By: Sarah Boha
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With the ushering in of the New Year comes a time to reflect, start fresh and achieve your goals – A.K.A. the New Year’s Resolution. Eating healthier, losing weight and helping others are among the most popular resolutions, but what about a resolution for your home? I asked Miki Benner, professional interior designer, stager and owner of 23interiors, for tips, advice and trends to expect in 2014 that will help homeowners looking to sell their home in the New Year to residents seeking a change in their current scenery.
SB: In your experience, why do you think it would be beneficial for a homeowner, selling their home, to use a stager?
Miki Benner: If you are trying to sell your home, presentation can make all the difference. You always hear about location being the most important thing but no matter where your house is, if it’s messy, cluttered or if you have your kitchen set up as a home office, it will limit its appeal. Professional Home Staging is an integral part of selling. Practical home sellers realize that creating a show home environment will entice buyers. Most people imagine they can look past ugly decor or empty rooms and see potential, but in reality that is not usually the case.
SB: Are there any new trends we will be seeing specifically in 2014 with regard to interior design or staging homes?
Miki Benner: There are so many different trends and styles out there and available to anyone. Pantone, the leader in color trend forecasting, have chosen ‘Radiant Orchid’ (http://www.pantone.com/pages/index.aspx?pg=21129) as the color of the year for 2014. I would imagine that you will be seeing a lot of home décor items in this mix of fuchsia, purple and pink color becoming very popular.
I believe that graphic patterns and bold colors will continue to be a current and wonderful trend and when used well are a great way to modernize and bring warmth your home.
NSB: What would your advice be to anyone who wants a fresh new look for their home in the New Year? Where should they start?
Miki Benner: Clearing clutter and rearranging existing furniture to maximize space is a good place to start. Other items that make a huge difference are cleaning the house thoroughly, painting rooms and replacing carpets or floors if necessary. Make any necessary repairs and updates. It is amazing how small projects that need to be completed, very quickly become just an oversight. I am just as guilty as the next person – living with a room with no baseboards or a patch of drywall that needs to be sanded and painted over. Make it a priority to finish everything and have a clean slate. It is great to have a home that you can be proud of and enjoy coming home to!
SB: Anything else that you think is important that the readers of the blog should know with regard to staging and real estate?
Miki Benner: Staging your home for sale helps a seller appeal to a wider audience so buyers are willing to pay the highest possible price. Professional Home Stagers generally work with what the homeowner already owns in order to reduce overall spending. This process usually involves depersonalizing the space by removing as many personal effects as possible, inside and outside the house is very important when you are hoping to receive top dollar for your home.
Professional Home Stagers can evaluate a room at a glance and see things that a homeowner might miss. They may be able to transform a room with just a few quick changes by moving furniture, clearing away clutter and rearranging pictures on the walls. In other cases, they may recommend neutral paint, new furniture or accent pieces which could be loaned, rented, or purchased. Usually just moving and rearranging furniture from other rooms of the house will do the trick!
By making a resolution for an improved living space in the New Year, you’re giving yourself a better chance of achieving your personal goals, such as spending more time with loved ones. Whether you’re looking to sell your home or change up your current dwelling, employing a professional home stager/interior designer, taking steps to remove clutter and making simple repairs can help in tackling a New Year’s resolution for your home. At the very least, you’ll be proud to spend more time with loved ones in your newly staged space! -
Miki Benner is a professional interior designer, stager and owner of 23interiors. Miki serves homes in the Central Pennsylvania area and a sampling of her services include, interior design and decorating, Re-design and home staging services. If you would like more information Miki and her interior design and home staging services, please visit, 
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