A Closer Look at What Staging Is and Isn't

When the owners of this home in Holly Trace Subdivision on 127 Circle Slope Drive recently called us for staging help, they knew it not only had 6 other competitors, but that it needed to be refreshed, updated, and memorable so that it could stand out from the others.
Working within their budget and within their time line, Hello Home implemented incredible transformations by changing out some fixtures and applying a lot of (inexpensive) paint. Here are the transformations:

FOYER

Staging IS: Editing, then using what you currently own to create warm and welcoming spaces.

No extra furniture was purchased for this home - the furniture was just edited or moved from other rooms.
(A plus: These homeowners had gorgeous French and American antiques to work with!)




















DINING ROOMStaging ISN'T: Always displaying all your china and crystal place settings.
Sometimes a simple tablescape is all that is needed to make a statement.

KITCHEN

Staging IS: Making the features in the kitchen stand out with simple updating, not spending thousands on remodeling.
The gorgeous stone tile counter and backsplash and hardwood floors are barely noticeable because the room seems so dark, until the cabinets are painted a soft cream (Valspar Paint Lovely Bluff 3004-10C in Soft Gloss).

LIVING ROOM

Staging ISN'T: Hoping a prospective buyer will love the wood mantle and molding.
Outdated oak must be lightened and brightened, white paint does this!

BREAKFAST ROOM

Staging IS: Making use of built-ins and bringing the outdoors in, whenever possible.
Right off the kitchen, the desk area is now "Command Central": the spot for the woman of the house to sort coupons, select recipes, make phone calls or pay bills. Pretty, yet dark wallpaper was removed and replaced with a pale leaf green, to soften the line between indoors and outdoors.

Cathy on Organizing

Hilarious comic strip on the woes of trying to get organized - We help take the pain out of the process! Enjoy!

Update on the Upstate Women's Show

Hi All!

The Upstate Women's Show was a lot of work- but a LOT of fun!
We met SO many wonderful women (and a few guys, too).
Thanks to everyone for coming out to the Carolina First Center.
We hope you got pampered and had fun and enjoyed your day(s)!
For those of you who didn't get to come out, here's what we did:

First, you gotta get your parking pass, so you can unload:

Then, of course, they expect you to unload:

And, so we did:

And we found our booth, waiting to be transformed:

So, Mark lugged everything inside, he looked tired, so I took a rest:

Then we situated everything, more or less:

My favorite leopard chairs:
Organizing/Staging/Redesign:
Scrapbook Organizing with the new ORGANIZE (we love this) magazine:
Wilton Cupcake Decorating center:
Pantry and Closet Organizing:
Mark's forte', office organizing:
Add some friendly, smiling women (Ann and Sandra) holding up a Hello Home business card:
Happy to be at the Women's Show:

Add some more new friends, Natasha and Tonya:

And Mark and me, happy to help you:

Transform your house into an irresistible HOME!

Come see us at the Upstate Women's Show!

We will have a booth at the Carolina First Center (formerly the Expo Center) for the Upstate Women's Show coming up on the weekend of August 22-24th!
Most exciting to us is that Terry Haas from HGTV’s hit show “Designed to Sell", will be there discuss staging on Friday, the 22nd at 1:00 and again at 3:00.
Her information will be relevant to the South Carolina housing market, as she lives in Charleston, S.C., where she has her own home-staging consulting business.
Come on out to the show and stop by our booth to say HELLO!
Let us show you how organizing, redesign or staging can make your house a home!

SWEET Epiphany! (aka Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl!)

As I was frosting our daughter's birthday cake last week- I had a SWEET (pardon the pun) epiphany!
Listing a house without considering curb appeal is like offering an unfinished birthday cake to the birthday girl or boy!
Here's what I mean:
Would you want a cake that looked like this one on the left? Unfinished?
The shape of the cake (house)is very nice, the color (siding) is even very nice (for a girl)!
The sprinkles look fun and colorful, but do the cake no good on the counter. The pound cake inside is very buttery and dense, and the butter cream is 100% butter, no Crisco here. The cake inside is only holding an unfinished shell.
But somehow, it doesn't look quite right.
The project lacks pizazz.
Edible, perhaps. But attractive, it ain't!
Wonder how embarrassed our daughter would have been in front of her slumber party crew if I'd plopped this down in front of her prior to embarrassing her even more with our own family's rendition of "Happy Birthday to You?

Buyers form immediate judgments based on their first impression of a home.
And that first impression, whether it is good or bad, is usually a lasting one.
It’s typically made during the first drive-by, viewing the home for the first time from the curb, and looking at the house’s front stoop.
The moment potential buyers drive up they are looking over the exterior of the house and forming their opinion of the home. (Will this cake be worth eating?)
This is why curb appeal is so important to the house’s sale. A negative first impression, will cause them to drive away and check this home off their “MUST-SEE” list.
The yuck factor of a negative first viewing will remain fixed in the buyer's minds. That is why from the very beginning, when the house is first listed for sale, it should be shown at its very best.
If the outside of the house looks welcoming, they’ll stop and take a look, even peeking over the fence to get a glimpse of the backyard, even if not open for viewing. (Pass me that cake knife!)
All it just takes a little thought and, in most cases, not a lot of time or money invested to achieve desired curb appeal. (A few sprinkles and a welcoming touch).

She was, and you'll be, relieved to know that this is the cake she did receive:
Amazing what a few well-placed confetti pieces and swirly candles and dotted frosting blobs can do to increase a cake's morale.
I received a squeal of happiness instead of a sigh of disappointment.
And a hug instead of a shrug!
The finished cake was memorable not miserable.
Our girl was beaming in the glow of quickly melting candles and I was beaming as only a mom does, watching her eyes close to wish for that special wish that only birthday cakes fulfill.
I look forward to a new year with her, watching her grow into a beautiful young woman that loves her family and life and the Lord.
What else could I have wished for or prayed for?
('cept maybe a little thicker layer of buttercream?)
If it's your birthday today, I hope your wish comes true- make it a BIG one!!
~Leslie

Savvy Realtor, Smart Sellers!

We met with J.J. Bowers (a Realtor with RE/MAX) yesterday and a lively couple from Sugar Mill that were interested in Staging their home. They hadn't considered staging yet until their friend (who also happens to be their Realtor) mentioned it to them. They want to stage their home before it's listed (which is smart in today's market as it will give them a big boost when it finally does go to market) and they wanted to see what had to be changed before they invested the time to list it. When we had finished up the initial consultation, they were very excited to begin and were looking forward to us giving them a quote (which we typically provide within 24-48 hours). Before J.J. left, he commented that he was thinking about adding Staging to his list of services...Savvy!

Staged to SOLD...in less than 24 hours!!!

At noon today, our clients counter-offered and at 2:00, the buyers accepted the offer and the contract was signed...SOLD 20 hours after being staged!

John and June Cousins (with Prudential C. Dan Joyner) were the listing agents and they are pros at marketing and pricing a home for the market! And, they are wonderful people, too!

Previous quick sales have included: Staged on Friday, listed on Sunday, SOLD on Monday. Staged on Thursday, SOLD on the next Tuesday. We know preparing a house to become a home works, but this was a record-breaker!

Not only that, but we actually found out that the buyers made the original offer only 1 hour after seeing the property. The Realtor didn't get the offer till later since it was left on her voicemail. The property was sold for only $2,000 less than the asking price and that was certainly gratifying to the sellers. Amazing! God is good!