Its official

The past month has been hectic. Balance has been hard to find. Getting our house ready to list was quite the task and has made me appreciate Matt even more than I do. He is one sexy handyman.

Throw in some trips (pictures soon), a lot of family functions, jobs, and a TWO YEAR OLD and its a bit of a challenge. BUT we made it, I believe all you can really do is trust in god and as long as you have that the rest will just work out.

We officially listed last Wednesday and it has been quite a learning process for me. I have never sold a home or moved as a child. The market is not great right now but again I just walk in faith because stressing isn't going to sell our home. I do know that our realtor is in our lives for a reason and she is awesome. I thought it would be fun to do some "before" and "after" pictures to show you what a stager can bring to your home...our realtor pays for that as part of her services and I think it is a great marketing tool.

Living/ kitchen area before

Living/kitchen area after

living room before

living room before

living room after

back yard before

back yard after

The back yard can only be credited to Mother Nature and Matt. I think listing in the summer months definitely helps make your home more appealing.

Regretfully, I didn't take befores of the rest of the house but here are the afters.

  When you have kids they slowly start to take over the house with their things and though I am a firm believer that your children have to live in their house, there are so many ways to still maintain your adult home too. We just rearranged some furniture in Mason's room.

I think our basement area is the biggest makeover. This space is small and it became storage central for everything we didn't want to look at upstairs or things we didn't want Mason to destroy. Now it is a play area and my craft area.

The downstairs guestroom and my office. This space is pretty much the same with some sprucing.

We did steal our neighbors idea of decorating our window wells. We attached bamboo siding along the metal and added new rock and an simple pot with reeds.

 Definitely more appealing than looking at corrugated metal.

A simple re-arrangement of our furniture did wonders. She brought over the rug to break up the space (not crazy about the rug, its sheep's wool and CREAM and sheds everywhere) but it does look nice.

Our bedroom looks similar to before. I am embarrassed to admit we do not have a headboard, the stager made this one for us to use. I was surprised when she came to do the consultation that she was ok with the navy blue comforter that Matt has had since college. I loath the look of this cheapo comforter but it is the most comfortable thing ever...I will tell you what saved it. The beautiful quilt that was made by one of my dearest friends (Kai) as a wedding gift. I have put that on our bed everyday since I received it and I love that the stager loved it as much as me. One day "Old blue" will be retired.

The Master bath after. This is all Matt. Yes, our bathroom is outdated but new flooring, sinks and faucets, a new toilet and a complete re-grout to our shower has made it sparkle. Matt spent two full days removing the existing grout and re-grouting and sealing the bath/shower, while Mason and I were in California. He also hand scrapped every tile to removed soap build up. It sparkles!

Our Kitchen is also outdated except the appliances. It is a small space but it is very functional for me. I did a complete reorganization of my cupboards to make it as efficient as possible while we try to sell. Not having my mixer or knives on the counter is a little annoying but I love the clean space.

The curb appeal was fairly easy! Last years hail storm allowed us to get a new roof and exterior paint job. Paired with our normal landscaping upkeep it looks pretty darn nice. We have been actively listed for 4 days and have had 2 showings and lots of "lookie loos." Keeping our fingers crossed and our trust in God that this baby will sell quickly!