Paint Your House!

We are so excited to partner with Pinot's Palette in The Glen. Come paint your house!  We will be there to join in the fun and offer design and remodeling ideas. Click on link below for full details and to register!

http://www.pinotspalette.com/theglen/news-and-events/paint-your-house

If you’re interested in exploring cabinetry, carpentry and remodeling projects in your home, call Jim Butz with Architecturally Speaking at 847.205.9844 for a free design consultation and make your space your own! www.archispeak.com Like us on Facebook

Peace and Productivity for Your Day

Over this past holiday season we all no doubt did a little reflecting on what changes we would like to make in the New Year.  The tough part is actually making those changes. In our day to day lives, most of us have more on our plates than time and energy allow for.  Being mindful of commitment choices, diet, exercise, sleep habits, and using personal calendars can all help to maximize time and energy efficiency.  However, even with these supportive structures in place, we can sometimes feel as if we’ve been through a battle before we’ve stepped out the door.

We asked Traci Groff, from FOR THE HOME, who specializes in home staging, organizing and decorating, to share with us the 5 W’s of how creating a supportive space with positive flow can bring peace and productivity to the home and work environment.

Q: Who is a candidate for hiring a home stager/organizer/decorator?

A: Clients come with varied backgrounds, purposes and lengths.  They could be a student who wants to create a study environment that maximizes efforts and minimizes distractions resulting in increased focus and decreased stress.  They could also be a mom who wants a kitchen to support her as she prepares meals for her family and many times offices out of the same space.   Organizing can bring increased efficiency to meal planning/cooking and added joy to precious family time.  They can also be a family looking to sell their home with needs of depersonalizing the home and creating an inviting flow that allows potential buyers to see themselves in the home and thus resulting in a quicker sale.

Q: What is home staging vs organizing vs decorating?

A: Home staging is really just what it sounds like – it is staging like you would on the set of a play.  You are looking to transport your viewer/audience (in most cases a potential buyer of a home) to a place of imagining themselves as living in your home.  Doing this well comes down to 3 things: Decluttering the space, depersonalizing the space and creating an inviting “vacation like” mind set.  These three areas engage potential buyers on their functional, visual and emotional levels. 

Organizing is taking a given space and rearranging it in such a way that it supports the user.  This is achieved by purging the space of unused or outdated items, ensuring remaining items are in good working condition and arranging the space so that frequently used items are easily reachable. The result is one of higher efficiency. Weather it is getting dressed in the morning, doing the laundry or working in the office – this improved productivity adds peace and ease to daily living.

Decorating is arranging the furnishings and colors of a home or work environment such that they are inviting and pleasing to the eye visually, while providing function of purpose.  Depending on the client, many times this can be achieved with the existing furnishings the homeowner has with possible additions and alterations depending on budget.   This results in a space that provides buoyancy and increased pleasure.

Q: When, Where and Why is a good time to use a stager/organizer/decorator?

A: The best time, place and reason to use a stager/organizer/decorator is whenever there is a desire for increased peace and productivity.  That can be as small a project as a kitchen pantry or as large as an entire house or work environment.  The ease and freedom that comes from living and working in a space that supports us functionally, visually and emotionally will surely increase our productivity, but it is the sense of peace that we gain that is the greater gift.

Q: Where can people go to find out more about FOR THE HOME?

A: Traci Groff can be reached at (847) 251.5080 or tracigroff@comcast.net for a free consultation.

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us Traci! 


If you’re interested in exploring cabinetry, carpentry and remodeling projects in your home, call Jim Butz with Architecturally Speaking at 847.205.9844 for a free design consultation and make your space your own! www.archispeak.com Like us on Facebook