A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house when the doorbell rang. She wasn't expecting anyone until she opened the door and remembered. It was the photographer from AirBnB, and he was there to take pictures of her space to post on the website. We had, literally, 5 minutes while he unpacked his equipment to take her home from chaos to calm. I pulled out my favorite trick and went to work.
Using color, I created visual calm and her home immediately looked inviting.
In the bathroom: Apart from the fixtures, which you may have no control over, towels are the biggest decor choice you make in your bathroom. I quickly assessed her towel collection and pulled out all the towels that went together. Swapping out the mismatched towels for ones that went together quickly transformed the room.How to work this in your home: Whether you choose a color from the tiles, go with all white or indulge in stripes, pick an idea and stick with it for all your towels.
Result: A bathroom that always looks like it's ready for its closeup; a linen closet that feels the same.
In the bedroom: I stripped the bed and remade it, choosing all the white sheets. Though the bed wasn't perfectly made, the pile of white looked like an inviting place to crash.How to work this in your home: Like towels, your sheets, pillowcases and duvet cover are the visual focal point in this room. I'm an all white person and while some of my sheets have a pattern woven into them and some are plain, they all go together.
Result: A calmer and more inviting bedroom that looks that way even when the bed isn't made. If your home has more than one bedroom, consider picking a color or color palette for each room. That way you won't start making the bed with what you thought were the sheets for your queen bed only to open them up and discover that they're the twin sheets for your kid's room.
In the kitchen: No way was I going to have time to pull out all the dishware visible through the glass doors of the cabinets and rearrange it. Choosing white (because I knew that's the color of dishes my friend has the most of), I pulled out all the colored pottery. Though the dishes were piled in haphazardly, the piles of cups off kilter, and there were even dishes in the sink, it looked deliberate.How to work this in your home: Picking one color or color scheme has other benefits beyond cutting down on the visual clutter. Whether you chose high end china or crackled pottery, the mix of texture will look deliberate. Throw in a few colored plates for fun.
Result: Grandma's stoneware works with your Ikea, your fine china with your chunky mugs.
(Image: Emily Johnson Anderton from Raina & Robert's Modern Farmhouse)
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HEY!
How about the pictures that were taken?
Why aren't they part of this article?
I agree, I wanted to see the finished product!
Michael & The New Face: I'll check with Abby and see if her friend would agree to share them - if so, we'll do a follow up post.
Yep, I thought there'd be before and after pics too.
Great Tips!!
Neatening up my house is a constant challenge specially since I have a messy partner (whom I love very much ) and just arranging things as if they were meant to be that way and a bit of colour co-ordinating goes a long way.
And here I thought you were going to say "lower the lights." That's MY instant trick for unexpected guests. Doesn't work for a sudden photography session, I guess, but I can't say I've ever had one of those sneak up on me.
I go by the trick of "shove it all in the closet"
greenheronfarm - that's what i was thinking. but maybe this sort of thing happens all the time for them?
Where are the pictures, other than the initial one.
greenheronfarm & JaeV.--I can believe it. I almost forgot about a friends wedding once. Things happen.
Craving those light fixtures - source, anyone?
It was an Airbnb photo shoot to rent their apartment, I probably would go nuts for days organizing and styling before an appointment like that.
I just learned about a week ago that they hire professional photographers to photograph people's apartment for Airbnb. I always admired how people seemed to be able to get amazing shots of their homes and wondered if everyone but me had a high end DSLR and photography lessons behind them.
I guess this makes more sense...
Found 'em - they're the Industrial Pendant light from West Elm: http://www.westelm.com/products/industrial-pendant-w585/
Too bad they are out of the yellow.
@CARROTSTICKS, I have a sudden urge to sign up for Airbnb just to obtain some professional shots of my place...
@Akay
You know, it might not be a bad idea. Especially if you are planning on selling in the near future, or if you have a rental property that you want to put on Craigslist or something...
I'll bet you they retain full rights on the images though, in order to deter exactly what I'm talking about!
Great tips, thanks! I often use the "make neat piles of everything" trick and it's amazing how much better a room looks just to have the junk in neat, square piles. Now I've got Level 2 (color) at my disposal!
I love this kitchen; those yellow lights just "pop!"
I think all white is a little boring and why is color determined to be "messy"?
hi i have a quick tip, clean out your bookshelves, my apartment is going to be painted and i realized that i had not edited my bokshelves in two years, by simply bringing one shopping bag a day to housing works and having some clear spaces on the shelves my space looks better a charity benefits and people get new very cheap 1/2$ a piece books to enjoy, a win for everybody
She didn't say color was messy, she said that putting matching or all one color things front and center is a good way to make a disorganized home appear more organized. This person just happened to have a lot of white in their house.
