Staging with Cowhide Rugs: Yea or Nay?

Staging with Cowhide: Yea or Nay? Colorado Springs, CO

There was a time, that if you had a cowhide rug in your house you liked both Country and Western. Not necessarily perceived as cutting edge design.

Today, walk into almost any home interiors store from San Francisco to New York and you’d be hard pressed not to find a sophisticated version of what was once considered "Old West" decor.

Major retailers from Restoration Hardware to IKEA, Kohl's to HomeGoods are featuring this textile to enhance beautiful hardwood floors and add a luxe element to your home.

                                             

You can even curl up in one...

-from Annie Selke Home for Vanguard Furniture.

"My dogs think they're some kind of big, quiet animal

and behave better around them," Selke says.

Sometimes showing up unlike any cow I remember from my grandpa’s farm. Holsteins and Herefords are now competing with champagne and bronze metallic hides (just where are they from?).

This couture trend seems to transcend any particular style décor. Obviously at home in Country or Southwestern, cowhide rugs play well in Transitional as well as Contemporary, Eclectic and Traditional.

So, could I be so bold to ask for a show of hands here? Would you say cowhide's popularity spans across all demographics? Or, do you think there are Buyers who might react adversely to a home staged with cowhide?


Personally, I love the impact it makes, instantly updating the feel of a home. However, I’d like to know your take on this decorating phenomenon. As a Home Staging Consultant, it is my responsibility to showcase a property to appeal to the widest range of buyers - trying not to exclude anyone, vegan or otherwise. :)

Cheers to a successful sale!

Kim Gaston

Front Porch Interiors, LLC

Home Staging/Interior Redesign/Color Consulting

- delighted to stage Colorado Springs, El Paso county and

the Front Range communities.

How to Sell a Home with... Interesting Color Choices

How to Sell a Home with... Interesting Color Choices
Have you walked in a home where the homeowner chose not to re-paint? If you're a Realtor, you hope clients will heed your advice and make the nominal investment necessary to neutralize a funky paint choice. After all, who would want to alienate any buyer? The goal of Staging is to showcase a home to appeal to the widest demographic audience. The buyer makes an emotional connection and offers top market value... quickly. That's the idea.

However, there may be times where expert advice lands on deaf ears. A certified, Home Staging Consultant should be your first "go-to" for assistance in navigating this conversation. They are trained and well-versed in conveying, diplomatically, how to prepare a home to sell. Often, all it takes are modified pictures of how the room could look in another, more universally appealing color.

If the Seller decides to proceed with the home "as is", you do have some options for downplaying a less than ideal color choice.

Ummm, yes, that paint color is mauve.

That's also the first room a buyer walks into through the front door.

Yes, its still mauve, but now the room has a more elegant and appropriate function.

The massive, wall cabinet went into storage, the dining table/chairs were relocated to a room adjacent to the kitchen and the loveseat/wing back chair were brought in from other rooms. A few accessories were added, but the magic is in that warm, richly colored rug.

Embrace the mauve :)

How about red? Most people like red. I happen to love red on a front door, but would not consider it a restful color choice for a bedroom.

Classic black paired with the bold red instantly updates and elevates the feel - worthy of a master.

Drum shade lamps and inexpensive bedding ties it altogether.

Lets hear from the other camp. The room is neutral, but now its just generic and boring.

Pop some color on the floor and rearrange furniture so Buyers are led over to the window and notice the view of Pikes Peak instead of the sterile, awkward, bowling alley-size room.

Let a Stager help you with challenging color choices. Home Staging professionals support Realtors and assist Sellers in putting their best foot forward when preparing a home to sell for the most money with the least amount of time on market.

Cheers to your successful sale!

Kim Gaston

Front Porch Interiors, LLC

- certified Home Staging Consultant delighted to assist Realtors and Homeowners in the Colorado Springs and Front Range areas.