Home Staging Blog

Real Estate Broker Open Houses, an essential part of marketing a home for sale, are hard work, but they can still be a lot of fun, especially when the listing agent goes the extra mile and brings in a catered lunch.  I met a young man today from New Orleans who owns Bourbon Street Catering here in Los Angeles and we got to talking about how he might work well with Real Estate Agents.

 Of course I couldn’t help but go check out his menu.  And wow, it looks pretty tempting.  Considering he is from Louisiana, when I saw the Jambalaya on the menu, I knew that for the next event I have catered, I’ll be giving him a call.  

So if you are looking for something a little different than sandwiches or pizza to serve at your next Broker’s Open House; try spicing things up and give Antoine a call.  Just promise me please, if you have the chance to try his cooking before I do, be sure to let me know how the homemade bread pudding with amaretto sauce is - okay?

Whatever your goals when Staging your home, floors make a huge impact on the overall results of your efforts.  And these days, with so many options available to choose from, why not have a good time with it?

I can share a little story about the floors in one of my homes.  It was a condo I moved into that had nasty carpets that had been abused and neglected.  We tore it out with the intention of replacing it but when the concrete was unveiled we discovered what looked to me like a work of art.

There on that concrete floor was forty one years of drips, stains, scrapes and scars made by who knew how many owners, landlords, painters, handymen, or tenants.  It had real personality.  I worked for weeks scrubbing that floor and each time I grew fonder of it.  I thought to myself, “Maybe I’ll just leave it like that…”

Virtually every time I opened the door, my friends would exclaim “I love your floor!  How did you do it?”  I would just smile and say, “Well, it just sort of came like that.”

Now I don’t recommend this if you are Staging to sell your home, but if you are re-designing your home to enhance your lifestyle, why not think outside the box?  There are more colors out there than “Real Estate Beige”.

We received another great Real Estate Staging question this week.  A homeowner in Laguna Niguel has had her home on the market for some time now with no offers.  She asked us to take a look at her home to see what we could suggest to help her home show better. Immediately my eyes were drawn to her collections.

 I suggested she pack up the collectibles so that when buyers come in they will not be distracted looking at the great collection instead of focusing on and remembering how fabulous the house is.  Reducing the number of collectibles on the walls and shelves allows the space for the buyers eyes to rest on the features of the home.

Packing up collections early has a few fringe benefits too.  You can take your time, you’re not rushed or under pressure.  You have time to evaluate each item and determine if it is something you really want to keep or if maybe it is time to let it go.  If you are going to keep it, you can have it cleaned, polished, safely packed and when you get to your new home it will be safe, fresh and ready to displayed in its new place.

When Staging Homes for sale, I always do my best to include great artwork in the homes.  I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately and have been considering ways to add to my art resources for Home Staging.

 I came across this article today by Sue Peters  in the Seattle Weekly.  She writes about Jan Sewell, a Home Stager in the Seattle area who uses high quality local art in her Staged houses.  Great article.  I too am looking for some great local talent here in the Los Angeles area and would love to showcase some pieces in the homes we Stage.

I’ve had the opportunity the past couple weeks to talk to a few people about just this and so far, things are looking great.  Very exciting to see the work of these talented people!

Having great artwork certainly enhances a home’s surroundings and creates a level of sophistication that is impossible to match without it.  If anybody is interested in having us use your pieces, just contact us.  We’d love to take a look to see if it fits any of the properties we Stage.   And as Sue stated, it can be another venue for the public to see your work.

At last, the Home Staging Van of our dreams is a reality here in Los Angeles!  Okay, okay, so it’s not really The Ultimate Van, but it sure feels good after the time we spent Staging with The Beast.

Now for you sentimentalists, don’t worry, The Beast hasn’t been put to sleep, rather just put out to pasture, for which I am sure he is quite grateful.

Randy and the team of professionals over at Huntington Beach Chrysler Jeep took good care of us today, getting us the vehicle we needed and serving our needs quickly.  In just a short time we were on the road and headed to Costco to pick up a few more crates for toting our ever growing Staging inventory in.  We’ve got a big week scheduled, so we’ll be breaking this Beauty in- in Style!

If you are looking for a vehicle and are here in the Los Angeles or Orange County area, Randy at Huntington Beach Chrysler Jeep can be reached at 800-653-1874.

In the meantime, all of us here will be busy getting the new van stocked & Staged and ready to go Stage your home next…

Real Estate Staging, trademarked by Barb Schwarz of Staged Homes, was in the news this weekend.  Barb was featured on the Today Show on NBC both Saturday and Sunday am.

 Barb and her team of ASP’s quickly Staged a Michigan home using only the homeowner’s belongings.  They packed up, de-cluttered, and rearranged his furniture & accessories.  By repositioning furniture and moving some things from room to room, a better flow of traffic was created allowing buyers to better appreciate the spaciousness this  home offers. 

Proper furniture placement highlights the home’s best features - and that is what is being sold - the home, not the homeowner’s belongings.  As Barb pointed out, “the way we live in our home is different than the way we market and sell our houses”.

Great job Barb and the team of ASP’s that worked on this project!

Thanks so much to those great artists that we are working with for allowing us to use your pieces for our upcoming special Real Estate Staging project!

 This unique Home Staging project we’ve been talking about is still in the works, so I am hoping to get more information for all of you early next week.

 I will definitely keep you all posted!

Barb Schwarz, the creator of Staged Homes and the founder of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, is going to be featured on NBC’s Today Show this weekend.  If you want to watch a live Home Staging, this should be a lot of fun! 

 I don’t have all the details, but I do know that it airs this Saturday, June 10 and Sunday June 11 at about 8:30 am EST.  It will include the before and after highlights.  So if you want to catch Barb in action and learn more about the Home Staging process, be sure to watch this weekend!

As many of you know, the life of a Home Stager can be very busy.  Very fun - but also busy.  I finally made the decision to add a crock pot to my kitchen inventory a few months ago, so I am looking for great crock pot recipes.

 With so many of you also living busy lives, I figure, why not share some recipes among friends?  As a new crock pot chef, I don’t have a huge file box for this category, but I am happy to share my first favorite recipe with you (it doesn’t get any easier than this):

Home Stager’s Chicken Marinara

1 onion sliced, scattered along bottom of pot

1 whole chicken, cleaned, patted dry, breast side down on top of onions

1 - 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce poured over the top

Cook on low ’til you get home, then carefully turn the bird over & turn down to warm setting.  When ready to eat, enjoy with salad and maybe a little pasta.  That’s it!

What are your favorite make ahead meals?