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Send OUT the clowns

There has been a lot of talk in SIF lately about what works for home staging, the rooster debate rages on... One thing I know for sure is that clowns (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say) NEVER work. They are on of those decorating trends that are at the same time dated and creepy. What about staging with a touch of whimsy you might say? Nope, there is no way to work around them... they've just got to go.

This is the front entry to a condo I just finished staging. I was working with a $0 budget, but luckily I found these paintings tucked in a closet. (the very same closet where the clowns now reside).

Clown and guru are a single identity: the satiric and sublime side of the same higher vision of life. ~ Theodore Rozak

Posted by Maureen Henry - Rockland Home Staging on 06/10/2008 04:13 PM

Comments (55)

home staging, clowns

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55 Comments on Send OUT the clowns

JUN

2008

Clowns have always creeped me out. My Grammie had clown paintings in her house and I hated them as a child. They had this bright red mouth and that wacky hair and those manic eyes. It creeps me out because you don't know who is behind the makeup - is it Happy the Clown or Per-vee the Clown? When Grammie died of course not one family member stood in line for those clown pictures.

I remember one of the first houses I looked at as a Buyer in Roseville when we were moving here - the seller was a Red Skelton fan. He had every picture, painting, collectible plates on the walls, figurines lining tables - it was "incredible!" Yeah - incredibly creepy.

I am with you 1000% on this one - the CLOWNS need to be sent out!! - Jennie

Jennie - Per-vee the Clown - too funny. That is the other reason the clowns have to go, tons of people seriously don't like them and they scare children. It never pays to force something to work when groups of people are against it or just don't like it.

I just convinced someone to pack up their clown collection. I agree 100% -- It has to go!

Love the new pic, lovely lady, but will miss the "floating head"!

Karen - you can still call me floating head!

My vote...Roosters OK! Clowns...BAD (ALL BAD)!!!

LOL

Maureen, I love the new shot. I agree that many people (my daughter included) absolutely hate clowns; I would say you're right, they would always come down.

#1 SUPER CUTE HAIR

#2 CLOWNS ARE SUPER CREEPY..... NO MATTER WHAT

#3 DOLLS ARE CREEPIER THAN CLOWNS

#4 CLOWN DOLLS ARE THE WORST

#5 A REALTOR HERE THAT "CLAIMS TO BE A STAGER" USED A CLOWN DOLL IN THE FOYER OF A VACANT HOME. I WAS THEN ASKED TO GIVE THE CLIENT A BID FOR "PROFESSIONAL STAGING". I ALMOST PEED THE CLOWN WAS SO TACKY. I HAD TO TELL THE CLIENT THAT THE CLOWN WAS "DETRACTING "FROM THE HOME AND MADE IT LOOK DATED....I WANTED TO SAY IT WAS SUPER CHEESY.

#6 MY BID WAS TOO HIGH SO THE CLOWN IS STILL THERE! SUPER BAD.....

I have to agree about the clown thing..... though one of my favorite all time craft projects that I kept in my home until movers broke it (hmmm.... I think this was clown retaliation) was a primitive clown juggling the circus animals. It did look a little too much like "IT", but I still loved it. Now the circus animals are Christmas ornamnets.... lol.... this way I can pay homage once a year anyway.

Carole - Thanks!

Kate - That should be in the what not to do hall of fame.

Melissa - I can only imagine that if you made it, it was lovely. :)

I say send OUT the clowns! They are creepy and never work for staging. I don't know of anyone who has asked to stage or decorate a home with clowns.

Roosters, I like. I have quite a collection of them in my kitchen. My son-in-law told me I've met the rooster per square inch quotient. However, I haven't used any roosters in my staging. I try to keep my rooster fetish under control. LOL

Roosters, although some people do not prefer them, are a bit timeless and non-threatening. CLOWNS are downright scary!!!!! Especially the ones in your before picture.

