Unique Lighting-Chandeliers

I absolutely love lighting! There are so many cool and unique lighting sources out there and I truly feel that lighting can make or break a design.

When designing a space many designers like to start with lighting first and draw inspiration from there. Lighting fixtures catch the eye and if all you do is update your lighting you’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it will make in your home.

Since there are so many lighting options out there today I'm sharing some of my favorite chandeliers based on design styles.

Scandinavian - This starburst is gorgeous and will draw instant attraction from all that see it. It instantly classes up your design.

Coastal - This beauty would look amazing in any classic coastal home.

Rustic - Need a chandelier for a cabin or mountain home? This one is amazing!

Glam - This chandelier will make heads turn. Crystals, crystals and more crystals!

French Country - If this chandelier doesn't speak to the marriage of elegance and rustic that is French Country I don't know what does!

Mid-Century Modern - This fun chandelier is unique and would be an excellent fixture above a table in a mid-century mod home.

Danae Branson is an interior designer working with clients online helping them design the spaces of their dreams. For more information please checkout www.danaebransondesign.com.

Working With An Interior Designer Just Got A Whole Lot Easier!

Have you ever dreamed of working with an interior designer to refresh your home? It seems that there’s a misconception that interior designers only do new construction or home remodels, but what about smaller projects? There are some amazing interior designers out there that do take smaller projects. In fact, with technology, there is a new way to work online with a designer without them even having to come to your home. They are often called e-designers because they work entirely online.

What does an e-designer do?

Whether you need an entire home refresh or just a corner of a room, e-designers are able to assist.  They typically communicate via email, skype or phone and work with you online to create a space that you love. Depending on the e-designer who chose to work with they do offer different services. Some offer consulting services where they’ll help you choose design elements such as lighting, furniture, paint colors or décor. Others may offer mood boards and rendering services where they can show you what your finished project will look like after you’ve implemented their design ideas. Depending on the level of service you need, determines the cost of the services.

Kitchen Before - Actual Photo

Kitchen After - 3D Render

How do I find an e-designer?

Check your local listings for interior designers. Some interior designers have added e-design to their list of services. Ask friends or family if they know of anyone. Or search the web for an e-designer that you think would be great to work with.

How do I know if working with an e-designer versus an in-person designer is for me?

If you prefer to implement your own design and just need ideas and advice, e-design is for you.

If you need someone to manage the project and hire contractors to implement the design for you, then you should work with a local in-person interior designer.

Anything else I should know about e-design?

E-designers often have quicker turn around time because they do everything online. They also may be able to work with an in-home designer if you need both services and your in-home designer doesn’t offer e-design. Check with your e-designer regarding the types of products and services they offer. Some e-designers off a lot of services and other, such as myself, only offer online consultations and virtual staging.

Before Living & Dining - Actual Photo of a Vacant Listing

Before Living & Dining - Virtually Staged Listing

For more information on Danae Branson Virtual Staging & Design, please feel free to shoot me an email at bvstaging@gmail.com.

 For more information on Danae Branson Virtual Staging & Design, please feel free to shoot me an email at bvstaging@gmail.com.

The Future of Virtual Staging & Design

Right now, real estate is hot! Flipping houses is hot! Interior design is hot! As HGTV is talking over homes across the United States the real estate, construction and interior design markets are profiting from the huge success of shows like Flip or Flop, Fixer Upper and Property Brothers.

Real estate agents are working harder than ever to sell properties and part of that is having access to tools that allow prospective buyers to visualize a space as it could be. Home staging is an effective tool to make a home appear more welcoming and stylish. Today there is an alternative to home staging known as virtual staging where furniture and décor are digitally imported into the photos. Not only is this a cost-effective alternative at sometimes 90% less than physical staging, the turn around time on virtual staging is typically less than 24 hours depending on the firm you use.

Virtual home staging's success is not only due to the cost and turn around time but due to the capabilities it has to offer. With virtual staging and design you can now show your clients what a home could look like with a wall removed, a different paint color on the wall, different cabinets in the kitchen, etc.

Actual kitchen photo

[caption id="attachment_96" align="alignnone" width="1248"] 3D virtual rendering of what the kitchen could look like[/caption]

Think of how easy it would be sell a home when a prospective buyer can actually see the potential in the property. The future will be in this technology and working with professionals who can show buyers what could be.

We all know technology is a powerful tool, so use it! Consider partnering with a virtual staging and design professional as a value add to your real estate business and watch your sales grow!

