All I did was....Home Staging Success Stories

In this home staging in the Aurora area, I performed a staging consultation leaving a very capable homeowner with a list of to do items for each room in the house.

Within 10 days this home was decluttered, foyer painted a neutral colour, furniture rearranged for good flow and the yard trimmed.

This property is an excellent example for agents and homeowners to see what can be accomplished when they hire a professional home staging company like Advantage Staging to conduct the initial staging consultation and get a detailed, room by room action plan to prepare their home for sale.

By following the detailed instructions to prepare the property for sale the homeowner has created results that will attract attention in their on line listing photos and create desire to see the property.

A few things would have been staged differently if I had done the job, but overall, the results in this home showcase the importance of having a staging company as part of your marketing strategy.

Barrie Video Tours provided the video services for this listing at 16 Island Park Road with Remax Premier's Mark Vaher. Barrie Video Tours has become one of my "A List Team"  to capture the lifestyle of living at a property. The video technology they use markets your property to make you feel like you are right there at the house and look like a home you would see on HGTV.

Take a look and see if you agree!

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Two offices to serve your home staging needs.

Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple 416.928.2999

Barrie and area 705.720.0113

Michelle Finnamore Advantage Staging Winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010

Michelle Finnamore, owner of Advantage Staging has been nominated for the Ontario Home Builders SAM Award for best decorated model under 2200 sq. ft.

This model home was designed for the site in Alliston by Devonleigh Homes.

Features include using eco friendly finishes to market the homes to buyers that are concerned about indoor air quality.

Quartz counter tops, low VOC carpet and paint and natural stone were used to improve the indoor air quality.

This home's design focus was to make the kitchen the backdrop for the cook in the family to entertain family and friends. The open concept kitchen looks out to the dining room/ living room as well as having the option to have guests sit at the counter while the cook demonstrates their cooking skills.

The master bedroom and ensuite is one of pure indulgence. More than once I heard myself saying.... and why doesn't my house look like this?

Take a look and see what a professional home stager can do to build public awareness for your new home construction site.

Remember the four golden rules that home staging strives to produce-

* Attract attention

* Gain interest

* Create demand and desire

* Initiate action on the part of the buyer

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Advantage Staging serving Toronto, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple, King City, Richmond Hill, Barrie, Alliston and area.

416.928.2999

705.720.0113

This post is by Sergio DePinto, an agent at Remax Premier who attended a couple of seminars that I conducted there. Sergio listened intently to my suggestions on why you would want to be part of Active Rain, the largest free networking site for agents, home stagers etc. Sergio took to heart the suggestion I made to write from your heart and you will never be without good, quality content for your blog. Boy!  is he ever a good story teller.  I love reading his posts and thought you would too. So here is one of his latest musings.

Advantage Staging had the opportunity to stage two model homes for the Parkside site in Alliston for Devonleigh Homes.

I decided to stage in as "green" a way as possible to increase the marketing ability for these homes. The scope of work for this staging included selecting finishes, light fixtures, trim and doors, flooring, plumbing fixtures and designing the bathroom and kitchen spaces.

First thing I did was create a family that would live in each of the models. That made the selections much easier to choose as I had some idea of how the family would live in the home. The Shellbrook model was designed for an active family with a dog running through the home on a daily basis. The finishes selected would withstand the rigors of family life and be easy to maintain.

Cork floor in the main floor laundry is easy care and is a renewable, environmentally friendly surface. The washer is a front loader saving water on each load.

Carpeting had low VOC emission for those with breathing problems (over 25% of children now have a breathing problem).

The kitchen table was made from reclaimed elm and steel. A pot filler was installed over the stove to allow the cook to make soup and pasta dishes with ease.

The coffee tables and hall table were made from reclaimed steel and reclaimed railway ties from India (they contain no creosote).

The night table in the boys room was made from a part of a ship (and very heavy).

Custom drapery and furniture completed the look.

This model is light, bright and airy encouraging the gathering of family in the kitchen and rec room, the two rooms where you can invite friends and family over to enjoy time together.

