Way back when I was 6, my mom took me with her to the interior decorator's shop -- my parents were building a new home that would have more room for our growing family. I was allowed to select the wallpaper for my bedroom in the new house -- for a few weeks I poured over many wallpaper books and went with a stylized English rose print. The matching fabric was made into bed skirts and tops for the cafe curtains. I was in heaven, and a burning desire to make my surroundings "pretty" was born. Here's a photo of my my big brother Kevin, my mom Mary, and me standing in the new house as the walls are going up.
This home in Carmel, California was what they called a "post adobe" and my dad was so into it looking authentic that he and Kevin even made many of those adobe bricks you see in this photo (Kevin made those crooked ones that added character!)
My parents were way ahead of their time and knew that when you sold your home, you had to present it well for potential buyers. At an early age I learned a lot from my parents about the importance of making a house look like a home when it's time to sell. When they sold two of our family homes, they always arranged furniture and accessories there to make buyers feel like they could move right in. (And they'd drag us back there on weekends to help make sure the house looked perfect; my job was to vacuum, dust, sweep the patios, and water the roses.) My parents also took me to see model homes on Sundays, a fun activity even for a youngster because all of the rooms were decorated to the hilt (and then some!) Later when I was a teenager, I was always moving furniture around the house, and my mom loved the changes I made.
In 1980 I had an Oregon Real Estate license and kept it active for a few years. As I bought homes and fixed them up, I remembered that presentation was very important. Every home sold in just a few days or weeks and Realtors would ask 'how do you know how to do this?' My parents get all the credit for guiding me to this wonderful career!
In the early 90's, I talked with a few of my Realtor friends about helping people prepare their homes for selling, only to be told, "no one would ever pay you to do THAT!" But I was determined not to give up and knew that somehow, I'd find a way to make a living doing what I knew I was meant to. 
Meanwhile, I had a varied work career but the one that "stuck" the longest was as a sales manager for American Airlines, calling on corporate accounts -- and then I decided to move to Ireland in 1996 for an adventure, opening a Bed & Breakfast in the enchanting rural countryside of County Limerick. Naturally, all of my guest rooms were decorated with great attention to detail! While there, I had the good fortune to see a TV show called "House Doctor" with Ann Maurice, a property stylist from California who'd moved to the UK and helped people get their homes sold quickly. The first time I saw this show while flipping through the channels, I called out to my son Brendan "Look -- she's doing exactly what I've been talking about for years!" I was so excited to see that someone was successful in pursuing a career in home staging. Over the next couple of years I watched every episode of "House Doctor" multiple times, and I was determined that when I returned to the U.S. I'd start my home staging business in Portland OR.
After a stint working for Stanford University managing their private hotel, I took several home staging training courses, and in 2006 Room Solutions Staging was born in Portland. I feel like career-wise, I've really "come home full circle."
So -- thanks again Mom and Dad for the inspiration! I can feel you smiling down on me every day!
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