Sensing the Emotions
Posted on August 22, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | D. Jill Molnar | Leave a Comment
“WOW!”
After a staging, that’s what we like to hear from homeowners, real estate agents and potential buyers and that’s why it is so very important to stage a home - particularly if it is a vacant space. Staged homes sell faster because buyers can immediately see the home’s potential and function, and can also envision themselves living in the home.
Why? Because staging works on emotions and subliminal sensory stimulators - your visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile senses. A biology student I’m not, but I do own a good pair of eyes, ears, a nose and two good hands.
Let’s start with the eyes. A vacant room is devoid of character, looks smaller, has no function and immediately reinforces negatives focus. Injecting the house with good staging brings in colour - and a sense of harmony - a focal point, balance, proper scale and will reflect positively thus uplifting the buyer’s mood and forming a positive bond with the property. Add some aspiring lifestyle elements, and the buyer can see themselves curled up in that comfy chair reading a book.
Next are the ears. Walk through your house and look to see if you have dripping faucets, the neighbour’s barking dogs and screaming children, and extraneous traffic noise. Not so conducive to an aspiring lifestyle, so consider a water fountain, shutting out the extraneous noise by closing the windows (but not the curtains - keep the light) and if it was still a problem, you may want to consider playing light classical music at a very low decibel level. This is also an “aspiring” lifestyle cue.
Next would be the nose. Did you know that this sense, more than any other, affects our emotional reactions since it renders back to our oldest memories? I still love the smell of plasticine - good memories, yes. For selling a home however, you will have to steer clear of the odours from pets, cigarettes and cigars, artificial scents, perfumes, chemicals, cleaning smells, mould or dampness and cooking odours. I’m sure there are many more. The thing is we get used to the smells in our own home. A stager will not be afraid to tell you your house has odours! Remember as well, more and more people are scent sensitive these days - don’t put them off.
Last but not least is the feel of the house. Make sure the temperature is right particularly since at an Open House you have to remove your shoes - it can get cold and drafty in the winter and no heat means more damp and cold tootsies. The most obvious tactile presence is in textures - soft throws, woven baskets, carpets under your feet, plants that are non-prickly, pillows, and sumptuous towels. And if you don’t actually feel these materials, the buyer is still going to “feel” them just by looking and saying “Ah, I want to jump into that fluffy, enticing bed!”
Staging goes beyond the furniture, accessories and art because it also appeals to our innermost senses and thereby connects on an emotional level. By stimulating the senses, the buyers are kept interested and imagine themselves living there. This is why staging is smart and gives the homeowner a big edge on the competition.
For more information about home staging or how you too can sell your property with the help of a home stager call Jill Molnar at Stage-It Right! in Victoria, beautiful, B.C. www.stageitright.ca
Why Selling Real Estate is like Dating.
Posted on August 10, 2008
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles, Uncategorized | Janet Wormitt | Leave a Comment
Selling real estate is like dating. To get ready for the open market you have to address the condition issues, pack up the baggage and dress for success.
Curb appeal is house sex appeal. It’s about catching the imagination of potential buyers. When it’s time to move, you need to step back and take a hard look at what you’ve got to offer. You want to create some interest by attracting the widest potential market so you can generate the best offers. What’s your curb appeal?
Let’s address condition issues first. The trees and bushes are overgrown; there are piles of off-season items, toys or construction material piled around the house and yard, and your house wearing a coat of paint that was fashionable in 1980. You have maintenance issues. Sounds like you need a fresh trim, a few pounds shed, and an updated look. Taking care and pride in appearances gives you higher perceived value.
Without curb appeal, you’ll be a drive-by. Buyers assume that if the exterior’s neglected, the interior will be no better. Be sure to groom the exterior. I’m sure you’re familiar with the thrill of “love at first sight”. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
The inside condition is your baggage. If your closets and cupboards are overflowing then you’ve got more stuff than you can carry. If the counters and desktops are hidden from view, there are a lot of things you haven’t been dealing with. Is your oversized furniture blocking throughways and doorways? You’ve got flow and energy stagnating. You need to unburden yourself.
Open some windows, clean, organize, and create space. Show you have room to spare. In other words, pack up your baggage either by getting rid of it, or storing it. The harsh reality is no one but you can deal with your own mess. Did you really want to carry all that stuff to the next place?
