Los Angeles Home Staging Info

Today, my friend Mary Gray who owns the garden accessory store Pot-ted in Los Feliz, and I went on a tour of some beautiful and historic Pasadena gardens. The tour was part of the Garden Conservancy Open Days program.

According to their brochure "The Garden Conservancy is the only national nonprofit organization founded to preserve exceptional American gardens for the education and enjoyment of the public."

Six Pasadena homeowners generously opened their private gardens to Garden Conservancy guests this year.

I love to look at local gardens. I always walk away with lots of curb appeal ideas for my Pasadena and Arcadia home staging clients. We saw many gorgeous gardens, but Mary and I both liked the last garden we toured, the Bixby garden, the best. It wasn't a formal garden, like some of the others, but it had the most personality and charm. It reflected the Spanish Revival style of the home. You had a sense that the homeowners used and enjoyed all of the garden all of the time, not just when they were entertaining. You also had a sense that they got in there and got dirt under their fingernails.

Bird of Paradise

Pond complete with bronze alligator fountain

This was the guest house

Kitchen garden with fresh lettuce & greens

Dining area with aviary. The homeowner chose birds with pleasant songs. They must be happy. The love birds had 2 eggs and the canaries had 5 eggs.

Entry gates

The cactus garden was breathtaking. It was planted years ago by a previous owner who was the curator of the cactus gardens at the Huntington Gardens.

If you have an interest in gardens or garden design, I highly recommend you take the opportunity to participate in the next the Garden Conservancy Garden tour.

 

 

Los Angeles area gardeners can discover new ways to have a "green" garden at the Los Angeles County Arboretum Living Green Garden Show April 30 - May 2. Subtitled "Essentials For The Home Gardener", you will get plenty of ideas for creating a sustainable Los Angeles garden or landscape whether your garden is a 40 sq.ft. balcony or a 1/2 acre estate.

The LA County Arboretum is located at:

301 N. Baldwin Ave.

Arcadia, CA 91007

(Baldwin Ave. exist off the 210 Freeway in Arcadia)

Click here for more information about the LA County Arboretum Garden Show

My friends Mary and Annette own a wonderful garden plant and accessories store in Los Feliz called Pot-ted. They will have a booth at the garden show along with many garden and landscape designers. There will be a market place where you can buy plants and garden accessories.

As a Los Angeles home stager, its important that I keep up with design trends for interiors, exteriors and gardens & landscapes. Having attended this show in past years, I can say that it is a wonderful resource for learning about green garden trends, landscape design and curb appeal. Its also a great place to purchase groovy garden stuff.

 

Los Angeles home staging company, Moving Mountains Design, offers Holiday Home Staging as part of their home staging and redesign services.

Thinking of having your home, office or business professionally decorated for the Holidays? We offer holiday decoration and Home Staging for the Holidays in Los Angeles and Southern California for private residences, restaurants, businesses and commercial buildings. Our team of home stagers will transform your home or business with holiday decor, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or New Years. Our styles range from very traditional Norman Rockwell style, to contemporary, to eclectic/artistic/international style. Many holiday decorations are available for rental and most are available for purchase.

Here's a photo of an Encino home we decorated for Christmas last year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know home staging and redesign isn't just for preparing your home to sell? Moving Mountains Design can give your home that home staging "WOW!" look for the holidays, too. We can create the idyllic guest room for your holiday guests, freshen your living room with new a furniture arrangement, accessories and paint, or help you purchase a gorgeous new formal dining room table & chairs. We can even arrange for beautiful rental furniture and accessories.

Its not too early to think about getting your home ready for the Holidays. For more information about our Home Staging For The Holidays service read Holiday Home Staging and Decorating in Los Angeles

Stage your Bedroom with Feng Shui - Start 2009 Right! Welcome better sleep, better health and positive changes in the bedroom with Feng Shui. With the New Year approaching, now is the perfect time to invite positive change into your life. 

