Declutter That House to Sell It Faster – New York Times

If someone else can make your point better than you can, let them. 

I ran across this article in the New York Times about the importance of “decluttering” a house.  I realize that I am preaching to the choir for most readers of “to be continued” but I thought you might enjoy it as well as be able to use this article and its ideas when working with your sellers.

Here are a few key takeaways from this great article:

·         “It (decluttering) is vital, because most real estate is aspirational, and buyers want to see themselves someplace better and more beautiful,” said Jeffrey Stockwell, a senior vice president with Stribling & Associates in Manhattan. “They want the feeling that if they move in there, it will be organized, clean and attractive. If they walk into a cluttered, messy space, there’s none of that feeling that life will be better.”

·         ”Even if your home is in good condition, Mr. Stockwell said, “if it’s cluttered, people will think it needs a renovation, and that lowers the value.”

·         But cleaning up isn’t always easy. “You’re parting with things that have emotional value, and that’s very difficult for people,” Mr. Stockwell said. “They understand the need to do it. It doesn’t cost much, if anything, and yet it’s really hard to get clients to do it.”

You can read the article, “Declutter That House to Sell It Faster” at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/garden/declutter-that-house-to-sell-it-faster-market-ready.html?_r=1&ref=marketready

 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

See What 2 Hours of Professional Home Staging Can Do – Claremont Drive Project

Professional home staging runs the gamut from basic consultation to full scale staging of a vacant house -- and everything in between. 

Recent blog posts have been featuring Transitions home staging projects that are closer to full scale staging – usually bringing in furniture, artwork, accessories and linens.  These projects require an investment that is often returned in a quicker sale for a premium price.

But offering staging services to your listing homeowners doesn’t always have to be expensive or time consuming.  Even a couple of hours can make a huge difference in how a home shows and photographs. 

Today, we feature a basic consultation home staging project on Claremont Drive in Bartlesville.  It just needed a few new and colorful accessories; some furniture rearrangement that took two hours of my time; and, great homeowners willing to do their “homework” and provide some sweat equity. 

The result is a house that shows well and photographs even better! 

Entry – To make the entry and first impression of the house more dramatic, we brought in a console from another part of the house, made it more important with a piece of art and a forsythia arrangement.  A fern added that touch of graciousness.

Formal Living Room – There was just too much too large furniture in this room.  The homeowner’s homework included removing a sofa, bringing in a rug that I spotted in the workout room and adding the wingback chair from the den.  The room opened up and we solved the problem of walking into the back of a sofa.

Den – This den was being used by the homeowner as a bedroom.   A room should be staged according to the original intent of the room.  So, that is what we did.  Isn’t it a beautiful den?

This home is located at 2600 Claremont Drive in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and listed by Donna Skelly (McAnaw Realtors - http://mcanawrealtors.com )

The amazing result is that this house went under contract in 1 day!  Talk about selling a show ready house quickly!

Remember to dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Staging “Aha” Moment Made the Sale

Kitchens seal the deal.  Staging helps makes sense of the house.  Show ready, staged houses sell quickly.  We need to teach them how to live in this house. 

If you follow “to be continued”, you’ve heard these themes and ideas many times.  Today, we can share a real-life example where these ideas came together in an “Aha’ moment for the potential buyer and helped her make an offer on the house.

I was in mid-process staging this Fairview Road project when a Realtor partner and friend arrived with a potential buyer.  I excused myself, went to my car and returned phone calls allowing them time to experience this house.  After they left, I went back in and finished my staging plan.

Imagine my delight when a few days later I learned that this buyer made an offer on the Fairview Road house.  It is always so much fun when my staged houses sell -- and sell quickly! 

I followed up with my Realtor friend who showed this house to learn from any feedback.

She told me that the buyer was torn between two houses that she really liked.  Then they returned to the Fairview Road house and the buyer had an “Aha” moment in the kitchen.  My staging of the kitchen (which had not been completed during their first visit) made the sale.  The buyer was able to make sense of the kitchen space and helped the buyer envision living in that space.

The Fairview Road project involved “strategic staging” – kitchen, dining area, family room mantle and bathrooms.  Strategic staging is lightly staging either key areas; great features of the house we want a potential buyer to notice; or, areas that require explanation.

In this house, my strategic staging included: dressing up the mantle (the first thing you see upon entering the house); using furniture, accessories and artwork in the kitchen; and accessorizing the spacious and fresh master bathroom.  I staged the kitchen and breakfast eating area extensively.  By doing so, an awkward, blank wall above the kitchen sink was explained and not a decorating issue.

