Entrez, Sil Vous Plait!

If I could only stage one room in a house, that room would be the entry.  The entry area is where the action begins and where professional home stagers earn their fees!  The objective is to say to the potential buyer – “Entrez, sil vous plait! (Enter, if you please!).

A potential buyer makes up his or her mind about a house in the first 30-60 seconds upon entering the house.  It is an emotional reaction and decision.  Their remaining time in the house is spent justifying that initial emotional reaction.

Given how quickly the entry area sparks a decision by the potential buyer, an entry should ALWAYS be staged. 

Some entry rooms are grand, spacious and make my job of creating an emotional reaction easy.  But, sometimes an entry is no more than a hallway leading to other areas and that makes the task more demanding.  Regardless of the size and space, I still take the opportunity to create a dramatic entry into this house.  

Today we feature examples of dramatic entry room transformations. 

Glynnwood II – Before staging, this entry was good sized but underwhelming in the décor.  I wanted this area to set the stage for the rest of the house.  I used a rug, table, lamp and traditional accessories to create a feeling of graciousness that follows into the rest of the house. 

Boardwalk - Before staging, this entry had a narrow feel with too many small things that were not impressive or noteworthy.  Even though this entry is more like a hallway, I used a large grand painting and larger scaled floral to make this small entry look and feel sophisticated and impressive.

Check out our Transitions website for more vivid examples of how professional home staging transformed entry rooms and areas (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Entry-Ways-I.html).

The professionally staged home speaks to the potential buyer - “Enter, if you please!  Imagine your best self in this house.  Envision living the next chapter of your life adventure in this inviting home.” 

With a professionally staged home, one can imagine that anything is possible.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Ikea, Brad Pitt, Airfields and Islands, Brand Awareness and Dale Carnegie

This week’s Friday treat is a random selection of quirky facts and ideas that I came across this week.  I offer them for your amusement and consideration.
 

·         One in 10 Europeans is said to be conceived in a bed sold by Swedish furniture giant Ikea (The New Yorker)

·         The federal government has begun selling 14,000 parcels of real estate, including airfields, islands, parks, and buildings, in the hope of raising $22 billion over 10 years. (Time)

 

·         By the time an American child is 3 years old, he or she can recognize, on average, 100 brands.  As the popularity of digital devices grows among new parents, marketers are beginning to aggressively target products to the 0-3 age bracket.  (Adweek)

·         Brad Pitt says he suffers from a “psychological defect” that won’t let him go backward.  Pitt says the condition has afflicted him all of his life but that he has learned to accept it.  “For better or worse,” he says, “I want to keep moving on.” (The Week)

·         “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.” (Dale Carnegie, quoted in Psychology Today)

 

Remember to dwell in possibilities but make sure to enjoy yourself in the process!!

Cindy

Take a Look at Our Newest Staging Project

Everything was new about this latest staging project.  We worked on a newly constructed home located in a new (or newer) development with a Realtor that we had never worked with before (new to us).

Everything was new and the project went smoothly.  The weather was nice.  The furniture and accessories arrived on schedule.  Even my back and energy level cooperated.  The stars were aligned and everything was right in my staging world!

My objective was to have this house feel young, fresh and sophisticated like the people I saw living in the neighborhood. 

I was working with the blank slate of a new home in a new development so I had the luxury of great home staging options.  I used furniture and accessories that were easy and clean lined but still fit with the traditional architecture of the house.  I wanted to make this house appeal to the buyer I envisioned but at the same time not exclude other potential buyers.

Living Room - I used some “new” red leather club chairs, a zebra hide rug, contemporary artwork, a designer floor lamp and other apropos accessories.

Breakfast Room - This room was just the right size and configuration for a couple of linen slip covered parsons chairs and a table with a cream painted base and oil rubbed bronze finish top.  The red “Ikat” napkins, pillows and airy floral add the pop of color to the cream dishes and glass candlesticks. 

Dining Room – The dining room furniture I decided to use was dark wood with Zen-inspired lines.  The easy floral and hazy cityscape artwork helped transform this space into a calm room ready for easy entertaining.

Kitchen – It was fun to work with a kitchen that was roomy with floor to ceiling cabinetry.  I used the same type and color of accessories for the open and glass-doored upper cabinets.  I wanted to continue the easy feel from the dining room.

The stars aligned for the home staging portion of the sales process.  Now, my new Realtor partner and I expect the stars to align for the right buyers to be wowed by the online photos; dazzled by the possibilities of this young fresh and sophisticated house; and, imagine their best selves living in it.  And of course, we hope that this happens real soon and these buyers make an offer to make this house their home!!

Remember to dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Success in Tulsa – Staging in Seattle

Today, we continue the conversation I had recently with a very, very happy seller who we featured in our July 20^th blog post (“Have I Got the Girl for You!”).  She called to let me know that her 76^th Place house sold in 3 months, far quicker than she expected.

If you read the original post, this seller found me through one of my resource providers.  She had been transferred to Seattle and needed to sell her Tulsa home.  Plus, she knew that her neighbors’ house (identical floor plan) had been on the market for over a year and it was her immediate competition. 

She was smart enough to know that her home would photograph and show better with furniture and accessories.  But she needed to get moved and to work and her furniture was going with her!  That is where I came in. 

We staged her house and the rest is history!!  And she is convinced that her decision to have the house staged made the difference!

The other part of my conversation with her has to do with buying a house in her new hometown.  She told me that staging is a standard in Seattle.  If the house is not staged or does not have eye-catching online photos, “they stick out like a sore thumb.”  She said it is so different from Tulsa but in her case, she used it as a differentiator to sell her house quicker than the competition (her neighbors who still have their house on the market.

You can see more “Before” and “After” photos of the 76^th Place -Tulsa house at our web site (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/76th-Place-Tulsa.html ).

There are two really fun parts of my job – the reaction after the house has been staged and the conversations after the house has been sold.  In both instances, we are focused on opportunities and possibilities.  And that is what professional home staging is all about!

Always dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Back to the Future

1985 was a year of great memories with one of the best being Back to the Future which ended up being the highest grossing film of 1985. 

Today’s featured home staging project is a link to Back to the Future.  This house was built in the 1960s but it had a 1985 feel to it – dated furniture, heavy draperies, faux finish on the ceiling.  Our home staging challenge was to bring this house forward a couple of decades. 

The good news was that I was working with an open minded (albeit somewhat skeptical) seller and an eager and energetic Realtor.  It took time, teamwork, and hard work to turn 1985 into 2011.

Phase 1 began in July on one of our record breaking hot days.  The motivated seller was given her homework, paint colors and a pep talk.  I took pictures and started a staging plan.  The Realtor directed traffic and got her vision for the marketing of this house.  We went our separate ways but all with the same goal in mind – get this house ready to sell for the most money in the shortest amount of time.

Phase 2 took the rest of the hot summer.  The seller finished her homework - paint was touched up; draperies removed; closets cleaned out; furniture moved; and clutter a thing of the past.  For Phase 3, the house was scrubbed, carpets deep cleaned and windows washed by a great team of professionals brought in by the Realtor. 

Home staging finally started in Phase 4.  This particular Realtor and I work well together.  We often finish each other’s sentences when it comes to getting a house staged and ready.  She had a vision for the furniture placement in the living room and I added the accessories.  She changed out the globes in the light fixture, I arranged the bookshelves.  I accessorized the kitchen, she edited me!  She changed out the entry furniture, I added the florals.  The house looked great after we finally called it quits for the evening.

Phase 5 was what I call the extra mile.  The Realtor installed a new microwave, cleaned and wiped out all the cabinets; made sure all the light bulbs were just right and installed a new front porch light fixture. 

Check out the Back to the Future photos of 56^th Street – Tulsa on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/56th-Street---Tulsa.html

This exercise was a good example of how a house can be refreshed and updated using a homeowner’s things, teamwork and some imagination.  And we didn’t need any help from Marty McFly, George or Doc!!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy