Listing Our House…

This is an interesting post to write. Getting our house ready for market was an intense and exhausting project. Peeling back the layers of our home was no easy feat and I will get into that… but what I was not expecting was how I felt when it went live on Zillow. I was anticipating elation, satisfaction, glee even… but I felt physically ill. ILL! I found it oddly exposing, our little house, our little life on display for strangers to see. I know, I know… this coming from a Blogger with a healthy Instagram following. But, truly, I felt exposed and uncomfortable. 

Actually being a Blogger/Instagramer with followers certainly fed that. How would I feel if people didn’t like what they were seeing? Would people criticize my sweet house that we have loved for over 12 years? One that my brother helped us design? It was just too personal. 

I am also sure that part of this stems from the house not looking like it did when we lived our daily lives in it. I felt that it wasn’t a TRUE example and reflection of us and that troubled me. But, honestly, who wants to see the chaos that happens in a house with kids, a dog and an avid cook? The make-shift work stations from Covid imposed e-learning, ALL my kitchen gadgets and a billion Lego pieces. You want to take all that out the front door when you put your house on the market, trust me.

On that note, we made the choice to start packing up things we didn’t NEED to live with immediately (toys, holiday decorations, summer clothes) and put them in storage.  This was BRILLIANT. Doing so started our packing process, which is helpful, and let potential buyers envision their own things in the house, not just ours. I highly recommend doing this if you can. 

So all that said and my hesitation aside, I was thrilled (and proud) with how our house looks in the listing. It shines like the gem it is. I couldn’t have gotten it market ready with out the help of the amazing Leia Ward of LTW Designs.  I called her after a dear friend had used her before she listed her house. I didn’t need a traditional stager, I certainly had the furniture and goods in our house, but I needed an unbiased eye to come through and look at it as a buyer would. What was great about Leia is not only does she think about how a buyer sees it, but also how it will photograph best. For example, our gorgeous Persian rugs just wouldn’t translate in photos (out they went!), show off those hard woods! All the furniture, art, and accessories, save the two new things I ordered, are our own. We just subtracted everything that was overly personal and taste specific. I ordered a neutral rug for the family room (that I actually LOVE and put in my Feb Favs!) and last minute I ordered two chairs (also in Feb Favs) because I felt like our family room felt empty. 

It is also pretty awesome to have the photos of our house for the future! I know some readers have seen photos of the house online and have asked for sources. Many (MANY!) of the pieces in our home are vintage, custom or just super old and no longer available! I have rounded up some of the items I love and are a click away! Scroll down past the photos for those!

 

 

Click on corresponding number to shop item! 

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