New View Home Staging Blog

Recently I consulted in a home that had a mirror over the living room sofa, to the left of the front door.  But when I stood still and looked, I realized that it was reflecting the open powder room door off to the right, and actually the raised toilet seat, and a silent but resounding "yuck" sprung to mind.  Not only was the powder room unfortunately placed prominently in the middle of the foyer, but we were getting a double whammy of it coming from the living room.

Mirrors can be tremendous assets when showing a home and a properly placed mirror can expand the room visually, but you really need to pay attention to what buyers entering the room are going to see.  Is it reflecting the tops of people's heads around the dining table?  If it is propped on a mantle instead of hung from the wall, then you're likely seeing the white ceiling and where's the interest in that? 

A mirror should be reflecting beautiful things... like a garden just beyond, that you want to bring into the room, or it should be adding to the spaciousness.  It sometime takes a critical eye to hang one properly, the benefits can pay dividends when they bring in the view that you want. 

This is just one of the many features that a trained eye will see... and a professional home stager is your best bet to making that happen.

New View Home Staging offers consultations that are all encompassing... and is available to assist you and your selling clients!

This is just a quick add-on note I wrote for my newsletter recently.

Keeping curb appeal current with the season is important, and early September is a good time to add some Fall flowers to your landscaping. Some ideas would be the safe standbys mums and pansies but also kale, asters, pumpkins ~white, orange and even funky looking ones.  Fall is definitely the season for deep reds, golds and citrus colours of all shades.

Pull out some of the older annuals that have gotten tired, and dig the late summer plantings into gardens to add a sense of permanence and belonging, rather than just dropping a grocery store container onto the porch.  There's no need to advertise "The house doesn't usually look this nice so I picked this up today".

If you're interested in home staging in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge & Guelph, please contact New View Home Staging.  Christine Bird is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional. 

Call Today!

519-505-0892

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

I often wonder if sellers realize all the personal information their home is giving away and that some buyers may turned off because of it?   This can be a hard conversation to have because just talking about it could indicate you personally are turned off too, however the risk of losing a potential buyer over of a negative emotional response is far worse.   We all know the taboo topics in daily conversation ~ sex, religion and politics ~ and we need to consider that these may come up unintentionally while selling a home.  If you've raised teenagers you understand already, but some keep mementos and photos of "good times" and their choice of accessories and poster art is sometimes "questionable". 
 
Teenagers are just an example.  You can also look to the books stacked beside beds or around living areas and they usually tell a clear story of the people that live there.  If the buyer can't connect with the space because their personal beliefs are so different, then either the offer will reflect this or there won't be an offer at all. 
 
A way to discuss this tactfully would be to remind your sellers that this is their home's job interview...they need to prepare for their home's interview with the same frame of mind as if they are attending one themselves.   
 
Here's my plug, which of course you knew was coming ... hiring a home stager to work with the seller and handle tricky conversations such as these will protect your client relationship!

New View Home Staging is a full service home staging and property styling company.   We offer effective, attractive and affordable solutions for preparing a property for a quick and profitable sale.  Consultations with written reports include curb appeal, space management and flow, lighting, de-personalizing, neutralizing, and colours, and all projects can be tailored to fit every budget.
 
Christine Bird, owner and lead stager, is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional.   

www.newviewhomestaging.ca

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

1,2,3 SOLD!  Showcasing isn't just for vacant homes.  An occupied home will benefit from showcasing as much as a vacant, we just approach it differently. It's the third step of a three step process -- Consultation; Improvements; Showcasing.  Showcasing creates and promotes the positive feelings and emotions that we want the potential buyer to experience when they view the home, and it's done economically, using primarily items already owned by the homeowner.

While staging consultations may identify literally dozens of projects and enhancements that the homeowner should take advantage of, there still needs to be a plan to present, aka showcase, the home once the work is done.  Some homeowners can do this themselves, but many will end up with the home looking exactly as it had before, which is only natural because because they live in it, and are used to the way it looks and feels.  Bringing in a professional home stager to showcase, the final act of staging, ensures maximum appeal with the least amount of wiggle room in the resulting OFFERS.  ~ A professional stager understands about lighting the space and improving traffic flow,  plus can create focal points and vignettes that pull on the heartstrings ~
 
It's all about creating winning first impressions, and showcasing is a huge part of that.  Great on-line photos and curb appeal will give a buyer incentive to get out of the car and enter the home, while showcasing invites them to stay.  If they can't picture themselves living there, it's going to be reflected in the offer and this is where a professional stager can help!

  Consultation + Improvements + Showcasing = MAXIMUM APPEAL or 1 +2 + 3 = SOLD! 

New View Home Staging
www.newviewhomestaging.ca