The staging helped the potential buyers visualize these key areas and then left the rest of the house to their imagination.  See more at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Fairview-Road---Bartlesville.html

This home is located at 4222 Fairview Road in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and listed by Pat Poindexter - McAnaw & Company Realtors (http://patpoindexter.com).

It might be the “Wow” first impression.  It might be how the imagination is fired by a great kitchen, family room or dining room.  Or, it might be that “Aha” moment when the possibilities of the house make sense to the buyer.  In each case, professional home staging helps make sense of the house and highlight its many possibilities.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Tulsa World Promotes Home Staging

Earlier this week, I discussed my goal to make professional home staging the standard in our area.  Today, the Tulsa World promotes home staging with two articles headlining the Scene section. 

I was pleased to be interviewed by the reporter, Brevetta Hassell, and included in her article about a Tulsa resident preparing her house for market.  The interview was fun because I was able to talk with Brevetta about my passion for home staging and my belief in how it can make a huge difference. 

It was great that Brevetta picked up on a key fact about home staging:

“The biggest perk of home-staging to the seller is less time on the market. According to a study conducted by the Real Estate Staging Association in 2011, homes that are staged before being listed sell more than 70 percent faster than unstaged homes.

A troubled economy has made for a buyer's market, and for sellers, the stakes are high for setting their homes apart and getting them noticed, seen and sold.”

You can read this article (Tulsa resident readies her home of 28 years for the market) at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?articleid=20120407_44_D1_CUTLIN669483

The Tulsa World Scene section also featured a second article on home staging (Setting the stage:  Home-staging allows buyers to see the potential of the home).  In that article, they feature Emily Brown and Janet Rusley of Sell Smart Home Staging who stage a Florence Park home.  You can read that article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?articleid=20120407_44_D1_CUTLIN249420  

I’ve been staging homes for 7 years.  It is so gratifying that I can see real signs that home staging is taking hold in our area.  It is not the standard like it is in other parts of the country, but we continue to make progress. 

As I say over and over again, with professional home staging, the transformations are dramatic and the results impressive.  And, the possibilities are endless. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

It Was Bound To Happen

It was bound to happen because I sometimes feel like I meet myself coming and going.  Today, I am staging a house for a lovely young family who are selling to move up to a bigger house.  I received a call this weekend from the seller wife all excited that they found the house they would love to buy.  It turns out that it is a house that I staged!!

They visited this house and fell in love.  I am not surprised that my clients fell in love with the layout and the incredible possibilities of this house.

Now my new challenge is to help them make their house “show ready” and sell it quickly and for the best possible price – my primary goal with each and every staging project.

This situation also helps me realize I am making progress toward achieving my second goal – which is equally important and in some respects much more challenging:  To make professional home staging the standard in our area. 

If home staging is the standard, then Realtors and sellers (partners or not; savvy or not) will realize that their house needs to be staged by a professional because most of the other houses on the market are being staged.  Buyers expect that the houses they consider visiting first are the ones that have been staged and have “eye popping” online photos.  If home staging is the standard, then those staged houses will sell for all of the right reasons.  If home staging is the standard, my sellers become buyers of other houses I’ve staged!!

I must admit that I see more and more progress in making professional home staging a standard in our area.  In the past month, we worked with three new Realtors who want to partner.  We continued to have staged houses sell (check out the March 15^th blog post – Show Ready, Staged Houses Sell Quickly).  We continue to grow the readership of this blog (more than 5,300 total page views to date) which is another sign that our messages about home staging are being read.  We have daily visitors to our website which tells the home staging story exceptionally well in pictures and results. 

With professional home staging, the transformations are dramatic and the results impressive.  Plus, the possibilities are endless. 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

“I Know It's Going to Help Us Sell Our Home!” – Staging with the Prettiest View in Bartlesville

How is this for client feedback after staging a house? 

“You were wonderful and easy to work with, honest with your opinions and from the preliminary view, did a great job!  For us, that's as good as it gets!  Thank you so much for all the work you put into the house.  I know it's going to help us sell our home!”

Today, we feature a really great house with an even better view in the Circle Mountain area just west of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  It was so much fun to stage, made even more so by enthusiastic homeowners and an encouraging Realtor.  The wonderful testimonial was icing on the cake for me.

