Introduction to Home Staging

Kakoschke gone into the field of home staging with the goal of getting a guaranteed job at $31.45 per hour, it’s safe to say things would have worked out much differently for her.

This Staging Diva Graduate and founder of Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design says of this, her second chance career, “I made more money in the first 10 months in my own staging business than I used to make in a whole year working for the government as a Contract Manager. And now I work half the hours that I used to!”

What Laura understood when she got into this field and some aspiring home stagers don’t, is that a promised job for $31.45 an hour is actually a complete devaluation of her talents. Laura did her research before signing up for a training program and learned that home stagers can actually earn between $250 and $700 for just a two-hour consultation. She realized what she needed were the skills to promote her services and market her own business so she could be in control of her own employment.

It certainly worked out for her. In her first 10 months as a home stager, Laura landed so many of her own projects that she ended up staging 12 vacant properties. When you consider that staging a vacant home can earn a stager anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 profit per house (even if they don’t use their own inventory), having 12 of these in less than a full first year of a new business is significant.

The largest of Laura’s projects was a $2.5 million vacant estate home which she furnished from top to bottom. “This was an intense experience,” says Laura, “but an awesome opportunity to put my home staging training into practice.”

One of her recent projects saw Laura Staging a House that had been sitting on the market for four months. Before Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design came in, the real estate agent was skeptical about staging. Her thinking completely changed after Laura finished staging the property. With new furniture and accessories, the house sold in only four days. “The change in the decor was like night and day,” says Laura, “and we didn’t even have to paint or replace brass fixtures.”

This mother of three children loves the freedom that comes along with being her own boss. “I can work my own hours, set my schedule, be at home to teach (home school) in the mornings and work my staging business in the afternoons,” reports Laura. “My three boys get a first-hand look at running a business. I hope that the courage I found to follow my dream will inspire them to follow theirs, and to know that anything is possible.”

Like many Staging Diva students, Laura approached her home staging career with the attitude that she wanted to finally use her natural talents to earn a living without having to spend 4 years in an interior design program.

“I’m 39 and if it weren’t for the opportunities available to a stager, I would have had to return for several years of post-secondary training and then work long hours for low pay for a design firm to fulfill my dream of decorating. This would never have happened,” says this mom with a degree in literature. “Staging Diva Training gave me the business tools and confidence to follow my lifelong passion for design.”

Debra Gould
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/mother-of-three-finds-freedom-flexibility-and-success-in-less-than-one-year-as-a-home-stager-676943.html

Selling your home is a pretty emotional experience. This is a place that has been your place of respite for many years and you likely have quite the emotional attachment to it. But whether your family has outgrown the home or its simply time for a change, you are going to want to give your home the best possible chance of selling for what its worth. Remember that what the home is actually worth and what you as an owner think it is worth may be quite different, but if you have paid attention to your property assessments and home prices in your neighborhood you should have a rough idea of what your home should be priced at. This is something that your realtor will assist you in. They will compare your home with others that are for sale and have sold in your neighborhood and determine that proper asking price for your home.

Once you have your home listed the major focus shifts to creating a great buying atmosphere in and around your home. This process is known as staging and it is vitally important. This is the process of making your home “buyer bait,” for lack of a better term. This usually includes the removal of a lot of the stuff that is currently occupying space in your home. The idea being to make the home as un-cluttered as possible which creates clean lines and areas for buyers to imaging their things in. It is harder for them to do this if there is mountains of your stuff all over the place. This is not to say that your home is messy or unorganized, simply that it is easier for buyers to place themselves in a home that is sparse on personal items and extraneous belongings. This is a good time to start some packing of extra clothes, personal items and anything that isn’t used on a daily basis. Doing this will only make it easier on your when moving day comes along. Try to place yourself in the shoes of the buyer and remember why it was that you bought the home in the first place. Try to bring that aspect of the home forth and any others you think may assist in the selling. Then let your realtor do their job!

Bill Ucci
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/steps-to-selling-your-home-116450.html

These days it takes more than advertising to sell a home. In many areas the market is flooded, and well cared for homes that are competitively priced and well decorated are the homes that are selling. A home must look appealing to potential buyers, and when it is cluttered or poorly decorated it will make a lasting impression, but it will not be positive impression. When selling a home, consider the following decorating tips for success, and turn your dream of selling your home into a reality.

