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home staging: Not Spending or Doing Anything Can End Up Costing You! - 04/20/12 05:29 AM
Not Spending or Doing  Anything Can End Up Costing You!

A Home Staging Story.... I received a call recently from a Realtor I know about a listing she’s had for well over a year.  The Sellers were still trying to find some way to sell the house.   As the Realtor told me more about the home it dawned on both of us that I’d actually provided a consultation for the sellers well over a year ago.  At that time the sellers were reluctant to invest much to get the home in move-in condition.  While very clean, nothing had been updated. … (33 comments)

home staging: Stepping Up On A Stool...I Had No Idea What You Saw! - 03/26/12 04:20 AM
Stepping Up On a Stool... I had No Idea This is What You Saw!The other day I was putting something away in a kitchen cabinet and needed to stand on a small stool.   While I was “up there” I began looking around at the kitchen and the rooms around it.  I could see my breakfast room and the table as well as my bar area.
Things certainly did look different.  
Everything was in place but I was seeing my table and accessories from a different angle.  My apothecary jars looked a little leaner when looking down at them.  Again... … (33 comments)

home staging: Sometimes You Think You Have Your Ducks All in Order Until They Start to Fly Away and Go Quackers! - 03/24/12 05:12 AM
Sometimes You Think You Have Your Ducks All in Order Until They Start to Fly Away and Go Quackers!
 
Today was just that kind of day.  I met with the Realtor on Monday to look at all of the work that had been done on a vacant property.  The painting had been completed transforming stark white walls to a comfortable soft khaki.  So we scheduled furniture to arrive this morning.  Cort has always been great at doing their best to give us first delivery when they can and they did not disappoint!Everything was right on schedule.... famous last words.  Cort … (64 comments)

home staging: Home Staging Tips....How you can leverage your flooring to make your home look larger - 03/17/12 06:03 AM
Our go-to flooring person, Debbie Gartner, of Floor Coverings Int'l in Westchester has written another great informative post telling us how important our flooring is to the look and feel of the home.  Breaking up the flow with different colors and material can make your home feel smaller and chopped up.  
If you're replacing or updating your floors keep these 5 points in mind.  
Via Debbie Gartner - Westchester Flooring -Hardwood Floors Carpet Tile Refinish - (Floor Coverings International Westchester NY & Stamford CT):
Flooring can have a big impact on how large your home looks and feels. Your flooring … (0 comments)

home staging: How Important Is It to Stage a Room That No One Really Wants? A Follow UP. - 03/06/12 03:49 AM
How Important Is It to Stage a Room That No One Really Wants?  A Follow UpOn Sunday I asked this question in a post because more and more Stagers and Realtors are seeing homes in which the living room is being used for something other than its original purpose.  It’s been used as a play room, a catch all room or home office.  So just how important is it for the room to be staged as a living room? I thought you might want some kind of follow up.  Some of you may have been waiting for me to come up … (18 comments)

home staging: Home Staging- We're Redesigning our Own Profession! - 02/24/12 03:19 AM
Home Staging... We’re Redesigning Our Own Profession!Even Home Staging needs a little Redesign.  I began my Home Staging career about 5 years ago and I’ve watched as we’ve grown and continue to Update, Refresh and Redesign what we do.  1.  We were taught to rid our properties of all personal photographs.   They were thought to distract buyers from seeing the home as their new home; instead personal photographs were reminders that the Buyer was indeed in someone else’s home. I have recently seen discussions which suggest that leaving some personal photographs actually helps a Buyer relate to the home and also … (21 comments)

home staging: Every Property Deserves To Be Staged... Regardless of Price Point! - 02/18/12 03:58 AM
Every Property Deserves To Be Staged... Regardless of Price Point. I hear this so many times... some Realtors and Sellers  won’t even consider Staging a property unless it is at or above a certain price point.  
And why is this?  
1.Every property has a set of possible buyers for it... a set based on the location, list price and condition of the property.   And while not every buyer is alike one thing they have in common is that the property needs to appeal to them.  We’re still going to suggest editing, packing, cleaning and repairing no matter what the … (25 comments)

