Home Staging

How important has staging your home become in today’s real estate industry? Realistically, it has become one of the most important steps in any home sale. Viewers have come to expect more in a home show due to the large number of homes that are competing for attention. Many people will suggest the use of a professional home stage, and this is always an option; but you can also achieve some pretty remarkable results yourself if you do some research into the staging game.

Staging is really the art of presentation. The act of taking your home and “tweaking” it so that it will show better and generate more interest then it would if left to its own devices. One of the primary steps to home staging is the removal of anything that could be considered extraneous or might get in the way of the guest’s viewing experience. This is an excellent opportunity to begin your packing a bit early. Things that you may want to remove consist of extra furniture that is not used on a daily basis, clutter from closets and shelves and any personal photos and memorabilia. It may seem to be odd that you would want to remove family photos as these items add a warmth to the home for you, but it has quite the opposite effect on others. It is a glaring reminder of your family, and the idea of the show is to allow others to picture themselves living in the home. Having no family photos and such around makes the process that much easier.

The operative word for home staging is “clean.” During this time, your home should be cleaner than it has ever been before. Buyers are a picky lot, and rightfully so. They are looking to spend a lot of money and they want to get the best quality home for their dollar. A clean and tidy home simply puts buyers at rest as a dirty or messy home can lead them to believe that there may be other areas of the home that are in the same sort of disorder. First impressions are hard to change if they are negative, so make sure that your home has the visual impact that it needs. It will help out the sale process more than you expect!

Richard Soto
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/home-staging-tips-133548.html

Redecorating a home or room starts inspiration. The web has a million of places where homeowners can find inspiration, advice, and tips on how to decorate their home.

Websites like www.getdecorating.com offer homeowners thousands of pictures of professionally decorated homes. Most home decorators cannot afford $20 a foot trim, or $1500 faucets, but they can use the pictures to aid their own decorating plans.

About the only thing the websites and major magazines cannot help homeowners do is translate the designs portrayed in the large decorator mansions into a viable solution for their own condominium, or family home.

These sites do offer homeowners solutions to common problems. Very few of these big homes do not have common problems. Huge windows, large blank walls, picture windows, difficult to manage floor plans, and awkward kitchens are only a small sample of problems home decorators must deal with.

Take a second look at the pictures of the large homes. Each picture will offer solutions to lighting, space, and layout problems.

Community and Social Networking sites like www.about.com and www.ivillage.com are the best places to find real-world decorating ideas. Many of these sites have pictures of the writer’s rooms and decorating projects.

While some of these photos may have been decorated with the help of professionals, most of them are designed with products purchased at local stores or from online stores.

Online stores are a haven for home decorators. Like everything, there are good sites and mediocre sites. A good site will offer unique products, and best quality items, for less than retail. While saving money is good, finding quality is vital for decorating the perfect room.

A homeowner who is decorating a master bedroom often wants a Damask cover for the bed. What they end up with is a Damask print. Homeowners do not need to ‘settling for second best’ anymore. They can now go online and find a real Damask Duvet cover for less than the price of a department store bed-in-a-bag deals.

These online stores are a great source for inspiration. They offer the newest releases from the furniture and decorating manufacturers. These products are created to fit into the current decorating trends.

In many cases, local brick-and-mortar decorating stores are several months behind on trends. Even when they stock the current trends, they must focus on the most popular designs. This drastically reduces their stock to the classics and contemporary designs.

Another great place to find inspiration is by watching movies. Family movies are great places to find out how real people decorate family homes.

Homeowners often over look the pictures in family movies and family magazines. The decorating ideas used in family homes are not as glamorous as those in the decorating magazines are, but they do have some important advantages.

These homes are classic and clean, but they are also livable. This is important for the average family home decorator. The colors, fabrics, and textures in the family home are easier to manage and clean.

Inspiration should be born from our lifestyle and dreams, but it needs to be based on practicality and usability.

Patricia Taylor
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/where-to-find-home-decorating-inspiration-109507.html

Fashion Design Schools

Find fashion schools offering online fashion merchandising, fashion design, fashion marketing, and other programs that can help you develop the skills you need to get your foot in the door of this stylish career. Find schools in top fashion destinations like New York City, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, across the US and beyond.

The field of fashion and fashion marketing is a demanding yet rewarding path. Are you ready to combine your creative talents and marketing savvy into an exciting career? Some career paths include: Fashion Buyer, Product Developer & Retail Manager. You will work closely with account executives and store managers to select appropriate merchandise to sell in stores. You are knowledgeable about current and future trends and travel to national and international fashion markets to study them.

