Home Staging Blog

In Feng Shui, your front door is the mouth of ch’i (energy).  As ch’i enters your door, it will travel through your home and feed your spaces with life giving energy.  To ensure ch’i is encouraged to fill your home with its vitality, make sure your foyer is welcoming.  A few key cures will keep you in top shape, ready to welcome great energy, great opportunities and fill your home with joy!

 Your front door should be easy to locate, clean and always in good repair.  As you enter your home, the area should be well-lit and feel comfortable in size-not cramped or crowded.  A small table to rest your things on is perfect and adding fresh flowers here will enourage the ch’i inside.

If your entry is small, you can make it feel larger with a mirror.  The mirror should be large enough to reflect you and your guest’s entire head.  Be careful with the placement of the mirror though, you don’t want to startle guests by their reflection as they enter your door.  In this case, you can hang artwork with “an open view”.  A nature scene with a wide open view would be perfect here.

If you walk into your home and look straight out the back of your home, chances are the energy is running through your home too quickly and not getting a chance to energize all the spaces.  To slow down the flow of ch’i, you can use furniture placement, potted plants or a small screen to create a meandering path to the back door rather than a straight shot.  You can also place artwork on walls in the room closer to the door to attract the eye and the energy to linger within the front rooms of your home, allowing the ch’i an opportunity to circulate through the other areas before moving on.

When your front door opens in to bright welcome spaces, your home feels inviting.  Inviting energy into your home is much the same as inviting guests, the more welcome and open you are, the more generous and giving the ch’i is.  So give your foyer a little love, a little extra light, and open the door to fresh energy in your life.

Home staging combined with simple home updates, smart pricing and effective marketing will get your Los Angeles home sold fast.  I’ve seen it happen over and over and it can happen for you.

A case in point, we recently staged a home in Westwood, a busy area of Los Angeles close to UCLA, the 405 Freeway and nearby to both Beverly Hills and Santa Monica beach.  Prior to our staging this property, this home had been on the market for 9 months with no offers.  The homeowner decided to hire an agent who specialized in the area with whom we work with on a regular basis.  The agent explained to him the importance and the value of staging a home for sale along with our success rates together and the homeowner agreed to have me come by to take a look at the property.

Upon entering the home, I was met by an entry that had dark smoked glass mirrors on the walls and ceilings.  It may have been cool at one time, but it definitely was not a buyer magnet today.  In fact, it not only did not attract buyers, it turned them away.  The rest of the home was in need of a thorough cleaning, new paint and carpet cleaning, the heavy, dated draperies needed to be removed and the few remaining furniture items that had been left behind from when the owner moved out needed to be attended to.

The agent, knowing that these updates and the home staging would bring the homeowner a faster sale, impressed upon him the value of going forward with the work before putting the property back on the market.  The client agreed.  The agent coordinated between the owner and the contractors to get the work done.  For $1,000.00 worth of paint, carpet & cleaning and $1,800.00 to have the entry mirrors removed, the walls repaired and painted, the home was now ready to be staged properly.

We staged this home, the agent added some fabulous live plants for the outdoor balconies and had it professionally photographed.  Within 20 days, this home was in Escrow with 8 offers and sold for $10,000.00 over the listing price.

Does home staging and a few simple updates make a difference in how quickly a home sells?  I know it does.  Are you doing all you can do to get your home sold quickly and for more money?

Our crew staged 3 model homes in Toluca Lake this past week.  These model homes are ready to be seen and are scheduled for open house this weekend.  Each home is gorgeous and unique in its layout, so be sure to check out each one to find the home that best suits your needs.

These units feature a delightful courtyard in the front of the building.  We added a lovely little bistro table for two.  Once the landscaping has matured, this will be a gorgeous place to sit and relax with a cup of coffee.

Let us know if you are interested in one of these staged homes.  We are happy to provide you with any further information.

Showing your home to strangers is a tough job.  Real estate agents are going to be coming in with buyers that will be making quick assessments of your house and one of the first rooms they will see is your living room.  Trust me on this, having your kid’s toys on display with Elmo greeting them at the door is not going to make a great impression.

An adult’s memorabilia collection can be a sensitive subject when it comes time to pack things up to stage a home, and toys can be an even bigger issue for kids.  Make it easier for them and find a great storage container that matches your decor that can hold a few of their favorites discreetly.  Remove all remaining toys out of the main living areas and return the spaces to adult rooms.  Whether your buyers have children or not, they want to feel like they are buying a grownup’s house, not a nursery school.

If your kids have toys that they have outgrown, discuss with them the option of gifting them to younger children who can enjoy them now.  If their bedrooms are too full of toys and are looking crowded, pack some up and let them know that when they get to their new home, all of their toys will be waiting there for them.  Be sure to label the boxes with the kids so they know you are taking good care of their favorite belongings.

And give Elmo a little hug and tuck him in gently

If you’ve never been to San Marino CA, do yourself a favor and pay them a visit.  It is a great town close to busy Pasadena, the Rose Bowl and just close enough but not too close to Los Angeles.  We staged a great home there last week and spent some time on this quiet street.  It is perfectly close to Starbucks and some great little shops.  The home has a great 4 bedroom, 3 bath floorplan in a classic tradition.

If you are looking for a great home in the East end of the Los Angeles area, do be sure to check this one out.  Just give us a call and we can get you all the details so you can see it for yourself.

Staging a home for sale is no longer a new concept, and in today’s real estate market, it is more important than ever.  Home staging makes every home show better, so if you think that home staging is for other homes, think again; home staging works for everyone, including you.

Home staging is not limited to vacant homes, new construction or homes that are filled to their overflow capacity.  Every home can benefit from home staging because home staging is the process of taking your family home and transforming it into a marketable property that appeals to the widest range of buyers.  A staged home will photograph better, making your real estate agent’s photos on the MLS listing, virtual tours or real estate shows and their flyers more attractive.  And (a fringe benefit), living in a staged home is actually easier to maintain while on the market since you have most likely packed up a lot of extra items. 

 Sounds good, right?

 

Home Staging will improve your marketing results

Talk to your real estate agent about the details of your home before putting it on the market.  Identify any possible trouble areas.  Consult a professional home stager to discuss your project.  Share with them your agent’s thoughts and any concerns you may have.  In addition to the staging information, your stager will have ideas and guidance on any minor repairs that need to be made and on how to best show your home. 

If you have an occupied home, you will need a consultation and possibly a proposal for any rental items, if needed.  If you have a vacant property, most home stagers will provide a home staging proposal at no cost.  Most home stagers do their best to be respectful of your budget, so be candid about your needs up front, but be sure you are choosing the most qualified stager for your project.  Don’t make the mistake of choosing a stager based upon cost alone.  There are cost effective ways to get the most out of your home staging dollars whether they are invested in a staging consultation or a full blown staging installation. 

Make your home look its model-beauty best and let home staging work for you!

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