Paint, install a backsplash (at the very least, behind the cooktop), and put lower cabs into that mysterious empty space next to the dish drawers.

Do you mean stage? Not remodel?

I actually like the color, but clearly not everyone does so it might be time to paint it taupe or sage.

The gap where the dog dish is located is a little confusing. Is it supposed to be a built in desk? Were you unable to find a cabinet that fit? Could you have something custom made?

It looks as though you are using your dining room as an office. I would suggest staging it as a dining room.

i loooove that color in the kitchen! but unfortunately most people won't :(.

I second the painting and backsplash suggestions.
And actually the dining room one too.
Stage it with fresh plants/flowers and perhaps something on that office/dining room window.

that is the strangest kitchen i have ever seen. why didn't you run cabinets across that entire wall? and what is with that weird low-hung cabinet with the space above?

i would definitely address the paint choice in the kitchen, as that pink/red is not a friendly color. i would also maybe put that desk against the window wall, as having it stick out into the room just makes the room look smaller.

The door, at the top, looks like it wasn,t finished properly (the wall portion). As a rule of thumb, when you want to sale, ''is to appeal to a wide range of buyers''. Hence, perhaps you find pink and purple pleasing, 'a wide range of others' may not. Plus, I'm unsure of the blue floor or carpet ?

For finishing touches, place the table parallel to the wall and window. Put a couple chairs around. Find inexpensive window treatment, that let in (a lot of light is a good selling point) but that gives a bit of privacy (or the illusion of).

The 'hole' in the kitchen is for... ? Buyers would have the same question.

You need alot more than staging...
...to get top dollar, you'll need to pull that entire DIY pink/stainless/IKEA mess out and start all over again with a cohesive design that includes matching cabinetry, neutral colors and even countertops all the way around the kitchen.

Even if you paint the walls taupe, you can expect to get few if any offers and those offers you do get will be very low ($40,000-$50,000) to factor in the inconvenience and expense of a proper and professional kitchen renovation because the buyers who still have money to buy in this market have plenty of other options out there. They'll want to rip that mess out and start all over again.

Paint the kitchen a more neutral color. Red does not appeal to everyone. People tend to either love it or hate it on the walls. Go with a lighter color that will make the space feel bigger and not so dark. And the red has kind of a pink to it which probably won't appeal to guys. People can paint, but some just won't-and it seems like it's be kind of a pain in that kitchen.

Does that dining room have dark blue carpet or is that my screen? If so, get rid of that! Even a laminate wood floor would be better. And I'd paint the white walls more of a taupe. That shade of white makes the room feel dated imo.

I know that a lot of those changes are not ''finishing'' touches, but the kitchen is missing a lot of light.

the kitchen is *also* missing a lot of light.

This is probably too late to be useful advice, but that kitchen looks really hard to cook in. Someone who's used to a standard kitchen, or who cooks regularly, would consider this reno a minus rather than a plus. Is there still time to rethink the layout?

A for effort, but...

The wall color in the kitchen is too much and the storage looks inadequate and choppy. I think you could work with what you have and add a few pieces to make it look a little more complete.

I'd definitely install a base cabinet where you appear to have dog dishes - it looks incomplete as it is. I wouldn't go for the stainless base cabinets though - they look a little homemade, which I'm not sure was the intention.

I'd get rid of the small storage accessories too - like the thing that looks like it's meant to hold dripping wet dishes that ought to be over the sink. All of that stuff looks messy.

I really think you need more cabinets, but if you're going to leave that big open space of wall, I'd put a much bigger picture there or hang floating shelves going all the way across to hold dishes (which I'd select in all one color, like white, to look neat).

As for the office? Dining room? I like it except for the blue carpet.

I'm not sure which area of Austin you live in, but the only areas you *might* be able to get away with that wall color is SoCo or East Austin. Anywhere else and you must go neutral. I don't see the stainless cabinet fronts translating into a good return for your money -- you might need new doors in some kind of wood. And you'll have to fill in the gap in the lower cabinets. With the kitchen being so small, buyers will want the maximum amount of storage.

At the very least, paint the walls a neutral color and add a white subway tile backsplash if it's in your budget. The market's slowing here so I wouldn't put a ton of money into the staging and finishing touches (beyond things like paint). Keep it really clean and make it (and the rest of the condo) generic to appeal to as many people as possible. Focus on price if you really need to sell.

Is that carpet in the kitchen? I would consider that the biggest faux-pas in that room. The color on the walls isn't a bad color, but I don't think it's the right choice for the more modern look you are going for. Go for a much lighter warm color in the red/orange/yellow range. (Cool colors can look 'unappetizing')
I think your dinning room/office looks very nice. I agree with the comment about the fresh flowers

I like the shelves suggestion - good way to break up the space but still add functionality.

I'd also take out what looks like a mini appliance garage in the corner to the right of the cooktop. Because it doesn't line up with the cab above it, it looks sloppy. It also eats up counter space.

