Cherished by Two Generations, Modernized by Simple yet Elegant Home Staging

This 56^th Court project was a house like so many other houses currently on the market.  This family home was built in the 1960s loved and cherished by two generations.  This house was filled with love but not exactly “show ready”.

My Realtor partner and I did a simple, yet elegant home staging makeover using some of the homeowner’s furniture supplemented by our artwork, accessories and linens.  The results speak for themselves.

Family Room – Kitchen – Furniture, artwork, and accessories set off the family room with a nice, easy feeling.  With the fireplace as the focal point, potential buyers can imagine themselves relaxing and entertaining.  The flow of the room into the open kitchen speaks volumes about friends, laughter and parties.

Dining Room – using the homeowner’s round table and chairs along with complementary artwork and table setting, we tell the story about the function and order of the dining room.  The black painted furniture ties in with the black leather furniture in the living room.  Once again, we use paint color and furniture to build a sense of orderly flow.

Kitchen – The pub table and chairs explain how there can be an “eat-in” feature to this kitchen.  With a new light fixture and contemporary furniture, this 1960s house has been given a modern face-lift to appeal to today’s home buyers.

Bathroom – using the neutral canvas of this bathroom, we accessorized with towels, florals and artwork to once again modernize this 1960s house.  This approach also minimizes the powder blue sink and floor tile. 

You can find more pictures of the 56^th Court project on our Transitions website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/56th-Court---Tulsa.html

Every house needs to be “show ready” to compete in today’s tough real estate market.  The 56^th Court project illustrates the possibilities of simple, yet elegant home staging.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

FOR REALTORS ONLY – Catchy Phrases and Talking Points (Part 2)

As promised, we are revisiting a few of the catchy phrases and talking points we’ve used in past blog postings.  The feedback from our Realtor partners about our first review of phases and talking points was very positive.  My hope is that we can continue to refresh the memories of long- standing followers and spark the imaginations of all our readers. 

The 30 Second Rule - Buyers Make Up Their Mind in the First 30-60 Seconds (April 7, 2011)

One of the truisms of real estate is that upon entering a house, buyers make up their mind in the first 30-60 seconds.  The rest of the time in the house is spent justifying their first emotional reaction.   

Cost of Professional Home Staging Is Less than First Price Reduction (March 2, 2011 Posting)

Let’s look at the facts supporting our claim that the price of professional home staging is much less than the first price reduction.  .

·         Using figures provided by CORT, the world’s largest provider of rental furniture, we can imagine a very conservative first price reduction of 5% on a $225,000 house which equals $11,250.  This conservative assumption is supported by the National Association of Realtors which cites a 10% lower sales price associated with more than 24 weeks on the market. 

·         The average cost of home staging in the CORT example was $4,700 and likely involves renting their furniture.

·         Using the CORT figure, the cost of home staging would be less by $6,550 or 58% than the first price reduction of $11,250.   

If all we were buying are bricks and mortar, just about any house will do.  Instead, we are buying emotion, dreams, and possibilities.  (August 31, 2011 Posting)

Think about it - in buying emotion, dreams, and possibilities, we want to imagine our best selves in those spaces.  We want to envision comfort and care; laughter and joy; simplicity and ease.  We want to write more chapters of our life story as we add our character into the story of this house.  Home staging helps proactive realtors and savvy sellers bring out the emotion, dreams and possibilities of their listed house.   

Professional home staging is about the art of the possible.  It is done in service of the home seller and our Realtor partner to help sell the house for the highest possible price in the quickest amount of time.  As you can see from our Transitions website (http://transitions-home-staging.com ) and from this blog, staging works!!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Home Staging Is Like Theater!

Over dinner last weekend, a friend was very interested in learning more about my home staging business.  He is a true “Renaissance Man: – poet, novelist, actor, community activist, encouraging father and loving husband.  Well-read and conversant across many subjects, he is also curious about anything new that he encounters which explains our dinner conversation about home staging.

In the middle of our conversation, he exclaimed “home staging is like theater!”  It was one of those insights and conversations worth sharing and discussing in this Blog.

In the theater, performers communicate the theater experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance. Elements of design and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. 

Successful theater fires the imagination of the audience members.  In the same way, professional home staging fires the imagination of the potential buyer.  Effective theater transports the audience into a different world presented on the stage.  Effective home staging transports the potential buyer into imagining their best selves living in this house.

Buyers are not just buying bricks and mortar.  Home buyers are really buying emotion, dreams and possibilities. 

Buyers want to envision comfort and care; laughter and joy; simplicity and ease.  And they most often find those dreams in the flames of a fireplace, the warmth of a kitchen and the views out the window (all focal points or best features to be shown off to their best advantage with professional home staging).

