Bereniek: nother interesting article: "According to a report by the Christian Science Monitor, March 2006, staged homes sell for 7.4 percent more and twice as fast." Here is a link that might be useful: Home Staging Your Vacant House Actually that article is of no interest because the woman appears to be a stager of sorts. The CSM article may be promising. Hopefully I can view the article and determine the source data. I wish the first article didn't rely so heavily on home builders and marketers. They have an definite monetary interest in their provided data. I think what I need to search out is the raw, unbiased data of a marketer. But then I wonder if the marketer can be unbiased if they are trying to sell a marketing strategy? And, I wonder if it would be obtainable? It is a quandary. Thanks for some leads, Berniek. I appreciate the effort.

Interesting question, melle. Is something like a piece of furniture dated because it's older, or is it dated because it's no longer trendy? Some would consider updating a Tuscan-style stone backsplash with white subway tiles would be an update, but that Tuscan-style stone backsplash itself may have replaced a plain white subway tile backsplash from the 1920s. Same with the 1920s hex tiles on the bathroom floor in the apartment I grew up in -- in the seventies they weren't popular or trendy, but in another several decades they certainly were : ) . I think a lot of what's considered dated or updated is the result of trends, and they're cyclical. If you wait long enough, things that are out will come back into style, and anything in style now will go out. One thing to consider is a person's tolerance for living with items that all of a sudden are considered -- arbitrarily and by external forces such as shelter magazine editors (admittedly not as much of a force as they were previously), the powers that be at Pantone and HGTV, and the groundswell (organic or not) of Pinterest followers all of sudden consumed by Joanna Gaines's farmhouse modern aesthetic -- "out" and dated. And a person's willingness to replace those so-called dated items with the so-called updated, hot, and trendy items suggested by manufacturers, trade associations, media, and social media. There's also the homeowner's personality. Some, and it seems to be a growing number, are influenced by the latest trends, however arbitrary. Others have a style they like regardless of trend. And while I am definitely in the second camp, for better or worse, some in that group can tend toward more "fussy" interiors, and this can be seen at various levels of interior design, high and low. To me the most visible form of this is valances and other ornate window treatments (pelmets, swags, etc), instead of just simple curtain panels; though occasionally a less fussy version of a valance can look great.

I told them I didn't want it to look worn and need fluffing so I got what they recommended, I dont remember but im pretty sure it's not completely down, the chair cushions are holding up very well, not looking worn etc. The back cushions could use fluffing here and there but nothing that bothers me at all. I got the performance velvet, and a tweed for the ottomans, it's held up great in the last 3 years, looks new. I clean it with their recommended product. Not expensive, got it on Amazon.

I have those identical outdoor lights by the doors, lol. I like them alot, though it's so weird to see a light with no bulb-like bulb. I put my house numbers underneath them, and the light didn't look as small. I'm looking at the plan..... Are you on the verge of the "aging in place" years? Your bathroom is too small if you are IMO. It's 5x8 or so? The shower is roll-in? IMO make the LR a foot smaller, and make the bathroom a foot wider. Has this building design been appraised for financing? IME this design (when I tried it) was hard to get appraised at or above the cost of construction. And now lumber prices have gone through the roof. Do you have a utility room somewhere in the plan? Like for a WD, air exchanger, hot water supply, electric box, solar hookup, electric backup batteries, etc.? I'd have done Tesla batteries in a heartbeat (my state has a HUGE incentive), but I simply don't have the wall space! I did have them increase capacity to the electric box and run an empty conduit in case I ever want to charge an electric car. I guess my thought about all this is to plan now for alternative energy, sustainability, etc., because power in houses is heading into alternativity FAST! Retro-fitting will be expensive.