I'm sorry to say, but I agree with the majority of comments-- the kitchen execution looks rather sloppy. I think the main culprit is that you've got too many materials and colors in such a tiny kitchen. There is the white porcelain sink, the stainless steel cabinets and frig, the melamine/frosted glass cabinets, the wood countertop, and the charcoal laminate (?) floor, all of which are highlighted against pepto bismal pink walls.

I think your best bet is to work with the cabinets-- maybe scale back the use of stainless steel by getting rid of the cabinets over the stove and installing a set that are the same height as the other cabinets and the same color (or at least the same color as the frame). Then, find a more neutral wall color that complements the flooring.

I also agree that the layout of the kitchen is confusing. The hole for the dog's bowl is not the best use of space. It looks like you are using it for storage now, so at the very least, cover the hole with a very neat, tailored curtain that matches the ultimate color scheme.

About the dining room/office: Although there were a lot of objections to the carpeting, I don't think blue carpet is the worst thing in the world. It may be more trouble and expense than its worth to pull it up and possibly have to put something down in its place. I do think you should stage the area as a dining room, which will likely mean removing the bookshelves, turning the table around, and using 4 smaller scale chairs around the table. It is a great looking office nook, but probably not the most sellable use of space.

Before you do anything else you might want to look into bringing the wiring up to code. There is a rule about how close your electrical outlets can be to the sink, and these look a bit too close.

Hi Cristina! I know you must have put alot of time and money into this major DIY remodel and I admire and commend your efforts and your keeping it sustainable!

The best way to stage your space without spending alot of money is to make the space cohesive with color and style, rearrange furniture so it opens up the flow of the rooms, edit the crap out of the stuff you have in the rooms and get any extra stuff you may need for cheap from 2nd hand and thrift stores. You have to make your home warm and inviting but TOTALLY impersonal so that the viewer can imagine themselves living there. First off, I like the little office nook. You didn't mention whether or not you have a separate dining area. If you do, leave the office nook but move the desk to face the window. You have a contemporary modern vibe to your furniture so leave the carpet (is that carpet?) if its in good condition, leave the shelf cause it looks great, hang crisp white roman blinds at the window, get a serving tray and place on it a small potted flowering plant, a pen cup with pens/pencils, a clock and a small statue or interesting artifact. Think chrome/silver, wood, white, blue or yellow when choosing items so it wont clash with your stuff. This is a nice space filler and can be easily moved for desk use. If you don't have a dining area re-purpose the desk as a dining table and get 4 chairs (hooray salvation army!) to place around. Put a nice vase with flowers or a platter with fruit as a centerpiece and hang sheer floor length curtains. Use the blue chair somewhere else in the house and consider removing the shelving unit and hang art on the wall (collage of Goodwill china perhaps???). The room will look bigger without the shelves, but if you can't move them at least change the things on the shelves to make it look like a modern take on a china hutch; as is they don't really scream "Dining Room".
As for the kitchen if you are truly on a budget paint the walls bright white to coordinate with the modern feel of the cabinetry and lighten up the space. These "stainless" cabinets only work in the right context. Get rid of that tiny picture and put up a pot rack to fill the space (metal wire grid kind would be best). In the opening under the cabinets nix the dog bowl and "stuff" and get wood from homedepot and make it into an "open shelving concept". Arrange stacked dishes or matching baskets/bins down there to keep visual clutter to a minimum. If you can splurge a little bit financially buy fun tile and install a backsplash above the stove yourself. Motar and grout are pretty inexpensive for a small project like that and you seem really handy. Or if thats not possible just lean a large piece of glass and make a great "temp" backsplash like I've seen others do on this site. Add color with a fun rug in front of the sink and a colorful earthenware vase filled with kitchen utensils on the counter BUT THATS IT. KEEP COUNTERTOPS FAIRLY BARE. Stow away the hanging dish rack and maybe put in a little shelf above the sink that you can put some herb pots on (accessorize with plants whenever you can, even if the lighting sucks it will give the illusion that the lighting isn't so bad and trick the mind into feeling comfortable... replace the plants if they die).
My last bit of advice would be to look through magazines for staging inspiration. Those designers are trying to sell those rooms for a living and even just seeing how sparse and neat the rooms look and how even the littlest things are arranged and grouped will give you a compass for how well you are editing your own space.
Good luck with the sell!

Thank you so much for all the attention to detail and effort you've given my plea. I'm so sorry for the aesthetic assault! I should never have sent this vaguely worded email and motley group of photos - always a bad idea to send something out in the midst of a panic, and worse when taking a "break" from tangling with a website gone haywire. Amazing I sent so many photos and managed to not include two entire corners of the kitchen.

Points well taken. I should defend a few products because I have a sad they're being "read" wrong:

The flooring is not carpet, and it is not blue. It's Skimstone - a hybridized cement that goes down like venetian plaster for the floor. Basically, it's stained concrete - the color is mostly grey.

The paint looks horrific in the photos and it's not. It's a clay-based paint, mineral pigmented. It's comforting and earthy, and to a person, men love it while women dislike it. Strange. It's absolutely not working next to the now super-orange beech countertops.