This particular engagement was a type of “hybrid”.  The house had been vacated, but, fortunately for me, the homeowners left some handpicked larger pieces of furniture (like sofas, rugs, beds, etc) for me to embellish with my own artwork, accessories and accent pieces.

·         The recently updated and open kitchen had several best features to highlight.  I used glass, stainless and a simple color scheme to keep all eyes on the updates and prettiest view in Bartlesville. 

·         The wood beamed family room, also with the prettiest view in Bartlesville (not seen in our pictures) just needed some vibrant artwork, pillows and an accessorized coffee table.

·         The elegant living room is the first thing a potential buyer will see when entering the house.  Since this is the place a potential buyer will decide if this is their house, I take extra care in making sure this space doesn’t disappoint.  . I simply but fully filled the bookcases with covered books and consistent accessories.  Blue animal print wingback chairs, a cream shag rug and a mosaic piece of art over the mantle added freshness to the homeowner’s brown leather sofa.   

This home is located at 2520 Mountain Road in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and listed by Pat Poindexter - McAnaw & Company Realtors (http://patpoindexter.com).  You can find lots more photos of this Mountain Road home on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Mountain-Road.html

It is great to be appreciated for your staging work.  The only better feeling is when the staged house sells quickly.  After all, that is why we did the staging in the first place.  It opens up the house to all of its possibilities!!

 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Sound Familiar - I Documented My Life by Collecting Things

Sound familiar?  “I documented my life by collecting things – letters from friends and lold boyfriends . . . and the mugs, snow globes, and other kitsch picked up on rambling family trips to places like Tijuana and Niagara Falls.”

Realtor and their professional stager partners spend a good bit of time and lots of psychic energy convincing home sellers to clear out, box or reduce the photos, mementos, “and other kitsch” to help the house appeal to the potential buyers.  For many sellers, this request is very emotional because they believe the Realtor and stager are asking them to discard memories, important pieces of their life and symbols of their sense of self. 

The opening quote is from Pamela Weintraub, author of a Psychology Today article entitled “Lighten Up – How I Discovered the Power of Divestment and Living Small”.  This article contains many nuggets and insights useful to regular followers of “to be continued”.

·         “It was University of Chicago economist Richard Thaler who demonstrated the endowment effect – the phenomenon in which just owning something causes you to overestimate its worth.”

·         “The more an object reflects our self-worth, the more its loss hurts, says Rosellina Ferraro, an assistant professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and an expert on unconscious consumer choice.  “Those who value relationships most feel saddest at the loss of a possession that reflects relationships, such as gifts from friends.  The career-driven person values possessions like diplomas and awards; the spiritual person, symbols of faith.”

·         “Our innate tendency to acquire and collect has become especially problematic in the United States” says James Burroughs, an expert in consumer behavior at the University of Virginia.  “There is so much space that we have large dwellings and we put off prioritizing our possessions, sometimes for decades.”

·         Reclaiming my life meant divesting, but it was easier said than done.  “Our survival has shifted from a need for growth to one of sustainability”, says Matthew Knutson, author of The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking.  “But our instincts are rooted in the past.  Parting with things can fill us with fear.”

You can read the full article in the April, 2012 issue of Psychology Today or online at http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201203/lighten

Like the shoemaker’s children, I must confess that our house is chocked full of memories, important pieces of our life and symbols of our sense of self (and not photos, mementos, “and other kitsch”!?!?). 

And, we are always talking about finding time to clean out that closet, organize the garage and simplify our stuff.  But at least at this point, this is the house we live in and not the house we are selling.  We may need professional help (Realtors, therapists, movers, etc.,) when we decide to move and sell our wonderful house.

Imagine the possibilities when that day arrives at the Gasior household!!

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

Staging Magic Continues in Maple Ridge – Dramatic Makeover Part II

Did you ever buy a new outfit and then realize when you got home that you need new shoes?  Nothing in your current shoe collection will work with your new sophisticated outfit.  .  And you are shooting for a breathtaking, “wow” reaction with your entrance and not ho-hum reaction.

Well that happened at a recent staging project in Maple Ridge.  We staged one area and then the home seller and Realtor partner came to the right conclusion that more staging magic was needed.

As you may recall (March 13, 2012 “to be continued” post), this staging engagement started with the question “What would I do with this room?”  We staged the unique back area taking it from “bug-a-boo” to British Colonial. 

Once this unique space was transformed, the house needed staging magic in the living room and entry.  With the new “outfit”, the house needed updated and sophisticated “shoes” to match.

