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I Live Vicariously Through my Staged Homes

By
Home Stager with Z Touch Design Services

Sometimes I just don't want to leave the home I just staged.  There is no clutter, no toys, the pillows are where they were intended... it's visually very calm. 

Then I go home.  I am not the kind of stager that lives in an immaculately styled home.  I have four kids ranging from 3rd grade to sophomore.  I have 3 boys and a tomboy.  Immaculate is a word that is lost in the black hole along with all the missing socks and the TV remote.  Legos multiply, nerf bullets are found in every nook & cranny, video gaming stuff is constantly on the loose.  It's my reality.

Anything that will get stepped on or sat on is chosen according to it's style and most importantly it's camouflaging ability. My design decor varies according to what's been stolen from my house to be used in the perfect spot in a staged home. 

I once had a woman say to me (after she complimented me on my wonderfully stage home) "Your home must be beautiful!"  Of course I didn't tell her that we were sitting on metal folding chairs because my dining chairs worked so perfectly with the staging! 

At the end of the day when the staging is done, I just want to sit down (with a huge stack of decorating magazines) and enjoy the serenity of a quiet, beautifully staged home because when I go home it will be nothing like the staged house I just left! 

me with kids

Leigh Newport
Staged by Design® - Leesburg, VA
Northern Virginia Home Staging

Hi Leanne,

I know exactly how you feel! I always cringe when people say the same thing to me. If they only knew that you had to trip over the trail of legos to get from room to room in my home!

Mar 13, 2009 06:47 AM
Leanne Zumbrunnen
Z Touch Design Services - Lenexa, KS

Leigh - Don't even get me started on Legos!  Do they multiply?  I swear we have no less than 3,000 peices.  My biggest fear of the dark is that I will step on one with bare feet.

Mar 13, 2009 08:50 AM
Annie Pinsker-Brown
Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA
Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Leanne, this cracked me up and made my day! I have 2 young kids (3 and 6) and my house is the least Staged home I know! I have given up until they are both in highschool. Perhaps then I will have a sofa that you don't stick to when you sit down. Oh, and perhaps then my living room won't be taken up by a massive rocking horse that my inlaws bought for my 3 yr old. I make other peoples' homes look beautiful. Mine is pretty much a disaster!

Jul 10, 2009 03:30 PM
Leanne Zumbrunnen
Z Touch Design Services - Lenexa, KS

Annie, I have seen several of your beautiful stagings and it's good to know that there are others like me.  That just proves that the way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two different things - and we definately know the difference!

Jul 11, 2009 02:05 AM