Selling your home is always stressful and inconvenient however selling during the winter presents its own unique set of challenges. Not only is the market typically slower during colder, winter months but the holidays can make it difficult to juggle the need to decorate with the importance to properly showcase your home. As there are less buyers looking for a home its vital to make sure your property shows beautifully so buyers will willingly – and eagerly – face winter’s cold wrath to preview your home.

Keep your driveway and walkways shoveled and accessible. The last thing a seller wants is for a potential buyer to decide not to preview the interior because the exterior is treacherous or difficult to get access to due to snow and ice. Make the exterior too much of a challenge and your buyers will simply move onto the next property on their list. By keeping all access points clear, you will welcome visitors inside and showcase the fact that your home is well maintained and taken care of.

Be wary of heavy or potent smells. Winter makes it almost impossible to open windows so a home’s smells are important to be aware of. While your house is on the market, do your best to refrain from using incense, heavy perfumes or pot pourri and doing a lot of cooking with heavy spices. These things not only linger in the air for days, they also permeate the soft decor in your home – your carpets, draperies, pillows and these smells can stay trapped in these items for long time. This means even if you air out the house, when you close it back up, your soft decor items will still release the same heavy smells back into the home. Keep on top of pet smells and ensure that their litter or bedding is changed daily – sometimes twice daily. To keep the air light and fresh, keep the house clean, keep the air purifier working and use natural citrus scents to add a warm welcome to the air.

Make sure every room is well-lit. This sounds logical however there are a staggering number of people who do not have adequate lighting in their home. In order for buyers to buy a home they need to not only be able to see each room but they also need to be romanced – especially in the key selling areas such as the living room, family room, bedroom and kitchen. This means having levels of lighting, not just a harsh overhead light, so that you set the mood and ambiance for your visitors. In the winter when sunny days are at a premium and it gets dark very quickly, these levels of lighting are vital to proper showcasing. From table lamps to modern floor lamps and kitchen fixtures – these items play an important part in a home’s overall presentation. Another way to ensure rooms are well-lit is to keep blinds and window treatments open as natural light is one of the best ways to make sure a space appears bright and welcoming.

Keep holiday decorating minimal and tasteful. As we discussed during our postStaging to Sell over the Holidays, while decorating for festivities is important, it’s also vital to keep the decorating tasteful and in balance with the space. It’s very easy to overwhelm a room with too many decorations, too many ornaments and too much cheer. Your buyers will appreciate simple decorating touches so don’t feel you can’t celebrate. Once the holidays are over however, make sure decorations get taken down quickly and if any photos online showcase holiday decor, have them refreshed so your listing doesn’t seem stale in January.

Create simple winter curb appeal. Regardless of the time of year, your home needs to have welcoming appeal. Shoveling is a first step but one of our top suggestions is to add some urns with seasonal greenery, hazel twigs, berries and even soft white lights flanking your front door which will add pops of color against the snow as well as warmth and welcome to your porch. Ensuring bushes and small trees are trimmed back, house numbers are visible from the curb, all lights work are all elements of strong curb appeal.

Clean out closets and storage areas to make room for winter clothing. From heavy winter coats and snowpants to heavy boots and skis – winter comes with a lot of extra things to store. Pare down the contents of hall or mudroom closets, taking the opportunity to pack away lighter clothing to make room for all these winter must haves. As a general rule, all winter clothing and boots should be stored neatly in these closets so buyers don’t think the house has storage issues. Skis, snowshoes etc should have a home in a closet or in the garage however it may mean packing away other items to make room for these winter essentials.

Be aware of your home’s temperature. You don’t want your house to be overly warm so your buyers are too hot to enjoy previewing the home. At the same time, we have been in a lot of homes which are freezing – either because they are vacant or because that is how the current home owners like the temperature. Keep the temperature comfortable so your buyers feel welcome and then want to stay.

Warmth and welcome are key aspects to luring buyers out to see your home during colder months. By following these tips and consulting with a professional stager to ensure all areas of your home are properly showcased, sellers will reap the benefits of impressing the buyers who are shopping for properties even when the market typically slows. Regardless of the time of year, a home which has been properly prepared and staged will stand out against its competition, making it the house to see!

