Conceptual staging WORKS!

Did you know that Interiority Complex offers Conceptual Staging for our clients? We are so lucky to have an amazing designer/stager who works with us in creating the lovely conceptually exquisite spaces to help prospects see the potential of a space...


For more information or pricing information on our conceptual staging services, click here.



For more home staging tips and hints that will help you sell YOUR home faster and for more money, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook Fan Page where we give away room makeovers, staging consultations, insider tips, sales and events and more!

Conceptual Staging -- Is this real or a designer rendering?

Area Rugs 101: Cognitive Rug Therapy for the Decoratively Challenged

After reading an article on consumer trends for 2010 in one of my design industry trade publications, I learned that one of the most popular products for 2010 will be area rugs. This inspired me to create this next blog series Area Rugs: Cognitive Rug Therapy for the Decoratively Challenged.

Let's start the first entry off  by featuring one of my favorite type's of rugs: the Kilim rug. Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs.

According to Wikipedia, because kilims are cheaper than pile rugs, beginning carpet collectors often start with them. Despite what many perceive as their secondary (or inferior) status to pile carpets, kilims have become increasingly collectible in themselves over recent years, with quality pieces now commanding high prices.

What some sensed as inferiority was actually a different nature of rugs woven for indigenous use as opposed to rugs woven on a strictly commercial basis. Because kilims were not a major export article, there were no foreign market pressures changing the designs, as happened with pile carpets. Once collectors began to value authentic village weaving, kilims became popular.

Kilim rugs are great for those who tend towards the bohemian, eclectic, tribal or wordly look for their interiors. To see Kilim "in action" check out this Flickr slideshow below:



Designer's Note: Rugs are often a great source of inspiration for a color palette for your room or your entire home. If you're not sure where to begin in choosing a paint color, start with a rug and keep in mind the 60-30-10 Rule when choosing your hues.

For great deals and resources on Kilim rugs check out:

Geometric Kilim Runner from World Market

The Oliver Kilim Rug from Pottery Barn

Kilim Rugs on Overstock.com


If you've got a rug-related design dillemma, simply click here to Ask Dr. Dotty, Interiority Complex's very own resident Design Therapist!



Design therapy + Free Prizes + Sale Alerts + Designertainment = The Interiority Complex Facebook Fan Page

Curing Seasonal Curb Appeal Disorder: 5 Easy Steps to staging your exterior in the winter months - by Tara Wilt, Interiority Complex Certified Design Therapist

Study after study has shown the upgrading and properly tending to your landscaping when preparing a home for sale reaps a huge reward and provides close to a 100% return on investment. With that said, it's sometimes a challenge to dress up that exterior during these cold, harsh winter months. Here are a few tips and helpful links to provide you with cures which you can implement if you are suffering from "Seasonal Curb Appeal Disorder".

1) Trim and crop shrubs, trees and plants. Blow out beds to remove fallen or dead debris(leaves, sticks, dead plants and flowers).

2) Over seed the lawn with Winter Rye Grass, Winter rye grass is a fast growing, hardy grass that will keep the lawn green during the winter months and die back in the summer to give way to your existing lawn. http://landscaping.about.com/b/2007/10/10/winter-ryegrass-for-southern-lawns.htm

3) Mulch beds with a dark black mulch. Nothing makes landscaping look more crisp and new than a fresh coat of mulch! The dark black variety gives a nice crisp contrast to green lawns.

4) Add seasonal color-yes even in the winter. Your home will stand out against all the competition when you show color all year round. There a few hardy varieties that are ideal in fall and winter. If you want to keep flowers alive when it gets really cold-put them in pots and bring them in or cover them with landscaping blankets during a cold snap! http://www.iloveindia.com/garden/flowers-accents/annual-flowers-types.html

5) Last but not least-don't forget the front door and porch! This is where your prospects spend the most time in one place(waiting for the agent to open the door!). Be sure to repaint or restain the front door, replace old hardware and light fixtures. Power-wash to remove dust, spiderwebs, mud-dobbers, etc. Finish off the look with a shiny new doormat-the black rubber variety are the most neutral and easiest to maintain.

Tara Wilt joined Interiority Complex in 2008. She has an extensive background in Window Treatment Design, Merchandising and motivating and training others to sell. In 2009 she staged over 200 properties in the Austin area!! She has lived in several states and with each move became more of an expert at getting homes sold faster and for more money. She graduated from Colorado State University in 1992 with a degree in Merchandising where she took several Interior Design courses. From there, she gained vast experience in Merchandising and management working for May Company and then Clinique (a division of the Estee Lauder Corporation). After the birth of her second daughter she decided she’d had enough of the corporate grind and went into business for herself designing and creating custom window treatments. She has a broad portfolio and has many creative ideas for covering windows. She joined Interiority Complex because she wanted to get out of the workroom and spend more time connecting with the client. In her spare time she enjoys tennis, yoga, triathlons, live music and of course raising her two daughters.

For more home staging tips and hints that will help you sell YOUR home faster and for more money, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook Fan Page where we give away room makeovers, staging consultations, insider tips, sales and events and more!

Gee your house smells terrific!

Consumers today are using scent to decorate, adding an individual touch that represents their personality and tastes. Companies are branding scent to create an emotional connection with the brand, evoking a mood or memory, so why shouldn't homesellers do the same?