Recommendations about Feng Shui remedies will vary from school to school and practitioner to practitioner. Often the focus is on compass direction,  which may necessitate moving the bedroom to another part of the house. Since most of us cannot afford to move our bedroom or don't have the extra space, here are some tips to get your bedroom in top Feng Shui shape without a major upheaval, just an investment of your time. Despite the fact that different schools have differing "cures", following are some basic changes you can make that apply to all bedrooms. We can affect many positive changes in our lives just by applying intention - putting the energy into making a change and welcoming that change into our lives.

In Feng Shui and in life, the condition of the bedroom can influence your health and your relationship with your significant other.If you don't have a significant other, but would like one, the condition of your bedroom will effect your ability to "call in" love. Just as in the Feng Shui post I wrote about your kitchen, our goals are increasing cleanliness and organization with the additional goal of creating a calming environment  that welcomes intimacy and affection. Of course getting rid of clutter to make room for whatever this new energy will bring is always high up on the list. Follow these steps to increase the quality of your sleep, health, love and general well being:

• Your bedroom should be used for sleeping, romantic interludes and getting dressed.  NO TELEVISION! NO COMPUTER! NO DESK! NO TREADMILL (AKA place to drape your clothes). Read a book in bed if you must, but only when you are alone. Don't read self-help books or business books in bed.  Electronic devices like TV's and Computers are greedy for your time. They are constantly calling your name... "Watch me, Bill", "Just one more comment, Janet". Don't make your spouse or partner compete for your attention. TVs and computers are very stimulating and they activate your brain. Watching or using them just before bed will prevent you from falling asleep quickly or sleeping soundly. Give your brain a chance to shut off and relax before bedtime.
• Make sure you have a comfortable mattress....not too firm and not too soft.  This is one of the best investments you can make for your health and well-being.  If you cannot afford a new mattress, then purchase a high quality mattress pad.  Some of the new ones have a layer of memory foam that will turn your bed into a pillow top mattress.  If you can afford a new mattress, now is an ideal time to purchase one. There are some amazing sales going on right now. 
• If you recently ended a long relationship with someone who shared your bed, you should replace the mattress so you are not absorbing their energy every night.  Send them, the bad memories and the shared mattress on down the road.  If you cannot replace the mattress, then strip the bed, open the windows and beat the mattress with a baseball bat, broom stick or your fists, if necessary.  This will raise a lot of dust. Wear a dust mask. When you are finished (and feel better) vacuum the mattress (both sides) and box spring and then re-make the bed with fresh new bedding and blankets. Again, there are some amazing sales right now on sheets and comforters.  Under any circumstance, dispose of the other person's pillows - donate, give away or throw away.
• Purchase high thread count sheets. Preferably Pima, Supima or Egyptian cotton Sateen.  Good quality sheets are not inexpensive but they will last a long time. We just got rid of sheets we got as a wedding present 10 years ago, and only because we upgraded to a king size bed.  They just got softer and better with age. The more luxurious your bedroom the more you will feel relaxed and comforted by being there.
  • Sheets and bedding in the red/yellow family represent warmth, passion and excitement. The stronger the color the more energizing. They are fire colors. This would include the full spectrum of reds, oranges, yellows and some purples hues that are more red than blue.  It also includes pinks, pale oranges, pale yellows and pale lavenders.
  • Sheets and bedding in the blue/green family represent calm, cool and relaxation. They are water colors. Think of a bubbling brook or the Mediterranean Sea. This would include the full spectrum of blues, greens and purples with a blue cast. It includes the palest blues, pales greens and palest purples. This is my personal favorite and my bedding and drapes are done in pale Mediterranean blues, which is balanced by pale yellow walls.
  • White sheets are clean and pure. White is a metal color, although whites can run the gamut from warm white (influenced by fire) or the palest blue (influenced by water) among other elements. White denotes ever expanding possibilities. 
  • Animal print sheets are very energizing and 'active'. You probably won't get a lot of restful sleep on animal print sheets, (and you may not be able to find someone who is willing to share them with you in the long term) but you may have a lot of  'fun' of the animal kind! Animal prints are best confined to accents so they don't overwhelm the restful energy of your bedroom.
    
