See our website for our new virtual home staging service we offer. Anyone in the world can now have their home staged by us. Log on to www.mystagestruck.com to find ou the details.

Welcome to StageStruck. We are Osceola, Indiana's premiere home staging and interior redesign company. We serve Northern Indiana and also Southern Michigan.  We also serve Elkart County and its surrounding towns.

What is Staging?

Staging is the depersonalization and decoration of a home that is about to go on the market. Stagers package the home's best features and showcase them so that they appeal to the vast majority of people. In staging, you are marketing a commodity. Once that for sale sign goes up, it is no longer your home.  Whereas in decorating you are appealing to the personal taste of the owner. Staging is a small investment that yields big returns. In many cases staging is less than $500.00. Can you afford to lose thousands of dollars but don't like to pay the staging fee up front? Wouldn't you rather spend $500 to make thousands of dollars from the sale of your home? People have a hard time understanding why they should pay for a stager and put any more money into a home that they are trying to sell. It is like trying to sell a car. If you were going to sell a car, then you would do everything possible to show that car in its best light. You would wash it, get new tires, take off the rust, perhaps repaint it.  The same goes for selling your home. You want to get the most money you can. Therefore you need to have it staged. We know what it takes to get you the most money and to sell the home quickly. Staging just makes sense. Can you afford not to?

What is interior redesign?

Interior Redesign is the arrangement of furniture, artwork, lighting, and accessories and rearranging them according to how the family utilizes the room. The room(s) reflect who lives there. Since the redesigner is using the homeowner's personal things, it is hard for the owner not to like the results once everything is put back in place. The beauty of the redesign is that if the owner doesn't like it, the room can be put back the way it was. Redesign can make a room feel cheery, less cluttered, lighthearted, and more serene. Redesign only takes about four hours to complete so it is terrific for someone who loves instant gratification.

     Home staging is for selling houses and redesign is for the way we live in our homes. Staging is the depersonalization of the home so that it can appeal to a broad range of buyers. Depersonalization is necessary so that buyers can picture themselves living in your space. It is hard to imagine the size of space with a vacant home and it is hard to image living in the home if someone else's belongings are there. It has been shown that staged homes sell faster and for more money than non staged homes. Buyers like to envision the space with their things. Vacant homes leave a cold, impersonal feeling. That is why it is harder to sell a vacant home. There is a lack of coziness that occupied homes have. This is why staging is so crucial for a sale. The outside is just as important as the inside and maybe even more so, since the front door is the first thing that buyers see when looking at your home. An impression is formed right then and there. It only takes five minutes to form this impression so that means that a potential buyer has already made up their mind(s) to buy the house before they even step foot inside.

Call for a consultation. (574) 674-9764.

Why should you call StageStruck?

1. You have our guarantee that we will not sell your name to third parties.

2. If something is not right, we will fix it at no extra charge to you.

3. When you call, you will be speaking with the president and owner herself.

4. We will help you to get top dollar value for you home and we will help your home to sell faster.

5. If you are not happy, then we are not happy. We want to be the ONLY company that you turn to again and again.

6. The owner is the chapter president of the American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners of Northern Indiana.

Call for a consultation (574) 674-9764.

Since the outside of your home is just as important as the inside, StageStruck will walk around the perimeter of the home and yard (including the garage and shed) and will give suggestions as to what needs to be done in order to get the home prepared for open house.

StageStruck will also evaluate the basement, attic, and anything else in or outdoors. We want to help you get the most money you can from your home and so the suggetions we make are for your benefit and are in no way a reflection of your personal taste. We are here to help and not criticize. We will not judge you or your home nor will we make you feel inferior.

 The above picture is of my paint chip business cards. My personal business info. is on the otherside of the paint chip. Sometimes I stamped my name and sometimes I attached a plain business card to it.

What happens after the client calls StageStruck:

     We will set a date and time to come to your home and do a consultation for both staging and redesign. The redesign consultation takes anywhere from 1-2 hours. During this time we will assess your needs and ask some questions pertaining to how you live in your home, what is the feeling you are going for, etc. After the consultation the client has a choice of whether to do the redesign themselves or hiring StageStruck to do it. If they choose to do it on their own, StageStruck will provide a written report with suggestions on what needs to be done or if any extra items such as more lighting need to be purchased. If we do the redesign, we will go "shopping" with you throughout your home looking for things that can be used in the redesigned room. The client may be present for the redesign itself or they may leave for part of the day and we will notify you when the room is done. Please understand that there will be a "holding" area that we will use such as part of a room in which to put items that should go somewhere else. It is the client's responsibility to  put those away.

      The staging consultation takes anywhere from 2-4 hours. We start at the curb and walk around both the inside and the outside of the home. Curb appeal is crucial! Pictures of before and after will be taken because pictures can make or break a listing. Your staged home will stand out in the online listings and the listings in the homes magazines because of the pictures. It is a good idea to have the home staged before it is listed on the internet. There are a lot of people who pick out houses on the internet. You want your home to outsell the competition.  Having the home staged will outsell the competition. As with the redesign, the seller has the option of doing the staging themselves or of hiring StageStruck. If they choose to do it themselves, a written report is provided that includes a checklist, a list of vendors, and our suggestions on what needs to be updated, eliminated, or removed. If the client hires us, it is their responsiblity to have the home cleaned before the staging takes place. If contractors are needed, the homeowner will pay them directly according to their practices.

We offer 5 levels of staging:

1. Consultation.

We come to your home and focus on the condition both inside and out. We then let you know what should be done to get your home ready to go on the market. A getting ready to move checklist will be provided at the end of the consultation.

2. Rearrange

We use your existing furniture, art, lighting, and accessories to achieve the best sales impact as possible.

3.  Enhance.

We use the seller's existing furniture, art, lighting, and accessories. We also bring in extra props and/or furniture that is owned, rented, or loaned to the seller.

4.  Vacant.

Since it is hard to sell a vacant home, StageStruck will rent furniture for the home based on the number of rooms to be staged and the number of pieces rented.

5.  Model.

StageStruck can furnish a model property for builders.

If rental furniture is needed, StageStruck will make arrangements with the rental company on what furniture is needed and the drop off and pick up times. However, it is the responsiblity of the homeowner to fax or mail the rental company their personal information and possibly fill out a credit application to cover the rental cost. StageStruck will not pay for the rental of furniture.

There is only one level of redesign that StageStruck offers. We either add or take away from your existing room. We often make use of things and use them in a way they were not intended for. For instance, we may use canoe paddles as curtain rods, or use a metal garden gate as a bulletin board. We may use abandoned birdbaths as a side table. There is no end to our creativity. To use a cliche- we are only limited by our imaginations.

Let us show you how we can transform your home into the oasis it was meant to be. Live in the room according to how your family lives in it and not by how some builder dictated the plans. Your home should fit you. Not someone elses idea.

The goals of StageStruck:

1. We will remember that we are staging to appeal to the majority of potential buyers who will be looking at the house. The decorating will reflect this.

2. What we suggest will make help to bring in the most money for the home. We will not mention it if it will bring a great resale value.

3.  We will consider the home's integrity and work with the existing style rather than against it.

4. Your room(s) will be staged but yet not look like they have been. The home will have a cozy look and feel. Anyone who walks in will want to sit and put their feet up.

5. We will bring out the best features of the home and make them look specatular.

6. The home must be clean before open house; buyers only buy what they see- not what they don't. If a surface is not clean, the buyer may think all sorts of things about you and your house.

7.  The rooms in the house will look spacious because of our staging methods.

8.  A good stager will tell you what to update and what to get rid of in order to get the most from your biggest investment.

9. StageStruck will bring in things from other rooms if need be in order to make the space have more light or to fill a niche.

10. We will have each room serve its own function. There will be no confusion as to what the room is supposed to be.

11. StageStruck will have your home painted in the most flattering colors. Buyers respond to color. Beige is boring and blah!

12. We will create "emotional connection"  points throughout the home. Emotional connection points (according the home staging resource website) means that there will be places in the home where buyers will emotionally respond to and "feel home." Like when you fall in love and you know that this person is THE one, that is what emotional connection points do. The buyer will know that this house is THE house.

Call for a consultation. (574) 674-9764.

The fees for the consultation, staging, and redesign are listed on our website at http://www.mystagestruck.com.

 The redesign fee is a flat based fee and so is the staging. Vacant homes are priced slightly higher due to the fact that furniture will need to be rented. StageStruck does carry some accessories that can be rented out as needed for the duration of the open house.

     Sheila received her staging training from the staging diva herself, Debra Gould. Sheila is presently contributing decorating tips and household hints to the michianamoms.com website. Sheila is also teaching decorating classes to the local MOPS group in her hometown. In 1988 she received a BA in Latin from Indiana University Bloomington. She has also taken classes from the Sheffield School of Interior Decorating. Sheila is the chapter president of the Northern Indiana American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners (ASHSR). In May 2008 Sheila was a featured speaker on home staging at the annual womens show held at the Century Center. Sheila has also been decorating homes for 20 years.

*The above newspaper article appeared in The Tribune Business Weekly October 30, 2007 edition. It was written about StageStruck and its founder.

Please feel free to contact us at (574) 674-9764 with any questions and/or concerns you may have. Please visit our website at www.mystagestruck.com We have RSS feeds for realtors and the Wall Street Journal. 

StageStruck can be hired to teach classes for a group of adults. Please call our office with all the information.**

StageStruck can also be hired to do craft projects for parties and showers. Please call our office with all the information.**

Call for Consultation (574) 674-9764.

A list of vendors will be provided upon request.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Sheila

(Please see the picture that is in our tribune article for the "after" of the living room redesign).