Whether it is a room, area or a corner, you will reap the rewards of this special place. Many of us are at home during this health crisis either schooling, working or isolating and we fail to care for ourselves, so this is it! Do it. Find your space. Look for a quiet space in your living room, bedroom, walk-in closet, or home office.
Here are reasons why you need one:
You feel good, you look good,
You need down time,
You need to distract your mind from everything else, and
You are a better person when you “self care”.
A multitude of textiles used in many layers will set a very welcoming tone for you each time you approach your space. it should lure you in. Keep away from colour contrasts in the space as they are not calming to your mind. Whites and creams are very good to create calmness and simplicity.
Tactile surfaces give you the opportunity to touch and relax. Get the fuzzy faux fur pillow, macrame, velvets, silks and linens. These soft items give variety and create a positive clutter to your space. Don’t shy away from hard surfaces like a special treasure box, beautiful stones and carvings.
Add rugs to sit on that are soft on feet and hands tantalize your touch sense too. An area on your floor is also good place but surround yourself with soothing items.
Encourage lots of natural lighting, if it is harsh sunlight then choose to add sheers or semi-sheers to make a low natural light to encourage rest and relaxation. Dimmer switches on room lighting also give the same effect.
Put your favourite house plant nearby to bring you joy. Take the time to look at its wonder and touch its leaves. Small dish gardens are lovely in your wellness space. Watch them flourish over time.
Add music to sooth your soul. Soft music that slows you down to the self care speed only adds to your experience. Light a votive candle for further sensation.
In addition to taking quality moments as suggested above, what do you do there? Meditate, release anxiety, read, pray, visualize your favourite parts of nature, think of your space and the items you have assembled in your wellness space. Consider this blog post to be the voice telling you that you need your wellness space and you should immediately start planning it! Be well and keep safe.
Finding a home stager is easy as there are many offering this decor service. There are key things to look for when you want to hire one. Referrals are great and we trust our friend’s recommendations for leads but there is a little research we need to do to be informed.
Professional certification for home staging. There are techniques that are used in home staging that are learned through training. Home staging is a growth industry stemming from decorating. They are not the same thing and one industry segment is not considered better than the other. In fact, they are a powerful combination for clients to access. Membership in a professional Canadian association is another valuable attribute to look for in a Stager partner. Professional associations have standards that their members must agree with to become part of the industry group.There are many other important reasons to seek a stager with a professional membership.
Experience and work samples. Is this person talented? Does their work look good? Are they able to use skill to create a beautiful room that creates desire for a property and its features? Asking for before and after photos to determine abilities is perfectly acceptable. Another is to ask about the example in more detail, like what was changed, how and why. Ask about cost too. What did the client invest to achieve this look?
Owner occupied BEFORE
Owner occupied AFTER ($100 rental and labour)
Range of service. This is a biggie. Does your need match the service? The industry is not regulated and staging services are abundant. This is why the consultation process is so important and is the first step to the process. Take the time to get an assessment for the property which will reveal the prioritized needs for a property. The consultation puts the client in a very strong position to make informed decisions and is considered the most valuable service. From there, it is much easier to match additional service to the need and create the best outcome to achieve the best and highest financial result.
Cost. Services are difficult to compare when you are not certain what is required. Back to the consultation process. Do not be surprised when you find you need a number of different trades to prepare a property for sale. Maybe you need an organizer or a painter before the decor is addressed. A stager that will identify, explain and/or manage this process is important. Does your stager offer this service? If not, ask them if they know another staging professional that will and don’t hesitate to go to the list of members of a professional Canadian association to find this professional. Costs will vary for staging services. You will need to remember to compare apples to apples as well as being aware that cheaper does not mean better and can lead to costly mistakes.
For high level experts in Canada, visit www.capshq.ca.
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Ninety-nine per cent of all consumers begin their home shopping online. It is fair to say that online presence is paramount to push those potential buyers to want to see the property you are selling. I’d say as important as the curb appeal if not more. It is the front line, whether it is through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or on social media.
“you need this place, it is going to improve your life“
So what does the online presence have to convey to get people to want to see the property? The message should be “you need this place, its going to improve your life”. Beautiful pictures of a beautiful house do this. Get the professional photographer and stager into that house to create that magic that will lure in those online buyers. But you need both a stager and a photographer; as neither can unilaterally create the refined appearance for online shoppers. Think of those magazine photo of rooms and of food. Both the stylist and the photographer create the desire together and have the skill to draw in the consumer.
The third component is the text in your listing material which must be enticing to the potential buyer. They need to know what it is about the house that makes it a “must see”. What is special about it? Using the punchy, action-packed words encourage excitement and desirability for buyers. Bad grammar and lacklustre descriptions are not encouraging and may disappoint potential buyers. Use all the character space you have available to explain why the house is a must see. Spelling mistakes and too many emojis are big turn-offs and also a reflection of the writer’s attention to detail.
The overall message in this post is to also stage your online presence. Bump it up and command attention! Use of active and descriptive words will encourage visits to the property. Potential buyers should feel compelled to see the property and quickly, so as to not miss out.
RESA Ottawa Chapter member Cindy Charbonneau wrote and provided permission for me to reproduce her blog post here.
I have to say however, that having had the opportunity to meet a celebrity from our own industry, adds a little something extra special:) I’m sure each of us, will always remember the experience with fondness and will have grown individually from the experience, as a result of everything Amanda Forrest shared with us that evening with such charm and grace.
Introducing Amanda Forrest
For those of you who may not know Amanda, I would like to take a brief moment to introduce her to you. Amanda Forrest is a Nationally Recognized expert in home construction, design and lifestyle trends and is a expert designer on the Marilyn Denis Show. She is a devoted mother of seven children and a proud supporter of women entrepreneurs. You can see why, this was a great honour and privilege to attend such an event for our RESA members.
Style, Beauty and Success to describe a few of Amanda Forrest’s many traits!
Amanda’s Stage Presence
From the moment that Amanda walked onto the stage, she captivated your attention. She is beautiful, stylish and personable. Her friendly air, created a warm and inviting atmosphere that is relate able, so it was easy to stay focused and engage in questions and comments throughout the evening.
One of my favorite parts of Amanda’s entire presentation was the sharing of her own personal experience. We all can get information on interior design at the touch of a key with today’s technology, but to have the opportunity to listen to some of the struggles and obstacles that even someone in her caliber in the design industry have overcome, can provide a renewed outlook that anything is achievable! You can not get that from reading a blog, watching it on TV or hearing it on the radio. It is in the presence of a person that evokes an emotion and from that, it is marked in your memory for years if not a lifetime.
I found this part invaluable really, because it almost answers some of your very own personal questions about how you are performing in ‘your‘ business. To feel that someone else has been there, done that and succeeded is such a relief and builds renewed strength to go out there and get it!
It wasn’t only her personal story that grabbed our attention, of course we gobbled up anything we could that she had to teach us. Like; Branding and Marketing your product and yourself, having a clear vision of where you want to go and having a positive impact on others and so much more! All such valuable insights in this very sensitive industry, as we are deeply involved in peoples personal lives.
A Quote Recited from Amanda
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique” – by Martha Graham
How poignant!
A Thank you Note to Amanda
In such a competitive industry as is the Home Staging and Interior Decorating industry, I think I speak for all of us when I say Thank You, for taking the time to meet us all in such an intimate way. To share your thoughts, vision, ideas and to provide us all with such valuable advice and, to tailor it in such a way that was fun, entertaining, engaging and knowledgeable is so greatly appreciated.
Kindest regards to you Amanda, I hope we will have the honour to meet again.
