Falling in Love Again

One of the tough truisms of real estate is that when a house goes on the market for sale, it is no longer the owner’s source of pride.  It has become a product for sale that needs to appeal to as many buyers as possible.  For many sellers, this truth can be very emotional and difficult to accept. 

Today, we share the exception to that rule – a seller delighted by the transformation of her home by professional home staging!  Expecting the weird feeling of walking into what felt like someone else’s house, this seller fell in love again with everything.

I am delighted to share this testimonial from my staging project at 12124 Birch in Jenks, Oklahoma.  This house is listed by Carrie DeWeese,Chinowth and Cohen,  (http://www.tulsagreenrealtor.com )

"I thought it would be weird to walk in and the home would not look like 'my house'. I thought I would feel like I was a guest in someone else's home. I was so surprised to come home and fall in love with everything! My home was completely transformed and I had no idea that my own things would look better if they were staged properly!"

This testimonial is “music to the ears” of any professional home stager. 

While our objective to stage it to appeal to as many buyers as possible, it is always quite gratifying to have the house appeal to the home seller and Realtor partner.  It is even better to have the staged house delight the seller and Realtor. 

I often “over-deliver” in my staging because I want to delight my clients and help them sell their house quickly and for the best price possible.

As you can see from the accompanying photos, I was working with a house full of great possibilities.  You can find more photos of the Birch Avenue staging project on our website http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Birch---Jenks.html.

 

Remember to dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

Marriage of Home Staging and New Construction with a “Midtown Feel”

This staging project located at 12702 S. 2^nd Street in Jenks, Oklahoma was a match made in heaven.  This stunning new construction by Brian D. Wiggs (http://www.briandwiggs.com ) created a “Midtown Feel” with its design, fixtures and features and special touches.  When we added the magic of professional home staging, we delivered tremendous results – staged on Friday, under contract that weekend!!!

Today, I am going to focus our attention on the kitchen and the bathrooms and discuss and show how we staged these spaces for maximum effect.

Kitchen - I believe that a kitchen closes the deal on a house.  If the kitchen is remarkable then the house has been sold emotionally – and I was working with a very remarkable kitchen.  Thanks to the granite, sleek glass backsplash, white cabinetry, and stainless fixtures (see the Before photo), I was simply adding jewelry to a red carpet gown. 

My “staging jewelry” included; a black and white place setting for two complete with two black saddle style barstools, clear glass canisters and utensil holder (of course filled with black utensils) various other glass, stainless and white porcelain “expected” kitchen accoutrements and a whimsical tray holding a black bird and feather filled white porcelain milk bottle.  I wanted buyers to imagine their family and their best selves in the kitchen enjoying life and each other.  My goal was to feed the buyer’s imagination with the ideas of the possibilities to be found in that kitchen. 

It is easy to see why the kitchen can be the deal closer or deal breaker.  It is the space where the family gathers most often.  The kitchen is more than a place to cook meals.  It is where families plan their day over morning coffee and share their day over dinner.  It is the place where great parties begin and end.  If buyers imagine these possibilities in this kitchen, it can be the deal closer

You can find more photos of the 2^nd Street Kitchen on our Transitions website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/2nd-Street---Jenks.html

Bathrooms – the bathrooms in this house screamed modern and sophisticated so I staged them accordingly.  The black painted cabinetry of the Master Bathroom is accented with black and white bath linens, geometric art and a wispy floral arrangement.  I used a slightly different approach with one of the second floor bathrooms by accenting a gray and white shower curtain and bath linens with pops of yellow in the artwork and a bouquet of poppies.  The result is comforting and”cool”.  

You can find more photos of the 2^nd Street bathrooms on our Transitions website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/2nd-Street---Jenks-2.html .  They are worth a second look!

Anything is possible when you start with a stunning house full of great features and polish it off with professional staging.  In this example, a quick sale went from possibility to reality.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

One More Show Ready House -- One More Quick Sale!!

What is the value of making a house “show ready”?  Today’s example, F Court in Jenks, proves the value quite simply yet effectively.  This house was under contract in 8 Days!!!

Show ready, staged houses sell quickly!! 

F Court was a fun project as I was given the opportunity to make this immaculate family home ready for the big show and a quick sale.  I had a nice, clean, neutral canvas to work with.  And look at how I was able to help prospective buyers imagine their best selves and their family living in this beautiful space.

LIVING ROOM – I opened up the living room by pulling back the sofas.  I added richness by supplementing the accessories.  I also brought in large, contemporary art.  Of course, everything was arranged to highlight the fireplace as the room’s focal point.

KITCHEN – Simple, clean and orderly were the keys to what was already a special space.  In some cases, less is definitely more!

FAMILY ROOM – I arranged the sofas to emphasize the great view and the fireplace.  The home seller’s furniture was dressed up with colorful pillows and a few simple accessories.

MASTER BATHROOM – Bright fresh and sculptural accessories bring life into this large master bathroom. 

There are lots more photos of the F Court Staging Project on our website at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/F-Court---Jenks.html .  Check them out if you have a few spare moments.

I’ve been working a theme in my recent blogs.  In this competitive market, houses need to be “show ready”.  And professional home staging helps houses be really “show ready”. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

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