GIVE YOUR WALL A MAKEOVER FOR UNDER $30

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I love, love, love my kitchen (even if I don’t cook in it) but I wanted to give it more dimension. I didn’t want to add more clutter or decor so I thought I could give my wall a facelift instead. I’m always looking at new or unique ways touch up my home and I wanted something easy and affordable. As great as using real wood would have been there was too many downfalls like the weight of the wood so shiplap it was! This was a concept I wanted to try with old fence posts, but after doing some research I found that shiplap was cheaper and faster.

If you want to add any sort of dimension or unique design to any part of your home try this! Because I had all of the products except the paneling it only cost me $18!! Even if you don’t have all of the materials at home this project should cost you no more than $30. Time it takes to complete this...TWO HOURS! Yeah...quick, easy and affordable.

 

STEP 1: Make sure that your wall is clean and free of any nails and baseboard if you’re going from the ground up.

STEP 2: You have to decide what kind of space you want between each panel, I used a penny as a gap ruler to make sure that each were evenly spaced laterally. (You’re going to want to make sure that the ends of the panels are butted up to each other with no spaces).

STEP 3: Nail the boards to the wall. Place two holes (top and bottom) on each end of the board and then again in the center to keep it from bowing outwards. I used a Brad Nailer with an air compressor gun but you could also stick with simple finishing nails and hammer.

STEP 4: Stagger your boards to give your wall character.

STEP 5: Fill nail holes with putty and sand them down.

STEP 6: Paint the whole wall with my desired paint color. I chose to keep the wall the same color as the rest in my kitchen, but you can also highlight it with an accent color!

 

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Shiplap!

The creative and affordable home makeover.

TIPS:

When buying the boards go to Home Depot and ask for underlayment plywood. For a 4’x8’ it will only cost you $18. Ask them to cut it down to your desired width and length and it should be free of charge. I had them make 8” wide cuts and kept the panels 8’ long. You can really do whichever width and length goes best with your design and your home.

 

The Perfect Fall Table

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IT’S FALL Y’ALL! And if you’re anything like me that means all new holiday decor and having fun with seasonal trends. If there is one place in your home that screams “season of thanks” it’s the dining room table. This is a place where you gather with loved ones over home cooked (or takeout) meals and where you converse about your day. So why not put a little extra effort into turning your kitchen table into a conversation piece. The trick is to make it festive, fun and functional. Here are some easy tips and tricks to turn any dining table into an Instagram worthy post!

DECIDE WHAT YOUR STYLE IS

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a HomeGoods and picked up a bunch of beautiful items, only to realize they didn’t go together or they didn’t fit the style of my home. This is why I always go into a store with a concept in mind, will it be modern, colorful, traditional etc.? It’s kind of like making a grocery list before going shopping so you don’t end up with a bunch of unnecessary items.

I personally love the chic farmhouse style, so I try to incorporate that into my holiday decor. This doesn’t mean the festive decor on the shelves of the store doesn’t make me want to throw it into my cart, but I don’t want to get home and realize I have three different styles. Do your research (hello Pinterest) and make sure that when you go shopping you know what kind of look you’re aiming for. This will save you time, energy and money!

CHOOSE A FOCAL POINT

Once you hone in on what your style is going to be, then you can move on to choosing a focal point. Nine times out of ten I find my focal piece just by shopping around. I don’t always have a specific piece in mind, it just stands out to me when I see it. If you’re holiday shopping and you come across something that makes your design idea 10 times clearer or gives you a thousand decorating ideas….then that’s your focal point!

For this table setting I first found my table runner, which in reality is just a pretty scarf, but it set the tone for the rest of the decor. It had a little bit of glam detail on the edges, but the soft brown color really incorporated into my farmhouse style. A focal point doesn’t have to be the biggest or shiniest thing on your table, but it’s the piece that helps to navigate the rest of your design. Think of it as your glue!

