Questions for Kimo:

Rug Rant -Is the stink in the carpet stifling your ability to sell your property?

Cindy Bryant's Blog  about pet odors not being removed from carpet after a professional cleaning inspired me to write this in the hopes of helping others avoid the expense of having to replace wall to wall carpeting.  

I love my pets, but I also know they love to 'shi-shi'* and 'poo-poo' in places I wish they didn't. Through personal observation I came to the determination that anything with a two inch rise or higher will be the target of my male dogs territorial zeal and by anything I mean everything. I have witnessed him 'mark' table legs, pillows, garbage pails, brief cases, curtains, even the toilet and if time were on his side he would 'mark' the entire world, ambitious little darling.

Fortunately, while in the house, he wears a dog diaper(which doesn't stop him from going through the motions) and certain rooms he is not allowed in, unattended. These preventative measures combined with an industrial sized bottle of Natures Miracle and Fabreeze keeps the house pretty much free of pet stink.  

However, once a pet wets the carpet and it sets, it can create a perpetual stink that will not go away regardless of how many cleanings and scrubbings professional or not. Here is some effective recourse for rectifying the situation.  

1) Pull up the carpet around the area of the stain and or smell.  

2) Locate in the carpet padding the area that was stained and cut that portion out. If it's not immediately recognizable look at the back side of the carpet where the stain will definitely show and find it that way.  

3) Replace the cut out portion of padding with new padding. But before you put the carpet back...  

4) Hire a cleaning service to clean BOTH SIDES of the carpet, then tack the carpet back down.  

If it doesn't come out after this you need new carpet.

JDS Consulting- Staging Hawaii nei! Providing Real Estate Merchandising services including: Home Staging, Interior Decor, Turn Key, Landscaping, Remodeling, & Open House Hosting. Visit our Blog: Questions for Kimo: Decor Design & all things Hawaiian- www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com  tel.+1.808.344.1264  Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008

*Hawaiian colloquialism

Questions for Kimo: I have less than $500 to get my home staged to sell, how would you budget the project, help?

Top 5 low cost staging tips

1. Hire a cleaning service to clean everthing from the windows to the floors, from the attic to the basement. Spotless is your objective and don't forget the kitchen appliances. If need be you can help with the cleaning or do it yourself, however, I always recommend the house cleaning be done professionally.

2. Get rid of all the personal items, toys, and clutter and don't forget the garage and closets. Have a lawn sale, rent a storage locker, donate to charity and get it out of the house. You'll feel great freeing yourself from all the stagnant chi.

3. When it's time for the Open House, treat it like the Queen is coming for dinner. Make sure everything is spotless and do the white glove test. Set the dinning table to impress with table settings and fresh flowers. Turn on all the lights, play soft music and bake something deliciously sweet in the oven. You never know who might walk through your front door so be prepared.

4. Fresh paint. Get rid of the scuff marks and touch up areas that need it, especially near doorways and high traffic areas.

5. Spruce up the bedrooms with nice sets of bed linens, creating an inviting, comfortable environment for buyers to curl up and relax. Use neutral colors that compliment the wall colors and don't go over board with the pillows.

Working within a budget can be tricky but if you focus on your goal and are willing to put in some time and a little elbow grease, you'll be able to accomplish anything, Good luck! 

Is that dirt on the window sill? We are not amused!

God save the Queen!

Where East meets West: Indochine

For those of you who have seen the period drama staring Catherine Deneuve set in French colonial Vietnam you might remember the romantic setting of Madame Devries rubber plantation and the fusion of French country and Asian design styles. The East/West design amalgam which has been coined Indochine is a  wonderful design modality that works well in tropical environments.

The Indochine style is a mixture of highly detailed French country elements combined with Asian fabrics and furniture. French quilting and dress making details are coordinated to bring an exquisite design to silk, linen, cotton and other natural fabrics creating a luxuriously tactile environment, reminiscent of the colonial era. Teak and dark Mahogany furniture are favored along with cool blue, green, & celedon interiors.

