Speaking Up about Home Staging

Today I finished staging a home in a beautiful neighborhood.  We've staged two other homes in this neighborhood with quick sale results... I thought this might be an opportunity to show how and why this happens. 

Today these are the interior photos the listing shows:

Now, the agent did the best job she could with the home being empty.  There just isn't much to show... As a buyer though, it doesn't really inspire you to want to visit the home, does it?

After staging, here were some of my favorite shots....

In the before photos, did you notice how small the living and dining rooms looked?  That's not really something that buyers are looking for typically.  In the after photos, scale is brought in making the rooms feel and look much larger....

If you were a buyer, which home would you be more likely to put on your list to view? 

(by the way.. YES the homeowner did remove the chandelier - before I ever even did my walkthrough)

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign provides high quality home staging for any price point.  For more information, visit www.WeStageSC.com or call Melissa @ 843.822.2622

Today I finished staging a great property in Mt Pleasant's Grassy Creek community.  I've staged two other properties in this community and both sold quickly.  It's no wonder given the great ammenities it has to offer with a pavillion, crabbing dock and play parks.  The homes themselves are also very beautiful and well priced - this home is no exception. 

Be sure to check out the additional photos at the end of the show to see the beautiful pavilion and crabbing dock!

For more information on this listing, contact the listing agent, Lynn Carmody with Carolina One Real Estate 843.224.0053 or lcarmody@carolinaone.com

Because the response has been overwhelming, www.StagingAndRedesign.com is going to begin offering educational webinars and teleclasses.  These are meant to be used as tools to grow your business regardless of designation or how many years of business you have.  A variety of topics will be covered each month.  The first session we will be offering will be on Newsletters.

In this teleclass, you will be able to log in to your computer and join me as I help show you around newsletter creation through constant contact, our membership program and answer any questions you may have about what makes our newsletter system so successful.  At the end of class, you should have enough information to successfully begin your own newsletter campaign, helping to increase your company's name recognition and overall business.

Please join me for our first meeting on Thursday, February 19th at 5pm EST. 

Cost is $25.00 non-members, $19.95 members

Please email me privately (melissa@redesigningcharleston.com), or post below to register

StagingandRedesign.com will begin having monthly teleconferences with successful stagers and other industry related companies.  The teleconferences will be free to all in attendance.  Recorded versions will be available to our members. 

When:  First Thursday of every month at 4pm EST

Next teleconference:  March 5th, 4pm EST - Guests - Gary & Linda Barnett of Home Matters, Indiapolis, IN

Please email me directly at melissa@stagingandredesign.com to pre-register and receive call in information.

Please post any questions you would like to pose to me or our guests!  Obviously we won't be able to answer all of them, but we'll try to match the best ones to our guests expertise....

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Coming teleconfereces: 

April - Kym Hough & Terrylynn Fisher

May - Juliet Johnson

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Bringing quality education and opportunities to the industry....

www.StagingandRedesign.com become a member today!

I love the program, www.realestateshows.com and have had a lot of fun with it, creating both personal and work related shows.  This week I was trying to create something to show off some of our changes in our occupied homes.  Because I didn't want to just send a bunch of before and after photos to my prospect, I thought a real estate show was in order......

I thought both of these worked out really well and show off different elements of what we provide in occupied homes.... Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words - SHOW your clients that what you can do provides real value and helps to show the best parts of the home....

It is with much excitement that we get to announce that First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is now the exclusive staging company for Carolina One's New Homes Division. 

We've been staging homes for the new homes division since we started, but in 2009 we struck up an agreement that makes us their exclusive staging company. 

Travis McCutchen - Carolina One New Homes Division Sales Manager.

"This is a team of true professionals that are focused on customer satisfaction and exceeding your expectations with delivery of services. With little notice and under pressure to stage three listings, they worked 24/7 to meet the deadlines. Staging with First Impressions is a savvy investment tool for realtors and sellers in this market. Presentation in marketing of your product and in showings to potential buyers is EVERYTHING. 'You only get once chance to make a good impression, so leave a mark and not a stain"

Recognizing that we are the premier staging company in Charleston with our own full line of inventory for all price points and architectural styles, they decided we were the company to work with.  We are thrilled that they have this kind of confidence in our ability to enhance their listings and help sell their current inventory of new construction homes.

