I took new pictures (warning, pic heavy)

[kara_leigh]

Since our house was pretty and clean for our showing on Friday I decided to go ahead and take new pictures of the inside of our house. How do you think they compare to the only pictures that our agent took and has on our listing? http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...5&postcount=42 We decided to put up our own Craigslist ad, since our agent said he would keep one up on there but hasn't. I have all these pictures on a Flickr acct and was going to just link you guys to that, but it has our address on it and DH is paranoid.

Those of you on facebook are probably sick of these by now. haha

Those of you that know about real estate, is there anything you can see that we can easily change, without much money? We're pretty much dead broke right now, barely making our bills, so we can't spend much of anything. Thanks!!

(Also, please don't hesitate to tell me if you are sick and tired of hearing about my stupid *&%#$@ house. LOL)



























more in the next post.....

 

[kara_leigh]

(My uncle painted the picture above the fireplace, isn't it cool???)






























Upstairs...










Backyard




Thanks for looking!!!

 

[-_aj_-]

I cannot believe your house hasnt been snapped up it is beautiful!!! I love the Bathroom, the kitchen and garden

 

[larussa]

Your home is beautiful, I especially like the long windows in the living room and the bathroom with the sink on the outside. It's very unique and have only seen it on HGTV. I think the place looks very sellable.

 

[animalhouse]

I LOVE your home! I would totally buy it! I am surprised no one has!

 

[mbjerkness]

I think your house is gorgeous. I like your pictures better

 

[lauren_miller]

Your home is gorgeous! I don't know why anyone hasn't bought it yet!

 

[kara_leigh]

I think this is so funny. My husband posted pretty much the same thread on a forum he goes to, but it is almost entirely male populated. His responses have been nothing but constant criticism about what is wrong with our house. LOL That just shows the difference between males and females, I guess. haha

One thing someone did say, though, was that our house was TOO clean, almost sterile. I thought that is what was required/necessary for selling a house?? Every show I've seen on HGTV says that you should remove all pictures and what not, so we did. We still have some person items out, like all my Willow Tree figurines (though not centrally located as before, I spread them throughout the house instead) and a few other small things like my CNA certificate, glass balls that I collect are hanging in the kitchen window, etc. I just thought our house looked "decluttered", which is what it is supposed to be. I don't know...do you think he's right??

 

[nekomania]

Wow looking at the pictures your Agent took vs yours I have to say that your Agent SUCKS at taking pictures.

They almost look like pictures from two completely different houses. Your photos definitely make it appear more bright and homey! Using natural lighting for photos always looks much better than using lighting like your agent.

I haven't really been following the up and up on you selling your house but I think you're going to have an easier time with better, more detailed pictures! I feel like I just went on a stroll through your home.

By the way, I am so envious of that bathtub!

 

[abbycats]

Your house is beautiful!!! We just relocated to Omaha about 6 months ago. I got a job working for the railroad at the corporate office. We just put in a bid for a house last week. It's a tiny house that is close to downtown. We are renting a house in midtown right now. Your house should sell fast!!!

 

[carolpetunia]

What a beautiful house, and how perfectly you've kept it!

I especially love the wall color. So much richer than plain ol' white, and the white trim is so crisp against it. The whole house looks so fresh and clean... what's not to love?

As for the sterile remark -- well, it does occur to me that some fabric would be nice on the living room windows. Yards and yards of something sheer, spilling down from the top and puddled on the floor... it could warm and soften the room, and also accent that wonderful vertical space.

What if you added a couple of large potted plants? You'd have to use silk, I guess, for kitty safety. And it might be nice to set the table as if dinner is about to be served, and leave a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. Apparently, some buyers need little things like that to spark their imaginations.

I don't, though. I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

 

[kara_leigh]

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

What a beautiful house, and how perfectly you've kept it!

I especially love the wall color. So much richer than plain ol' white, and the white trim is so crisp against it. The whole house looks so fresh and clean... what's not to love?

