Well, actually, it's the night before the night before, but I'm so excited it feels like Christmas Eve.   It takes a day like this and I remember why I wanted to be a stager.

I have been working with a homeowner for about a month, trying to show him why staging his home would be so beneficial.  It has been on the market for months and nary a nibble!  He finally gave us the go ahead today.  It is a great house and I am really looking forward to the stage. 

BUT (and isn't there always a but?!?!?!) we are on a very tight budget and this house not only needs accessories but also needs furniture and a light fixture for the kitchen.  As if I have no budget concerns, in the living room with the fireplace, I have decided that nothing will work but two leather club chairs.  I can SEE this room done in my head!  To top it all off, the homeowner wants us to do the stage on Sunday.  So, we had no budget, no furniture, no fixture and two days to pull it all together.

Then, we went out to a  scratch and dent sale that a decorators outlet in our area has about 3 times a year, and just happened to be having this weekend (coincidence?!?!?! ).  When we walked in the door, there sat THE chairs.  They were perfect.  Light, soft brown leather.  And, a great matching ottoman as a bonus.  Total cost for all three pieces: $350.  Whooo Hooo!  We normally rent furniture, but we couldn't have rented these pieces for that price!

Next, we headed out to Lowes and Home Depot to try to find a light fixture.  SUCCESS!  Found the fixture and a few more "perfect" items.  The fixture was only $40 so we splurged a bit and picked up a couple of outdoor pillows and plants that will look great on their enclosed deck.  

End result?  Got everything we needed for the stage, came in under budget for our accessories.  We now have $5.00 and 1.5 days left in the budget! Guess this means I get to enjoy my Saturday now!  No wonder it feels like Christmas. :)