staging homes: It's Your Choice -- Will You Work Harder Or Smarter? - 01/14/11 03:54 PM
I couldn't help thinking tonight, as I was creating a floor plan for a design job, that there were two ways of doing this.  I could have the furniture all brought into the room, then drag it around till it worked in the space, or I could create my floor plan to scale online, and save some sore muscles.  The same principle would apply to any task we take on.  If we do our homework and prepare for the outcome ahead of time we can save ourselves a lot of aggravation along the way.
How many times in life do we wait … (9 comments)

staging homes: Sometimes It Starts With A Dream - 01/08/11 11:42 AM
Reading a comment today by Debra Davis on my post about 55 & over housing, took me on an instant journey back to my childhood.  I realize now that I've been a stager in the making all of my life.  At the time of the life changing incident, we (my parents, my older brother and I) lived in a too small apartment that had nothing more to say for itself than it kept us warm and dry and housed our belongings.  Not having a real space I could call my own, my first glimpse of the "model home" filled me with … (3 comments)

staging homes: How My Under Sink Cabinet Will Help Get Your Long Island Home Sold - 10/04/10 04:47 PM
My family and friends think I'm more than a little bizarre.  I have a passion for cleaning products.  I wax poetic over things that sanitize, that scour, that cleanse.  Show me a new way to clean something better, faster, more effectively and I'm all over it.  The older I get, the more I want to pare down everything in my world.  I no longer want ten products that accomplish essentially the same thing.  Give me one, demonstrate it works and I'll clear the way and give it a place of honor in that admittedly less that stellar showplace, my under sink cabinet. 
Residing … (18 comments)

staging homes: Can We See The Forest For The Trees? - 09/16/10 03:29 PM
At the top of the stairs sat a too large plant, all but obliterating the view.  Like a palace guard, too long standing his ground, it was due for a much needed rest.  Gone with him were the large and small photographs in frames chosen more for utility than looks, littering every level space.  Wallpaper, weary from too many years trying to stave off time, pulled away from the walls in a vain attempt to call attention to itself.  It was time to retire them all and make way for the future.
How often do we all miss the signs in our own lives that it's … (4 comments)

staging homes: Thinking Of Selling Your Home on Long Island? Stage It, Price It Right and Start Packing - 04/08/10 03:45 PM
The plain, unvarnished truth is staged homes sell faster and for more money.  It's been proven over and over again for decades.  Builders knew the secret to reaching their target audience and getting their properties sold long before we did.  They created model homes.  Buyers walked in and fell in love.  It wasn't the space that sold them.  It was the feeling the furnished home evoked.
It took many years for the resale market to catch up, but catch up they did.  Staging is now a customary practice in much of the country.  A very wise man who ran a sales … (2 comments)

staging homes: A Primer On Getting Your Long Island Home Sold - Part 2 - Preparing For The Sale - Putting Its Best Foot Forward - 08/18/09 01:15 AM
So to recap, you've made the decision to sell your home on Long Island and you've chosen an agent to represent you.  The paperwork has been signed and she or he is eager to begin the process of getting your home sold.  Now what's next?  Before the first marketing piece is designed and before the first agent from the MLS tours your home, you have to walk through it room by room with your REALTOR®. 
I often suggest to my homeowners that we take photos of each room so they can look at their house through the eyes of a buyer.  When you live … (3 comments)

staging homes: Sometimes Life Reminds Me of Musical Chairs - 03/04/09 06:14 AM
As a child I hated playing musical chairs because inevitably, and sometimes long before the game was over, I would find myself shoved off a chair I had occupied, however momentarily, onto the floor by a child with fire in his or her eyes.  It was an ignominious end to an altogether unpleasant experience, with the victor grinning from ear to ear as I dusted off my injured pride.
Maybe that's why as an adult I'm so turned off by overtly aggressive people.  You know the kind, the in your face, catch me if you can, megalomaniacs who truly believe the … (2 comments)

staging homes: Integrating Staging Into the Sale - 01/20/07 11:31 AM
As many of you know I've been offering staging to my sellers for some time now.  I find lately they tend to be much more open to it and it sometimes is the deciding factor in their choosing me to market their homes.  One recent listing, a basically attractive house with a decorating theme of early childhood, and the owner's penchant for covering every surface with dozens and dozens of family photos was an incredibly worthwhile effort.  With a commitment to sell and a trust in my expertise (I came to them by recommendation), they allowed me the freedom to transform the home into one … (11 comments)