As for the sterile remark -- well, it does occur to me that some fabric would be nice on the living room windows. Yards and yards of something sheer, spilling down from the top and puddled on the floor... it could warm and soften the room, and also accent that wonderful vertical space.

What if you added a couple of large potted plants? You'd have to use silk, I guess, for kitty safety. And it might be nice to set the table as if dinner is about to be served, and leave a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. Apparently, some buyers need little things like that to spark their imaginations.

I don't, though. I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

I've thought about setting a couple place settings stacked on the table with some silverware, but I don't have any cloth napkins, so it would look a little bare. We do have a bowl of "fruit" in a large bowl in the corner of the kitchen between the sink and the stove. What is in it rotates, depending on what we are having for dinner or what we recently bought. Right now there is a small bag of tiny potatoes, a couple apples, a banana, an avocado, and some onions. That's just there normally, though, it's been there for a long time...not just for the showings. I've wanted to buy some silk plants (can't do live b/c Nora eats any plant she sees about 2 seconds after bringing it in the door. Even at Walmart or such, though, those suckers are really expensive! We looked at buying some when we first put the house on the market (I'd like one at least on the fireplace and on the kitchen table, maybe on the counter, etc) but we couldn't afford it.

 

[Winchester]

It's funny you should mention the "sterile" comment. When I was looking at the pictures, I thought, "Nice house! And clean!"

You have a very nice house. I'm surprised that it hasn't been sold yet.

 

[3catsn1dog]

If your house was selling in my area Id snap it up in a heartbeat. Its GORGEOUS. As for the sterile comments, I personally as a potential (I hope) future home owner, I personally prefer the decluttered look in homes that are still occupied. While its nice for a house to look lived in, if Im looking to buy I want to be able to imagine how my stuff would look in there and that is hard to do for some people when someone still has everything possible everywhere. But thats just me, Im sure there are people who prefer the current residents stuff out and about to get their ideas. But I would hands down snap your house up if I could because its amazing and beautiful. Your kitchen is my selling point (btw out of curiosity are the appliances included in the sale?)...Sorry if Im being nosy, Im just curious if I need to tell BF we are moving LMAO, I adore your kitchen and while white appliances are not my favorite I can totally picture myself having a field filling that fridge with food, cooking on that stove and (oh heaven) loading the dishwasher. Its great, the counter space and the cabinets....<3 <3 <3 it.

I love the bathroom too, the agents picture of it made it look super duper tiny but your picture of the big bathroom is great it makes it look more spacious.


Ok Im gonna start packing my stuff up now because your house is exactly what I would look for in a new home.

 

[kara_leigh]

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

If your house was selling in my area Id snap it up in a heartbeat. Its GORGEOUS. As for the sterile comments, I personally as a potential (I hope) future home owner, I personally prefer the decluttered look in homes that are still occupied. While its nice for a house to look lived in, if Im looking to buy I want to be able to imagine how my stuff would look in there and that is hard to do for some people when someone still has everything possible everywhere. But thats just me, Im sure there are people who prefer the current residents stuff out and about to get their ideas. But I would hands down snap your house up if I could because its amazing and beautiful. Your kitchen is my selling point (btw out of curiosity are the appliances included in the sale?)...Sorry if Im being nosy, Im just curious if I need to tell BF we are moving LMAO, I adore your kitchen and while white appliances are not my favorite I can totally picture myself having a field filling that fridge with food, cooking on that stove and (oh heaven) loading the dishwasher. Its great, the counter space and the cabinets....<3 <3 <3 it.

I love the bathroom too, the agents picture of it made it look super duper tiny but your picture of the big bathroom is great it makes it look more spacious.


Ok Im gonna start packing my stuff up now because your house is exactly what I would look for in a new home.

LMAO Yes, all of the appliances are all included, even the washer and dryer.

Thank you for the compliments. I love our house and designed/decorated it with the intention of staying in it until we died. There are SO many things about this house that I am going to miss.

Our new house is so different in so many ways.

 

[Primula]

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

One thing someone did say, though, was that our house was TOO clean, almost sterile.