• Position your bed so that you have a clear view of the door (entry to the bedroom). Do not have your feet pointing toward the door (this is the way they will carry you out if you die in bed, according to old Chinese superstition). Ideally, your bed will be positioned against a solid wall and not in front of a window.  The head of your bed should be touching a wall. Solid headboards are preferred over open headboards (they give the feeling of greater security)
• Don't store anything under the bed unless it is something that comforts you or symbolizes peacefulness and prosperity. Find another place to store those under bed items, donate them or throw them away. Just because you can't see it under the bed, it is still clutter.
  
• Clean your bedroom from top to bottom. If you have drapes wash them or clean them according to the manufacturers instructions. If they are clean, but just a little dusty, take them outside and give them a good shake. Wipe down the walls. Vacuum under the bed and get rid of all those dust bunnies.
• Clean out your dressers. If you haven't worn it in the past year, donate it, give it away or throw it away.  If something needs to be mended, mend it, take it to the tailor or dry cleaners and have them mend it, or get rid of it. By the time a fashion comes back into style, you are probably too old to be wearing it anyway. 
• Remove everything from your closets. Assess everything and determine if it is really useful. With the exception of some seasonal items, if you haven't used it in the past year, you should get rid of it (donate, give away to a friend, recycle or throw it away).If your closet is full of outdated, ill fitting items, there is no room for anything new to come into your life and it is a drag on your energy. The goal is to get rid of clutter and make space. 
• Put the items you are keeping back in the closet in an orderly fashion, and in a manner that allows the item to be useful and of service to you.  No matter what anyone tells you, if the organizational system is not organic to your way of doing things, you won't be able to maintain it and it will devolve into chaos quickly.  I invested in Elfa type closet organizing systems for all our closets, and I consider it one of the best investments of time and money I have made. I can see everything I own and can choose what I want to wear quickly and easily. Stores like the Container Store will help you design your closets for maximum efficiency and you can install the elements yourself to save money.
  • If possible use all the same hangers (you can buy nice wooden hangers from IKEA and they are inexpensive)
  • Have the hangers facing the same way (most people prefer hooking hangers over the top of the bar from front to back as opposed to under the bar back to front)
  • Separate the types of clothes - group shirts with shirts, pants with pants, dresses with dresses
  • Organize by style - group all short sleeve shirts with short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts with long sleeve shirts, etc.
  • Put all shoes on shoe racks, hanging shoe organizers, or clear plastic shoe boxes
  • Whenever possible don't keep anything on the floor of your closet except shoes and those should be neatly organized on shoe racks.
    
• Make sure your have two night stands and two working lamps, one on each side of the bed. If you don't have a partner, but would like one, this creates a space for them in your life. If you have a partner, and want to keep them, this lets them know you value them and are concerned for their comfort. 
• Artwork and accessories should be in pairs when possible and depicting romantic love, peacefulness, relaxation, trust or support depending upon your priorities and goals. Remove family photos from your bedroom (do you really want them to 'see' and participate in everything you do?) Photos of people should be limited to you and your significant other. Artwork should be calming not energizing.
  

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner and the Western New Year has just arrived. Welcome the New Years with a clean, relaxing, uncluttered bedroom. In Feng Shui, the condition of the bedroom will influence your relationships, sense of well-being and good health.  Follow the above steps and welcome more restful sleep, more fulfilling relationships, better health and greater well-being in 2009.

Read Stage Your Kitchen With Feng Shui - Start 2009 Right!

May Prosperity, Happiness and Good Fortune be your constant companions in 2009
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*Stage Your Bedroom With Feng Shui - Start 2009 Right!* ©2009 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design.

Michelle Minch is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui. For more information about home staging and feng shui please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site or contact Michelle at  (626)441-8975. Moving Mountains Design has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Sunset Magazine and numerous other national and international publications. Moving Mountains Design is a full service interior design and home staging company in Los Angeles.

