The Science & Art of Interior Lighting

Everyone is aware when they walk in to a room with the perfect lighting scheme. A room with a well planned out lighting scheme just feels right; it feels welcoming, relaxing and yes even sophisticated.


How do you feel in your home? Do you walk in to your rooms and feel as though you've just entered an operating theatre or a movie theatre during the previews? Are your pets and small children afraid of what could be lurking in the dark corners of your rooms?


Getting the right balance of lighting is an art...but it is an art with it's foundation firmly rooted in science.

Lighting Formula = Layers of Light = Artful Lighting

The different types of lighting, and I'm not talking about floor and table lamps, chandeliers etc, have specific purposes and can be artfully layered to create the perfectly lit room for all your lighting requirements.


The Science of Lighting

Layers of Light

The 5 Basic Types of Lighting:

• Ambient - this is your general purpose lighting


• Indirect - which comes from 1 or more fixtures also known as luminaries. Light from these sources bounce the light off the ceiling and walls. Indirect can be used as the ambient lighting for a room. Uplighting which can come from scones for example is a form of ambient where the light uses the ceiling to bounce the light back down on to the room...et voila! You now have indirect lighting.


• Task - provides a focused light designed for specific tasks you preform such as fixing meals or reading a book. The task lighting would be a layer of light in the room over and above the ambient lighting source.


• Wall Washing - provides even lighting around the perimeter of a room and can come from the floor up the wall or from the ceiling down. Placement is important so avoid lighting over or under a window, mirrors or framed photography or you will create reflections which can be harsh and distracting. If you have an accent wall in your room with a darker paint colour you will no doubt have to add additional lighting to wash the walls due to the darker colour absorbing more of the light.


• Accent- is placed specifically to highlight an object. Make sure you avoid the light from straying beyond the object and avoid over use of accent lighting or you will overwhelm the room and occupants with visual stimulus and potentially move the lighting in to the realm of operating theatre.

What architects, interior designers, decorators and lighting specialists know in order to calculate the perfect amount of lighting for a room:

The Lighting Formulas

1. General Formula

Room Length X Room Width X 1.5 = Required Wattage to Light a Room

An example:
10 x 15 foot bedroom x 1.5 will require 225 watts.
Therefore if you only have 1 overhead light with 2 60 watt bulbs the lighting in the room will be deficient by 105 watts.

2. Task Lighting Formula

task area length X task area width X 2.5 = Required Wattage for Task Lighting

The concentrated lighting provided by the formula results in the amount of wattage for getting the job done.

The Art of Lighting - Professional Required

With required wattage in hand the left half of the brain takes over and the art of lighting reveals the intricacy's of layered lighting. The artist understands the interplay of light and colour and can visualize the layers of lighting required in a room to achieve the perfect balance.

In a follow up blog we will discuss the art of lighting and layering in detail.

Please feel free to digg this post to spread enLIGHTenment!

http://www.2-hounds.com/about.php

Who's Brand is Your Stager Selling?

As Home Stagers we are selling a 'brand'...and I don't mean our staging business. Our business will florish if we are good at what we do.

My concern is for my clients (the seller).

As a decorator who stages, the clients property is the brand I am selling.

'The one essential truth that shines through every (marketing) strategy is that for a product or service to be successful it must start with a good or pleasant experience at the first customer touch point. That experience can be with the actual product or service, or it can be a great experience with the marketing initiatives themselves. The experiences can be external, or something can be designed to trigger a positive internal experience. Either way, it's the initial interaction/experience with a brand that helps the customers begin to define it as they see it and to bond with it or not.' - Erik Hauser

This is why we recommend staging as much if not the whole property rather than just a few rooms (now I know most budgets don't allow this...but I'm hoping this post will provide some insight to help understand the need.

A bonus to the great experience we provide:

'Why is it a surprise that a good or pleasant interaction, all by itself, gets people talking? We've always known that if we have a good experience with anything we tell our circle of friends and family. It comes from our basic human desire to share. We want those close to us to have the same great experiences that we've had, and we want to talk about them.' - Erik Hauser

Deliver a great experience and people will talk...deliver a bad experience and people will talk even more. Remember, WOM works both ways!

My final words: the sale of Real Estate begins and ends with experience; what experience is your client's brand creating?

Dane Caldwell - Lead Design Consultant of Toronto's Boutique Staging Firm 2 Hounds Design
http://www.2-hounds.com/
416-418-5919

Painting a Stippled or Popcorn Ceiling

We all detest them but many of us have them. The stippled ceiling. The recommendation is to remove the stippling to get the clean look of a drywalled ceiling but often times this just isn't an option. Time constraints or the possibility of opening a whole new can of worms...builders not priming before applying the offending stipple being the two most often quoted reason for not eradicating stipple from a home.

If you want to freshen the ceiling with a coat of paint there are one or two steps you must follow first.