European country elements like 19th century oil lamps, embroidered bed linens, and rocking chairs, added with Asian birdcages, silk screened landscapes, cloissone l'objets and lacquered furniture  combine to create an inspiring and dramatic tropical theme for your home.

For more information about design services by JDS Consulting please visit are web site:

www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com

Mold is messy, maddening, & it meanders. Nothing incites instant ick like finding fuzzy spores springing from the dark corners of a room or invading last weeks Tofuloaf. Regardless of where you find it, mold can do you great harm so it's important to rid it from your living environments, especially if your property is on the market.  

Mold's function in the world is to decompose organic matter like leaves, dead animals, and old take out. Without it we would be neck high in dead things and our refrigerators, full of questionably old leftovers. What better way to know for certain if the Kung Pao can kill, than with our fuzzy friend curled up on a peanut .  Top Eight Mold Mistakes

Mold spore's are microscopic, sturdy and can survive in the toughest of environments. Spore's can survive freezing, be carried by the wind for thousands of miles, and thrive without the necessity of light. Mold can grow rapidly in humid environments and certain types of mold(Black) can be deadly to human beings. Mold grows in rapidly forming colonies that can qucikly innundate an entire home if left unchecked.

Being aware and having any mold immediately removed can save you a lot of aggravation when it comes to the home inspection. Mold can kill real estate deals faster than potential buyers can say the word and dealing with any mold issues before the inspector checks the infamous box monikered 'mold present', is always advisable.

Although mold can be an impressive adversary, it's mortal enemy is bleach. Bleach can keep the vigilant minded safe from creepy colonies overtaking the kitchen and bath but what about the sofa and cloth fabrics in general? Use a 90% to 10% water to bleach solution for white fabrics?  Don't use bleach on anything colored or dyed as it will 'bleach' and possibly harm the fabric, and if you want to keep your furniture mold free you should use mold resistant fabrics like Sunbrella. However, be warned, not all mold resistant fabrics have mold resisting stitching, once the mold attacks the stitching it's only a matter of time before it infiltrates the stuffing. Any padding or stuffing with mold should be immediately disposed of.

If you just have to have that comfy throw pillow on the chaise by the pool, bring it inside to store it in a well dehumidified room when not in use. And if the relative humidity tops 55% regularly for your area during the warmer months avoid using anything but mold resistant lanai furniture.

The last impression you want to give to potential buyers is a moldy one.

microscopic 'black' mold spore                bleach, enemy of mold                        chocolate mold      

Floating What?

Well, I've got an idea about floating furniture and it has nothing to do with Kurt Vonnegut's vision of the future. When you mention floating furniture most people envision the magnetic floating sofas of

Vonnegut's novel or swimming pools with buoyant loungers. In Staging it has an entirely different meaning and it's far from science fiction.

Suggesting to a client to pull their furniture away from the walls into the center of the room, often garners a sceptics glance with folded arms and the raising of an eyebrow. Incredulous as it may sound, placing or floating furniture in the room's center, can create a more intimate and functional space, particularly when you have large rooms. Many potential buyers can become overwhelmed when faced with large undefined rooms and struggle to comprehend how to furnish the space.

Creating a solid visual in the center of the room can focus buyer attention on the functionality of the space not how to furnish every square foot. Although, this sounds counter intuitive to shrink the perceived square footage, pushing the furniture to the wall often throws off the balance of the room, and results in seating areas being awkward and distant and the buyers wind up the same.   And yes, you can float beds in the middle of the room, but it's unadvisable in a staging scenario. Buyers might be unfamiliar and uncomfortable with a bed in such a position.

Remember to always consider the following when trying to float furniture: what is the 'natural' traffic flow of the room, how do the auxiliary rooms function in relation. Where are the windows, viewpoints, sight lines, focal, and feature areas.