Stage your kitchen with Feng Shui - Start 2009 Right! Welcome prosperity and good health with sound Feng Shui practices. With the New Year approaching, now is the perfect time to invite positive change into your life.

There are many schools of Feng Shui with many different schools of thought as to how to achieve goals. Recommendations will vary from school to school and practitioner to practitioner. Often the focus is on compass direction,  which may necessitate moving the kitchen to another part of the house, or rearranging the major elements (stove, sink, refrigerator, etc.) Since most of us cannot afford to move our kitchen or remodel it, here are some tips to get your kitchen in top Feng Shui shape with little or no cash outlay, just an investment of your time. Despite the fact that different schools have differing "cures", following are some basic changes you can make that apply to all kitchens. We can affect many positive changes in our lives just by applying intention - putting the energy into making a change and welcoming that change into our lives.

In Feng Shui, the condition of the kitchen can influence your level of prosperity and good health. The goals are increasing cleanliness,functionality and organization and getting rid of clutter to make room for whatever your new prosperity will bring. Follow these steps to increase your prosperity, good health and general well being:

• Clean out your refrigerator and your pantry. Get rid of  any out-of-date food or 'science projects' (all of which hold negative energy, by the way). This includes any outdated vitamins or medications you keep in your kitchen. Wipe down the shelves, clean up any old spills and crumbs. If you use shelf paper in your pantry, and it is torn damaged or worn, replace it. 
• Restock your refrigerator and pantry. A fuller refrigerator and pantry equates to prosperity and generosity. It also allows us to be prepared for whatever may come up, be it unexpected guests or a change in employment status. Don't overfill the refrigerator and pantry. We don't want them cluttered, just sufficiently full to meet our nourishment needs plus a little extra.  Put a small open box of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors. Opening the refrigerator should be a pleasant experience.
• Restock your refrigerator and pantry with healthy food. Take care of your body and it will take care of you. One of the fastest paths to good health is eating healthy food. If your intention is to improve your health, then walk the walk. 
• Display fresh fruit on your counter. Abundant fruit is a symbol of prosperity and generosity (yours and the Universe's) in Feng Shui. Besides, you are more likely to eat it if it is readily available, which will improve your health and well-being.
  
• Remove everything from your cabinets. Assess everything and determine if it is really useful. With the exception of some seasonal items, if you haven't used it in the past 6 months, you should get rid of it (donate, give away to a friend, recycle or throw it away). If it is chipped, broken or otherwise damaged, either fix it or get rid of it.  That broken toaster that has been sitting in the cabinet since 2004 may be burning off some of your prosperity - send it on down the road.  If the item can be fixed (and you are likely to have it fixed) by all means, do so. If it can be repaired, but you are not inclined to do so, label it with the problem (so the recipient know what they are getting) and then donate it. If it can't be fixed or recycled, then throw it away. The goal is to get rid of clutter and make space for new and better items that will come into your life in the coming year. 
• Put the items you are keeping back in the cabinet in an orderly fashion, and in a manner that allows the item to be useful and of service to you.  No matter what anyone tells you, if the organizational system is not organic to your way of doing things, you won't be able to maintain it and it will devolve into chaos quickly. 
• Don't store large or heavy items overhead or you may feel pushed down or weighed down. Store them in a low cabinet if they need to remain in the kitchen. Besides the Feng Shui implications, it is often difficult and sometimes dangerous to remove and replace bulky or heavy items in a high cabinet.
  
