Archive | June, 2010

Chestnut hill home staging

29 Jun

Hey there our doting followers!  Let me first say how much I truly appreciate those of you that read our blog.  I really love your comments and feedback!

We had another busy week of staging.  We were contacted by an agent from Century 21 in Lafayette Hill PA to look at a vacant property in Chestnut Hill PA.  She was having trouble moving this cute property and thought some furniture in the main living areas might help.  I would have to agree.

We staged the living room and dining room.  Although it looks pretty obvious with furniture I think the living room would be a difficult space to imagine how/where to put your furniture.  It’s so important to help the buyer picture where their belongings will fit into a property.

This home is so cute and includes newly finished hardwood floors, a beautiful garden and a fantastic neighborhood.  The french doors in the living room and dining room are one of my favorite features.

Something about this home reminds me of being on the English countryside with its light filled foyer/sitting area, the English style garden and all of the stonework.  You can see the full listing here: 8027 Seminole Ave Chestnut Hill PA.

I know I say this about all of my staged properties but if I was in the market I would scoop this beauty right up!  Hope you enjoy looking at our most recent vacant home staging!

XOXO

The Staging Chick

Philadelphia interior decorator

28 Jun

Philadelphia mini home makeover

Mini makeover

After four months of renovation these first time homeowners were ready to get settled in their new home.  Home renovation can wear you out, trust me I know first hand!  So when it came time to move in, get settled and decorate they took their time.  Room by room they began to make their mark on their new home.  Soon the money was slim and the energy was pretty much gone.  Most of the rooms had taken shape with the exception of the forgotten guest bedroom.  Here’s how we took this room from drab to fab in t-minus two days!

Mini Makeover

Our first step was to remove all the old furniture from the room.  It was too large and dated for the young fresh look we were trying to achieve.  The couple agreed and we moved it to the basement until they can sell it on craigslist.

Mini Before

Then we went shopping!  Our first amazing find was this vintage 60’s style dresser.  We knew right away this was the piece for this room.  The legs keep it off the floor and from making the room feel weighed down.  The finish wasn’t going to work but for $55.00 it was worth the sweat and paint to get the look we were going for.  Here’s how we refinished this thrifted dresser.

Thrift Dresser

We found this great duvet cover at a discount store for a mere $45.00 and it came with two shams.  The mirror above the dresser was a salvaged piece we got for free which we painted to match the legs/hardware of the dresser.  Our next step was to find curtain panels.  These gold grommet panels are simple enough to flow with the busy duvet but still have that retro look we wanted and for $9.99 a panel they were a steal.

Mini Makeover

The grand finally was finding this amazing mantle in the couple’s basement.  During renovation they decided to remove a non working fireplace in the living room to gain some extra space.  So glad they saved the mantle!

Mini Makeover

Our splurge was the tufted blue chair we scored at HomeGoods for $150.00.  We couldn’t resist.  It looks so amazing next to the Sherwin Williams Morrocan Brown paint.

Mini Makeover

We found some sweet accessories (including this rose jewelry ‘box’ for $2.00!), threw in their personal pictures of friends and family and we were done.

AfterMini Before

What do you think of this new guest bedroom?  We’d love to hear your thoughts email amanda@sunflowercreationsonline.com

If you are in the Philadelphia area and are interested in a mini home makeover give us a call!  We love helping others create spaces they love to live in.  We must warn you, we will do whatever it takes to spend the least amount of money possible.  That’s the most challenging/rewarding part about it!  So if you don’t like saving money and having fun then don’t call us.  Seriously, don’t.  :)

See you soon!

The Staging Chick

Green cleaning: shower spray

21 Jun

I’ve slowly but surely been fading out all chemical products from our home.  I was never much of a cleaning product user to begin with.  I was immediately turned off by bleach sprays  when I began having serious headaches after using them.  Don’t get me wrong, I keep our house very clean, I just have to put a little more thought into it.  Most of my cleaning is done with natural products found in the kitchen, vinegar and baking soda to name a few.  Since we’ve moved into our new home we’ve been having trouble keeping the grout and caulk in our tub free of mold.  ‘SSH’ keeps regrouting and recaulking to no avail.  We squeegee and now I’ve added this shower spray to our daily regimen.  It seems to be workings, smells great and is all natural!  I’m pretty sure our tile, grout and whatever they used behind it needs to be replaced so I don’t know that our problem will be solved anytime soon.  This just seems to keep it at bay.  Here’s the recipe:

Solvent free shower spray:

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

2 lemons (no seeds)

*Mix all ingredients in a spray bottle and keep in shower.  Spray daily to keep mold and soap scum away.

Hope this helps!  What are your natural cleaning recipes?  I’d love to have some new dirt weapons in my cleaning arsenal!  Email amanda@sunflowercreationsonline.com

XOXO

The Staging Chick

Trash-to-treasure: 60′s style dresser

18 Jun

Ok so let me start by saying I am in love with this dresser.  I found this at a local thrift store and there was no way I was leaving without it.  I had pictured something this style for our dining room buffet.  I’ve been really drawn to this style of furniture that ‘floats’ off the ground.  In a house our size I think it helps to keep furniture from ‘sitting’ on the floor so it doesn’t start to look heavy or cramped. 

Interestingly enough I really liked the finish.  If it were for our dining room which is painted a pale beige (shelter cove: behr) I might have considered leaving it as is.  However I planned on putting it in our back bedroom which is already painted a dark brown (morrocan brown: sherwin williams).  After some thought I knew what I wanted to do, but like most everything I do it wasn’t going to be easy! 

I pictured an almond color with pale greyish blue zebra stripes.  Hmm now how was I going to do that?  I checked online and Michaels for zebra stencils until I decided to create the stripes by hand.  I drew the pattern on sticker paper that I found at Staples .  When I realized how time intensive this project was going to be I decided to only do the top in zebra print. 

 

The first step was to remove all the hardware, legs and sand the entire dresser.  Then I painted it my base color (Rhino: Behr).  I did about three coats, let it dry completely and then started on the top.  In order to do the top I had to cover the rest of the dresser in plastic to avoid over spray.  I peeled off all the pre drawn stickers, stuck them to the top and sprayed the top in a high gloss almond spray.  I also sprayed the legs and hardware a matching metalic silver.  To finish it all off and make sure it was sealed I added a min wax poly seal. 

This looks so much better in our guest bedroom than our old furniture!  I love this dresser because of it’s youthful retro 60′s feel.  What do you think? 

Have a project you need help with email amanda@sunflowercreationsonline.com I’d love to help!

XOXO,

The Staging Chick

Fresh from the garden: Salsa

16 Jun

Our jalapeno plants have sprouted some really great peppers in the past couple of weeks.  Actually they’re huge (that’s them in the pic)!  I am so excited because that means it’s time for fresh salsa! 

 I started making salsa from scratch a couple of years ago.  I tried recipe after recipe but I never found one that really hit the spot.  I finally decided to play around with the ingredients and created this salsa recipe.  It’s just how I like it.  I’m not a huge fan of cilantro so I only call for a pinch but you can adjust it to your taste.  You can play with this to make it as hot or mild as you like.  Just leave the seeds in the jalapeno for very hot salsa (my personal favorite) or remove them for a milder taste.  I learned from making this that there are no rules. 

You may need to make it a few times to get the taste you prefer but making it is half the fun!  The flavor builds after it is refrigerated for a few hours.  Here’s the recipe (double up for parties):

The staging chick’s secret salsa recipe

  • 2-3 garlic cloves
  • 1 scallion
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 jalapeno
  • pinch of cilantro
  • 3 vine tomatoes
  • pinch of cummin powder
  • pinch of chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp red wine vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp fresh lime juice
  • pepper
  • pinch of sugar

Dice the garlic and jalapeno.  Quarter the tomatoes and add all ingredients to a food processor or blender.  refrigerate and serve with your favorite chips (I heart multigrain tortilla chips). 

Tip: Cover chicken breasts with this salsa and jack cheese in a baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake until cooked through.  OMG amazing.  Trust me.

***What I’m listening to: ‘Home’-Jack Johnson

Love you guys!

The Staging Chick

Visit our company website for Philadelphia Home Staging

Meet our 4:30 am alarm clock…

15 Jun

I’ve never had such a cute wake up call!  Meet Kona the new addition to my ‘secret life’!  ‘Secret staging husband’ and I picked him up on Friday and it’s already been such a learning experience. 

I’ve always had animals.  I grew up in West Virginia and my dad had a farm with every animal you could imagine.  Seriously, we had a baby deer and a peacock once.  So I’m no stranger to animals.  ‘SSH’ however has never had a puppy so this is a very exciting time for us.  Although I grew up with animals most of them were outside dogs that I didn’t have to train.  So one of the things we’re going through now is crate training and making sure we take him out every half an hour or so. 

We’re pretty sleep deprived and are starting to feel like new parents!  He wakes up frequently during the night and pretty much needs our attention 24/7.  If it weren’t for my schedule and running my home staging business out of our Philadelphia home I don’t think we could handle him. 

He’s only eight weeks old (born on 4-20-2010) and is a pretty smart cookie.  It may be coincidence but he goes to the door and whines when he has to go to the bathroom.  So far no accidents inside!  Ok, I’m gushing, sorry…I’m in love.  How could you not love that face!  I’m sure you’ll be seeing ‘secret staging pup’ more often but I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.  Here’s one more for the road.

Thanks for humoring me!

***What I’m listening to: ‘You aint nothin but a hound dog’ Elvis Presley

XOXO

The Staging Chick

Fresh from the ‘secret’ garden

11 Jun

The weather in Philadelphia (with the exception of Wednesday) has been incredible this week.  Not too hot, not too cold.  I love to open the doors, turn up the music and make some great fresh food! 

My muse

 

Our basil mushroomed in the past week.  When I say mushroomed I mean these were the biggest basil leaves I’ve ever seen!  Everytime I walked by it I thought ahhh pesto.  So I made sure to pick up some pine nuts last weekend when the hubby and I hit up Whole Foods. 

Not only was (is) this pesto amazing but it is sooo green!  We’ve been using it on everything this week. 

YUM!

 Here’s my recipe:

  • 2 cups packed basil
  • 2/3 cup ex virg olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbl chopped garlic
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Add the basil first and get it all chopped up.  Slowly add oil and all other ingredients.

Can you smell it....

Delicious!  We used it on our Portobello sandwiches with fresh smoked buffalo mozzarella and roma tomatoes on a kaiser roll.  Yeah, it melts in your mouth.  I love using ingredients from our garden. 

Our jalapenos are ready for picking so stay tuned for my fresh salsa recipe!  Trust me…it’s gooood. 

XOXO,

The Staging Chick

Gray’s Ferry Home Staging

8 Jun

So we’ve been pretty busy over here at Sunflower Creations.  Last week we staged this 3 bedroom 2 bath row in the Gray’s Ferry area of Philadelphia.

This house is so spacious featuring a full finished basement and third floor master suite!

The neighbors are so friendly.  I’m pretty sure they thought we were moving in, is it wrong that I like to play along?!

One of the really cool things about this neighborhood is that it is so diverse, removed from the city but close at the same time.

I stopped by on Saturday to finish up and noticed the neighbors had created an amazing garden in a vacant lot across the street.  How cute is that?

Anyone would be lucky to move into this fully remodeled row home in the city of brotherly love.  Let us know what you think!

XOXO

The Staging Chick

Don’t forget to check out our sister blog ‘The Secret Life of The Staging Chick’

Trash to treasure and so much more

3 Jun

Although I’ve been exceptionally busy these days with staging chick duties and all things staging I’ve been fortunate enough to find a little time for my secret life.  Yesterday was a beautiful/insanely-hot-day-especially-for-someone-that- currently-does-not-have-ac but none the less, beautiful.  I decided to use the little down time I had to paint this old planter.

My husband, ‘the secret staging husband’, had a big part in the idea for this project.  So big props to ‘the secret staging husband’, I think I’m wearing off on him!  I already had a strawberry plant living in this container that I didn’t want to disturb.  So in order to spray the pot I covered the plant and soil with a plastic bag (a trash bag will do), cleaned off all the dirt and sprayed away.   I used Rustoleum in jade green gloss.  I did about three coats and used almost 3/4 of the can of paint.  Total cost for this project: $3.75.  Not too shabby considering a container this size can run up to $15.  I think I’ll do a few more maybe some blue some green to add a little more color to the back yard.

While this project was drying I headed over to Produce Junction in Bryn Mawr.  I got some awesome plants for a really great price.  If you’re in the Philadelphia area I highly recommend heading over there.  You’ll be glad you did.  Here’s some shots of some of the plants I snagged up.

To round up the day we threw some yummy chili lime marinated chicken kabobs on the grill.  I threw in some brown rice and edemame salad (left over from memorial day)….yummmm.  Had some great friends and ‘secret staging husband’s’ mamma over to watch the Flyers win game three of the Stanley Cup series.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

XOXO

‘The Staging Chick’

*What I’m listening to: nothing.  my speakers aren’t working on the computer…blah :(

Pennsport Area Home Staging

1 Jun

I love my job for many reasons.  One being that I get the opportunity to go into so many different homes.

This past week I had the pleasure of staging this amazing new construction property in the Pennsport area of Philadelphia.  By the time I was done I was ready to put an offer in on this beauty.

There are so many wonderful things about this property.  This is what we did with this vacant 3br/2bath with parking, patio AND roof deck!  Hope you *Love* it.

XOXO

The Staging Chick

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