The thing for me is - all these kinds of tips result in everyone having the same looking spaces. I don't want to live in a hotel room. My home is a reflection of me and my life. Ot some school of design thought.
And I have kids! Who contribute to many editing mistakes and accidental postings.
@BFERGIE13 I think her tips are about how to make a messy room look good on camera in five minutes, not on style rules for daily life. Faced with a cabinet full of mixed items, and not having the time to arrange them so that the colors all looked great together, she opted to go with all white so that she could quickly compose a great photograph, not change the renter's style permanently.
Great tips. Good post.
good tips, and don't forget to put a vintage metal sign up --it will attract attention. First think I saw was the 3 -- .
think= thing ;(
I think these are great tips, but they aren't really for an instant de-cluttering or neatening up of a place. They are tips that almost need to be implemented in advance; what if someone doesn't have all white sheets to strip the bed down to? Or has pink, purple and grey towels in their old towel stash or something?
I guess I was feeling like I was going to learn how to straighten and streamline stuff in a hurry, but a lot of this list is kind of dependent on what you have bought in the past.
Haha, when I scheduled an Airbnb photographer to shoot my place, I spent an entire weekend cleaning and arranging and stressing. I admire her relaxed approach. Here's my listing for anyone who might be curious:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/509972
Here's a second on the "neat piles" trick - tidying up a stack of stuff takes less time than finding a home for everything in a hurry.
Working with just one or two colours also works great in messy children's bedrooms. The co-ordination of colour gives hope to the room and makes it look more inviting to despairing Mammas. Cherrie
First time I have looked at AT in a couple months. Agree with Greenheronfarm. It is impossible for me to believe someone would forget a photographer was coming to shoot their home.
@Greenheronfarm, I was thinking the exact same thing. Great tips, nonetheless.
Where did you get those shelves? Been looking for something just like that.
I'll remember this the next time I have a sudden photography session in my home.
Pictures, pictures....pleaaaase
Great post!
The matching or simplified color themes makes a lot of sense to me.
Beyond that, if I had to neaten up fast for an occasion, I'd borrow my mother's old trick and shove all clutter into a big grocery bag and toss it in the closet.
Though not as bad as in the old days, I have a paper clutter tendency in common with other information junkies and organizers/volunteers in my family. I remember at one point, Mom started writing dates on those bags before she hid them in the spare room or laundry closet. But fear not, I think the most she ever got up to was three bags.(We're talking pre-Web days here.)
People coming over & I don't have time to clean up? No problem! I just throw old sheets over everything & tell everyone that the landlord suddenly decided to have the place repainted! Then it's out to the patio with a tray of cool drinks, a box of crackers, & a block of cheese! LOL!
@ WallFlowerPower- LOL! I thought I recognized you! I saaw you cleaning those pins back in our Madrid days & I thought to myself " WallFlowerPower will NEVER get those pins sparkly cleaned up until she gets some matching towels to go with them!" Yeehaw, Partner!!!
About Airbnb, it's only me who visits their website just to see nice pics of nice houses?
I was sure the answer was going to be 'Karate-chop the cushions'.
Nice sheets fix any bedroom! My favorite are Thomas Lee, which have a really nice crisp look. But seriously, does anything look better than white sheets with black bedding details. I think that color scheme fits any bedroom style, and looks so chic.
By by the way, Thomas Lee is doing some sort of giveaway for their sheets right now, its really easy to enter. I think it is at- https://www.facebook.com/thomasleeltd?sk=app_228910107186452
@bfergie13: "...why is color determined to be "messy"?
It's not, in and of itself, but in a photograph it creates cognitive dissonance. Nothing inherently wrong with that either, but the goal of airbnb photos is to make someone want to SLEEP in your home.
@SFT: Are you interested in a permanent boarder in Wicker Park? Seriously, your place looks GREAT! Have you had a lot of visitors?
I've bought nothing but white sheets and towels most of my entire life. I was burned early on with colors blotching from acne medication, so I went to white then and never returned to color. Things match even when they don't match. It's a frugal choice. I do keep two sets of neutral-colored bath towels that I restrict for overnight guests. Since I launder those as soon as they leave, I always know I have towels ready for my guests and I can locate them in a second.
All that build up and you think we're going to get to see the finished products! I won't believe it til I see it!
I use the rule I use with fashion...I stand back, look at the room then squint my eyes. Anything that overtly pops out through squinted eyes...can probably go! :)