Here's a great example of a not so large room with floated furnishings. Sometimes it just isn't practical to float and it usually has to do with traffic flow. Regardless, it can be advantageous to consider floating, when staging your property for sale.

Floating at it's finest!


   

CALL TO ACTION NOW THRU JULY 8, 2008!
Your Comments Needed on the Draft Management Plan for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Monument
No Human Footprint on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

The world's largest marine protected area was established in 2006 after years of overwhelming public support for the strongest possible protections. Today, we need to follow through on this public victory, by continuing to stay engaged in the process to develop plans to protect this rare coral reef ecosystem.

On April 22, 2008, the Draft Monument Management Plan (DMMP) was released to the public. After all the fanfare in establishing the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the DMMP falls far short of creating a true pu'uhonua (place of refuge) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The DMMP proposes to increase harmful human activity in the Monument through more tourism, more extractive research, and more construction without a cumulative impact risk assessment, a numerical carrying capacity, or a citizen's advisory council. Once finalized the DMMP will be the single most important document dictating how the Papahanaumokuakea protections are implemented over the next 15 years.

Use Your Networks To Spread the Word:
The postcards sent to the public announcing the comment period are INACCURATE. The notice says the public comment period for the three Co-Trustee agencies is 75 days from April 23 to July 8, 2008. But in fact the state comment is only 30 days long. We raised this concern with state officials, but they have refused to republish the public notice postcards (click here to read our letter to the state). That is why it is so important that we used our own networks to spread the right information. Submit your comments here, share this action alert with everyone you know, and we will guarantee your comments are properly received by all three Co-Trustees.

Take Action Now!
Sign this petition
Submit written comments
Attend a Public Hearing (Download Event Flyer) (812 KB PDF)
Learn More

Support Responsible Science for the NWHI: Research in the NWHI must be conservation-driven, culturally appropriate, and protective of this fragile public trust resource! Learn more about how you can support Responsible Science!

Colorful Curb Appeal; Painting with Plants:  

In Hawaii we are blessed with incredible tropical flora, some of it indigenous much of it imported. To really add some zing to your curb appeal I have assembled some of my favorites. 

Ti plants (Cordyline terminalis)3'-6' are indigenous to Hawaii and are found through out Polynesia and tropical climes worldwide. Ti's come in a great number of shapes, colors, and textures. Here are just some of the many varieties available.

Ti plants are sacred to the Hawaiian's and are used in many ways in addition to landscaping. Foods such a Lau Lau and Kalua Pig are wrapped in Ti leaves and cooked in Imu's (traditional Hawaiian oven's dug in the ground), They are also used as hula skirts, in religious ceremonies and as offertory wrappings.  

Puna Red Ti                    Green Ti                          Johnny Nobel Ti               Cordyline Sensation

Lauae Fern (Microsorium Scolopendria Plypodium) 3' to 4' is another indigenous plant that has great cultural significance, as well as, adding wonderful texture to the landscaping. Lauae is best known as an Hawaiian homeopathic remedy for high blood pressure.

                Lauae Fern en masse                                  Lauae Leaf detail

Oyster Plants (Tradescantia spathacea) 4"-6" also known as Moses in a Basket and BoatLilly make a wonderful boarder and have an excellent spikey texture and bright green purple leaves.

     Oyster Plants-(Tricolor) or Moses in a Basket              Oyster Plant (green and purple)       

JDS Consulting provides Landscaping Design and specializes in Hawaiian Flora. We provide a full spectrum of Real Estate Merchandizing services at affordable rates. Call today for a consultation +1.808.344.1264

Please visit our website: RealEstateDesignOnLine.com 

        Ma Kai view of Kaluapapa- Moloka'i, Hawaii                                                    Photos by Kimo

JDS Consulting- Staging Hawaii nei! Providing Real Estate Merchandising services including: Home Staging, Interior Decor, Turn Key, Landscaping, Remodeling, & Open House Hosting. Visit our Blog: Questions for Kimo: Decor Design & all things Hawaiian- www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com  tel.+1.808.344.1264  Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008

Vignettes: Form Follows Function.  

