I was so delighted to work with clients Kimberly and Scott on their beautiful 1912 Vancouver character home. After years of meticulously renovating their house, it was now time for them to sell and downsize.
Everything felt so good about the house; the original details, the brilliant light fixtures and the amazing flooring throughout not to mention the stunning kitchen…oh and the back deck! Beautifully designed, it just needed some updated furniture and this is when, I came in to help.
While choosing the right furniture, it was important for me to follow the style of the house and keeping the owner’s vision with the overall look. Kimberly, a designer herself, knew the direction she wanted me to take which made it a really nice collaboration between us. After countless hours of work, we managed to bring her fabulous house to “show ready” mode. Ouff!
It was difficult for everyone to predict the direction the market would take because of Covid-19.
But the house was listed with agent Cheryl Davie and stayed on the market for only 10 days before selling for $458,000 over asking price! I couldn’t have been happier for everyone involved, especially my clients. As a professional home stager, I strive to help home owners get amazing results with the sale of their home. And this is one I will remember for sure!
In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, we are going to share 3 Easy Ways to Decorate with Green.
1. Accent Sofa
An accent sofa is the simplest way to incorporate green into your living room. We love using our green velvet sofa in stagings to give a rom that instant ‘oomph’.
When selecting your shade of green, make sure the undertones don’t clash with your existing furniture, paint colours, and flooring. Typically, lighter greens give off a more fresh and youthful vibe, whereas darker greens represent ambition, safety, and lushness.
2. Indoor Plants
Studies have shown that indoor plants boost mood, productivity, and creativity. Plants clean indoor air by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity, and producing oxygen, helping us feel good both mentally and physically.
Don’t have a green thumb? Start with an easy plant like a succulent or cactus. Just make sure they get plenty of sunlight, rotate them frequently, and water sparingly. Overwatering is the easiest way to kill your succulent, so make sure you let the soil dry between waterings!
3. Artwork
This one’s pretty self explanatory. Since everyone’s style is different, and artwork is so personal, it’s hard for us to recommend specific pieces.
However, if you live in Greater Vancouver and want to pick up some quality artwork at reasonable prices, we recommend checking out the Flow Furniture Lounge. Open on Thursdays and Fridays from 12pm-5pm, and we are constantly bringing in new furniture, accessories, and artwork. We hope to see you soon!
Still unsure about how to decorate with green, or need help with selecting the perfect shade of green for your home?
We offer interior design and shopping & styling services! Give us a call at 604-674-8884, or email hello@flowsmartliving.com to get started.
Interior Designer, Interior Decorator, Home Staging Specialist — this terminology can be quite confusing for somebody who’s not in the industry. These services sound very similar, but yet, are so different. Don’t worry — we’ll explain why!
Interior Decorator
An Interior Decorator uses fabrics, furnishings, and accessories to change the aesthetics and impressions of a space, while working within its functionality. After taking measurements, photos, and obtaining the floor plan, an interior decorator will create a design concept that can include fabrics, flooring, furnishing, lighting, fixtures, accessories, paint, and art.
Interior Designer
An Interior Designer is someone who understands people’s behaviours and creates optimal functionality of interior spaces. Their job is to lay out walls and floor plans, while keeping the following in mind: local building codes, fire safety, accessibility, efficiency, functionality, and acoustics.
Interior Designers provide clients with concept drawings using AutoCAD and/or SketchUp, so the client can understand and review the concept. Interior Designers may also take on the role of a Interior Decorator after their floor plans have been reviewed by building representatives and implemented.
Working with contractors to create the best designs, Interior Designers can help design dream kitchens or bathrooms!
Home Staging Specialist
A Home Staging Specialist’s job is very similar to an Interior Decorator’s — they also use furnishings and accessories to change the aesthetics and impressions of a space, while working within its functionality. The major difference between a Home Staging Specialist and an Interior Decorator is the reason why they’re hired.
An Interior Decorator typically has full artistic control of their installations (with the approval of their client, of course) because they are hired by the client to help bring their vision to life.
On the other hand, Home Staging Specialists are hired by homeowners that are looking to sell their property. They are trained to design spaces that appeal to the homeowner’s target buyer, as well as the building and neighbourhood style. At the end of the day, homeowners are looking to sell their property quickly and for highest amount of money possible, so a Home Staging Specialist’s designs need appeal to a wide audience, and can’t be too specific.
Did you know we offer all three services?
Whether you’re looking for an Interior Designer, Interior Decorator, or Home Staging Specialist, give us a call at 604-674-8884, or email hello@flowsmartliving.com!
Flow Smart Living + Interiors has been staging homes in the Greater Vancouver area since 2007. Approaching home staging with a waste-reducing mindset, we strongly believe reusing and recycling is the way of the future.
About 4 years ago, we opened our Furniture Lounge, where we sell floor model, designer-picked furniture at affordable prices. We are looking for a part-time Sales Associate/Assistant Stager to help run our store, and assist with staging related tasks from Wednesday-Friday.
Sales Associate Responsibilities
Provide exceptional customer service
Actively work to increase customer traffic and reach sales goals
Maintain store aesthetic by cleaning, stocking, organizing, and merchandising
Process and track credit card and cash payments
Take pictures of inventory and promote on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook groups, and Craigslist
Respond to inquiries via phone, email, Facebook, and Craigslist
If you’re a motivated self-starter with a passion for furniture and design, we’d love to hear from you! This position will be based out of our Furniture Lounge/warehouse in Strathcona. To apply, please email hello@flowsmartliving.com with your resume and cover letter.
We thank all applicants in advance for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
Have you ever stepped into a beautiful home but something just felt off?
