Art in Bloom

I have been attending the Home and Garden show for many years;  it’s a nice diversion from the cold dreary winter days. Central Ohio has been blasted with snow since the New Year, record breaking snow, 30 inches in February; everyone you talk to is just done with all the snow. As you walk into the garden show the scent of all the fresh flowers makes you smile, as usual the vendor displays are so creative and beautiful. I was lucky to be able to attend the opening day of the show, specifically wanted to see the 1^st guest speaker Shane Tallant.

Designed to Sell

The show opened on February 27 the first guest speaker was Shane Tallant the host of the very popular HGTV show “Designed to Sell”. Shane’s program consisted of a short introduction about his HGTV job description; he explained the basic premise of the show which is getting a home ready to sell on a budget.  Shane pointed out do to the down economy it’s currently more challenging to get a home sold than it has been in previous years, therefore your home needs to standout. The event mainly consisted of a series of questions from the audience making it quite interesting, no boring scripts, the audience participation was lively.

Should a home be neutralized?

This was the 1^st question asked from the audience. Shane’s answer was surprising; he commented that most think that the interior of the entire home should be painted white or beige. Wrong, white or beige colors are boring; these colors don’t give warmth like earth tones do.  Shane’s opinion is to keep it simple, don’t put your energy into accent walls and faux finishes buyers will not appreciate all your hard work. A fresh coat of paint does wonders it’s the most economical way to add value to a home, use earth tone colors such as any brown tone colorations, yellow, light blue and light green.

De-clutter

Someone asked if you have very little money to get a home ready to sell what can be done to make the home more saleable.  Shane’s response was to get rid of all the clutter. The buyer wants to see all the space they can put their stuff in not all your stuff that takes up so much space. Pack away all your collections, if you have a frog collection no one wants to see 100 glass frogs in a small room.   Organizing and packing up excess items gives you a chance to thoroughly clean your home, make sure all your windows are sparkling clean, if you have a great backyard view and the windows are dirty how is a prospective buyer going to see that wonderful view.

What sells better a vacant or furnished home?

Shane’s response was most definitely a furnished home. Furniture gives warmth to a home, not many pieces are needed, and the furniture placement needs to have a nice flow.  Kitchen and bath countertops need a few accent pieces; an air mattress with a nice bed covering gives the buyer a good sense of space that a bedroom offers. Windows shouldn’t be bare, simple treatments call attention to them and softens a room.  A home needs to standout it has to be memorable to a buyer.  Shane has advised sellers on a few occasions to purchase a flat screen TV, mount it on the wall and attach a note indicating that it will remain at the home when it’s sold.

Curb appeal

Your home must look like the best one on the block. It’s a matter of perception if the exterior looks well maintained then the buyer will think that the interior will be impressive.  Give the front door and trim a new coat of paint, trim the bushes, plant flowers and make sure the walkway and driveway look good. If the curb appeal is not attractive your home will be passed by. Buyers form an opinion of a house in just a few seconds. “You want the buyer to stop and stare at your home”, and you want them to say I need to see that house.

The most common home-seller mistake

Pricing the home for what a seller wants to get rather than being realistic. Its Shane’s opinion that a home shouldn’t be priced too high it will sit on the market, there will be no interest, the price will need to be reduced and that is not good. He suggested that sellers should tour nearby homes that are for sale to get a good idea of the competition and price their home to sell accordingly.

Shane Tallant’s presentation

He likes to keep things simple, he truly enjoyed the audience participation which he feels is more personal and interactive. His presentation motto is don’t be late or want to leave early during the event he did quiz a few as to why they were late and why they were leaving before the presentation was over. Shane reinforces what every seller needs to do to get there home sold, a celebrity with credibility.

13 garden displays

After Shane’s presentation I toured all the landscaping displays which are inspired by works of art many of the displays include paintings and sculptures, the beauty of art incorporated in nature; they go together so well, with a touch of vegetable gardens added here and there. 

Description of the garden displays

• Benchmark: art deco theme with a romantic atmosphere featuring an edible garden.
• Cedarbrook: a tribute to the artwork of bees – a bee’s role in making gardens beautiful .                           
• Darby Creek: wrought iron art, a seven-tiered fountain, the garden display creates a romantic bistro.
• Evergreen Landscaping:  the art deco period is very evident in this garden display full of white and neon blue hues.
• Five Seasons Landscape:  Tiffany style windows are sprinkled within the garden display which included lilacs, hibiscus, and rhododendrons.
• M.L. Longaberger, Inc.: a chew mail-pouch tobacco hand-painted barn is a reflection of Americana art found throughout America’s countryside.
• Oakland Nurseries: a unique garden of lush plantings that includes rhododendron, dogwoods, oodles of tulip and daffodils this garden shouts spring.
• Riepenhoff Landscape: the serene garden is inspired by Claude Monet’s paintings.
• Seely’s Landscape Nursery: includes a vegetable garden, with the current economic times there has been a resurgence of backyard gardens… sculptures by a local artist Denise Romecki’ are placed throughout the garden.
• Spellacy’s Turf-Lawn: ready set art in action,  in this garden you will find nine-foot wood carved paintbrushes, a 6 foot tall crayon & pencil, giant mock tubes of paint,  which also includes a huge hanging edible basket of tomatoes, herbs and red peppers.
• Yard Solutions: the cedar pavilion and stone walkways makes this garden display very impressive.
• Warwick’s Landscaping: tall urns accent this garden full of tulips, daffodils, pansies, and hyacinths, a square garden of chives, parsley, lettuce and other veggies are incorporated within the display.
• Wood Landscape:  this garden showcases an original sculpture by David M. Morgan, a Hilliard resident, called the Galaxy, a 10-piece copper , aluminum and glass sculpture that resembles planets in the solar system.

If you want to go

Ohio Expo Center (Ohio State Fairgrounds)
717 E. 17th Ave. Columbus, Ohio

Feb 27 thru March 7, 2010