In the staging world vignettes can save you time and money while informing the buyer how a particular space might function.

Instead of completely furnishing  a spare bedroom, for instance, with all the typical trappings such as a bed, night stand, dresser, armoire, lighting and accessories you might instead use just a bed, night stand and lamp. The observer will easily deduct that the room is a bedroom with these three items sparing the expense of the additional furniture and accessories.

The same minimalism will work for auxiliary rooms such as home offices, craft, media and game rooms. It is considered unadvisable to use vignettes in primary rooms like master bedrooms living and family rooms for these rooms are what motivate a buyer and should be staged accordingly.

Vignettes can and should be utilized in spaces that are not easily defined or in areas that might serve a function that is not readily understood to the casual observer. The foyer is a prime example of how vignettes can create function in an area that is often left empty.  

In this example we created a space where one can sit to remove shoes, place keys and check oneself in the mirror before leaving or entering the house.  We Used an antique brass moroccan side table with an ultra suede ottoman with matching suede lampshade. 

A hallway is another opportunity to give use to often overlooked space. Mirrors can visually enlarge the space and create a focal point. Decorative moldings can refine and add an air of sophistication, a console table creates a space for accessories and floral arrangements, providing color and visual interest.

In the example on the right we used pink eucalyptus to add contrasting color and soothing fragrance, white molding to suggest  a classic Wedgwood look and Chinese figurines on an antique Asian consol table.

The vignette, when used correctly can leave a powerful impression on the potential buyer at minimal cost and is one of many tools staging professionals use in their craft.

JDS Consulting- Staging Hawaii nei! Providing Real Estate Merchandising services including: Home Staging, Interior Decor, Turn Key, Landscaping, Remodeling, & Open House Hosting. Visit our Blog: Questions for Kimo: Decor Design & all things Hawaiian- www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com  tel.+1.808.344.1264  Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008

Questions for Kimo: I hear the Volcanic smog in Hawaii is pretty bad, should I change my travel plans?

At the present time the air condition here on Oahu is the worst I've ever seen it.

It has been reported that sulfur dioxide gas and other pollutants emitted from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island, commonly known as vog (volcanic smog), can cause problems with those who suffer from respiratory ailments such as asthma.  

If your planning to visit the islands any time soon I would keep yourself updated on the weather conditions particularly if you have respiratory issues. Trade winds usually keep the vog at bay for Mau'i, Lana'i  Moloka'i, Oahu & Kaua'i.

As for the Big Island I would be leary of visiting Hilo anytime soon if you have any repiratory issues.

Here is a link to give you some better information on the nature and hazards of vog.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs169-97/

Impatiens are a virtue... when it comes to curb appeal!  

A little flower can go along way in sprucing up your curb appeal. In this case the little flower is the impatien.

This hardy part sun, part shade annual comes in many colors, and grows quickly. I like them because they take minimal care and produce vibrant and beautiful blossoms.

Whether you plant them in beds or pots these little flowers create a big impact on your curb appeal at little cost and little effort.

photos by Kimo

Here is example of one of our colorful curb appeal projects and how a vibrant contrasting color like this bright magenta can have on a green house.

By adding several pots, lining the stairs and porch the color leads the eye right to the front door.

These hardy plants don't do well in the direct sun so make sure they have some shade. But they grow well just about everywhere from low elevation to high from Maine to Southern California & Hawaii of course.

JDS Consulting- Staging Hawaii nei! Providing Real Estate Merchandising services including: Home Staging, Interior Decor, Turn Key, Landscaping, Remodeling, & Open House Hosting. Visit our Blog: Questions for Kimo: Decor Design & all things Hawaiian- www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com  tel.+1.808.344.1264  Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008