home staging in nj: GOT CLUTTER??? - 04/02/09 01:39 PM
Selling your home can be a daunting process. Emotions run high and stress can overtake you as you begin to prepare your home to sell. Too many times, children are left with the task of selling their parents home. As you begin to sort through the items that have accumulated over the years, the process can soon become tiresome and painful.
If this is a situation that you are in, have no fear...THE TEAM OF RESTYLED TO SELL IS HERE! We will help you begin to make sense of the process and walk you through each step of the way, so … (8 comments)

home staging in nj: STAGING CHANGES THE WAY YOU LIVE - 10/02/08 04:01 PM
Everyone knows that the way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two very different things. When selling your home you must prepare it in a way that will showcase the HOUSE! In this photo you may find that the before picture is not so bad. In fact it is actually a great room...there was just one problem with it....
IT'S NOT THE DINING ROOM OR THE EAT IN KITCHEN....the sellers chose to place their dining room table in this room because they loved the EMPTY, SPACIOUS feel of having less furniture in their living … (15 comments)

home staging in nj: The Market and You, What does it Mean? - 09/25/08 10:24 AM
Let's face it, today's economy can send everyone running. The news media is all doom and gloom and buyers are holding off for fear of not being able to get financing to purchase their new home. So as a seller, what does this mean to you??
First, when selling your home it is important that you are realistic about your pricing. I have worked with a few clients over the past few weeks, and due to job relocations, had to price their home at a lower price than they purchased it a few years ago. This all in the beginning of … (2 comments)

home staging in nj: Simple Staging Techniques to Prepare Your Home For Sale - 08/16/08 12:15 PM
When you are preparing your home for sale, no matter how beautiful you may feel that it is, there is ALWAYS something that can be done to enhance the space. Here is a picture of a home that I recently staged. As you can see the furnishings and decor were beautiful.
What the space lacked was proper arrangement of furniture and poor definition. I was met with much resistance from the clients as this layout was previously designed by an interior decorator. My first recommendation was to remove the large china closet and make it part of the dining room.
Definition...ALWAYS … (16 comments)

home staging in nj: THE NUMBER 1 THING TO NOT DO WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME IS....... - 07/04/08 05:22 AM
NOTHING! Yes you heard right Don't Do NOTHING!! ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!
So often when meeting with clients they have had friends and neighbors over telling them things like their house is so lovely I am sure you will have no problem selling it. Your furniture looks great, your wallpaper is nice, the paint colors are warm, so on an so on.
So who do you believe when a home stager comes into the house and starts telling you to remove the wallpaper, paint the red walls, put away that settee sofa that is blocking the entrance into the dining … (13 comments)

home staging in nj: Don't Let That Textured Wallpaper Scare Buyers Away!! - 05/18/08 11:03 AM
Here is an easy fix for that awful textured wallpaper. First you MUST have an EXCELLENT TEAM OF PAINTERS to pull this off. Upon my initial consultation, the realtor made sure to keep reminding me that SOMETHING had to be done with this bathroom. When I see wallpaper I most ALWAYS recommend removing it, but in some cases I suggest painting over it. The realtor FREAKED when I told her what my team was about to do and reminded me that on HGTV they suggest NEVER TO PAINT OVER TEXTURED WALLPAPER....but I JUST KNEW THIS WOULD LOOK AWESOME!
Here are the … (12 comments)

home staging in nj: Bedrooms Are For Sleeping, THEY ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR STORAGE - 05/18/08 12:42 AM
Okay, when using ANY room in your house for ANY OTHER purpose then what it was intended to be is always a NO NO when selling your home. In this house we staged a few weeks ago, the bedroom were being used as kind of a dumping ground for all items that the sellers could not find space for.
When your home goes on the market for sale, you must ALWAYS  define each room and  restore it  back to it's original  purpose. This house was quite large and had 4 bedrooms. The RED room was designed to be a guest room … (6 comments)

home staging in nj: A Vacant Room is Filled with LIFE - 05/13/08 08:30 AM
In today's market the one room that most builders are concentrating their efforts on is the GREAT ROOM. The kitchen and great room are the hub of the home. The family will gather to read, watch TV and entertain. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BUYER SEES NOTHING BUT SPACE, AND LOTS OF IT??
When I was being interviewed for this home, the first thing I noticed was how long and narrow this great room was. There were entrances into and out of the room on every side. If I was confused about furniture placement, I was quite sure that buyers were … (18 comments)

home staging in nj: First Week, 8 Offers and Sells for $36,000 Over Asking!! - 04/20/08 05:06 PM
When sellers listen to their stager and their real estate agent their house will SELL and sometimes for over asking, even in today's market. Here is a blog that was written by the manager of Gloria Nilson in Middletown, NJ. I am that Stager and here are the pics of the house that sold for over asking.
 
