Enjoy Outdoor Spaces

The purchase of your long-dreamed-of second home at Lake Oconee is just the first step.  Staging your new lake house, and making it your own, is the second step.  Home staging is not just to prepare a house to sell, it is also useful to help personalize that new home after the purchase.  Staging a new home does not have to be a very expensive project, or require a decorator’s help to execute .  This is your chance to get away from the antiques and formal window treatments that may define your primary home in the city, and set your more relaxed and creative self free.  I have collected some staging ideas from my readings, and from my experience viewing homes in the Lake Oconee area.  Following are some ideas that may help the new owner to make that lake home a cozy get-away place.

Let the View be the Focus

Let the View be the Window Treatment

Let the beautiful Lake or Woods view be visible the minute one walks in the door.  Don’t let heavy window treatments or furniture block the eye from seeing the view to the outdoors .  If the home you have bought has heavy draperies, take them down and let the light flow in!  Don’t let large furniture block the eye from seeing that lake or wooded beauty.  The outdoors should be the focal point for this room.

Use Neutral Colors

Neutral colors provide a soothing background, and also promote the view to the outdoors.  The current popular hues for lakeside decor are the blues and the grays.  These colors also extend the idea of  water to the interior, and allow inhabitants to really relax.  Let the accessories provide a few pops of color in the decor.

The new neutrals, blue and gray

Provide Large Dining Areas

As many Lake Oconee home owners often host friends or family in their homes, the trend is to create large indoor and/or outdoor eating areas.  Instead of having a separate, formal dining room, provide a large informal table that can seat 12-16 people.  The style of the table should be casual, one that accommodates even the youngest of guests.  Outdoor cooking and eating are also popular on the Lake Oconee lakeside.

Use Plenty of Wood

Wood Elements Extend the Natural Feel

To continue the relaxed, natural theme inside a home,  Lake Oconee homeowners  often make use of many design elements of wood.  Wood can be used in beams, floors, mantles and cabinetry.  More creative wood ideas are to create new wainscoting of bead board, put planks on the ceilings, or to buy rustic-styled furniture for the decor.  If the home you buy already contains older dark wood paneling or cabinets, either paint them with a lighter color, or stain them with a translucent gray stain to let the texture and grain show.

Accent with Nautical Accessories

Use Nautical Accent

Nautical accessories are a fun and casual way to put accents in your Lake Oconee Home.   Do remember, though, to not overdo it.  Keep a look-out for used oars; they look good arranged over a bed, or propped up in a corner as pictured here.  Other nautical accent features are ropes used as railing, or fishing gear such as nets or creels attached to the walls.  Simple paintings of boats are effective to add to the theme.

One other often used idea at a Lake Oconee Home is to have a large “grandchild bedroom”.  A large room filled with sets of bunk beds or single beds make children love to come visit the lake.

Make it easy on yourself, use popular catalogs and online shopping sites to order casual light fixtures and accessories.

Now is the time to buy a home in the Lake Oconee area, so you can create your own lakeside get-away.  The prices are low, and so are the loan rates.

For more information about Homes for Sale in the Lake Oconee Area, call Suzie (706-347-1115) or Jim (706-453-6253) Through our Multiple Listing Service, we have the key to any home for sale.

RE/MAX Lake Oconee Agents Realty  706-454-7777