Stage fright?

Having just put my house on the market, I consider myself pretty well-educated in the importance of staging a home.  It is essential to a quick sale.  In this case,  a picture is worth a thousand words.  Which rooms are more appealing to you?

These guys:

Or these bad boys:

Now, granted, the rooms in the second photos more accurately depict how we live. But when you are selling your house, that's the opposite feeling you want to evoke.  Instead, you want your house to look impossibly perfect, almost hotel-like.  You want people to feel the same thing they feel when they crack open the new Pottery Barn catalogue: your goal is for people to want to capture the feeling they get when they walk in your house, and of course, buy your house too.  Staging is the key to this!

How to stage? It takes effort.  Here are some tips that I employed when I staged my house.

* Enlist the help of a friend whose design style you admire and trust.  This friend needs to be honest with you and be willing to tell you if your room looks too cluttered or the colors are wrong, etc.

* Stop looking at your house as "your house" and instead focus on it as an investment. Detach.  Sure, you may love the lovely deep burgundy and green florals in the dining room. But will most buyers? Probably not.  Go neutral.  Taupe is your friend.

* Reduce, if not eliminate, personal photos.  You want people to walk in and imagine themselves in the space ... that is hard to do when they're staring at you and your loved ones' mugs.  The easiest ways to do this is to hide the photos or just buy some cute patterned scrapbook paper and place the paper in place of photos in the frames.

* Keep your surfaces clear.  While you don't want totally bare counters and table-tops, edit down those accessories.  This can be hard, so grab some magazines or even a Pottery Barn catalogue for inspiration, and try to copy how their rooms look.  You need to tread the line between too stark and too cluttered.

* Send pictures of the rooms to your friend as you go along.  And be prepared to spend a few weeks, minimum, getting the house ready.  It takes time, and what's true in life is true in home: you only get one chance to make a first impression.

* Keep your home "gracious" in appearance.  Fluff the pillows, get stains out of upholstery, put a fresh coat of paint on your trim, bring in a pretty new bedspread, put fresh flowers or a bowl of lemons or green apples on your table.

* Clean clean clean clean clean clean clean. And then clean some more.  Scrub your floors, carpets, windows (the glass and the window sills), tub & shower, furniture, inside and above the fridge and freezer, cabinets, sink.  Clean everything.  Your home cannot possibly be "too clean."

I hope this is helpful! I'm still living through the process (as of today, we have not sold our home, but it has only been on the market for 2 weeks).  Next week, I'll give some tips on surviving showings.

What about you? Got any tips that I missed here? Please share!

See you swoon,

Swoon-Worthy Style Icon: Audrey Hepburn

I'm excited to introduce a new feature here at Swoon: my style icons.  I have so many, and every so often, I will blog about those icons of fashion who have influenced me in my own style.  At the top of my list is, without a doubt, Audrey Hepburn.

In every movie that she starred, and throughout her life, Audrey Hepburn exuded grace, elegance and timeless style.  And she could rock a pixie cut and ballerina flats like nobody's business.

Her style had incredible range: from a sweet girl-next-door in Sabrina to a cosmopolitan party girl in Breakfast at Tiffany's (which happens to be my favorite movie of all time. love.).  Without further ado, here are some of my favorite pictures of Audrey Hepburn and her amazing style.

Stunning.  And now I want to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again.  What's your favorite Audrey look? You know I'm all about the tiara, little black dress and big black glasses outside the Tiffany window.

See you swoon,

DIY Artwork: Susy Jack calendars

[Just a reminder that I am not being a blog-hog: as I mentioned yesterday, Jamie's computer is dead, so while she is offline purchasing a new one, I'll be doing the blogging here at Swoon. She should be back soon!]

One of the most challenging parts of decorating a home is finding artwork that, well, works.  When you have graduated from posters but cannot afford a "real" piece of art and are on a budget, what is one to do?  One of my favorite solutions is to re-purpose something that I love and create art for my home from it.

