HOLIDAY DECORATING: Should home sellers GRINch or BARE it? - 11/29/06 08:45 AM
Back in the fall I blogged on about whether or not it was wise to decorate for Halloween... and while at that time many people gave varied opinions, I stated that I thought it best not to.
SO... what about Christmas? Should a home seller decorate their house during Christmas Season? My answer is a definite and resounding... CONDITIONAL YES.
Decorating a house for sale during the Christmas Season is a little different then decorating for the Halloween Season.
While the Christmas selling market is MUCH slower, and the Holiday decorations are not as "creepy" and offensive looking... Decorations still can be distractions.
So … (20 comments)

Welcome Stagers! I have a "pumped up" idea... - 11/28/06 05:21 PM

FIRST!!! WOW....  You gotta love them AR guys. Those "drips" know how to "drop" in nice features.
To prime our new STAGE IT FORWARD GROUP pump... please go back to your blog postings about staging and re-assign its group under the new Stage It Forward catigory.  That way, your best and most informative blogs will appear in here/there in our group.
AND!!! When new stagers join AR... they can see and read all that we have written and discussed... even before this group formally existed.
Finally, that little arrow logo in our group is temporary... until we come up with something MUCH better. ANY IDEAS?
RE-GROUPING INSTRUCTIONS: To RE-Group a previsous … (9 comments)

DID OPRAH'S SHOW HELP HOME SELLERS....or was the message mixed and confusing? - 11/25/06 06:27 PM
It's no secret how much I admire and am inspired by Oprah. So when I finally watched last week's show on preparing a home for its sale I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. 
While I applaud the shows desire to help home sellers who currently find themselves emotionally and financially burdened with a house that just won't sell... after watching it I felt the show sent a confusing and incomplete message to home seller's about what it takes to ready a house for its sale in a TOUGH buyer's market. The show chronicled the efforts of Oprah's design guru Nate Berkus … (37 comments)

A day for... - 11/22/06 06:11 AM

Click on the above photo for a short yet touching sound & video message of Thanksgiving.
My best to you and yours... Me
… (19 comments)

Canned Cranberry Sauce… the jiggly symbol of an industry? - 11/21/06 07:17 AM
This Thanksgiving every Realtor and home seller should be thankful and contemplate Canned Cranberry Sauce. As it/they sit/s on your plates, know that it/they symbolize/s what staging has to offer. 
Here is my scholarly list...
7 ways Canned Cranberry Sauce embodies Real Estate Staging!
1. Canned Cranberry Sauce does not cost much, but can have tasty results.
2. Canned Cranberry Sauce visually appeals to almost everyone.
3. Canned Cranberry Sauce takes the right tools and skill to get it out of a can properly.
4. Canned Cranberry Sauce is memorable without overpowering the rest of the food.
5. Canned Cranberry Sauce isn't cluttered with complex flavors.
6. Canned Cranberry Sauce is best served with the entrée, … (26 comments)

Working with Seniors... requires some flexibility! - 11/20/06 06:49 AM
Well I finally had my opportunity to talk about real estate staging to the group of seniors selling their homes. The auditorium was PACKED with an overflow crowd... to a point that there were those that needed to be turned away. To be honest I did NOT expect so many.
Upset and anxiety filled the room. You could feel that the folks attending were searching for help and answers. ANY answers on how to sell their homes. Boy was I glad I prapared my "staging" case.
The idea of staging a houses for its sale is still for most people a new concept. And... it has been my expirience that the SENIOR market is … (47 comments)

The CRAPPY part of a staging business is JUMBO sized CHALLENGES! - 11/18/06 06:29 PM
So you are or want to be a real estate stager? Well, it is a fun and rewarding business... but I would be lying if I said it was not with out it JUMBO challenges.
Since I have been blogging about staging I have "connected" with stagers from all over the United States AND Canada! I have spoken with amazing, fun, talented, creative people who love and are committed to their professions.
These conversations have been INSIPIRING and SAD. SAD? Yup... SAD! WHY SAD?
Because, while these folks are good at providing the on-property staging services... and now, after being out in the … (39 comments)

REALTORS... tune into this opportunity NOW! - 11/15/06 05:13 PM
So I've been talking to Kim Segal a researcher working for HGTV. The BIG OPPROTUNITY and news I was hinting at in my earlier blog from today is that HGTV's #1 Real Estate Show wants to feature realtors in Chicago! (Kim is also looking for realtors in Denver, Raleigh, Vancouver, and Montreal!)
"BUY ME" is HGTV's reality-based TV series that chronicles the real-life drama of selling a home. From "For Sale" to "SOLD", each episode features a new story with a different entertaining twist.
"BUY ME" will tell your story by taking their viewers behind-the-scenes to meet your sellers, buyers, contractors, stagers and home inspectors. Televised across Canada and the … (19 comments)

REWARD IF FOUND! - 11/15/06 06:04 AM
LOST: One slightly used Red Nose
Last scene in: Tutas Town
If FOUND please contact: Reala the Staging Clown
Reward: Please make your suggestions in "Comments" section below.
I really miss my honker, beak, schnozola, sniffer, booger barn, snout, smeller, muzzle, snorer, trunk, and/or proboscis. Won't you please help? Reala is here just a cryin' in the rain!  
… (37 comments)

