Roslyn's Staging Blog

I've been slacking this year with posting before and after pictures from local DC staging projects. There are a few that I am proud of so I wanted to post the pictures!

First, it all started with these great two white mid-century chairs that I found at a local thrit store.  Always good to keep your eyes out when looking for staging furniture - never know what you will find where!

I got the pair for a whopping $15 - just before another shopper tried to claim them! mine! mine! Whew!

I wasn't sure which color to have them recovered with, but  after shopping at the local furniture stores, the best color was a butter yellow vinyl. They turned out really nice and worked well in the room too. 

Before I get to that, let me show a few before pictures of the property...

This is a shot o the dining and living combo space...looking into the dining side of the room. The exposed brick was a nice surprise!

Here is the other side of the room, opposite the exposed brick. and now for the Afters!

Yes, I made use of the newly remade chairs in the butter yellow. They went well in the room!

And here is the other side of the room...

And the entire room together...the money shot as I call it!

Hope you enjoyed the photos! will be posting more soon!

I just learned about this seemingly new staging tactic to use pets in photos for selling homes.  Which feels sorta counter-intuitive to selling a clean and pet free home but I guess I could understand how it might appeal to pet lovers.  Curious to hear from stagers and/or realtors who use these or consider using them! What do you think? Do you have a star pet who works out in photos?

Here is a little blurb

..."Truth is, placement pets, as they are known in the advertising world, are increasingly showing up in home listing photos, trying to convey a subliminal message to would-be buyers. Golden Retrievers bouncing in the yard say "family home"; bloodhounds on the hearth rug shout out "hunting lodge"; Boxers with choke collars in the industrial city loft say "singles come hither," and teacup breeds poised on the master-bed suggest that Paris Hilton might outbid you on this property if you don't hurry."...

here is the link to the full article...leave your comments below!

Hello fellow stagers!! We have had some GREAT discussions on our #stagingchats on twitter. If you haven't had a chance to join us - feel free!! They are held on Sunday nights at 8 pm Eastern, 5 PM pacific. All you have to do is sign into www.tweetchat.com, sign in with your twitter name and password and use #stagingchat as the hashtag/topic to follow. YES you do need a twitter account to join in the fun!

This past Sunday we talked about staging kits and what stagers across North America use in their kits. Great things were shared like toilet paper, goo be gone, scrapers, bed skirt pins, power bars, monkey hooks and on and on and on. Special thanks to all of the fabulous home stagers who participated and shared openly with the group. I think everyone walked away learning about at least one new item to add to their kit!

Onto next week - trying to determine next topics. When I asked the group before the end of the talk, marketing was suggested, to include use of social media. I feel like we are always getting back to that but I am not sure if I am the only one who feels that way or if folks are genuinely interested in the topic. Marketing meaning getting out to meet and actively tell people about your staging business - to gain more clients and work in your market.  I would love to hear whether that is something of interest and/or discussion for an upcoming stagingchat. (just report back in commentary below) Also would love to hear feedback on any of the following topics:

1. Complementary business - what other businesses have home stagers sucessfully managed during their off season? Do you market the off season work differently or the same as your home staging business?

2. Products and stores - what new or different products or stores are good resources for stagers?  Obviously you will find home stagers visiting stores like Home Goods, Ikea  and Target - but where else?  What other websites, or products have you found useful? (two stagers will share their recommendations and group will add where needed)

3. DIY - do you DIY any of the items used in home staging projects? If so, what?  What did you do with them after the project? Do you regularly looks for items that need a little 'love' for your staging work? Where do you shop?

Any other topics that that you find interesting or have struggled with, just add to comments below. Thanks in advance and hope to see/read you on a #stagingchat real soon!

My fellow stagers - I hope you are mad busy this time of year. In the midst of the busy-ness, don't forget to take the time to get inspired for each project that you complete. sometimes using the same decorative accesories and props can make your work dull and lack-luster. I suggest you add yourself added to your local design center's emailing list and get ready to get inspired!

I have been on the list of the DC Design Center for a while now and to stay connected to events in the design world in DC. Any talks about photography or styling will find me front and center. So I was excited to see Eddie Ross, a MASTER photo stylist and interior designer, during the Design Center's Capital Design Days last week. He styles for national and regional design magazines and publications so learning how he works was fascinating. to say the least.

  Don't we all want to style bookcases like Eddie? One of the main things he said was to style things that make sense for the space- don't put in items just to fill the space, if it doesn't make sense.  Do perfume bottles near the bathtub REALLY make sense? Maybe not but towels and nicely wrapped soap do - so think about that the next time you are looking to highlight a gorgeous tub.

He also advised for your items to go together in a space so the items on the top shelf make sense with those on the bottom shelf. Fill in the spaces and give it some life! You don't have to do all of the books vertical with their spines out - make some horizontal too! Of course, stagers already knew that - right?! :-)

Would totally advise you to check out his website and catch him an at upcoming event or talk if you can. You can see more pics of the event on my Unexpected House Guest blog and even a picture of myself with Eddie, his business partner Jaithan and a designer friend Sheryl.

There are TONS of ways to get inspired with staging but after seeing this presentation, I totally want to revamp all of my staging props! Now I know that won't happen overnight! And going to events where you meet interior designers is good too. Many times, designers may be  asked to stage properties and if aren't able to turn around a finished product in a short time frame, (that we do all the time) they can easily refer to the stager they met at that design event  - YOU!!

Happy Staging ... and Styling!

Yea - the first two tweetchats have been a huge success and lots of great information shared for all! The next tweetchat is scheduled for Sunday, April 3 from 8 - 9 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific, 6 pm Mountain, 7 pm Central.

THe week's topic - the BUSINESS SIDE OF STAGING!!

Lets talk about some of the business aspects of staging - you know the issues that make a stager a business owner. Like marketing - both to Realtors and homeonwers, websites, moving companies, vendors, accounting, insurance, purchasing inventory, contracts, negotiating warehouse space and any other challenges that business owners face.  Even though people are attracted to staging for the decorating part of the business, those of us running a business know that is probably only 2o% of what we do! So let's hear what works, what doesn't work, which systems support us and which don't. Come ready to share and learn!

To log into the tweetchat...at the appropriate time (indicated above)

go to tweetchat.com

and sign in with your twitter account.

Then enter in #stagingchat on the top line - in the hashtag box and you will be put into the tweetchat! You will be able to see all of the other tweets with #stagingchat at the end and everytime you tweet on tweetdeck, your tweet will automatically be tagged with #stagerchat. It is a very cool system and makes tweetchatting a breeze!!

Hope you can make it!!

Hello there!

After successfully participating in two interior designer related tweetchats, held weekly, I wanted to host one of my own for stagers on twitter! So here it goes...

First tweetchat for stagers to be held on

Sunday, March 20 at 8 PM Eastern time, 5 PM Pacific, 6 PM Mountain and 7 PM Central. The hashtag is #stagingchat!

Never been to a chat before?  All you have to do is log on-to twitter at the time listed above. then go to 

http://tweetchat.com/room/stagingchat.  Allow tweetcht to connect to your twitter account and you're in!  Meet some of your fellow tweeters!  My twitter name is @radecor - I will be sending out reminders ahead of time and running the first chat.

Come and let us know about your FIRST STAGING JOB!

Were you nervous? What worked? What didn't? How long did it take?

Did the realtors/homeowners like what you did and more importantly - DID YOU MAKE ANY MONEY!?!

We can also discuss how oftern we want to chat - weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. And if you want to co-host, just let me know! I would love to share the wealth - and exposure! send me a DM or respond in comments below.

Thanks in advance! Happy tweeting and staging!

Hi Stagers and realtors with an opinion!

I recently staged this one bedroom condo in Silver Spring MD in a tower. Usually I utilize a faux TV in my units, but I have only one, so many times the furniture store that I rent from allows me to borrow their faux TVs. Of course, they have more models and selections to choose from than I do, but sometimes I end up getting the not so nice one.

