Create something extraordinary

I just simply couldn't resist this...not that I have a "Sam" in my life, but I find the "Goodnite" irresistibly sweet.

These simple, every day items interrupted my day and got me to thinking...So much of life is wrapped up in our ability to create.

Writers take letters and create masterpieces of journalism.
Designers take scraps of fabric and create fashion.
Bakers take flour and sugar and create everything delicious.
and...
ASP Home Stagers take bits and pieces of ordinary and create something extraordinary.

Passion and creativity combine in a simply beautiful way as staging changes are orchestrated. We enter a property, not really knowing what we will find...bright and shiny, or tired and dated. Either way, when we walk out, neither we nor the property have remained unchanged.

As property owners, we are connected to our design. We are comfortable with our treasures around us. We are familiar with every stick of furniture, every photo and every memory piece that we see resting in it's place.

When we think of clutter, we think of the junk mail on the counter, the newspaper on the chair, and the shoes that have been left near the back door.

We remove the obvious and consider our property is now staged and ready for an Open House.

But Mr. and Mrs. Buyer realize something quite different.

They don't notice our lovely bay window view of Mt. Rainier...they can't get past the ornate draperies that frame the view.

They don't notice our high ceilings...they get stuck in the photo collages of our annual photo sessions that line the entry walls.

But they are observing, and they do notice.

They notice our collections, our hobbies, our family members, and our accomplishments.

Above all the things that they don't notice is that those things are the very things that have made this property our home, and our home is not for sale, our home is going with us.

They don't realize just how wonderful our property is, or just how perfect it could be for them.

They don't realize it, because our things are creating visual noise that is crowding them out.

And just that quickly, the first impression has been made, and just that quickly, they have moved on.

An ASP Home Stager will help us to see the big picture, to see through the eye of the buyer. After all, our goal is that Mr. and Mrs. Buyer will fall in love with our property...not our home.

Let's not let the opportunity to realize the greatest return on our investment pass us by.

Remember, we only get one opportunity to make a first impression...let's make it an excellent one!

Visual Markets

I love the Jetsons...homes in the sky, cars that fly, dogs that talk and picture phones. It's the perfect world that we were all going to live in when we entered the space age.

I don't know about your home, but mine is still grounded on earth, my car still runs on tires touching asphalt, my dog barks, and the picture phones ...well, c'mom, those are pretty cool!

Every week we SKYPE a visit with our family living 3,000 miles away...have you heard of it? From our computer in Washington we are transported to a living room in Ohio. We watch as songs are sung, castles are built, presents are opened and memories are made. What an amazing time to be alive.

It's not just picture phones that have changed...every corner of our life has changed. Technology has opened doors we never before had access to...information, entertainment, necessities, and frivolities.

You may have heard the familiar saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

When we are in the market for a home, we realize this is very likely the single biggest investment we will make. We may not all have investments in the stock market, 401K accounts, or bundles of cash in a vault somewhere, but we tend to buy into the American Dream to own our home. Housing markets rise and fall. Furnishings go in and out of style...but the constant remains, we are all looking for shelter, a place to call "HOME".

When we are in the market for a home, the access to technology gives us new avenues to access to the multiple listings of properties that will entice us to a closer look. "Back in the day", and not so many years ago, home buying was quite a different process.

We used to take our weekends scouring through the Sunday Classifieds, driving from property to property, touring through Open Houses, all the while trying to remember the pros and cons of each property...and taking notes, pages and pages of notes, to help us remember the details of each address.

Times have certainly changed!

Today we can get an advance first glance of the property our realtor will show us. We can google the address, find the directions, look at the satellite view and check out the neighborhood! We can even take a visual tour of the property...inside and out, in the middle of the night, from the comfort of our computer! Pretty amazing, don't you think?

On the other hand, when we are selling the property, we may not always know who is visiting our listing. Mr. and Mrs. Buyer's first look at our property, may not require so much as a knock on our door...all they may use is a click of a mouse.

Visual marketing is a busy Buyer's first introduction to our property.

What does your on-line listing say about your property?

• "These rooms are empty, this space is lifeless."
  ...a vacant home can present like an empty cave.
  
