making it pretty {staging a home}.

Two years ago, almost exactly, I was getting our previous house ready to sell. I put away all personal pictures, hung up some extra mirrors to reflect more light, and packed away "extra" stuff around the house. I didn't want it to look empty, but I also didn't want any clutter, I figured buyers wanted to be able to picture themselves in the house not see how cute my kids are (even though, I firmly believe they could help sell the place. Ha!) We ended up selling that house in less than two months and had 15 showings in a month and a half.

Here I am, doing it again, to our second home. Except this time I have two kids and a part-time job. Which makes things a whee bit more challenging, but we are doing it. Or at least attempting it [in a housing-market recession, no less].

We bought this house two years ago, knowing that in two years, we would put it on the market. It was like a long-term flip house for us. I absolutely love the style of this little 1930's bungalow we live in. It is charming, has a good yard (for being in the city), and about five-ten minutes to everything. If it wasn't an investment property, I could see ourselves here. But, we trust God has a different house for us. [In fact, we found one we love, so we are praying this one sells quickly so we can put an offer in on it.]

I thought it would be fun to share the pictures I have been taking, that the realtor will be using. I took down a lot of decor to simplify things, so this isn't exactly what my home looks like on a daily basis. [Especially this clean!] Keep in mind, this is two years into the making. It used to be dirty, gross, with practically no kitchen or bathroom. We have done so.so.so.very.much to this place.

And now, my very favorite room of the house-- the kitchen and dining area!

 So there it is, our sweet little home we are trying to sell. There has been a lot of love and hardwork poured into this place! Tomorrow I will share some outside pictures, as they saying goes, first impressions can make it or break it!