The living room lacked pizzazz as you can see from the “Before” photo.  It was furnished for comfortable television viewing.  Since the living room and entry is one of the first spaces seen upon entering the home, potential buyers started their walk-through with ho-hum reactions. 

The “After” photos show the wonderful effects of staging magic.  My objective was to create a sophisticated space that lived up to the expectations potential buyers would have of this elegant home.  I also knew that the first impression had to be breathtaking as well as match the “Wow” factor of the staged back area of the house.

Here is how I staged the entry and living room:

·         In historic mansions of this era, it was common to have a table in the entry “parlor” where calling cards could be left.  I placed an appropriately sized wood table with a easily arranged vase of dogwood branches.

·         The fireplace became the focal point of the room with an original oil painting above the mantle.  White linen chairs, a distressed square coffee table and a gently curved deep sofa placed on a soft contemporary rug make for an inviting seating area. 

·         A large burlap skirted round table with an elegant silk overlay adds softness to the south end of the large living room.  The mercury glass lamp adds soft light to the living room and graciousness to passersby at night. .

This elegant and historical home is located at 1201 E. 18^th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma and listed by John Sawyer (Sawyer Wallace Home Collection- Chinowth & Cohen (http://www.cctulsa.com/getagent/show.php?uname=jsawyer ).  You can also find more photos of this Maple Ridge home on our website at our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/18th-Street---Tulsa-3.html

Home staging paints a picture for the buyer about what life could be like in this house.  It opens them up to consider the new possibilities of this house rather than fall back into their comfort zone.  In Maple Ridge, our staging magic helped tell a dramatic story and fire the imagination of buyers about the wonderful possibilities of living in this house.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

One Year, 5000 Visitors and Still Going Strong – Thank You!

We started the “to be continued” blog on February 28, 2011 with a mission to inform and educate progressive realtors and savvy sellers about the value and benefits of home staging.  This week, we passed the 5000 page view mark with 141 posts. 

Thank you so much for your interest, support and business.

Since we started this little adventure in blogging, we’ve shared conversations we’ve had; ideas we’ve shared; and, projects we’ve worked with proactive Realtors and savvy sellers. 

We’ve even gone international with visitors from the US and 9 other countries.  In fact, we have regular visitors from Russia and the UK and we would love to hear from them via a blog comment or email. 

For that matter, we would love to hear from any and all.  Let us know what you like, don’t like and what you want to see more of in the future.

In addition to the “to be continued” readers, we also pick up about 60 visits each month to our Transitions website (http://transitions-home-staging.com ) which features lots and lots of examples of the more than 400 houses we’ve staged.

In honor of this latest milestone, we are providing a list of “oldies but goodies” blog posts from the past year.  For our newer followers, this list gives you a guide to a representative sample of “blog conversations” about home staging.  For our faithful followers, you may remember an idea or use a catchphrase from one of these “oldie but goodies”. 

Whatever your motivation, read a few and enjoy!!

March 4, 2011 - Dates, Job Interviews, or Selling Your House – Is There Any Difference?

March 7, 2011 – When It Has a For Sale Sign in Front, Your House Is No Longer Your Home

April 12, 2011 - Anatomy of a Successful Home Seller

May 2, 2011 - Remarkable Is the New Business as Usual

May 25, 2011 - For Realtors’ Only - Benefits of Professional Home Staging

July 5, 2011 – Professional Home Staging as a Standard

August 10, 2011 – People Buy the Dream and They Buy Value

September 26, 2011 – Mid Town Gem

October 3, 2100 – What a Kitchen

October 16, 2011 – Make It Look like a Million Dollars

November 3, 2011 - The One That Finally Stumps Me

February 23, 2012 – Cherished by Two Generations

February 28, 2012 – One More “Show Ready” House

March 1, 2012 – Marriage of Home Staging and New Construction with a “Midtown Feel”

Dwell in possibilities but make sure to have fun in the process!

Cindy

Show Ready, Staged Houses Sell Quickly

There are moments in life when something seems so obvious, so real that it is tough when others don’t realize the obvious and real.  In real estate, it so obvious and so real that show ready houses sell quickly. 

If you follow ”to be continued” regularly, you know that we recently featured a number of show ready houses that sold quickly such as the following:

·         February 28^th - One More Show Ready House -- One More Quick Sale!!

·         March 1^st - Marriage of Home Staging and New Construction with a “Midtown Feel”

·         March 6^th - Falling in Love Again

Why do show ready, staged houses sell quickly!! 

First, the show ready house sellers smartly select Realtors with a track record of success and most importantly, they listen to their Realtors. 

Successful Realtors tell the sellers what they need to do with their property if they want the house to sell.  Successful Realtors candidly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the house and share that assessment with the seller.  Successful Realtors have a plan for highlighting the strengths and another for addressing the weaknesses.  They do not “sugar coat” to keep that listing.

Second, the show ready house sellers invest in simple but effective upgrades and improvements based on their Realtors assessment and correction plan.  They paint.  They remove dated wallpaper.  They replace light fixtures.  They replace or professionally clean their carpeting.  In short, they work hard to make sure that their house is show ready from the first day it is on the market.

Third, the show ready sellers invest in professional home staging.  It is the finishing touch ensuring that the home is exceptionally show ready. 

Home staging paints a picture for the buyer about what life could be like in this house.  Home staging makes sense of the house and its functions.  It teaches buyers how to live in this house.  Home staging helps buyers imagine living their best selves living in this house. 

And when they are so inspired, these buyers are more likely to find the possibilities in this house and make an offer quickly.

 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Staging Magic in Maple Ridge – From “Bug-a-Boo” to British Colonial

Sometimes I am asked as a professional stager to make sense of a space.  This is usually the result of potential buyer’s asking “What would I do with this room?”

This is exactly what happened when I opened an email from a Realtor enlisting my help with a new listing in the historic Maple Ridge neighborhood in Tulsa, OK.  According to this Realtor, the home had a unique back room that he thought I could do something with.  As you can see in the “before” pictures, the room had multiple angles that made its function unclear.  In his words, the room was a real “bug-a-boo.”   

This room was a large windowed space that had been added on as a sort of pool room/sun room.  This creative Realtor had a vision to step it up to a more updated and sophisticated space worthy of 2012 entertaining.  His vision involved enclosing the angled areas to include a media viewing area (the angled areas became the closet housing the media equipment).  Our first meeting in the space included the contractor who suggested a bar area at the west end of the space.  Where there was previously a pool table, I saw a conversational area.

As you can see from the “after” pictures we created an atmosphere of gracious and carefree entertaining.  I wanted to give the room a fresh look that would be true to the age of the house.  The British Colonial style felt very natural in a home that was probably built in the early 1900s.  You can find more photos of this home on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/18th-Street---Tulsa.html

And so I put my staging magic to work to create this fresh look with a feel from another place and time. 

Using furniture and accessories, this large area of questionable intent became three obvious entertainment spaces.  The pub table and shelving are surrounded by windows and overlook the beautiful yard and pool.  The streamlined sectional and large ottoman are centered in front of the large flat screen television (equipment out of sight and in the media closet).  The three sea grass wingback chairs form a conversational circle with a metal table to hold drinks and refreshments.

What was once a space that created more questions than answers and did not live up to the elegance, charm and historical significance of the rest of the house became one of the best features of this fabulous house.  We went from “bug-a-boo” to British Colonial.

This Maple Ridge home is located at 1201 E. 18^th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma and listed by John Sawyer (Sawyer Wallace Home Collection- Chinowth & Cohen (http://www.cctulsa.com/getagent/show.php?uname=jsawyer )

The before and after pictures demonstrate what a visionary Realtor, a professional home stager and a talented contractor can do in a very short period of time for an open-minded and trusting homeowner!  With that combination, the possibilities are endless.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

P.S.  This staging project was so much fun and so successful, the homeowner and Realtor decided to keep going and  I was hired to stage the entry and formal living room.  So, literally this blog post is “to be continued”.

Falling in Love Again

One of the tough truisms of real estate is that when a house goes on the market for sale, it is no longer the owner’s source of pride.  It has become a product for sale that needs to appeal to as many buyers as possible.  For many sellers, this truth can be very emotional and difficult to accept. 

Today, we share the exception to that rule – a seller delighted by the transformation of her home by professional home staging!  Expecting the weird feeling of walking into what felt like someone else’s house, this seller fell in love again with everything.

I am delighted to share this testimonial from my staging project at 12124 Birch in Jenks, Oklahoma.  This house is listed by Carrie DeWeese,Chinowth and Cohen,  (http://www.tulsagreenrealtor.com )

"I thought it would be weird to walk in and the home would not look like 'my house'. I thought I would feel like I was a guest in someone else's home. I was so surprised to come home and fall in love with everything! My home was completely transformed and I had no idea that my own things would look better if they were staged properly!"

This testimonial is “music to the ears” of any professional home stager. 

While our objective to stage it to appeal to as many buyers as possible, it is always quite gratifying to have the house appeal to the home seller and Realtor partner.  It is even better to have the staged house delight the seller and Realtor. 

I often “over-deliver” in my staging because I want to delight my clients and help them sell their house quickly and for the best price possible.

As you can see from the accompanying photos, I was working with a house full of great possibilities.  You can find more photos of the Birch Avenue staging project on our website http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Birch---Jenks.html.

 

Remember to dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

Marriage of Home Staging and New Construction with a “Midtown Feel”

This staging project located at 12702 S. 2^nd Street in Jenks, Oklahoma was a match made in heaven.  This stunning new construction by Brian D. Wiggs (http://www.briandwiggs.com ) created a “Midtown Feel” with its design, fixtures and features and special touches.  When we added the magic of professional home staging, we delivered tremendous results – staged on Friday, under contract that weekend!!!

Today, I am going to focus our attention on the kitchen and the bathrooms and discuss and show how we staged these spaces for maximum effect.

Kitchen - I believe that a kitchen closes the deal on a house.  If the kitchen is remarkable then the house has been sold emotionally – and I was working with a very remarkable kitchen.  Thanks to the granite, sleek glass backsplash, white cabinetry, and stainless fixtures (see the Before photo), I was simply adding jewelry to a red carpet gown. 

My “staging jewelry” included; a black and white place setting for two complete with two black saddle style barstools, clear glass canisters and utensil holder (of course filled with black utensils) various other glass, stainless and white porcelain “expected” kitchen accoutrements and a whimsical tray holding a black bird and feather filled white porcelain milk bottle.  I wanted buyers to imagine their family and their best selves in the kitchen enjoying life and each other.  My goal was to feed the buyer’s imagination with the ideas of the possibilities to be found in that kitchen. 

It is easy to see why the kitchen can be the deal closer or deal breaker.  It is the space where the family gathers most often.  The kitchen is more than a place to cook meals.  It is where families plan their day over morning coffee and share their day over dinner.  It is the place where great parties begin and end.  If buyers imagine these possibilities in this kitchen, it can be the deal closer

You can find more photos of the 2^nd Street Kitchen on our Transitions website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/2nd-Street---Jenks.html

Bathrooms – the bathrooms in this house screamed modern and sophisticated so I staged them accordingly.  The black painted cabinetry of the Master Bathroom is accented with black and white bath linens, geometric art and a wispy floral arrangement.  I used a slightly different approach with one of the second floor bathrooms by accenting a gray and white shower curtain and bath linens with pops of yellow in the artwork and a bouquet of poppies.  The result is comforting and”cool”.  

You can find more photos of the 2^nd Street bathrooms on our Transitions website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/2nd-Street---Jenks-2.html .  They are worth a second look!

Anything is possible when you start with a stunning house full of great features and polish it off with professional staging.  In this example, a quick sale went from possibility to reality.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

One More Show Ready House -- One More Quick Sale!!

What is the value of making a house “show ready”?  Today’s example, F Court in Jenks, proves the value quite simply yet effectively.  This house was under contract in 8 Days!!!

Show ready, staged houses sell quickly!! 

F Court was a fun project as I was given the opportunity to make this immaculate family home ready for the big show and a quick sale.  I had a nice, clean, neutral canvas to work with.  And look at how I was able to help prospective buyers imagine their best selves and their family living in this beautiful space.

LIVING ROOM – I opened up the living room by pulling back the sofas.  I added richness by supplementing the accessories.  I also brought in large, contemporary art.  Of course, everything was arranged to highlight the fireplace as the room’s focal point.

KITCHEN – Simple, clean and orderly were the keys to what was already a special space.  In some cases, less is definitely more!

FAMILY ROOM – I arranged the sofas to emphasize the great view and the fireplace.  The home seller’s furniture was dressed up with colorful pillows and a few simple accessories.

MASTER BATHROOM – Bright fresh and sculptural accessories bring life into this large master bathroom. 

There are lots more photos of the F Court Staging Project on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/F-Court---Jenks.html .  Check them out if you have a few spare moments.

I’ve been working a theme in my recent blogs.  In this competitive market, houses need to be “show ready”.  And professional home staging helps houses be really “show ready”. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy