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A Staging Catastrophe - or Do You Really Think Home Staging Is Easy?

By
Home Stager with Staged 2 Sell New York & Long Island

So, wouldn't you know it...right before I left for Japan I had 2 jobs in 2 days. The first was for a house that was occupied and needed some better furniture placement and the addition of some accessories that would make the rooms 'pop'! No problem there and I was finished by 7:30 Monday evening.

On Tuesday, the day before I was to leave for my trip, I had to stage a vacant that was located in Jamesport, which is almost an hour and a half from my house. This vacant was actually a 'flip' and had already given me some challenges and stress because the furniture company that I normally deal with was going to charge $1500 just for the delivery/setup/pickup fee! I had no choice but to look for an alternate source of furniture, which really wasn't such a bad thing because one should never rely solely upon one rental company, if at all possible. Cort Furniture said that they would deliver for $500 which was still a little steep (normally the fee is around $300 to deliver to Western Suffolk County and all points west of that). Since I was totally unfamiliar with Cort's inventory, it took me close to 3 days to learn about what was available that would be appropriate for this older (early 1900's) house with very small rooms. Thankfully I was not only able to put together a realistic proposal, but was also hired almost immediately after releasing it to the client.

Now, for my local stagings, I normally have to make at least 2 trips with my Explorer SUV fully loaded. In this case, however, if I were to do that on the same day, I would be losing about 4 hours of valuable staging time just driving to the job, unloading, driving back to my base in Northport, re-loading, and driving back to Jamesport; never mind that I would be putting additional mileage on the car and using up a lot of gas! So, I made arrangements to take a lot of my inventory out to the house on Sunday, which really made life so much easier! When I got to the house that day, however, I discovered, to my dismay, that the painting was not complete, the kitchen was missing appliances, there was a piano under the Dining Room chandelier, everything was covered with sanding dust, and each room looked like a disaster! I was assured by the head contractor that everything would be completed and clean for my arrival early Tuesday morning...and I believed it!

Fast-forward to Tuesday - the day before I was to leave for Japan..... Since I had staged a house on Monday and had not emptied the car that night, I had to take care of that before I could begin loading what I needed to take to Jamesport. This took longer than anticipated and, as a result, I was 15 minutes behind my self-imposed 'schedule'. Then, I don't know what I was thinking, but I took a different route which ,by the time I was aware of my faux pas, took me way off course from where I needed to be. In an effort to get back on track and make up for the time this mistake was costing me, I made a wrong turn and proceeded to get myself a little lost! Thankfully, much like Hansel and Gretl, I got myself back to a main road and continued on my way. When I reached Riverhead, which is about 15-20 minutes from Jamesport (depending on traffic), it was already 9:20 and Cort said that they would be delivering the furniture betweern 9 and 12. I really needed to stop at the bank, so made an 'executive decision' that the furniture would never get there before 10 and took care of my banking business. As I walked out and was approaching my car I noticed a big red truck stopped at the traffic signal on the road in front of me...it was the Cort delivery truck! I jumped into my car and took off at full speed. After a few miles I was able to catch up and was actually right behind it. When we got to the house, the truck missed the driveway and proceeded down the road. Great! This gave me time to park my car off the road and get up to the house before the truck came back and pulled up the driveway.

The realtor was inside when I entered, however I had barely said 'hello' when I noticed that the house looked the same....no, wait, WORSE, than it had on Sunday! My head started racing....what the heck was I going to do with the furniture that was about to come into these rooms?! The piano was still in the middle of the Dining Room, the Living Room was full of paint cans, roller trays, sanding dust, a trash can and a ceiling fan still in the box! I flipped! I walked to the kitchen and found the painter there painting the ceiling. I explained what was about to happen and asked that he PLEASE stop what he was doing immediately and help get all of his 'gear' out of the other rooms! AND, I informed him, the piano had to MOVE! He explained that he had injured his hand and couldn't really lift things (like paint cans, etc!) and so the realtor and I scrambled to help him get things as much out of the way as possible. By this time, the delivery guys were at the front door ready to start moving furniture in....I explained the situation to the delivery men and asked that they leave the couch and chair covered in the plastic that they were delivered in. I practically begged them to move the piano from the center of the room to the closest wall (which unfortunately was in front of a window that I needed to 'dress'!), and somehow, to my amazement, we got everything in place...or at least the MIDDLE of the room! I threw the delivery guys a really good tip and they went on their way.

The painter came in and informed me that, if I were a good little stager (ok...he didn't really put it that way, but I just did!), he would get the Living Room in some semblance of order so that I could get the room "staged'.

I was more than happy to go upstairs and work in a room that was already painted and clean...or so I thought! Yes, it was painted, but there was a shop-vac in the middle of the room and a large pile of dirt and debris! Not a dust pan to be found, but there was a broom and so I moved the dirt out into the hallway (not my problem!) and proceeded to set up the room. In an effort to save the client money, I was using an inflatable bed and 2 decorator round tables with 'skirts'. I brought my Grandinroad Queen Inflatable, which comes stored in a large zippered roll-around bag and I also brought another Queen Inflatable to give the bed even more height. The Grandinroad bed plugs into an electrical outlet and inflates in under 3 minutes. As it inflates, metal legs are released and form a base for the air mattress to rest upon. Once the process is complete, you have a normal looking bed. I also brought along a wrought-iron headboard to give the bed that 'period' look. So, I unzipped the bag in order to get the bed up, and discovered what I can only describe as a pile of 'fluff' on top of the deflated mattress!

Now, I have to tell you, that my house and detached garage are located in a heavily wooded area and I keep my inventory in that very clean and dry garage. Up until the Spring, I used to have a large upholstered chaise in there, but decided to part with it as my inventory grew. I suspect that a field mouse got into that chaise, removed some stuffing and then moved into the Grandinroad Bed. Mind you, there was no sign of entry on either piece of 'furniture'! When I saw that fluff, I got freaked out...I didn't want to touch it with my hand, so grabbed one of the legs from the decorator rounds and pushed it off the mattress, a little at a time (all the while standing well away from the 'bed')! I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned that the little 'inhabitant' was nowhere to be found! I proceeded to open the case, clean everything off, sweep the fluff out into the hall with the other rubbish, and plugged in the bed in order to inflate it.

I flipped the switch and heard the familiar hum of the motor that inflated the bed.....the only problem is that it wasn't inflating! Now, the thing with this bed is, that as the mattress inflates, the weight of it pushes the legs down into place and those legs hold everything up. I turned off the motor and searched for the problem and it didn't take me long to find a 6" hole in the mattress! My brain went into 'overload' trying to puzzle out how I was going to make this work and compensate for the lack of the air mattress. I took the other air mattress out of the box and laid it on top of the now-defective one. I hooked up the portable inflating machine, and began the process. As the mattress inflated and began to take on some weight, it became obvious that it wasn't heavy enough to push the legs down. I tried to manipulate them manually, but they kept popping back up! The mattress was full and I turned off the machine. I tried throwing myself on top of the bed, but that was having little effect as well because as soon as I got off of it, the legs popped back up! I was just going to have to work around this! Luckily, the comforter and pillows packed some weight and I had a dust ruffle to hide the rest. After about an hour, my efforts were finally rewarded and the bed was complete, albeit a much lower version of what was originally planned! I made a mental note to come back with another queen inflatable upon my return from Japan, and proceeded to finish the room.

When I went back to the main level, I learned that the seller had arrived and was frantically cleaning floors and trying to make room for me to work. He apologized profusely and we discussed how we were going to work around the painting which remained. The Dining Room was fully painted and, aside from the piano which was pushed to the side, blocking a window, and needed to be removed, I was 'free' to stage. The Living Room and Kitchen, however, were a disaster! My only recourse was to place the furniture, hang the artwork, accessorize, take photos (both the seller and I), and then de-stage it all and move everything to the center of the room. This was a "first"! I staged and de-staged on the same day!

Here are some photos that show it all (oh, and did I mention that there were 3 small dogs running throughout the house as I was staging?!):

 

AND THE INFAMOUS BED!!!

 


Comments (18)

Rhonda Hay Rawlins
Glastonbury Home Staging - Glastonbury, CT

Val, I am exhausted after reading this story!!! Oh, My Goodness. I thought this kind of stuff only happened to me! How did you ever make your flight to Japan? As I'm reading this I'm thinking she doesn't have time to do this, she still has to pack for her trip! Because I would still be packing the day before a big trip like that. Your head must have been spinning. The photos looks really great, though. You do well under pressure,  which is a critical skill for a stager.

 

 

 

Sep 04, 2007 02:39 PM
Cindy Lin
Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA
Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

Ack we just have to do everything to make it work, don't we? It's AMAZING that you were able to make it work and everything turned out alright! It clearly shows that you have great karma ;) The photos look great! Similar things happen to me on the other job, it irks me that because of someone else's lack of professionalism and I end up being the one that pays for it. Ack! Never again!

And BTW thanks for the mice reminder. We had mice problems awhile ago now I am thinking about my air mattresses....

Cheers,

Cindy 

Sep 04, 2007 03:58 PM
Patricia Ebrahimi
SHOW SMART! HOME STAGING & Color Consultant - Rockville, MD
Home Staging the Washington DC Area from Rockville MD
Val, this post absolutely must go on Dane's list of posts for new stagers so they can get the real feel for this business we hate to love sometimes!!  Oh, and, OMG are you GOOD under pressure...amazing job!
Sep 04, 2007 05:23 PM
Susan Peters
Dove Realty Inc. - Seattle, WA
The Better it Looks the Better it Sells

Staging is such an easy and fun way to make soooo much money.  NOT! Somebody has to compile these stories into 'The Worst Possible Senario Staging Handbook'. This could be Chapter 1.

 

Lulita=Lolita's little sister 

Sep 04, 2007 05:47 PM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.
Great post Val!  I feel your pain....I work with alot of investors and this seems to happen alot (the house not being ready when they say it will). You did a great job in spite of the mess!  What line is that Cort furniture couch and table? Enterprise? 
Sep 04, 2007 11:42 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Val, The house looks terrific in spite of all the problems! You took on a lot just before leaving with both of those homes.  I am hoping you're having a WONDERFUL time in Japan and can't wait to hear about it!

Sep 05, 2007 12:03 AM
Kathy Passarette
Creative Home Expressions - Mount Sinai, NY
L.I. Staging/Decorating
You really did a nice job Val, considering what you have said about those two days.  Nothing like a little pressure! Boy, I'm glad I didn't call you then! 
Sep 05, 2007 02:09 AM
Laurie Mindnich
Centennial, CO

VAL, WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU TO GET BACK TO NY- HAVE FUN!!!

Sep 05, 2007 10:53 AM
Carolyn Hollier
Atlanta, GA
Wow, its amazing you got through it all. But the bed looks real! Lets hope nobody decides to sit on it. You did a great job anyhow!
Sep 05, 2007 11:28 AM
Marci Toliver
438-4642 - Mauldin, SC
Anderson SC, Spartanburg,Greenville SC, Home Staging

Val, this looks greaT.....hey I cant wait till you get back from your trip!  I wish you were home! 

 

 

Sep 05, 2007 11:47 AM
Kathy Nielsen
http://atlantahomestaging.net - Marietta, GA
Atlanta Georgia Home Stager

Oh jeepers.  What a day you had! 

Despite what you went through, you made the place look fabulous!

Kathy

Sep 05, 2007 11:53 AM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA
Val: Congratulations on surviving your trial by fire. Despite our best made plans, there is always the possiblity that something, if not everything, will go wrong. You handled this professionally and with aplomb. Great job!
Sep 05, 2007 12:40 PM
Phyllis Pafumi
ReStyled to Sell Home Staging New Jersey - Old Bridge, NJ
ReStyled to Sell Staging Homes NJ

Val considering all that went on it looks great!! Well okay the plastic has to go, but you did a great job in light of all the turmoil..It still beats the pee pee house, ha, ha

Phyllis Pafumi

Sep 05, 2007 02:16 PM
Betty Haney
Haney Consulting - Calgary, AB
Val, I hoped you had a few drinks on the plane and then slept all the way to Japan.  You certainly went above and beyond to get that job done.  Stager's like you give all of us a good name.  Thanks  Betty
Sep 05, 2007 02:52 PM
Yvonne Root
rooms b.y. root - Prescott, AZ
Home Stager - Northern Arizona
Val, I'm sorry honey, I'm not snickering at you. Haha. I'm laughing with you; right? Oh this is too wild. What is that they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? Oh yeah, oft times go astray. Those folks who have weddings where everything goes perfectly have much less to talk about than those who have something "go wrong." This is one for your great stories for the years to come. BTW, so glad you can stay in touch even while out and about on the other side of the world. Have a wonderful time. 
Sep 06, 2007 03:28 AM
Val Allocco
Staged 2 Sell New York & Long Island - Northport, NY
HSE; ASHSR - Home Stager, for Manhattan, Brooklyn & Long Island

Rhonda....you and I are much alike!  I hadn't even begun to pack for the trip, plus I needed to get a Manicure/Pedicure before the nail salon closed at 7pm!  I got it all done though (even a 10-minute chair massage, which I REALLY needed)!  I amaze myself sometimes!

Yvonne....this is definitely 'one for the books'! By the second hour into that staging job, I was actually laughing at the absurdity of it all!

Betty....you always say the nicest things - thank you!  I suspect that any one of the stagers here on AR would have dealt with the situation in a positive way because we are ALL professionals!  And, no, I didn't drink on the plane (even though I really would have loved a nice glass of wine!) because I didn't know if I was going to need to take a Xanax to help me sleep through the 13 hour flight so that I wouldn't be too 'jet-lagged' upon my arrival.  I did enjoy that wine, however, when we got to Tokyo and went to the most wonderful little 'wine and cheese' shop!

Phyllis....they were having the Open House on Labor Day weekend...I wonder how it all went?!  I would certainly HOPE that the client got that plastic off the furniture and everything in its proper place!  NOTHING will ever beat that first staging job of ours in the infamous 'pee pee house'!

Michelle...thank you for your kind words!  We stagers certainly have to learn to 'go with the flow' and always have a 'backup plan' in case things go wrong...and that is something that you are not taught but have to just learn on your own!

Kathy....what a day indeed!  But I learned that if I could get through that day and turn the negatives into positives, then I could get through almost anything! 

Marci....you would have been rolling on the floor laughing - I know you!  I would have loved to have had YOU there with me to share the absurdity of it all!  So, when are you coming to NY?

Carolyn....if someone sits on that bed, it's all over!!! LOL!  I'm glad that I have insurance!!

Laurie....I'm heading back to NY today...ITALY sure was fun though!!!!!

Kathy.... oh, you could have called...I was chatting away on the phone while packing that night...although I have to tell you that I brought some of the most obscure clothing - things that just didn't go together!  AND my bag was 7 pounds over at check-in so I had to put some of my stuff in my daughter's suitcase!

Carole....you hit the nail on the head!  Yes!  I really did take on a lot before leaving for this trip!  Can you guess that I have a really hard time saying 'NO'???!!

Teresa....this has happened to me before, but not to THIS degree, and, come to think of it, the last time I had to deal with this situation I was leaving for 5 days on Martha's Vineyard.  I don't like leaving a house and not feeling that I have done my job, but in both instances, I had no choice because of time constraints.

Susan....I like the way that you think!  So many think that this is such a fun and easy way to make a quick buck...NOT!!!  What we need is a Realty Show about this business...I dare HGTV to put THAT on the air!!!!

Patricia...I hope that 'newbies' will read this and learn from it....always have a backup plan and be ready to improvise as needed!  I even surprised myself that I was able to get through that day!

Cindy...I have great Karma?!  Wow, I never thought about it that way!  Thanks for pointing that out!  And, oh yes, DO check those air mattresses!!!!

Brad....I don't blame the painter..it's the same old story - the client waits until the last minute to realize that the house needs staging and then wants it done pronto!  How will we ever convince the public that staging should not be an 'afterthought' but part of a carefully planned strategy for selling the house?!

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words!

VAL

 

Sep 06, 2007 10:39 AM
Sue Shockley
Setting the Space - Plymouth, MA
Val, I have to laugh! Or should I say i feel your pain.  We had a very similiar situation that the day we were to stage and the rented furniture was to arrive we went in and the cleaning co. did not clean.  It too was left as a construction site.  We did not lose it, we just grabbed brooms.  The cleaning co. showed up that day and it all worked out! It just keeps things interesting!  I don't know what i would have done if I was going out of the country though!  Wow!
Sep 07, 2007 11:25 AM
Julia Maher
Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT
Connecticut Home Stager

Val - Intrepid is the word that comes to mind for you, and a necessary quality for stagers.  Dealing with wildlife...that's another quandary.  Hope Japan is fabulous!  Julie

lovi-lovi = my husband, tonight! ;) 

 

Sep 09, 2007 08:44 AM