located in The Woods

269 Pathfinder Lane

Challenge:Lots of deferred maintenance and old school vibe

Solution:Fully painted inside and out, landscaped, new lighting, complete glow-up and staging

Results:$7K over asking in only eight days on market

This is sexy midcentury home in The Woods sits on a 1.7 acre wooded lot and just had some of the most amazing architectural features – that were lost in the drab paint job. Inside, the interior highlights like the exposed beams, the vaulted ceiling, the wall of windows, the custom cabinetry and the custom built-in bookcases provided a killer canvass plus the homeowner had great pieces to work with when it came time to stage.

this paint scheme all started because of the climbing clematis at the entry

finding inspiration in the natural beauty

And it all started with the purple clematis at the entry. We were struggling with how to jazz up the exterior and leverage the house’s beautiful lines. We were looking through Architectural Digest and came across this incredible house in the Hamptons that was painted this purpley-navy. It was so lush against the green of the trees and was punctuated by tall planters (also painted the same color) full of shades of purple, pink and yellow flowers. This was the first house we painted that color and we loved it so much, we painted one of our own that way soon after!

the majority of the homes we see do not have a lighting plan and typically have outdated fixtures

updating lighting can instantly update the house

This home had so many amazing architectural features: the soaring wall of windows; the exposed wood beams; the massively high vaulted ceiling punctuated by the super-tall, flat arches trimmed in natural wood and the curved, custom-built bookcases. Installing new light fixtures throughout, like the Sputnik seen here in the dining room over our client’s iconic Platner table. Not only fabulously beautiful, but the scale and the level of light possible really highlighted the architectural features and instantly modernized the presentation.

our minimalist approach to leveraging bookcases looks for opportunities to highlight sellers' collections

bookcases: adding to clutter or styled just right?

The bookcases in this home were packed to the rims with books, keepsakes, picture frames and decorative items. We assisted the seller with helping to sell, donate and pack up much of what was not going to the next house, while at the same time identifying those pieces that we would work with. Our message to sellers is to always remove as many personal items from the home as possible, because the goal is for buyers to look at your house and not your stuff! Creative minimalism is where strategy and art meet—and we think we are fairly expert at it.

in our experience, they are almost always WAY too large for the space they are in

updating ceiling fans makes a huge difference

Without fail, we walk into homes and note that ceiling fans are super dated and almost universally too large for the space they are in. Many of the houses here have small bedroom with 8-foot ceilings and have these huge 50+ inch, dark wood ceiling fans with massive light kits attached to them. In those rooms, we recommend small, tight and white! With a room like the one in this house, the high ceiling allowed for an update that brought a modern vibe more style and to the space.