toronto home stager: DIY Decor Ideas With Little to No Investment But Great Visual Rewards!
- 05/13/09 01:16 AM
With the economy as it is today many of us are not spending on the more frivolous purchases such as decor items. The desire to reuse as much as possible and wanting to make our homes uniquely reflect our personalities rather than looking like everything was purchased at one store has inspired many to come up with some wonderfully inventive decor items we can all do in our own homes. I went hunting around and found some simple ideas I felt would inspire you. I hope you find the ideas as refreshing and exciting as I do!
… (7 comments)
toronto home stager: How Long Must We Educate Our Realtor Brother and Sisters AND Our Staging Peers?
- 05/30/08 02:34 AM
I had an encounter the other day in my garage. My husband, father-in-law and myself were standing in the garage enjoying a cold MGD (Miller Genuine Draft) when a woman sauntered up our drive-way. Turns out she is a newish local Realtor going around passing out a quarterly 'newsletter' and a large yearly calander magnet (I do love those; they hold lots of junk on the fridge!). She introduced herself and mentioned she lived in our area. She was friendly and had a quick smile. Well, upon hearing she was a Realtor I immediately told her I had a business card for … (23 comments)
toronto home stager: What's in a Business Name? Take the Time To Get it Right!
- 05/18/08 09:48 AM
When we start our own business (staging) we spend a lot of time in the preparation. The most time consuming task for myself was selecting the business name. I have pages of ideas. Ultimately I decided on '2 Hounds Design'...which was not my marketing guru's favorite (to be polite). With Active Rain we get to see many new stagers...and their business names. Many of the business names we see are already in existence in other areas of the country yet new(ish) stagers are not taking the time to deliberate over their business name in order to come up with something unique. A business … (23 comments)
toronto home stager: Who's BRAND Are You Selling? - I Promised Barbara Cluck-Miksits a Positve Post...I Deliver!
- 03/27/08 12:19 AM
Barbara and I have exchanged emails...she's such a nice woman!...and I promised I would get a positive post out soon. I just never expected the blogging muse to visit so soon! -------------------------------- WHO'S Brand Are You Selling? As Home Stagers we are selling a 'brand'...and I don't mean our business...the clients property is the brand we are selling. 'The one essential truth that shines through every (marketing) strategy is that for a product or service to be successful it must start with a good or pleasant experience at the first customer touch point. That experience can be with the actual product or service, or it can … (13 comments)
toronto home stager: What is Home Staging? Seems Many Think it Simply Means Emptying Out the Rooms!
- 03/24/08 05:43 AM
O.K. now that I've got your attention... I've been looking at some of the very recent staging 'gradutates' new websites and their portfolios. This post is not about the training course they have taken as I have no idea what they are taught. They do post their newly purchased Trademark alphabets though, so I do know they have taken the training. This post is about my perception gleaned from perusing these new web sites and the staging on display. I won't be posting examples...it is not my intention to make an example of anyone. I recently posted on my blog about the Staging Industry being undermined by … (9 comments)
toronto home stager: Will Stealing Photos Never Stop? Another AR Ripped Off!
- 11/27/07 07:26 AM
While getting emails off websites for our upcoming SIF RT I came across the website of Andrea Soos: top-price homestaging. Her before and after portfolio is not her work but that of AR Stager Adam Luttrell http://www.shiftbydesign.com.au/portfolio_testimonials.html. Some of Adam's older before and afters are no longer on his website...but surprise! you can see his work on Andrea's. Did Andrea forget to credit Adam and his company Shift By Design in Australia? I have notified Adam and I have contacted QCDesign School (ISP), Andrea's associated training provider. Watch what you do ladies and gentlemen: professional stagers, no matter what designation, stick together and SIF! … (59 comments)
toronto home stager: 2 Hounds Design and Real Estate Shows...having fun!
- 09/12/07 04:40 AM
Here is my first crack at using Real Estate Shows...I just wanted to have a little bit of fun with it: I actually created this show mid May, but just now had the time to learn how to embed it. Thanks Jeff for the video how to! This is very simple to do and of course, highly recommened to use as a marketing tool for showcasing our staging...and personalities! Let me know what you think! … (7 comments)
toronto home stager: A couple of new inventory pictures! I'm so excited they are all mine!
- 07/28/07 07:00 AM
Here are a couple of the purchases I made yesterday. I picked up these Nautica bedding sets in Queen and Twin for an amazing price! These were my big splurge. I didn't pay retail (couldn't afford to) but they were on sale so I had to have them. I was going to buy 3 but at the cash register I broke one (that was why I was buying 3). So I've come home with just 2. I will only place these in high-end vacant homes. (The picture is of the smooth silver, I bought the 'hammered' silver). They are sooooooo hot! The focus of 2 … (15 comments)
I'm still working on improving my photos. The images where taken using the Kodak v705 ultrawide angle lens. Much of the artwork was sourced from an amazing local artist...I have to find his card so I can fill in his contact info. Due to the low budget for decor items we filled in with a few pieces from the 2 Hounds collection (which is very small). … (34 comments)
toronto home stager: Neutrals Come In All Different Colours (Farrow & Ball suggestions)
- 05/25/07 09:00 AM
You are always hearing stagers saying to use neutrals to paint your rooms if you are painting to sell. Unfortunately, many hear neutral and think beige, tan, taupe.... You'll be happy to hear, that neutrals come in every warm and cool colour you can imagine. The point is for the paint to not be to 'vocal'. Select a more vocal colour to complement the 'neutral' for an accent wall, a piece of furniture, throw pillows or other accessory. Some of my favorite neutrals are: Farrow & Ball Paint Mouse's BackHardwick White (like a sage green)Light BlueSkylightLamp Room GrayElephant's Breath (one of their newest colors - I'm so … (5 comments)
toronto home stager: Essential Oils Just Make Good Scents!
- 05/25/07 08:25 AM
One of the last things I do when staging a home is walk around with my essential oils. If I have my faux lemon or limes out, they get a little splash as well, but you have to be careful...just one drop. I fill the all the sinks with hot water and add some of the essential oils, my favorites are orange blossom with pink grapefruit. I'll let it sit for a minute or two then just pull the plugs, for the next couple of days, walking past the sink is HEAVEN! If the house is vacant, I'm sure it would last … (11 comments)
toronto home stager: Do I hear the words 'price reduction'? This is NOT a staged house!
- 04/28/07 03:35 AM
I've been to a number of open houses in the Durham region which have been 'staged' as told to me by the agents. You would NEVER in a million years guess that they'd been staged. I mean these places showed terribly. Not only that, but these houses have sat on the market and had multiple price reductions. I don't know if this is common in other areas, but I figure it is not a one off situation here in Durham Region. The agents response to my shocked look is 'it looks a lot better than it did'. Now, I know that … (24 comments)
toronto home stager: Professional Real Estate Photographers
- 04/25/07 06:17 AM
I didn't realize that there were photographers who specialized in real estate until joining AR. We all know the value of quality photos to market houses. I see a direct parallel to stagers. The real estate photography trend seems to be much more popular in the US than in Canada, just as staging using professionals is still more popular in the US. I'll make a wild assumption that most Realtors (in the US and Canada) still take their own photos and give pseudo-staging advice to their clients. My blog thoughts, today, are not on the majority however. I am wondering about the Realtors who make the … (2 comments)
toronto home stager: Spring Blooms
- 04/21/07 09:21 AM
I've been playing around with flower arrangements and thought I'd give some advice for what I've learned these last few days...no doubt most already know what I'm about to say! 1st, clean the stems of sand, mud or bugs and remove most leaves. Never leave any leaves blow the water line. 2nd, flowers need to acclimatize, so clean and prepare them a day or a few hours ahead if possible. Then re-cut as you are placing. For woody stems split and quarter cut to aid in water uptake. 3rd, don't pick the vase before the flowers. Let the flowers dictate the vase. I have learned … (0 comments)
toronto home stager: Lack Of Enthusiasm & How Not To Market a House
- 04/11/07 12:06 PM
I recently attended a local Breakfast Tour for the new weekly listings. The Breakfast Tour is to allow listing agents to promote their new listings to the gathered group of agents. One after another,each agent would tell the group about the house they had, and list off the details/features. At the end of the brief talk, many would mention that the price had just been reduced. With each description, I would hear that it showed 'ok', 'not bad' or 'pretty well'. One showed nicely on the main floor, but we were told we wouldn't like the old carpet or paint on … (13 comments)
toronto home stager: Fish Bowl Photos...who's fault is it?
- 04/06/07 07:27 AM
I was just reading another post about the use of multiple photos for listings creating 300% more traffic on mls than listings with only 1 photo. I'm guilty of this. If there are no interior shots, I think dump, so I am not interested. I also, selfishly think, if you want me to buy your house let me see what it looks like before I leave mine...I'm lazy..no, I have 2 small kids. Getting out is not easy or fun. So show me the pictures or I won't be considering your house. Then I started thinking about something else that bugs me. … (19 comments)
With the economy as it is today many of us are not spending on the more frivolous purchases such as decor items. The desire to reuse as much as possible and wanting to make our homes uniquely reflect our personalities rather than looking like everything was purchased at one store has inspired many to come up with some wonderfully inventive decor items we can all do in our own homes.;)
;)