So, for the first time in I don't know how long - many months at least - I have had a chance to go through our projects and start working on some new marketing materials and tools. This is something I thoroughly enjoy however I simply haven't had the time for it; between business being crazy busy and my sister getting married (two ceremonies) I have been neglecting this side of our business. You may have noticed the lack of blog articles - or maybe not lol - but I'm baaaack!

So here are some fun things I made up this week and I used both Picnik and Smilebox to create these fun items. Two of these are flyers with some 'before & after' shots. One of them is a slideshow I created with great background music that I fell in love with. If you like playing around with these types of applications, they are easy and fun to use - and you get a great professional product in the end.

Both of these flyers I am going to have made into postcards which we will hand out at various presentations we do as well as to clients who are considering selling and staging their homes.

Here, is a link to the slideshow presentation which I created so I hope you'll take a moment to view it and let me know your thoughts. After making this slideshow, I full intend to create one specifically targeted to builders and another one which is strictly for home staging. These can be burned to CD and given to your target audience which a great professional touch. They can be used as part of a presentation or as a give away - either way, they are a great marketing tool!

Do you have marketing tools you like to use which are user friendly and low cost like these? If so, I hope you'll share! I can't wait to try more things!

Home staging, which has changed the landscape of how homes are sold today, has made really dramatic strides in only the past few years. These changes come in response to a new generation of home buyers whose high expectations are dictating what sells homes – and what doesn’t.  We call this change in mindset Model Home Mentality and it encapsulates the effects of HGTV and snazzy model homes on impressionable home buyers who must have all those fancy upgrades as well as a home which has ‘the look’ before they buy it.

Gone are the days when a home owner could put a for sale sign in the front yard and trust that a buyer would be able to look past the way in which they lived in the house and envision what it could look like. Truthfully, it’s a little sad that buyers have changed so drastically that they would rather walk away from a property which has potential and just needs a little TLC rather than accept the challenge the home offers.

Buyers – especially first time buyers – expect a certain level of home when they make the decision to purchase. They aren’t just buying a house, they are buying into a lifestyle – one which has all those bells and whistles they see on TV and in decorated model homes. The expectations of these discerning buyers and their willingness to pay more money for homes which model the lifestyle they want to have, is shaking up the real estate industry. Savvy sellers are becoming aware that in order to get the full value of their home, they need to be prepared to do what it takes to showcase their homes properly.

In order to reap the benefits of this new real estate trend, we often tell home owners that they should be prepared to invest some time and money in both the preparation of their home as well as in the professional staging or showcasing. By committing to this two part process, the family home will then take on a polished, modern appeal which will be memorable to all buyers previewing the property. The cost? Normally about 1% of the home’s list price and always significantly lower than a price reduction once the property is on the market.

Neutral Bedroom with no Showcasing makes this space fall Flat!

Adding some WOW to this space suddenly makes it memorable!

Competing against new build homes is difficult to begin with (and a whole other article), however there is NO competition when a resale home fails to impress buyers. First time buyers are young and hip; they gravitate instinctively towards homes which are updated and beautiful to look at. This puts the average seller who is over 50, at a distinct disadvantage. Wallpaper, dated fixtures and finishes, cozy rooms stuffed full of collectibles and belongings – all trademarks of a happy, well lived in and loved home are key components to making a home’s target buyers run for the hills -  or the nearest model home.

So what does it take to sell to this new generation? Well, it used to be that simply doing some painting, packing away personal pictures and cleaning off counters were the most important things. These are still important aspects of the preparation process but without proper showcasing, the house can still fall flat with buyers. Going to the next level and professionally staging a home by using modern furnishings and beautiful accents to create memorable focal points is what makes buyers go WOW.

Bringing in a pro stager bridges this generation gap and puts a powerful tool in any home owner’s arsenal. From the initial consultation which gives sellers a customized preparation plan to staging options for their home, consulting with a professional stager is a great first step. Instead of a general list of things ‘to do’, working with a professional will take the guesswork out of how to properly showcase your house and maximize its selling features. Investing both the time and money to be sure your home is staged to sell is the best way to ensure that this new generation of buyers see the value and appeal in your home, regardless of the price point.

