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!


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Pretty Costs, Pretty Pays

Selling your house requires that it stand out from the crowd.  It can stand out because of its price; special location; or, unique features (which we call focal points in the home staging business).  Your house can also stand out from the crowd because it is prettier than the rest!  And Professional home staging makes houses pretty!!

But the reality is that Pretty Costs.  Just watch the ads and infomercials for makeup; age defying creams; hair products; clothes; weight loss programs; augmentations, and fitness machines and programs.  They guarantee some variation of pretty (usually with minimal effort) and they all cost money – sometimes lots of money.

Why do they work?  Because we also know that Pretty Pays.  Pretty babies draw “oohs” and “ahhes”.  Pretty girls turn heads.  Pretty men (usually referred to as handsome) also hold stares.  And pretty houses stand out from the crowd for all of the right reasons.

But when it comes to selling our house, some sellers (and sadly even a few realtors) believe that what they have is good enough.  They don’t need pretty.  In their view, “we don’t need to spend money on getting our house ready.  If it was good enough for me it will be good enough for the next guy.  Why waste my money on improvements and home staging if it is going to sell any way.”

For these short-sighted sellers, an investment in improvements and home staging is viewed as an unnecessary expense.  They are living in the past and expect their home to just sell.   Gone are the days when you can just stick a “For Sale” sign in the yard! 

For the savvy, strategic seller, this home staging cost is an investment in selling their house quicker and for the best possible price.  They know that Pretty Costs and Pretty Pays.

Professional home staging makes the house pretty because it accentuates the home’s best features and provides a nice, easy and consistent use of space and movement.  And don’t forget, a professionally staged house dramatically improves the pictures for the online listing.

Pretty Costs and so does professional home staging.  But Pretty Pays dividends and so does professional home staging which pays dividends in selling houses quicker and for the best possible price. 

A pretty house fires the imagination of the buyer and presents the possibilities of life in this memorable place.
 

Dwell in possibilities


Cindy

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