Hi Wanda, Thank you so much. The artwork is one of my personal favourites. The artist paints scenes of New Orleans. Many people have been to New Orleans or would like to go to be part of the party so it really represents having a good time with your friends to me.

Hi Sandy, I love taking before and after pictures too. It is the best way to show the impact of what I can do for a property. It never fails to insprire me whether it is my work or the work of my collegues here on AR.

The investment in this room was approximately $ 395 for the month.

Hi Kris, I am so glad to hear that you are discussing this with your team in your office. It really must be stressed that Realtors must come up with effective, innovative ideas to move properties this coming year.

I return again and again to the Realty offices throughout the year with marketing ideas that I think will be useful  to the Realtors. My goal is the same as the Realtors...to get the property sold. 

It is especially difficult with properties that do not have a client with a budget for Staging. This is where your Professional Home Stager will come up with ideas for you to present to your clients to get the property noticed on the web. There are people out there buying. You just want to make sure that they are buying your properties.

Hi Cindy, I do have a huge inventory of artwork, lamps, bedding, props, accessories, kitchen tables/chairs, end tables etc.  I use 4 furniture rental companies for the large pieces. The price point of the property dictates which company I will use.

If you are a busy Stager you will have your own extensive inventory to guarantee stock availability and to achieve the look you want.

HGTV makes us all pine for more inventory. As a Stager I don't think you ever stop buying inventory. There is always one piece that you need to complete the look and you just have to buy it.

Hi Allen, thank you for the positive comments on my work. The property was just listed two days ago so we will see how it goes with Christmas just a week away. Wouldn't it make a lovely Christmas present for some lucky family?

Hi Cherimie, You're right, vacant just doesn't draw in the buyers. It just looks like all the other vacant properties. Nothing to remember it by. In fact, when a property is vacant, the actual features like trim and upgrades do not show as well. They need the play of texture and colour to set them off.

Hi Margaret, thank you very much. It is so critical at this time for Realtors to make sure that their listing photos sell the appeal of each room. Buyers spend less than 15 seconds looking at their photos.There is some discussion here on AR in regards to photographing the appeal of a room or a wide angle shot of the room to capture the entire space. Hopefully some Realtors will weigh in on this topic here.

I beleive it is important to create a lifestyle look to the listing photos to capture the interest of the buyer. Even if you have a great camera, a professional photgrapher that understands product placement  will get you the money shots of a property every time. The photos that make a buyer say... I've got to go see this property. The importance of not taking photos with the toilet seat up, tissue boxes on the tables, shoes in disarray at the front door. After I have Staged and the photographer is not coming until the next day leaves a lot of time for the occupants to leave their personal belongings on table tops. Things that shouldn't be in the listing photos.

I have a new website now and you can definitely see the difference betweent the photos I take and the ones that I pay a professional photographer to take. The clarity alone will help sell a property. It looks like a magazine when they take the pictures. Also their virtual tours set to music is like watching an HGTV show. I can't say enough good things about the three photography firms that I work with.

HI Ginger, I get that comment alot about the title of my blog. When I first started staging I was always saying " all I did was.." when trying to explain to the client or Realtor what I did and it kind of stuck. You are absolutely right though in saying how much work it is. Stagers are some of the hardest working people around. They have excellent organizing and marketing skills. How else could they pull off what they do typically in one day on the job with one or two days notice.

I love the thrill of the job. Pulling off this much change in whole house in one day is a challenge but one that never fails to satisfy.

Hi Lisa, you are right about vacants. You could compare Staging a vacant with buying a necklace.  I can only imagine buying a diamond necklace without the stones in place. The necklace have the most beautiful setting, however, with the stones in place it will look stunning. A vacant home can have the greatest layout and the most beautiful setting, but it is the Staging that brings it to life.

Hi Cindy and Cathy, thank you for the kind comments on my work. This artist just draws you into the feel of New Orleans and makes you think of the good times with family and friends.

Hi Kathy N., thank you for the feature! That's awesome. You've made my day. :)

Hi Kathy P.  This furniture is the new Steve and Chris line here in Canada. I'm liking it the more I use it. The room definitely has a soul now.  The area rug is one that I have bought a few of. My sister is here from Australia and she bought one to ship home!

HI Corina, The room definitely looks much more inviting now. With the high ceilings it actually had an echo in the room. Soft furnishings and the area rug addressed that issue and made the room welcoming. It is the first room off the foyer so it required some impact to provide a reason for the the buyers to continue throughout the home.

Hi Phyllis, the sofa, single chair, coffee tables and lamps are from an outside source. Typically I provide the coffee tables and lamps, however, in this property I used the furniture suppliers for a particular look I was trying to achieve. I supplied the artwork and smalls.

As all Professional Stagers are looking out for their clients best interests, I try to stretch the amount of inventory that I can supply on any given job I did end up using two separate furniture rental companies to be able to stage one more room in the house than if I had used just one furniture rental company.

Thanks for stopping in to comment.

Hi JoLynn, The budget allowed for staging the living room, family room, foyer, kitchen, 5 bathrooms and two bedrooms. 3 Bedrooms and the rec room were not Staged. It was the first time the builder had used the services of a Stager and he wanted to gauge the results before committing to more rooms. Good question as it is always better to do something to market your property than do nothing and relying on the buyer to use their imagination.