Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Ellen DeGeneres Show wants photos of real estate agents!

The other day I was watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She showed photos (OK most were really bad photos) of real estate agents. She calls it Ellen's Real Realtors. She is looking for more submissions.

Send in your real estate agent's photo. Ya know you wanna!

Here is more information from The Ellen Website:

Ellen's Real Realtors Why do real estate agents feel the need to put their pictures up next to the property they're selling? Does it help make the sale? Ellen showed us photos of her favorite real estate agents now she wants to see pictures of your Realtors. Send them in. Maybe Ellen will post them on the site.



Linda Griffith
St. Pete Beach, FL

Here is the link to the page on Ellen: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/realtor/

Wallpaper: In or Out?

I receive a lot of questions as to whether wallpaper is "in" or "out".

So here is the answer:

Hip new fresh designs are IN - if and only if your room (and whole house) is trendy.

Wallpaper borders are OUT - no matter what.
If you decorate very classical or traditional with the same ol' wallpaper that we have been seeing for the last 20 years, it is OUT.

Here are some examples:


OUT: (They are the same old tired floral and borders)





IN: (more trendy and retro)




If you do wallpaper a room in your home, make sure you apply a primer (called sizing) so that when you are ready to take it off - you can.
BTW - The average time a wallpaper stays up is about 7 years. How long has your wallpaper been up?
Be sure to send in your decorating questions! I would love to hear from you.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Attention Buffalo area Real Estate Agents!

The Home Stylist will be one of the speakers at the 19th annual BNAR Agents' Day:

Home Staging Tips: Making your Listings Look Better, Sell Quicker
- Part 1 Speaker: Julie Dana - The Home Stylist
Learn from the professionals on how to stage your home to sell and why

This Agents Day and Trade Show is

Thursday, October 11, 2007 - 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Adams Mark Hotel, 120 Church Street, Buffalo, New York.
It is FREE.
You will find more information and registration for this great educational day in your real estate office and at this link from the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors:
Be sure to say "hello" and tell me that you read my blog!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Business of Staging and Decorating

Many people write to me about going into the business of home staging and redesign/decorating.

"It looks like it is a lot of fun"
"I have a boring job and I want to do something creative.
"Can I help you stage or decorate?"

Yes, the actual staging and decorating is fun but that is less than 50% of what I do. How come nobody calls and asks if they can input receipts into Quickbooks? Or ask if they can photocopy handouts?

The number 1 issue I do with inquiries like this is to educate potential stagers or decorators that you are running a business.

For those interested in pursuing this field, I have two suggestions:

1. One of my favorite books on developing the mindset of success is called "Making a Name for Yourself: 8 steps every woman needs to create a personal brand strategy for success" by Robin Fisher Roffer




2. The Home Stylist offers aspiring entrepreneurs a very helpful service with Business Advice Consultation. Learn if this business if for you and if you have what it takes to make it a success. Get insights on the steps you need to take to launch your own home staging or interior decorating business. You know you have been dreaming about this. Arranging a business consultation is your first step!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Find Your Style

There is a new HGTV show that I absolutely LOVE. It is called 'Find Your Style'.
It is not a surprise-them show nor a push-the-limits-of-good-taste show. you will learn practical interior decorating advice.


Here is an article from the HGTV site that gives you more pointers:



10 Tips to Find Your Style
Designer Karen McAloon, host of the new show Find Your Style, shares her top 10 tips.
Karen McAloon, host of Find Your Style and Design Remix

Multiples. Do you have multiple items of the same color, shape, or style around your house? This is one big "tell" I look for as I look through clients' home. A kilim rug in the front hall, a kilim rug in the bedroom, another one in the living room? That means that you like Kilim rugs! It sounds way too simple to be that easy, but most people stop seeing their style even when it's right in front of them.

Form over function. Do you work on a desk that is too small, but can't bear to replace it? Have a couch that is crazy uncomfortable, but it's still in you living room after all these years? That broken clock that's still up on the wall? Take a good long look, because this is a dead giveaway to your personal style. There is something you love so much about this piece that you have chosen its form over your need for function.

Where you shop. Do you browse the same store all the time, even when you're not looking to buy? Does a good flea market make you heart pound with excitement? Where you look for your furnishings speaks volumes about your style. New, used, found, handed down from family; where your furniture comes from represents your style!

Art. What you have chosen to hang on your walls says something about you. Art is purely personal, not tied to function or need and therefore is usually the best indication of your style. A vintage movie poster means you probably like classic lines in furniture, while an abstract lithograph likely means that modern design is your bag. Flea market oil painting of someone else's relative? Eclectic is your style.

Most recent purchase. A French country dish towel that caught your eye in the store, or an impulse buy of a Tiffany-style lamp that you thought you'd never like, but do. The last thing you bought for your home is a fantastic indicator of what your style is, especially if it is design departure for you.

What unites your stuff? Do you have terra-cottas, rusts and warm yellows all around your house? These are the sun-kissed colors of Mediterranean design, so you should look for rough-hewn wood tables, terra-cotta lamps and vases to polish up your style. Does all your furniture have lean, sharp lines, and you don't have a single thing on your mantel? Your style is thoroughly modern. Whether it's color, scale, shape or era, the uniting element in your home is the best place to start when looking for your style.

What's your favorite hotel? This is my secret weapon in finding a client's design style! Always stay in cozy country B&Bs? Like the modern city high-rise hotel? Or do you go more for the traditionally furnished places? Hotels have clear design styles, so use them to help you find YOUR style.

Odd man out. When there is one piece different from everything else in your room, take note! Chances are, this is one style you like, but are afraid to fully venture into.

Travel. Where you chose to spend your vacations, and what you bring back with you are great style indicators. Always go to Mexico on your holidays and have a full set of cobalt-blue wine glasses? You like the hacienda look. Love your family vacations at the beach, and have jars of seashells in your bathroom? Coastal cottage is your style.

Best room in the house. What's your most fave room in your home? Look to your best design work and repeat it! There is nothing wrong with having all your rooms designed similarly. In fact, it can bring a calm and serene feel to your house.

Be sure to check this show out - even TiVo it!