The other day I was meeting the furniture rental pickup truck at one of my staged homes in Fort Worth TX that just sold. I'd loaded the last few plants and a table into my car and was waiting for the knock on the door.

Well the knock came, but in walked the mother and father of the new buyer. They were there to measure and help her get a jump on moving into her new home.

The mother said she was delighted to meet me as they had enjoyed seeing how I had furnished and accessorized this beautiful townhome.

She made special mention of the fact that seeing the staged home photos really made a difference. Her daughter, while browsing online had seen the photo of the kitchen and said "Mom come and look at these flowers!".  The vase was on the island where she hopes to make cookies with her girlfriends in the hoidays, so it was definitely an emotional touchpoint for her.

It was so nice to get that feedback. To hear how a buyer responds to what you do and to know it does make a difference. Now the seller is happy, the realtors are happy and of course the buyer has found a new home she can make memories in! It feels good!

Staged by Hampton Redesign - www.hamptonredesign.com

I was inspired by this gorgeous brick Tudor home for sale in the Berkeley Place neighborhood near downtown Fort Worth. By the time I was finished staging it I could just imagine myself moving in and living happlly ever after!

I just love to see these older homes restored with new paint and updated with great kitchen appliances yet still have all of the great period touches like light sconces and hanging fixtures original to the house when it was built in 1926.

Here are my before (left) and after (right) photos of this beautiful home. The home was vacant after the tenant moved out and it was completely updated for its new owner.

Here is the little breakfast nook between the kitchen and dining room. The tile inset above the sink features a little 3 dimensional frog!

The master bedroom is full of light and looks out to the back garden through double french doors.

Formal dining room leads into the living room which is also full of light as you can see!

The living room features a barrel ceiling which was restored and leads into a sunroom and third bedroom.

This home at 2216 Wilshire Blvd. Fort Worth TX 76110 is listed for sale by Ruth Story, Keller Williams. Thank you Ruth! It was a pleasure staging this home.

Staged by Hampton Redesign - www.hamptonredesign.com

Recently on a HOT Saturday morning I found myself watching a mini marathon of my favorite home flipping shows on TV. The temperatures have been consistently hitting the 100s here in central TX so I was basking in the AC while getting inspired!

I love to watch house flipping shows. I like it when they tally up the costs at the end to show the investment they made and what their projected profit would be if it sells for their target price.

This particular house flip took place in CA - complete with wild fires and wild price fluctuations during the flip. At the end of the renovation the investor brought in a staging company to stage the property for his open house that weekend. The flip was still under construction so the stagers agreed to come back several days later.

The home staging team did a beautiful job. It looked like every room was staged and with high end furniture and accessories.

Why did I flip out? The total cost given for staging was $500. $500.!!

Now granted the company may have agreed to a lower cost for the marketing exposure (their name was on the side of the truck they used). It may have been for one day only.

But this gives a completely false idea of how much this kind of vacant staging costs to the consumer watching these shows. It would be impossible for any company to stay in business at this price with all the overhead of labor and inventory that is required to fully stage a home.

Although we do sprinkle fairy dust from time to time, completely staging a vacant house for $500. is wishful thinking!

I welcome your comments as always!

This is what makes it so satisfying to be a home stager. Today I got a call from the realtor. In less than ten days since I staged this home, they have received not one, but three offers for this property. Woohoo!

Now there was nothing wrong with this home. It has a gorgeous updated kitchen and lush private backyard. But it has been on the market since November of 2008.

Before it was open and open to interpretation!

After there's a space for dining and entertaining!

While I was previewing it with the realtor before staging, the home was being shown. The potential buyers actually asked me how I would arrange furniture in the main living space. Although the space was nice and open there was no recognizable area for a formal dining or eat in space. After I explained what I would do if I staged it, they left and the realtor said she thought they would make an offer but wait until it was staged!

This is the first time I've realized buyers actually enjoy seeing homes staged. And really why shouldn't they? It's a little bit of Hollywood HGTV-style buzz. It's fun and creates excitement not only for the buyers, but the agents showing the home and the owner who is excited about finally selling the home!

What I realized is, staging shows the seller cares. They care enough about the home to present it professionally. It shows pride of ownership. What better message is there to your buyers than you think the house is worth an investment  of time and money?

The seller is happy, the realtor is happy and you know the buyers feel they are getting not only a new home but a nice preview of how they can arrange their furniture once they move in! I call that a happy ending!

Staged by Hampton Redesign   www.hamptonredesign.com

"Your success is our success"

I started working with the investor/flipper on this home back in December of 2008. Initially we were just talking about my company staging the home for sale once the renovations were complete. But I took on the role of design consultant very early and had the pleasure of seeing this great old Fort Worth brick ranch gradually transformed into a sleek and modern family home.

Original photo of home in the 1950s

Walls came down, new space was carved out for a larger master bath and closet and the original kitchen was totally gutted. The space is now light and open thanks to the addition of a set of french doors off the breakfast area and sliders off the kitchen. The decision was made to keep part of the wall between the formal living area and new great room. I think it's nice to have options when entertaining or living and opening up the wall would have created one huge living space but limited options for family members to use the space independently.

Before the back porch was carved up into a new master bath and breakfast room - After the fireplace gets a facelift!

Before the living room and family were cut off by a wall - After it was opened up for better flow and light

Before the kitchen was cut off from the family room - After it's open to the family room and flooded with light

Before the master bedroom got a minor facelift and after staging

Before the family bathroom was dated and cramped. After it is an open modern bath with subway tile and solid surface counters.

A new deck was also built off the back to maximize the living space and give the new owners the option of opening both french doors and sliders to entertain outside.

Outside the brick was painted in a neutral Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige. I did opt for neutral light colors throughout and I think it makes an easy palette for anyone to move into and later change if their tastes are more colorful!

The nice original wood floors were a bonus which just needed refinishing in a darker stain. Large 16 x 16 tiles were used throughout the great room and kitchen to offer easy care and seamless options for arranging furniture.

The flip project did run over time but is now complete and ready for a new owner. This great old family home in the desirable Ridglea neighborhood has been reinvented and renovated for the 21st century and is listed now!

4224 Shannon Dr., Fort Worth TX 76116
MLS Number:11187863
Listing Agent:David McDonald
Listing Office:Century 21 Mike Bowman, Inc.

Staged by Hampton Redesign   www.hamptonredesign.com

"Your success is our success"

I recently wrote about a home I was staging here in Fort Worth.  Kitchen cabinets were dated and so were the bathrooms. We ended up getting the cabinets painted and updated the lighting fixtures in the kitchen and dining area.Here is the "after" photo.

Oh and we staged it on a budget! I got five rooms staged on the minimum furniture rental budget required for three months. Owners were out of state and were ready to get this home sold - it had been on the market previously for about 8 months before the listing expired. We staged it just prior to it being re-listed.

The first day of listing (March 4) there were five showings. On March 24, there was a Broker open with 15 attending. On March 29 there was an open house and the following day an offer.

Yesterday I received a phone call from the new buyer. They are closing this month on April 24th. She wanted to know if the couch I used in the living room was available for sale as well as the dinner napkins I used on the dining room table. She is planning on using the color as the base for her new color scheme.

The couch is rented, but I told her I would be happy to give her the napkins. 

Yes staging costs money, but can anyone doubt the buyer had an emotional connection to this home through the furnishings? Could that connection have been made without the color of the napkins to inspire her?

I'm not patting myself on the back - I'm just happy to know the staging worked! It's not often we get to hear buyers reaction to what we do and this is one of those instances where you go "AHA"! Yeah!

Staged and Sold in less than 30 days!

For expert Home Staging and Redesign in greater Fort Worth TX, call Hampton ReDesign. I can guide you to a faster sale through staging or redesign. Your success is my success!

When was the last time you picked up a magazine or book with no picture on the cover?

If you were searching for a particular title or subject you might overlook a missing book jacket but how many magazines would survive on the rack with no photos or artwork?

Like it or not we do judge a book by it's cover. We grab the magazines or books that appeal to our senses. Whether it's a glamorous cover shot promising to show us the way to eternal beauty or a beautifully decorated room, we buy what appeals to us.

The creative people who design these covers know how important the cover shot is. They use props and lighting and drama to get us to bite or buy.

Can you see the analogy here? When you are selling your house, you want buyers to do the same. By using all the right "props" and having a professional home stager "style" your home, your home photos become the cover that grabs your buyers interest.

Home staging can create the compelling image that tempts buyers to pick your home "off the rack"!

