Stuff I've made for Staging- part 2.

.... and that I wish I could keep for myself.

My latest creation is a fun one.

As I was driving on a Tucker, GA street the other day, I spotted what others consider trash but I consider a treasure: a sweeeeeeet pallet!

If you too spend a lot of your free time perusing Pinterest, you will agree that pallets are where it's at. You can make practically anything out of a pallet- except kids ;)

So here is the beaut' in question.

First off, a pallet is VERY heavy. I knew I wanted to turn it into an upholstered ottoman and this pallet was too big. I checked into both sides and settled on a good place to shorten it. With my trusted circular saw. Yup. And then I finished up with my hand saw. It ended up measuring 27in x 32 in.

Now I had no idea where that pallet had been. I had to get all the potential gross stuff off of it. So I used a mixture of bleach and water to clean it and then I sanded it really well.

Here was my shopping list for the ottoman:

From Hobby Lobby:

foam: enough to cover the whole top of the pallet- I used leftover 2 inch thick foam. 

batting: enough to cover the top, sides and to be tucked under

fabric: I could have had enough with 2 yards but I bought 3 so that I have leftover fabric to make matching pillows. I got my fabric at Hobby Lobby, using my 40% off coupon, of course.

1 long upholstery needle: to create the tufting on top

thick cord to attach the buttons

upholstery buttons

From Home Depot:

2 pieces of very thin plywood to cover the top and bottom of the pallet. In my case, both pieces were cut to 27 x 32 by a kind HD associate.

4- 9" legs and 4 brackets to attach them.

After I had cleaned and sanded the pallet, I attached one of my plywood pieces to the bottom of the pallet. I nailed them into the wood of the pallet, which was surprisingly really tough to get into. So I got all my frustration out and nailed them in!

I then took the other plywood piece and carefully measured where I would place my buttons. For my 27x32 pallet, I used 8 buttons. 3 in the top row, 2 in the middle row and 3 in the bottom row. I marked with a Sharpie where the buttons would go and drilled little holes for each mark.

After I had done that, I gathered my leftover pieces of foam and actually glued them together with adhesive spray. I made sure they covered the whole 2nd piece of plywood and I glued the foam to the plywood.

Then I covered my buttons with the fabric I would use for the ottoman. I used this kit from Hobby Lobby:

Then I took a break from all the upholstering and stained the 4 legs to be used on the ottoman (together with other legs I would need for other projects. And set them up to dry.

Now onto the tricky part. I placed the plywood/foam piece on a table, foam facing up. I added batting to cover it all and then I placed my fabric on top. I put strong cord on my large needle and led it through the first hole, across the foam, batting and fabric. Once I was on the other side, I passed the cord through one of the buttons. Then I had to go back down into the fabric, batting and foam and find the same hole again. That was tricky but with patience I got it done. Once on the other side, I tied a good tight knot. Try to tighten each button as much as the others for an even look. I used an electric stapler to tighten them all- I placed the fabric face down, pulled on each cord really hard from the back and stapled into place.

This is how it looked after all 8 buttons were in. Perfect.

Then I padded the sides of my pallet with more foam.

 After that, I placed the whole plywood/foam/fabric/buttons contraption face down on the table and placed my pallet face down on top. I then pulled the batting all around and stapled it to the bottom of the pallet. I started in the middle of each side and moved to the corners. Then I cut the leftover batting to clean it all up.

I did the same thing with the fabric, making sure it is pulled tightly all over. 

Now that the top of my ottoman was done, I needed to attach legs. I measured where each leg should be on the bottom, marked it and placed my leg brackets. Then I screwed on the 4 legs.

                                                     

That's it! An awesome, fabulous and classy ottoman to be used for staging.... for now ;)

I love it!!!

What have you made lately that you're really in love with?

Stuff I've made for Staging- Part 1

I said in my previous post, I LUUUV to make stuff. Especially stuff made with wood. This all started when Hubby and I decided to remove the carpets in our living/dining/play-rooms and to lay our own hardwood floors.
As soon as we started installing the floor boards, it became clear to everyone involved that I would be the one manning the circular saw. Don't ask why, I have no idea. Is it the feeling of power? The danger involved? Who knows... All of the above plus the fact that I really dig the smell of cut wood.