Designer On Demand

There are a lot of people today who absolutely love doing their own home design. They want to create a space that's beautiful, meaningful, practical and happy. However, often times when you dive into the design of your own home you find yourself with a lot of questions. For instance, what paint color should I choose for the living room? What wall decor would look great above the sofa? What sort of lighting should I choose for the open living, kitchen and dining area? Where can I source my furniture and decor so it's fits my budget?

Those are all popular questions DIYers ask themselves and what they ask me. Are you curious about the proper way to hang curtains? Or how big the chandelier above your dining table should be? Most people don't realize it until they get started and that's why I'm here to help!

I specialize in helping people from all over the country with their design needs. You can hire me as your Designer on Demand and email me up to 5 questions per week for only $99 per week. Hire me for one week or as many weeks as you like and I will help you choose the design elements that are right for you!

While working with me you may also discover things you like that you didn't even realize. The other day while working with a client on her lighting plan she thought she liked a more industrial lighting option but after working together for a little bit I realized that she always leaned more towards lighting that was either glam or farmhouse. She didn't realize that she loved Farmhouse Glam! Knowing her design style helped her make more decisions moving forward.

If you are interested in learning more about my services, please check out my website at www.danaebransondesign.com or email me at bvstaging@gmail.com.

Design Ideas For Realtors

Selling a home isn’t always as easy as you’d like it to be especially when that home has some questionable design elements working against it.

There are tons of articles out there on staging and preparing a home for showing but the trends are changing and as more and more people are online so are the real estate and design industries.

Virtual design and staging are becoming growing trends in the industry. So what exactly are the two and how can they be used to help sell a home?

Virtual staging is where furniture is digitally imported into a photograph of the home. A virtual stager can work with a furnished or unfurnished home to give the prospective buyers a visual of what a home could look like furnished or furnished differently.

Below you will find an example of a before and after of a vacant room that has been virtually staged and a before and after of a furnished room that has been virtually staged

Virtual design is where the existing home is virtually redesigned to give prospective buyers an idea of what that home could look like if they changed paint color, cabinets, counter tops, flooring and lighting. Many buyers can’t visualize the potential a property has and having someone virtually design that potential could be a game changer in the industry of selling a home.

Below is an example of a before and after of a kitchen that has been virtually designed.

Virtual design and staging are very cost-effective ways to sell a home. Working with a reputable virtual designer and stager is always a great value-added service to your real estate business. Many people purchase a home and want to make it their own. If you offer them the opportunity to work with a virtual designer who can make their house into the home of their dreams they would be thrilled.

For more information on our virtual staging and design services please visit www.bransonvirtualstaging.com.

What is E-Design?

Creating a beautiful home has become a great obsession with HGTV and all of their fun home shows, it seems that everyone is desiring a well designed home. Most people think that you have to have thousands and thousands of dollars to work with an interior designer but what if I told you there was a much more cost-effective way? A way that you could have your DIY, your interior design and money left over for that cake so you can eat it, too.

Have you ever wondered what an e-designer is or if maybe it’s someone you’d like to work with? I created this post to help people who are curious about e-design learn a little bit more about it.

What is e-design? E-design is a simple, virtual design option offered to clients who don’t need a full service in-house interior designer.

Who most commonly works with an e-designer? It could be clients who only need minimal design help, clients who have a smaller design budget, clients who want to do the DIY route and clients who want to see what their space will look like before they pull the trigger and design it. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could see the kitchen you envisioned in your head on the computer first? Does that back splash really work with your counter tops? Does that light fixture really look great above your island? You can see everything from painted walls, to furniture, to lighting, decor and more.

If you want to participate in the design process and aren’t afraid of measuring your space, ordering items and doing the installation, while the designer puts together the look and provides you the tools to achieve it, then working with an e-designer is for you!

How to work with an e-designer? It’s simple. You can use social media or a referral from a friend to find an e-designer that would work best for you. Most clients look for an e-designer with a similar style as them or they find a designer they resonate with either on social media or someone their friend or family member has used.

Once you contact the e-designer typically they’ll have you fill out a style quiz … mine is coming soon … and then the results are emailed to you. Possible styles might be farmhouse, eclectic, modern, mid-century or coastal.

You’ll also fill out a questionnaire regarding the type of design you are looking for and your budget. Most e-designers have a few different packages you can choose from to fit your budget.

Then you’ll receive information on what the e-designer needs from you and as soon as the e-designer receives that they get started. Depending on the availability of the e-designer you choose, you may get your design back in a few days or it could be a few weeks.