Rooms in Bloom Home Staging & Design Inc. is an award winning company based out of Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. For more information on our home staging services or to book a home staging consultation, please contact us. To view our extensive portfolio, please visit us online at www.homestagingdesign.ca.

At the beginning of August, we were contacted by a local builder about the possibility of staging one of their model homes which had been up for sale for a year. We met with them and toured the home, taking in all the gorgeous architectural features in the home and the extensive upgrades. Originally, they asked us to simply quote them on staging the dining area as they had gotten alot of comments that without furniture, their buyers just couldn't 'see' how their table and chairs set would fit. We agreed that this area was in need of staging however we also took in the fact that because it was an open concept living room/dining room/kitchen that staging one area wasn't really going to do justice to the space. The builder had put in a couch/loveseat, rug and coffee table but their custom fireplace wasn't being highlighted and with all the heavy custom cabinetry the room felt very weighted to one side of the room.

Below you can see the results after we staged this open concept area:

We replaced their rug with a thick cream shag rug and added matching end tables with lamps to really finish off this living space. We also used a lot of custom florals to add softness, color and texture in all the different areas of this one room.

Previewing the home, we didn't discern the master bedroom until we noted the adjoining ensuite and walk in closet. To us, with the drop down pendant and custom fireplace we were unsure of its function so this was something we conveyed to our client. We stressed the importance of staging the whole main floor so that buyers didn't question the function of a space and so that all the large architectural features and window treatments were balanced with scale appropriate furnishings. So .. instead of just staging the dining room, we ended up staging the whole main floor!

All of the furnishings were bought, delivered and set up within two weeks of the quote being accepted by the builder - a phenomenal turn around time! We normally take between 2 - 4 months to stage a model home however the staging faeries must have been on our side this time because it all came together like a dream.

Our client, the builder, loved the results so much that they can't wait for us to help them again in the spring with another model. We loved working with them and can't wait to do it all again!

For more information on this home, please contact Nino Orasanin with Remax Twin City Realty or visit www.premierproperties.ca.

What a fabulous post by fellow A/R blogger Kristine Ginsberg. She hits so many wonderful points in this article with such simplicity that its very easy to understand why it got featured here on Active Rain. 

For home owners and realtors, its so important to realize just how little time a buyer gives a home to impress them before they move onto the next listing. Need help adding the WOW factor to homes in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph? Contact Rooms in Bloom to schedule a consult today!

Regardless of whether you call it home staging or home fluffing; the goal is the same – to get your home sold quickly and for top dollar. There is an abundance of articles and information which will tell you how to go about staging your home. These articles however, while they tell you the basics of what to do to get your home ready for sale, they don’t say how to do it. Told to de-clutter and neutralize, sellers often scratch their heads and wonder what should get packed away, how much is too much and what are neutral colors to decorate with which hold modern appeal? It’s very confusing and if sellers don’t get it right or they don’t do what they need to do, they are missing out on maximizing on the equity in their home.

Wondering how best to present your home for sale is stressful!

While that basic premise does involve cleaning, painting, repairing, or editing furnishings; its really about a change in perspective. You must stop seeing your house as your home and instead see it as a product which needs to be merchandised effectively to be sold at the highest price possible. To do this successfully, you must put aside your ego and view the home selling process without emotion. This is probably the toughest thing a seller has to do because to them, the house represents home and it is very difficult to be objective about what needs to be done to get the best possible return on the sale of the family home.

So what does this mean? First off, it means you realize you aren’t selling your home you’re selling someone else’s dream. But it doesn’t stop there; once you understand that your home is a commodity and you’re marketing a dream, that is when the real shift has to take place and your ego needs to move aside.

The way you decorate and live in your home is probably not the best way to market your home. Ouch! Even if it has been professionally decorated (especially then). Even if you clean until the whole house sparkles and you declutter and depersonalize, it’s likely that your personality and the way you relate to the rooms in your home will shine through. It is also a safe bet that your home is decorated to suit your individual tastes, not the broad market. Too often this is the point where the homeseller draws the line, mistakenly thinking that buyers will look past pink carpets, acres of wallpaper and personal decor choices! A seller will think “I think this house looks great! I’d buy it, and if I would buy it,  then other people will appreciate it the same way!”

