Back in June of 2009 when I first started Stagetecture my main goal was to make my home staging business into a resource that would help busy homeowners stage their homes with my inspiration or hire me to take the work off of their shoulders! Home staging has been a love of mind while being an Associate Architect, and hence my company name was born – STAGE – TECTURE

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Staging a Home for Sale : Before & After

Throughout the months I have showed you how Olioboard has helped you ‘Get the Look‘ on Stagetecture, and our newest feature ‘Olioboard Inspiration‘ showcases home inspiration ideas for you home, using this incredible 2D or 3D tool.

If you are new to Olioboard their tagline: “Design a Room and try it before you buy it! Create 2D & 3D rooms that you can save, shop & share.” You can create inspiration boards to help you visualize your interiors, present ideas to your contractor/client or just enjoy perusing through thousands of sets for your enjoyment. I encourage you to join the Olioboard community on Facebook, Twitter, and see helpful tutorials on their You Tube Channel. I used those tutorials and they helped me with my home staging boards I have created below.

Home Staging – The Man Cave

In my year’s of home staging, the most difficult rooms to sell to a potential home buyer are the rooms that a homeowner has personalized ‘too much’. Sure, it’s fine to showcase your favorite colors, hobbies, and interests in your home. Although, the moment you decide to put your home up for sale – it now becomes the potential for a home buyer to envision themselves living in your home.

Stagetecture has a HUGE man cave following So I found it only fitting to feature a before and after man cave for home staging. To show how a overly personalized room can be changed into a family friendly room that could be appealing to potential home buyers, but still has masculine touches to keep the homeowner feeling like they have a place to still relax and enjoy, until their home sells!

BEFORE: Man Cave Mania

Home Staging challenges:

• Man cave is too personalized. Sports paraphernalia overload and darker colors create a “cave-like” feeling indeed! Home buyers who are not sports fans and are not wanting this overly personalized space will be instantly turned away.
• Overly cluttered with furniture, dark colors creates an unwelcoming room. Dark burgundy wall covering makes the entire space feel like you’re in a movie theater rather than a person’s home.
• Mixture of eclectic styles, and too many displayed collections are a sure fire way to turn a home buyer off!

AFTER: Welcoming Media Room

Home Staging fixes:

• Instead of removing all signs of personalization, the man cave has been turned into a media room. A sports/masculine theme is hinted at but the room is now inviting for a family to enjoy, or even non-sports enthusiasts!
• Burgundy wall covering is removed and a neutral palette of colors is used throughout the room.
• Sports collections, and “bar-inspired” decor is replaced with sophisticated decor that still welcomes entertaining & relaxing.
• Display areas are kept contained in bookshelves in specific areas and not placed randomly around the room. Less clutter and more organized!

I loved this home staging challenge because as home owners we love personalizing, but especially in those rooms that are dedicated to one hobby like a man-cave, these spaces can be the reason a home buyer doesn’t like your home. This before and after shows you that you can transform any room into an enjoyable space for any potential home buyer!

Now…Hop over to the other 9 blogs to see their home staging before & after Olioboards:

http://www.wsidesignermarketplace.com/content/designer/Design_Blog/2013/01/before_and_afterst.html

http://lisamendedesign.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-olioboard-hop-quicker-way-to.html

http://asyoulikeitredesign.com/1/post/2013/01/january-oliohop-can-drama-sell-homes.html

http://interiordesignhq.com/2013/01/cost-ways-market-staging-business/

http://design-magnifique.com/2013/01/21/staging-a-home-for-sale-oliohop/

http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-to-use-olioboard-for-online-home.html

http://chameleon-interiors.blogspot.com/2013/01/its-oliohop-home-staging-concepting.html

http://thedecorologist.com/home-staging-advice-from-10-experts#more-16742

http://blog.rarooms.com/inspiration-to-staging-small-rowhomes-dc/

Visit their blogs and comment on which one’s you’d love to have come stage your home!

Thanks Olioboard for this awesome feature for Stagetecture readers.

-Ronique

For more home staging ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Just about every home has what could be considered a standard living room, a place where family members and friends go to lounge and enjoy their leisure time. Often the accommodations in this space are comfortable and inviting and there are multiple forms of diversion to relax and amuse inhabitants, from television to video games to music. But if you’d rather reserve this space for family time that is not impaired by a multitude of electronics, you might be considering turning that extra room or unfinished basement into a home theater. Or maybe you consider yourself a cinephile and you simply want to display your favorite classics films in a theater-like environment. Either way you’ll have to include the proper furnishings to outfit your space for functionality. So here are a few tips to help you select the right items to flesh out your home theater.