• "Watch where you walk, we have life happening here."
  ...a cluttered home may be the sign of a happy life, but it leaves the imagination no place to dream.
  
• "A family lives here, but the place isn't much fun."
  ...don't confuse bare walls and clean counters with a staged property.

or does your ASP Staged property say:

• "This property is warm and welcoming."
• "This property is clean and cared for."
• "This property is our new home."

When buyers like what they see, they set the appointment, visit the property, and if everything "feels" right, an offer is made, papers are signed, a new key is made...and a house becomes a home.

Don't give up your edge by presenting an awkward first impression...it may be the only chance you get!

Have your property staged with an ASP Home Stager...don't confuse decorating or emptying a room as staging...the camera can be your listing's best friend or worst enemy...which will it be for yours?

Your Wonderful Family

I caught myself thinking today about my adorable grandson...here he is at three months old, and in a few short weeks he will be blowing out TWO candles on his birthday cake.

In the past two years I have seen him only a handful of times. They live in Ohio...we live in Washington. I purchase a new photo card every time I am going to see him. And every photo card ends up with HUNDREDS of pictures of him...smiling, running, eating, sleeping...well you get the idea, I am a proud Grammy :)

But...as cute as he is, and he IS cute....and as adorable as he is, and he IS adorable...how many of those pictures would you really want to see when you tour through my house for sale?

That's what I thought...not so much, right?!

Your buyers are no different than you are. They don't really want to see the pictures you took last Christmas, the photo shoots from graduation, or the sweet little girl getting on the bus for the first day of school.

When we stage your property, we will ask you to pack your treasured memories away, not because your pictures aren't wonderful...quite the opposite, it's because they are so wonderful, so personal...too personal, actually.

Rooms that are shown filled with YOUR memories, don't leave visual room for Mr. and Mrs. Buyer's memories. You don't need to sell anyone on your wonderful memories...your memories are not for sale :)

Let an ASP Home Stager help you prepare your property for sale. We will remove the decorations that make your home personal, and set the staging that will make your property warm and inviting.

Remember, it's nothing "personal"...it's staging :)

Too much of a good thing.....

When it comes to cleaning, there's a familiar saying, "Your stuff is junk, and my junk is stuff."

I think it applies to a lot of corners in our life...our office cubicle, our overstuffed purses, the trunks of our cars...and our homes.

We bring our treasures home and surround ourselves with the memories. We look at the treasures on our shelves and we are reminded of the moments of our life. Our treasures remind us, they comfort us, and they keep us company.

When we list our homes for sale, our homes become products on the shelf.

Mr. and Mrs. Buyer begin the process of comparing, evaluating, and considering just which product they are going to invest their dollars in. Our product is picked up, examined, and judged worthy, or left behind on the shelf.

To you this is a collection of tiny treasures...they are Christmases and birthdays, they hold your memories of yesterdays, each with a story all thier own.

But...to Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, your wonderful treasures are clutter, they are noise. In their first impression glance, your "stuff" has become "junk". And sometimes all you get is the first impression glance.

Anything of more than two or three, becomes a collection. Collections become visual clutter. And visual clutter can quickly become junk to the Buyer's eye.

While your property is on the market, make room for the Buyers!

Pack away your collections. Edit your treasures. Don't let your wonderful product remain on the shelf.

Remember, when it comes to Staging and collections....too much of a good thing...is too much! :)

Be prepared to sweep it clean :)

Stop and Smell the Roses

Sometimes we get so busy with the details of life that we really do forget to stop and smell the roses :)

...When we have done all we can do.

...When we have prepared as far as we can see.

...When we have planned away every reasonable doubt.

...When our "To Do" list is all "Ta Done!"

...In the hustle and bustle of life, there is that moment when we benefit more from stopping than from anxiously wandering and fussing over details beyond our control....stop, put up your feet...and take time to smell the roses :)

I have a friend who says that if she was a rich woman, she would have fresh cut flowers in every room of her home.

...I think I agree :)

It's not "personal"..it's Staging

The process for staging an owner occupied property is a challenging one: Where does the showroom end and real life begin?

You will be asked to pack away some of your most treasured things, edit away your collections, and even step out of your comfortable furniture arrangements.

