Aren't those fun questions to answer? How about, YES, this IS a new outfit!  It means that someone you know, has looked at you, with new eyes and noticed that there is SOMETHING DIFFERENT about you.  You may not have seen them for a long time, or maybe you saw them just last week, but they are looking at you with new eyes...

I have answered these questions a few times lately, and they got me to thinking about how they relate to...what else...STAGING!

Staging can make your house look like it just got a new haircut, lost some weight, maybe even sprung for a new outfit!  Trimming stray branches, hedgeclipping bushes, dead-heading flowers, cutting the grass...(or shoveling the snow on the sidewalk!) all things that go a LONG way towards making that first impression a good one.  One that gets noticed, like "a new haircut"...

Decluttering the garage, removing stacks of old newspapers and magazines from beside the favorite chair, reducing the amount of stuff in the closets, cabinets and even stored in plain sight or under beds can make your house appear to have "lost some weight"...

As for that new outfit, sometimes it is just about the accessories.  No need to get carried away thinking you have to purchase all new furniture.  Adding a simple toss pillow, blanket throw, and fresh flowers can brighten a room in an instant in the same way that a little bit of sparkly costume jewelry can take a little black dress from "daytime proper", to night-time showstopper, and looking like you sprung for a new outfit!

A few months ago, I decided to add some color to my hair, and not long after that, I joined Take it Off in the Rain. I have had gray streaks in my hair since I was 16. The hubs, (who has known me since then) always tells me he LOVES my hair. He says that more often, now that his gray has caught up with mine! =o) Women ALWAYS tell me that "if my hair would gray like yours, I would never color it again!".  They lie.  I can see their roots.  Their hair is JUST like mine. Coloring my hair, getting a new haircut, dropping a few pounds and a jeans size has made a few folks take notice. 

 There have been several blogposts on AR about making sure that the photo you use is current, and you are recognizable.  My white hair has been a bit of a beacon for me.  I have my photo on my business card, my website, here, FB and Twitter.  When I was going to meet someone for the first time, my hair introduced me first, until a few months ago.

I have taken all of my previous profile photos in my own bathroom, in front of my shower curtain and  I want to share  the process with you,  because, guess what?  It relates to...STAGING!

First, I hang green wrapping paper over my shower curtain rod.  I want to set a tone, and that shade of green is just the spark I want as a backdrop!  Then, out comes the "tool box". The cosmetic trays filled with lotions, potions, and spackle...=o), and though I use them to see what I am doing, I ditched the glasses, and added earrings, for the new photo shoot. A curling iron, a "shine agent" to pick up the subtle silver sparkle in my lowlighted hair, and hairspray to catch the strays!

How does that relate to STAGING?  When seeing a home for the first time, buyers need something interesting to attract their attention.  It cannot be bright green as I used in my backdrop, but it definitely needs to pop! 

Next, my "toolbox" has all of the necessities to enhance my features.  There is blemish cover, highlighters to bring out my best features, glossy and shiny things to add sparkle to my hair and earlobes. 

When STAGING, we  encourage owners to repair whats damaged or stained, remove dated items, (like my glasses) to lighten and brighten, and then we gather accessories that will add sparkle to the finished room, (like my earrings)  for AFTER we put on the new outfit!

The new outfit is the final step. Often it is pulled from other rooms in the house, a couple of pillows from a bedroom, a throw from the family room, art from the hallway. We place the accessories we gathered earlier, and, voila!

A STAGED room! 

Mmmmm...not really...It's true, they MAY have.  It's also true that they may not have connected with blogging, and therefore left before they got the hang of it.  It's possible that the recent troubles with the platform have sent them looking for greener easier "pastures" to blog in.  Or...it COULD be, that they have been so busy they have "no time" to blog!

When checking in to see when I wrote my last post, I realized it has been nearly a MONTH since I wrote a staging post!  In it,  I mentioned that the year had kicked off nicely with two staging jobs, by the 3rd of January...and it only got better from there!

I know that "no time" is not really an "acceptable" excuse for not blogging, because, in reality, there has been time, I just haven't taken it.  The funny thing is, as 2010 wound down, I was getting quite philosophical about my staging business, my hubs career aspirations that could cause another move, (let me say I RELISH the idea!), and where I wanted 2011 to take me and my business. 

I had decided to take  a "wait and see" attitude, regarding what happens with the hubs search, and decide how vigorously I wanted to continue to promote a business that could be moving out of town, out of the county, or even out of the state...

I had decided to"stay out of peoples faces".  I was not going to go after any new business.  I was going to sit back, and if anything came my way, I would take it, but no pursuing agents, homeowners, sellers. This was in direct contrast to what I had been planning as late as November and December if you have read my previous posts. 

The turnabout came from some soul searching and long conversations during a car trip with the hubs in late December. I had already opted out of the RESA conference in January.  Wait and see, that was the new plan. I was completely at peace with my decision, after a really relaxing trip to Phoenix, Sedona and Flagstaff.  Palm trees and sunshine, deep breathing and steep canyons, a starry observatory and snowcapped mountains, as beautiful as the ones at home...aaaaahhhhhh...yes, I was at peace with this decision, just wait and see...

Then came January. Not what I had planned.  I wasn't "in anyones face", and yet the calls came rolling in. First one, then two, then three, then four.  There were a couple of jobs assisting another stager, then seven, then eight...and so it went.

Previously, when I have enjoyed reading someones blog, maybe even subscribed to them, and then they disappeared, sometimes I contacted them.  Occasionally they have just decided that blogging isn't for them, they appreciate my concern, but, yeah, they are OK, just not blogging.  Sometimes they are no longer doing anything RE related, and once or twice all of their info is no longer valid. No website, no e-mail, no phone...just gone...

I got a couple of those contacts.  Yeah, I'm OK, just not blogging.  Still have a website, e-mail and phone...planning to get back to blogging, when I get done staging! 

Well, we staged the house that I described packing for, in "Part 1". As I mentioned, I was calm, I wrote my list, packed, checked the list twice, and assured myself that all was well. The homeowners had done an amazing job of taking care of their homework, and we were able to get right to work rearranging furniture and then accessorizing. Our timing was completely SYNCHRONIZED.

I had labored over a few choices of art for specific rooms, but finally settled on one large piece that was to set the tone for the rest of the house. My plans were completely SYNCHRONIZED.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pack it. I'm not sure how, it was a very large piece, that almost doesn't fit inside the back of my SUV. I was packed to capacity, including my roof rack, I don't know how I missed it. Apparently SYNCHRONICITY had taken a break...

 At the last moment of packing, I had squeezed a piece I have never used, and it's companion piece, "just in case", a "make do" pair, that might come in handy, into the back, and away I drove. As the last pieces were being unloaded from my hatchback, that sinking feeling of knowing I had not unpacked the most important piece in this staging puzzle. SYNCHRONICITY had left the building.

I went into the house and said to my staging partner, "just shoot me now, I cannot believe I forgot that piece!".

 I went on to tell her that I had JUST written a blog about this, and it wasn't even POSTED yet, because I hadn't chosen the pictures to use with it! She said, "We'll figure it out, we always do". I said "No, I 'll have to come back with the piece, there is nothing left in the back!". I went out to my almost empty vehicle, and there, leaning low on the side, were the two pieces I had squeezed in at the last moment...could they? Would they? Had SYNCHRONICITY returned?

 I thought quickly about the room, the scale of the wall, the colors in the furniture. As I thought about it, I realized this was not an accident. This was SYNCHRONICITY. I had asked the sellers to exchange a long and large sofa in the family room, for the more petite loveseat in the living room. The living room was quite bare, and I needed bulk! Other furniture moves were made in preparation for our return, and with all of the changes made, when I walked in to stage, I realized that the original placement, of loveseat in the living room and sofa in the family room had been correct, after all.

I had pulled the original piece of art, based on the scale of the sofa, but now, the more petite loveseat would have been dwarfed by my original choice, and my "make do" pieces were the PERFECT scale! SYNCHRONICITY!

Flash forward to the following day.  That day, I was assisting my staging partner on one of her jobs. The clients had a beautiful home, there was very little need for additional accessories, they had a treasure trove of things for us to work with. As we toured the house, I noticed and commented on the wall color in a particular room, even asking the owner what was the name of the color. It was a beautiful gray taupe, with an olive cast in certain light, and almost eggplant in other light.

 We got right to work staging, then accessorizing and re-hanging art. There were only a couple of spaces we needed to bring in additional art. One space was that room with the gray taupe walls. As we went into that room to hang art, my friend said, "I brought something I think might work in here". I picked it up, placed it against the wall and said, "Can you believe the mat on this print matches the wall color EXACTLY?"

 My friend replied, "Bernice strikes again!".  

Bernice? Not likely. Coincidence? Nahhh....You know what it was...

I attended a conference recently where the speaker said "some may see this, (the subject she was speaking about)  as coincidence, I see it as SYNCHRONICITY"...

I always say I don't believe in coincidence.  Odd, yet wonderful things happen, with the most odd, yet wonderful timing, but I never thought of this word for it.  Serendipitous, magical, mystical,but, no, I like SYNCHRONICITY.

My mother, was a very successful and sought after florist for about 30 years.  I didn't live in the same town, but often when I was visiting her, she had to "do a wedding".  I would help her, and inevitably, even with the massive amount of planning she did, we would forget something, something would disappear, or break or tear, and we would have to scramble to "fix" it. 

There was always a mad dash to the delivery van, to see what we had that we could use to "make do". We never had to "make do" because the PERFECT thing was ALWAYS in the van.  Not by design, but left in there after the last wedding, tucked under a seat, or tossed in a box in the back.  SYNCHRONICITY.

I often call my staging partner by my moms name, Bernice, as a joke, because many times when we stage together, a similar thing happens.  She plans, she writes lists, she packs, she loads her trailer.  She checks it twice.  We arrive at the house to be staged, and something has been left out.  Sometimes the owner has sold or otherwise disposed of something she planned to use, without warning and now we must "make do".  But, we never have to "make do" because the PERFECT thing is ALWAYS in the trailer.  Left in the side pockets at the back of the trailer when the bins were full after the last pick-up, just inside the hatchback of her car, off to the side, accidentally left from the last staging job. SYNCHRONICITY. 

Today I was loading my vehicle for a job tomorrow, checking my list for the umpteenth time, to make sure I don't put us in a situation where we have to "make do".  I have read other stagers blogs about losing sleep before a job, for fear of this very thing.  But today, I was calm.  Together, my staging partner and I have done literally hundreds of houses. I can count on one hand the times I have had to return to a house, because I forgot something and was unable to come up with the PERFECT thing, which is (almost) ALWAYS in the back of my vehicle. Under the bed liner in the back of my SUV, behind the seat in that little space where things fall, when the rear seat is folded down, (which it ALWAYS is!) or tossed mindlessly into my toolbag, the last time I was at my storage unit. Sometimes it is in the homeowners closet, under a bed, or in the basement, but most often, I have the PERFECT thing, without having planned it. SYNCHRONICITY.

Some may call it coincidence, my dad calls it "Bernice's Luck", but now, I have a new name for it...

This was to be a "stand alone" post, but as coincidence SYNCHRONICITY would have it, there is a follow-up, which has been posted simultaneous to this one.  It tells, "the rest of the story"...

Every moment of my time was seemingly accounted for, starting last Monday, so I wrote a post, late Sunday night, to load on Monday morning, and that would have to be the final post of the year!  TOO many other things going on, to take time to write another post...

BUT, I didn't know how much I would enjoy one of the activities on my schedule, and how much I would want to share it with my AR buddies, as well as the good people of Denver, Colorado Springs and surrounding areas, who still have a chance to see this!

The Hudson Gardens and Event Center in Littleton are host to a holiday light display, Hudson Holiday,  designed and created by the creative director, or "Wizard in Residence",(real title!) Lonnie Hanzon, and his staff, of the  Museum of Outdoor Art  in Englewood.  Lonnie Hanzon has had acclaim in many arenas, but I came to know of him through the HGTV specials of years past, highlighting his work with Nieman Marcus's Visual Merchandising dept., designing the Dallas flagship stores feature window.

For me, his past work was enough to interest me in driving up to see what he had been up to!  The photos here are just a TINY sampling of what you will experience!

The Gardens are open for the Hudson Holiday, through January 2nd, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. and there is a Facebook page with more photos, and information about ticket prices, location, etc. (For a short video, click on the MOA link above!)

