Moving Wests

The Designed to Sell team gets an outdated home ready to sell.

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Filed under: Home Staging, Neutral, Color, Home Selling

Before

Jean and Bob West are selling their spacious three-bedroom home of 35 years to retire and be closer to family. They need help getting it ready for market because it is stuck in a time warp. They have nine days until the open house.

Real estate expert Shannon Freeman is brought in for the assessment. Right off the bat she notices the boat parked in front of the house and covered by bright blue tarp. That will need to go for sure. There's also a large overgrown shrub and boring, uninviting door. First impressions are integral to selling a home, so improvements are a must.

Entering the house is like stepping into a scene from The Brady Bunch. The furniture, wallpaper and busy kitchen floor are straight out of the '70s. A theme like this could overwhelm potential buyers and turn them away.

The dining room decor is direct from the '70s, especially the window covering and wallpaper. The room is one of the first things open-house visitors will see, so a good first impression here is a must.

The living-room is more of the same. The carpet and furnishings are really dark and dated. The fireplace, which should be a prominent selling feature, simply blends in with the rest of the decor.

This sad little planter near the kitchen has no plants in it and is a feature that should be recognized. Adding a custom-made countertop is an idea that might work.

The corkboard/wallpaper behind the bed in the master bedroom is NOT a good selling point. Here again, the furniture is too dark, which makes the room feel smaller.

Next up in the inspection process is Designed to Sell resident designer Lisa LaPorta. As always, she offers a three-step plan for thrusting this house into the 21st century.

Step 1: Turn the clock forward. Give the dated interior a contemporary feel.

Step 2: Open it up. Rearrange the furniture to maximize square footage.

Step 3: Pump up the positives, showing off the major selling points.

Helping her accomplish this plan are the Wests, contractor Jim Collins and carpenters Brad Haviland and Nick Ralbovsky. They certainly had their work cut out for them. Let's see how they did:

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