Image via: Anna Lumley.Pinterest

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Finding home theater components

If all you have to go on in terms of inspiration is the local movie theater (replete with sticky floors, glaring lobby lights, and seats that are torn and stained), it may be time to take a closer look at what goes into making a great home theater setup. This could require some research on your part, but luckily the internet can offer you plenty of help when it comes to regurgitating what others have done with their home theaters. Why not start with the biggest and best by doing a search for celebrity home theaters? Although many of the amenities could be well out of your price range, it’s always fun to see how the other half lives. And some of these truly spectacular temples of technology could give you some great ideas to mimic (although likely in a scaled-down fashion).

Once you’ve gotten an idea of what you like and what you could leave behind it’s time to get the ball rolling on furnishing your own home theater space. But there are still a couple of things you need to consider, such as comfort, style, and cost. All three will play a role in the type of furnishings you choose, especially when it comes to seating. Some people put a premium on comfort while watching movies; they want cushy, cozy sofas and recliners that make them feel like they’re floating on a cloud. Of course, this option is probably amongst the most expensive and it is not easy to find a lazy boy that doesn’t look like it came straight out of dad’s den.

Image via: Comfortable Home Design

Choose a style for home theater seating

If you want a space that pays homage to traditional theaters, on the other hand, you could look for cinema closures (or check listings on eBay and Craigslist) as a way to pick up real-deal antique rows of chairs to restore. But classic doesn’t necessarily equal comfort. As a middle-of-the-road option you could also purchase seating specifically designed for home theaters. This is more like what you might find in the high-priced movie houses that have sprung up of late with their assigned seating, wide armrests, and overabundance of leg room. Again, this is a more expensive option.

In truth, it’s a toss-up. It can definitely be pricy to outfit this non-essential room, especially considering all of the expensive electrical equipment involved. But when it comes to home theater seating and storage you have many options that fall into a wide range of prices. You may have to sacrifice style for comfort or vice versa, but you can find the furnishings that suit your style at a price you can afford if you simply do some homework and look at all of your options.

For more home theater room ideas on Stagetecture

Although engaging in home renovations might sound like an expensive or painstaking process, switching up your home design doesn’t have to break the bank or cause undue stress. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or time to reimagine a room that was once occupied by children or a surplus of household goods. Whether you use your spare bedroom for exercise, work, or recreation, get the most out of a space that is now empty and available. Here are a few ideas for rooms you can create.

Image via: Hgtv

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1. Home gym

Setting up a personal gym is a great way to add convenience to your life and eliminate any excuses you might have for never getting to the gym. Treadmills or ellipticals will help you with your cardio routine, just as a yoga mat, hand weights, and stability ball aid in core strengthening. Save yourself membership fees, the need to pack (or even have) a gym bag, and having to use scratchy, over-bleached towels. Install laminate floors or carpet squares and add a fresh coat of paint to the walls in a shade that will invigorate you and inspire regular workouts. Work out in peace, knowing that you can walk, run, lift, or stretch at your own pace.

2. Creative zone

Everyone needs a good getaway room where they can do some writing, organize family photos, meditate, or manage an art-based business. If you have young children, think about making the room an adults-only space to help it stay a calm place where you can go for some private time to work or create. If setting up a home-based business, your home improvement costs might just be tax-deductible. Turn a closet into a place for shelving, supply storage, or even for a file cabinet. If the closet is big enough, you can take off the doors and push a small desk inside to maximize a small space.

Image via: Rosie Posies

3. Game room

A game room is great when it comes time to hang out with friends or family. Consider game-themed decorations, like Scrabble pillows or a Twister mat replica painted on the floor. Accessories like a pool table with a table tennis cover, a folding table and chairs for a card or board game, or a dartboard will all go to great use. You might even be interested in including retro arcade games and couple of recliners for a proper man cave feel. Should you put your home on the market in the future, a nice set-up can make your home very attractive to potential buyers who will likely imagine themselves competing in a billiards tournament or racking up a triple-word Scrabble score.

Image via: Flickr.Champagne.Chic

Whatever you end up doing with your newfound space, make sure it’s a place where you feel comfortable. Don’t skimp; make the most of a fresh design opportunity. Just remember that a restyle doesn’t necessarily mean laying out hundreds of dollars. Start with fresh paint, new-to-you furniture in good condition from a thrift store, and accents in a complementary color. Before you know it, your spare bedroom will become new again.

Holly Watson is a full-time student who enjoys blogging for Sears and other great brands she enjoys. She is an avid runner and bookworm.

For more bedroom & living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Most homeowners put a premium on usable space.  Because we live in a consumer society, we’re not only driven to work hard and earn lots of money, but also to spend our disposable income on “stuff”, be it food, entertainment, transportation, vacations, or home goods (for example).  In fact, we purchase so much stuff that often we run out of room in our homes to store or use all of it, so that most adults are going through a continual cycle of upgrading, trading, and recycling.  So if it turns out that you don’t need your garage space to house a car, truck, or other vehicle, why not consider turning that additional space into the game room you’ve been dreaming of?

