MAYOR’S COLUMN
HOME & DESIGN
Plantation Schools Rule
Home Staging vs Interior Design
BY MAYOR LYNN STONER lantation is part of the Broward County Public School system, the nation’s sixth largest school district, and the second largest in the State of Florida. In addition to six public elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools, Plantation is home to several Charter schools, and over 30 private schools (preschool/daycare through grade 12). Plantation is also a short distance from Nova Southeastern University, Florida Atlantic University, Broward College, and McFatter Technical Center, all part of the prestigious South Florida Education Center. Within our schools, students and parents will find specialized instruction designed to serve the needs of each individual student, such as gifted, AP (Advanced Placement), and Honors classes, ESE (Exceptional Student Education) and ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) programs; NASAsanctioned explorer programs; volunteer opportunities; outstanding, nationally recognized educators; and a broad range of extracurricular activities to enhance and enrich your child’s education. Plantation public schools are some of the finest in Broward County. Seminole Middle School’s DECAL program, the International Baccalaureate Middle Years program at Plantation Middle, the International Baccalaureate at Plantation High School, and the Environmental and Everglades Restoration programs at South Plantation High School present outstanding scholarly opportunities for Plantation students. A variety of academic, athletic, artistic, technology, and cultural programs are offered at Central Park, Mirror Lake, Peters, Plantation, Plantation Park and Tropical Elementary schools. I recently met with fourth grade students from Central Park Elementary as part of “My City Government” week. They had a chance to hear firsthand, what it’s like to run a City the size of Plantation, and find out some of the rewards, and challenges, of the job.
BY NEVINE GROULX, ETHNICA DESIGNS t’s a common misconception that “Home Staging” and “Interior Decorating” are one and the same. While home staging is a type of design, it’s really different from interior decorating. Essentially home staging is temporary and generally done to sell a house or find new tenants for a rental property. Whereas interior decorating is for when a house is purchased, and the buyer wants to make it their home with décor to their liking. Home staging is all about illusion, it is the art of making a house attractive to potential buyers. When staging a home, it looks bigger, warmer, cleaner and brighter. As a seller the first thing before hiring a realtor is to hire an interior designer who can stage your home to be ready to show on the market. Staging allows you to present the house in its best light and it looks encouraging to prospective buyers so they can imagine themselves living there. Staging can also help increase the sales price and staged homes typically sell faster than unstaged homes.
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“Name some of the decisions you make that affect residents’ lives.” ~ Students “Almost everything I do on a day to day basis has some effect on residents’ lives. Most important is the budget. I work with Directors to set the budget, which determines how much is spent and on what. I present my final draft to City Council in September, and they vote to approve it.” ~ Mayor Stoner Take a good look at Plantation schools. More than ever before, students and their parents will find a comprehensive and complete suite of services available to enrich and compliment your child’s education. For more information, visit Plantation.org, or the Broward County Public Schools’ website at Browardschools.com or call one of your local schools for an individualized tour. The Office of the Commission is located at 400 NW 73rd Avenue, Plantation, 33317. To contact please call, 954-797-2221 or visit www.Plantation.org.
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Home staging process involves: ▸▸ Decluttering and depersonalizing items to create an appeal that opens buyers’ imagination. ▸▸ Rearranging or supplementing existing furniture and decor to make house up to date and on trend. ▸▸ Evaluating which repairs need to be made to improve the appeal. ▸▸ Removing personal items as family pictures to create a more generic space that buyers could imagine living in. Another important aspect of home staging is not forgetting the exterior of the home. The exterior is the first impression a buyer gets before entering a house because it will be on every app and website. So, start by power washing, clean windows, mow the lawn, plant flowers, put a welcome mat, and potted plants on the front porch, and maybe include outdoor furniture if possible. From the buyer’s point of view, occupied homes are someone else’s taste with accumulated mementos. Yet, an empty house is hard to imagine as a new home. Home staging is about making a home appeal to the largest possible audience of potential buyers. Staging is more important than ever right now because of the competitive real estate market. Your home will definitely be competing with other homes that have already been staged. So, isn’t it better to spend a few thousands of dollars on home stager than to lower your asking price tens of thousands to get it sold? Nevine Groulx for Ethnica Designs has been designing interiors for 15 years. She received her interior design certification from Smart Majority School of Design in England and has been a prominent and well-known designer in Canada for the past 15 years. She now resides permanently in South Florida and can be reached at 954-600-0401 or by email ethnicadesigns@hotmail.com. OURCITYMEDIA.COM | OUR CITY PLANTATION | JUNE 2019 29