Clear Away the Clutter

A cluttered unorganized home is a dwelling that appears unkempt and messy, and when a home is cluttered potential buyers wonder what other problems that are not obvious might exist. A home that is organized and free from clutter appears to be well cared for, and it also looks roomier and more adequate. Imagine opening a closet to find it stuffed with clothing and other odds and ends. It would appear that closet was not adequate, and if all closets are completely full the entire home will seem to be lacking storage space.

Begin by clearing away the clutter, and get rid of items you no longer want or need. If a stored item is in question, ask yourself this. Have I used this item in the past year or two? If the answer is no, chances are you really do not need it. Donate unused items to your favorite charity or hold a yard sale. Not only will you make your home appear neater and roomier, but you will also earn a little extra cash for your efforts.

Neutralize Color

Deep red walls in the kitchen or deep blue walls in a living room might be appealing to a homeowner that chose those hues, but dark or bold colors are not for everyone. When potential buyers enter a dwelling they want to find a home that requires very little work upon moving in, and although painting is the least expensive way to completely change the look of a home, it is not an easy task. Painting is time-consuming, and after the hard work and stress of packing and moving, repainting is not something anyone wants to tackle right away.

If you want your home to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers, opt for neutral colors such as creamy beige or rich vanilla. It is true that you cannot please everyone, but if a homebuyer does not appreciate neutral walls, at least they can live with the color or lack thereof until they are ready to repaint. Bright, dark, or bold walls will have to painted as soon as possible to match furnishings, but neutral walls match almost every color and style.

Choose Tasteful Decor

Potential buyers want to envision themselves in your home, and if family photos and personal collections grace the walls, the imagination becomes foggy and the presence of personal items could turn some people away. When trying to sell your home, remove personal effects, and opt for classy items such as wrought iron wall hangings, wall mirrors, wall vases, or beautiful architectural pieces. Make your home look like a model home, and with personal effects removed and clutter cleared away, you will have the best chance of selling your home within a reasonable period of time.

Jessica Ackerman
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/selling-a-home-decorating-tips-for-success-433942.html

I ask the question following Hoylakes first staging of an open since 1967

9 courses are currently in the rota:
St Andrews
Muirfield.
Royal St George’s:
Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake
Royal Troon
Royal Lytham & St Annes .
Carnoustie Golf Links
Royal Birkdale
Turnberry

Does anyone know what I can do to stage my kitchen and bathrooms? I did the usual like cleaning and decluttering the kitchen but it now it looks very plain and empty and our bathrooms could also use some help. Any advise?

The first thing I would suggest is to begin thinking of your house as a commodity.
Go through every room and get rid of any clutter, family pictures, etc. Get rid of extra pieces of furniture. Storage is best if you plan on keeping anything. Otherwise, have a garage sale or donate to a charity.
The first vision prospective buyers have of a home is the appearance from the street. Remember, the first impression is the lasting impression. Keep yards, trees, bushes, flower beds clean, trimmed, well kept. Add colorful new flowers around. What does the front entrance look like? Is it a plain old door or something that is outstanding?
The entrance way. Go through each room with an eye to keeping it as vanilla as possible. You don’t want folks eyeing it as if they’re visiting Aunt Mary or Grandmother’a. Nothing personal at all. They need to see and feel as if it’s their house, not yours.
Clean all the windows, inside and out; screens, also.
How are the floors? Need new carpetting? Many upgraded projects can be done yourself. Paint? Trim? Appliances?
Usually new home buyers are pretty strapped getting into a home and the last thing they want to do is put out more money to upgrade, repair or replace things.
Clean shelves, storage areas and closets out to the minimum.
They need to see how their possessions will fit everywhere.
Open the shades and curtains and get as much light in the rooms as possible.
It’s a commodity now, not a pride of ownership thing. You’re trying to convince someone that this is a home just right for them, a turn key purchase they can move right into without a lot of work, changes or hassles.
A few nicely scented candles, cookies baking in the oven, spotless kitchen and bath areas.
Minimum is essential. Usually we end up with just too much furniture in the house we’ve accumulated over the years.
What may be a treasure to you or a family heirloom might be just another big piece of furniture to someone else that takes up too much space or is awkward to get around. That nice set of bath accessories was great for you but may be a bit much for other folks.
Example, leave kitchen counters empty except for one appliance.
Take a few tours of Model Homes to get a feel for the little extra things they do to make it presentable.
No weird paint jobs. Be conservative in colors.
It’s amazing how after cleaning and storing a lot of things, then going through and with minimal expense you can drastically change your home into a very good home buying potential.