Choosing a staging company is a big decision, and price shouldn’t be the only factor you’re considering. At the end of the day, in order to sell your properties quickly and for the highest price possible, you’ll need to market to the right buyers and make them fall in love!
Here at Flow, we take the time to listen to your needs before creating a custom staging plan based on who you are marketing to, and also the architecture of the property itself. With 13 years of experience, we’ve staged thousands of homes in the Greater Vancouver area. Our team of designers and warehouse full of quality furniture will ensure your property gets elevated. You won’t find cookie cutter designs here!
If you’re reading this… you’re on our new website! Yay!
We’ve been working on this new website for months, and we’re so stoked that it’s finally ready for you to see and use. We’d love to hear your feedback — What do you like? What do you not like? How can we improve the experience for you? How does this compare to our old website?
Here’s a picture of the old website to jog your memory:
Please leave us a comment below and let us know what you think. Thank you for your help!
You may have built the perfect condo/duplex/single family home with the most amazing features and finishes, but if your potential buyers can’t see themselves living in the space, it’s just another house — even if it’s the most beautiful home.
This is where we come in. Our Home Staging Specialists will draw upontheir combined expertise in design and staging to recognize the style of each property, choosing the best combination of furniture and accessories to enhance existing design features. From reviewing floor plans to decorating, we make sure even the smallest details are absolutely perfect.
Check out these show homes we staged for Realstar Management:
Well staged homes attract serious buyers, because the home represents a lifestyle that they want (even if it’s not the lifestyle they currently lead). Allow us to help your property reach its full potential — one your clients will want to call home. Give us a call at 604-674-8884 or email hello@flowsmartliving.com to get started.
Our favorite season is finally here! Sunshine, longer days, bright colors… This is the perfect time (or excuse!) to update and incorporate the latest summer decorating trends to your home. A few accessories here and there or a completely new and stunning outdoor dining set will make a huge difference in order to prepare your house for the warmest season.
Do you want to know more?
Read all about our favorite summer decorating trends!
#1 – Macrame is back!
YES! This bohemian-style has been popular for quite some time now. Macrame is the perfect summer decorating trend to add nice texture and naturalness to any space. Plus handmade items always bring a cozy feel to your home. You can give a fresh touch to your bedroom or living room by adding macrame and woven wall hangings. You can also create a small composition and combine it with framed art.
#2 – Add some outdoor layers
The easiest way to bring colors and textures to your patio or backyard! To rock this summer decorating trend, you can use neutral tones for your outdoor seating and cushions, and be more creative when choosing your outdoors rug. Mosaic patterns, lines, colors… which one is your favourite?
#3 – Tropical prints are a must!
Give your house a fresh new feeling for the summer! A follow-up from last year, this summer decorating trend is still going strong. You can use leafy green plants to decorate your living room, or decorative pillows in splashy green garden prints. Leaf art prints, oversized bugs, exotic birds… mix them with natural elements for a calming, comfortable feel. Or combine them with gold and brass for a touch of luxury.
#4 – Artisan textures
Texture is a huge trend this season! Materials such rattan, straw and wicker will be your perfect allies to add a natural handmade feel to your home. So much can be achieved by simply playing with textures and materials. Don’t underestimate the power of embracing and combining different textures!
Which one is your favorite summer decorating trend?
Do you have an idea in mind to re-design your home? We can help! Contact us today to discuss your upcoming renovation or design project. We would be delighted to work together to make your space a place you call home! Give us a call today at (604)674-8884 or email us at hello@flowsmartliving.com
We love coffee table styling! It is one of our favorite parts when we stage an empty property. Coffee tables are an important part of a living room. We could say that it is a bit of an art! When styling your coffee table, it is important that they look good, but they also have be functional. The display needs to be attractive without disrupting the flow of the space.
What steps do I need to follow to style my coffee table?
Our staging team brought you some useful and practical tips to help you style your coffee table, let’s get started!
#1 – Create a composition
This step is key when styling your coffee table. Imagine a few items in a little vignette and make them work as a unit. You need to find a way to connect all of them. To do this, you could use a color, shapes, a theme, sizes, a particular style, color shades… Getting a balanced composition takes time. You can play around with all the items, set different vignettes and finally decide which one feels right to you.
#2 – Use proportional sizes
Play around with different height and scale of objects to give structure and proportion to your composition. It will make it more dynamic and will add a visual interest to your coffee table. But be careful not to have anything so tall that could obstructs the view of people sitting on either side of the table.
#3 – Less is more
We know. Sometimes is hard to say no to all the nice accessories that we see around. However, it is really important not to overcrowd and keep the functionality of your coffee table. You can stack or group objects together to avoid a cluttered look, while keeping enough space for whatever you might need.
#4 – Natural elements
A little plant, a vase with some flowers, nature-inspired accessories, some dried leaves… you name it! Incorporating natural elements is one of the biggest interior design trends at this moment. Try different color combinations to create your own personal style. Our favorites? Warm neutrals and off-whites! They are a great option to create a timeless and flexible natural palette.
#5 – Include a conversation starter
Your coffee table need that one standout piece! It could be a personal item that is dear to you, a statement piece with a unique shape or finish or any other item that has a good story waiting to be told! Like any other room, your living room can benefit from having a focal point. And a coffee table display could help to create this visual point.
#6 – Textures and shapes
Coffee table styling is all about experimenting to create the perfect style for you. Don’t be afraid to mix shapes and finishes to create interest and dimension on your display. Texture accents, a touch of high-gloss, lines vs. curves… It is time to unleash our imagination and have fun!
We hope you liked our coffee table styling tips!
Have an idea in mind to re-design your home? We can help! Contact us today to discuss your upcoming renovation or design project. We would be delighted to work together to make your space a place you call home! Give us a call today at (604) 674-8884 or email us at hello@flowsmartliving.com
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