Selling Your Home? You're Selling a Lifestyle Upgrade not a Dated Time Capsule.

What a shame! It’s likely, with this mistaken thinking, that the seller – you – just turned your back on cash. The truth is, if your house is priced correctly for the market, somebody will buy it. But in terms of maximizing your selling price, a home’s appearance needs to be memorable and impressive to get the best return on investment. The more people who fall in love with your house, the better the chance you will maximize the equity in your home. However it’s more than just getting the right number of people or the right price. Ask any marketing professional and they will tell you that price and packaging go hand in hand. The better the packaging is at selling the dream, the higher the price a consumer is willing to pay. 

Design savvy Buyers pay Top Dollar for Bright Spaces with Modern Appeal

That’s where a professional home stager comes into the picture. Home Stagers understand the art and science of marketing homes. Since they have no attachment to the contents or decorating style of your home they can view your home objectively and make the changes that will maximize your sales price. Additionally, they will have the resources and partnerships to take a home from ho-hum to stunning in a very short amount of time. From modern furnishings available for rental to creative and innovative ideas on how to maximize the value and impact of every space in a home, their assistance is invaluable. An experienced and talented professional home stager will add the tangible WOW factor to a property so buyers fall in love with every space and can therefore justify the list price – whatever it happens to be!

Professional home stagers specialize in marketing homes and creating appealing lifestyles. For more information or to get Rooms in Bloom’s professional assistance with making your home ‘show-worthy’, visit us online today!

A sincere thanks for some article content and inspiration courtesy of Larry Hahn, a Realtor in St. John’s Newfoundland. To read his original article, follow the above link.

In an age when home staging is such a prevalent real estate tool, it is amazing how many real estate listings are out there which are clearly not in any way ready for potential buyers to walk through. We work with a lot of realtors and know just how tight their marketing budgets are when it comes to their listings. It only makes sense to maximize these dollars by showcasing pictures of modern, bright, uncluttered spaces which will attract buyers in droves. This seems logical to me and I know of many realtors who will refuse to list a property unless the sellers work with a professional stager and follow their recommendations.

In the spirit of being helpful, we have compiled a list of the top ten things NOT to do when listing a property for sale.

Defer Basic Maintenance

Opting to let the new home owners take care of basic maintenance is a highly risky move. At best, a seller may attract a property flipper who is comfortable taking on these tasks and who puts in a low offer or at worst, buyers will be turned off by all the work which needs to be done just to make the house liveable. Either way, its a bad first impression and is often a key reason why a property lingers, sad and unloved, on the market.

Leave up Wallpaper & Borders

Even though wallpaper IS making a comeback, its not wise to leave it up when you go to sell your house. Why? Because wallpaper and borders are often very personal decor choices and a seller seriously narrows down their buyer pool if they opt to wait for someone who will love it just like they do. Murals and specialized painting applications also fall into this category for the same reasons. We can’t stress enough the importance of neutralizing these decor choices with some great modern paint hues which have broad appeal. If only 1 person in 50 likes wallpaper, guesstimate how long it will take to sell the house? If on the other hand a property appeals to 23 out of 25 people, think about how much FASTER it will sell and for how much more money …

Block the front of the House with Bushes & Trees

Yes, and if you’re wondering, I saw THREE local MLS listings today where it was impossible to see the front of the house because of overgrown bushes and trees. Curb appeal is a vital component of getting any house ready for sale as buyers driving by properties at all times of the day need to actually SEE the front of the home.

Pack a Room Full of Wall to Wall Furniture

In order to create strong visual appeal, rooms need a balance of scale appropriatefurniture and open areas in which buyers can navigate around or through the room. Rooms which have every wall jammed with furniture and ‘stuff’ make spaces appear a lot smaller than what they, adding visual clutter and turning off buyer’s who are looking for large, bright and airy spaces. It can also end up looking like a seller hosts parties for 20 or more instead modeling a modern, functional living space. A living room for example, should be staged with a sofa & loveseat (or two accent chairs), coffee/end table set, rug to anchor the space and a set of table lamps. That’s it. No bookshelves, curio cabinets, pianos, chests etc unless the room is huge and its possible to define multiple functional areas with plenty of navigation room in between.

A functional and appealing living room

Put up EVERY Piece of Artwork You Own

We like to get a room down to having art or a framed mirror only on one main wall. This visually pulls the eye to one main area (usually a focal wall or focal point) without making the eye jump crazily around a room. Not only does this cut down on another area of clutter but it makes rooms feel larger.

Block Architectural Focal Points in a Room

Architectural focal points are normally features such as a fireplace or windows in a rooms. These are key selling points to a house and they need to be enhanced and showcased instead of blocked with furniture. Many times we have seen real estate listings  where these types of focal points are completely blocked and eclipsed by furnishings within a space. As people are not buying a seller’s furniture, but are buying the architectural elements in a house, it makes sense to highlight these focal points instead of obscuring them. This is where a professional stager can really help; editing out furnishings and arranging them so that the eye is naturally drawn to the right focal areas.

Its Important Not to Block a Room's Focal Points

Showcase a Kitchen or Bathroom Which Features 1970′s or 80′s Decor Styles

We have written blog articles about smart, modern upgrades for kitchens however the bottom line is, kitchens and bathrooms are key decision making areas. Dated cabinets with dated hardware aren’t going to impress buyers. Stained, scarred or discoloured countertops are another detraction for most people touring a house. Paint, new hardware and new countertops are smart and budget friendly upgrades which instantly updates these types of spaces. 72% of buyers who are not impressed by a home’s kitchen or bathrooms will keep shopping and will pay MORE money for a home which features these upgraded rooms.

Bright, updated Kitchens Make Buyers Fall in Love!

Don’t Clutter Rooms up with ‘Stuff’

Heard the saying ‘clutter eats equity’? Couldn’t be more true. Well loved homes feature layers of things which we keep around us to make us feel more comfortable. From extra furnishings to collections showcasing our favourite things, rooms easily become clogged and can appear overwhelming for potential buyers. Peeling back those layers to reveal the true size, shape and function of rooms in a home not only showcases their innate charm but also makes them appear bigger and brighter which in turn increases a home’s intrinsic value. We tell clients all the time that a home up for sale needs to model a lifestyle upgradebecause that’s what people buy. They cannot visualize what a room looks like if its filled with clutter, so they will keep shopping until they see a home which models a lifestyle they want to have.

Sell a Home Which is Unfurnished

As mentioned above, buyers are looking for a home which models the lifestyle they want to have after they purchase a property. It is an emotional choice which is made after they fall in love with a house, already visualizing how their life will be once they have purchased it.Homes without furnishings lack warmth and appeal; they often appear cold and sterile which turns off buyers. Additionally, a lack of furnishings means rooms have no defined function which decreases the value of the home and when only 10% of buyers can visualize a space with their items in it, sellers are therefore losing 90% of their buyer poolwho just move onto the next house.

We hope this helps in terms of what not to do when listing a property for sale. When the average buyer is 28 and the average seller is over 50, there is a significant gap in decor styles and the expectations buyers have today. This young, design savvy buyer pool know what they want and will pay more money for a home which showcases the upgrades and lifestyles they are searching for. Sellers who tap into this need, taking care to invest in key upgrades and staging ensure maximum appeal and a swift, profitable sale of their home.

I read a featured post today called  'So You Want to Be a Real Estate Agent? Some Unsolicited Advice written by Liz and Bill Spear and it really resonated with me. Reason being is that every week we get anywhere from half a dozen emails or resumes or phone calls from people who want to become a stager and work for our company or they want to start their own staging business and would like to be mentored. I like to help people and appreciate the inquiries but it is a little overwhelming.

Its really easy to become a home stager - easier than wanting to start in real estate - because unlike becoming a realtor, you don't even have to take any courses. You can just wake up one morning and decide "hey, today is the day I start staging houses!" Bam! Now you're a home stager! Do you know what you're signing up for? Many don't; they think its this glam job where TV cameras follow us around all the time and we get to tell people their stuff is ugly and they should throw it out and buy all new. Ummm .. its not quite the same thing and it takes a lot of time, perserverence and talent to make a staging business a success.