DON’T BE AFRAID TO MIX & MATCH

For some reason I feel like people are too afraid to mix and match when it comes to pattern, textures and colors. But that’s what makes for a beautiful and eye-catching design! I know it may be hard to break the habit, but I promise if you step out of your comfort-zone your table setting will thank you. If you use a vase on your table, use longer stems to give your setting some variety. I usually cluster items in sets of threes, but the trick is to make sure they differ in size and shape. This is more appealing to the eye and gives your decor some depth! Lastly, incorporate fabrics in there. Whether it’s solids, plaids, glitter etc. it is important to have variety. The scarf I choose gives my dining table warmth and adds to that cozy holiday feeling!
 

FILL, FILL, FILL!

Once you have the style and theme of your table setting down, you found your focal piece and you made sure you mixed and matched decor you’re ready for the easy part! FILL, FILL, FILL all of those empty spots. On my table I used leaves and branches, this time I used fakes ones, but it’s totally acceptable to be resourceful and pick some up from your backyard! Place them strategically in any gaps or areas you want to be more full.

Filling in your table means adding those random nicknacks or trinkets you have laying around the house or saw at the store and didn’t know how to incorporate them. I saw the perfect mini pumpkins and already had small candles laying around the house so I added them in for a little flare. Be creative!

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a table that looks like a million buck. All you really need is some creativity and time to properly plan out your ideas!

P.S. This table setting is apart of your home decor, I keep mine set all holiday season. And on those occasions I actually want to eat at the table I just move the setting to the counter (or at least the tall vase) that way nothing is in anyone’s way and nothing gets dirty!

If you found this post helpful let me know by leaving a comment on my Instagram! Also, if you used any of these tips and tricks to decorate your Fall table be sure to @stage19design on you post!
 

XO Stage 19 Design

Timing Matters...

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Like most things in life timing is a major key to a successful outcome, especially when it comes to staging in the real estate market. I’m used to working around contractors because home renovations and flips usually come down to the last second. This is something I 100% understand which is why I am very flexible with the clients needs and conditions, but there has been a few...extreme cases to say the least.

Nothing is more heartbreaking than getting your whole crew and furniture to the location and realizing the conditions are unworkable. Take a look at a four bedroom, three bath, two living room project we encountered.

This is a BEAUTIFUL house that I actually helped design from the ground up, but when the list date was pushed up two weeks we were all a bit frazzled. An inch of dirt covered the whole house and flooring wasn’t even complete. At first glance I said no way can we work in these conditions because our furniture will get ruined. I had never had to work in this kind of environment but knew I could not let my client fall behind on his dates. Our client contacted us with an urgent request that went something like this:

“Hey Michelle I NEEEED you to come stage this Tuesday because I want the house on the market at the end of the week...oh and we have photographers coming Wednesday at 3pm. Can you make this happen???”

As you can probably guess by first thought went something like this after seeing the conditions of the home:

“Ummm….NOT POSSIBLE!!!”

My actual response however, went something like this:

“Sure thing...we’ll be there...no problem…”

With all of the dust and unfinished construction I was doubtful that anyone would actually finish on time. And full disclosure...this is not a normal request/turnaround time! We worked HARD for two days straight not only designing rooms, but also cleaning as we go!

And all of my fellow stagers and designers out there know the feeling of getting a room perfect  and having contractors moving it around to place light switch covers or place baseboards (insert eye roll emoji here).

This was definitely a learning experience but it was also one of my favorite home designs I’ve ever done! It also taught me to revise my contract for working conditions!

Check out the finished product! 

Allow me to introduce myself...

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Welcome! I’m Michelle, creator and owner of Stage 19 Design. I wanted to start a blog to connect with clients, interior designers and people on all levels. Whether you’re here for home decor and design or because you’re looking for someone to stage your house, you’ve come to the right place!

10 years ago I ventured into real estate, but I knew that my real passion was always to design the inside of these houses. I was able to get a really good grasp of the market, what sellers want and what buyers need. Being both an agent and a designer gives me a competitive advantage because I know what sells. I understand what buyers are looking for when it comes to flooring, fixtures and layouts. I’ve also heard first hand from clients that staging matters because it allows the buyer to visualize themselves in the home. I realized there was a need in staging for designs that were modern yet homey. I have a pulse on the real estate market and love transcending what’s hot and new in design and turning that into a profit for sellers. This is why I love what I do. It’s an amazing mixture of tending to both sides and bringing a vision together!