Take a hard look on the inside. Would a visitor feel welcome enough to want to linger? Do the surroundings excite their curiosity? If not, create some. Anticipation is a powerful thing.
Dressing to successfully appeal to the right market is crucial. Start by knowing who your target market is and how they think. Know who you’re you dressing for. If your market is young professionals, you won’t be a standout if you’re in Grandma’s clothes. If you’re marketing for a family, you want to emphasize the qualities of family spaces and bedrooms even though you may be a confirmed bachelor.
Knowing how to dress is about understanding your square footage and what its assets are. You need draw the eye away from detractions and highlight the best features with a bit of colour.. Don’t overdo it. Strong colours are like strong personalities. Neutral colours are safer and less offensive, but too much neutral is downright boring. Find a balance which exudes confidence, not chaos.
The preparation work is done. Now you need to find your market. The internet is the tool for buyers prescreening homes to view. Make sure your photos look great and are effective. Professional photography is a worthwhile investment.
When buyers start arriving be sure to let them know their presence is welcome even though you’re absent. Fresh smells, flowers, hors oeuvres, (you get the idea) will make them linger. Encouraging them to linger will create a favorable and lasting impression, and may lead to the all important, second date.
“House Fluffing” Grows Up
Posted on July 31, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | Kim Dalton | Leave a Comment
Home staging, a.k.a. House Fluffing, is taking the real estate industry by storm. Since t.v. shows like “Staged to Sell”, and “Take This House and Sell it” Realtors and Homeowners alike are realizing the potential in hiring a staging professional to prepare their homes, or their clients’ homes for sale.
With homes selling faster and for more money, the staged property has become the winner in this unsure market. Time and time again, staged homes have the edge over the competition.
Staging Spaces in the News
Posted on July 31, 2008
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles | Stacey Haluka | Leave a Comment
Staging Spaces was featured in The Standard on Tuesday, July 28th. Below is the on-line version of the article, written by Cheryl Clock, editor Brian Collins.
Setting the Stage
Every detail counts for home stagers who create attractive living spaces from rooms that may have been neglected, full of clutter or just the end-product of bad taste
Dated doors that scream ’70s. Poofy floral valances. Shocking yellow paint. Ugly rugs that cover beautiful hardwood floors. And big, chunky furniture that sucks space from a room.
Niagara-based home stager Stacey Haluka has seen all of it.
Her job is to make a house look good for sale. To bring homes that haven’t been touched by a paint roller since avocado toilets were the rage into the current real estate market. And to make even the nicely decorated home appealing to the target buyer.
Home staging is about much more than telling sellers to make their beds and put fresh flowers on the table.
Home stagers also stage homes for people who aren’t selling. It’s called staging for living.
Different than decorating, it often involves using a homeowner’s own furniture and accessories, just rearranging and using them in different ways. Often the two overlap.
Whether you’re staying or selling, one of the biggest issues is this: people put the wrong furniture, in the wrong rooms, in the wrong places, says Haluka.
In one house, she walked in the front door, up a few steps and was greeted by the back of a sofa that blocked her way into the livingroom.
Nothing wrong with the sofa. Everything wrong with its location.
“You want a house to feel warm and flowing,” she says.
To improve the traffic flow, she simply eliminated clutter and rearranged the homeowner’s own furniture. She put the sofa in a space that opened up into the diningroom and kitchen. It helped to make the spaces seem more separate and defined. Two chairs were relocated beside a big window.
She also moved a smaller area rug from the dining room to replace a bigger carpet that was covering most of the hardwood floors.
Even though most of the main furniture is still there, the room is cleaner and seems bigger, she says.
And that’s the name of the game. “We’re selling space,” she says.
And when you’re thinking space, every little detail counts. Clean up your closets, fold and neatly stack towels and linens and consider storing offseason clothing elsewhere.
If you want your kitchen to appear bigger, take a look at what’s on your counter, says Devin Khuu, a home stager from St. Catharines.
Remove trinkets. Edit equipment you use only occasionally. And if you’re selling, edit even more. Take baking sheets and other items out of cupboards to create more room.
“If you have too much stuff, they think it’s small,” she says.
If you’re a little shy about pitching stuff out, consider recycling or donating. Khuu suggests reading the Niagara Region¡s Enviro Guide for lists of places that will take used items for recycling or resale.
Often if people know their treasured possessions aren’t ending up in the trash, they’re more willing to let go of clutter in their home, she says.
If I can say to them, I have somewhere for it to go, it makes it easier, she says.
Remember that you’re competing against new homes with spotless, up-todate kitchens, she says.
If you’re looking for an economical way to spice up a tired kitchen, think paint, says Haluka.
Fresh paint on any wall will add life to a room. But don’t stop there. White paint on outdated brown cupboards and doors can have high impact for little money, she says.
Haluka turned a dark and drab ’70s kitchen into a space that was light and airy with paint. Simply sand and prime (she likes Bulls Eye 123 primer), then add a fresh coat of white. She even painted the mismatched laminate and wood countertop with Melamine. It’s durable, makes an impact and will buy you time to save up for a new countertop or your dream kitchen reno, she says.
Add new door pulls, taps, even a sink if you’re handy. Maybe buy a more modern light for over your table. They don¡¯t cost much but have maximum impact, says Haluka.
Same goes for the bathroom cupboards. In one bathroom, Haluka made a large, rectangular mirror that spanned the length of the vanity more classy simply by making a frame to go around it.
And while you’re painting, you may as well lighten up all that trim (baseboard, door and window) stained so dark it chops up a room, says Khuu. Instead of having a flow, your eye is drawn to the outlines, she says. Just remember, if you do one room, you do them all.
And when you go to buy furniture, think about where it¡¯s going. Big, chunky furniture can steal valuable living space from a room, says Khuu.
In a dining room of a home currently on the market, she found a wooden table and hutch so big it ate up most of the space. She brought in a smaller, round glass-top table and four Parsons chairs and got rid of the hutch.
The end result ¡s a cleaner, streamlined look. And more living space. In the adjoining livingroom, she got rid of two large sofas and yet another massive wooden display case that devoured an entire wall.
It’s a large room but shrinks with too much furniture, she says. If you need a place for your TV, consider a floating shelf.
If you’re living in the house, you want space. If you’re selling, you don’t want all your stuff to block the imagination of a potential buyer, says Christine Rae, author of Home Staging for Dummies and founder of Certified Staging Professionals. If all your collections, photographs and personal items are on display, ¡°they get wrapped up into how you’re living, she says.
Lots of furniture creates a message in their memory bank small room. These days, many buyers don’t have time to view loads of houses. They eliminate many based on online photographs and a quick drive-by. Buyers are looking for move-in ready homes. They want to move in on Saturday and have a barbecue on Sunday, she says.
…
For more information on Canadian Staging Professionals, visit www.canadianstagingprofessionals.com or call 905-984-6955. Home stagers Devin Khuu and Stacey Haluka are both CSP members. They can also be reached at:
Devin Khuu, 289-688-4348 or www.dkdesignstudio.ca
Stacey Haluka, 289-820-9460 or www.staging-spaces.ca
Save Time & Money With An Organized Inventory
Posted on July 30, 2008
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles | Karen Salzsauler | Leave a Comment
Want to save time and money on your staging projects? Of course! You can, with a little organizing. An organized inventory will promote efficient and hassle free accessory selection and packing, it will protect your investment from loss or damage and increase your level of personal safety.
Being both a certified staging consultant and a professional organizer, I thought I’d share a few strategies you may find helpful.
When setting up your organizing system for your inventory consider such issues as:
• Conditions of location that could cause damage
• Quick packing strategies
• Preventing damage in transport
• Ability to identify your inventory when destaging
• Tracking inventory availability and locations
• Tracking pricing for rental quotes
• Efficient destaging and restocking strategies
• Wish list for additional items
• Replacement value for insurance purposes
Developing a system
Have your system in place as soon as you buy your first few pieces of inventory. It is amazing how quickly your inventory will grow and the organizing process can be overwhelming if things accumulate without a plan and a designated storage spot.
Don’t try to reinvent your organizing style. The system needs to make sense to you and be easy for you to maintain to be effective. Think about how you like things in your home. Are you a piler or a filer? Do you like things out where you can see them, for fear of “out of sight- out of mind”? Then clear totes or open shelf display storage may be what you need. If you find visual clutter distracting, then solid colour totes well labeled or items behind closed doors will suite you better. You can fine-tune your system with colour coding, alphabetizing …just keep it simple.