One of the challenges of marketing staging is coming up with a quick and easy way for our clients to grasp the benefits of staging their home. Call it the elevator speech, your value proposition or marketing you. When we go on a consultation with a client, or meet a real estate agent for the first time, part of the challenge is explaining the concept of staging so they "get it" and clearly see the benefits.

Although statistics are very meaningful to me, when I quote them I often get the feeling my clients turn off.  When you are quoting numbers, as valuable as they may be, it takes away from the personal interaction you have with your client, it seems to stop the flow of warm and fuzzy feelings they want to have about you!

 Our clients are placing a huge amount of trust in us to handle their most valuable possession. Their home. Not to mention their financial investment, so I am always looking for ways to connect with my clients and show them how important staging can be to their goals of getting their home sold, quickly and for top dollar!

Here's one way to visualize the need to get a home show ready before you put it on the market.

The way you live in your home and the way you sell your home is like the difference between being married and dating.              

Once you're married, you've chosen to accept each other for who you are. Right? But when you're dating, first impressions can make or break a new relationship.

Who would dream of going on a first date without making sure we looked the best we could?

Because we KNOW we are all judged by appearance first and everything else second. That's why we don't show up at a job interview in sweatpants!

We are visual creatures.

Malcolm Gladwell said it in his best selling book BLINK.

When we walk into a home we're thinking of buying it takes two seconds to reach a series of conclusions about it. TWO seconds.

So first impressions is not just a tired cliche when it comes to home staging. Our minds are going click click click along with our mouse while we are shopping online. We are making judgements, assumptions and evaluations in seconds.

Don't break up with your Buyers before you tie the knot. Contacting a professional home stager for a pre-listing consultation is one way you can live happily ever after!

I got an email about a month ago with no subject line and the message was "HELP"! The owner of this home found me online and wanted help getting her property SOLD.  The house is in a great location in Fort Worth near the Rivercrest Country Club. Houses in this established neighborhood sell in a range of $100. to $200. per square foot depending on condition and upgrades.

On our initial consultation, we walked through the home and we talked about eliminating clutter as well as any of the furniture  she wouldn't need in her new home. 

A few weeks later, after an estate sale and following up on some of my suggestions, my client called me back. 

She had an Open House scheduled on Sunday and wanted me to come over and stage the home.

We spent four hours moving furniture and re-purposing what she already had. I brought in a few pillows and accessories to show her how it could change the look and we even found similar pieces in her home to use.

I took the before photos from MLS to show how it looked online to potential buyers before we staged it.

One of the first things we did was pick up the rugs on the wood floors. Although the rugs were really nice and colorful the house seemed much more open and spacious after we pulled them up.

We pulled these two ottomans in (one from the living room and one from upstairs) to make a casual cocktail "table" in the family room.  The large rug was replaced by this smaller one from under the dining room table. I think it helps hold the seating group together and ties in the leather couch and striped ottomans as does the black pattern pillows I found in another room. The candle came from the downstairs bath.

I was really pleased with what we were able to accomplish without having to  purchase any additional accessories.

This is a very unique property with almost 3,000 square feet in a very sought after neighborhood. The outside of the home does not give any indication of how spacious it is inside. It's an ideal layout for a family with a large master suite downstairs and two very large sunny bedrooms upstairs that overlook the trees and pretty backyard.

4724 Lafayette Ave., Fort Worth TX 76107 $369,000

My latest vacant staging challenge is making this kitchen look like it matches the nice house that comes with it. It's in a gorgeous suburb of Fort Worth near TCU. But obviously the kitchen remodel was done a couple of decasdes ago.

We've all seen these cabinets and most of us wouldn't mind if we never saw them again! Right? So my first suggestion was we could remove the doors and replace them along with the countertops. The homeowner is out of state and after paying the mortgage for the past 8 months doesn't want to spend any more money remodeling or updating.

So....we have a teeny budget to change out some light fixtures and try and do something with this kitchen. The master bath suffers from the same decade I'm afraid.

I would love to hear if any of you stagers, remodelers, renovators or Realtors have sucessfully tackled these cabinets with paint. Paint the melamine face to match the wood? I think painting all the wood is out of the question. There are a ton of cabinets!

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions on how to take the beige out of this dated kitchen and make it sing and SELL!

Okay fast forward to the AFTER photos! We had the cabinets painted out, new knobs and new light fixtures. Slightly different angle so I could get the new light fixture in. I just finished staging this property and will post that blog soon!