1. With a spray bottle, wet an area of ceiling. If the stipple absorbs the water (it will become soft to the touch) you will know the stipple was not primed. In that case, proceed to step number 2. If the water does not get absorbed but remains on the surface of the stipple you've gotten the go ahead to skip step two and go straight to paint the ceiling.
2. If you've determined the stipple is absorbing the water you must prime the ceiling with an oil based primer before painting.
3. When priming and painting the ceiling make sure to use a high nap roller specifically for stippled ceilings and paint in (at least) 2 directions perpendicular to each other in order to cover all surfaces of the stipple.
4. When you calculate the amount of primer/paint you need...double it. There is a lot of surface to your stippled ceiling!

Happy Painting!

Dane Caldwell is the Lead Consultant with Toronto's 2 Hounds Design + Home Staging.

2 Hounds Design recommends green products to clients undergoing extensive home renovations, simple updates or interior decorating and design projects.

2 Hounds Design - the idea resource

Color (Colour) Theory 101, Some Basics on TAUPE and Paint Selections

As I visit open houses which have been staged I see mistakes with paint color selections 99% of the time.

Errors can be made for a variety of reasons. Some examples would be lighting, direction of natural light entering the room, the colors present in the room (flooring, cabinets) but the most frequent mistake I see is due to no formal training in color theory. More on this later!

First the primary colors...I'm about to blow your mind here!

• Yellow, Magenta and Cyan: are a more accurate reflection of the artists color wheel than the 'red, yellow, blue' we where all taught in primary school.

Taupe and brown are in the same 'hue' or family of color.

Take a look at the color wheel...notice true 'taupe' and 'brown' are NOT on it. They are part of the neutral hue or family; from the centre of the wheel.

White, black, grey, brown and tan are not colors on the color wheel but are made up of varying percentages of the primary colors.

• Definition of HUE: color (in color 101!)
• Taupe and Brown are a combination of the 3 primary colors
• Contrary to popular belief, the primaries combined in equal parts do not make black but a neutral brownish/black color. Neutral being a key word here.

Taupe does not show grey but red, orange, green hues as undertones. Taupe has more tint than a brown.

• a tint means: the value of colour is lighter (English please? White has been added)
• a shade means: the value of the color is darker ( English please? Black has been added)
• a tone means: the value of the color is mid-range between tint and shade (plain English: Gray has been added)

A friend of mine in the States was recently told by a stager she hired not to use taupe's on the walls as they usually show grey.

As you can see from the brief lesson above, my friend's stager was wrong. Not surprising, turns out she has no training in theory only practical in staging.

What follows is some tips on adjusting an undertone you were not expecting!

What to do if your taupe shows:

• 'pink'. 'peach' or 'red' (your' and my eyes see the undertones slightly differently)? Add GREEN to neutralize the red or red/yellow undertone coming through.
• 'green' add: red!
• 'grey' add: personal choice - Decide where on the color wheel you'd like it to go and adjust with the appropriate primary colors.

If you are wondering what the variations would be my suggestion is to break out the paints (primary only) and experiment. BTW, this is the best advise you'll ever get. By experimenting you will be learning much more than you'll ever learn from reading.

Paint selection can be daunting so a professional should be consulted to avoid the feeling of something not being right with the color and having no understanding of what the problem is or how to fix it.

Dane Caldwell is the Lead Consultant with Toronto's 2 Hounds Design + Home Staging and is a professional Decorator with a background in Design and Styling.

2 Hounds Design - the idea resource

http://www.2-hounds.com/
(416)418-5919 GTA

(905)240-6565 Durham Region

No Portfolio? Building your professional portfolio one room at a time

Judy Kincaid recently wrote a great post on her blog: No more Ms. Nice Gal...the kid gloves are coming off!

Tina Parker had a great suggestion in her comment on Judy's blog. Tina suggested blogs on how to get started as a stager when you have nothing.

So I thought I'd get the ball rolling with this blog.

As a new stager you have to understand the service you are selling is purely subjective. You are selling your talent. Always keep this in mind and when you are making decisions on how to promote yourself ask the question; 'is this a true representation of my work & talent'.

Potential clients will contact you based on the work you display on your website and in your portfolio. They do not ASK if it is your work...why? Because you are showing them your portfolio...why would you misrepresent yourself (lie) to them.

To start your career by misrepresenting yourself...well think how you would feel if someone misrepresented themselves to you when you were paying them good money at a stressful time in your life.

As a new stager as at any point in our career: DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CLIENT'S TRUST OR NAIVETY.

So you have nothing to put in your portfolio but the photos taken from your training? Should you use them for your portfolio? The answer is that depends. Ask yourself the question: 'are they a true representation of your work & talent'? For the most part, likely not.

• Did you select the furnishings, accessories, paint colors etc?
• Did you make the decisions as to where to place the decor?

If you can not say yes to BOTH of these points, then do not use them in your portfolio.

On the subject of 'supplied' portfolios; ask yourself some simple questions.

1. Would any University send it's Literature or Art graduates out in to the world with 'supplied' portfolios?
2. Would a College send a Machinist out to the work force with examples of projects done collaboratively as a class?
3. Does a writer send a copy of a manuscript written by someone else to publishers - as an example of what their style of writing is?
4. Is a training company and it's instructors who tell you to use their 'supplied' photos trying to help you or help themselves? Are they conducting themselves as an institute of higher learning would?