Home staging teaches buyers how to live in this house.  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. 

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 both their emotional decisions and rational decisions to buy this house.

Remember to dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Weekend Treat – Information Worth Sharing

Oklahoma Hospitality Can Promote Good Health – a British 2 year-old suffering from a rare form of cancer got vital medical help from doctors in Oklahoma, but her parents think the state’s hospitality might be the real cure.  Lilly Gillon received lifesaving treatment in an Oklahoma City hospital last year, but her spirits faltered when she returned home to the U.K.  When Lilly’s father, Graham, brought her back to Oklahoma on a vacation last week, he noticed an immediate change in her behavior as she took in waves of goodwill from friendly Oklahomans.  “They were just so nice,” he said.  He is considering moving his family to Oklahoma to speed his daughter’s full recovery. ~ The Week

Art’s Economic Impact – one study estimated the impact of The Louvre (the world’s most visited museum) on the French economy to be between $870 million and $1.4 billion in a single year.  In another study, more than a million people saw Michelangelo’s David in 2009, paying more than $7 million for tickets at the Academia Gallery in Florence. ~ New York Times Magazine

How Gywneth Paltrow Became a Health Nut – Gwyneth Paltrow is obsessed with her health, said Justine Picardie.  She embraced a clean-living lifestyle in 2002 after her beloved father, hard-drinking, chain-smoking director died of throat cancer at age 58.  “All I’ve learned about health came from his cancer.  I’ll probably have a long and healthy life because he didn’t.”  When Paltrow talks about her father, her eyes fill with tears and she touches his wedding ring, which hangs on a gold chain around her neck.  “I would do anything to have him back, but half the reason my life is good, has real value, is that he died,” she says.  “As much pain and heartache (as his death) caused, there was an equal amount of positivity.”  ~ Haper’s Bazaar

What's Hot and Not In Home Styles This Year - “A home to call one’s own has long been part of the American Dream. But as tastes, technologies and regional preferences change, propelled by demographics and the socio-economic climate, the style, scale and comforts of that coveted real estate evolve. . . .Stephen Melman, director of economic services at the National Association of Home Builders said that houses shrank about 10 percent from their 2,500 square foot peak in 2007, and are expected “to get smaller and more efficient” with open floor plans, master bedrooms on the first floor and dining rooms distinguished only by a chandelier or architectural detail.”  Read more about the hot and not-so-hot home styles for 2012 at http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/whats-hot-and-not-in-home-styles-this-year.html

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

Cindy

FOR REALTORS ONLY – Catchy Phrases and Talking Points

Our recent blogs about “Pretty Pays, Pretty Costs” (January 24, 2012) and “Nobody Notices Normal” (February 3, 2012) generated feedback and comments from our Realtor partners.  They shared that they used these catchy phrases in conversations with the clients.

To continue those conversations (one of the purposes of the “to be continued” Blog), I decided to revisit a few of the catchy phrases and talking points we’ve used in past blog postings.  My hope is that we can refresh the memories of long- standing followers and spark the imaginations of all our readers.

“A House Needs To Use Everything Available To Be Competitive.” (March 30, 2011 Posting)

A Tulsa Realtor partner made an interesting observation about the state of the housing market.  “The market is still really tough.  A house needs to use everything available to be competitive.”  She and I agreed that professional staging can play a major role in making a house really competitive.  In my experience, proactive and successful realtors do use advanced techniques to help sell their houses.  And success breeds success as potential sellers want to list their houses with realtors who deliver results. 

People Buy the Dream and They Buy Value (August 10, 2011 Posting)

“Not all agents understand the value or true impact of a great staged property.  It’s not about how pretty a house looks – it’s about highlighting the features of the property, creating space and light where there isn’t any and virtually making the old house look and feel like new.  People buy the dream and they buy value.” (Christine Rae)

Dates, Job Interviews, or Selling Your House – Is There Any Difference? (March 4, 2011 Posting)

When we are getting ready for a date or a job interview, we make sure that we look our best (that is if we want a second date or the job).  Typically, we are properly groomed and wearing one of our better and appropriate outfits.  We want to impress our date or the person doing the job interview.  Why should it be any different when we decide to sell our house? 

Remarkable Is the New Business as Usual (May 2, 2011)

Most buyers don’t imagine themselves living in ordinary or “just OK”. They imagine themselves living in different, unique or special.  Buyers want to imagine their best selves in the house they intend to buy.  Professional home staging can transform “just OK” into “this house is unique, special and remarkable”. 

It turns out that there are more postings to be revisited.  We will share more in a future posting.

Here’s hoping you found a few useful phrases or talking points from these previous postings.  Anything is possible!!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy