Since creating the “to be continued” blog, I’ve been closing each post with the words “dwell in possibilities.” I must confess that I borrowed this phrase from the great poet, Emily Dickinson. I saw her quote and realized that it summed up what I am doing as a professional home stager and interior designer.

I am most grateful to Ms. Dickinson for her insightful and inspiring phrase.

Regardless of the size or price range of a house, my objective is to find the possibilities in that house. I am looking for those unique features of that house and finding possible ways to accentuate them for the potential buyer. I am analyzing those unusual spaces that buyers find difficult to understand upon first glance and finding possible functional uses for those spaces.

In the end, my mission is to help the potential buyer see how they could dwell in the possibilities of this house!


Thursday, March 22, 2012

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. 18th 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


Monday, March 19, 2012

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