home staging: Top 25 Popular Sherwin Williams Paint Colors
- 11/09/12 09:06 PM
Fellow Home Stager Kathy Riggle nailed it in her recent blog! These are great colors for Home Staging. Nice and neutral, grays and beiges; proof that a staged home never need be boring.
Wishing you a quick sale!
Kathy Strader, ASP www.MemorialStagedHomes.com Kathy@MemorialStagedHomes.com
My apologies if anyone else has posted this information. Sherwin Willliams is my favorite paint, and my Account Executive Nubia Heinz recently shared their most popular colors. Thought I would pass it on, as some of these are my staging stand-bys also!
www.StagingSmartNSold.com provides Houston home staging expertise … (6 comments)
home staging: Five Tips for Sellers
- 11/06/12 08:56 PM
Five Tips for Sellers (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro)
It’s no secret that I believe every seller should consult with a Home Stager but the truth is, there are so many things you can do without me. Below are five simple things you can do on your own to prepare your house for sale. You should still consider consulting with a Home Stager but if you do these things the Home Stager can help you will less obvious issues.
*Declutter! When rooms, closets and cabinets are cluttered, they leave potential … (3 comments)
It is a question I hear often, “What the heck is Staged to Dwell?” It is also called “Redesign” or “Restyle”. Simply put, it is about giving your space a whole new look without buying anything or by buying very little. It is a service Home Stagers, including Memorial Staged Homes, offer. Over time, the rooms we love can become crowded with furniture and things. Kids’ toys move to the living room, work moves to the bedroom, the bonus … (22 comments)
home staging: I Like Winning
- 10/09/12 10:52 PM
I Like Winning (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro)
Recently I had an opportunity to stage a house in a lovely Houston suburb. As usual, I was having a great time, but something made this job different. I was the assistant! The house is over 4,000 square ft., and although we didn’t stage every nook and cranny, two can stage more quickly than one. It can also be more fun to stage with someone else, and it is nice to have another person around to bounce ideas off of.
I … (9 comments)
home staging: This Is NOT Staging, It’s Decorating!
- 09/25/12 09:55 PM
This Is NOT Staging, It’s Decorating! (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) The 1890 farm house the Yetti and I bought back in February is really keeping us busy but, we are having a great time. After cleaning up from the tornado that blew through just before closing, the first order of business was to add a second bathroom to the house. To add the bathroom we simply took half of the entry hall and put up a wall. One side entry, the other side bathroom, it was the perfect set up. (The entry was … (2 comments)
home staging: Model Homes vs Staged Models... What's the Difference?
- 09/14/12 11:36 PM
In this post, Melissa Marro explains why Home Staging may be a better option for model homes than Interior Design. It's an important distinction that home builders may not realize. Great blog!
Wishing you a quick sale!
Kathy Strader, ASP www.MemorialStagedHomes.com Kathy@MemorialStagedHomes.com
Model Homes vs Staged Models... What's the Difference? I'm often asked what the difference between a model home and a staged model in new construction projects. For me, the answer usually comes down to two parts 1) Pricing (cost) 2) Demographics. For years interior designers have been the source for … (2 comments)
home staging: It’s Like Jewelry for your House
- 09/11/12 10:19 PM
It’s Like Jewelry for your House (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) I like staging occupied homes. For me, staging a vacant house is easy but going into a house that is decorated to the owners’ tastes and transforming it into something buyers will love is a fun challenge. Decluttering, moving furniture around, defining each room, it’s all part of the package. Now and again when I’m invited to see if there is anything I can do for a house, the agent will complain that it “just doesn’t feel right.” Usually the … (8 comments)
home staging: The Housing Market is Pretty Good, Why Stage?
- 09/04/12 10:24 PM
The Housing Market is Pretty Good, Why Stage? (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) It is pretty easy to make the argument for Home Staging when the market favors the Buyer. The reasoning is that the house will sell faster if it is staged. So what if houses in your neighborhood seem to be selling within about 3 or 4 months like they are in much of Houston, TX? Is Home Staging worth it? If you can afford the extra mortgage payments and you’re not in a hurry to move on, maybe not. Of course … (10 comments)
home staging: “I Stood in Your House While People Looked At It”
- 08/28/12 11:47 PM
“I Stood in Your House While People Looked At It” (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) When leaving the grocery store I noticed a For Sale By Owner (a.k.a. FSBO) periodical. Since it caught my attention, I thought I’d take it home and look it over. While flipping through, I noticed an ad with a smug looking woman with her arms crossed and a box saying, “I stood in your house while people looked at it. That’ll be $16,000 please.”