And what will you gain for all your efforts?
...A property with clean lines, a warm feel, and room for Mr. and Mrs. Buyer to see how their life will now fit at your address. Remember it's not "personal"...it's Staging!

Get ready, moving day is just around the corner...box up the memory pieces, edit the collections and listen to your Stager!

Five Things You Should Never Hear

In the world of Staging, there are heros....Jennie Norris is one such hero: http://www.sensationalhome.com/ I think you will agree with me that in her following article Jennie has hit the nail on the head, not once, but five times:

Here are FIVE things you will NEVER hear me say:

1. You have no taste!
2. What were you thinking!
3. These woods or colors don’t match.
4. Your things are outdated.
5. You need to replace all your things to get a Buyer.

1. Your taste is your own.
Home Staging is not about the “things” in your house. It is about featuring the house and the floor plan for the Buyer. Your things may be worn, may be a bit dated, but that’s OK. We are not selling your furniture. The Buyers have furniture – they just need to see if it will fit and so they use your furnishings to get an approximation of scale and size visually, and this helps them mentally move in to your house.

2. Your things are what you enjoy.
Who am I to come and tell you that you have the “wrong things” in your house? If you like a particular color or collect certain things, that’s your choice. Again as I have learned from Barb Schwarz, “The way you live in your home, and the way we market and sell a house are two different things.” So I focus on things that could be potentially distracting to Buyers. When people are walking through your house, they do get easily distracted by photos, collections, and anything that is too “incredible” to leave out – as that becomes the only thing the Buyers remember about your house. So, you do have to make changes to Stage your house for sale, but they are not done to criticize you or your belongings.

3. Matchy-Smatchy.
Your furniture woods don’t have to match – in fact we don’t’ really need to focus on that at all when we Stage your house. People that come and tell you that “your things are all wrong” are focusing on the “stuff” and not the space. They must not have gotten the memo that the “eclectic look is in” and we can do wonders with what you have by simply reducing, rearranging, and possibly refreshing with a little “WOW Factor” inventory.

4. Most people don’t replace their furniture every season so guess what – their things are “outdated.”
My own house has things we’ve owned for 10 years or longer. I am not going to replace all my furniture any more than you should be expected to. That is not realistic. A house that is dated can still be Staged and reflect the best way for Buyers. Of course, if you have dated fixtures and colors, those are easy fixes for Selling and as your Home Stager, I am going to suggest making improvements as your budget allows. However, if you tell me you don’t have any extra money, then I am going to successfully work with what you have and make it look the best for Buyers. That is what I am trained to do as an ASP® – I use my Creativity and Ideas to Stage – and don’t just rely solely on your money to replace and upgrade everything.

5. Please don’t fall into this trap.
Even if you have a very high end house – don’t fall into the trap of “you must remove all your things and we will bring in rental furnishings to get your house sold.” Now if your house is vacant, yes, you do need to rent some things. But if you have furniture in your house, I can work with that. I may bring in some added “pizzazz” with décor or key Staging items, but I am never going to tell you that all your stuff has to be removed in order to sell. Anyone that does that is focused on money and not the goal of selling your house. It makes me cringe inside when I hear that some Sellers are being gouged in the tens-of-thousands of dollars to Stage their house with some supposed “stager” (usually some other profession cloaked in the guise of Staging) – that convinces them the only way their house will sell is with all new stuff. Ouch.

When you want an honest assessment of what to do to put your house on the market to get the best price in the shortest time, please make sure to work with an Accredited Staging Professional® (ASP®) Home Stager or a ASP Master.

You can find an ASP on the http://www.stagedhomes.com/ directory or http://www.iahsp.com/ membership directory. ASPs are licensed and insured to do business in the areas where they serve and are specifically trained to prepare houses for sale.



Don't you just love how Jennie thinks? I know I do! And I am proud to be part of a professional organization that holds such high standards of ethical behavior. Life isn't all about the bottom line....and neither is staging.

If you reside in the greater Seattle region, I would be happy to assist you or your client in preparing your house or listing for sale.

My commitment to all my clients – one that any ASP will share - is that I will provide an honest assessment and work with your budget and timeframe to successfully Stage the house for sale.