Following schools offer online fashion courses and degrees

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX ONLINE

• Fashion Design/Marketing

BAKER COLLEGE ONLINE

• Bachelor Degree in Web Development

• Certificate in Web Design

THE ART INSTITUTE ONLINE

• Residential Planning – Diploma

• Digital Design – Diploma

• Web Design – Diploma

• Graphic Design – Associate Degree

• Multimedia & Web Design – Associate Degree

• Advertising – Bachelor Degree

• Culinary Management BS Degree Completion Program – Bachelor Degree

• Interior Design – Bachelor Degree

• Game Art & Design – Bachelor Degree

• Graphic Design – Bachelor Degree

• Multimedia & Web Design – Bachelor Degree

CAPELLA UNIVERSITY

• Graphics and Multimedia

• Web Application Development

AMERICAN INTERCONTINENTAL UNIVERSITY ONLINE

• Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications

WESTWOOD COLLEGE ONLINE

• Graphic Design and Multimedia

• Visual Communications

• Animation

• Web Design & Multimedia

• CAD Courses

American InterContinental University

Fashion Design School

The fast-paced fashion industry is rich in career opportunities for individuals with an eye for color, line and texture, a keen business sense and a bold creative vision. AIU fashion school students are on the career track well before they graduate. They create a portfolio highlighting their best work for presentation to employers. Study tours to fashion centers like New York City, Paris and Milan are a great chance to network with the big names in the business. In addition, our students gain valuable experience as interns with designers, manufacturers and fashion houses.

The AIU Fashion Design School program helps new designers acquire the necessary skills to develop their personal style. Students also become familiar with the business and marketing side of the apparel industry.

Associate Degree in Fashion Design

Associate Degree in Interior Design

Associate Degree in Media Production

Associate Degree in Visual Communications

Bachelor’s Degree Fashion Design

Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design

Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design & Fashion Marketing

Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production

Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications

Request Information – Atlanta (Buckhead), GA

International Academy of Design & Technology

Campus programs

The International Academy’s Program in Fashion Design is demanding, technical, comprehensive, and state-of-the-art. Students are given a solid foundation in fashion illustration, pattern drafting, design, draping, clothing construction, textiles, fashion history and production techniques. All of the instruction is presented using industrial grade equipment in spacious and comfortable facilities built for optimum fashion design. Students are encouraged to realize their potential with inspiration provided by visiting designers and artisans with local and/or international reputations who conduct special lectures and workshops.

Associate of Science Degree in Web Design

Associate of Science degree in Computer Animation

Associate of Science Degree in Fashion Design and Marketing

Associate of Science Degree in Interior Design

Associate of Science Degree in Graphic Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Degree in Fashion Design and Marketing

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Interior Design

Brooks Fashion Design College

Associate degree in Fashion

The Fashion Design program at Brooks College provides academic and specialized practical instruction to prepare the student to enter an ever-changing and exciting world of fashion. In this growing industry, there is a constant demand for technical knowledge and creative talent. Brooks College’s Division of Manufacturing Education (D.O.M.E.) is the on-campus manufacturing facility where the major portion of the second year program is taught. Graduates of the program are qualified for the following: Designer and Assistant Designer, Fashion Stylist, Fashion Design School, Production, Pattern maker, Pattern Grader, Fabrications and trim Buyer, as well as, Fashion Illustrator and Textile Artist.

Associate of Science Degree (Graphic Design)

Associate of Arts Degree (Fashion Design)

Associate of Arts Degree (Interior Design)

Associate of Arts Degree (Fashion Merchandising)

Associate of Science Degree (Animation)

Associate of Science Degree (Multimedia)

Katharine Gibbs School New York (New York, NY)

Fashion Design School and Merchandising

Students are trained, practically and academically, in all aspects of the fashion industry. Topics include: fabric printing and print design, sketching for the designer and illustrator, industry-standard pattern drafting, showroom and retail sales, fashion design school. Through the course of the program, students will be developing their own fashion portfolio.

Associate Degree Visual Communications

Associate Degree – Fashion Design.

PCDI – Professional Career Development Institute

The Professional Fashion Merchandising Program

Have you ever wondered why certain clothes show up in fashion advertising and still others never sell? Would you like to be able to plan and produce a successful fashion show? Do you want to know how consumer fashion trends are set? Are you interested in getting in on a fast-track field by taking a fashion merchandising course? If so, you’ve come to the right place!

PCDI’s nationally accredited home study course will teach you about fashion merchandising, and much more. You’ll Receive 17 clear, beautifully illustrated lessons. First, we’ll teach you about consumer style preferences and purchasing habits. Next, we’ll take you “behind the scenes” to Find out what retail buyers, department heads, store managers, fashion directors, visual merchandisers, and sales associates do. Then, we’ll show you the secrets of staging fashion shows; planning special events; becoming a personal shopper; tracking fashion trends; and going for that first career position.

Key advantages of our school:

No campus attendance, no commuting, no deadline pressure

All exams are open-book/open notes

Learn at your own pace; graduate in as little as six months after taking the fashion merchandising courses!

