It has been far too long since I last posted. We had a very warm and sunny start to March, so I am not sure the adage “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb” is any reflection on the weather but more aptly refers to our workload. March kept us very busy with several staging projects that were challenging and exhausting, yet engaging and fun filled. These projects offered an abundance of uniquely creative venues for showcasing all that BjtO Designs has to offer.
In early March, we were contracted to stage a 10,000 square foot property with an equally large list price and 10,000 things to address just by virtue of its size alone. The lamb equivalent came later in March; so stay tuned for highlights of one of the Cape’s ‘Grand Dame’ properties.
Getting back to our lion of a project…
We had two primary goals: to make the view more prominent from every room and change the décor so as to better meet buyer expectations of such a grand property. Given our mantra of “every square inch matters,” we had our work cut out for us. When we say “our staging is a lot more than just furniture,” you better believe it. This staging project included all new interior paint. We removed 900 square feet of pink marble and replaced it with cherry floors. We also installed new lights and sconces in many of the rooms. A few of the rooms were completely repurposed. Finally, we installed new furnishings and accessories along with artwork leased from all local artists.
Here are a few highlights from this project:
Before we started the house, it was decided that the living room in particular needed to reflect today’s more casual, upscale, “beachy” style. When I first saw this room, I noticed that its beautiful view of the water was not the main focus. There was so much going on inside the room that it was distracting. We all know that views sell houses, so my goal was to tone down the room and make everything support the view.
We then changed the pink color of the walls to a calming gray-blue Benjamin Moore color called Full Moon. In lieu of the pink marble, we added rich cherry floors to provide a foundation from which to build the casual, yet upscale look.
Contemporary art and a patterned rug, with very little furniture, allow the space to speak for itself. This new look and feel certainly invites one to step in and experience the view.
The view is now the focal point of the room. An eclectic mix of furniture and accessories reflect more what buyers are looking for when purchasing a house on Cape Cod. We used the nautical red, white and blue along with organic rope baskets, sailing prints, seashell accent pillows, an English dark pine drop leaf table with barley twist legged, black lacquer Asian style chairs, and a very trendy Ikat blue and white print fabric on the bench.
The kitchen, eat-in area, and family/great room needed to be neutralized and unified…
Photos by Tyra Pacheco, South Coast Images
These three adjoining rooms – kitchen, eat-in area, and family/great room - were painted the same mocha color. We added custom jute rugs to the eat-in area and family room. These rugs, made by The Perfect Rug, are bound in a natural canvas. The bold lamps, which were a blue Tiffany style, needed to be changed so that they blended in rather than obstruct the view. Everything we did was to accentuate the view.
Sticking tight to our mantra - “every square inch matters,” the majority of our time was spent in the basement.
Basement Before…
Basement After…