So I went from laying hardwood floors to creating cool pieces. I've refinished furniture, made it all Etsy-like, played around with different cutesy Pinteresty projects...

But when I came across ana-white.com, my life became complete. This girl is something else. If you are remotely attracted to building your own furniture, you too can follow her step-by-step instructions and feel empowered.

A few months ago I was looking for a good headboard to use for staging a vacant home for sale. Nothing caught my eyes and, anyway, my wallet couldn't handle the steep prices dangling from the ones I saw in stores.

So I browsed Ana's plans and here's what I found: a West Elm inspired Headboard!

I studied the plan and off I went to my trusted Home Depot for the lumber. 

Like I said, I love building. But do you know what I like even more? A good deal! This headboard cost me $17 in lumber, as opposed to the retail price tag of $350. 

I focused, I sweated in 95 degree Atlanta weather, I killed my knees working on the floor, I screwed up a  few times.....

But here was my masterpiece in all its unfinished glory:

I figured I should spray-paint it espresso-brown, but that really didn't come out great...

yeah..... nope. Change of plans. But what color should I go for???

Now remember, Staging is all about making a house as appealing as possible to the broadest audience, so I had to keep it safe. Lord knows I would have painted it bright orange or deep if it was up to me.


And then... Target came through in the clutch. Don't they always? This baby went on sale:

Look! It's the exact same overlapping squares design! Woohoo!!! And the ones I found at my local Tarjay were painted black. The color decision was made for me.

Here is my lovely black handmade headboard and its matching side tables in a home I staged recently. You can't see any details but you can trust me: it looks FAB!

The house went under contract 24 hours after being put on the market. Think my bedroom set sold it?

Stage...or be Upstaged

Firstly let me introduce myself. My name is Ilana Weismark and I am an ASP®, (Accredited Staging Professional). I was born in France and have lived in Atlanta for 13 years.

I own and operate Ooh La La Home Staging, LLC, a Home Staging company catering to the Greater Atlanta region. 

Besides my family and friends, there are 2 things that truly make me happy: 

1) Using my creativity on a daily basis,

2) Helping Realtors, Investors and Sellers sell their house faster and for top dollar, 

2) Being in my woman-cave (a.k.a. Garage) and building, refinishing, creating, pieces to be used in my staging jobs. If I am not covered in splinters from sawing wood or if I don't have paint in my nails, I know I haven't been working hard enough.

What is Home Staging, you'll ask?

Well, when you get ready to place your home on the market for sale it becomes a product. Similar to a product on the shelf at your local store, the product has features and benefits as well as pluses and minuses, and there is always competition.

To win against the competition in the marketplace the product must be priced right and look better than the other products for sale. 

Your home is no different, it is one of many homes for sale, and you must present it to the buyers in the best way possible, and that means that you need to get it Staged.

Staging is the process of preparing any home for sale, regardless of price, condition or location. Using a proven professional set of guidelines, I work with sellers room by room inside the home and all around the outside to get it Staged in the best way possible for the least amount of investment.

Take a look at these Before and After photos from recent Ooh La La Home Staging jobs.

Look at the difference! The empty living room looks cold, unappealing. In real life, this room is not enormous and it may be difficult for a buyer to imagine setting up their living-room. In the Staged room, everything is spelled out to the potential buyer. Where they could put their sofa, how to fit everything in without breaking the flow of the house etc. Simple furnishings, nice pops of color and voilà! This room just went from Drab to Fab!

 














Check out this Master Bedroom. Ok, so there are refinished hardwood floors, a great barn door to the master bathroom, but at first glance a buyer might come in and not see that their furniture would fit into the tight space. Enters Ooh La La Home Staging and.... Ooh la la!!! The queen bed fits perfectly, with bedside tables, and an extra chair. Warm colors, nice accessories, details that pull you into the room, and define it for you. Beautiful.

In essence....  Stage or be Upstaged!

Call Ilana Weismark and Ooh La La Home Staging, LLC at 770-312-6723 for a quote.