Dress warm, and take your kids and camera! There is a warming hut, with hot drinks, a gift shop and wagon rides are available for an additional fee. We strolled and took LOTS of photos, and were through the full tour in about an hour.

So...THIS will be my final post of 2010!  

                                                 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and see you all in the New Year!  

Remember when you were young, and you raced through your homework so that you could get outside with your friends to play?  Then, you took your messy, smudged, crumpled paper to mom to show her that you were finished, and she made you do it over?  That was because she knew that the appearance of your paper would be an asset, and may have something to do with your grade.  If it was a writing assignment, extra points might be awarded if you used ballpoint, not pencil, with no smears and good penmanship.   

Staging is like that.  We can direct homeowners towards the messes that need clearing, the smudges that need cleaning, and the crumples that need straightening, so that the seller can get extra points for  neatness, cleanliness and overall appearance!  We cannot finish the projects you have started, so, like mom always said, "do your homework!".   

At the initial consultation, a stager will likely give a fairly detailed list of things that should be completed before they return to do the actual staging.  This could include a number of things, from really simple, to quite involved. The important thing is, that you, "do your homework!". Sometimes, simply removing a bed, disassembling a bunk, or painting a wall can have a huge impact.  If a project is underway, completion before the stager returns is imperative, because if you "do your homework", the stager can focus on STAGING!

The kitchen cabinet doors were being painted, the bathroom under construction at preview, but both were completed before the staging commenced. The installation of a mirror in a small laundry washroom made a huge difference for this little space!

The point here, is "do your homework!"  Don't let the buyers see half finished projects, and don't call on your stager to come and stage your home until your homework is done!

You know how when you are planning on leaving for vacation, you "clean out the fridge?".  You plan meals using what is left and then at the end, you just toss what you know won't "make it" until you return?

Before we left on vacation a few weeks back, I tossed a bunch of stuff into a salad that turned out to be scrumptious and,  I was reminded of a house I staged last year.

The owner had taken ill suddenly and had to leave the state, unable to return. The property was left fully furnished, with all of the normal everyday life things still intact, closets full, food in the fridge. The house had been on the market about 6 months after the owner left, unsold, when I was contacted about staging.  After a preview I determined that we would need to pre-pack for the client, and store in the garage, then stage. The day I went for the preview was sunny and bright, so it wasn't until I returned later that I realized the heat, electricity, and water were off...

The job would take a couple of days, and a couple of assistants. The first day we arrived, an assistant opened the fridge door to drop our lunch sacks inside...We SLAMMED it shut instantly, before the odor overtook us. Though it was spring, it was cold in the house. We still had to open windows and doors to allow fresh air in, while we packed with gloves on. The listing agent called to say she had a showing that afternoon. When she arrived, ahead of the buyers, I told her about the fridge, and she neatly printed a note "DO NOT OPEN" on a sticky note, and we taped the door closed with packing tape.  We were out of the house, before the buyers arrived, and kept out fingers crossed!

We returned to stage, knowing all the while, SOMETHING needed to be done about that fridge! We had removed furniture, and boxes, and artwork, and large houseplants that had frozen and died.  We had cleaned the floors with a battery pack vacuum, and dusted away six months, but still...the fridge... I remember noticing in that quick instant that it was open, that there weren't REALLY a lot of things inside, but still...mold? Mildew? What was in there? We completed the staging, and it came out great! I made some inquiries, and sent a list of potential house cleaners who would take care of the offending appliance, but the owner asked, if, for a price, I would take care of it...

I was worried...I do not do well with mold or mildew, I have had bad reactions to each in the past.  Eventually we agreed on a price, after I had devised a plan...and I went to clean the dreaded fridge.

THE PLAN: I called a few used appliance stores before I went, and told them what I was preparing to do, to see if THEY had any pointers.  The advice was similar, from each person I spoke with. DO NOT OPEN THE FRIDGE INSIDE.  Get the fridge on a dolly,  and once outside, see if it is salvageable, THEN clean it, often they are not salvageable after that much time.

This project, I was doing alone, and knew that I would not be able to take their advice.  I would have to open all the windows and doors of the house, then open the fridge door, and let all of those offensive odors and spores and whatever else was in there, loose, in the house.  So what was the next step in my plan?

