Mid-Town Gem – Energy at the Front Door!!

My latest staging project was a small, older model but redone as a cutie.  I was hired by one of my favorite Realtors to lightly stage it in a way that would appeal to a young, professional and, most likely, first time home buyer.

Now I know the conventional staging wisdom is to stage a house to appeal to as many buyer’s as possible.  I preach that mantra all the time.  But, in some circumstances, I am convinced it is appropriate and smart to stage to a more specific market.  You have to do your homework to know the neighborhood, potential market and their needs and desires. 

The trick is to not be too specific so as to exclude or turn off any potential buyer but to be clear about how this home appeals to the specific market.  Once again, it is the art of home staging rather than the science of home staging. 

So, that said, let’s talk about this Mid-Town gem.

Kitchen - I love white cabinetry.  This kitchen pairs the cabinets with new gray granite countertops and a light vintage wood floor.  The open upper cabinetry not only provides lots of storage, but gives the kitchen an open look and feel.    The staging consists of white dishes, lots of stainless and glass and French baskets with herbs.  Fresh

Living Room - In the front living room, we did a vignette to set a younger tone for the rest of the house.  This was my chance to make an eclectic statement.  I combined two newly upholstered (white linen) antique chairs, charcoal throws, contemporary bold pillows, dyed-hide rug, a large piece of abstract art and a glossy bright orange table with fun accessories.  The eclectic combination gives this house energy right at the front door and puts a smile on your face!

See more “Before” and “After” photos of the Quebec-Tulsa staging project at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Quebec-Tulsa.html

This Mid-Town Gem is chocked full of possibilities.  Now it just waits for the right person or couple to walk in the front door, feel the energy, see the possibilities and make an offer.  Then they can write the next chapter of their life story in this gem of a house.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Friday Treat - Great Thoughts about Customer Service

Earlier this week, I shared a great insight on customer service from Jeff Bezos.  As this week’s Friday treat, I have more great thoughts about customer service to inspire you and continue thinking about ways you and I can better serve our customers and partners.

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends. ~Walt Disney 

You are serving a customer, not a life sentence. Learn how to enjoy your work. ~Laurie McIntosh 

It starts with respect. If you respect the customer as a human being, and truly honor their right to be treated fairly and honestly, everything else is much easier.  ~Doug Smith

Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  ~ Damon Richards 

Every client you keep, is one less that you need to find.  ~Nigel Sanders 

Customers today want the very most and the very best for the very least amount of money, and on the best terms. Only the individuals and companies that provide absolutely excellent products and services at absolutely excellent prices will survive.  ~Brian Tracy 

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.  ~Mahatma Gandhi

Remember to dwell in possibilities but have fun doing so.

Cindy

Six Thousand Friends

I just saw this quote from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, and it got me thinking.  And I share it with you to get you thinking too.  

If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends. ~Jeff Bezos

This quote is even more pertinent now that I understand the value and power of social media and blogging.  It is amazing to me how easily we can touch, meet and serve customers and Realtor partners.  Thanks to the power of blogging, I meet new Realtors on a very regular basis and we explore ways of working together to serve their clients. 

In addition, I use social media (blogs, websites and chats) for ideas, inspirations and development.  I try to start each day checking out what is happening on my favorite blogs like Habitually Chic and Cote de Texas, to name a few.  I hunt websites constantly to make sure that I am staging my clients’ houses in ways that appeal to the current tastes of potential buyers.  And chats with other home stagers and Realtors are fun because we find out how things are being done in other parts of the country and that our challenges are not so unique.  So in a way, I have the opportunity to learn from 6,000 friends every day.

Building on Jeff Bezos insight, I believe that with the power of social media, an unhappy customer can expand their audience from the 6 in the physical world to the hundreds and possibly thousands of “friends” on Facebook, Twitter or their personal blog.  It is challenging to realize how easy it is for our clients and partners to share thoughts about how they were served with lots and lots of friends and acquaintances.

