Happy Earth Day 2010

Green Home Staging: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle

Posted by: Stephanie Decker on April 19th, 2010

“Reuse, Reduce and Recycle” is a tune my grammar school son chants all the time. He learned it in school and I have even found myself chanting it at times. And as with anything, once something gets in to your head you find yourself applying it to your everyday life.

As Earth Day approaches I am excited by how I have applied some of the “Green” principles of my son’s song to my own home staging business in Marin. As home stagers, we try to have environmentally sustainable designs that improve our environment rather than detract from it.

REUSE & RECYCLE

The most obvious is that we reuse our furniture for home staging. And when we need to add to our collection we try to buy locally so we can reduce transportation costs and waste.

When clients are thinking of replacing their upholstered furniture I suggest that they have their furniture recovered rather than just throw it away. Upholsterers can recycle the furniture to look like new, with half the waste as buying new, and half the cost.

REDUCE

Lighting is also an easy way to be eco-friendly. Before any open house Realtors turn on all of the lights in the home. This creates light and a welcome environment. This is also something I do before a party when I want my guests to feel welcome and the energy in the house come alive. But before wasting all of that wattage consider using only compact florescent light bulbs. Switching from a traditional light bulb to a CFL is a simple change everyone can make to reduce up to 20% of our greenhouse gases without skimping on the ambiance.

Another way we reduce waste is to reuse our packing materials over and over again rather than have our moving companies use new materials.

GREEN SUPPLIES

At Staged Marin Homes we also make sure our suppliers are Green. We only use painters who use no-VAC paints, and flooring companies who specialize in eco-friendly flooring such as bamboo, wood and cork.

The other conscious decision was to have all of our linens made from bamboo, a renewable resource. Bamboo is not only incredibly absorbent it is also naturally hypoallergenic, anti-microbial, and odor resistant. It is also 100% biodegradable with all sections of the plant having usable applications.

As for our cleaning supplies we use Seventh Generation, who have made the first EPA-registered natural disinfectants, or Method Home, who is the first to earn a certification from Cradle-to-Cradle, an organization that assesses the environmental intelligence of consumer products. We also endorse The Laundress and Mrs. Meyer’s to name a few other green labels.

GREEN STAGING … OUTDOORS

Finally, something we can all appreciate – plant a tree! We can each do our part in cooling the earth if we just plant a tree, a bush or even a single flower. But remember to keep your garden fertilizer pesticide-free so that all living creatures can enjoy the beautiful green environment.

This Earth Day take the time to enjoy our beautiful planet and breathe in the beauty around you.

First and Last Impressions

Recently I was called in to stage a home for sale and while doing the initial walk through I found a couple of problems. The overall house was nice but the first and last impressions were really bad.

I have already spoken a lot about first impressions, curb appeal. Getting people to want to come into the home to view it...and ultimately fall in love with it. And frankly, I think most people understand the concept of first impressions. The issue here is that if you don't have a great first impression then you MUST have a great last feeling, something to carry your buyer through to an offer.

Unfortunately most sellers don't spend the time at the back of the house when preparing it to sell. They are too overwhelmed, hoping that a buyer just won't notice. But they do. It is at this point that most sellers make their final call.

In the house I was recently called in to stage the master bedroom was in the back, and the master bathroom was behind that - the last stop on the train. It was horrid. Not only was it an awful color the tile in the shower didn't match the rest of the tile and the toilet was brown. The actual color brown. The idea that the future owner was going to be comfortable taking on this job was not an optimistic one. Maybe in a better economy but now if a buyer has any money it is put into the purchase price leaving nothing left for fixer-uppers.

In the case of bathrooms I always suggest getting the space clean with fresh linens. Update light fixtures and when the tile is bad, my go-to option is always Miracle Method, a bathtub and tile refinisher. It is truly a miracle. They will cover most flaws and can bring any bathroom to a clean white space. I love white tile in a bathroom - it is bright and clean.

So, when thinking of selling, if you can't fix up the front then please make sure that the last stop will carry the reluctant buyer through to an offer.

HomeGain Nation 2010

I am just back from HomeGain Nation 2010, hosted this year at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Wow, what an inspiring and informative group of people. If you don't know about HomeGain and you are a real estate agent then shame on you. If you are someone looking to buy or sell your home -- you too should be very familiar with HomeGain. They are an online real estate site based out of Emeryville, CA. I have the privilege of blogging for them on home staging issues, but even if I didn't I can list a number of reasons why I would follow them.

Today there were discussions about social networking, marketing, and how to increase your efficiency in this crazy fast-paced world we live in. I had the pleasure of meeting top producers from all of the country who were all there just to learn about how to be a better agent and community leader.

As a home stager I love helping people to prepare their homes for sale. I also love helping the sellers get prepared emotionally for the big change in their lives. But in the bigger picture I love being able to help my community. Sometimes all that might be is sharing information that I hope will benefit you. So, here is one - go to HomeGain and let them help you in all of your real estate needs.

Just your friendly neighborhood resource gal!

Curb Appeal 2.0

Curb Appeal in real estate terms used to be the appeal of your home when a potential buyer gets to your curb. It was the first time they were seeing your home and it sets the stage for the rest of your home. But this has changed with the use of internet sites such as facebook and other social networks, as well as real estate websites. The appeal comes long before a buyer gets to your front door - it starts online. The drive-by of today is on the internet. And it is not just your front door, it is your entire house that the buyer can see before ever getting to your home.

With the online marketing for your home it has suddenly gone from being shown to a few buyers by a few agents to thousands of potential buyers. And for the listing agents some of those buyers might not have a real estate agent and will call you directly based solely on your photographs. But if the photos aren't representative of your home's appeal then the buyer will never get to your front door. There is another house just a mouse click away. But when done effectively it draws people to your actual curb, where they are lured inside for more.

My suggestion to every home owner is to make sure the photographs are taken by a professional photographer who specializes in photographing homes for sale. There are too many mistakes that can be made by someone who doesn't understand what the photographs must convey (i.e. light, space, design, etc.). And for home stagers, it is a must to stage the home so it will be photographed well, not just as it will be seen in person. I will even add something after the photographs are taken so that when the buyer shows up, they are pleasantly surprised that it is better then they imagined or saw online.

So before the For Sale sign ever goes up on your home photographs must be taken for the internet For Sale sign to go up. Then your total curb appeal is ready for your buyers.

Don't Forget About The Transitions

Transitions are a part of life - new jobs, marriage, children, even death. And whether the transition is our choice or not we all want it to be as smooth as possible. And when you think about it, through it all, is our home. Sometimes it can carry us through the life transition but sometimes it can't and we need to sell our home to buy a new one. When we have to sell our home it is important to transition our home from how we lived in it to the home someone wants to buy.

Besides cleaning it up and removing the clutter you also need to make sure the house flows from room to room. Keep an eye out for those transition points. Is there continuity in the homes design? Do the rooms flow in a natural order of things? Is the buyer eager to see what the rest of the house looks like when they first enter.

From the entry to the backyard each room needs to build anticipation, draw you through. This is done through color, scale, and style that is unique to the homes original character. And once established, it must be carried throughout the entire home. The color will be repeated, the scale will be consistent, and the style will remain true to the home's architecture. Cottages need smaller pieces whereas modern homes need fewer but larger pieces. A California rancher will be different from a Florida cabana.

If you are unsure what your homes style is ask an architect to come to the

house. He will be able to see the style, and explain the scale. Once the style is

established, the place will start to take on its own character. Don't fight it. Although you may want to use beach accessories in the summer, it is going to be very out of place in a Colorado cabin. A good home stager doesn't interject their own tastes but those of the house.

The place to start is at the beginning, the entry. Make it

set the stage so that once the buyer walks through the

front door they will never want to leave. They will know

that they are home, in the home. And the transition will

be welcomed.

Overcoming Objections to Staging

Objections hurt. It doesn't matter what your business is. When you have done your best and it is met with disapproval or criticism you can't help but take it personally. In business, as in life, it is not how you take the objection but what you do with it.

Home staging is one of those few professions that does not necessarily take into account what the client thinks as much as what the buyer thinks. This is hard when dealing with the seller, your client. Although the homeowner may be the one paying you, you really are there to serve the future homeowner. This can create a conflict, and objections.

When asked by real estate agents how to convince sellers to stage their home I share with them that it is more about the sellers "feelings" of moving then it is about the staging. For if the homeowner isn't ready to sell then they will not want to take the effort to prepare their home for sale. And before any buyer can see themselves in a home the current owners have to be already gone, if not literally then emotionally. No one will feel comfortable buying a home if they feel like they have to "kick" the owner out. (I am not talking about foreclosures or short sales or other situations where the owners actually don't want to sell.) Staging is only to be discussed after the seller is ready emotionally to sell, and then after that, the value of staging will speak for itself.

There are times when the seller doesn't like the finished product. They might not like the design, or they can't picture themselves living in it, or worse - they think it would have been better empty. Ouch. But I encourage stagers to listen to all of the feedback because one day the homeowner will be a buyer and to understand why they didn't like the staging will help you do a better job in a future home.

The best response to any objection is to stand behind your work. If you did your job right then the house will be photographed well, which as I said earlier is today's "curb appeal", and the Open House will be well received. After that the rest is up to the realtor. They need to price the house right and have a good marketing plan. It is impossible to know if staging is the reason a house doesn't sell quickly. But when an offer comes in on the first weekend, you can be confident it helped. This is when emotion takes over everything else, because staging is all about making an emotional connection to the buyer.

Objections are not to be overlooked. They tell the story of the homeowner and where they are in the selling process. And if you can look past your own insecurity then it will ultimately make you a better stager.

Fast Changes in Winter

With the change from holiday decor to winter blah it is easy to feel let down. The sudden splash of Christmas red and green are gone, as too are the bold blues and whites of Hanukah. It is grey and raining and there is no sign of Spring for months. If I am staging in the Winter months it is essential to add some color to the staples in a room. And when you add a splash of color it forces the buyers to focus where you want them to look rather than the general scope of the house. This is especially good if the overall feeling is old and outdated. A homeowner might not be able to paint the walls or add a new couch to the room but they can add a pillow, a throw or a splash of color in an accessory. In your own home you can add the same impact with color.

A great color in Winter is red. Not the holiday red you are thinking but a deep crimson. It adds depth of color for the season and a splash of drama and warmth. Another color is deep purple.

It is energizing and creative. You can put the color into something simple like a pillow or something bold like curtains. It suddenly changes the room from unremarkable to creative, and invigorating in the dark months of Winter. Another color I like in Winter is yellow. Hints of Spring ahead.

It is also important to think of texture and pattern in whatever room you are updating. An inexpensive and easy idea is to frame seasonal and contemporary fabric to hang on the wall. Or wrap it around a large wooden frame to make a statement piece of art. This is a great idea for a space where you need instant impact. And fabric by the yard is a whole lot cheaper than art. Wherever there is a black hole in your house, like in staging, change it instantly through color, texture and pattern.

Be creative and enjoy the winter - in your own home. Spring is just around the corner.

The Art of Smell

It is important to remember that staging a home isn't just about looks -- it is also about smell. Think of cinnamon and all of those times when you smell it - the holidays, family times in the kitchen, sitting around the table with friends, making cookies. Same with the smell of freshly cut grass - kids soccer games, backyard parties. How about green apple - summertime as a kid running around with friends, or my favorite, baking an apple pie. Now think about those times when you walked into a friends home and you smelled wet dog, teenagers shoes, fish that had just been cooked. Whether we like it or not our brains register smell faster than it does a nice looking home.

I am not sure what people did before Febreze. I live by this stuff. It is for fabric, the air, even carpets. I have even been known to use it on my dogs when they are really smelly. (Don't worry they are like walking carpets so it is fine once in a while.) It is the best neutralizer I have found. But after that, just like in getting dressed, I accessorize. I love to add lavender scented oil. Or citrus, gentle florals, pine for the winter, or soft vanilla. Nothing that is going to overwhelm the olfactory senses, just bring about pleasant thoughts so that the brain can focus on the beautiful home.

I truly love the smell of lavender, and I always have a jar around the house just to rub my fingers through the dried flowers to release the smell into the air, and onto my hands. It reminds me of love.

Regular candles are great for your own home, but when I stage I will buy those plug in fresheners. Or what I have come to really like are those essential oils in the jars with the sticks that soak up the oil and release it into the air. It is great for a bathroom. And the oils last a lot longer than a candle. Just make sure not to use too many sticks or the scent can be too strong.

There are so many memories made from the simple art of smell.

National Organization Month

Staged Homes, LLC is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). And January is National Organization Month. If a new year is an opportunity to start fresh then a new decade makes it a requirement.

Yes, we all procrastinate organizing our closets or garages or anywhere else in our home that we cram stuff in to. But think about why you are cramming things in. 2009 gave us all pause to think about what we were buying, and we have started to buy less. Out of necessity or responsibility. But now we need to do something with that stuff we have already bought.

A client once said she can't throw anything out. When we finished talking we decided that it wasn't because she needed the stuff, rather she felt guilty throwing the stuff out. If she bought it then it must have been important. Well, we all buy things that we think we need, but when it ends up in the closet, garage, etc. we need to admit we didn't. So let's get out of our own guilt and open the closet and pull things out. Let's all come out of the closet, so to speak.

The first thing is to have two boxes, or bags. One is for the dumps and the other for donation. And if need be, one for things that we just can't get rid of but have no where else to put it. You can only have one bag for that. Then, just start. Don't think. If you haven't used it in a year then get rid of it. There are so many people who can use it. Either Goodwill, Salvation Army, or your local church. There are also places that help those less fortunate like The Ritter House in San Rafael. And, when you bring your items to these places then just tell yourself that you bought it for them.

Give. it feels good. And, when we give things that we don't need it helps organize our own lives. A win-win.

--may God bless all those in Haiti.

Lighting

HomeGain is an online real estate website that has a ton of information for the real estate community. They recently published their 2009 survey results for best return on investment (ROI) for home sellers. The number one investment any home seller can do, with the least amount of investment, is cleaning and de-cluttering. I have already given a couple of thoughts for post-holiday de-cluttering. The second best ROI is home staging. I totally agree! And so do most real estate agents. The third is lighting.

Lighting is one of those things that you either don't notice, or you really notice - because it is so bad or so great. The great is easy to understand but many of us don't have the thousands of dollars to spend on lighting. The really bad is something that must be addressed if you are selling your home (or not). From your front door to your back yard it matters.

Over the year I will focus on different areas of your house. Today, I'll want to talk about the dining room, or your kitchen if you don't have a dining room. I have seen fixtures that are too small and larger ones that are too dominating. So the rule of thumb is that the fixture should be 12 inches narrower than the table and have at least 48 inches of space from each of the room walls or room diameter. Hang the chandelier approx. 30 to 34 inches over the table with an 8 foot ceiling. If your ceiling is higher than 8 feet mount the fixture an additional 3 inches for each foot of ceiling. great places to look for inexpensive fixtures are Lamps Plus or even Home Depot. For high end, if local, check out Lunaria in Larkspur. They have a great selection for high end lighting. Very creative.

The other thing that I want to talk about are light bulbs. It does not matter which bulb you use, incandescent, CFL's, or any other type, you just need to make sure it is sufficient to light the room. In overhead recess lighting I prefer 100w flood lights. In lamps I prefer 60 -75w. Just like most things - more is better. You can always scale back with a dimmer, but you can't add to. And let me just say - for all those of you who don't have dimmers that is your 2010 goal to get them, everywhere. And replacing your light switches with dimmers is one of the easiest and most rewarding things that you can do yourself - just please remember to turn off the power before switching the light switch. Your local hardware store can help talk you through it.

Let the light shine in!

Curb Appeal

Or otherwise known as what someone sees when they arrive at your house and are at the curb. In selling a home it is the first impression so it better be good. But whether selling or not your curb appeal is important. You want your guests and neighbors to feel welcome. However, most people never go outside their home to the curb and just look at their house. Is the entry welcoming? Is it accessible, well lit, does it have appeal?

For me as a stager there are two principles I apply to every home, if possible, that there are fresh plants by the front door and a place to sit. This gives a home buyer the feeling that the owner has been waiting for them, with a place to sit and talk, smell the flowers and stay awhile - even buy the place and stay longer. You can apply the same principles to your guests - even yourself.

First try to have a place to sit - a chair, a bench, or even just a landing. And because landscaping isn't right next to the front door add a pot or two with plants and some blooming flowers. Your local flower nursery can pot it for you, but it is easy to do it yourself. And always try to update your pots each season with one or two seasonal blooming flowers in the pot. But make sure that you don't have too many pots that it becomes an obstacle to get to your front door. I have seen this too many times and suddenly a welcome turns into a maze through the pots.

And finally, give the porch a good cleaning. Sweep the corners. Get ride of those cobwebs. And give the front door a good wipe down too, especially the handle. And then walk out to your curb and look at your home, would you feel welcome to come and stay for awhile? If yes, then sit down and smell the roses!

one single flower

When I stage a home a very important room to pay particular attention to is the kitchen. I can't make it look like a kitchen that someone actually lives in, it has to appear to be that kitchen that you have always looked for - allowing you to just float through the chores - no clutter, no dirty dishes, just ahhh. Flowers, good smells, matching accessories. It all is perfect. Then bam, you buy the house and those pesky dirty dishes come with you.

