The success of home staging and other cosmetic make-overs, seems to indicate that buyers viewing a property may not know how to look beyond the surface to visualize their own lives and taste superimposed on someone else's personal space. Buyers may benefit from making a conscious effort to strengthen their visioning ability since the acquired skill of productive home viewing forms the basis for the significant financial decision -- to buy or not to buy.

The most important advantage in home buying lies in working from a clear personal definition of "home," not just the current "in" design dictates. As owners, buyers will live through many fashion waves. (Down the road, granite counters may prove to be the new shag rugs.) It's the "bones" -- the space and architectural elements -- of a house or condominium that really matter, not superficial and temporary elements like paint, furniture and decor.

Among the strategies that transform simply "seeing a house" into "investigating potential from the buyer's viewpoint" are the use of hands-on experiences like the Old Cabbagetown Annual Tour of Homes & Gardens. This tour, and others like it, allow consumers behind the front doors of homes that have proven themselves to be well adapted to the families that own them.

Home tours, popular in communities from Halifax to Vancouver, offer an insider view of how people who really love their homes and communities carve out functional, people-friendly environments from available physical space. These tours are not just about amazing decor. They emphasize the ingenuity of owners who, instead of being beaten by square-footage or an architectural challenge, find seemingly-endless ways to adapt their houses and condominiums to their personal needs and lifestyles, without compromising what is really important to them. The Old Cabbagetown Tour of Homes & Gardens, often celebrated for its contrasts of ultra modern and restored Victoria interiors, offers inspiringly-practical examples of how to maximize space and how to think outside the box of 19th and 20th Century room layouts.

"People have had to be very clever when they move into this neighbourhood," said Helen Coltrinari, a member of the Tour Organizing Committee, which selects the magic mix of grand Victorians and tiny cottages, loving restorations and modernized stunners that showcases owner innovation. "For owners, it is 'How can we use the whole space?' We try and show people on the Tour that this is history being lived in ... . If people see something that is unusual or to their liking, they want to be able to contact the contractor. We feed off each other a lot and I think that is what renovation is all about."

Over its 29 years, the September Tour has welcomed well over 30,000 visitors through Cabbagetown doors. Tour proceeds help fund local community-enrichment groups such as the Cabbagetown Preservation Association.

If tour visitors enter a home so different from their own that they remark, "I would never want to live here," Coltrinari explains that they are gently reminded that they don't live there, and that the owners are sharing their adventure in creating their own unique personal environment, not neutralized, ready-to-sell real estate. Each property is celebrated as a snapshot of the family's ongoing love affair with its home.

Taking a home tour can help buyers learn to identify a property's distinctive features -- bonuses and challenges. When it's time to house hunt, buyers then have some experience imagining rooms with different functions, furnishings and colour schemes. For instance, two adjacent Victorian row houses, with almost identical exteriors, delighted this year's Tour visitors with the contrast between the antique-filled classic and its mirrored, modernized "twin." Same space, different visions and a wonderful, practical demonstration of imagination.

Cabbagetown Tour properties can be excellent examples of approaching space from different perspectives to help buyers appreciate true potential and the power of win-win design compromises.

"In an era when most homes have three or four bedrooms, our house is not grand, but it is a unique and interesting property, " said Tour participant Beverly Conquest, co-owner of a Georgian-style, one-bedroom cottage which ingeniously and comfortably houses her family of four. "What people have done about their homes is not always grand, but it is interesting -- baseboards, original hinges, an old bath that came with the house, interesting features and details."

Among the "interesting" features of their fascinating, deep-lot, 1860 home, is the under-the-eaves space which has been transformed into a colourful, amusing play and sleeping environment for the two children.

Experience teaches us how to go beyond "making do" to become adept at adapting space to our individual likes, dislikes and sense of proportion. The more a buyer knows about how to modify space, accommodate function and gain by compromise the more proficient a buyer becomes at seeing beyond cosmetic failings or hype to evaluate long-lasting value.

Mentally moving into a potential property is a valuable way to consider the fit. Committed Tour homeowner Julie White did not hesitate when asked what the main attraction of their current 1857 home was on first viewing seven years ago: "The front porch -- we visualized having one of those sliding porch chairs with a squeak, people going by and grandchildren running around this big family house."

That is precisely how the family has lived in their double veranda, Georgian-style restored beauty.

"I don't think a 'perfect place' has to do with size or fixtures," said White. "It has to do with putting your heart into it and being happy having your own home. That is very important. "

When you view a potential home, what are you looking for? What are you looking at? Which visions does the property conjure up in its current state? Can you visualize it transformed into your personal space?

Published: September 25, 2007

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Strategist and Futurist is The Catalyst -- intent on "Helping The Best Get Better." An internationally-recognized "new retirement" authority, PJ's research, writing and speaking programs focus on decisions Baby Boomers face to achieve a successful future. Author of 6 books, PJ knows that, since home is headquarters for the "new retirement," professionals and consumers need relevant knowledge and insights, along with solid decision-making skills, to protect and enhance this private oasis. As The Catalyst, PJ provides strategic communication, client appreciation and advanced education services to the financial, tourism, lifestyle and service sectors -- and the clients they serve. A frequently quoted financial and business commentator, PJ is a thought-provoking strategic speaker who offers practical, real-life suggestions on leaving "the box" behind and embracing Forward Thinking -- a talent she regularly demonstrates in this column. For more, visit TheCatalyst.com.