Pure Pleasure Is What My Work Is All About!! I Love Professional Home Staging in Piedmont California! - 07/30/08 10:17 PM
The most wonderful couple are moving to London to raise their adorable son near family.
I was the third Professional Stager they interviewed. 
This couple told me I "understood their needs" so I was hired.  Having three very small grandsons of my own, I did have a few useful suggestions on toy storage and creative ways to tidy the home quickly for last minute showings. 
I know renting furniture is not very practical because sippy cups still do leak and toddlers do love to climb on furniture.  I actually like their mission style furniture in this craftman style, charming home. 
My suggestions on painting their son's room Grant Beige (Ben … (14 comments)

"Home Away from Home" Home Staging Guest Rooms in the East Bay California - 07/29/08 08:50 PM
Appealing to buyers' emotions is our goal when we stage a property.  Getting buyers' to feel excited is essential from the moment they enter the home.  We want them to feel comfortable and stay a long while-enjoying the features we enhance with staging.
One room I always recommend staging is a Guest Room.  It does not take much to create a colorful room that make buyers' long to be invited to stay in!  Crisp, attractive bedding, a nice headboard, artwork and lighting gives the room an incredible model home/designer look without the price tag.
Here are a few photos of Guest Rooms … (13 comments)

Operation Transformation Home Staging in Walnut Creek California....Can you do it in 2 weeks?? WE DID IT!!!!! - 07/24/08 12:24 AM
This home needed a little more than TLC to prepare it for market.  The homeowner lived to be almost ninety years old before passing away in the spring.  Living alone for many years he stayed on the main floor enjoying the gorgeous view of majestic Mt. Diablo State Park.  But he never completed the lower level of the home.  For many years the lower level remained unfinished. He used it as a storage unit.  
To sell this home the Realtor knew the lower level needed to be completely finished.
Our mission was to transform the home quickly to have it on tour for the … (33 comments)

Inflate Your Space With Home Staging and Redesign!! - 07/19/08 09:42 PM
 
    In every home there is at least one room that the homeowner desires larger.  In my staging business, I believe the key to increasing the perceived size of any small area is to maximize the function of the space while minimizing the clutter.
Clutter  is a reflection of chaos in ones life. If you are preparing your home for sale, it eats equity!
Clutter can make any size of space seem smaller.  By discarding the items that you don't need and organizing the rest, you will create an efficient feeling throughout the room.  If you must keep some if … (13 comments)

Welcome Home Furniture in Dublin California ROCKS!!!!! - 07/18/08 11:55 PM
  Last night professional stagers, Realtors and trade vendors were hosted by www.Welcomehomefurniture.com  in Dublin, California for the First Annual Stagers Expo.
  A wonderful time was had by all that attended.  Jeff Lynch greeted us with complimentary tote bags, bottled water and chocolates before we entered the showroom filled with vendors eager to give us information for our potential clients.  Amy Boxer and Donna Lynch-owners of Welcome Home and their incredibly kind team, Nancy, Tanya, Vicky, Jesus and Luiz made sure we all were comfortable and had cold drinks and a lovely buffet to enjoy.  
  We all need a reliable, responsible window washer, mover, carpet installer, … (9 comments)

Simple Feng Shui Rules When Staging or Redesigning a Home - 07/13/08 01:44 AM
Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of luck management, which works by maximizing the flow of energy in your environment.  This energy is known as "Chi".  Every object, inanimate or living, possesses its own energy.
Feng Shui is a complex art which, when studied in depth, uses birth dates, color and numerology to organize your life and business.  However, there are simple rules that everyone can observe to help bring harmony into your environment.  Here are a few simple ones I like to use........
 Front door/entry-vital point.  
                          Door Color- Black, Red or Dark Green.
                          Clear the pathway/trim shrubs  
Living … (14 comments)

"Will You WorK With My Clients Furniture in Danville California????" - 07/11/08 12:50 AM
I am asked this question more and more lately...."Cathy Lee, some stagers only want to use rental furniture.  Will you stage using my clients furniture?"  www.CLDesignservices.com is a full service professional home staging company and YES, we will use your clients furniture as long as it is clean!! 
We had a blast this past week.  It was a week of staging homes with clients furniture. The Bay Area is having a heat wave of 100 degree weather and we were hot with design ideas as we moved the pieces in the rooms like a giant puzzle.  Have fun finding the furnishings moved from room to room......
 
… (27 comments)

Network your Network! Beautiful home in Walnut Creek California - 07/07/08 06:30 PM
I posted recently about a fun staging-an older home that had been a rental for many years.  This homeowner decided it was time to sell the home-yes, even in this market.
Our goal was to prepare this home quickly, keeping price and presentation priorities.
This homeowner is a service provider affiliate I do business with frequently.  She decided I would be her stager before she decided on the listing agent.  She told me she would not consider anyone else because of the business I have done with her.  I consider doing business with her an honor and pleasure! It was pure … (20 comments)

Love Wins - 07/01/08 12:16 AM
 

Today we have higher buildings and wider highways
But shorter temperaments and narrower points of view.
We spend more, But enjoy less.
We have bigger houses, But smaller families.
We have more compromises, But less time.
We have more knowledge, But less judgment.
We have more medicine, But less health.
We have multiplied our possessions, But reduced our values.
We talk much, we love only a little and we hate too much.
We reached the moon and came back
But we find it troublesome to cross the street and meet our neighbors.
  
We have conquered the outer space, … (2 comments)