Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

What’s old is new again! How many times have we looked at a furniture piece and though it had seen better days and discard it? What if we had painted it instead? We never seem take in consideration that painting furniture can bring new life to an old piece!  As a home stager in Long Island New York, when doing a Staging Consultation or Redesign project, I often see outdated furniture that can be reused when painted. Clients are often surprise at my suggestion, saying “I never thought of that!” It save money and reuses existing items. That’s what staging is all about!!

All you have to do is sand it down, fill in holes, prime and paint. Not difficult to do or you can hire a professional. It would still probably be cheaper then replacing the piece. And what a difference paint makes!! So the next time you have an old piece of furniture that you want to discard, ask yourself, can this piece be save by painting it?

If the answer is yes, then by all means do it! What’s old is new again!!

Centsational Girl

Centsational Girl

Recently I found an alternative to stainless steel appliances. It’s a peel & stick film from a company called Soft Metal Film. You simply peel and stick it to just about any surface. As a home stager in New York, stainless steel  appliances is highly desirable when selling your home. But not every homeowners has these high end appliances. It isn’t alway cost effective to replace appliances. But now there is another way to achieve the look without spending a lot of money. This product will turn an outdated appliance into a desirable stainless steel appliance that buyers are looking for.

Use on Dishwasher

Use on countertops!

Even on Garbage pails!

Comes in a roll!

There are endless possibilities with this product. As you can see, you can use on countertops, backsplash, ceilings, workbench and much, much more!! Its scratch-resistance, durable and easy to use. You can order  a sample to see the product before you use it. I ordered the sample and was very impressed with it. You can even use it on stoves, it’s temperature resistant from 50 F to +122 F. Great for kitchens, bathroom and any room you want to use stainless steel. And it’s easy to remove. I will definitely recommend this product to my clients the next time I do a staging consultation. Especially if they have outdated appliances. A great alternative to stainless steel!!

Power of Pink, according to House Beautiful “Use pulsating hot pink. You will walk in and feel incredibly happy”. So does that mean pink is “in”.  Well according to Pantone “Colors for Spring” Honeysuckle is their color choice for the year, and 15% of the designers are using this color. So who/what is Pantone ? Pantone is an “innovative system for identifying, matching and communicating colors to solve the problems associated with producing accurate color matches in the graphic arts community”. It is the world renowned authority on color. So it’s safe to say they know a thing or two about color.

What does this mean to you? Well if your going to redecorate your home you might want to consider pink! You may not want to paint your walls pink but hot fuchsia pillows can give you that pop of color . Did you know that the Moroccans and the Venetians have been using pink for centuries? I can remember when I was a little girls and pink was popular, as a matter of fact my dad had a pink shirt. It has recently resurfaced  again. Pink and green a classic combination. Think outside of the box and don’t be afraid! If you would like to update your home but need help, contact me!

Granite Vs Quartz: Who wins?

Granite vs Quartz: Who wins? Granite has been all the rage for the last 10-15 years in kitchen and even in baths. Here on Long Island, New York, granite has very popular with real estate buyers. But recently the has been a shift towards Quartz. Why?

1. Contrary to popular belief. Granite has to be resealed every year.
2. It can be chip if you hit a corner or a vein.
3. There is less radon in quartz because quartz, although a natural stone is mixed with polymers, making it the best of both worlds, engineered and natural.
4. Quartz is less porous than granite making more resistance to bacteria.
5. Quartz is available in more colors.
6. Quartz has increased in popularity by 13% in the last year, while granite only %5.

In my opinion, while granite is unquestionable beautiful, I think it quartz is the new “Trend”. It will continue to raise in popularity, while granite takes a back seat. They say it take ten years for a trend to come in and go out. Since it’s been about 15 years for granite, I say its long over due for a new stone to take its place and that stone is quartz!

Granite

Quartz

Molten Cake with Whip Cream!

Kosher Molten Lava Cake

This is a great dessert to serve your dinner guest. You can add ice cream, shave chocolate, or fresh raspberries.

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or bars cut up into bite size chunks
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoon of flour
• cocoa powder, optional

Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler pot. Remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour until just combine (batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour before baking). Before serving dinner, adjust oven rack to middle position; heat to 450 degrees. Spray ramekin dish with vegetable oil. Divide batter among ramekin dishes. Bake until batter is puffs but center is not set 8-10 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and add whip cream to top of molten cake,  (sprinkle with cocoa powder) and serve.

Brining the Turkey!

With the Thanksgiving Holidays around the corner, I though I would share  my recipe for brining the turkey!

Brining  (recipe courtesy of Alton Brown Food TV)

For the Brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallo vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
• 1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 6 sage leaves
• canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except iced water, in a stockpot and bring to boil. Stir till dissolve, then remove from heat, cool, and place in refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Once brine is cold, place  thawed turkey, breast side down and set in cool place for 6 hours (I use a clean 5 gallon paint bucket from Home Depot to put the brine and turkey in). Turn turkey over once, half way through brining. Turkey does not have to be refrigerated because the salt in the water acts like a preservative,  just place the bucket in the coolest place in your house (garage? basement?). You can do this the night before or morning of. Remove turkey form brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Add aromatics to cavity and coat with canola oil.

I guarantee this will be the tenderest turkey you will ever have. I don’t like to stuff the bird (health reason) instead I stuff it with the aromatics. Enjoy!!

The colors of Puerto Rico!! Recently I was on vacation and was surprise to see so much color in Puerto Rico! This is a vibrant culture whose people are NOT afraid to use color!! Everywhere we went we saw a rainbow of colors, from the small homes to estates,to bridges and even highway dividers! It was refreshing to see so many colors. We can learn a lesson from these people. Step out of the box and don’t be afraid to use color. Color can infuse us with happiness. And we can all use happiness in our lives.

As home stagers we see so much bland and boring colors. Not so in Puerto Rico! Old San Juan was breathtaking! Bright colors from pinks, blues, purple, green, all in a row!! But don’t take my word. They say seeing is believing. So here are the pictures to prove it. The beautiful colors of Puerto Rico!

Bright and Cheerful!!

 

The street of Old San Juan!

Colorful Hillside!!

Even the bridges are painted in color!

An old Firehouse in Ponce!!

Kitchen and baths are deal breakers when selling your home. So how do we improve these areas without breaking the bank? Hiring a home stager is a great way to get some great ideas! There are simple fixing that can be done, some are easy and inexpensive, some may require a professional and a bit more money. Either way, it’s less expensive then remodeling your entire kitchen and bath!

• Repaint cabinets. That alone will drastically change the look of the room. You can paint vanity and medicine cabinets. Just make sure you prime it well or you can hire a professional.
• Change out the hardware.
• Update the light fixture.
• Replace the vanity sink or kitchen sink if it’s old.
• Update the faucet.
• Update the floor. There are relativity inexpensive stick on tiles that look amazing. There is even a stick on tile that looks and feels like wood! It’s called Allure. Great product.
• Paint the walls.

The reason kitchen and baths are deal breakers when selling your home, is the fact they are expensive to remodel. But doing these inexpensive fixes allows the potential buyer an opportunity to see how great your kitchen and bath are. They can then remodel at a later time.

Bath

Kitchen