But you want to get started in promoting yourself you say! Your eager! You want to work! Then get to work on your portfolio! There is no excuse not to take the time to create a portfolio and even less of an excuse to use photos that are not your own.

Nor is it an excuse to say that it will take too long and you'll be disheartened or your 'belief begins to wane, and frustration sets in'. This is a professional business and we are adults. If you can't financially or emotionally deal with taking the time to create a professional portfolio you are in the wrong industry. Do you know what you will be doing once you have a portfolio up and available? WAITING, GETTING DISCOURAGED, SECOND GUESSING YOURSELF....

Merchandising, property presentation, staging, no matter what you call it, is a business and it is not going to happen immediately for the vast majority. Just like the ads on TV and in magazines for weight loss programmes with amazing results, when you see comments about a stager who was successful instantly, there should be fine print saying * not typical results!

This is a tough business to be in. You will be up against adversity throughout your career. It is tough getting work when you are starting out, it is tough work...how many told you that?! (BTW, by creating your own portfolio you will learn some extremely useful skills and lessons...more on that later). There is nothing easy about being a Professional Stager. If you think you've found an easy get-rich-quick job think again. Nothing in life is that easy; remember if it seems to good to be true it is? Applies aptly to staging.

So yes, it is tough and you have to be tough and persistent. We have all had times of frustration, disappointment and thoughts of walking away. Those of us who are still here are survivors and deserve to be successful. If you have to make excuses for taking shortcuts...think again, because honey, you'll be exposed either by your own work, a former client, or local stagers trying to prevent 'short-cutters' from destroying consummer's trust in Stagers and Staging in general.

So how to get that all important portfolio:

• get at least 3 before and afters as well as some detail (close up) shots
• 3 most important rooms: kitchen, master bedroom, main bathroom - then add from there
  stage rooms in your own house (this is what most new stagers do)
• tell everyone you know about your new career...you'll be surprised how many offer their home to you
• those that you tell about your new career...will tell others...so you've helped get the word out about yourself as a stager (that's called 2 birds with one stone) you are now steps ahead of your classmates!
• clear a room out to get a 'vacant' before and after then filter out the decor to stage if for sale
• practice taking pictures - AR has tons of advice on how to get great Real Estate photographs
• carry your camera with you...you never know when you can 'work your magic'...think Home Depot and their kitchen displays...add some decor and voila! great detail shot...and you styled it yourself

Myself, I staged for friends and family as well as a room of my own in order to build my portfolio. Where they moving? No, but they were excited to see the changes I made and extremely happy to have been a part of my success. For this I can't thank them enough.

By creating your own portfolio you will garner so much useful information about yourself, staging and yourself staging! Trust me, without doing this you will be so completely lost, and by doing it...so completely ahead of your classmates who use the 'suplied' portfolio.

Here is a partial list of what I discovered about my work by building my portfolio:

• I'm a very quick shopper so I quote 1 hour per room (all bathrooms together are counted as 1 room for myself)
• To stage to the level I feel is required: a room in a starter home requires $300 per room in additional decor.
• I am extremely slow at ironing (much faster with a steamer)
• I realized just how much ironing/steaming is required...wow!
• I realized I need to learn how to install different types of wall plugs
• I learned just how important of a roll lighting plays in my before and after photos...I'm still working on this!
• I discovered my camera was not sufficient for my work
• I learned how long it takes to stage a room, multiple rooms and a whole house ON MY OWN - way too long, I'll be hiring an assistant for my vacants now that I can afford to.
• I learned how long it takes to walk through a house for consultations (then add 1 hour if the homeowners are home...they ask lots of questions)

Take a look at the most successful stagers here on Active Rain. What will you find? An enormous amount of talent, advice, support, hand slapping when required (always done with grace and caring by these stagers) and individuality. The only way any one of us can hope to get to that position is to show OUR talent, provide great advice, support and of course individuality.

So get excited at the opportunities provided by creating your portfolio and know that you are on your way to earning the respect of every stager on AR, your potential clients and your own self-respect...you'll be glad you did!

P.S. I know you can do it! So get as excited as I am and show us what YOU can do!!

Hardware - A Little Bling Never Hurt!

If you want your house to stand out among the hundreds for sale, or just want to upscale the image of your house, look at the hardware you currently have.

Hardware includes:

• door knobs


• cabinet/drawer pulls and knobs


• door bumpers


• levers


• faucets


• hinges


• push/kick plates


• hooks


• switch plates

Determine the finish (e.g. bronze, chrome, brass, iron, stainless, nickle...) that best complements the house/condo. Ideally you want the finish to be consistent throughout, although some different finishes can complement each other if not overdone.

Old pieces can be restored or purchased at architectural salvage shops, or new hardware can be purchased, the point is to make them an upgrade from the norm.

Traditional, transitional, contemporary, modern...select a style and add that bling!

Dane Caldwell, Toronto Decorator and Home Stager, specializes in Renovations and staging for Toronto Vacants preparing for resale.

2 Hounds Design + Home Staging's FEATURE HOME

During the summer we were extremely busy staging...and we thought this would be a slow summer, boy were we wrong!

Our feature home which sold in August...enjoy!