“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