The housing market is a hot topic these days – with high interest rates and low inventory it feels like the ‘perfect’ house is just out of reach. Our industry is seeing an increased number of homeowners looking for design services for homes they just don’t love. Due to current high prices and interest rates families are opting to stay put until the market cools off. Does this sound familiar? Good news! A designer can help you love the home you have, even if you can’t get the one you want.
We’ve received a rise in calls from clients looking to make small renovations to homes that, “really aren’t our taste, but will be a neutral change for resale in a couple years.” These types of Band Aid fixes leave clients in the same home, but with a few less pennies, staring at all gray kitchens and bathrooms. There is another solution that allows you to invest in your home happiness right now and carries into your future when you’re ready to move. Furnishings!
Michelle Gage Interiors helps clients invest in high quality, multi-functional, heirloom furnishings that make them happy now and in that ‘forever’ home. We’ve written about it before, but trends are telling us it’s worth saying again for those in the back row – you can make impactful updates to your home without renovating!
Here are MGI’s top two ways a designer can help you invest in your current and future home – without renovating.
1. FLOOR PLAN REFRESH
A fresh pair of expert eyes can bring new life to a tired floor plan. With years of combined on the job expertise and schooling, the MGI team can take a space that feels unusable and turn it into a multi-functional oasis for your family.
Before and after floor plans of the Match Point Parlour in Ardmore
Our Match Point Parlour in Ardmore is a perfect example of extracting potential out of a challenging layout. The original sitting room was a combination of furniture that worked in previous homes but failed to meet the needs of a growing family. The beautiful adjacent dining room and parlour was full of natural light, but hard to layout due to numerous doorways and windows.
The MGI team examined how the family lived and what they needed out of the two spaces. By swapping the rooms, the sitting room became a show-stopping dining room for twelve. The clients invested in an heirloom quality dining table and chairs that will remain in the family for generations. We also added a wall of custom built-ins that feel original to the home. This small update added value and needed functionality to this room.
Two facing sofas are grounded in the center of the space, framed by the stunning arched windows.
The family loved game night and we provided them with a designated spot to pass go and get their puzzle on.
We embraced the length of the former dining and sitting room and utilized the doorways and windows to act as intentional space dividers. This once awkward, large space became a multi-purpose haven. The thoughtful placement of area rugs and furnishings created intentional-use zones, providing the family with designated areas for game playing, office work and family hangs. As their needs change over the years, the furniture can be arranged and adjusted to fit the era they are in.
2. QUALITY FURNISHINGS
Notice anything familiar in our Pretty Lively Penthouse Loft in Philadelphia and Crown Jewel of East Passyunk projects?
Luxurious green velvet armchairs, a unique credenza and one-of-a-kind art piece translate flawlessly from downtown Philadelphia to Passyunk.
This high-ceiling downtown loft and historic home on the outskirts of the city are properties owned by the same fantastic client in different stages of their life.
We started in the downtown loft, specifying high quality furniture, lighting and art that lasted years before moving with them to their Passyunk home. MGI has established relationships with amazing to-the-trade only partners that make furnishings that can withstand years of use and handle numerous moves. By investing in pieces with solid wood frames and eight-way hand tied support systems, the client had furniture that could be reupholstered to fit their evolving tastes.
Unlike with renovations, they have been able to enjoy their furniture investments from home to home. The MGI team ensured each piece fit in seamlessly at both locations by making minor tweaks to accent pillows, paint and wallpaper – non-renovation changes we LOVE to incorporate.
Whether you’re in love with your house and stumped on how to lay it out or waiting out the current housing market, Michelle Gage Interiors can help you fall in love with the space you’re in. Ready to get designing? Reach out to us here and check out all our inspiring content on Instagram and Pinterest.