Enjoy the video produced by Barrie Video Tours. The owners Steve and Kelly  use the latest in video tour technology and give you the feeling of being right there in the home.

Michelle Finnamore Advantage Staging - Preparing your property for sale in Woodbridge, Vaughan, Maple, Toronto, Alliston and Barrie.

Two offices to serve your needs.

Toronto and area 416.928.2999

Barrie/Alliston area 705.720.0113

I find Active Rain such a useful building block of my business that I recently held a seminar at Remax Premier in Vaughan. I encouraged everyone to bring their laptop to the seminar and I would get them logged on, fill out their bio's and start their first post to their blog. As most were not familiar with Active Rain or what blogging was it was an adventure for everyone.

Well here is the first agent to participate with their own blog. Allow me to introduce Sergio DePinto. 

You only come across a person as fine as Sergio every so often in your life. When you work with Sergio, he makes you feel like you are his only customer. Attention to detail and follow up are his motto. Treat everyone with respect and the courtesy of listening intently when speaking with them.

Take a look at his first post. I think he followed the suggestions I made very well

• write a catchy title to get reader interest
• write short paragraphs to keep reader attention
  
• write like you speak so that readers get to know you and respond
• write content from the heart, little copy and paste, include pictures
• write a series to keep readers coming back for more as they like your style and what you have to say
• include personal pictures of your town, your activities, the people in your life

Here is a link to Sergio's Blog 

He has written three posts in a few days, all worth your time to read. Get to know Sergio, you won't be disappointed.

The agents in attendance asked me how to find the time to write posts to their blog, they are so busy now they will never find the time. I suggested that in the time they spent at the coffee station in the morning, they could write down what they were saying to the other agents around the coffee pot and their post would be done for the day.

As I often write at the end of my posts,

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Advantage Staging....preparing your property for sale.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009

Once a listing client sees first hand what a professional stager can accomplish in one or two days marketing their home for sale, it often leads to staging their new home for living.

I had the opportunity to stage a property for a busy professional couple with 3 year old twins. Once they had seen the positive change in their present property, they understood that it is the details that bring a design together to create a finished, polished look.

My brief was simple. Stage the five principal rooms on their move in day. Sofas, drapery, artwork, bedding, lighting, area rugs and accessories were purchased over a three day period. 

As the couple were busy packing and moving from an hour away, I was at the new home receiving new furniture deliveries, hanging drapery rods and drapery and staging the rooms. The painter had been in to paint earlier so the stage was set to complete the look.

In the family room I chose a Natuzzi sofa for the parents and an extra long chaise lounge for the children to use. On the far side of the chaise there is a 52" LCD TV. The twins snuggle up on the chaise like kittens when they watch their movies and the parents sit on the sofa looking over the chaise to the TV. This is an idea the client had not thought of and really loved the concept of enjoying their family space in a new way. The cube storage piece stores away their individual toys. The red and white storage bins indicate which childs toys are inside.

The dining room was the first room that was seen upon entering the front door. It was in need of a focal point so I chose to paint the alcove for the serving piece in a deep, warm red colour. Symphony in Red artwork was selected to create impact and express the entertaining aspect of the room. The overall feeling in the room is now one of warmth and welcoming guests for a good night with friends and food.  The dining room leads out to the centre hall which leads to the family room. The chandelier selected for the space is truly a one of kind, jaw dropping piece. The shade is a grey mylar over a crystal light fixture.

The kitchen sits off to the right of the family room and is the heart of the home. I chose to purchase a dining table on its own so that I could select seating that would suit the needs of the clients family.  The adults have individual chairs covered in fabric the same warm red colour used throughout the design of the home. The children have a bench that provides easy on/off access for them to sit at the table. It is also a fun element that the twins really enjoy.  For a focal point on the wall I had my painter apply the same red paint colour to the wall using a stencil. The results are dramatic and create a conversation point for guests when they are over. The client remarked that the stencil mirrored the chandelier image on the wall.