Remember that excesses rob us of time, money and space. Keep your inventory limited to items that are very versatile and will get used often. If you already have an accumulation of inventory and are looking to organize it, I encourage you to purge as you go. You may find that you have certain items that you rarely or never choose. You could swap with fellow stagers or use a service like eBay or stagerslist.com to pare down.
Before you go out and purchase or build shelving, buy bins etc, you need to determine what types of containers you will be using to best suit what you are storing. If your accessories wont fit in the bins you purchased or the shelves don’t accommodate your bins you have a new problem. Too many or the wrong storage items often become a source of clutter themselves.
Protecting from damage and injury
Ensure your safety first. Adequate lighting, secure shelving, nothing on the floor to trip over, no dangling cords, heavier items on bottom shelves, ensuring totes aren’t too heavy, secure storage facilities…all need to be addressed to help you avoid injury and the lost income as a result.
Selecting a location. There are lots of choices. Spare room, basement, garage, and storage unit… The size and layout will dictate some of your options. Try to plan for growth right from the start. Moving your inventory when you out grow your space is a big undertaking.
• Think about lighting. If it is in a room with natural light you could have fading & sun damage to exposed items. Solid totes and black garbage bags or tarps may be necessary to protect susceptible pieces.
• An inexpensive way to protect items from dust is to use dollar store painters drop sheets. They are very light weight so won’t flatten greenery and you can still see through it. The super size Ziploc bags are also one of my favorites. They’re great for pillows! The handles make them perfect for transporting. They even have a spot to label the contents. Keep them together by property for destaging. For easy retrieval, try hanging a rope or cable from the ceiling and use a carabineer for the handle of each bag.
• Basements and garages can be damp causing warping or mildewing, and are also prone to rodents. If this is your only option, reduce the likely hood of damage by using a dehumidifier, fresh air machine to eliminate mold and mildew and odors- it will remove any odors that may have been picked up in the clients house as well, or an odor absorbing sponge, plug in pest control devices…
• Opting for a storage unit is an additional expense of both the rental cost and travel time to and from. You will have to balance that with available space at home, convenience of lugging items up and down from your basement, and encroaching on the families’ living space.
Organizing strategies
All that having been said, you should now be ready to go. Organizing is a process. Start by sorting the items. The #1 rule to an organizing system is “Like with Like.” Bedding with bedding, double with double –queen with queen. Pillows with pillows, greenery with greenery…you get the idea. Use this principle when sorting and when storing. Keep a bin or bag set aside for items to be purged and have a set date to swap, sell or donate them. Labeling is important in helping you to quickly locate what you are looking for with out having to rummage around for it. Labeling your shelf or tote greatly decreases the likelihood that you will place something there that does not belong.
A generally accepted standard in professional organizing is that you should be able to retrieve any desired item within 1 min. Picking and packing accessories from a room-by-room list can increase your efficiency as well as ensure you have not forgotten anything. I always like to have a few extra options for creativities sake. This list can later serve to help in the destaging as well as track your inventory.
Tracking
Consider taking digital photos and creating a list or catalogue with sizes and pricing as well as a column for in or out. This will help you to remember what you have, have accurate pricing for setting your rental costs if you itemize and track inventory availability as well as its’ current location. In case of loss or damage it will be invaluable documentation for insurance claims.
You will want to identify your inventory for destaging. When you own a hundred pillows it can be tricky to remember which ones are yours and which belong to the client. You can use stickers with your company info on the items. Not just your name but also your phone number. If they don’t have to look up your number it is more likely that a client will call to inform you that something was left behind. There are also computerized systems with bar-coding you can use to track inventory. These will run you several hundred dollars.
Have a bin with your packing and transporting supplies. Easily accessible supplies, tissue, bubble wrap, stretch wrap, picture boxes, empty totes etc; can ensure you don’t resort to tossing things unprotected into boxes or your vehicle. It helps to use like-with-like when packing too. That way your team can see all candles or greenery available for e.g. when showcasing. Packing by room is another way to go. This will mean you don’t have to micro manage and they don’t have to rummage. Destaging in like manner will make restocking faster too. Consider the job complete only when everything has been restocked.