Graduate with a nationally accredited diploma

Enroll any time and enjoy affordable, interest-free tuition

There are no educational prerequisites or experience requirements to enroll. Convenient, practical home study fashion merchandising courses and training from PCDI makes learning fashion merchandising easy and fun!

John kary
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/fashion-design-degree-education-136104.html

Few segments of business can match the dynamics of the home staging industry. Owning a house is a basic dream many people pursue, but it often does not stop with one property. As people’s incomes grow and their needs and tastes change, better homes are exchanged for their current ones. Buying the new house often means selling the old one right away and ideally at the highest price. To do so, the old house is presented in the most appealing way, with its flaws minimized. Sellers are increasingly hiring consultants to help them redesign their houses, creating a fast-growing profession. Sellers understand that first impressions can make or break a prospective buyer’s decision to purchase. So many people are seeking opportunities to become a consultant.

Unlike many other vocations, the home staging industry welcomes everyone who is interested in making a living out of it, regardless of their backgrounds. It is wonderful if you enter the business with impressive qualifications and skills, but there is plenty of space for those without framed degrees and extensive experience. This is a line of work in which anyone with the right attitude and commitment to learn can make a mark. Decoration involves a kind of creativity in which everyone can make a valuable contribution. The systems and procedures that help consultants go about redecorating a house are easy to understand and can be learned at any stage in life. There are wonderful payoffs in creating attractive spaces, both interior and exterior, such as getting in touch with your artistic side and participating in a lucrative business.

While the home staging industry keeps no barriers on entry, the competition is stiff, unrelenting, and without room for any complacency or slackening off. The very ease with which you can become accomplished in the ways of making an existing home look spanking new applies to everyone else as well! Many consultants compete for the same contracts. Offering the most attractive deal means understanding your local market, the resources around you for redesigning, and the general tastes of prospective buyers, to name a few need-to-knows. Because you are, in a sense, a freelancer, you will need to be able to constantly market yourself while keeping your skills sharp in this tough business environment.

If the challenge of doing your own business as a redesigning consultant excites you, visit Decorate-Redecorate at http://www.decorate-redecorate.com and sign up for a tutorial. Barbara Jennings, who owns the company, has 20 years of experience in the home staging industry. The company offers a newsletter that delivers the latest trends and developments in the business. It also provides an online chat forum, resources for leads, materials for self-promotion, and additional training opportunities.

Iprwire Staff Writer
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/you-can-also-be-a-part-of-the-exciting-home-staging-industry-135750.html

Home staging shows your home in the best light possible by making your home look like a model home so taking on the task of staging it yourself can be a big one. The advantages of staging your home are numerous with the possibility of multiple offers and a shorter number of days on the market being just a few of the benefits you could enjoy.

Crank up the curb appeal – When it comes to selling your home the curb appeal, also known as the first impression the buyer will see, is crucial. Clean the exterior of your home by pressure washing the siding, cleaning the gutters to prevent sagging and landscaping the walkway leading to the front door. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on landscaping because a few hundred dollars in plants and flowers will go a long way.

Clear away cluttered spaces – Cluttered counter spaces and rooms steal valuable square footage and make home buyers think the rooms are smaller than they actually are. Leave room for only the essential appliances on the kitchen counters and clear away any unused furniture or storage containers in bedrooms, family rooms and home offices.

Add complementary accessories – Staging your home isn’t just about clearing away the clutter because a home that is too bare will make the home seem like it lacks personality. Use accent pieces and accessories that complement each other. For example, a round coffee table will help a living room with large chairs and sofas feel more open and flow better.

Shuffle furniture so each room has a purpose – Sometimes when you live in a home for a while a room can lose its original purpose because you found a better use for the space. This frequently happens in casual living environments when the dining room becomes an office or catch-all space. Once you have decided to sell your home make sure that each room has a purpose and that the space is clearly defined so home buyers aren’t ticking away dollars for a perceived loss of space.

Finish any deferred projects – Occasionally we all take on projects that end up being far more time or labor intensive than we can handle. Before putting your home on the market be sure to finish all of your “some day” home projects to give your prospective buyers confidence that they are buying a well cared for home. These projects can be as simple as changing out dead light bulbs and as complex as finishing a deck. Either way, they need to be done!

Rent furniture or accessories to fill in empty spaces – Like most people, you live in your house and your furniture may be showing signs of significant wear and tear. To keep your home looking fresh you should consider replacing aged furniture with rented newer looking pieces. You can also rent accent pieces like vases, dishes and more.

Wash your windows and open the shades – Probably the most laborious task on the list, washing your windows on the outside and on the inside will make a big difference in the way your home shows. Clean windows show off the views around your home while showing buyers that you take pride in your home’s appearance. A win-win all around.

Staging your home by yourself can be a daunting task but knowing where to start and what steps will help you achieve the most benefit from your time invested will increase your chances of selling your home faster and for more money than comparable properties in the neighborhood.

Joshua Ferris
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/top-7-doit-yourself-home-staging-tips-711298.html