I just want to clarify - I am not trying to liken roosters and clowns. I would never want to insult the rooster lovers.
cock a doodle do
:)

Nancy - as long as you admit to having a fetish I think your OK.

Tori - The photo does not do them justice either. They are in 3D and are fuzzy!!!!

Maureen - Those clowns would have given me nightmares. They may still...

P.S. Who knew your eyes were so blue? Love the new you!

JUN

2008

Absolutely-send out the clowns....good decision....smart stager you are indeed!

I can top the clown doll - One of my clients had a marionette of a black man - clown doll but the kind of black man from the 1920's before integration and civil rights . . . and had it displayed prominantly on the bed. They asked me if I thought it should go. Of course, it was nestled next to Uncle Cracker - the crazy white haired puppet that looked kind of like Albert Einstein. The sellers were very elderly and the "puppets" were probably their parent's - but very racist and tacky. I nicely suggested they would want to put the puppets away - they "were far too precious to leave out."

- Jennie

Maureen, funny but clown people really LOVE their clowns and often have more than one...sort of like beanie babies and animal heads...but they look at you when you walk down the hall. I say down with the clowns. Cute title for this post

I really like your new photo. Very nice.

Interesting how clowns provoke such strong emotions in some people ... something to research later....

I'm with you on the clowns and they especially don't belong in an entrance way.

I too love the new photo!! You have the prettiest blue eyes ever!

Kathy

Cheryl - It is interesting. Here is an interesting tidbit;

Coulrophobia is an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. It is not uncommon among children, but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults as well.

Could have something to do with John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

Thanks for the comments about my new photo. It is hard to switch, I'm not even used to the new one. :)

Re your photo: You could always erase or blur the background and return to that ethereal floating state.

:-)

Hmmmm ... I shoulda feathered the edges a tad more......

Maureen, the only clown allowed in our home is the one I sleep with! Is it Kate Hart who reminds us that anything with eyes must go? My grannie had a clown collection. . . and a rooster collection. . . and a frog collection. . . and well you get the picture. One of my cousins has the frogs; an aunt the roosters and I can't recall anyone in the family with even one of the clowns. We have way too many live clowns in our family to put up with any manic representations of them. Great post gal!

Maureen, remember the song "send in the clowns"? well, I agree with you send out the clowns!! great blog. I just did a consultation were she wanted me to use "grandpas oil on canvasses. Thank God I convinced her to pack them away because they did not go with the style we will be staging next week. Ill post before and afters next week.

Cheryl - Thanks! I'll keep playing around with it.

Yvonne - Those are really words to live by, anything with eyes has gotta go!

Fernando - I think when a family member is the artist you need all your diplomatic skills - can't wait to see the pics.

JUN

2008

I had the black velvet clowns ... IN MY BEDROOM. There was the crying sad-clown and the overly-happy fiendish clown. They completely freaked me out.

Chuck - You poor thing!

Juliet - I save nothing. Don't have a sentimental bone in my body.

Maureen- I'll tell you the same thing I told Kathy Somers...all the new photos look like you are aging in reverse! I want in on the secret!

Ah, clowns...they mean well and yet somehow they look so demonic! I like Kate Hart's rule, but, of course, roosters have eyes!!!

Elaine - Maybe the makeup was making me look too grown up. I surely still feel 20!

Clowns can be very creepy. Perhaps it is because they are hiding behind all the makeup, etc....

Maureen- great blog- congrats on the feature! I'm proud of ya!

Clowns huh.........what people get into amazes me.

C. Lange

UNLESS the pictures of the clowns are paintings by the owner of the property.

I don't really have a problem with clowns in the right setting. A family room, game room, etc. I did an oil painting of a clown one time many years ago and my family fought over who was going to have it for years.

I'd have been insulted if someone wanted to hide it.

Marci - Who knew?

Lenn - thanks for sharing your opinion. I have never insulted a client so far and I have asked artist / homeowners to remove their artwork if there is a sound reason behind it. I think when you explain the psychology behind the decision to remove a particular personal item clients usually understand. It has nothing to do with their personal taste - it's about appealing to the greatest # of people and not alienating or offending anyone.

There was a time when the paintings of Red Skelton in his clown outfit were all the rage. Are you telling me that time has passed? Oh I have a few clients to call.

Cindy - LOL Welcome to the new millennium!

Maureen - I agree with you, those clowns belong in the closet. I love your new look.

They say clowns scare most kids. They must go like deer heads

Jennifer - Thanks!

Russ - I completely agree about the deer heads also.

My neighbor has one child afraid of clowns and the other one is terrified of Betty Boop!

Maureen,

The clowns just don't do it for me and most probably, everyone else. Don't you wonder why an owner would pick them in the first place?

Agreed on the clowns - I don;t get the appeal to begin with, but that's their choice. Why make it more difficult for potential buyers? They are moving any way, right? WWhy take the risk?

Jeff

Much improved with your pictures! I have a vacant home right now, but the elderly couple refuses to stage. It is in great condition, BUT I feel I should do a little staging myself with towels, a picture or 2 possibly?

I have deal with many clowns that sell houses Maureen! Oh Wait! Are we talking about staging? :>)

JUN

2008

It's funny, but true! Most people when they were little and may be even still now had a fear of clowns. I often wonder if clowns were really meant to be funny when they first came about.

I had a former client in another businedss who while she had a very responsible job in mangement was scared to death of clowns and actually really lost it at the very sight of a picture....I can envision her running out of the home screaming...yep...lost it with the deerheads, fish mounts....

Wayne - Good one!!!!

Jeff - This homeowner hired me over the phone, he lived 5 hrs away. He said I could do anything I wanted - just the kind of homeowner I love!

Sally - I really wrote this blog as a tongue in cheek kind of joke but there may be something deeper going on with the clown thing.

Maureen, the clowns may have worked depending on the quality of the painting, but they look like $5 dollar pictures bought at a garage sale.

really nice post, i was laughing when i saw the clown pictures.

Clowns have never been a favorite of mine. I agree - OUT they go!

Hey Wait the Clown worked for the E-trade kid?

You are right. There are few places in a home that a clown might work -- maybe a child's bedroom is about it.

JUN

2008

Clowns are creepy. But have you seen the old man sailor smoking a pipe painting? For a while, I was on a stretch of showings where this painting was somewhere in the house. Not creepy in the same way as a clown but still weird.

JUL

2008

Did you hear that BOZO the CLOWN died. I loved BOZO I had a picture of BOZO in my bedroom when I was little. Okay so if my mom and dad were selling maybe BOZO would have had to go.

I love the roosters though, sorry. In some houses they just go with the feel of the home. I have used them on occassion and they have all sold

Phyllis Pafumi

I can't tell you how many people tell me they clowns give them the creeps or they are afraid of them. And get this, most of them were men. Go figure. I watch a lot of those magazine shows like 60 minutes, 20/20 and so on and I can't help but see a pedofile behind the creepy eye. I think if you asked the homeowner you may find that the husband has been trying to get rid of those for years! LOL!!

BTW, I would never had recognized you, I love your new pic.

If I saw those clowns at a garage sale there is NO WAY they would escape my grasp.

They are absolutely CREEPY-COOL! I wouldn't stage with them, nor would I have them in my house. But my cousin has 2 vintage kitsch 50's 60's and 70's store locations in Austin. Only the real deal there, no reproductions. Those clowns wouldn't last 10 minutes in her store. They are very cool, and the colors are delish. That they are fuzzy to boot....well, would just make Lucretia swoon.

http://www.roomservicevintage.com/

Just click to see the pics and tell me those clowns wouldn't take that store by storm!

The man's trash...and all that. There is a market for those clowns, and I know the address to send them.

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