My last post was about decorating your house when you are selling it during the holidays. This blog post is about how to best dress the exterior of your house after the holiday season but still during the white and cold wintery months.
I always like the lifestyle method of staging. In most of Canada that’s a gift at this time of year because our climate is especially wonderful for winter activities. Of course we love our warmth after those activities and you can definitely play up that ambience when staging your interior. We want to have people to feel that your home or their precious home-to-be provides that warmth to combat the coolness but those staging “how-tos” will be for a future blog.
You should not overlook your exterior as a great place to showcase a lifestyle your home can provide even if it was not used that way by you. Staging or showcasing is marketing. Every home can be a winter wonderland to show potential buyers that they can have it too. Show off the areas around the house namely the back, front and side yards with hints of lifestyle potential.
Start by clearing away snow in larger areas, not just a small walking path but clear the deck and areas where two people can walk beside each other. Pathways can lead to inviting destinations like a sitting area surrounding a portable fire place or under a nice pergola. Even if you have your metal canopy frame still up from the hotter months it does provide architecture and looks interesting with snow on it or lined with lights. Add bird feeders and attractions for squirrels to your yard. Light these destinations with patio lights. Yes hanging white Christmas lights on a pergola is great but don’t have the house trimmed with Christmas lights as those should be removed by now. Flood lights work really well to highlight a beautiful tree in the back yard or pointing to that charming destination area after dark.
Create glimpses of what your location has available nearby. Do you have access to skiing or a toboggan area? Skis against a wall of the house or by a back or side door, or a beautiful wooden toboggan leaned up against the deck are great ideas to convey this lifestyle and local attractions. These subtle visions create emotional responses or triggers. These are the things I’d turn to to plant emotional thoughts. Have benches or Adirondack chairs around the portable fire place. How nice it will look to those potential buyers? Well the first thing they will think is that it is an added bonus for the property to have all that area usable during the cold months.
Add some whimsy! I’ve seen pictures of winter clothing stuffed with snow and think it is brilliant! And what fun that would be to make!
For the front, keep it very simple. Clear walking paths to the front door, two people wide with nice neat edges are aesthetically pleasing. How about a snow man strategically placed on the front lawn? Light it up for the dark evenings. A new and larger exterior door mat for each of your entries is a great touch. A wintery wreath for the front door is great but don’t hang onto that Christmas one as its time is over now. I’d hide away any shovels and salt as they aren’t so nice to have greet visitors at the door.
Gardens can add much texture during winter. Tall grasses, left high and not removed, shrubbery and garden accessories can really add interest to that stark white covering. Consider leaving some things in place for when the snow comes.
Other must dos:
At dusk, turn on the exterior lights and keep them on until midnight. Potential buyers will drive by to scout things out until late into the evening; you want your house to be seen easily and to stand out from the others.
Re-photograph your exterior pictures as the season changes. If you had pictures taken at Christmas time for marketing purposes, it’s time to refresh those with new ones after creating this new environment. Don’t skip this, it’s very important.
After shoveling steps, etc. take a stiff-bristled broom to the surfaces as this will uncover the beauty of your walkway and entrance. These are all selling features and worth working to your advantage especially during our snowy times!
Clean and neatly shoveled driveways are a must. Make it so that it is easy to drive and walk on and not a slushy or icy mess. Can visitors walk by a parked car easily? We don’t want it to be difficult. Nice, clear and clean looking is key.
Finally, walk around the neighbourhood and seek out ideas and judge your curb appeal against others. Look at your house from across the street and from both the left and the right sides. Are your lights bright enough? What if you put the upper interior lights on? Ask these questions, be objective and know that this stuff works when you are selling your biggest asset.
Whether it is a room, area or a corner, you will reap the rewards of this special place. Many of us are at home during this health crisis either schooling, working or isolating and we fail to care for ourselves, so this is it! Do it. Find your space. Look for a quiet space in your living room, bedroom, walk-in closet, or home office.
asons why you need one:
