Name
Karen Ellis - Home Stager Howard County MD/Central MD -
Company
Refreshing Homes - Home Staging Maryland
E-mail
Contact Karen Ellis - Home Stager Howard County MD/Central MD - (Refreshing Homes - Home Staging Maryland)
Google Profile
Find me on Google+
Website
http://www.refreshinghomes.com
Office Phone
(443) 812-5183
Description
Home Staging Howard County MD and Central MD, Home Redesign Howard County MD and Central MD, Real Estate Marketing Maryland

About Karen Ellis

Karen Ellis, with Refreshing Homes, is a HSR Certified Professional Home Stager and Redesigner serving the Howard County MD and Central MD areas.  She specializes in both vacant and occupied home staging, as well as Redesign.  She is an active member of the American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners.

With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design and a real estate marketing background, Karen has an eye for color, design and spatial planning. The field of home staging and redesign combines her love and knowledge of real estate and marketing with her passion for design. Whether staging or redesigning, every home represents a new challenge and overcoming those challenges is very rewarding.

Home Staging in Howard County MD and Central MD

In the ever popular and competitive real estate markets of Howard County MD and Central MD, making sure a home looks its best online and in person is imperative. At Refreshing Homes, we work with sellers and realtors to focus on three key elements: Staging, Pricing and Marketing. The successful combination of these three elements enables a home to sell for maximum profit in the shortest amount of time.

At Refreshing Homes we realize each home offers unique challenges and it is important to work with the sellers to devise a plan to help them sell quickly and for top dollar. Statistically, the cost of home staging is much less than a home’s first price reduction. With that in mind, we offer flexibility and custom options to work within the seller’s budget.

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Why Choose Refreshing Homes?

We love Karen!!  Bottom line - our home was on the market for only three days, when we received a full offer.  There is no doubt that Karen's staging was a critical influence in our successful sale.  Our home stood out among homes on the internet thanks to Karen's guidance.

Karen is wonderful to work with.  She is great at visualizing spaces for potential changes.  As she went from room to room, she kept our costs down by using our existing furnishings.  It was so much fun to work with Karen because of her sense of humor.  Her professionalism, ability to juggle our items and coordinate colors in each room was amazing.  We felt well prepared for picture day and house showings.

We have strongly recommended Karen to our friends because we believe she was such an integral part of our successful sale.

Doug and Bennie M.

 


I was very impressed by your creative vision to help transform a house that I loved into a house that potential buyers could love too!  My house sold very quickly for an excellent price and I think you played a key role.  The cost of your services paid for itself many times over.  You were very sensitive to my changing understanding of what it takes to sell a house and were extremely responsive in every way.  Your work made me realize that your "profession" is very important in selling a house.

Lisa D.

 

Karen expertly staged my home for a quick sale.  She was efficient, reliable and worked well independently to get the job done.  I didn't have to worry about a thing - she took care of everything.  The house looked so classy when it was finished, no one was surprised it sold so quickly!

Karen G.

 

Karen, Bobby and I feel very strongly that your ideas, comments and suggestions for refreshing, updating and staging our home made it more desirable in this very competitive market and was a large part of why it sold so quickly.  We were very happy that we followed your advice.  It was a lot of work but it was so worthwhile in the end.

Jean and Bob W.

 


I think the staging made a huge difference in selling the townhouse. The house was empty and pretty cold looking and feeling before you did your staging. What warmth it added and what a huge difference it made. The house sold quickly.


As far as our own home, it was a much bigger challenge I’m sure, since we had lived there for so long. Your suggestions and decorating were the difference between night and day. Several people that came in said it looked like a model instead of a place where we had lived for 25 years. I am convinced it was the reason we got two offers and top dollar for our home.

You have an eye for the staging that we are very appreciative of. It sure helped us. Thank you, Karen, for all your hard work, and keep up the excellent work. I know the next people will be as happy as we were.

Steve and Sue C.


We were very happy that the house was on the market for only two weeks. You are very thorough in your notes and suggestions, while being practical at the same time. The notes served as a checklist that helped us go through the process in a more methodical way.

Joan and Dave

 

I do believe that staging definitely helped to get this property sold. I received lots of comments on your wonderful job from people that attended my Open House. I thank you for your flawless and prompt work as promised. I've already referred you to my Realtor colleagues and I will use your services again for my next listing.

Terra H.

 

We were so pleased that our realtor brought Refreshing Homes in to stage the house in Arnold. Though the house had a newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom, and freshly painted walls, there were absolutely no furnishings. Though clean and fresh, it looked barren and empty. Refreshing Homes’ staging added the perfect touch, it was just enough to make the rooms attractive without being overpowering. I truly believe that the staging was instrumental in the fact that we got a buyer for the house in just 19 days after it was listed.

Mike and Nancy L.

 

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your many suggestions and the work you did in staging my house. As you are aware, I had two offers on the house within a week of it going on the market. Both of the offers were above the listing price.

I attribute the marketing success in generating interest in the house to your staging and how it appeared in the photos that were posted online. A friend of mine in another state looked at the photos and remarked; it looks like a model home.

George L.

 

After consulting with Karen, we implemented many of her suggestions in staging our home. We had multiple offers within two weeks. One offer was actually on the first day. More than once, people told us it looked like a model home. We had two rooms in particular that were awkward to furnish. Obviously, Karen’s staging ideas worked!

Kathy B.

 

We just wanted to thank you for all your hard work in staging our home. As you know, I was pretty apprehensive about staging, after seeing several “staged” properties that looked sterile and unappealing on the internet. But your style of staging made our home warm and inviting! You found a crisper sleeker home within our home. It gave me second thoughts about the selling process–it was our home, but better.

You are a true professional, who analyzes how to maximize impact, size and appeal of rooms, both in photos and in person. Your extensive inventory of stylish items certainly contributed to the overall effect we were seeking. Most importantly, you were a pleasure to work with! You are a natural “people” person, warm and always sensitive to our input and concerns, and you are a true professional, working efficiently and consistently to reach our mutual goals. We were amazed at how hard you worked on our behalf–we felt like true partners and knew you wanted us to succeed.

Karen, your creativity and energy far exceeded our expectations–thank you for a beautiful job!

Kathy and Cliff T.

 

Thank you so much for your quick turn-around to get our home staged before we put it on the market. We love the way you enhanced the space and made the most of its positive features. Every room looks so spacious, yet cozy and inviting. You even made our awkwardly-shaped living room look fantastic! Of the people that have toured through the house so far, nearly all of them have commented on how beautifully the house is staged. You turned our “good” home into a GREAT one that we are now confident will sell quickly. Thanks again!

Carolyn and Ed C.

 

Karen guided me-with wonderful creativity, meticulous attention to detail and respect for my budget-in a move from a large detached home into a small condo. She helped me decide what to keep, what to purchase, and how to blend the old and new seamlessly. Her sense of color was incredible; I painted my walls colors I would never have thought of without her suggestion. That inspiration alone brought true style to my new home. She offered expert advice in matters great and small-from the selection of a rug that beautifully tied my family room and nearby dining area together to the appropriate height for a potted plant in my home office. Nothing escaped her. All of my guests have commented on the beauty of my new home. What might have been a somewhat sad relocation from a longtime family home into a small living area was instead an occasion of true happiness for me. At 55, I have never lived in a lovelier environment. That credit goes directly to Karen, who did not impose her own taste on me, but instead opened my eyes to decorating possibilities I would never have thought of independently but still reflected my own taste. And along with being incredibly talented, Karen is warm, gracious and remarkably efficient.

Stephanie B.

 

Thank you so much…I am so glad to have met you and to see how well the appointment went! Your level of expertise and research for the appointment was so impressive. Thank you again and I look forward to working with you again.

Neda J.

 

Karen did a great job with the staging–very tasteful, and the coloring of the furniture and accessories matches the wall colors very nicely. We were very impressed with her work and very pleased with the outcome. Thank you for recommending her.

Diane and Dave M.