SELLING A HOME.  They say that every Realtor should sell their home to be more empathetic to what their clients go through. 
I thought my home showed OK.  That was until I had a few so called friends come over and tear my home … (9 comments)

home staging in nj: Furniture Rearrangement Can Create That Retreat that Buyers Are Looking For - 04/17/08 03:01 PM
As a professional Home Stager it is my job to create that environment in the home that will make a buyer feel welcomed and relaxed when they view your home. One  such room is the  master bedroom. Does your master bedroom feel relaxed? Do you have an environment that is clutter free and calming?
If not then why would a buyer feel like retreating to this room at the end of their hard day? Sometimes simple furniture rearrangement is the key to creating a whole new space. With the addition of some well placed accessories and window treatments your bedroom can go … (9 comments)

home staging in nj: Clean Up That Office Space - 04/16/08 02:40 PM
To all my clients I cannot stress this point enough...keep the main thing, the main thing. What do I mean by that?  Take a look at the next picture and you will see.....
A buyer's first impression of your house can make or break a deal. So what is this room? Well, it is SUPPOSE to be the living room, but the homeowner had it set up as his office. When I was called in for my consultation the realtor thought we would need to rent a living room set to replace the office furniture. Upon careful review of the other … (16 comments)

home staging in nj: What to Do When the Room Presents Some Unique Challenges - 04/02/08 05:27 AM
Every home and every room can be improved with the professional services of a home stager. But as you can see in these 3 rooms, they each presented some unique challenges. My first bedroom came with built ins along the whole back wall. While the possibility of removing them was not a practical solution I decided to play them up and show them off. We took a bland room and by adding color to enhance the color in the built ins this room went from confusing to a room that any boy would love to call his own.
BEFORE the room … (9 comments)

home staging in nj: Is Your Furniture Too Big For Your Room??? - 03/22/08 01:49 PM
As a professional home stager I have had the privilege of visiting many homes over the past several years. Whiel decluttering is always a must, removing large scale furniture is right on the list with it. This is a very common problem that many sellers make.
Time and time again, professional home stagers have told clients that the way they live in a home and the way they are to sell a home are two entirely different things. First declutter, declutter, declutter, that's simple enough, right? WRONG!!
An important rule to remember is that your are SELLING YOUR HOUSE AND NOT YOUR … (9 comments)

home staging in nj: PREPARE YOURSELF BEFORE YOU MEET WITH A HOME STAGER - 01/25/08 10:16 PM
Staging homes is all about doing the necessary "PREP" work to get that home ready to DEBUT on the real estate market. Are your PREPARED?? You may think so, but as a professional home stager I can tell you that even while homeowners are ready to list their home, they ARE NOT ready to "LET GO" of their decor.  
When I enter a home I often tell the sellers to remember that I am here to view their home with the objective eye of the buyer. With that being said I am here to buy YOUR HOUSE, not your furniture or decor. If … (1 comments)

home staging in nj: BYE BYE PINK, HELLO HOME!! - 11/10/07 08:57 PM
Before Painting and Staging
After Painting and Staging.
So many times I see homes that are reminiscent of 1980's decor and paint color. Pink is one of those colors. While it works well in a little girl's room, it does nothing to warm up this space. This is a beautiful home in Warren, NJ. The style is contemporary and therefore the homeowner went with the "contemporary" colors that so many homeowners choose....PINK!
This living room was large and in an effort to "fit" all their furniture, the homeowners had everything spread out! The loveseat was across from the couch (as seen in the next … (20 comments)

home staging in nj: HOME STAGING...WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT! - 10/10/07 02:24 PM
As inventory for the real estate market continues to grow, more realtors and sellers alike are calling upon the services of a professional home stager. Realtors have begun to use Home Staging as part of their marketing strategy which is very wise. But I am still finding that while the popularity of Home Staging has grown, many sellers still do not fully understand what the home stager will set out to achieve when staging their home.
Let me help you try to understand what Home Staging IS and IS NOT!
HOME STAGING IS NOT INTERIOR  DECORATING
1. Many homeowners seem to confuse the two. … (12 comments)

home staging in nj: Sellers, you need to make your home SHINE, SHINE, SHINE - 10/03/07 12:59 PM
In today's competitive, sluggish real estate market every seller that REALLY wants to SELL their home must do everything they can to make their home be the shining star that will stand out from the competition.
I am not kidding about this. As a professional home stager I have seen this scenario time and time again. When a seller first lists their house for sale, they feel they don't need to do anything special to their home since their home is already perfect. Most times they want to see what happens at the first few Open Houses. WELLLLL, think again!
Buyers have … (2 comments)

home staging in nj: Here it is...EURO STONE, the new peel and stick floor tile! - 10/02/07 01:09 PM
Okay, it is time to get your home ready to sell. Where do you begin? Where do you spend your money? What repairs should you start with? How do you find the time to do it all? Simple, call a professional Home Stager.
When sellers are selling their homes, they need to evaluate the whole house and make necessary changes in order to make their property stand out from the competition. When I am called upon for a staging consultation I look at any and all things that could be major turn offs to potential buyers.
Kitchens and bathrooms should be top priority. If … (20 comments)

home staging in nj: Words of Wisdom and the Value stagers provide - 08/15/07 12:29 PM
After returning from a 9 day cruise, it was back to work as usual and I must admit it was TOUGH!! I had endless days of sunning, reading and definitely over eating. Anyone that has been on a cruise can testify to that. I enjoyed taking the time to read a good book and I read the life story of Paula Deen. You know her, she is on the Food Network, Ms. butter herself. Anyway,  her story was one of encouragement and determination in making a life for herself and 2 boys.
Starting and then running a business is never an … (5 comments)

home staging in nj: NEVER MADE IT TO MLS AND SOLD FOR $20K OVER ASKING!! - 05/17/07 01:35 PM
Yet another AMAZING staging success story! Realtors and home sellers, don't wait to stage your listing, please consider doing so before your first Open House. These clients, reluctant at first, listened and SOLD!!
I will never forget when I went on the consultation for this home. Having worked with the listing agent before, she was confident that I would not only be able to convince the clients on staging their home but she knew that if the home was not staged she would have a problem selling it. Upon entering the home I was greeted by a very friendly homeowner. I was also met with … (6 comments)