Staging a Vacant Home in Atlanta

This morning, before I headed out to stage this newly constructed vacant home, I managed to post a teaser blog with before pictures. What I didn't tell anyone is that we were under a very tight deadline. I needed to have the home staged and ready for the agent by noon for her Tuesday Caravan. 

We left at 8:30 and arrived at 9:30. We had 2 and a half hours to finish this home.  Here's what we staged:  Living room; kitchen, powder room, dining room, master bedroom and master bathroom.

So, did we manage to meet the deadline?  You bet!  We finished the staging by 11:00.  I brought one assistant and together we made it happen. My company motto has always been that we make the process easy.  Today, I proved it.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Our vacant home stagings take cold and vacant houses and turn them into warm and inviting homes.  For further information on staging your vacant home, visit our blog at Atlanta Home Staging Info.com

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392.

Vacant Home Staging in Atlanta

Soon, I'll be on my way to home stage the following home in Atlanta. This newly constructed home is lovely on the outside.  As for the inside, prospective buyers are having a difficult time understanding how best to use the space.  Here are the before pictures:

Here's the view from the other angle:

I've gone ahead and added an after picture of this home on this blog as well.  Here it is:

UPDATE:  You can see the transformation this home went thru by visiting this post:  http://activerain.com/blogsview/1117636/vacant-home-staging-in-atlanta-with-after-pictures

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392.

I was asked recently by an editor for the AJC if I had a favorite decorate item that I like to use in the homes I stage. My initial thought was apples; green ones to be more specific.  However, I noticed recently that in addition to my "green apples" I love using orchids. For me, orchids add a level of sophistication and elegance yet.

Here are a few pictures of the orchids I've used in staging:

Home Staging Piedmont Ave, Atlanta, GA

Home Staging Atlanta 

Home Staging Atlanta

Notice the green apples right beyond the orchid? (smile)

Home Stagers - Do you have an accessory item that you find you use often?  I would love to see it (or them) so be sure to post some pics.

Kathy

Why Beautiful Kitchens Help Sell Homes

Kitchens are like magnets; they simply have this way of drawing everyone in and are viewed by many as the heart-of-the-home.  Buyers know and understand that they'll be spending a great deal of time in the kitchen and therefore, pay close attention to this particular room.  As a seller, it's important to further engage the buyer by creating a space that welcomes them.

Here's a before and after picture of a home we staged this week in Atlanta. Oh, and the comment from the homeowner: "I should have done this 10 months ago."

Before:  

Here's the after picture: By design, we simplified the amount of accessories used.  My objective is to compliment what the builder has created and not to overwhelm the space.

Here's a close-up picture of one of the florals and apples (my signature staging accessory):

Floral:

For more tips and information on having your home professionally staged, visit our Atlanta Home Staging Information blog at AtlantaHomeStagerInfo.com

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392.

Home Staging - Solutions for Decorating A Small Living Room

One of the distinct advantages sellers have when staging their vacant home is that not only will the home be visually more appealing, it also provide solutions to the prospective buyers on how to decorate.

This is the living room of a home we staged this week:

Here's the after picture:

Solutions for decorating a small living room:

• Start with the scale of the furniture - In this example, we chose a smaller size sofa so that we could accommodate an end table.
  
• Choose the right colors - By design, we chose light colors for both the sofa and the throw pillows as bolder colors typically have a way visually consuming the space.
• Light it Up - Ample lighting will help also help expand the space.  Floor lamps are a great solution for small living rooms
• Keep it Simple - Be selective in the accessories you bring in.  For small rooms, you want to ensure the scale of the accessories are appropriate for the space.

How to Transform a House into a Home

Back in January, I had an opportunity to partner with an investor.  Little did I know at the time, I was one of 5 stagers being interviewed. This investor was looking for a partner; someone that he could seek additional insight into the changes he should make to each of his flips.  Although he was a prospect, I willingly gave him advice as to what changes would provide the biggest return. In other words (and these are his words, not mine), I treated him as a customer before he even signed on the dotted line.  The end result - I secured his business.  

In March he called me in again on a new home he had just purchased in Kennesaw, Georgia. By the way, the first home we did together sold in 6 days. As for the home in Kennesaw -  it was another investment property and the house needed some work.  Here's what I had the pleasure of helping him with:

• Color of the hardwood flooring
• Color for the walls throughout the home
• Selection of the countertop for the kitchen
• Color of the exterior of the home (including shutters)

Here is the before & after picture of the kitchen.  

Here is the living room (before & after):

Transforming a house into a home can be easily accomplished with a well thought out plan.  Here are some suggestions:

• Flooring - Consider using hardwood flooring when possible as it can add instant warmth. 
• Wall color - Don't go white as it can be too stark.  Instead, choose a color that has a beige tint.
• Countertops - Based on the wall color, you've got a perfect opportunity to add more warmth by selecting a pattern with some earth tones.  In this case, we made the decision to keep the existing cupboards, matched up the hardwood and chose a countertop that would compliment both.

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392

Why is Britney Spears following me on Twitter?

  Is it:

•    A) She saw my Active Rain profile on Google?  Very likely since I'm all over Google with my profile, Localism, outside blog, and my blog posts.

•    B) She knows I'm the best darn home stager in Atlanta?  Duh.

Updated - See comment below for a sneak peek at what the rooms looks like AFTER being staged.  

I have something to admit...

I keep an eye out on my competition and try and out-stage them (no pun intended) each and every single time.  Amazingly enough, it's not for the reason you may be thinking.  My objective isn't to simply add another home to my portfolio.  I have hundreds of homes under my belt and have literally over 18,000 photos from which to pull from for both my blog and my website.  

And... my competition isn't the other stagers.

Instead, my competition is really the other homes that reside in that same area. My objective mirrors the sellers.  My goal, as a professional home stager, is to do what it takes to a) have the home I'm staging stand-out and b) to ensure it engages the buyer.  It's part of the formula for success and I use it on every single staging.

For those that follow my blog at Atlanta Home Stager Info or my outside blog here in the rain called AtlantaHomeStager, you know I can't simply make a post without having some sort of picture.

So without further ado.

These are the "before" pictures of the home I'll be staging tomorrow.  You're going to want to either bookmark this or subscribe to my blog (look to your right in the side bar) so that you can see how the home turns out as I'll be posting the "after" pictures either tomorrow or Thursday.

Ready?  This is the living room.

Here's another angle:

After Picture:

Close up:

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392

How to arrange a living room when selling your home.

A common challenge for most sellers is understanding what actions to take in each of the rooms.  Given that we live amongst our things, we end up being familiar and perhaps even comfortable with the current arrangement.  However, there are some extremely easy and very effective changes that will work in almost every living room out there.  

Here's a collage I created of an occupied home we had staged:

Visit our Atlanta Home Staging Information blog for the step-by-step process.  These changes were done in less than a day and made a significant impact on how the buyers viewed the home.  

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider.  Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers.  Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment:  678 522 8392

Capturing the right photo is critically important to me.  As a home staging professional I use them in a number of different ways:

• I pass them over to the agent and homeowner for their use in marketing the home
• I use them on my web site (click here to see my portfolio)
• I use them in my on-line marketing efforts (i.e., blog posts)

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