the animals, not the walls.
- Inspirational decor: Inspirational sayings like “Keep Calm and Carry On” or lettered decals such as “dream” or “friends” are no longer inspiring for home decor.
- Boutique hotel chic: It’s no longer a good idea to take pointers from hotels to guide your decorating. You’ll be left with “stiff minimalism, dull neutrals” — a quick way to achieve a blah room design, according to the article. (You might want to channel those inspirational sayings before starting your design!)
- Accent walls: Yes, surprisingly, accent walls made the list. Accent walls were once touted as a great way to bring in splashes of color, without committing to painting the entire room. But there’s no half-way now: It’s all or nothing. Continue reading »
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