home staging: 2011 Home Gain Survey Results and a Home Stagers Viewpoint! - 02/03/12 06:40 AM
2011 Home Gain Survey Results and a Home Stagers Viewpoint!Every year the Home Gain Real Estate Blog  publishes a Home Improvement National Survey.  The results are compiled from 600 agents nationwide to determine the TOP 10 Low Cost DIY home improvements for people getting ready to sell their home. And since I have been following this, Home Staging has ranked either 2nd or 3rd with   Cleaning and Decluttering being #1.  Alternating between 2nd and 3rd with Staging is Lightening and Brightening.Now while I love that Staging ranks so highly,  as I was reading the results it occurred to me that Home … (39 comments)

home staging: Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County- Waiting to See How it Goes Before You Stage? Here are 6 Reasons Why You Shouldn't. - 01/27/12 06:40 AM
Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County- Waiting to See How It Goes Before You Stage?   Here Are 6  Reasons Why You Shouldn’t.I run into this all of the time when I speak with  Realtors... they have your home listed and are doing everything they can to get it sold for you.  They’ve done their research and have suggested the best List Price for your home based on the market, your competition, location  and condition of your home.There are items regarding condition that your Realtor feels need to be addressed to give your home the best chance of selling but you’d … (41 comments)

home staging: What's One of the Differences Between Stagers/Realtors and Attorneys? Billable Hours! - 01/17/12 08:14 AM
What’s One the Differences Between Stagers/Realtors and Attorneys? Billable Hours!I heard a former practicing attorney say the other day that one of the things he disliked was having to keep tract of billable hours.   It was hard for him to think of everything he did in 15 minute increments.  Having just completed several vacant home stagings I was once again reminded of the fact that no one would ever pay us if our fee was based on billable hours.  Same thing for Realtors.  I was a Realtor for 1 year about 26 years ago so my information may be a little … (28 comments)

home staging: Promise You Won't Tell My Husband But I Actually Got Tired of Shopping Yesterday! - 01/14/12 06:44 AM
Promise You Won’t Tell My Husband But I Actually Got Tired of Shopping Yesterday! One Little Day in the Life of a Stager
Shocking isn’t it.  I mean I used to work across the street from the Mother Ship (The Galleria Mall in Houston)  and went there every day!  And as a Home Stager, part of my job involves shopping for home furnishings.   We need to continuously keep our eyes open  for interesting pieces to add to our Home Staging inventory.  Furniture, accessories, linens, artwork.... they all become worn and need to be updated or replaced.  And there are pieces we … (22 comments)

home staging: Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County- STOP! Leave Me Something to Work With! - 01/12/12 06:07 AM
Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County-  STOP! Leave Me Something to Work With!Staging your home in Palm Beach County doesn’t have to break the bank!   On many occasions I’ve staged homes that were not occupied but still had all of the furniture and accessories of the owner. And sometimes the owner, thinking they were being helpful and offering me a clean slate would pack up and cart away almost everything in the home except all but the basic pieces of furniture.   STOP!!!  Don’t Touch a Thing Until You Talk to Your Stager!
Unless we’re staging a totally vacant property, … (56 comments)

home staging: Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County: 8 Reasons why your house won't sell! - 01/05/12 12:41 PM
One of my favorite Bloggers at Active Rain, Alan May, has updated his list of reasons on why your house won't sell.  And... they're all very real reasons.  If your home is on the market and it's not selling... take a look at these reasons.  Then if condition might be a factor... give me a call!  For those of us in Palm Beach County it's time to take advantage of the selling season!
Via Alan May, Coldwell Banker Realtor® Evanston, Illinois Homes for Sale (Evanston Condos & Evanston Single Family Homes):
Karl Hess was good enough to remind me that it's been … (0 comments)

