Makeovers

My client had lived in her spacious, multi-level condo for many years. She decided to sell and move to a single-level home in a nearby town. As an artist living alone, she had set up her home to suit her own creative needs and lifestyle. She had converted her master suite into a weaving studio, while one of the smaller bedrooms served as her sleeping quarters, and the remaining bedroom was a snug home office. She rarely spent time out in her tiny backyard, and it suffered from neglect.

Since she had tailored her home to her own needs, she knew that she'd have to make some changes in order for it appeal to potential buyers. She called me in to give her a plan to get her home in tip-top shape. Our home improvement list included repainting, repairs, re-establishing the master suite as a bedroom, simplifying the guest bedroom and home office, judicious use of her beautiful accessories and revamping her patio.

When I first visited her backyard I could see that it had lots of potential. The living room and kitchen faced the patio and I could see it as a wonderful extension of the interior, and a pleasing natural focal point. The patio was covered with rickety decking that needed to be replaced or repaired. I suggested that she research options for replacing it and she decided to install interlocking pavers - a fantastic investment that gave her a huge bang for her buck. A built-in bench area (to the right, out of view) butted up against an open area that housed a tangle of pipes and wires. I happened to have a 4-by-8-foot section of trellis that I didn't need (an amazing coincidence!) and volunteered to give it to her to camouflage the piping. There were no plantings and no place to sit. Our challenge was to create an inviting yard that extended the living space and created a pleasing focal point viewable from the interior.

BEFORE

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• I returned after all the work was done to stage the backyard. Boy, what a blank space! We needed to fill it with something that suggested a use for potential buyers and conjured feelings of comfort, enjoyment and companionship.

• The patio needed some living things and some color. The yard was paved to the fence, so there was no place to plant anything in the ground. We'd have to bring in some pots.

AFTER

• I happened to have some outdoor furniture that I had planned to sell at a garage sale, which I was able to lend my client while she had her home on the market. The simple table and chairs filled the space but didn't dominate it. The arrangement showed how you might use the space and conveyed a feeling of conviviality. The section of trellis I brought fit perfectly over the piping (still our of view). Covering that eyesore drew attention away from it and brought more attention to the seating area.

•Since we couldn't plant anything in the ground, I brought some colorful pots, positioned them so you could see them from the living room, and jammed them with blooming seasonal color. Since my client would need to water them while the house was on the market, I lent her my bright red watering can. She had a nice basket that I filled with lemons from my tree and placed on the table. I found a colorful Scandinavian disk amongst her artwork and we hung it over the table for even more color. Challenge met! We were able create a colorful focal point and extend the living room with just a few simple props. But my client was only able to enjoy her revamped space for a few days because her condo sold immediately!

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