Wish lists
Now that you can see what you have (and what you don’t) both in inventory and in storage space, you will be able to create a wish list of items for future jobs. A good rule of thumb is to shop from your list. This will help you to resist impulse buying and avoid having excess inventory.
Organizing and being organized are two very different things. A trip to Wal-Mart and a van-load of Rubbermaid totes do not make you organized. (Don’t tell Rubbermaid I said so, but it is a widely accepted urban myth.) You will need to schedule time to maintain your organizing efforts. If you can’t seem to stay organized it may be that your system needs some fine-tuning. You would likely benefit from consulting with a professional organizer.
Do you have a specific organizing or storage issue you would appreciate some professional help with? Perhaps you have a tip or trick that would help other stagers. I am always happy to be a resource to you. Please feel free to contact me at Karen@lifestyledinteriors.ca.
Depersonalized, not burglarized
Posted on July 27, 2008
Filed Under Certified Staging Professionals - Company, Stager Blogs, Staging Articles, Staging Questions | Janet Wormitt | Leave a Comment
Home staging has boomed in popularity and with so much information on the web and television it’s easy to be inspired to give it a try. But like many do-it-yourself undertakings, a little knowledge doesn’t always get you the results you were aiming for.
Take a look at current open houses or on MLS®. Many homes are so depersonalized they look more like they’ve been burglarized than staged. The homes have been completely stripped of personal items, and deprived of any individual character or sense of personal identity. All that’s left in the rooms are a couple pieces of furniture.
So why are rooms being stripped of their individual character? The most common piece of advice for staging your own home whether on the web or television is to declutter and depersonalize your space. The reason for this is more often than not, there is space waiting to be discovered within your home. It just needs organizing and to be purged of too much stuff. The investment of time and effort is definitely rewarded.
Depersonalizing shouldn’t be confused with stripping a home of its character. Depersonalizing should be removing the personal things that identify you as an individual. Some examples might include personal photographs, collections, strong personal tastes, unexpected items, or themes. If you have strong personal interests you may have collected items without realizing a theme has proliferated through your entire home.
I’ll use pet owners as one example. There will be doormats, pictures, or figurines of adored pets everywhere. As the prospective buyer walks through the house they’re certain they can smell it. Was it housebroken? Did it have fleas? What damage did it leave behind? The theme becomes the most prevalent thing on the prospective buyer’s mind, and later how they, and the Realtor®, remember the house. Whether visiting the home of an avid sports fan, world traveller, computer geek, or plant lover, a potential buyer has a difficult time being objective if the home doesn’t relate to them.
The key to home staging is preparing the home so it relates to the widest potential market for the property and by increasing its perceived value when compared to its competition. Notice I said “relates”. The goal is to create an emotional connection to a wide audience. The elusive “it” factor. If a home has been so depersonalized that it’s austere and sterile (or looks like you’ve been robbed), it doesn’t relate to buyers. That’s why vacant homes have a hard time selling. Buyers can’t relate to empty space. Homes depersonalized to the point of stripped are nearly as bad. A home should have a clean, calm, warm, and inviting persona.
Here are a couple suggestions to strike a balance between depersonalizing while maintaining an inviting persona.
“DO” pack up your personal photos, hobby, collections, theme items before you put your home on the market. I know you love them and you’re proud of them, but we don’t want to distract the buyer.
“DO” keep a few decorative accessories. A single large-scale accessory or a grouping of similar medium-scale items works best. You want a few focal points and colour. This principal works for wall art as well. It is better to have less furniture and a couple of key accessorized focal points, then a room full of furniture and no accessories.
“DON’T” neglect soft accessories, like pillows, wall treatments, rugs, plants, or throws. If your room is full of hard surfaces it’s not very warm and inviting. Keep to very few but larger-scale items and create soft “layers”.
“DO” experiment. A good room will feel balanced, easy to get around in, and comfortable. If a certain item(s) dominate a room, pack it up early.
Your comments and questions are always welcome at janet@bestsellerstaging.com. Be sure to visit our website at w³.bestsellerstaging.com.
