Penny's Blog

I'm so new that...

Penny Nowakowski (Design Perspectives) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:53:53 -0500

I'm so new that I'm looking for help with pricing. I have furniture, and some accessories, a friend to help move it and vehicles with which to move. The property is vacant. Do I charge by the room or by the pieces? How much should I pay the two guys who will be moving and placing the furniture?

I am located in West Michigan, near the Lakeshore. Any advice will be most appreciated.

You can reach me at: http://www.activerain.com

Thanks and blessings

Penny Nowakowski

I want to move but my foot is stuck in the door!

Penny Nowakowski (Design Perspectives) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:25:53 -0500

I want to move but my foot is stuck in the front door!

As a Home Stager, I see my role as someone who can view a person's home through the buyer's perspective. My job is to guide the seller to turn their property into a real asset. Often times, however I meet with resistance. What is this all about? Doesn't everyone want to get the best dollar for their home? Why wouldn't they want to take the advice of the professionals they have available to them? This really bothered me until I entered the selling market myself.

We had lived in our house for 23 years. Like everyone else, I had collected quite a storehouse of stuff. When it came time to sort it all out and pack it up I found myself paralyzed. I was now faced with having to make myriad choices. What do I keep and what do I release? Much of it was too good to simply throw away and the other half was attached to memories and symbols of my life-passage. I was caught unaware. After all, I make choices for my clients all the time and I always felt organized and in control. Why was I having such a tough time doing it for myself?

When forced to analyze my own feelings I came to understand that the emotional attachment to the "stuff of my life" was a large part of what held me back. There were items given to me by my mom and grandma, momentoes of my son's childhood, boxes of books collected, perfectly good linens that I no longer used, boxes of, believe it or not, slides, pictures, art work......Aaaaaaagh!!!!!!!

Sanity finally prevailed so that I was able to step back and get centered. Here's what I learned and what we can share with our clients about decluttering7.

•1. Who says, "You can't take it with you"! This realization calmed me down immediately. The house we were moving into was larger than the house we were leaving, so I could pack it all up and take with. Of course I will have to have a, "I can't believe I paid to move this stuff" sale when I am settled in the new house.

•2. Another thought was, "Do I want the kids sorting through all the stuff of my life after I'm gone?" Not! This was the perfect opportunity to allow them to sort through and take what ever they wanted while I'm still here. If the children are still at home, contact family members. They may be able to use your recyclables. My sister, niece and nephew picked up a few treasures and it's fun for me to see those things being used again.

•3. My biggest obstacle was deciding what to do with perfectly good stuff that I hadn't used in years. Donate, donate, and donate. Libraries and schools took the books. Clothes went to a couple different charities that came and picked it all up. There are several charities that will also take furniture and accessories. Another place to contact is a Women's crisis center. Many women have to leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs, literally. The center will let you know what they need

•4. Sometimes you just have to, "pull up the ol' bootstraps" and toss it. My son lives in another state, so we e-mailed him a picture of the pile in the basement with a caption that read, "Choose!" Three weeks later my husband took a picture of the pile at the curb side with a caption that read, "Too late!" and e-mailed that to Jeff. He loved it and we all had a good laugh. My son did not want all that special stuff I had saved for him. Get rid of it now.

•5. Because we were building our dream home, located on the other side of the State, I was too tired and stressed out to have a garage (moving) sale, but for those of you who have the time and energy, go for it. It's much better than the "I can't believe I paid to move..." scenario.

This moving experience (no pun intended) has helped me deal with and understand the resistance I've faced with clients. I am greatfull for the insights I have gained and am looking forward to sharing them further.

I do be a NewBe

Penny Nowakowski (Design Perspectives) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:12:23 -0500

Let me introduce myself. I just moved to the Holland, MI area and my husband and I are completing a transition that has taken us on quite a ride. We began with visiting my sister, Marge, who bought a house with Lake Michigan access after a life-changing transition of her own. Ed and I both grew up in Detroit, MI and thought we would live in the near suburbs forever. As Ed was preparing to retire, I was also feeling the need to change. I had been a Mary Kay Consultant for 25 years, but the joy had gone out of my business. I went back to school to earn an Associates Degree in Interior Design, combining it with my Bachelor of Science in Art degree. I found my passion, and began to work in the field. After being my own boss for such a long time, I found it arduous being constrained by the boundaries of my employment opportunities. I realized that being a pro-active person, waiting for a customer to come into the business was frustrating. I was also limited in my efforts at customer follow-up. I was used to establishing personal relationships with my customers, providing a service that enhanced people's lives. This brought me to the realization that I needed to establish my own Interior Design business. Design Perspectives is the result.

Why did I decide on Design Perspectives as my business name? I believe that everyone is gifted with creativity. We are not all artistic, but we all see things through our own unique perspective. From our perspective comes new ways to do, see, and act, thus adding creativity to our lives and the lives of those we touch.

My vision for my business is to work with clients to bring out their own creativity in their spaces with the guidance of my talent and experience. Combining my talent, education and experience will enable me to help to clarify the client's need for creative expression. "What do you want this space want to say?" Is it energy and activity? Is it reflective and peaceful? Is it restful and revitalizing? What environment do you wants to create? My purpose is to bring light out of darkness and order out of confusion.

Not only do I have a "God-given talent", education, professional experience, but I also have personal experience. My husband and I have gone through the process of selling our home in Southfield, MI. So I know the importance of staging in a tough real estate market. After searching for a home on the West side of the state, we came to the decision to build a home. As you can see, I can share real life experience when I work with people who need assistance preparing their home for sale. I can share the experience of designing and building a new home, as well as renovating an existing home. I am looking forward to sharing with the staging and redesigning community what I have learned.