I have to say, the word "antiseptic" was in my mind as the house is so clean and white.

Couple of suggestions:

The walls are very bare. You said you took down your pictures. I would put a few of them back up.

I would remove the couple of floor fans I saw. When I see fans on a floor, it makes me think "hot house".

A couple of beautiful vases of flowers (in the living room, kitchen) would make a big difference.

Plants make all the difference in a home.

Get some color somewhere. One home-decorating tip is to have something yellow in every room.

 

[kara_leigh]

Originally Posted by Primula

Couple of suggestions:

The walls are very bare. You said you took down your pictures. I would put a few of them back up.

We didn't have any pictures up on the walls. What we did have on the walls, we left up (the big clock, my uncle's painting). My husband refuses to hang anything else b/c he says we'll just have to take it back down again.

I would remove the couple of floor fans I saw. When I see fans on a floor, it makes me think "hot house".

Well, our upper level is very hot, which is common with our style of house. We can remove the fan in DS's bedroom as he would overheat at night. It's not so much of a problem anymore since it is starting to cool down, but in the summer it is terrible up there without fans. Honestly, also, the white fan in the 3rd bedroom is the fan I use to dry my bras, more than anything. LOL I hang them in the closet and aim the fan at them. HAHA

A couple of beautiful vases of flowers (in the living room, kitchen) would make a big difference.

Plants make all the difference in a home.

As I said in my last post, we can't do flowers or plants at all b/c Nora will eat them and they will make her sick (regardless if they are "cat safe" or not). Silk/artificial plants are too expensive for us, plus I think fake flowers look fake and I don't like them. Silk house plants would be different, but like I said...too expensive. Even at Walmart.

Get some color somewhere. One home-decorating tip is to have something yellow in every room.

We may not have a TON of color in our home, but we do have shots of color in each room. I don't want to turn our house into a top house. I still want our house to look "classy", not cheap, if that makes sense. We have the blue duvet in our bedroom, the blue walls in the master bath and laundry room, shots of green in our kitchen with the tea pot and towels and the fruit we keep in the bowl, etc. I hate to say it, but I HATE the color yellow, which is why you see none of it in our home. Sorry.

I also don't want to go overboard buying stuff to "spruce up" our home to make people buy it, when we turn around in our new house with a bunch of stuff I will never use again. I understand making our house look nice, but I also am under the mindset that these people are buying our HOUSE not our STUFF. KWIM? I think putting too much more stuff in our house will start making it look cluttered again, and I'm trying to stay away from that.

I appreciate the suggestions, though!! Thanks!!

 

[Primula]

Every show I've seen on HGTV says that you should remove all pictures and what not, so we did.

This is what made me think you had taken down your pictures.

The suggestions I made were not for permanent display, only for the photos. You could arrange a beautiful flower vase, move it from room to room for photos, and then completely remove it. I know you need fans, but in the photos, the fans give the impression that your house is hot. Who wants to buy a hot house?

BTW, what happened to the single mother? Is she not biting?

 

[kara_leigh]

Originally Posted by Primula

This is what made me think you had taken down your pictures.

The suggestions I made were not for permanent display, only for the photos. You could arrange a beautiful flower vase, move it from room to room for photos, and then completely remove it. I know you need fans, but in the photos, the fans give the impression that your house is hot. Who wants to buy a hot house?

BTW, what happened to the single mother? Is she not biting?

We did have a bunch of pictures, but smaller pictures on most of the shelves and the mantles, and on the dressers in our bedroom. We have a huge plastic storage container full of them. I have a bunch of bigger pictures but I haven't had them framed.

True about the fans in the pictures. Maybe I'll retake those.

Our agent said we should expect an offer today or tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. I've heard that before. *sigh*

 

[nurseangel]

I love the big clock and think your house is beautiful. As far as the "sterile" comment, I would take it as a compliment. The only reason I can think of that your house wouldn't have sold is the poor economy at this time. It's a gorgeous place.