The decorative fragrance market has surged in recent years, and will grow to an estimated $7.2 billion by 2010, according to Euromonitor. According to Scent Technologies, LTD, the sense of smell is the most powerful human sense as it has a direct trigger to the brain invoking instant reaction. The Sense of Smell Institute recently conducted a study which indicated that pleasant odours do in fact increase lingering time in stores and museums, so of course, we would expect the same to hold true in a home!

According to our research the most popular scents are consistently:

• Vanilla
• Fresh Linen
• Gingered Pumpkin
• Pumpkin Spice
• Lavender
• Cinnamon

By the way, on a recent airing of The Brain in Love with Dr. Daniel Amen stated that studies show that women become more amorous when exposed to the scents of licorice, vanilla, lavender and pumpkin pie.


We also know that according to the National Association of Realtors, 61% of purchases are made by married couples, 21% by single women, 9% by single men, and 7% by unmarried couples.


Women make the household purchases in 80% of homes.


Moral of the story: Use scents to help women fall in love with your listings!

By the way, do you have a homeowner with a smelly pet, or pet evidence? If so, share this little factoid with them. According to The Humane Society of the United States:

• 39% of U.S. households own at least one dog.

• Nearly 34% of U.S. households own at least one cat.

This means that between 61-66% of homeowners do not own a cat or dog. Whether the reasons include allergies, aversions or other personal preferences, it's clear that a large portion of prospects viewing your listing with a household pet could turn off a potential buyer.

Try to encourage your sellers with pets to come up with creative solutions to keeping pets and their "pet evidence" out of sight when their home is on the market!

For more home staging tips and hints that will help you sell YOUR home faster and for more money, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook Fan Page where we give away room makeovers, staging consultations, insider tips, sales and events and more! 

Indulge your design impulses & tell your own creative story with a tattoo!

Tattoo an entire room, pattern just one wall, create your own mural, add a single design, play with sheens, experiment with glazes, metallic and plaster finishes – your options are limitless!
In much the same way color can energize a space, design elements can fill a room with visual balance for a dynamic look. In our modern living room, we’ve added a classic design in the form of our filigree Wall Tattoo. The intricate wall pattern plays off the clean contemporary lines of the furnishings and fireplace. The key to making this work is our bold color choices which are contemporary and substantial enough to work in modern décor.
You can purchase the Benjamin Moore Wall Tattoo from the Bejamin Moore online store.
Benjamin Moore's Portico Wall Tattoo is sold exclusively online. It is not available through retail stores at this time.

Hot Home Product Countdown: Product #3 -Vahallan Papers

We just received a sneak peak from Vahallan Papers featuring their Patterns of the Month! At Interiority Complex, we are huge fans of this innovative wall covering product – this isn’t your grandma’s dated wallpaper!

Pictured above:

Midas – This beautiful metallic gold paper has subtle beige and yellow accents which makes a very elegant, rich wall when applied in either symmetric or asymmetric blocks.

Bassano. This pattern contains several deep blues with faint black accents. This wall covering would infuse very sophisticated color into a room when applied in either asymmetric or symmetric blocks.

For more information on Vahallan Papers or to schedule a design or color consultation, contact Interiority Complex today!

The Recipe to a Serene Bedroom by Filling Spaces

We love the Mood Boards by Filling Spaces!

Hot Home Product Countdown: Product #2 - Peel and Stick Crown Moulding

You had me at "hello"...



When we discovered this product and saw the company message on Easy Crown Molding's website, we knew this relationship would stick.

A Message from Easy Crown Molding:

At Ez-A-Peel our philosophy is simple. We believe that home decorating should be easy, convenient and affordable, anyone can create an attractive living space, regardless of your creativity or experience, with just a few simple finishing touches that will give the appearance of expensive home decor.

Easy Crown Molding and Easy Door Crown offer inexpensive alternatives to fancy millwork. Their website states that their products offer the same detailed architectural finishes found in some of the finest homes at a fraction of the cost and with only a minor investment of time.

With Ez-A-Peel products there is no need for tools, glue, caulk or complicated measurements. Their products adjust to length and are self-adhesive.

Click here to check out the Ez-A-Peel website for more information, photos and design tips.

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Hot Home Product Countdown: Product # 1 - Counter Top Refinishing with Paint

Whether you are staging to sell or designing to dwell, refinishing your dated and worn laminate or tile countertops with a epoxy product or water-based paint product for countertops is an affordable and easy alternative to replacing countertops. The process which Miracle Method uses involves the application of a very hard and durable acrylic coating to the existing counter. Countertop refinishing works equally well on kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities, laminate breakfast bars, and even cultured marble sink vanities.



Another really cool product we've recently discovered is Giani Granite Paint for countertops. The GIANI™ polymers are automotive grade resins that are used in the manufacture of car bumpers, so your countertop is extremely durable. Like most new water-based resin technologies, the cure time for GIANI™ is approximately two weeks to achieve its full hardness.



For more information, tips and links on refinishing or resurfacing, be sure to visit the Natural Handy Man's website which is filled with great information and resources on the subject!



Good luck, and happy refinishing!





By the way, if you have great pictures of your bathroom or kitchen makeover, please share them with us!



As always, if you have a decorating challenge, send in your questions to Dr. Dotty and we'll do our best to answer in an upcoming blog.

design minds: Pantone Color Forecast 2010 - Las Vegas Market Recap

design minds: Pantone Color Forecast 2010 - Las Vegas Market Recap