You've already spent so much time on this that I won't go into reasons for choices, or mishaps with induction cooktop dimensions, or cabinets awaiting installation, but I do have a specific question that I thought was obvious:

Anyone have a good idea for casings and baseboards that won't look silly near the antique vintage beam that completely dominates everything?

I love that beam, and love it even more because it camoflauges the new ceiling system that is supporting the previously collapsing second story.

Cristina--

Your explanation goes a long way - I get it now!

I looked up Skimstone - and it looks like you did a great job installing it. Was it difficult to use? Costly? How did it work for you? Any installation tips?

How was installing the Venetian plaster? Was it just like we see on HGTV?

I love that beam - and knowing that you put it in for a significant purpose makes a huge difference.

Casings and Baseboards: Have you been to your local building supply reuse center to see what they have?

The beam is definitely a positive element. And the dining room floor makes a lot more sense now.

Like bepsf mentioned, a building supply reuse center or a salvage yard would be your best bet. If you can't find anything suitable there, simple, wide baseboards may work. We have a vernacular Victorian house built around 1900 with plain, wide baseboards. They look great and are a vintage element that don't necessarily require a lot of craftsmanship to reproduce.

Not trying to be snarky, but why did you think that the casings/baseboard issue would be obvious to us?

Hi Christina, I agree with bepsf that your explanation helps understand what we're looking at - especially the bit about the cabinets awaiting installation, because I think the main problem with your kitchen is that it doesn't have any coherency and looks like a stopgap. Hopefully the last few cabinets will solve that problem.

However I would say that your place is coming across badly in photographs - and this will be a problem if you are trying to sell it and putting pictures on a website.

If the colours are nice in real life but don't come out in photos, then you should really consider repainting them to something that will do both, because without good photographs you'll have problems getting buyers to visit in real life. Perhaps if you changed the lighting (different kinds of bulbs cast different colours of light) the existing colours might come out better in pics.

Also, the blue (or grey) floor looks downright dusty in the pictures, could it be polished?

One last thing, in your dining room (which I agree, should be dressed as a dining room, with the table in the centre) the decreasing sizes of boxes on top of your shelf unit make the ceiling look very low. I think if you got rid of them it would make the space look airier.

bepsf,

Venetian plaster isn't too hard to do, although I'd imagine HGTV makes it look easier. Practice on some boards first if you can't take a class. You have to start with a smooth wall though, so helpful hint for getting rid of textures:

Mix up drywall mud with water until it's pancake mix consistency. Use a thick paint roller to get it on the wall. Scrape the excess off with a big taping knife and voila, smooth walls.

The floors in this joint are so uneven, that after seeing everyone else's place and knowing the building was going to "settle" more, I decided to just follow the undulation with the Skimstone. It was a compromise though, it's a stinky, smelly mess to get down and along with the foil doors on the Ikea unit, the least green thing in here. On the other hand, the next person won't be ripping up the floor, everyone really likes it (my neighbors are architects, photographers, and designers), and it's indeterminancy (which apparently reads like dusty blue carpet in this photo) makes this level look larger.

Helpful hints for Skimstone:

If going over a plywood subfloor, put down a layer of tile backer board. Fill the seams with concrete patch (also smelly - wear a mask). Do TWO coats of the bonding primer - keep the coats as "tight" as possible. Follow the instructions on mixing the Skimstone to the letter, mixing in the wrong order will result in ruining the material. Work in sections, but move quickly and do each coat in one go or it'll end up patchy. Lastly, if you're 40 years old, be careful with your arms (rest, ice, Aleve) - tendonitis is easy to get, and hard to heal.

Trimwork: I'm going to Re-Store first, I just couldn't decide on small and unobstrusive, or wide and chunky - and I still can't decide on light or dark. The same stuff has to run under the cabinets in the kitchen. I'd love to use distressed wood throughout, but think that'll just be too cabin-y. Our exterior is Santa Fe Pueblo, but with tin-roof awnings and modern railings. Impossible style to describe, really - but I'm in the Old West Austin Arts District on 6th - think rich hippie. We're also zoned light commercial, so many people use their places as offices.

Thanks everyone for the staging tips - after I put down the tools, I'll have a handy list for beautifying.

I'd say any space can be made much more comfortable with the infusion of some small personal items. They don't have to overwhelm or anything, but just a little something in each room can really do the trick!

Love the kitchen colors, but the floor? I read your explanation and perhaps in person it's stunning, but in the photos, it looks soiled, dirty. Sorry. As for the rest of the comments...sometimes people get out of control on this site. I'd love to see where the rudest and nastiest among them live.

As far as casings and baseboards, it really depends upon what your budget is for them; however, since your space isn't huge I wouldn't go with anything too large or it might be a bit too overwhelming. I wouldn't worry too much about the beam and the moldings except to say that it might be nice if you installed stain grade wood and stained it to match.

As for staging, clear off your refrigerator. I'm not sure what you have to the right of the stove under the cabinets, but it looks like an appliance garage wedged under there? I'd remove that. I'd also take the baskets off the top of the bookcase. Be sure to get some flowers maybe even a plant.