redesign: Before & Afters - What happens when you get a Stager & a Redesigner in the Same Room! - 06/28/08 02:48 PM
This was a unique staging - what happens when you get a Redesigner and a Stager together?The different philosophies and uberstyles of work were a bit of a challenge!  As you can see - it all worked out.  This was a redesign/Staging to Live for Sue - a Haven for Healing client.
Before:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After - with Special thank you to Sue G., Jill Hosking, Kathy Norwiciz & Sue Noel.


   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Please enjoy the before and afters of this … (17 comments)

redesign: The Power of a Haven For Healing - Part 1 - 06/02/08 05:49 PM
Haven For Healing is an outreach project sponsored by the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and IRIS - Interior Redesign Industry Specialists.
The project is bittersweet - redesigners renew the space of a woman battling Ovarian Cancer.
It is bittersweet because redesigners get to do what we love and we get to meet and renew the home of some really great women who are battling this dreadful disease.
This past weekend the New England Chapter of Haven for Healing - Jill Hosking, Kathy Narkowictz, Susan Noel and Margaret Innis - had the privilege of redesigning the Master Bedroom of Sue G.  Once … (27 comments)

redesign: It's time for a makeover... - 06/01/08 11:56 AM

It's time for a makeover...
Decorate To Sell had the pleasure of working with Kim Herter, a wonderful mom and full time professional who lives in the beautiful suburb of Ashland, MA!
Kim was the fortunate winner of a complete makeover which included hair, nails, spa treatment, wardrobe consult and clothing, life coach consult, resume rebuilding and more!  Also included in the makeover was a room redesign by the Decorate To Sell Team of Margaret Innis, Jeanne Boudreau & Pam Hall.
Here are some of Kim's thoughts on the makeover: 
"Margaret and her team could not have been better to work … (1 comments)

redesign: Haven for Healing - Nashua, NH - 04/08/08 06:06 AM
Redesigners associated with IRIS have partnered with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC) to  "Break the Silence about ovarian cancer with public awareness and education.  To ensure that women currently in treatment for ovarian cancer have a comfortable and harmonious room in their home in which to focus on rest and wellness, redesigners across the US are volunteering their time, talents and skills to create such "havens."
                  Our most recent Haven for Healing was in Nashua, NH
            
The Haven for Healing program is open to all women who have been diagnosed with or are undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer.
The Haven for … (1 comments)

redesign: Ugh! The Pain! - 12/28/07 01:40 AM
 
Making color choices is truly painful!
Taking the Pain out of choosing paint colors by Christopher Muther, Globe Staff, is a great article of how to get rid of that anxiety!  Christopher interviewed David Oliver, a color guru from London, and author of a gorgeous coffee table book:  Paint and Paper:  In Decoration!
You can find the article at  www.boston.com/lifestyle
Some of David's advice:
Test your shade:  'Don't just look at paint colors on a flat surface.  Paint the inside of an old shoe box.  That way you can see where shadows fall or how light behaves with color in a room. 
Tart up hidden spaces:  Paint the inside … (8 comments)

redesign: Staging Success! - 06/16/07 10:03 AM
 
Don't you just love it when you stage! 
And then the Realtor calls and says "You are awesome!  The house looks great!
The house goes under agreement in less than a week!
The house closes in 4 weeks!  Whew!
And then the Realtor calls you up and says:  Hey I have another listing and I need it Staged.  Can you Stage it Monday?"
Yes!  I would love to!
What would you say?
(11 comments)

redesign: Haven for Healing ~ Before & Afters - 06/09/07 05:45 AM
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition ("NOCC") has partnered with Interior Redesign Industry Specialists ("IRIS") across the US and Canada to introduce the "Havens for Healing" program.  Our hope is that this effort will also raise the public awareness and education about this silent disease - Ovarian cancer whispers - let's break the silence!
4 fabulous women in New Hampshire, Jennifer Myers of Jennifer Myers Interiors, Jill Hosking-Cartland of Hosking Interiors, Kathy Narkewich of Graphic Interlude, and Susan Noel of Marketing Matters LLC, were part of a recent "Haven for Healing" transformation:
   
 
Bedroom before
 
 
 
 
 If you are, or know of, a woman who has been diagnosed … (19 comments)

redesign: Is it an alarm clock or an invitation? - 03/26/07 12:34 AM
Monday morning!  Whoa!  I was up till 2:00 AM last night reading active rain!  Can't seem to get enough of it! 
And now, Monday!  How do you get yourself up and at 'em?  I attended a conference a few weeks ago and the speaker (I'll have to look his name up) was great!  It is very had to get yourself psyched in a negative world and as a small business owner.   He said when your alarm clock goes off in the morning do you moan and groan?  Or do you look at it as an opportunity to success?  Is it a reason … (4 comments)

redesign: Color me Staged! - 03/25/07 03:47 PM

Color is amazng.  In real estate especially!  Statistics tell us that yellow houses sell faster than other houses!    
Are you prepared to discuss color with your homeowners and Realtors?What do you say when Realtors ask you about color?Do you have color chips available for their selection?Do you dismiss any questions regarding color?Is color the differentiator for the house you are currently staging?Is color a business differentiator for you and your Staging business?Have you added color consultations to your staging business yet?Real estate - the business that is dominated by statistics, interest rates, cma's, credit scores, multi-million dollar producers!  But what sells the house?  Emotion!
And … (5 comments)

redesign: Dance: 10! Looks: 3! - 03/13/07 11:19 PM
Remove dead plants!
Realtors will always need Stagers!
A day in the life of a Listing Agent is tough! 
They are ecstatic when they get a listing but have no time to Stage for the photo!
  Christmas is over!
 
 Get rid of clutter!
These are MLS photos of new listings in Andover MA for March 14, 2007.  
(5 comments)

redesign: How do you solve the nuisance of trains and highways? - 03/10/07 03:17 AM
They don't make land anymore - Will Rogers.
Houses are being built near highways - exit ramps are in the back yard.  Train whistles and train tracks are in neighborhoods of new construction.  Homes (not just new construction) need solutions to these nuisances.  We have solved this problems in a couple of unique ways - but we need more ideas!  Even after a price adjustment, houses on busy streets and near train tracks take 10% longer to sell.  
We have tried these ideas:
Radios on 24/7 to classic music station.Water fountains on decks.Shades, curtain treatments to block the view of the 120 car freight train … (10 comments)

redesign: Desperate Builder Loves Staging! - 03/08/07 09:48 AM
Imagine you have a desperate builder calling you.  He has problems:
His spec house is still on the market, his "construction insurance" is about to run out and he has hit his bottom line. and calls you to stage the house!  
He wants the house Staged last week!  You know, I should have done it sooner! 
Your stock is already working someplace else so you will need rental.  Ok here we go.  I dislike using rental.  I have several key pieces that work well for me.  And I like them working for me - slow months you still get a check.   But this builder is … (13 comments)

redesign: It is so conventional - or is it? - 02/27/07 12:04 AM
Making a commitment to your work, life and career are part of the investment we make in being Stagers.  Part of that commitment is continuing education - and what better place to sharpen our skills as professionals than at a convention - whether it is StagedHomes.com convention in Chicago, IRIS convention in Nashville, or NARs past convention in New Orleans, or in my area the New England Realtor Convention in Vermont, or the Mass Assn of Realtors in Boston, MA
Each of these conventions require a commitment from us professionally and a commitment from our family while we are away.  Our  family's commitment while we … (8 comments)