Of course, there is a simple and usually effective way to deal with the power of social media – do exceptional work and deliver exceptional results.  You need to go the “extra mile” and as Roger Staubach said so well “there are no traffic jams along the extra mile. 

My hope is that my clients and partners will be singing my praises to their hundreds of friends as I try to be a regular traveler on the “extra mile”. 

Remember to dwell in possibilities

Cindy

From Modest to Marvelous

This is a “Good News, Bad News” story. 

The good news is that our family pays attention when we share the news that houses that we’ve staged sell within the first few weeks of being staged.  They know about the Peppergrass (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Pepper-Grass-Staging.html) and Manor (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Manor-Drive-Staging.html ) projects that sold within the first week; Camelot Court (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Camelot-Court-Staging-1.html  )which sold within the first month; or my Osage house (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/OsageDesign.html ) which sold on the first day. 

The bad news comes when we stage one of their houses and it does not sell as quickly – and they remind us of our successes!

The really good news is that we transformed my daughter’s Mockingbird house from modest into something quite marvelous.  It was another “labor of love” for the Transitions team.  Of course, a mother pulls out all of the stops when her daughter needs her help and Mockingbird is no exception.

Here are a few of the things that we did to transform modest into marvelous.

·         Living Room – used white linen slip covers on the two sofas to provide a clean, bright look to complement the carpeting and walls and then accented the room with ringed black and white drapery panels and a really cool white French chair covered in a bold Vervain fabric

·         Breakfast Nook – enhanced a simple breakfast nook with red and white chairs, glass top table and a basket full of zinnias

·         Master Bedroom – transformed this simple room with light colored linens and silk draperies

·         Utility Room/Study – illustrated the many possibilities in this large utility room that can also double as a home office

My daughter, Megan, has been around house selling all of her life.  She understands that like a good wine, it can take time for a house to sell.  It might sell quickly but it can also take time for the right buyer to find this house.  Her husband, James, is new to this house selling game.  His parents still live in the house in which he was raised.  He asks just about every day when their house will sell.  And we advise him to just be patient, it will sell. 

You can see more photos of this project at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Mockingbird-Staging.html

We remain completely open to the possibility that the Marvelous Mockingbird house will sell any day now!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Vacant, Empty Houses – Staging a Blank Slate

Vacant houses are a blank slate to potential buyers.  If they are experienced home buyers, they may be able to envision how they would live their life in those vacant rooms and spaces.  If they are like many buyers, they may be intimidated, confused or turned off by the many options and unknowns inherent in empty rooms. 

Plus, some buyers may be confused or oblivious about room and space usage when these spaces lack furniture and accessories.  Staging a house illustrates how that space can be used and even brings some great features to light that may have been missed without furniture.  In addition, the online photos of vacant houses and empty rooms are lackluster at best.  Since 80-90% of buyers start their house search online, photos need to look great.  A vacant and empty house may not attract as many buyers as the online photos will be indistinguishable from the other dozen or so vacant, empty houses. 

Like most things in life, you want your house to stand out from the competition when there is a For Sale sign in the front yard.  You want potential buyers to want to see it and after seeing it remember it – ideally as their new house!

Professional home staging helps fill in the blanks of a vacant and empty house.  Moreover, it helps that house stand out from the competition.  And if done well, the staged home answers the questions and concerns about room and space usage.

Today, we have a great example of staging a blank slate – a vacant and empty house.  The Tallgrass staging project included the following additions that turned this blank slate into a picture of home. 

·         Even a long, narrow entry can be staged to make a great first impression

·         I love a dining room where I can utilize a nice, big round table!

You can view all of the “Before” and “After” pictures of the Tallgrass Staging Project at the Transitions website (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Tallgrass-Staging.html ).

With professional home staging, the buyers can imagine its opportunities and possibilities.  Now, buyers have the ability to imagine how they would live in this wonderful house. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy