Home Staging

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