 Because the hubs and I have done lots of renovation, we have a respirator mask, goggles, industrial gloves, and I took them ALL with me...no chances!  I didn't want to be in the house, passed out, and no one able to find me until the "spring thaw" as we say in the high country!

I prepped by opening windows and doors, (said a little prayer that no neighbors or agents dropped by), donned my gear and opened the fridge...

I was in shock...no large bag of salad greens, no bowl of pasta, nothing that would appear to have caused such a stench...Several closed containers, with totally benign contents...

Then I opened the freezer.  There it was. A package of un-frozen fish.  Partially eaten, and then re-wrapped in plastic wrap, so no factory seal...I had a trash bag at the ready, so into the bag went all of the contents, and immediately outside.  When I came back in, I was actually able to take off my headgear and wear one of those little paper shields, with elastic straps, to filter the smell, and start cleaning.  I came prepared with several boxes of baking soda, and a variety of other things in hopes that something would work to KEEP the fridge fresh.

When all of the soaking and dousing was done, (really no scrubbing involved, the fridge itself was very clean!) there was still a faint odor.  I closed the windows and doors, left for lunch and when I returned, the house smelled fresh, but the fridge, still not so much...So I scoured the pantry for additional ideas.  I found ground coffee.  I found a few filter refills for purified water, ( plastic canisters with charcoal).  I found more baking soda.  Into a bowl went all of the contents.  I mixed them by hand, and prayed that it would work!  I set the bowl in the freezer, and left for an afternoon cup of tea. When I returned, it had worked! I set the bowl on a tea towel, and hung another over the edge so that this freezer or fridge door could not close, accidentally! A second bowl of baking soda went into the fridge, and my adventure was over!

I will never clean out a fridge again, that I don't think of this time, and the anxiety it produced!

Last night, we had a "clean out the fridge" salad, for dinner, which may have contributed to an additional pound coming "off in the Rain"! 

Taking it off in the Rain, Tuesday Weigh in: This week: 1 lb (total, 6 lbs.)

I understand why sellers might try  D-I-Y ing the staging of their home they are putting on the market.  Watching HGTV the stagers and designers make it all look so easy. The rarely discuss the importance or nitty gritty of the furniture placement outside of saying, "the room was cluttered so they removed some furniture", OR they purchase all new.  I have not had the luxury yet, (nor would I endorse the idea!) of a homeowner buying all new furniture.  That said,  my recommendations for which pieces should be removed generally shock homeowners, "But that was my grandmas favorite chair!"...Exactly...

Cruising around the MLS, I saw, what I believe was a "fix and flip", and the investor, (or a wife or friend), had "staged" the property.  A rectangular vinyl topped folding table, had been placed under an overhanging breakfast bar leading to the kitchen. Bar stools or pub chairs would have been appropriate, or nothing at all.  This was not an accidental placement, the tabletop had three, deliberately placed and spaced elements, lined up like soldiers down the length of the table. There was nothing magical about the objects, their placement, or the table.  Stagers purposefully place furniture and accessories to create an environment that at a minimum FEELS GOOD, and if we are lucky, creates a little magic for the buyer. 

Another photo I saw had a folding card table in the dining area, with a wedding reception sized silk arrangement, fine crystal and china on the table.  OK, so the furniture was in the right room, the accessories were in the right place, and the IDEA was right.  But, even when s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the imagination it is hard to  think that the person who set this up was suggesting this was a first home, and the newlyweds were dining on their wedding gifts...nope, too much of a stretch.  Vignette staging can be accomplished, and "stories" can be told with the right elements of staging, but they have to be appropriate.  When a person decides to "stage" their own space, they have already accepted that close to 90%  of buyers are not able to "imagine their furniture fitting" or "imagine their lives" in the house. But they must also keep in mind that vignette staging should not tax a non-creative mind but engage it immediately...as if sprinkled with fairy dust! 

Another MLS photo I saw was a high-end home, that had likely been professionally decorated at some point in the past.  The owner or maybe the Realtor had watched some HGTV, maybe perused a few websites, I cannot say.  What I can say, is that the rolled towels were done very nicely, but placed in the wrong spot.  The attention was  drawn to them, rather than adding some fairy dust to the features.  Often when staging a professionally decorated home, stagers are rearranging the furniture to SHOW OFF the property, and not the beautiful furnishings.  It does not mean that the decorator/designer or homeowner were "doing it all wrong" it means the decorator/designer was making the HOMEOWNER happy by decorating or designing their home!  They did their job, we do ours. Ours is to create the illusion of more space, a feeling of character, but not personality, create a little flutter of the heart when entering the space...a magical feeling!  