Finding Friends... Playing in the Rain - 11/15/06 05:18 AM
In life I have been "trained" to think that the world is big and cold and impersonal. And I have been lead to believe that technology removes the personal touch. I have come to believe that "Computers are cold and impersonal replacing people" often infering that people are being "removed" from our lives.
Well something happened the other night... an AMAZING opportunity came my way. BUT I needed some help to get the ball rolling. So I went to Active Rain.
I called on a "Rain Buddy" and shared with them what could be a fun, interesting and exciting opportunity.
Calling someone would seem like no biggie... but … (19 comments)

This Clown gets a Carnival and I owe it to being Active in the Rain - 11/11/06 09:34 AM
You gotta admit one of the GREAT things you can say about Matt and Active Rain is if you DIDN'T know what the heck a blog was, you sure will in a very short time. If you got kids... you might even be able to stand proud, puff out your chest and say... "I GOTTA BLOG". (Unfortunately, your kids aren't THAT impressed... you feel somewhat like Charlie Brown on his Halloween special when he says... "I gotta rock.") 
But I digress...
So anyway, after awhile you get your blog groove going and you are all happy and content and you start reading other's blogs and you love … (43 comments)

Property Pricing advice can be hard for sellers to swallow - 11/09/06 12:13 PM

Being a stager can put us in a "funny spot" with sellers. After working in a seller's homes and transforming them in ways they never consider... sellers REALLY starts to TRUST us.
Stagers need to be very careful. While you may be asked... a stager should NEVER suggest what a property should be listed for or sold for.
Determining pricing is the Realtors job.
So, while it is not our job to advise a client on pricing of their homes... this information is good to know and understand. Basacilly, if asked, I ALWAYS advise a seller to listen to and trust in the professional advise of a Realtor.
Here are … (32 comments)

I'D LIKE TO NEEDLE YOU TO MAKE A MARKETING POINT - 11/08/06 09:28 AM
I am a stickler for words. (Pardon the pun.) But something has been bothering me since I first started my own home staging company. It has to do with referring to ourselves as "Home Stagers" Is that the best way to describe ourselves? Is being a "Home" Stager actually what we are? Does that term help or hurt the realtor who believes in us and wants to bring us to a client?
The problem and marketing disconnect lies with the word "HOME." If you buy a property, condo, real estate or build a house... how and when does it become a home?  I believe it becomes a home when … (29 comments)

BRING US BACK TO THE FUTURE... an invitation to all AR bloggers. - 11/06/06 06:47 AM
We all have been there... worked hard on a blog early on in our Active Rain blog careers only to see them fizzle and go nowhere.
You know the blog... the one that was well thought out, well written, sharing your wisdom and insight. BUT once posted somehow it went nowhere and just to become a drip of a drop in the Active Rain puddle.
Deep down you know it was good. But God forbid you would write another blog on the same subject, thinking... "been there done that!"
So, here is a 2nd chance to bring attention back a good posted message and get out there amongst the rain drops.
I invite you all … (14 comments)

Visting the Edge of 2 Worlds - 11/05/06 08:22 AM

So I have been back for a week from my trip to China...and what a trip it was. While I went there because the  professional merchandising/design advice of "me" was needed, the personal "me" was impacted.
Since returning I have been asked questions like: "How was it?" "Did you have a nice time?"  "What did you think of China?' And each time I am asked, I am stumped for an answer.
Why stumped?  Well the above pictures are 2 views of China I had out my hotel room windows.  As I was taking them... I never realized they visually would capture the essence of my travel experience. They … (21 comments)

STAGE IT FORWARD... - 11/03/06 08:33 AM
Active Rain has given me a platform from where I can share my voice. So I get a LOT of stagers asking for my advice, my help, my thoughts and I am honored and humbled... and a bit frustrated.
I am “frustrated” because I see a huge need and want to help. There is so much that can and needs to be done, but right now our "industry" has been less then united or responsive to each other. 
Yes... there are stagers who have acknowledged other stager’s skills and education differing from their own.  But there are many who have seemed to have "drunk … (30 comments)

WOW does this stager have "IT" or what? - 11/02/06 07:40 AM

With nearly 170 Real Estate Stagers now listed here on Active Rain I tend to only have time to "check out" those who have jumped further in the puddle and participate more fully by blogging and commenting.
Recently I stumbled upon Jessica Hughes of Ambiance Staging. a new stager that I believe has “it”...  in every sense of word.  I believe she has a GREAT start, a GREAT attitude, GREAT talent, GREAT acumen and most importantly… tenacity.
A little while back I shared a “secret” on how to easily evaluate a stager. In that blog I said… “USE YOUR EYES and see the good AR stagers … (11 comments)

DRIVE-BY Comment HITS one of my Blogs... AGAIN! - 11/01/06 07:38 AM
Well for the second time this week one of my blogs has been “hit” with a comment from someone outside Active Rain.
This time the anonymous comment hit a blog I posted way back on August 10th entitled Stepping on "accredited/certified” stager’s toes…
And while I could let just the anonymous comment sit there quietly and go unnoticed, I think it points to the need for respecting and understanding within the staging industry and amongst staging peers.
While for the most part the Anonymous Commment was insightful from their perspective it did take a bit of a “pot shot”… regarding "those without formal … (16 comments)

 
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Craig Schiller

Chicago, IL

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REAL ESTAGING, a nationally recognized leader in Staging.

Address: PO BOX 5267, Aurora , IL, 60507

Office Phone: (847) 384-9369

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These are the creative writings of Craig Schiller, a home staging professional, passionate real estate marketing professional and founder of the Real Estaging, one of the nation's leading home staging companies.


















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