The fact is that we all spend more time then we wish in the kitchen. We

prep, cook, clean, help kids with homework, look through bills, share our moments of the day. It is the central hub of the house. So at my own home I make sure that I have a tall skinny vase right next to my sink. And when out walking or at the grocery store buying those groceries that I will have to prep, cook and then clean I also buy a flower. It shouldn't be a bunch of flowers because you won't have room, it should just be one simple perfect fresh flower. (If you buy a bunch then put the rest in your bedroom or the living room. But that one flower in that tall skinny vase is heaven. The smell or the look will distract the mind since it is out of place from the task at hand. It soothes the soul with thoughts of a garden or orchard. And when all of the dishes are done and you walk in guess what you will remember that home when it was staged and say, wow - I did get that house I always wanted.

Trust me this little flower will surprise you with how much impact it can bring to your daily chores.

Post Holidays, part 2

After all of the positive feedback I am adding part 2 to the post holiday chaos. A client asked what do with all of the kids holiday art, handmade gifts, cards, etc. She said that she already had so much out and it was starting to look like junk and not the treasures that they are. If you are like her, with kids, or are a grandparent who gets a lot of treasures, then this is for you.

My 13 year old daughter gave me a very special gift at Christmas. Yes, it was homemade. She decorated a large box with wrapping paper, cut out hearts and stars in different paper to paste on the box, got some special ribbon...well you get the idea. It was beautiful. And on the box was an inscription reading that the box was a gift that could never be opened. It was a "hug box" filled with millions of hugs packed inside, waiting to cheer me up on a hard day. It was a true treasure. I was not sure I wanted to pack away this gift but I was not sure where to put it, then finally I decided to put it under my bed because when I am sad, or had a hard day, that is where I end up at the end of the day.

This box of hugs is what everyone needs, a box filled with love waiting to cheer someone up. So, my suggestion to you is that you take your kids art, gifts, cards, etc., those things that you don't want to display or keep on the counter, and make your own heart box. You may need several boxes. So that when you have a hard day, or want to be cheered up, you don't get lost in the chaos of the house wondering where things went wrong, or why is it so hard, instead you can go to your box, take it out and open it. It will be filled hugs, all those things that will remind you that each day is never a waste. And you don't even need to decorate the box, just open it up and watch that bad day go away.

And the good thing when the kids treasures aren't buried under that pile of stuff is that the pile of stuff is now just stuff, and you can get to it another day. Or just throw it away and make a fresh start to a new pile of new stuff.

Post Holidays

I am sure many of you are looking around your home and wondering what to do with all the stuff, stacks and stacks of stuff. Whether it is magazines, catalogues, kids art, or presents you are not sure what to do with it is just there. A small start is to take all of those articles, magazines, clippings, etc. that you were planning on sitting down and reading over the holiday and organize it. The fact of the matter is you didn't get to it. You wanted to but life got in the way. So, either toss it all out, it is no longer relevant if it was about the holidays (how to make them the best ever, how to make the perfect holiday moment, etc., etc.) OR if it is still relevant then put the stack in a place where you know where it is, it just isn't on the kitchen counter next to all of the the other stacks of stuff. Another choice is to reduce the stack by spending 10 minutes pulling the articles you wanted to read out of the magazine or newspaper so it is now just about the story you want to read.

Controlled Chaos. That is my saying. It has helped me in what ever home I am in. Whether small or large, lots of closet space or not, everything has a place - you may just not know where that place is yet. For reading material (articles, magazines, newspapers clippings, etc.) I like to use baskets. I put the basket next to my favorite lounging chair, my bedside or by the kitchen table on the floor. Or instead of just one basket you can put a basket in each of these places. Because reading articles or magazines (anything besides a book) isn't about finding a specified time in a day to sit and linger. It is an opportunity. And if the articles are near you then the opportunity is always there. Also, it helps to get this stuff out of the piles of other stuff so that when you have the 10 minutes to sit down and read the article you don't spend the 10 minutes looking for it under the stack of stuff that is now 10 times bigger.

You can find very cheap baskets at Pier One, Z Gallery, Cost Plus, and even your local gardening stores. A cheap and easy way to organize your home. One article at a time.

Life comes at us fast and we have to be prepared to enjoy the little things when the opportunity presents itself.

Welcome!

Staged Homes, LLC has been successfully staging homes in beautiful Marin, California. We continually strive to find the highest potential of every home - creating charm, style and practicability. But we want to be available to more than just those in our backyard. We want to help pass along our tips for you to use in your own home, even if you are not selling. Because whether it is to raise a family or welcome families your home has a purpose. A style unique to itself. But sometimes it gets lost in the clutter and "busy-ness" of life. So follow us, learn how to live, eat, play and love the best way possible in your home.

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade, Happy New Home!