• Carefully pack seasonal items (Thanksgiving turkey platter, Christmas themed plates, for example) in plastic bins and store them in the basement, a closet or the garage. They don't need to be taking up space all year in some of the most energetically valuable real estate in your house - your kitchen.
• Clean off the kitchen counters of all but the most used items that can't be stored anyplace else. Kitchen clutter (holding on to too much stuff) often manifests itself as excess weight (holding on to too many calories).
• Don't display knives on your counter or on the wall.  The "cutting Chi" they posess may cut your prosperity and create anxiety.  The best place for knives is in a drawer, stored with the blade facing down. 
• Take care of any maintenance problems. Fix the leaking faucet (money down the drain, literally and figuratively). Replace burned out lightbulbs or broken light fixtures and switches (a dark kitchen is not only dangerous, but also depressing).  Replace broken cabinet pulls (if you can't get to your food easily you will starve physically and emotionally). Broken appliances = broken energy. While the task may be small, the rewards and sense of accomplishment you will reap from the repairs will be large.
  
• Throw away your old sponges, dish rags, mop heads and broom. Start the New Year fresh. Dirt is seen as negative energy in Feng Shui. Don't drag this year's negativity into the New Year. 
• Clean your kitchen until it sparkles - every square inch of it.  Pay special attention to the stove and the stove hood. The stove, where your food is prepared, is of paramount importance to your prosperity and well-being in Feng Shui. Make sure all the burners are in good working order and use them all equally. You will be maximizing your ability to call in prosperity from multiple sources by doing so. An make sure your stove hood or extractor is working properly to remove smoke, excess humidity and odors. If you haven't done so recently, wash the extractor filters. Get rid of old greasy dirt and cut down on the chance of a fire from grease build up. 

The New Year is just around the corner. Welcome the New Year with a clean, functional, uncluttered kitchen. In Feng Shui, the condition of the kitchen can influence your level of prosperity and good health.  Follow the above steps and welcome prosperity and greater well-being in 2009.

Read the next post in this series Stage Your Bedroom With Feng Shui - Ways to Promote Better Sleep Positive Changes in the Bedroom

May Prosperity, Happiness and Good Fortune be your constant companions in 2009
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*Stage Your Kitchen With Feng Shui - Start 2009 Right!* ©2009 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design.

Michelle Minch is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui. For more information about home staging and feng shui please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site or contact Michelle at  (626)441-8975. Moving Mountains Design has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Sunset Magazine and numerous other national and international publications. Moving Mountains Design is an award winning full service interior design and home staging company in Los Angeles. We stage homes in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Arcadia, San Marino, Glendale, Burbank, Toluca Lake, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana.

Home Staging For The Holidays - Christmas

Home Staging For The Holidays has been a big success for Moving Mountains Design Home Staging. We were hired to decorate a Los Angeles home for Christmas while the client was out of town visiting family for Thanksgiving. When he gets home tonight, this is what he will find:


My client wanted a traditional tree which would appeal to his 4 children, so I used many figurative ornaments. There are lots of Santa ornaments along with candy canes and some small old time wood toys for the younger kids. In addition I used several small stuffed teddy bears (there is a red one about half way up the tree slightly left of center).

The tree, which is 12' tall is faux, but looks so real you wouldn't be able to tell unless you touched it. We chose this "Green" option to keep one more tree out of the landfill. The branches on the banister are fresh Princess Pine boughs, which scent the entire house with the fragrance of fresh evergreens. Here is a close up of the garland, complete with gold pine cones and miniature ornaments:

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo of the "elves" that helped to make this Christmas dream a reality. Thank you Lonnie and Carlos. You guys are the best!

Later this week, we will be installing the exterior lights.
Here is one more photo of the entrance to the house with the Christmas tree.

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*Home Staging For The Holidays - Christmas* ©2008 by Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.

Would you like your home to look like this for the holidays? For more information about having your Los Angeles home staged for the holidays, or for more information about preparing your home for sale, please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site. You may also contact Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design Home Staging by phone at (626)441-8975 or email at Michelle@MovingMountainsDesign.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Home Goods is opening a store in La Canada!

I was very excited to read in the Sunday Los Angeles Times today that Home Goods is opening a new store in La Canada-Flintridge. I will no longer be forced to drive the 26+ miles in each direction to shop at one of my favorite home decor stores. The new store is just a hop, skip and a jump from my home and my warehouse.

The new store will be located at the La Canada Flintridge Town Center at the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and Angeles Crest Highway (2 Fwy.). This is the new shopping center that will also house the new Sports Chalet.

La Canada is becoming quite the shopping destination!

I do a lot of shopping at various Home Goods stores around the Southland depending upon where my projects are located. I have gotten some terrific deals, not only for home staging, but also for my interior design projects. If you haven't been to a Home Goods, I recommend you check them out if you are in the market for furniture, linens, towels or home decor.

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Contact Moving Mountains Design Home Staging for all you home staging and interior design needs. Call Michelle Minch at (626)441-8992 to discuss how we can help you prepare your home for a faster sale.

Los Angeles Interior Designer on Hollywood Hills master bathroom design project - the design. Part one of a multi-part series.

I was recently called to redesign the bathroom of a gorgeous two story Spanish home in the Hollywood Hills. When I was first contacted, I asked the homeowners to peruse some shelter magazines and compile photos of bathrooms that they liked, and photos in general of any subject that appealed to them either by color, composition or just gut reaction. I find this approach helps to save a lot of time in determining the direction the design should go to best suit the tastes and expectations of the homeowner.

During our first meeting the homeowners showed me several photos, but kept going back to one in particular. By the end of the meeting we had decided that this photo best represented what look appealed to them for their new bathroom. Through my questions and their answers I learned how they would be using the bathroom, how that use would differ from their current bathroom, what were the absolute "must haves" and what were the "we'd really like XYZ if it will fit and we can afford it". We also discussed color with the help of my trusty Benjamin Moore paint fan. I took copious measurements and photos (I will post before photos after we empty the rooms in a few weeks to protect my clients' privacy). Once we settled on a color scheme, I used a photo similar to this one (this is a stock photo I purchased; the actual photo was taken from a magazine and I don't own the rights to publish it:o)) as color inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the Must Haves that were on the homeowners' list:

• 2 separate sinks, his and hers
• Make-up/vanity area included with her sink
• Lots of closed storage space for beauty products and cosmetics
• Soaking tub large enough for two
• Insulate wall of bathroom to help with afternoon heat gain
• Replace 3 windows with low-E dual pane casement windows to help with heat gain
• 2 ventilation fans (currently none)
• Faucets with lever handles instead of X shaped handles
• Undermount tub and sinks
• Add HVAC ducts to bathroom (currently none) for heat and A/C

Would Really Like to Have (if space and budget permit):

• Separate tub and shower
• Steam shower
• Separate enclosed WC room (toilet)
• Nickel finish (brushed) on faucets and fillers
• European style frameless shower glass
• Small refrigerator for cosmetics built in to her vanity area

This is an older Spanish home with lathe and plaster walls, some of which are curved (on purpose!). In order to accomodate their "Must Haves" and as many of their "Would Really Like to Haves" as possible, I was going to have to "steal" a closet from an adjoning bedroom for more space. I'll tell you, measuring the space and figuring out the relationship of the various spaces (some curved) we were going to use to create this bathroom was very complicated and required taking measurements from several different directions to make sure everything lined up.

Here is the as-built (before) floor plan:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the floor plan of the final design:

 

As you can see, by "stealing" a closet from an adjoining bedroom (lower right, where the tub is) I was able to give my client all of their Must Haves and all of their Would Really Like to Haves:

*Separate tub and shower

*Separate private WC

*Her sink and vanity/makeup area with plenty of room for storage

*Separate sink and counter for him

 

 

To Be Continued: Hollywood Hills Master Bathroom Design Project- Material Selection  

*Hollywood Hills Master Bathroom Design Project - The Design* Copyright 2008 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.

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Michelle Minch, Principal Designer and Owner of Moving Mountains Design is an award winning Interior Designer and Home Stager. Her Interior Design, home staging and film design projects have been featured numerous times in national and international publications. Michelle can be reached at (626)441-8975 or visit her Los Angeles home staging and design web site.