As if moving wasn't stressful enough, moving with pets can add a whole new layer of stress and concern to the process. There's a lot to think about in terms of safety, comfort, and fear with animals while moving. Here are 23 tips to help you help your cat or dog before, during, and after a move.

Picking a paint color is one of the toughest design decisions because walls are like a blank canvas that set the tone of your living space. Color has the ability to transform the look of a room, making it seem larger or smaller, and can be the perfect backdrop for your furniture and decor. 

Choosing the right paint color for any room in your home doesn't have to be a difficult decision. Here are some tips and points to consider when painting the walls in your home.

Blue is typically considered a calming color that promotes relaxation, and is well suited for bedrooms and bathrooms. Some blues can come across as too stark and cool, so if you choose a light blue as the main color in a room, make sure to balance it with other warm hues throughout the space. 

Warmer blues can be great for areas where a lot of socializing occurs, like living rooms or family rooms. Try choosing a soft shade of turquoise or periwinkle for these spaces.

Neutrals such as black, gray, white, and brown are very flexible and make a great backdrop for colorful furniture and decor. Adding color to neutrals via decorative accents makes a room feel lively, while keeping only neutral colors in a room tends to make it feel calm. 

As the most intense color, red can really pump up the energy level of a room. It's a wonderful color choice for a living room or dining room because people generally gather together in these areas.

It's also a good pick for an entryway if you want to make a bold first impression. Red is often considered too stimulating for a bedroom, but if you're only planning to be in the room while it is dark outside, the color can seem elegant and intimate. 

Orange is the perfect color for an exercise room because it brings forth feelings of excitement and can increase energy levels. It may be a bit bright for a bedroom or living room, but is perfect in any space that needs an infusion of energy.

When seen in dark shades, purple evokes a sense of drama and sophistication, while lighter shades bring a restful quality to a room. Bedrooms and bathrooms that are painted purple can bring forth feelings of luxury or peace depending on the shade and tone.

Yellow is known as a happy, joyful color. Because of its cheeriness, it's great in kitchens, offices, and dining rooms and can even make hallways, entries, and other small spaces feel inviting and expansive. 

Green is a great color for almost any room in a home because it combines the joy of yellow and the serenity of blue. Green can cool down a room and promote rest and relaxation while also providing enough warmth to stimulate gathering spaces like living rooms.

If you talk to most people looking to buy a home, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms. It's where people congregate, cook, and share their lives. Kitchens are often what makes or breaks a potential buyer's opinion of a home and are a major selling point. Kitchens can be expensive to remodel, but these four tips will help you beautifully stage and update your kitchen in a snap.

Clean the kitchen from top to bottom, until it sparkles. Start up high, by dusting light fixtures and ceiling fans, wiping down walls and windows, scrubbing countertops, wiping out drawers, cleaning the sink, and polishing hardware and appliances. Work your way down to the cabinets and give them a good scrub, inside and out, wipe down the baseboards, and clean the floors. 

First and foremost, clear off your countertops. Remove unnecessary appliances such as blenders and toasters and store them in a cabinet. Because buyers tend to love kitchens with ample counter space, consider only having a few decor pieces on your countertops. Next, clear out and organize all drawers, cabinets, and pantries. The more you remove and declutter, the more storage space you're showing to buyers. Make sure to remove magnets from the refrigerator and toss old or expired food items in your pantry or cupboards. If you kitchen is decluttered and organized, it will seem bigger.

Consider making some inexpensive but impactful updates such as replacing cabinet hardware, buying new chairs for the kitchen table, purchasing a new faucet, painting the walls, ceiling, and cabinets, and replacing outdated light figures.

After cleaning, organizing, and updating, it's time for some fun! Adding in a bit of flair in the form of decor and accessories can take a kitchen from stark and bare to open house ready. Use your nicest dishes and placemats to set the table, as this helps buyers imagine themselves eating there. Next, accessorize with decor items that make sense in a kitchen, such as a few jars of dried beans and pasta grouped together, a candle or two, a cookbook opened on a stand or in a basket, a bowl filled with fruit, or a vase with fresh flowers. The key is to add in a few pops of color and personality without overdoing it. 

There you have it, those are our top four kitchen staging tips to help potantial buyers fall in love with your kitchen! If you want to learn more about home staging, check out our post titled 52 Home Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Home Fast.