Debra Brodhecker's (housedressing) Blog

  Make every day Earth Day, even Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  These tips are good for the environment and your wallet. 1.  Put less packaging on your gifts.  Re-use wrapping paper, the comics, or magazines. Re-use cardboard boxes and packing peanuts. 2.  Send e-cards or tree free cards using...

A frequent buyer request is an open floor plan.  But often an open plan without furniture leaves a potential buyer wondering how to use the space--it's too much of a good thing. In Sussex County, NJ we have many beautiful lakes surrounded by homes that were originally built as Summer and weekend ...

The Holidays are coming and what is a home seller to do? Decorate or not?  The answer is --it depends.  If the street is one of those with every house out decorating the next an undecorated house will look out of place.  Walking into a house during the holidays without any decoration can also fee...

My daughter recently bought a 90 year old twin in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia and every flat surface was wallpapered!  The Wagner Xtra Power Steamer has been the best tool for removing all types of wallpaper and multiple layers of wallpaper.  I first looked in to renting a commerc...

The key to having good photos for a web site or other marketing materials is to take lots of photos--a cheap easy thing to do in the age of digital photography.Here are are some photos of staged rooms that didn't make it onto a web site or promotional flyer. But these "extra" photos are perfect ...

This client's kitchen had everything buyers are looking for--granite countertops, stainless steel appliances an island, and it was open to the family room and deck. But it was difficult to see the great features in the photos and almost as difficult to see them in person. Because the kitchen was ...

The long Columbus Day weekend and peak Fall foliage in Sussex County, NJ generally coincide.  The beautiful colors always inspire me to take lots of photos--and wish the photos I had taken were better.  Below are some tips gleaned from experts, the internet and my own experience. Put the camera i...

Opening a decorating newsletter this week I saw the headline, Orange is the New Beige, a favorite shelter magazine recently featured orange and suggested how to use it in home decorating.  Coincidentally, I was having Benjamin Moore Citrus Mist paint mixed at the local paint store and the woman s...

Recently two homeowners took my consultation report and followed it almost completely to the letter.  Betty Haneys's recent blog questioned whether sellers follow our suggestions so I though I'd share what happens when clients are motivated and equipped with a detailed staging report.  Sometimes ...

  About 10 years ago we bought a new (for us) house and rather than sell the old house we use it as a rental. Our tenants recently moved out and we decided it was time to update and redecorate.  When we bought the old house in the late eighties my husband had just left the military and this was t...