We were recently hired by a representative of several builders. Between the combined spec builders they will be producing 50 homes in the next 2 years. Any homes not sold before completed will be professionally staged by First Impressions Home Staging & Redesign.
Tonight we finished home #1 - the only one actually completely finished.
The management company who hired us had already begun staging this unit. (I'll actually show before & after photos in a separate blog... with the whys). It was our job to work with what they already had. The only furniture pieces we brought in were dining table, coffee table and end table. This made the staging economical and practical.
The best thing about my job is being creative and knowing what is enough to make the home stand out. The eye should float around the room, the home should be the focal point - enhancing the beauty of the home itself.
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
For more information on Marro's CSP Staging Training, please visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com, visit the CSP Calendar for dates or email marro.melissa@gmail.com. Below is a list of Marro's current CSP Certification class dates:
April 10-12 Charleston, SC
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
June 22-24 St. Petersburg, FL
June 26-28 Marietta, GA
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
August 2-4 Washington DC
August 24-26 Chicago, IL
Congrats Melissa...you and your team are working it! On this project, did you mostly add accessories? They already had a good amount of furniture on site prior; which made it easier. Good Luck on the future homes with them.....the house looks to have great bones! Excellent! Regards-Kathleen G
Melissa... That's FANTASTIC news! I'm very happy for you...
Ooh...Aah... And I mean that! Great job...this is a fine example of STAGING. Need I tell you how happy I was to see that the porch was staged???
I, too, look forward to the BEFORE photos.
CHEERS! (This means you'll be buying the drinks when we all converge on you in Charleston! LOL)
Melissa-
It looks great. Congratulations!
Kathleen - Yes, we mostly added accessories - although they actually had quite a few of those too. I'll post before and after photos in another blog later tonight.....
Teresa - We were hired based on our online portfolio, testimonials and recommendations from others. We have a good relationship with a lot of the builders in this area, which is one of the reasons we are consistently busy!
Lisa - I'll buy the first round... lol! I'm not much of a drinker, so I'll be the DD.... or else you guys may never come back.... lol!
B - They did say next time they were probably just going to let us have at and bring everything because it was still too much work for them! lol....
Gary - They actually already had all the furniture in the home (except the back porch - that was brought in after our initial walkthrough). It was just a matter of tweeking the layout, adding rugs, art, accessories, etc. I'm sure you and Linda would both agree that it can be much more economical for the builder to use what they have when possible!
Marci - This week, I'm a little ragged! It's just not easy and it seems like everything took longer than it should have! I completed 3 homes, did the newsletter (with a little help from B), and Sue and I started on house #4 today. We are also preparing for a trade show & educational break out session for agents next Tuesday..... I think I need a mini-vacation!
Elaine - You are too sweet! This one was relatively easy....
Marla - Thanks!
Great example of working as a team with the builder-part of what makes you so good at closing the business deals and gaining repeat clients, Melissa. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Kathy
Melissa, this looks wonderful -great staging job - I love reading your post and seeing your work! Your #1 in my book!!
Hey I was wondering what is under the diningroom chair slipcovers. Are they metal folding chairs, or parsons chairs of something different? Then where do you get your slipcovers? I'd love to create this look!
Thanks
Becky
Kathy - Thanks! One thing I am very proud of is the repeat business we receive. We don't have to invest in direct marketing (other than you know.... NEWSLETTERS!). We have a website, promote monthly newsletters and that's about it. I have 3 full time team members (including myself) who all operate independently and do quite well. I also have 3 part time team members & an assistant. When you can self-sustain on referrals alone, that's a pretty good feeling!
B - You do this more than I do (work with builder furniture) so thanks for chiming in for Gary!
Becky & Nicole - Thank you for the kind words! The chairs were actually already in the home & were quite nice on their own. I needed more substance (weight) for this room to give the look I wanted. I do use slipcovers quite a lot in my work though. I love the look of them - very coastal. What I love is that we can usually find cheap (ugly) chairs and make them work with slipcovers. The best place to find great slipcovers is actually Target. They have THE BEST ONES!
Melissa -
Beautiful job as usual. I really like the videos that you are doing. Do you do those yourself or have someone do them? I think it's a great way to showcase the house.
Kelly - The videos are from www.realestateshows.com I LOVE them! They are so quick and easy to use. The cost is very reasonable too.... $125/yr unlimited shows!
Isabel - Thank you! I am really hoping that the shows draw emotion from the potential buyers so they will want to visit it! The more showings, the better the odds of a closing!