Image via: Shelter Pop

Both parents and kids can benefit from having a place to watch movies, play video games, and even knock off a round of billiards or air hockey away from the hustle and bustle of the heart of the household (the centralized living room/kitchen/dining area).  And game nights with the guys will no longer leave the whole house stinking of cigars.  So if you’ve got plenty of reasons to build a game room, here are a few ways you can transform your garage space to suit your needs.

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Clear out your garage

For starters, you need to clear everything out and do a massive cleaning.  Even if you’re the first owner of your current home you’ve probably been using the garage to house some toxic chemicals like automotive fluids, paint, fertilizer and pesticides (just to name a few).  Since you probably don’t want to be breathing in lingering fumes from these items, it pays to clean up any spills and really scrub the concrete before you lay down flooring.  Once you’ve done this preliminary work you should have an energy assessment done.  The technician will tell you which areas need to be sealed in order to keep pests out and hot or cold air in.

Decorating your garage

Now you’re ready to start the fun part: decorating!  If this is a man-cave, you’ll likely want to install masculine touches from floor to ceiling.  Dark wood planks or dark-colored carpeting are a good place to start and you can make the space (which is often rather spacious) a bit cozier with a wall color that is deep and saturated.  Cool colors like blues, greens, and purples will provide the relaxing atmosphere you seek.  Of course, if this is also going to be something of a play room for the kids you should opt instead for a neutral color of carpeting (that will hide stains) and a brighter wall color.

Image via: Take a Break

Choosing your amenities

Once you’ve got the foundation in place it’s time for the finishing touches.  You’ll want to add furnishing, for certain, and if you have the space, comfortable and oversized pieces are surely the way to go.  This isn’t a home office; it’s a place to kick back!  Leather is a good choice because it is modern and manly, but also because the kids are less likely to destroy or stain it than something plush.  Now you just have to add the hallmarks of a game room (a felt-covered table for poker, a flatscreen TV with plenty of game consoles hooked up, surround sound, and maybe even a bar if it’s just for the bros).  Make sure to include storage for all of your media, poker chips and cards, and any other paraphernalia.

Although it’s not like you’re going to put up a collection of Peterbilt day cab trucks for sale, along with extra parts and tools, you’ll likely have to do plenty of work to turn your garage into an awesome game room.  So take the time to make a plan and before you know it you’ll be holding ‘em, folding ‘em, and racking them up in your brand new game room.

For more garage ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

In honor of Father’s Day tomorrow, I thought I would showcase a room that Father’s like to call their own.  Entertainment Rooms or affectionately called “Man Caves”. Traditionally, DIY Saturday’s focused on projects and resources to help you

start and finish a home project.

Today – let’s see what items you need and get inspiration to make your own man cave.

A “Man Cave” is a room in the house (although some men have been known to renovate sheds), where a man can get away from the pressures of daily family life. It is his personal refuge full of his favorite things. Man Caves come in all shapes, sizes and themes but one thing they all have in common is loads of testosterone.

The “Man Cave” is no longer an elusive dream. According to a recent survey by Servicemagic.com, 40% of homeowners say that their home already has a man cave and another 13% said a man cave is either in the planning stage or in the process of being built.

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These amenities are the top items that go into a Man Cave:

• Flat screen TV (75%)
• Recliner (69%)
• Stereo (68%)
• Refrigerator (67%)
• DVD player (67%)
• Computer (65%)
• Bar (64%)

Look at these great examples that will make you want to start planning your own!

For you Harley Davidson  fans, take a look at this man cave in the garage. Hey, you need to be able to park your Harley right next to you! Complete with: Humidor, Refrigerator for beer, 46” LCD TV, Gaming System and Custom Bar with glass top.

Want to feel like you’re at a sports bar? Take a look at this one with a Fireplace, Dartboard, Flat screen t.v., leather seating, full person bar, guitars and amplifier.

Are you a NASCAR Earnhardt fan? Take a look at this man cave perfect for watching the races! Look at the amenities:

50” HDTV
Yamaha Amp and DVD
PSB Image Series speakers (5) with a 12” sub
Wall to wall Diamond Plate Flooring by www.racedeck.com
(43) 1/24 die cast cars featuring legends of yesterday and famous paint schemes on the Daytona Track
(195) Dale Sr. and Dale Jr. 1/24 scale die cast
Converted Craftsmen Workbench into a bar
Beer Fridge
6 Bottle Shot Steward
Race Fan Furniture
Home Security System

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture, & Stagetecture’s YouTube Channel, click here.