So here are the top things to consider if you want to become a home stager:

1) Realtors aren't always your friends and most of them won't want to work with you right away. Often home stagers when they first start out think that if they go to the different real estate offices and introduce themselves, bring some business cards, their portfolio and some treats that the realtors will flock to talk to them. Not so much. Because there are SO many home stagers, especially in larger cities, realtors often feel overwhelmed by all the home stagers who drop by their offices. Many are still figuring home staging out and will say 'no' without even considering what is being offered to them. It takes time, perserverence and creating a good reputation to change that. Even then, rejection is a normal occurrance even for seasoned professionals.

2) It costs money to start a home staging business - sometimes a lot of money especially if a stager is investing in building an inventory right from the start. From business registration, liability insurance, staging training & education, branding, marketing materials, gas, storage fees, website, cellphone, laptop, camera ... and the list goes on. These are all essential business building items however if you didn't budget for them they can have you wondering what you got yourself into.

3) Its hard prospecting for clients and if realtors aren't interested in your services then its even more difficult to get actual staging jobs. If you live in an area where staging just isn't taking off then it can be very hard to make a living staging homes. I know of many stagers who want to work but are frustrated because the people in their area 'just don't get it'. 

4) While training programs have come a long way, its difficult to find one on one training (without paying a lot of $$ for it) so that an aspiring stager can benefit from the mentoring guidance of someone who is more experienced. Many of the stagers who approach us have taken a staging course but want more in depth guidance and they would prefer to be hired and trained by a successful staging company as opposed to starting their own. As there are only a handful of actual staging companies across north america - the majority of stagers work alone or with an assistant or partner - so very few can afford to mentor or hire a stager as staging doesn't really get lucrative until you have established yourself.

5) Home owners and realtors will get upset with you; you WILL offend some of them no matter what you do. Staging by its very nature is intrusive for most home owners and you touch on some very sensitive topics so its only natural that at some point you will offend some of them. Additionally because we tend to work on very tight timelines so that homes can get listed for sale, there is a high level of stress that is felt in both the sellers and realtors and can make for some tearful and angry blowups.

6) Other stagers in your area may not be your friends. As much as we want to all get along, the reality is that stagers are fiercely competitive and some may just not play nice at all. My motto is that I treat everyone the way I would like to be treated and even if I hear that someone else has not been as kind, I can't let it affect me. Stagers should find other stagers that they can befriend however - whether its in the same area or here on AR - its important to have others in your profession that you can talk to as well as exchange advice and stories.

7) The road to becoming a successful home stager is time consuming. From consults to staging jobs to social media to presentations ... and more .. its easy for the job to take over your life. This is one of the areas I constantly struggle with which is creating boundaries between work and my family life. Its very easy, especially when we are incredibly busy, to be working 10 - 12 hour days, 7 days a week.

8) Bad things can and will happen on the job. From scratching a seller's brand new cherry floors to dropping their antique birdcage that their husband's mother bought for them for their wedding, these things will happen. Ensuring you are insured, have contracts with your clients to cover you in case of surprises goes a long way in this business. You can't protect against everything however and there will be jobs where because something unexpected happened, you make no money or you lose money. C'est la vie.

9) That you need to have a solid business plan - and stick to it - to make your staging dreams a reality. Some stagers never do this but the really successful stagers that I know of have business plans not only for the short term, but also for over the next 5 - 10 years. They are extremely detail oriented, organized and focused.

10) You'll need to become a social media expert to some degree to ensure that you are hitting all your target markets. From interactive websites to Facebook Fan Pages to Tweeting to Blogging .. all of these play vital roles in creating a viable staging business. Building brand and name recognition happens slowly however if you aren't online then the odds are high your target clients will never find you. 

11) I know, I said top 10, but I had to add one more! PORTFOLIO! Get one. Make it all your own work and even if its your house and your sister's house - make it showcase your talent. You can do all the other things here but if you don't have actual staging talent then nothing else really matters. If you do have talent but don't have a portfolio then no one will know what you can do. So show them. And don't pass off stock photos or other people's work as your own. People find that stuff out and then your credibility is shot so don't do that.

So I'm not advocating that you don't give staging a shot, just understand that its not as easy or glamourous as its made out to be. Its very easy to get into the business but very hard to stay in - for many of the above reasons.

Hopefully this list helps aspiring stagers and if there are more things other stagers want to share about starting up their own staging business I hope you will share!

Two weeks ago, Rooms in Bloom did a consultation for a client in Waterloo and it quickly became apparent throughout the course of the consult that the client was open to everything. The home was lovely however it needed painting throughout and we recommended taking up the carpet on the main floor and putting down walnut laminate in the front living/dining room and then replacing the white tiled floor with deluxe linoleum which looked like ceramics and which would ground the room much better.

Originally, this living area was stuffed with three huge couches, occasional tables and canvas drapes. After the painting and flooring was complete, we brought in size and style appropriate furnishings which immediately made this space appear bright, modern and gorgeous. We dressed the tall windows with taupe drapery panels, added green accents to complement the cream chenille and dark walnut floors.

By re-defining this space as a modern dining room area, we added tangible function and value to the home. Originally used as a small TV area, we immediately saw the potential of the space and installed new lighting to repurpose it for formal eating.

This fabulous Master Retreat was painted and then we staged it to reflect a warm, modern appeal. We installed roman blinds on the windows to pull together everything together into a cohesive design plan.

Staging the outdoor area was equally important. From furniture to flowers, this porch is now reflects a gracious welcome that buyers can't help but fall in love with.

This home is now on the market and our clients are thrilled with the results. If you would like more information on this property, please contact Raj Marwah with Royal LePage Wolle Realty.

Last month, we were contacted by a new real estate brokerage to do a consultation for a client who was just outside town in a lovely area where the houses are larger and sit on huge grand lots. We had never worked with this particular realtor before and we knew this was an opportunity to really show him what we could do!

The home owners were a lovely couple who had spent the few months leading up to this point de-cluttering, packing things away and generally getting into the mindset of wanting to sell. Their home was gorgeous with beautiful peaks in the roofline, lovely wide verandas and a gorgeous interior. We gave them tips on how to best show off what they already had and it included moving some furniture around, editing some furnishings out altogether, doing a little painting and furnishing the front living room which was completely empty. As the living room was the first room off the foyer and one of the first rooms buyers were going to see, it was very important that it show well. The home owners knew this and we created a design plan to furnish this space and then add some lovely touches to the rest of the main floor. Our timeline was tight - we did the consultation on a Wednesday evening and by the following Monday night, the staging was complete and the house went up for sale the following day.

Additionally, the style of the home was very traditional and the setting more rural so our design elements were much more traditional than we normally work with and our palette was taupes and creams as we were working with a cinnamon hue on the walls. 

A week and a half later we got a call from the thrilled clients that the house was sold - and that it had sold in the first five days on the market for full list price. We arranged to de-stage the property and on the day of de-staging, the client shared with us more details about the successful sale of their home. The house was listed on a Tuesday and while there had been a few showings, the real action took place of the open house on the Saturday. The home owners took off for the afternoon and the realtor had a record number of visitors throughout the open house with many potential buyers visibly impressed by the home. So impressed that one set of buyers came for the open house and wouldn't leave! They called their agent from the open house and asked him to come over and they were still there when the home owners came back home at just after 5pm. They prepared an offer on the spot and the home owners realtor arrived back at the home with other offers so it became a competition. The buyers who had stayed however, refused to give up and in the end, their offer was accepted. Our clients tell us that after the offer was accepted, the two couples enjoyed a glass of wine out on the back deck and got to know each other.

When we were de-staging, our clients couldn't thank us enough for all our help. Without our help, they believed they would not have had such a successful selling experience and they couldn't thank us enough. The realtor even said that "the plan came together like a great recipe" and he can't wait to use our services again. We can't take all the credit - our clients did a lot of work before we even arrived and they were open to all our suggestions and to investing in our staging services to add the final polish to their home before it went on the market. As the realtor said, its like a great recipe and when all the ingredients are present then the final dish can't help but be a success!