Last week Carolina One, one of the largest real estate companies in the Charleston market (with about 800+ agents) announced it's top dogs and award winners.... I wonder if it would surprise anyone that they all had the same thing in common....

Carolina One's three top producing agents were....

Michele Reneau - Top Number of Units Closed - a whopping 48 in 2008!! 

Pam Bishop - #1 in Closed GCI

Everett Presson - #2 in Closed GCI

A warm CONGRATULATIONS to these fantastic winners.... So, wondering what they all had in common?  They all use First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign to help them get their listings ready for market.....

If your goal in 2009 is to be a top dog in your company, maybe you should pay attention to what makes your top agents stand out. 

Because our company has changed gears a little, adding more and more services for the staging industry professionals and not just agents and homeowners, we thought it was time to give our website a makeover. 

Last fall we had the basics of the website redone, including adding new photos from our jobs, making everything stock photo free! 

This week, with the help of our excellent graphic designer, we added fresh new logos.  I would love to get your opinion...

This is our new main logo.... www.StagingandRedesign.com has been our training website for for almost two years now, but we thought with adding new trainers (Linda Barnett & Juliet Johnson) we needed a new national image and look....

This is the logo that all of our new Affiliate members receive for their website and marketing (of course they can use it without the words as well).  Our affiliate members get great services, like the newsletter service, are added to our 'find a specialist page', etc... visit http://www.stagingandredesign.com/become_a_member.php for more info...

This is the new logo that all of the agents we train in staging receive.  We currently offer 2-day hands on agents classes....  http://www.stagingandredesign.com/2_day_agent_certification.php for more info

And finally this is the new logo that all of the students who take our hands on 5-day staging and redesign classes will receive.  http://www.stagingandredesign.com/5_day_sar_certification.php for more info

If you have the time, please take a look at the new remodeled website, www.stagingandredesign.com and let me know what you think about the overall impression.... We are really excited about the changes!

Staging And Redesign has just signed on to tour with the StagersList Expo.  The two day expos will be a travelling educational opportunity for those in the Staging Industry.   

At each of the four East Coast Expos we will be offering two 1.5 hour courses on the following topics:  Marketing for Explosive & Consistent Sales, Color Training, Your Portfolio - Creating Imagery, Business Building Through Client Relationships and a Business Planning & Goal Workshop.    We will also be offering the one and two day Dewey Color Certification Courses after the expos at limited locations*.   Join us in Orlando, Indianapolis, Charlotte, New York Metro areas...  

Visit StagersList Expo for more information....  

*Dewey Class will be held in Orlando (March 19 & 20) and Indianapolis (October 1 & 2) only.

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Special Offer!

Save on both our one and two day Dewey Certification Classes....    

Imagine having the freedom to quickly navigate through local retail stores and find exact paint, fabric and accessory colors without the fear of a color mismatch. Armed with your exclusive and patented Dewey Color Coordinator®, 25,000 perfect color combinations are only a page-flip away. You can expect aesthetically beautiful rooms that will astound everyone!

The Coordinator, combined with the multi-patented Dewey Color System®, the world's first validated color test, fuses scientific facts with practicality. Do you want to be more decisive in the home office? Creative in the kitchen? Or passionate in the bedroom? Our proven process teaches you how to personalize each room's mood into an all-about-the-client space - an entirely new paradigm in the world of color and design.

1 day Color Coordinator Course:

was $799      now $699

2 day Color Consultant Course:

was $1295   now $1099  

You must pre-register for these events!  Contact Melissa Marro, melissa@stagingandredesign.com to register or for more information. 

We recently had the pleasure of staging one of Chuck Avera's new listings in I'on.  I'on is one of Mt. Pleasant's premier neighborhoods with some of the most gorgeous architecture and grounds in the area.

Download your flyer by clicking here...

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is the premier Real Estate Staging Company in the Greater Charleston Area.  We offer staging services for both vacant and occupied homes as well as certification classes for agents interested in this credential.  For information on what we can do for your listings, please call Melissa Marro at 843.822.2622.  You can also look us up online at www.WeStageSC.com.