Staging your home – for yourself!

Home staging is a term that refers to preparing a home to look its best in order to sell it.

Joshua Becker’s blog, Becoming Minimalist, has an interesting article entitled “Stage your Home for Living”. He makes the point that preparing your home for a sale often means that it looks the best it ever has, just in time for the next owners.

With the concept of home staging in mind, I took a tour of our own home.  It actually only took only a few hours to put away and tidy up many things that had been on the “to do list” for some time, and this whole week I have been glad not to be dodging some of the piles that had accumulated. 

Three top tips I am taking away from Joshua Becker’s blog post include:

1. Declutter and find a home for everything: This is an ongoing battle in a compact space, but I really do think it helps to tidy up if everything has a designated home. When the surfaces are mostly clear, it makes everything seem more spacious. Obviously you need to actually live in your home, as it is not possible to have it always looking like a show house, but if you keep the more beautiful objects on display and the less lovely items put away it will make your home feel loved as well as lived in.
2. Tackle repairs: This is a tricky one for me as I am not that handy. But everyone has to start somewhere so I would like to tackle a few of those small jobs that have been lurking for a while now.  I have had a brainstorm and made a list of all the jobs that need doing, now I need to estimate the time and money it will take to tackle each one as well as estimate a realistic time frame for getting them done.
3. Consider first impressions or “curb appeal”: I think we get so used to arriving at home it is sometimes hard to see it with fresh eyes. It can make such a difference to have a welcoming entrance for yourself as well as guests.  Our front entry goes through a courtyard that is also a utility area, but I am thinking of ways to make it more cheerful, such as a small table and chairs and fairy lights when it is not being used for hanging washing!

What challenges do you have to get your home in tip top shape? Do you think it is possible to “stage a home for living”?

Creating an Art Space for Kids

This post follows on from the previous one and details some ideas about creating an art and craft space for kids.

After creating a lovely art cabinet for myself, I really felt that I needed to set up a suitable creative space for my daughter as well.  As I mentioned in my Art and Craft Cabinet post, our current art space just isn’t working well. Pinterest was my starting point!

I found some amazing articles and advice on children’s art supplies and setting up a creative space. The most inspirational being Merri Cherry’s blog article 10 Art Secrets Every Parent Should Know.

From this and other bloggers’ advice I have realized the following:

1. It is important to allow free access to art materials (obviously age appropriately) so that children can experiment and learn to become creatively independent.  Ours were all put away to save the mess! My daughter also kept  having to ask for paper, now I have provided a box of plain and coloured papers for her to use on her own.
2. It is helpful to have art materials clearly visible (use clear containers). This is working out better now that I have put everything out on the long counter top rather than packed away in the cabinet. 
3. Trays are a useful way to contain projects. We were using trays for some projects that were messy, but actually they can be used for more projects than I thought. I especially like the idea of setting up a tray with materials as an “invitation to create” as Merri Cherry suggests. This involves putting everything needed for a project on a tray and then letting your artist be inspired to create.
4. Include sculpting mediums such as play dough in the art supplies. I generally think of paper supplies for art projects, but fun can be had from 3D projects too! Cut up straws, marbles and plastic creatures of all kinds can be fun with play dough.
5. The creative process rather than the end product is what is important. I have been too focused on creating a specific end product rather than just embracing the fun and the creative process.  This needs to change!
6. Display children’s art to show its importance. I am not very good at this as I don’t like putting prestick up on the walls and it always looks messy to have random bits of paper here and there on the walls. However I am now convinced about the importance of valuing children’s art and am planning on thinking up a display space that is also changeable as our art projects evolve.
7. Get the whole family involved. I love all sorts of art and craft so this will be no problem for me to put some effort into getting us all involved where possible. I think creating art projects together is a wonderful way to spend time and create happy memories.

What are some of your tips for inspiring creativity, either for yourself or with kids?