I found this for you, hope you enjoy it!
Oh, and to somehow connect this post with styling, look out for the beautiful “Ornamental Turtle” about 1 minute in.

Oh yeah…

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, and I am loving the warmth creeping back into everyday life. The kids are playing on the trampoline again. We are enjoying morning coffee on the front deck overlooking the park and listening to the children squeal with delight as they swing as ‘high as the sky’!

Oh yeah, feeling good. And it makes me want to do some re-styling – with yellow! I think that yellow is a very often overlooked colour – people are scared of it…but check out how simple and dramatic it is when teamed with black or grey. It’s like an injection of happiness. Which is what Spring means to me too.

The big marketers all understand this fact and that is why they spend millions and millions each year on making their products look and feel good!

And, when you are selling your house, you should too! Otherwise you are just throwing money down the toilet…

Just check out the ‘before and after’ transformation of this small inner-city apartment we recently styled.

Which version has more value in the buyer’s eyes? Which would attract a premium price? Which lifestyle would YOU fall in love with?

Make sure YOU don’t throw any money down the toilet when selling your property…

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

After: Living Room

After: Living Room

Before: Master Bedroom

After: Master Bedroom

Before: Outdoor Living

After: Outdoor Living

I just love this….it’s from Clare Lancaster at .

http://www.womeninbusiness.com.au/

I love it because I think we should all be out there living rich, full lives that light us up. That make us feel excited about getting out of bed everyday. Lives that are a little bit scary too. So we’re not just cruising in the ‘dead zone’ where every day looks the same.

Living in possibility. We should be backing ourselves and going for it.

Thanks for the reminder Clare.

Go for it, everybody!

Deb x

Here’s why.

What is the main point of a holiday? For some people it is just to relax and forget about their regular life for a while.
Other people like to travel, learn about a culture and forget about their regular life for a while.
Others like to party, meet new people, and forget about their regular life for a while.

Ok, so whatever the reason people go on holidays, most people love the fact that they get to forget about their regular life for a while.
(The best bit I love to forget is cooking. Don’t you just love turning up at a restaurant and saying “I’ll have the lobster…”!)

This was our experience too.

While in Fiji, we didn’t make one phone call, check our email or even look at a computer screen – not once! (Some of our internet sites went down briefly as a result, but that’s another story J)

Once I was swimming in the bliss of forgetfulness, I started to remember other things.

Things like how much the kids love it when you spend all day just hanging out with them, and how much I enjoy talking to friends over a slow and relaxing glass of wine. And how I really love to walk slowly and enjoy nature – (or ride in a speed boat out to a snorkeling spot).

OK, so its an obvious point, but holidays give you the time to reconnect with the most important things in your life – what some people call “First Things”. Suddenly the Steven Covey chapter called ‘First Things First’ (you can read this in his classic book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) makes a whole lot more sense.

Through all this forgetting about your busy life, and remembering your ‘First Things’ you reconnect with the whole reason you went into business in the first place.

By the end of the holiday I was ready to come home and start remembering all over again.

This is what I remembered: My business is a machine to liberate time and money. My business is the vehicle that allows me to enjoy my ‘first things’. And also, my business will allow me to travel again.

So by the time my holiday ended and I said my last ‘Bula’ for a while – I was well and truly ready to go back and tweak my business, to get it doing the job it is supposed to do.

I’ve also started planning my next holiday – oh, and I’m thinking about how I can get my own personal chef.

1. Use something organic

Flowers, succulents or even herbs adds some softness and texture to the hardness of the table. Choose one large piece or an arrangement of a few smaller ones.

2. Stacking

Use books or small boxes as a pedestal to elevate smaller objects. This makes them look larger, and it also gives your display a more natural appeal.

3. Use a Decorative Tray

By including a tray on your coffee table, it adds another layer of interest. Trays are also great to make the scale of the surface a little smaller. Because of it’s hard base, it’s also a perfect element to add on top of an upholstered ottoman or uneven surface. Layer on your accessories to add softness and warmth.

4. Don’t Fill the Entire Surface

Make sure you leave some empty space on the table, so it doesn’t look too forced or cluttered. This will appear awkward… Again, you want it to look natural and casual – there needs to be room to put your hot cup of tea! (Oh, and this will help to make sure it looks good from all angles too!)

5. Use the Simple 2+1 Formula

There are so many more tips I could share….but I want to leave you with the simple ‘cheat’s guide’ to accessorising your coffee table! By using the simple ’2+1 Formula’ it’s really hard to get it wrong. You place one large item (this will be the focal point), and then add two smaller ones. So for example, your large item might be a vase of flowers and your two smaller items might be a book and a small candle. Remember to make sure you vary the heights and sizes of the objects, so they don’t look plonked, but rather have a natural flow…

Why not treat yourself today…you’re worth it! Did you know studies have shown having a bunch of fresh flowers improves how we feel in a room? Add some colour and warmth to your room – and your life!

You want them to say WOW!

The facts are that you have 30 seconds to make a first impression, and 95% of buyers buy on emotion.

The minute a potential buyer walks in the door, they should think “looks good, sounds good, and smells good!” Put an oversized mirror in your entry (people love to look at themselves) or a dramatic piece of artwork. Fresh flowers and scented candles go a long way for this first impression, too.

Buyers love light and airy rooms. Open up your window shades, use lamps, and arrange the space with lightly-coloured, well-placed furniture.

Add some visual interest simply by raiding your garden (rather than spending money on expensive floral arrangements). Take clippings of branches or twigs and put them in a large vase in the corner of a room to add height.

When styling kitchens, keep it simple!

Check out these images. You want to add accessories that are relevant…and make sense…AND are stylish… Sure, create an aspirational gourmet kitchen (coz we all love Masterchef!). But DON’T overwork it. I would strongly recommend against creating staged ‘scenes’ that consist of carefully laid-out biscuits on a plate, tea towels, doilies and cups of tea. They just look too…’staged’ and can really be off-putting for buyers!

Instead, select a few stylish accessories like a bowl of fruit, or a stack of gorgeous plates…or even a simple row of the beautiful bottles of sparkling Pellegrini water. And use them sparingly. Much more effective.