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The first of 50... Working with what the builder already has & making it work!

We were recently hired by a representative of several builders. Between the combined spec builders they will be producing 50 homes in the next 2 years. Any homes not sold before completed will be professionally staged by First Impressions Home Staging & Redesign.

Tonight we finished home #1 - the only one actually completely finished.

The management company who hired us had already begun staging this unit. (I'll actually show before & after photos in a separate blog... with the whys). It was our job to work with what they already had. The only furniture pieces we brought in were dining table, coffee table and end table. This made the staging economical and practical.

The best thing about my job is being creative and knowing what is enough to make the home stand out. The eye should float around the room, the home should be the focal point - enhancing the beauty of the home itself.

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is a nationally award winning company owned and operated in Summerville, SC a suburb of Charleston, SC. We provide high quality staging for both occupied and vacant homes in the greater surrounding areas and beyond! For more information please visit, www.WeStageSC.com. If you are interested in learning about making Home Staging your profession, please visit, www.StagingAndRedesign.com for more information.

Posted by Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com on 02/14/2008 09:47 PM

Comments (17)

Originally posted at: Staging And Redesign - My View of the Industry: The first of 50... Working with what the builder already has & making it work!

Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...

17 Comments on The first of 50... Working with what the builder already has & making it work!

FEB

2008

Congrats Melissa...you and your team are working it! On this project, did you mostly add accessories? They already had a good amount of furniture on site prior; which made it easier. Good Luck on the future homes with them.....the house looks to have great bones! Excellent! Regards-Kathleen G

Great job Melissa! Congrats on the deal as well! I know the builders will be thrilled with what First Impressions can do to help them get their spec homes sold! Beautiful....just beautiful work....

Melissa... That's FANTASTIC news! I'm very happy for you...

Ooh...Aah... And I mean that! Great job...this is a fine example of STAGING. Need I tell you how happy I was to see that the porch was staged???

I, too, look forward to the BEFORE photos.

CHEERS! (This means you'll be buying the drinks when we all converge on you in Charleston! LOL)

The home looks great! I am glad you were able to work with what they already had too - that is always the real challenge!

Melissa, once you see the show you feel like you can walk out on the front porch and see the ocean. What a clean airy look. Linda works with a couple of builders that supply the furnishings left over from their Model Home days. She simply picks furnishings from their storage and has them brought to the home for staging. Like you, she occasionally has to add the appropriate accessories. Very nice job.

Melissa, do you have a clone? How do you find the time to do all that you do! With most people something would go lacking but with you- everything is done exceptionally well! I love how you also - ALWAYS have the pictures to prove that you do it well!

Melissa- Your work just blows me away! Charleston is a VERY lucky town!

Melissa-

It looks great. Congratulations!

Kathleen - Yes, we mostly added accessories - although they actually had quite a few of those too. I'll post before and after photos in another blog later tonight.....

Teresa - We were hired based on our online portfolio, testimonials and recommendations from others. We have a good relationship with a lot of the builders in this area, which is one of the reasons we are consistently busy!

Lisa - I'll buy the first round... lol! I'm not much of a drinker, so I'll be the DD.... or else you guys may never come back.... lol!

B - They did say next time they were probably just going to let us have at and bring everything because it was still too much work for them! lol....

Gary - They actually already had all the furniture in the home (except the back porch - that was brought in after our initial walkthrough). It was just a matter of tweeking the layout, adding rugs, art, accessories, etc. I'm sure you and Linda would both agree that it can be much more economical for the builder to use what they have when possible!

Marci - This week, I'm a little ragged! It's just not easy and it seems like everything took longer than it should have! I completed 3 homes, did the newsletter (with a little help from B), and Sue and I started on house #4 today. We are also preparing for a trade show & educational break out session for agents next Tuesday..... I think I need a mini-vacation!

Elaine - You are too sweet! This one was relatively easy....

Marla - Thanks!

Great example of working as a team with the builder-part of what makes you so good at closing the business deals and gaining repeat clients, Melissa. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Kathy

Gary - I have also worked with builders using what they already owned from previous models. I 'shop' through their storage sheds (usually garages in a development that hasn't sold yet!), and try to make as much as I can work. It really is much more economical for them - I only buy what is absolutely necessary to give it the right look - they are so happy they don't have to buy yet another whole house of furniture!

Melissa, this looks wonderful -great staging job - I love reading your post and seeing your work! Your #1 in my book!!

Hey I was wondering what is under the diningroom chair slipcovers. Are they metal folding chairs, or parsons chairs of something different? Then where do you get your slipcovers? I'd love to create this look!

Thanks

Becky

Kathy - Thanks! One thing I am very proud of is the repeat business we receive. We don't have to invest in direct marketing (other than you know.... NEWSLETTERS!). We have a website, promote monthly newsletters and that's about it. I have 3 full time team members (including myself) who all operate independently and do quite well. I also have 3 part time team members & an assistant. When you can self-sustain on referrals alone, that's a pretty good feeling!

B - You do this more than I do (work with builder furniture) so thanks for chiming in for Gary!

Becky & Nicole - Thank you for the kind words! The chairs were actually already in the home & were quite nice on their own. I needed more substance (weight) for this room to give the look I wanted. I do use slipcovers quite a lot in my work though. I love the look of them - very coastal. What I love is that we can usually find cheap (ugly) chairs and make them work with slipcovers. The best place to find great slipcovers is actually Target. They have THE BEST ONES!

Melissa -

Beautiful job as usual. I really like the videos that you are doing. Do you do those yourself or have someone do them? I think it's a great way to showcase the house.

FEB

2008

Melissa the place looks beautiful. These videos make you feellike you are there.

Kelly - The videos are from www.realestateshows.com I LOVE them! They are so quick and easy to use. The cost is very reasonable too.... $125/yr unlimited shows!

Isabel - Thank you! I am really hoping that the shows draw emotion from the potential buyers so they will want to visit it! The more showings, the better the odds of a closing!

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