Enter Susy Jack's calendars.  I am a full-fledged paper lover: I love beautiful paper so much.  And I love to find beautiful, unique and/or vintage calendars for my office.  I spend a lot of time glancing up at the calendar to make sure of the date, so I want the calendar to look pretty.  Susy Jack's calendars are simple, lovely and contemporary.  Each month, she features a different design and color.   I have several framed in my home and plan to do even more. Here are her 2010 designs:

Aren't they divine?  They work perfectly in nearly every room imaginable.  What about you? Got any creative sources for art for your home? Do tell.

See you swoon,

{Note: Susy Jack has not comped or paid us to feature her gorgeous designs here today.}

Let's get this party started right.

Let's get this party started quick-ly.  Sorry, I could not resist.

Last week, I blogged about the importance of having your band or DJ provide music during their breaks. Let's face it: if you're planning a wedding, you want your dance floor to look like this:

and not like this:

Part of a fun, successful party is also what your band and DJ play that night.  Below are a few songs that are guaranteed to pack your dance floor.  {Warning: if you have not already gathered, I am kind of cheesy when it comes to music.  And I am from New Jersey ... which may be redundant, but there you go.  Be guided accordingly as you peruse my fave dance songs}

Livin on a Prayer (Bon Jovi); anything by ABBA (seriously, anything); Suspicious Minds (Elvis); Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond); Copacabana (Barry Manilow); Build Me Up Buttercup; anything by The Supremes; If You Could Read My Mind (Stars on 54); Dancin' in the Moonlight (Toploader); Shook Me All Night Long (ACDC); Don't Stop Believin (Journey); Come on Eileen; Band of Gold; Grease Megamix; anything BeeGees; Pour Some Sugar on Me; Glory Days; Baby Got Back; Bust A Move; Rumpshaker; Funky Cold Medina; Safety Dance; Respect; ABC; Love Shack; Pokerface; Like a Prayer & Material Girl; Girls Just Wanna Have Fun; Groove is in the Heart; Regulate (yes, by Warren G); Total Eclipse of the Heart (the fast version); Brown Eyed Girl; Beat It & PYT; Oh What a Night; Proud Mary; Rock Your Body; Crazy in Love; Hey Ya; Brass Monkey; It Takes Two (Rob Base); Paradise City; Blister in the Sun; I Wanna Be Sedated; Bombastic; Push It (Salt n' Pepa); Jump Around.

Ok, somebody get me on the dance floor pronto. Did I miss your fave? Please share!

See you swoon,

NOTE: I should also mention that this week and possibly next, Jamie will be MIA. Unfortunately, her computer crashed and burned last night, so she isn't able to blog. Do not worry - she'll be back soon with a shiny new computer and lots of ideas. In the meantime, I'll keep the blog chug chug chugging along. If you have any ideas for posts, shoot me an email! shanna (at) swoonevents.com.

Nail it.

A manicure is most definitely a must-have for every bride.  After all, your wedding day is one day when everyone will be looking at your hands to check out how your ring finger looks with two rings instead of one.

Here are some of my favorite looks for bridal nails - all of the colors are OPI, just because I personally like them the best!

* Nice and neutral:  I am a big fan of the soft, neutral nail: it looks so elegant and classic and will not show chips as quickly.  Two of my faves for a wedding day are OPI's Bubble Bath and Honeymoon Sweet.  They are not too light and not too dark.

OPI Bubble Bath

OPI Honeymoon Sweet

* Sheer Pink:  For something with a little more punch than the above neutrals, a sheer pink like OPI's Hawaiian Orchid is a lovely choice.

OPI Hawaiian Orchid

* Bold and Beautiful:  If understated is not your thing, then by all means, use a punchy red to draw even more attention to your nails and those rings.  A tried-and-true red on all skin tones is OPI's I'm Not Really a Waitress Red.  Love it.

OPI I'm Not Really a Waitress Red

* Something Blue: Finally, if you want to really step outside the box or if you'd like to stay traditional on your hands but go a little more fun and funky on your toes, consider a pale blue, like OPI's Baby Blue.  It could be your "something blue" that day.

OPI Baby Blue

What do you think?  What's your favorite look for a wedding day mani/pedi?

See you swoon,

{OPI has not paid or otherwise comped us for featuring their polishes here today}