It may all seem like just "so much fairy dust", the idea that all of this preparation to sell your home can make a difference.  After all, most people have bought their homes without the benefit of seeing it staged, right?  Well, it is true, lots of houses and homes sell, without the benefit of staging, but I don't often hear of anything selling in days, or even weeks, unless they have been staged.  Of course there are other factors, including pricing, and marketing, location, and even the choice of Realtor.  I had a homeowner tell me just a few months ago that they were certain that their home would not have sold as quickly as it did, if not for staging. This was a spacious and comfortable home, in an established neighborhood and it was spotlessly clean.  I am not certain that they were convinced that staging was important, until they were under contract in 8 days.  At full price.  Magic fairy dust? No, a combination of good pricing, great marketing, nice location, motivated Realtor and maybe just a sprinkling of...effective staging!

Or maybe it was the other way around, I'm not exactly sure.  What I do know is that Ellen Degeneres was poking fun (deservedly so!) at a few Realtors a week or so ago, in her "Really Real Real Estate" segment, and about the same time the hubs came home saying that Dr. Laura was talking about staging. Well, not exactly talking about it, she was having a caller explain to her what the term meant.

So, I guess there are people on the planet, who have not heard about us, YET!  I went to Dr. Laura's website, and sent her an e-mail, asking if she might like to offer any words, before I wrote my blogpost about this incident. She did not respond.

Apparently, a caller mentioned that she was trying to stage her home for sale, and was not having much luck keeping things orderly because her hubs and kids were not cooperating.  I say, apparently, because this is all hearsay from MY hubs, as I NEVER listen to Dr. Laura.

Let me clarify that statement.  I used to listen to her, occasionally.  She had a few points I could agree with, but more that I didn't agree with, and when I could literally feel my blood pressure rising listening to her responses that were often rude and demeaning towards her adoring fans, I quit listening.  So, back to the day she "talked about staging".  The caller explained her dilemma, and Dr. Schlessinger, (aka Dr. Laura) asked, (paraphrased) 'What was she talking about?'  The caller explained briefly what a stager does, decluttering and depersonalizing, and Dr. Schlessinger made a comment to the effect that this was ridiculous.  Her advice was that the house on the market should look homey and lived in.  Remember, I am paraphrasing, based on the hubs recollection of the show, when he got home, so if you heard this segment, please offer any corrections.  I searched for a transcript or rebroadcast of the show, but to no avail, so the hubs version will have to do, for now. 

This particular incident struck me, because without being clear about what we do, Dr. Schlessinger has determined that we are of no value.  I doubt the doctor will read my blog, but I feel I should offer her some advice: A)Consider doing some  research before offering an opinion,  B) recognize that most do not live the life you live, with housekeepers/assistants/etc. to keep our homes tidy ALL OF THE TIME, and it is not ridiculous to want to show a "for sale property" in it's best light, C) the majority of houses for sale in this country are not even remotely similar to your reported  nearly 9000 sq. ft., over $6,000,000 home,  and could benefit from the guidance of a stager in furniture arrangement, art placement, and accessory editing. 

It may have been an off the cuff remark, I don't know, but to dismiss a group of people and the work they do, because you do not understand what they do, does not seem like a very smart thing to do, particularly for an individual with a PhD.  Maybe a response that suggests you don't have all of the facts, weren't aware of this industry, something where you don't offend a LARGE group of people, primarily entreprenuerial self-employed women, much like Dr. Schlessinger. When you have a large audience who listens to you and presumably, takes your advice, it would seem wise to steer them in the right direction.

 I don't have the audience here on my AR blog, that Dr. Schlessinger has for her radio broadcasts, but the advice I am dispensing about home staging is definitely more valuable to Realtors and homeowners than anything I have heard she says about real estate.  My advice? STAGE your home/listing! Staging statistically sells homes faster and often for more money than unstaged properties!  Thank you for listening...

I commented on a blog post recently, that discussed finding those "perfect words" to describe a property.  I knew exactly what the author was talking about, when Mary Lou Teague asked, "When is staging not about accessories and furniture, but about the written word?  I believe that words have almost as much power to create emotion as the visuals of a good staging.

In my opinion, the two combined, create the "perfect package".  Sometimes all that's  required, are  some really great pictures and well chosen words. The story below required much more preparation before we got to choose the perfect words, but the process helped us decide which would be the perfect words.

 The hubs and I have moved over 20 times, with more than half of those moves  into rentals. The others were homes we bought and sold.  Our moves where a sale was involved were precipitated by a job change. Those moves preferably needed to go from listed to sold, within 90 days.

When the time came to sell one of our properties, we called on the Realtor who sold us the home, (I would refer her again!).  We decided to supplement her marketing with our own brand of marketing.   This house was not likely to sell in the 90 days we were accustomed to, as we were 8 miles out of town, on a dead-end dirt road.  No drive-by traffic.  To complicate matters, we were in the same spot as before, (needing to move in 90 days), and the average DOM in that market, was, I believe over 365, probably more.  We got to work on our supplemental marketing tool.

What we had purchased, 3 years before, was a dull green house with too-dark brown trim.  The large beams jutting out over the decks, one with a patio underneath, overwhelmed the house as it was currently painted. We had seen the original blueprints and the house had been designed in the style of a Swiss Chalet, complete with diamond shaped windows. 

Energy efficiency minded homeowners, prior to us had replaced those, with vinyl clad windows, and painted away any character the house might have had. The porch was more of a stoop, but had a cute little railing.  This house needed a helping hand to get out of its rut!

 We painted the entire house a rich light oak color.  It looked like a perfectly brewed glass of iced tea in the sunlight, and suggested the color of the many cedar sided cabins in our area.

 We trimmed the whole thing in white, and added trellis under the deck with the patio, to create a different feel.  The railings were painted white, and the screened doors, a color called "chocolate raspberry", a beautiful deep purple-y brown, the color of an oxidized metal roof. 

 We bought big flower pots to decorate the porches and deck, but the deer would have eaten every plant before we finished, so we filled them with dirt and poked boughs of evergreens into the dirt.  I added a few stems of dyed eucalyptus and other dried materials for a little "color" and variety, and we gathered the prettiest rocks on our property to fill in the flower bed that was in a shady spot which never grew so much as a weed.  They complemented our soaring two story rock chimney that was on the opposite side at the front of the house.

 I painted carriage door windows, latches and door handles on the front of my garage, to further enhance the "different feel".  

Are you getting a picture? Are the words painting it for you?

 I had always "staged" my homes, though I had not previously called it that, I just did what I knew needed to be done. We took photos.  LOTS of them.  From every angle, and every spot on our property to ensure that we had lots of options, (pre-digital camera). My son even climbed our tallest Ponderosa Pine tree to get a shot! Then we sat at our kitchen table with a legal pad and pencils, and scratched out the verbiage that described our home.  We, of course, were not bound by any considerations such as whether or not we could say "great family home!" or "great place to raise kids!", but it didn't matter.  Our focus was on creating a visual feast, an emotional tug, and an overwhelming desire to SEE THIS HOUSE!  We went through many sheets of the legal pad, scratching out, re-writing, consulting the Thesaurus for the perfect word/s. 

One of  the words was "cottage".  We lived in an area where there were lots of "cabins".  Another really good word, but my house was not a cabin, and no matter how I described it, if a buyer drove up and saw a "non-cabin" they would be disappointed.  We settled on "country house". 

We did not sell in 90 days.  We did sell from listing to closing in just under 180 days.  ONE HALF or less than the average for the market. Just like the staging stats say.  Our Realtor hosted a brokers open house, we hosted several open houses on weekends, putting signs out on the main road.  We ran our ads in the paper, with great pictures, and perfect words, creating the "perfect package".

I know that this sale was not just about "words and pictures", we had put a lot of hard work into this house, and even more once we decided to put it on the market.  But, setting ourselves apart from the "sea of cabins" available in the area, created an interest that came from the WORDS...and the PICTURES, creating the "perfect package".

Next Post:  Be careful how you describe your "cute little house" Ellen Degeneras is watching!