Every e-designer is different in regards to communication as well. Some will do everything over email, some prefer phone and Skype. Whatever means of communication you are comfortable with, most of them accommodate.

Popular ways to use an e-designer:

1. The on-call designer - the designer is available to you when you have questions regarding your design.

2. Redesign or refresh - you get a mood board and shopping list for the room you are designing.

3. Full-service package – you may be provided mood boards, renders, floor plans and shopping lists for the area you are designing.

4. Tailored package – some e-designers let you decide what you need and create a package tailored to your needs. Any room in the house even home offices - some e-designers focus on home office spaces for work-from-home clients.

At the end of the day, working with an e-designer is a cost-effective way for a DIY lover to create the home they always dreamed of.

To learn more about my e-design services please stay tuned for news and announcements in the coming weeks! I am redesigning my website, blog and social media with e-design packages rolling out this fall.

How Does Virtual Staging Work?

Many realtors, home sellers and builders are becoming interested in how virtual staging works. Our world is online now and so it makes sense that even the interior design and home staging industries are finding their presence online.

Before I tell you exactly how virtual staging works, lets identify when virtual staging is a great option to assist in selling a home.

*The home is vacant. Virtual staging adds life to cold and empty rooms.

*The home is vacant and there isn't a budget for physical staging. Virtual staging is a cost-effective alternative to physical staging.

*The home is vacant and is too nice for your regular staging company to stage based on their furniture inventory. For example, a realtor recently hired me to virtually stage a home listed at $800,000. His regular home staging company suggested he reach out to me because they didn't feel that their furniture would suit an $800,000 home.

*The home's existing furniture or decor takes away from the home itself. I've had realtors hire me to digitally remove furniture from homes and then virtually stage the home.

How does virtual staging work?

It's really quite simple. You email me the photos of the rooms you'd like staged. We discuss the pricing and time frame when you need the photos returned. You pay for the photos and I stage them and email them back to you along with your paid invoice. Super simple, right?

Below you will find a series of before and after pictures of a recently staged home. You'll notice two of them included furniture removal.

If you haven't seen virtually staged photos already, I'm sure you will in the near future. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have at bvstaging@gmail.com or check out my website at www.bransonvirtualstaging.com.

Have a beautiful day!

Danae

The Language Of Flowers

I love plants and flowers, and love decorating both my outdoor and indoor spaces with them. Recently, I came across the Farmer’s Almanac online about the meaning of flowers. Since I like meanings of things I thought I’d write a post about it. Many flowers and other plants traditionally symbolize our feelings moods and ideas.

The symbolic language of flowers has been recognized for centuries in many countries throughout Europe and Asia. Nearly every sentiment imaginable can be expressed with flowers. Learning the symbolic meaning behind flowers became a popular pastime during the 1800s. Nearly all Victorian homes and guidebooks for deciphering the ‘language’ of flowers.

Curious about what the language of flowers is? I was too and below are several flowers and their meaning.

The orange blossom means chastity, purity and loveliness.

Red chrysanthemum means “I love you.”

Bluebells means kindness.

Peonies means bashfulness.

Rosemary means remembrance.

Tulips mean passion.

Sometimes just the colors mean things with roses, carnations, lilies and poppies.

Pink means “I’ll never forget you”.

Red is “My heart aches for you”.

Purples conveys capriciousness.

White is for the “sweet and lovely”.

Yellow expresses romantic rejection.

White violet means innocence.

Purple violet means thoughts were occupied with love.

Calla lily was means “magnificent beauty”.

A clover says “think of me”.

Pomegranate means conceit.

Aloe means bitterness.

A rose is declaring devotion.

Apple blossom shows preference.

Giving a yellow carnation to a suitor is to express disdain.

A few more rose meanings:

White rose – purity, innocence, new beginnings

Deep, dark crimson – mourning

Pink – grace and happiness

Yellow – joy and friendship

Orange – desire and enthusiasm

Lavender – love at first sight

Coral – friendship, modesty, sympathy

If you want to learn more about the meanings of flowers, please checkout Flower Meanings; The Language of Flowers in the old farmer’s almanac at https://www.almanac.com/content/flower-meanings-language-flowers.

Have a beautiful day!

Why Eco-Design?

In today’s world there is a greater focus on health, happiness and the future of our planet. Eco-friendly, green and sustainable are all words that can describe an item or a way of living that contributes to our air quality, energy conservation and decreased waste and consumption.

