HGTV Generation

I love my 25 to 35 buyers and sellers. Not that I don't love all my buyers and sellers, but in this age group, I call them the "HGTV Generation". You know the shows I'm talking about: Property Virgins, Design on a Dime, House Hunters. They watch the shows, absorb the ideas, discuss what they would do differently.

As buyers, when we walk up to the property, they first talk about curb appeal. "They should totally put flowers on hooks out front and weed in between these stones. The front door needs to be painted and that shutter is crooked." We walk into the front door and living room. "This is so cluttered. They should have put away half these books. The fireplace is the focal point. They should have arranged their furniture around the fireplace. And all they had to do was put on a coat of new paint to make this room pop!" I don't have to say a thing. They are reading my mind.


They look at cluttered closets, they comment that all the counters in the kitchen are nicely cleaned off, they love the stainless steel appliances. "And look," they add, "they went the extra mile and put on all the lights and have soft music playing."


When Sellers bring me over for the first look at their home, they give me a tour and if the planned work is not done already, they tell me what they are going to do. Take Shana and Neal who got a contract on their condo in South Burlington in 13 days. When I walked in, their kitchen walls were a great brick orange, formica front cabinets with oak horizontal trim on the bottom, were painted a striking black. The hood over the stove was painted black with special auto paint, the counter tops were replaced, and the floors had great peel and stick vinyl that looked like tile. They had new black appliances. The kitchen was totally modern looking even though the condo was built in the 80's. The living room had new carpet and the walls were sage green -- two walls one green and two a slightly different green to create interest.


"I'm going to change all the lights to brushed nickel," Shana said, "and we're changing the door knobs too. We're taking out this large sectional and borrowing and buying some furniture that doesn't make the room look so crowded. We'll put a couple of artsy things on the book case over here, flowers on the table. I'll set the deck up with lawn furniture and set the table to let people know this is a great place to eat in the summer. Anything else we should do?"


There was nothing for me to say! She hit it all. Upstairs it was the same. She suggested we stage the office to look like a bedroom so people know its function. There would still be an office area in that room but it would primarily show as a bedroom. They bought a new bedspread and window treatments for the bedroom -- black and white with red accent pillows. There were black IKEA styled shelves on the walls with red art objects. In the bathroom, they found a product to coat the inside of the sink and with changed faucets, it looked new!

A buyer walked in, said this was where she had to live, and paid full price!


New carpet... new appliances... modern colors... design changes without much cost to the sellers... decluttering... correct furniture proportions... creating a mood... staging the inside and outside...

I love the HGTV generation!