Hot interior design trend

We’ve seen the barn door concept as illustrated above popping up in remodeled homes and newly built modern homes more and more and people are in love with the concept. It is not only functional as you can block off an entire room with one door then open it up easily, but the footprint is smaller than a traditional door, and unlike pocket doors, no construction is required. We are seeing barn doors inside made of reclaimed barn wood, glass, metal, and on a recent modern home tour, we saw an old 7-up sign being used as a full sized barn door which was extremely clever.

Below is a photo gallery of some gorgeous interior barn doors that show the variety of designs and installation methods. It’s a great idea for a variety of room types, helpful for people spicing up their old home to sell or for those moving into a new home, or simply for someone looking to make a huge impact without blowing their budget. Think outside of the box and keep your eyes out for creative items that are flat and oversized that could be mounted as a sliding barn style door!

Inspirational photo gallery

If you cannot see the photo gallery above, click here to directly visit the gallery. Let us know in the comments where you’ve seen barn doors inside and which of the above photos is your favorite!

The often neglected exterior

Often, when we move into a new home, our focus is on the interior- the walls, the furniture, the accessories, and many of us never make it to the exterior because hey, we’re never there and it already looks okay.

“Fences and gates don’t have to be merely functional,” says Rebekah Zaveloff, owner and principal designer of KitchenLab, co-founder of DesignInABag.com. “They are wonderful ways to define your property or to provide structure for garden plants to grow up against. And they can be as interesting as the plants surrounding them.”

We love whimsical gates that hint that perhaps beyond that gate is a lush garden or an eclectic bench that begs for you to come sit on it with a friend over coffee. Chain link fences make us sad and make us think of a puppy that is pouting because it has been chained up on a short leash. Wooden fences with clever features like chalkboard paint make us happy and make us think of children playing freeze tag and getting ice cream on their shirts on the fourth of July. So maybe those are exaggerations, but the point is that a fence or gate makes a big impact on a yard (hint, hint, home sellers and real estate pros).

Inspirational photo gallery:

Click here to view the photo gallery if you cannot see the embedded gallery above.

Cost effective method to stage vacant listings

In a down economy, small business owners are looking for ways to save money. Some local Realtors spend big money on renting furniture for staging vacant listings, but an environmentally friendly and more cost effective staging tool is available in the form of cardboard-constructed reusable furniture. It’s sturdy, can be sat on, and helps buyers easily identify the purpose of a room and are not distracted by an inability to gauge size.

Not only for staging professionals, NextStageFurniture.com offers “lightweight corrugated cardboard structures designed for easy transport and simple assembly with no tools required,” made of 75 percent recycled materials. For naysayers, the company notes that most of their products can withstand 1,000 pounds, and we would note that there is a rise in popularity of corrugated cardboard furniture in chic offices and urban lofts, many of which are used as artistic, minimalistic statements without slipcovers.

NextStageFurniture.com features and benefits

Next Stage offers slipcovers that are high quality upholstery and one of the biggest benefits we see is that the corrugated cardboard furniture can be carried by one person and doesn’t require movers or extra staff, thus saving even more money. But what about when it rains while I’m unloading, you ask? The pieces come in a black, weatherpoof bag for transportation to protect from the elements.

For agents who can only realistically afford one or two sets, the furniture is perfect for vacant listings during a photo shoot to give a room more purpose rather than photographing a bare room. Staging professionals gain the biggest benefit from cardboard furniture, but photographers and real estate professionals should also be considering how temporary staging furniture that they can install themselves saves time and money and adds visual interest, ultimately increasing the chances of a faster sale.

AGBeat is not affiliated with Next Stage.