My first reaction was to think that if all your … (16 comments)
home staging: Whoa! What Happened Here?
- 08/21/12 09:25 PM
Whoa! What Happened Here? (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) As you can imagine, every once in a while I walk into a house and think, “Whoa! What happened here?” What may surprise you is that it is not the house that is full of clutter that surprises me as much as an occupied house that is practically empty. Clearly there was a misunderstanding about what Home Staging is all about. Yes de-cluttering or editing is an important part of Home Staging but it is possible to do too much of a good thing. … (45 comments)
When it comes to selling your house, there are just some things you can’t control. Disturbing news if you’re a control freak, but you can’t very well change the location of your property, right? There also isn’t much you can do about market. Strong or weak, it is what is. If we each had the power to fix the economy, I’m pretty sure it would have already been taken care of. We also have to let go of any notion we may … (4 comments)
I hear it all the time. “The house is too small for the Sellers to consider Home Staging.” What!?! I’ve never seen a house that couldn’t benefit from Home Staging. Yes some properties need more help than others and some Seller have to spend more money than others. What I’ve learned is that many home owners and agents believe that if a house is on the lower end of price ranges Home Staging is not an option. Not true! Home … (2 comments)
home staging: This Photo Will Not Sell Your Property ((Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro)
- 08/01/12 03:17 AM
This Photo Will Not Sell Your Property (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) Sellers often believe that after they sign the listing agreement with an Agent, they just need to sit back and wait for the Agent to sell the house. The truth is, selling a house is a team effort and you, the Seller, are a part of the team. After all, no one has as much to lose if the sale of the house is delayed or it doesn’t sell at all.
One very important step Sellers should take … (0 comments)
So I ran across this article on Yahoo about how clutter dominates the typical American home and I had to share. I’m not exactly sure why they needed Anthropologists to determine that most of us have clutter. All anyone has to do is ask any Home Stager or Real Estate Agent.
Before
Staged Clutter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes clutter is a room crowded with furniture. Now and again, it is a collection. Other times it is an office full … (5 comments)
home staging: Hurry Up and Wait (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro)
- 07/11/12 01:03 AM
Hurry Up and Wait (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) Clearly, there is no room for those who dawdle in the Real Estate business. Customer demand coupled with intense competition requires us to not only be on time, but early. It is the nature of the business, I accept that. What I am beginning to wonder is if we are training clients how to treat us? You know what I’m talking about. The client wants information on a house right away or they tell you they need to move forward quickly and even … (0 comments)
“The house has been on the market for a year.” That’s what the agent said when he called me and asked me to stage the house. Although the town home was beautiful, it had been a FSBO. It was also five stories and appealed to a very narrow market. After a year with no offers, the Seller was ready to move on and she allowed me to stage the property. Although I know a lot of people have great success with FSBO … (6 comments)
home staging: That Will Not Happen Again (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro)
- 06/19/12 11:14 PM
That Will Not Happen Again – (Perspectives on Real Estate and More from a Home Staging Pro) As I was loading the truck to visit a house today, I thought back to a time when I was caught completely off guard when Home Staging. The Agent invited me to look at a house that she had listed for over 6 months and thought a bit of Home Staging might move things along. She asked me to meet with her and the Seller, explain my process, and if the Seller was agreeable we would move forward.
Most Realtors® believe that Home Staging works but are hesitant to suggest Staging to their clients. Sometimes it is because they are afraid of suggesting the Seller spend more money preparing the house for sale, some do not want to suggest Staging for fear of offending them. Still others believe the house they’ve listed is too small to make home Staging practical. The fact is; it is a rare house that would not benefit from Staging.
When you utilize Home Staging to help sell your house, your goal is to not only cause Buyers to see the best features of the house, you want them want them to stay, and enjoy the house. In short, you want them to feel, at home. That’s the whole reason behind “neutralizing” a house when it goes on the market but it goes further than that.
As your house hits the market, ask yourself, “Will Buyers be … (2 comments)
Yes, it is true. I get paid to work out. Okay, I get paid to stage houses and the work out is my bonus. The jobs that give me the best work out are the multi-story townhome and I have staged quite a few of them. Recently I had the opportunity to stage a three story town house in the Rice Military area. It was the first time I’d had an opportunity to work with the agent, Sam Carratala of … (3 comments)
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