Tips on Selling Your Home at Top Market Value!

Chris and I bought our first home this year, and so far we love being homeowners. We know that one day we will need room to grow, so when we start looking for our next home in 5 - 7 years, we are going to want to sell our home at a great price. We have already been researching the best investments to make in your current home to increase it's value. Here are some tips from realty pro Kathy Doyle to help get us started:

Use trends that fit the style of your house.
If you have a Cape Cod beach house, do not remove the beautiful wooden floors and cabinetry for stainless steel and radiant heated cement. Take all trends in mind with your home’s style and unique footprint on the real estate landscape.

Cape Cod Beach House via Picklee


Have an updated home.
Buyers of luxury and high end properties are looking for a house that is move-in-ready, in line with the investment they are making. The last thing any buyer wants is to envision a major remodel in their future, after spending millions on the home itself. The most important wonderful impression that must be made is a modern, updated kitchen. Top of the line fixtures and appliances are key. The top must-haves for appliances for today’s luxury buyers are a sub-zero refrigerator, excellent water filtration system, center island and second sink, dishwashers, trash compactor, and plenty of storage space. Beautiful bathrooms with tasteful design are also very important to the discerning buyer. (Me: Our home is very, very far from a luxury or million dollar property, but these principles can be applied still, just with a lower price point.)

 

Transitional Dining Room by Los Angeles Architects & Designers Studio William Hefner


Top Kitchen Trend: Warm and Inviting.
Forget the trendy kitchens of years past which came across as cold and utilitarian. Today’s top trend in kitchens is to embrace the space as the center of family and entertaining life. The color schemes for today’s top kitchens are warm and inviting to all the guests in the home. It is common for the kitchen to open into other entertaining spaces so that guests can mingle while hors d’oeuvre and drinks are being prepared. No more stuffy chef’s kitchens of years past, modern luxury is comfortable, warm, and casual. (Me: One of the first projects we have in mind for our home is either opening up the dividing wall between our kitchen and living room as a breakfast bar, or removing the wall entirely.)

This is pretty darn close to my dream kitchen.
Warm and Inviting Kitchen via My Random Inspiration

Eco Friendly can be chic via Ozvip


Be Eco-Friendly
Today’s buyers want to purchase a property that is friendly to the environment and on their wallets. When they purchase a home with large square footage, buyers must take into account long term energy and utility costs. So build savings into the home. Buyers love homes with double paned windows, lots of natural light, low-energy appliances, low-flow toilets, excellent insulation, and solar panels. Eco friendly is wallet friendly, and maintaining a luxury property is much nicer if you save money on utility
costs at every turn.

 

Luxury Pool via Luxist

Got a lot of lot space? Add a pool or guest house.

Luxury buyers want Guest Space for friends and family to enjoy the benefits of their good fortune. Guest space is key for almost every buyer I work with to find their dream home. Many want pool and spa for their guests to enjoy, and any property with one or both of these amenities goes up in value tremendously. Be clever and combine them both. Build a pool, and have the pool house double as guest quarters. One client in Beverly Hills built a gorgeous indoor/outdoor pool house with a daybed which served both as a seat for evening cocktails and as quarters for overnight guests to sleep in the open air. Sauna, Gym, Home Theatre and Massage Space are also high-end upgrades that add value to today’s luxury homes.

Luxury living room via La Dolce Vita

Stage for Success 

If you are selling your home it is key that you stage for success. You want your home to feel personable, but not personal (as though only your family can live in it). So remove personal family photos, clutter, tchotchkes and the like. The right buyer will imagine their life in this beautiful space. Have style which is welcoming, tasteful, and leaves room for the imagination to play! 

Find the Right Realtor

Kathy Doyle is a luxury real estate broker in Southern California. She is a leader in Beverly Hills and Malibu luxury real estate. With a keen eye for design, she loves to help her sellers make key remodels to make the most of their gorgeous properties so that they can get the highest purchase price on the market today. Buyers are looking for high end and beautifully updated homes, so to get the best price for your luxury property it is important to have the qualities today’s buyers are looking for.

this post is in partnership with Kathy Doyle Estates

A stunning modern (and elegant) farm house

This house by Kim Winkler is really unique. Rarely do you see such an amazing blend of dark, luxurious elegance paired with such rustic elements.

This picture has inspired me to maybe paint my bathroom black.... anyone here tried it?

stunning

I would never think to pair those chairs with that table, but it works really well imho.

What do you think of this house?
via Trad Home

Happy weekend! An eclectic San Francisco house tour!

I'm sure some of you are familiar with Victoria from SFGirlByBay, her lovely blog. Her style is a blend of eclectic, modern retro, and vintage. See below.

By the way, this house tour comes to you from a great new online mag called Rue - check it out!

An intriguing and whimsical housetour

I'm leaving for my big trip tomorrow - 9 weeks in 11 different countries. I'm freaking out a little -feeling just completely overwhelmed. I'm going to try to post as often as possible - depending on our hotel(s) internet situation - as I'm not bringing my laptop- yikes! I'm already suffering from phantom laptop syndrome. I know I should be posting something traveling related - but I'm just a little too scatter-brained to put anything together - so I'm going with a tried and true house tour.

This home is really different from anything else I've seen before. I think for the most part it somehow manages to avoid being over the top though. What do you think? Too quirky for you?



great wall color!







That painting is the only thing I couldn't really live with

via KML Design

The most interesting room in the world

So I had a reader come to me with a really fun request -

"Have you seen those Dos Equis commercials, about 'the most intersting man in the world?'
I have a library that I'd like to decorate like that - leather, skeletons, artifacts, books - and I was wondering if you could do a blog post on rooms that have that sort of 'worldly' look." -V

In case you're not sure about the ad she mentions - you can watch it here.

Here is a shot from the ad and two photos I found on the Dos Equis website.


Here are some images I dug up to provide some more ideas and inspiration for achieving that old-world, well traveled look.

This library is very similar because of the stone fireplace and rich upholstery and fabrics. Notice also a globe, stacks of old books, and the scientific painting of the skull.
via Fresh Home

From a Buenos Aires bed and breakfast.
via Claundine's Homes

Maps are an easy way to accomplish an worldly look, also they are affordable and widely available. You could even go to a used bookstore and find maps in books to cut out and display.
via Apartment Therapy

via Great Interior Design

via Ralph Lauren Home

two above via Style Rumors

via Design is Mine

via Point Click Home

Notice that in all of the rooms that dark walls instantly create a sense of intrigue. Also - keep in mind that most objects should not match -or come as a set. Curiosities and artifacts are gathered overtime from different places. You'll have different textures and colors in your fabrics, furniture, and objects.

An academic atmosphere also contributes to a worldly look - journals, good illumination, and organized collections.
via Point Click Home

Classic architectural sketches are also a nice touch - and can be found in flea markets and bookstores - even better if from your travels!
via Home Interior Design Themes

A faux stucco plaster treatment is a gorgeous way to create an antiquated look.
via Sandy Foster

Turn to libraries and museums for ideas.

Specimen drawers, apothecary jars, and specimen mounts are all ways to give your objects an "interesting" look. You can find these supplies at specimen and lab suppliers.
Two above images from via Curious Expositions

Thanks Victoria for a great idea! Does anyone else have some tips or ideas?