Reflecting on Home Staging
Posted on July 24, 2008
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles | Jackson West | 1 Comment
As I have not had much time to blog about our recent transformations, I thought I would take a different angle and post some photos of mirrors we have placed in properties for sale. First, I would like to mention a few points regarding the use of mirrors when selling (and living in) your home.
- Mirrors visually expand interiors, create depth, and can bounce light into a room.
- A well positioned mirror reflects an attractive point of view upon entering a room.
- Often people hang mirrors for the sole purpose of catching sight of themselves and do not take full advantage of the benefits a strategically placed mirror provides.
1. They reflect an unappealing area or view.
Consider this mirror hung in the entrance of a home. I’m sure it was handy for checking your appearance before heading out the door, however people don’t want to see the reflection of a bathroom as they enter a home.
2. They are placed too high on the wall. .
For some reason, most people hang artwork too high as well. I have never understood this.
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3. They reflect a bare wall.
This is particularly common in bathrooms. Usually there is a large mirror above the vanity. By hanging artwork on the opposite wall, you can increase the visual depth of the room as shown here.
4. They are positioned directly across the room from a window.
Doing this reflects light and energy (a.k.a. chi) back out the window and not into the room. Instead hang mirrors on the wall adjacent to a window.
And now some more mirror shots …
Membership had its advantages!!! - dk design studio
Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Certified Staging Professionals - Company, Stager Blogs | Devin Khuu | Leave a Comment
As owner of dk design studio – Niagara ON, I pride myself on being resourceful, creative, and educated. In June of 2008 I launched a new e-commerce division of dk design studio; dk home. This St. Catharines based division meets the decor needs of the staging industry and further provides home owners with a unique, premium source for home decor products from around the globe .
During the initial development stages of dk home, I focused more on the design and product development of the line rather than the shipping and handling. When it came time to arrange for shipping, I discovered the need for liability insurance, especially when shipping to the USA. With mass amounts of class action law suits against manufactures in regards to tainted products, shipping companies are now strongly recommending liability insurance coverage. Taking the advice of seasoned entrepreneurs and wholesalers alike, I invested in additional business coverage.
The first company I approached was of course, Jones Des Lauriers; a CSP™ preferred pricing partner. Jones Des Lauriers offers a wide range of personal and business insurance coverage, not to mention their excellent customer service. After my initial phone call we discovered my situation was a little unique, therefore my Client Service Manager at Jones Des Lauriers would draft proposal for me over the next few days.
During the time it took to prepare a quote, I did my research, calling several other companies. The first challenge I ran into of course was the same one I had almost three years ago when I tried to get business insurance for my first home staging company. Most insurance carriers do not understand our industry , therefore the insurance providers would either over charge, or simply decline a quote.
I was able to narrow my search down to two larger insurance firms (other than Jones Des Lauriers) who “said they understood my needs”. They too required time to prepare a quote. By this time Jones Des Lauriers had contacted me, not with a quote but for a courtesy call to say please bare with us, your situation is unique and we are still working on a proposal.
Back to the competitors; one had not got back to me at all; the other was still working on the full proposal. However he did at this time offer an initial quote for coverage on my staging business; $1200.00 compared to Jones Des Lauirers preferred CSP rate of $500.00.
After receiving the initial quote of $1200 just for my staging business from the third insurance provider, I was also informed that before liability coverage for dk home - decor line could take effect; I must transfer all my personal insurance coverage to them. This is the only way they would secure my business premium. When questioned as to why, the only reason was his company didn’t fully understand my industry and didn’t want to be held accountable for not ensuring my business properly. I opted to follow through with a full quote from his company as Jones Des Lauriers had not completed my proposal as of yet.
The final outcome; Jones Des Lauriers understood my needs and would assist me adjust my coverage as my company expands and develops. Full coverage for both my staging business and dk home turned out to be $775 per year. The only other company who offered a quote wanted $1200 per year for staging insurance, $2700 per year minimum liability insurance for dk home with the condition, I must transfer all my personal insurance, property insurance to them to receive their “wonderful package”.
I have always been proud to say I am a CSP™. Having the added benefits of National Preferred Partners such as Jones Des Lauriers, ICI, the Brick, to name a few, just add value to becoming/remaining a member.
You do the math- $1200 a year for insurance or $500. You would save $700 the first year alone. Not to mention all the other trade discounts we receive. In three years you would have paid for the CSP™ program and then some.
I encourage new stagers, or even seasoned stagers to research the benefits of membership with CSP™. The program itself is far advanced from the competitors. Just ask anyone of us who belong to other associations. Once you review the course content and the benefits your company receive, I think you’ll agree CSP™ membership has its advantages!
Wishing you great success,
Devin Khuu
dk design studio
devin@dkdesignstudio.ca
revitalize rejuvenate reveal - staging niagara and beyond
Staging Professionals are Changing Lives… one project at a time!
Posted on July 17, 2008
Filed Under Press Releases, Staging Articles, ecostaging | Duncan Scott | Leave a Comment
Duncan Scott, (President), and Laurie Handley, (Project Manager), of the The Scotts Group Inc, a Toronto Based Home Staging company, are please to announce that they have joined the Certified Staging Professionals(TM) “Pay if Forward” Charity of Choice: Habitat for Humanity(R). The Scotts Group will donate a portion of its staging fees for every property staged to Habitat for Humanity(R). Donations collected by all CSP(TM) will be presented to Habitat for Humanity(R) at the CSP(TM) 2009 Convention.
Canadian Staging Professionals, (Certified Staging Professionals in the US), was founded in 2005 by Christine Rae. Christine has personally instructed more than 2,600 entrepreneurs on how how to start and grow a successful home staging business. In 2007 Christine was awarded the Real Estate Staging Associations Staging Innovator of Year Award. Christine is also the coauthor of Home Staging for Dummies published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.
In 2007, at the launch of the companies annual convention, CSP(TM) donated funds to the charity which was enough to pour a foundation for a home. The Scotts Group is joining a growning number of Certified Staging Professionals(TM) currently enrolled in the CSP(TM) Charity of Choice Program. This program is also ECO friendly as CSP’s will recommend that homeowners donate unwanted items to the local Habitat for Humanity(r) Restores.
Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world , and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.
Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. HFHI was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller and his wife Linda.
Links:
www.habitat.org
www.canadianstagingprofessionals.com
www.thescottsgroup.com
STAGING FOR LIVING
Posted on July 16, 2008
Filed Under Stager Blogs, Staging Articles, Staging Questions | Duncan Scott | Leave a Comment
John has just called from the office:
“My Parents are coming for the Long Weekend and their bringing Aunt B”
You hang up the phone after expressing your excitement, all the while thinking I’m the biggest liar! Honestly, who likes the inlaws coming for a visit?? Aunt B, didn’t that woman just take a “Home Staging Course”? What will she think??
You scan the Great Room, the kids toys are everywhere, the new furniture is crowded around the TV and you think “I thought we had a fireplace?”. Martha Stewart would run out of the kitchen screaming “That’s NOT a Good Thing” as you can’t even see the kitchen for everything that’s on the counters. You walk through the rest of the house and more of the same thing. There’s no time or money to hire a decorator, what to do???
A Home Stager comes to mind so you search the CSP™ directory.
The Scotts Group Inc, works with homeowners not just when they are selling their homes, but when they need help to get the home where they want it to be. Your home should have flow and feel like a place to show off when you’re living there. Why wait till you sell your home to enjoy it!
We will work on short deadlines!
Duncan Scott, (President and Founder), and his certified team will work with what you already own and love and will help you to shop for new pieces of furniture and accessories to give your home a place you’ll be proud to show off to neighbours, friends, the inlaws and even that annoying aunt!
While having fun is an important part of The Scotts Group Team, we are dedicated and serious to creating and working with you to create the look YOU want within the budget you set! Our Reputation is based on referrals!
We begin the process by walking through the home with you and finding out why you bought the home and what things you want to show off. From there we create a plan specifically tailored for your home.
If you’re not in the Greater Toronto area, The Scotts Group is proud to recommend Reveal Estate in Vancouver, Flair & Function in Ottawa and DK Design Studio in the Niagara Region. If your not in one of these areas, all of the Stagers listed on the CSP™ website have been Certified and Trained to help you achieve the results you are looking for!
Duncan Scott, President, CSP™
The Scotts Group Inc
Home Staging/Redesign/Project Coordination
Working with “People On the Move” since 1989
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