I'm looking for some new creative ideas for mini models or Moveable pizazz for my vacant units. If you've come up with something inexpensive and great please share
First, decide on a color scheme. My is usually dictated by the biggest thing I can get with color on it for a great price (bathroom or kitchen rugs).
Once I have the color scheme, I buy the biggest laundry basket I can find. Not only is it a good display, but you can carry your mini-model items in it.
Buy a can of spray paint to match your color scheme and head to Goodwill or any thrift shop. Find items with texture that will look good painted (votive candle holders, bowls) and use flameless votive candles
They also have coffee pots for less than $5 or ask for one that doesn't work.
Get good towels for bath and kitchen, bathroom sets are best.
Don't forget the plug ins!
I have also called a local computer repairs shop and gotten a computer monitor and keyboard for staging. I put it on the floor next to a fake ficus tree and big pillow in the living room corner.
I spent a total of $75 on my last mini model for kitchen and bathroom stuff.
I like to have good looking fake plants in my mini models, along with a set of coffee cups or wine glasses. Sometimes we'll put soap dishes, or towels, in kitchens and bathrooms. It's just enough to give it a little extra, but not so much that it's a pain in the butt to carry from one apartment to the next.
I love doing mini models. I try to come up with a theme, like if its February I may use a romantic theme, something like red table settings on the breakfast bar with wine glasses and some roses, and carry that theme to the bathroom. I usually concentrate on the kitchens, and bathrooms, since they are so easy to spruce up, and depending on the length of time that apartment has been on the market I might even include the items as a rental bonus. I've done some art work on the walls, and a welcome wreath on the front door. I've also done a teddy bear themed once where I put teddy bears in the tub having a balloon bubble bath and put them in the living room having a picnic. Very cheesy but it's cute.
I take a sheet, or a nice blanket that looks homey & fold the sides in to the size of a full or queen bed, whatever works well for your room size & a pillow or two at the top. They can picture how they're size of bed would fit into the room & see how much furniture would fit in the other areas. Since we don't have an overhead light in the BR, I plug a lamp into the receptacle that is controlled by the wall switch so that I can turn that on as soon as I come into the room to show it. A couple of magazines to the side are a nice touch. I also have a picture frame on the wall (use a small nail or Command strip hooks so there's no repair needed at M/I) that says something like "you'll love it here so much you'll dream of us".
Another frame in the LR says something like "Picture yourself living here".
A simple card table w/ 2 chairs covered by a tablecloth is great for the dining space & is easy to move & store when not in use.
An inexpensive shower curtain is also a nice touch. It softens the look in the bathroom & gives the space color