Many people focus on brand new and unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot of great items go to waste whether it be perfectly good cabinets, a sofa, tile or lumber. You name it and I’ve seen it in a landfill. Eco-Design is a way that recycles those perfectly good items in a design – maybe they get repurposed, reupholstered, repainted or even donated so that someone else can put them to good use. But that’s not all.

Eco-Design also focuses on indoor air quality. In my opinion, everyone should spend as much time outdoors as possible. Breathing in the fresh air, the vitamin D from the sun and being in nature boosts our endorphins and give us a better outlook on life. The reality, according to the EPA, is that we spend 90% of our time indoors. That means we are spending 90% of our time breathing in high-VOCs that are used in paints, carpets, fabrics and furniture. In Eco-Design we use zero- to low-VOC paints, floorings and furnishings.

Local manufacturers, artists and fabricators are also widely used in Eco-Design.  The further products have to travel, the more fossil fuel consumptions and emissions occur which means it’s worse for our environment. Who wants to breathe in all those chemicals? So not only does shopping local continue to keep your own communities thriving, it’s better for the environment.

Renewable resources are widely used in Eco-Design as well because they are renewable. Renewable resources may be reclaimed wood, fast growing species of wood, recycled materials or natural stone.

When you are shopping for items for your home look for stamps of approval from third-party agencies such as:

*Energy Star
*EPEAT
*Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC)
*Global Organic Textile Standar
*Good Housekeeping GREEN
*GreenGuard Environmental Institute
*Green Seal Certified
*Rainforest Alliance Certified
*WaterSense

If you’d love to have a more eco-friendly design but aren’t sure where to start you can always work with an interior designer or design consultant to come up with a plan. There are tons of amazing products out there that will help you breathe a little easier, literally!

If you are looking for an interior design consultant that can help, I help DIY clients choose what’s right for them. I can either offer e-interior design where I can show you photos of what your space could look like, I can offer mood boards and shopping lists, or I can just visit with you over the phone and offer sound interior design advice. If you are interested in learning more about my services, please feel free to contact me at bvstaging@gmail.com or 515.309.2838.

The Best Indoor Plants

Plants make people feel happy. It’s a scientific fact. I LOVE plants and put real ones and artificial ones all over my home. I’m particularly obsessed with succulents right now and have found some amazing artificial ones at local boutiques in my town.

I do love my Jade plant – it’s real and it’s spectacular. This plant requires little water and can survive in most indoor conditions. I do have it in a south facing window, so it gets some sunlight and it is thriving. This plant is also known as the friendship plant or money plant. You can easily take one of the leaves of the Jade plant, put it in dirt and grow another plant. My plant started as a leaf off my mother’s Jade plant. I’m currently growing a few more in a separate pot for my kids to put in their bedrooms and I also gave some to my best friend. They are the easiest to grow and split.

Other wonderful indoor plants that are hard to kill would be the African Violet. It thrives best in moist soil with good drainage, so plant it in a pot containing the moisture holding soil. This plant loves indirect light, so it doesn’t need to be sitting in a window, just near one.

Peperomia is a waxy plant that does best in humid environments and thrives under florescent lights. It makes a great office plant.

This Air Plant grows without dirt all together! Just soak it in water for 2-3 hours every 10 days (you may need to put this in your calendar).

Peace Lilies are a plant that I managed to keep alive for years. The leaves wilt to tell you when they need watering. According to NASA, these plants are great at filtering toxins out of the air.

This is a gorgeous plant and I’ve decided I need one. Bromeliad produces side shoots that will replace the original plant. This plant loves 70-degree temperatures which make it the perfect indoor plant.

These gorgeous orchids do just fine with a watering once a week or every week and a half. They are a forgiving plant that loves low light.

Philodendrons love to be on the dry side … score! Don’t water them more than once per week and they prefer low light.

Pothos can survive low light and irregular watering. This leafy vine can grow a 10-foot trail indoors.

The king of indestructible plants is the ZZ plant. This guy can tolerate drought, low light and low humidity.

Mother-in-law’s Tongue can go an entire month without water. I need one of these! It’s also nicknamed a snake plant.

There you have it! 11 indoor plants that are hard to kill. I tried to avoid listing any plants that were toxic to children or pets but before purchasing any indoor plant it is always best to double check! These gorgeous plants will bring you joy for years to come.

Danae Branson is the Founder of Danae Branson Design - an e-interior design company that provides e-design services to client looking for eco-friendly, happy and healthy design. She is also the owner of Branson Virtual Staging providing virtual staging services to realtors, builders and home sellers at www.bransonvirtualstaging.com.