For the master bedroom the clients only instructions were that the colours to be used were blue and chocolate brown. When she opened the double doors to the master bedroom her first reaction was tears of happiness. She said that she wouldn't have chosen any of the things that I did but that she loved it all.

This is where a client who trusts their designer to implement the concept for the overall design results in a finished look. Clients remark many times that they go to the store and buy the complete bedding set as shown in the store and when they get home it doesn't have the impact on them that it did in the store.
A professional knows it is in details that the final look comes together. This bedroom is truly a place for the clients to relax in at the end of the day. The artwork on the wall opposite the foot of the bed allows them to feel like they are waking up on vacation each morning. And who wouldn't love that?

The chair in the master bedroom was a special find. Peacock feather design on the seat side and a beautiful silk on the back panel with studs along the seam.  When the client saw the chair she sat down in it and said she was never leaving her bedroom. It was absolutely more than she ever envisioned for her husband and herself and was overwhelmed with happiness.

Advantage Staging is at your service whether it is for staging to market your home for sale or to stage your home for living.

Awarded Trailblazer Company of the Year 2009

Offices in  Vaughan Mills and Barrie

416.928.2999

705.720.0113

Listing clients ask me all the time.... do I really have to do all this work to prepare my home for sale?

The short answer is yes if you want to ask top dollar and sell your home in the shortest amount of time possible.

Buyers are busy people just like you and me.

They book 5, 6 or 10 houses to look at in one day. They spend less than 5 minutes in your home if you have not given them something to capture their attention.

Give buyers what they are looking for- clean, modern decor and rooms arranged for good flow that show how you can live in a home.

Your home is a product for sale. It is up to you to market it by having it professionally staged. 

Advantage Staging creates desire in the buyers mind and helps to initiate action on the part of the buyer to make an offer.

In this home staging  the bedroom went from "use your imagination here" to "move right in to your new master bedroom".

Investiment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award   2009

Travelling is a wonderful thing. It allows you see other ways of living and inspires you to want to bring home some memories. It can have such an impact on you that you just have to bring back some of that happy feeling by decorating your home with items that make that happen for you. Only thing is, buyers don't have those fond memories of the place you travelled to.

When you list your house for sale, it is now a product for sale. That means all the personal themed items are stored away and the house is marketed for sale to appeal to the widest range of buyers.

65% of people will pay more for a house that looks "move in ready". And that means neutral decor and colours that allow them to see their belongings in your home. So long safari and hello beautiful bedroom retreat.

This home staging at Norstar Harmony Village in North York now has buyers saying "absolutely beautiful, I want to move right in".

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009

Advantage Staging has the unique opportunity to stage the lobby of the Remax Premier office at the centrally situated Vaughan Mills location with a new look every quarter.

You may remember when I arrived at Remax it started out looking like this....definitely could use a little more warmth to welcome clients.

I knew I could create a warm, welcoming look very easily by adding furniture with the right texture fabric and colour. The first staging looked like this....

And now the lobby looks like this......

Subtle changes were made that effect the mood of the space, creating a welcome feel. Clients and visitors comment every day how comfortable the furniture is. They feel right at home and don't want to get up as they feel so good sitting there. Now that's what I call effective marketing. Creating such a great space that your clients look forward to coming and don't want to leave!

Watch for the changes at Christmas... with the launch date for the new office being December 3rd.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year  2009

Adantage Staging recently had the amazing opportunity to stage three condos in one day for the Norstar development of Harmony Village in North York.

These are inventory houses that have been on the market for two years. After staging this week, one has sold already and I am confident the others will follow shortly.

The before photos demonstrate how cold and uninviting an empty home can appear to buyers. After staging, the buyer can now envision how they would use the space and see themselves living there. I suggested to the marketing team that the condos be sold with the furniture.

For less than $40 per month on your mortgage, you can move right in to your new dream lifestyle. Put your feet up on the coffee table the day you move in with no muss or fuss. Just unpack your clothes and personal belongings and say …. Honey, I’m home!

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009