We are going to put our house on the market this week. It’s in great shape, is decorated well, and clean. I’m going to "stage" the house to make it even more desirable. If you staged your home before you sold it please tell me what tips worked well for you. Thank you.

p.s. No smartie-pants answers needed. Please voice your sarcasm elsewhere.

Take out all the clutter especially on counter tops.
Take out anything personal if you can…pictures of family, etc.
Make sure the only furniture showing is your best.
Dust everything from ceiling fans to the base boards and polish, polish, polish. Pull all the window treatments back, up or whatever so the light comes in. Make sure windows are clean.
Put your best smaller furniture in the main rooms to make them look bigger.
Paint is your friend.
We also worked hard on staging the back yard. Trimmed and new flowers from the nursery.
The garage we hung every tool we could find to show it would hold a lot and be organized.
Hard work but worth it when the bids come in.

I’ll be at Home Decorating for Christmas! I do all my Christmas shopping online!

I would rather take a leap from a tall bridge than fight the crowds on that day.

I will spend the day eating as much as I possibly can of the wonderful leftovers from the meal of the day before, and beginning to decorate my house for Christmas.

I will actually spend more time with the eating and then some napping than getting much work done.

Copyright (c) 2009 Alice Chan

October was Breast Cancer Awareness month. It’s also the time of year my family and I enjoy supporting a cause that’s very near and dear to our hearts.

Incredible and unbelievable as it may seem, we tragically lost my mom to breast cancer ten years ago. My three year old daughter got me all choked up recently because we were clarifying who daddy’s daddy was and who’s daddy’s mommy, who’s mommy’s daddy.

Then she asked me who my mommy was and I explained to her that she never met her because she passed away. Obviously, she didn’t understand what that meant.

It broke my heart when my daughter said since she hadn’t met her yet when she did, she was going to give her a big hug. All I could say was that she would love that.

That’s only one of the reasons I’m motivated and want to help make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. We joined in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk this October in San Francisco.

I have participated for the last ten years. My husband has walked with me for the last six years and this is my daughter’s third year.

Earlier this year, we lost a friend’s older sister was she taken by this awful disease. She was a mother herself and left behind six year old triplets!

As conscious business owners, we can and should use our resources to give back. I just learned the phrase “Cause Marketing” which is being used by big brands to incorporate social responsibility into their marketing efforts.

It’s defined as a “commercial activity by which businesses and charities or causes form a partnership with each other to market an image, product or service for mutual benefit”.

Think LIVESTRONG by Celebrity Cyclist Lance Armstrong who turned his public battle with cancer into a hip consumer brand with the aid of branded partners Nike and Hewlett-Packard.

The LIVESTRONG brand raises money for the Lance Armstrong foundation which inspires and empowers people affected by cancer.

There’s also ONE charity which is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans, one-by-one, to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

ONE was founded by 11 of America’s most well-known and respected aid groups, including Save the Children US, World Concern, World Vision, and supported by many top celebrity heavy hitters including Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Bill Gates and many more.

Another high profile example is RED which was created by U2 lead singer Bono to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce co-branded products. A percentage of each RED co-branded product sold is given to The Global Fund which helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

There are thousands of noble, deserving projects to connect to your business. As a business owner, do you already support or would like to support a cause or charity that you can incorporate into your marketing efforts?

It doesn’t have to be design related. Another cause I support and want to get more involved with in the near future is Dress for Success which is an organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women.

I have a good friend and fellow Designer/Stager who has become very involved with the Raphael House in San Francisco which is dedicated to helping at-risk children and their families achieve stable housing and financial independence.

She has also been involved with redesigning the San Francisco Homeless Shelter and has received many accolades for her efforts.

Habitat for Humanity is a cause my husband has and perhaps many of you have also participated in. Habitat is a housing organization that builds simple, decent, affordable housing in partnership with people in need.

No matter what the cause, extending a helping hand always creates good will. Giving back to others and the community is such a great reward for all involved.

Please keep two things in mind to gain the most out of your greater good approach:

1. Identify a cause that fits your business.

The goal should be to align your business vision and brand values with a synergistic nonprofit cause or organization in order to create win-win marketing.

Your company will gain profile, and you’ll likely create stronger customer loyalty because your customers will feel good about buying your product.

This will create a clearer differentiation between you and your competitors that others will notice.

2. Choose a cause that means something to you.

There’s no point in supporting an issue you don’t really care about – people are bound to catch on.

