Meet Exit Stage Right Home Staging Vancouver

Meet Exit Stage Right Home Staging Vancouver

Hello.  My name is Sally Weatherley, and I'm the Owner and Lead Designer at Exit Stage Right Home Staging Vancouver.  I'd love to tell you a little bit about myself.  I was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C. and have watched this city change, develop, morph and grow.  I originally had a passion for languages, and studied French for many years, living in Quebec City and Grenoble, France, in an effort to become more fluent. 

During my early wanderings, I was inspired by all things European, and to this day, will often sneak an Eiffel Tower into my staging work!  Eventually, I became a Flight Attendant with Air Canada, and traveled the world, soaking in even more exotic culture.  To this day, these travels have influenced my staging designs, through colour, texture, global references and general worldliness.

For a while, I settled down and raised my two lovely daughters, Madeleine and Dominique (oh!  French names!).  At the same time, I studied textile design through the prestigious City & Guilds of London programme, receiving my diploma.  Design is a funny thing.  It can be applied to all sorts of different media.  At the time, I had no idea how beneficial these principles would become to my future home staging and design career. 

Home Staging & Design Qualifications

I eventually decided to return to school and study Interior Design.  Yes, I would become an Interior Designer; at least, that was the plan!  I enrolled in the Interior Design programme at BCIT and for the next few years studied all things to do with design:  colour, lighting, space planning, rendering and... drafting!  Drafting was my least favourite class, both manual and computer aided, and I despaired.  I loved all other aspects of Interior Design, but NOT drafting.  Then I received a "sign".  My History of Furniture instructor went off on a tangent one day, and started explaining home staging.  The light went on.  I realized that's what I wanted to do.  No drafting involved, although scribbling down a floor plan by hand always comes in handy. 

I completed the Management Certificate in Interior Design at BCIT, then went on to complete several Staging Courses, including CSP and PRES staging training.  I've been so lucky to have had great mentors like Jackson Lane West and Dana Smithers, and consider them great friends to this day.  However, I love to learn, and two years into my business decided to take an advanced staging course through SAR, and taught by Matthew Finlason, award winning designer and T.V. personality, from the HGTV series, The Stagers, filmed here in Vancouver. 

Matthew's course really opened my eyes to advanced techniques in staging that really capture the buyer's interest like never before.  Gone were the days of safe stages and Vanilla, bland rooms.  The leading staging world takes into consideration the demographics and psychographics.  We create stories and vignettes in a tasteful, subtle way that will capture a buyer's heart and speak to them at a completely different level.  It takes research and extra thought, but our results have been phenomenal.  Matthew encouraged me to break the staging rules when it made sense and to really create a dream, a want and a desire on the part of the home buyer.  Lifestyle merchandising at its best.

I feel that my success in the home staging business in Vancouver is a combination of a good, solid interior design background, where elements and principles of design apply to home staging, thus creating a successful and pleasing room/home.  This, coupled with excellent staging training courses, where we learned the importance of quickly setting a home up for sale, to appeal to a target market.  Home staging really is magic.  I've seen homes that have been languishing on the market, sell in record time once they have been staged.  It's human nature to be attracted to a beautiful space that promises a specific, envied lifestyle. 

I am also an award winning Stager, and was recognized in 2011 by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA).  I belong to a local Staging group in Vancouver called the City Stagers, and am also an active participant with RESA Canada.  I'm an active blogger on ActiveRain.com, and also showcase my work on Houzz.com and AvaLiving.com, where I have been featured.

How Can We Help You Sell Your Home?

Exit Stage Right Home Staging Vancouver offers several options.  The Consultation:  We can walk through with you, viewing your property for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, and tell you everything you need to know and do to stage your home for sale yourself.  This is a great list of instructions for furniture placement, editing strategies, handwritten floor plans, and ideas for storing excess items.

Occupied Staging:  If you are living in your home but would like it staged, we can "tweak" your home, using your existing furnishings.  We often bring in an art & accessory package to add that extra pizazz.  We rearrange furniture to create better traffic flow and open up space in a room.  Often, we also add new "vavoom" bedding to really give a "retreat" feeling to a bedroom. 

Vacant Staging:  We have our own furniture inventory, and can completely stage a condo or house with high-end, style appropriate furniture, artwork and accessories.  It is much easier to sell a home that has furniture and a soul, rather than an empty box.  Buyers need to connect emotionally with your home and furnishing a home adds warmth and character, and can showcase architectural features, such as fireplaces, built-ins, and views.

Love Letters

Here are just a few testimonials from happy clients.  I also really enjoy being a part of several Real Estate Agents' teams.  There's a level of comfort, camaraderie and confidence that the REALTOR® enjoys when we work together as a team. 

"Beyond my initial first impression of “wow”, several decorating details immediately stood out as I went from room to room. First and foremost – the suite did not look “staged”. Sally chose a consistent theme throughout the suite reflecting a professional, elegant and sophisticated resident. I felt this was a perfect demographic to target for this location. My eyes were drawn to the decor, while not being distracted from the physical appeal of the newly renovated suite. Sally’s choice of furnishings and accessories were a perfect complement to each room, showing the importance of demonstrating relative size comparison between furniture and room dimensions.
When I first listed this property for sale I was reluctant to hire a professional “staging” company, fearing the suite would look contrived and surreal. I am pleased to say that Sally proved me wrong. Her professionalism and obvious design talents have surpassed my expectations. I would use Sally and Exit Stage Right, without hesitation, for my next design endeavour". 
 
~Graham Orlick

"Sally and her team completely transformed our house.  We were hoping for a quick sale and with Sally's help it sold in three weeks and for the asking price.   I have never seen our house look so good and the staging was commented on by many realtors.  I would recommend Exit Stage Right to anyone considering selling their house - it was definitely one of the best decisions we made.  Thank you Sally."

Jenny Morris

"Thank you so much for all your supreme efforts in making our apartment look so welcoming and attractive, your skill and attention to detail has resulted in our unit being head and shoulders above our competition!

We're extremely pleased with how the property has been presented to the market,  you really listened to what we needed, being flexible and accommodating to our requirements yet insightful and proactive with your suggestions. The transformation seemed to take hardly any time at all, which meant that the apartment was ready for viewing very soon after our first meeting.

The unit now photographs really well, to the extent that our realtor now has our unit as his feature property ! Thanks again for all your help, it was a pleasure to work with you.  We certainly look forward to asking for your assistance with our next property sale, and unreservedly recommend your services to all our friends and colleagues.

Great job thanks !"

David and Lynn Coleman

Thanks for meeting Exit Stage Right Home Staging Vancouver.  Please don't hesitate to contact us for all your Real Estate Staging needs.