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

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.

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

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

In this example I would like to show the importance to Realty companies of their lobby reception area to the public. Whether it is a potential home buyer or an agent looking to join the sales team, first impressions count.

Gabe Bianchi of RE/MAX Premier opened the new location at 9100 Jane Street in Vaughan situated beside the Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre .  His concept for the new building was to create a main street atmosphere within the building. Two mortgage brokers, two lawyers, a home staging company amongst others are right in the building to serve the agents needs and to provide immediate answers to the buyers questions.

Part of the vision was to have the lobby staged by Advantage Staging. My suggestion was to change the look of the lobby every three months. Easy Decor rental furniture has  provided the furniture for the first vignette. I chose warm coloured, abstract artwork from a local art supplier and the props and accessories are from my rental inventory.  Every three months the look will change to keep interest high and create a positive energy in the building. Now the agents are looking forward to meeting their clients at the office as they have a story to tell that is unique to their location. And who wouldn't want that Advantage?

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Winner of the Trailblazer of the Year Award  2009

What an exciting night it was, meeting Wendel Clark from the Maple Leafs after he had his number raised to the rafters in the ACC in honour of his amazing career with the team.  Some day I hope to Stage Wendel's place. Something tells me there is going to be a HUGE collection that I am going to have to store away until moving day.