Having a genuine passion or interest in the cause means you’ll stay engaged.

Go out and make a difference.

Supporting a non-profit provides awesome opportunities for fun, morale-boosting activities that give staff and customers the ‘feel-good factor’.

Alice Chan
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/giving-back-repay-and-boost-your-home-staging-business-success-724099.html

The popularity of mobile homes is increasing, and more people have been considering the idea of owning one for themselves. While the space may not be that wide like traditional homes, you can travel to other places with your mobile house. Think of it, where else can you visit other places while you bring your house along with you? You can assure yourself that your properties are safe-because you will be able to watch over them as you journey on the road.

Usually, mobile homes are bought by people who are just starting out, and they want to have their own home despite a small income. Over time, they may be able to save up on money and they may want to move out from their mobile home. When this happens, they sell it and look for another place to live in. If you are also thinking about putting up your mobile home for sale, you have to come up with marketing strategies to sell it effectively.

Stage Your Mobile Home

It is inevitable for a mobile home owner to move out and buy another home. While there are owners who give it to another family member, most owners sell it. If you want to sell your mobile home, you have to come up with strategies so that you can sell it right away. Your home is just like any other traditional home-it sells quickly if it appears desirable and tempting for buyers. But if they think that your home is not worth their money, then they will not bother transacting a deal with you. One way of making your mobile home desirable for potential buyers is to stage it. You may think that staging is not applicable for such a small home like your own. However, you also have to put into consideration that if you show your home to interested people without improving it first, they will lose their interest.

When you stage your mobile home, you enhance its appearance with beautifying methods. If you have a landscape surrounding your home, you can improve this by putting in flowers. If there are trees, check for dead branches and twigs and burn it if there are any. Make sure that the whole view of your home is not blocked by overhanging branches, cut those which hide some parts of your home, like your window.

Another thing which you have to put into consideration is the interior of your home. Make sure that it is not cluttered and messy. Keep away books and magazines, and clear the counter top from unnecessary things. If the lighting fixture of your home is dim, you have to change it with new ones. Most people like their homes to look cheerful and bright, and dim lights do not make this possible. You may also have to keep away extra furniture that make the space of your home very limited.

Advertise Your Home

Home Staging will be a waste if you will not advertise it. Make sure that you will not forget posting it in newspaper ads or in fliers. This way, people will be able to know that you are selling your home. If you want, you can post it over the Internet also. A lot of people search for information here; there will be a great possibility that they will be able to chance upon your home.

Scott Krager
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/sell-your-mobile-home-effectively-150790.html

Rustic charm is something that has gotten a lot of press lately. Some people like to feel like they’re getting away from it all and living like an early American family. This type of decoration includes a lot of use of wood and very woodsy colors. There is a lot of use of patterns and decorative accessory pieces that display some sort of woodsy animal.

When trying to create a rustic feel in your home there are a few key elements that you’ll want to include. If there’s no exposed wood in your home, find a way to incorporate it. Exposed wood is very important to the cabin style feel of a home. If you ask most people what they think of when they picture a cabin style home, I would be willing to bet that at least nine out of ten would bring up something about a log cabin.

Cabins are seen to be part of nature, when decorating, you want to bring that nature to your home.

If there is no exposed wood in your home, you’ll have find ways to supplement through decoration. This can most easily be achieved through the use of knickknacks. For the animal lover, there are all kinds of statues carved out of wood or mounted on wood. These would add wood into your home which will help you to create the atmosphere you’re looking for. Another addition that you may want to think about in order to create the woodsy feel would be paneling. Standard paneling can come in a rich brown color that will make you feel like you’re outside among nature rather than the stark white of drywall that reminds you constantly that this is a manmade product.

Another requirement for the cabin style home would be the use of animals in several of your serving pieces, as part of the decorations in the home, and at least one animal as a pet, more if possible. Most napkin and paper towel makers have pictures of nature on their products from time to time. These can be wonderfully decorative as well as useful items for the home.

A trademark piece of a cabin style home would be the use of plaid material in places throughout the house. The plaid is probably something like a red, green, and brown, and could be on the tablecloth, adorning the windows, or napkins and tablecloths on the dinner table. This will be displayed with much care and will sit perfectly where the decorator has decided will look good.

A cabin style look will be very inviting to others and warming when they reach your home. If you cannot often get out to nature, this is a great way to bring nature to you.

Lee Dobbins
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/how-cabin-style-decorating-can-give-your-home-a-relaxing-rustic-look-126214.html