home staging: Want to Know What Home Staging is? Well Let Me First Tell You What It Isn't. - 12/13/11 06:31 AM
Want to Know What Home Staging Is?  Well Let Me First Tell You What It Isn't! Home Staging is often misunderstood... what exactly does it mean?  To some it means “moving furniture around”... at least that’s what people usually say to me when I tell them I’m a Home Stager. Others, thanks to certain cable television shows, think that a Home Stager comes in and begins ripping out, knocking down and removing everything in sight.  Not necessarily true, although there are times when we wish we could. And some think that Home Staging is about trickery, deception and dare I say … (98 comments)

home staging: The Super Market May Give Away Food Samples, But You Don't Expect Them to Give You the Whole Enchilada, Do You? ... The One that Got Away! - 12/03/11 07:12 AM
The Super Market May Give You Food Samples but You Don’t Expect Them to Give You the Whole Enchilada, Do You! Most of the Stagers  I know are in this because (1) they are creative and enjoy the challenge and (2) they sincerely want to help people with their homes.  And most of the Stagers I know have had this same experience at least once when they were just beginning in the business.  I am no exception.  When I first started my staging business,  I was excited with every prospect that called.   Most of my first projects were for Staging consultations. … (28 comments)

home staging: 2011 December Blogging Challenge- The Search is On! - 12/02/11 07:12 PM
2011 December Blogging Challenge- The Search is On!A decision many home stagers face when planning their business is whether or not they want to carry their own inventory and if so just how much.   We really aren’t in the business of being a rental company but if we are working with a vacant home we need some source for furniture, lamps, artwork, rugs, etc.  Some Stagers own and warehouse their own inventory; some rent everything from another source; and others, like myself,  own all of the soft goods and some small pieces of furniture then rent the larger pieces, such as … (13 comments)

home staging: Home Staging: Re-arranging a Den or Family Room - 09/20/11 07:54 PM
Alison Nicklin of Coldwell Banker in Austin Tx  showed how sometimes several heads are better than one.   Many homeowners with large rooms love the space but it's often hard to figure out just where to put all of the furniture.  She called on her fellow agents at Coldwell Banker and enlisted their opinions.  The result is a very comfortable looking den that shows a buyer just what they can do with the space. 
I also like (of course) her suggestion of hiring a Stager whenever possible!  Yea! Alison. 
Via Alison Nicklin Shuman (Masis) | Listing Your Home in Austin, Texas … (9 comments)

home staging: How to Get Your Sellers to See the Light... Here are 5 Tips This Stager Uses! - 09/15/11 09:00 AM
How to Get Your Sellers to See the Light... Here are 5 Tips This Stager Uses!

Realtors... You know your Seller's house needs preparation before they place it on the market!  Goodness knows I know they need  work  done before their house is ready for the market.  And, many times the Seller knows it as well. 
Unfortunately though, our Sellers may not always "get it'.  It's their home... where they've raised their family.  Their safe place after a hard day's work.  Why should they change a thing?
Try these 5 tips the next time you're trying to get your Seller … (58 comments)

home staging: Realtors and Stagers..Just for one day let's try not using the evil "D" Word. - 08/22/11 06:40 AM
 Realtors and Stagers...Just for one day let's try not using the evil "D" Word.  
 
No not some of the other "D" words that we use (although you may be having one of those days where you want to use one) but I'm talking about the other over-used "D" word........DeClutter!
HGTV and the emphasis on Staging has made the word a household name and yet it's not yet in Merriam-Webster's dictionary.  We've used it so much it rolls off our tongues like butter.  When I ask a Realtor about a listing they want me to stage... first word out … (102 comments)

home staging: Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County- Sellers... If You Want to Stage the House ... Do it BEFORE You List It! - 07/18/11 08:25 AM
Home Staging Tips in Palm Beach County-  Sellers... If You Want to Stage Your House.. Do it Before You List It.
 
In the last 2 months I've received calls from both Realtors and Home owners with one common thread... they'd jumped the gun and put the cart before the horse.  Most recently a Realtor called and their client's home needed some staging... badly.
Could I help?  And can you get out there ASAP... The house is already listed but there aren't any usable photos up on the MLS!
No Problem: I'll clear my schedule and can be out tomorrow.
Can … (34 comments)