So here is the room with the faux TV set up. I choose a long bookcase to set it on to use up more of the very long wall...

So I will state up front that it is not my favorite TV to use, but the one that was given.  And I forgot to request a better one :-(

Well - the realtor called and asked me to change it out. Seems as though the TV looked more like a box than a TV and she felt it was too much. So I was able to find this piece of art and hung in the space instead...

Stagers - would love to get your thoughts about the substitution.  Does it still work?  It still gives the feeling that a TV can be housed in the space but am wondering if I need to order more faux TVs so I have enough for my jobs! 

Yes, I am in search of a smart savvy Realtor who sells homes in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Washington DC. This Realtor is tired of carrying around and blowing up beds for their sellers, of trying to schedule the movers in between closings and having a frank and convincing  declutter conversation with their sellers.  This Realtor typically manages 20 plus transactions (buying and selling) properties per season, and find themselves with more tasks than hours in a day!  I would like to make their lives easier!

As a professional home stager, here is what I offer and provide to my current super-busy and stellar Silver Spring and Takoma Park based realtor that makes it easier for her to sell 25 properties every year for past 2 years that we have worked together.

- Review in-person and provide unique contract on each property, usually within 48 -72 hours of first request

- Stage a property as quickly as 2 days, per request.

- Provide an abbreviated staging plan, focusing on only 1-2 rooms, per Realtor request 

- Stage using mostly new furniture, rented from local furniture store with professional movers (who know how to bring in furniture without damaging walls and floors).

- Offer an easy way to pay for services, accepting credit cards or checks

- Provide AFTER photos upon request

  We focus and specialize in vacant properties and have over 4 years of direct hands on home staging experience!  We have had some great wins in Dupont Circle, Takoma Park and Silver Spring in 2010.  Tired of your porch/basement/garage looking like the picture here...then give us a call!

"Let Us Manage the staging while YOU manage the sale!"

Greater DC area realtors who work in Montgomery and Prince Georges, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexendra and Loudon counties and DC - would you to support Small Business Saturday year round?  Since realtors are small/local business owners I could think of no better way to support other local businesses, in your own neighborhood! And it is a great referral gift for those special clients too! 

The way to continue to support small businesses is to get your own copy of  Crave DC, a guidebook of small businesses, run and operated by women business owners in the DC area.  These businesses are those that women CRAVE all over the area - and include businesses such as clothing boutiques, yoga studios, bakeries (more places to get great cupcakes), organizers, and event planner, just to name a few.

It would also make a great thank you/referral gift for buyers who have recently moved into the area as there are businesses featured in Reston, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Alexandria and NW DC - and both service and product businesses are included. These books can only be purchaed through featured participants ....like yours truly, of course. We are the only home staging business featured in the guide!

Take a peek at some of the actual businesses that are featured - Each business has a great group of photos and more information on their business, mission and some fun stuff too!  It is wildly popular and extremely impressive in real life.  Every time I give one to a client, she tends to purchase another one for a friend or co-worker. Each time your client uses it, she will think of you and smile!

Two weeks ago, I was contacted by a Realtor for staging a newly constructed million dollar house, and to keep expenses down, was only looking to stage ONE space within the home.  In line with a topic from a previous post, I informed him I could definitely stage one area in the home. I met with the new Realtor that afternoon and reviewed a beautiful home in McLean, VA.. Here is what I found:

Yes, the realtor asked to stage the landing – which is large enough to be its own room, as it seemed to be confusing potential buyers. I had a few ideas of what to do with the space – study area, reading room, kids play area but given time and budget, I narrowed down and decided to do it as a reading room.

I submitted the contract and received a call 2 days from the builder?! I didn’t know the Realtor was representing the builder…but they were pleased with the proposal and ready to make it happen. SCORE!  So I got my ideas and accessories together to put together the following space (of course, I couldn’t hang anything from the walls…:-(

Hallway landing turned into lounge area, just off the balcony!

We were glad to be able to give this once ignored space some definition and purpose within the home…and are super excited to be able to stage for a home builder. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for ra reDoes rooms and DC area home builders!