House sold in 5 days

If you are a realtor and are planning your goals for next year (you do plan your goals, don't you?), I highly suggest you add professional staging to your plans.

I got this note the other day:

Julie,
Just thought you would like to know that the most recent house you did a consultation for SOLD in 5 DAYS!!!! You are a strong component of my sales success.
THANKS ,
Michael

Don't you want that kind of success too? Call me. I can help you sell houses.

Three of my favorite things

As the snow is falling and the spirit of Christmas is seeping into the air..thoughts turn to the lovely tune in Sound of Music ...These are some of my favorite things. (be thankful that you can't hear me sing)

Three of my favorite things:

1. flannel sheets
2. electric blanket
3. book light

(as I said snow is falling)

OK - Now your turn. What are your favorite things?

Buffalo's Decorators' Show House

I am so excited to share with you that The Home Stylist has been selected to be one of the decorators in the next Junior League Show House.

It is a competitive process so I am happy to be part of the awesome group of decorators selected for this great project. I will be doing a teen girl's room on the third floor.

The Junior League of Buffalo had a hard time finding the ideal house to showcase this year so the 15th show house will be in a first ring suburb. It is an awesome house and will make a marvelous transformation.

Here is more details so you can mark your calender:

15th Decorators’ Show House 2009

E.B. Green's Wallace Estate

697 Lebrun Road, Eggertsville, NY

Sneak Peek Preview of the undecorated house:

Saturday, February 7, 2009 (10 AM to 4 PM)

or Sunday, February 8, 2009 (11 AM to 4 PM)

Decorators’ Show House

April 25 through May 17, 2009:

Tuesday – Friday 10 AM to 1 PM; 6 PM to 9 PM Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM

I'll keep you posted as I begin work on the room this early next year.

Holiday decorating tips while selling your home

The Realtor Magazine, the national magazine for real estate agents, recently published a great article on selling during the holidays.

The article, Holiday Decor That Brings Out the Best, by Barbara Ballinger highlights key points such as

• add tasteful, generic decorations,
• trade non-seasonal for seasonal decorations,
• keep up decorations for a limited time,
• use timely marketing materials.

It is a valuable article to share with those selling their house right now. It gives sellers and Realtors specific suggestions on how to balance enjoying the holidays without compromising being ready to sell.

I was honored to be the staging professional interviewed for this important national and timely article.

Hope you enjoy it,
Julie Dana, an Accredited Staging Professional, and lover of tasteful holiday decorations.

Fireplace facelift fast and cheap

One recent house I was working on needed to change out the dated brass fireplace door. The price of a new door was around $350. This was out of the budget. So what to do?

The answer is heat resistance black spray paint! Cost around $8.00.

For a total savings of $342

The Home Stylist will be glad to help you come up with cost effective decor solutions. Call (716) 912-1581. You can have a great room on a tight budget!

The "Know-it-All" client

OK - I normally don't diss clients but this one had me on a low boil for several days.

I was hire by the real estate agent as a extra service for her client. That is a smart move on the agents part and normally works really well.

But on this day....

The first words out of the homeowner "I watch HGTV all the time. I know what I need to do to stage my house"

My response: "Great! I love when homeowners are educated about the process"

Some of the issues regarding staging the house that I talked to her about included:

• Tons of family photos on the walls
• Extra large armoires in several rooms
• In the children's room, their names were spelled out in letters.
• A huge stair machine in a first floor room

Now if you really watch staging shows and you truly are interested in staging your home to sell it quickly and for top dollar - you know the issues.

• Removing family photos to depersonalize is staging rule number 1
• Having large armoires signals to buyers that there is not enough closets space
• For security reasons alone don't let strangers know your children's names
• A stair machine is not a good focal point of the room.

After coming up with a plan for these items, the seller refused to make the changes. She said "I know I should but I'm not going to"

To that I say "Urghh" (in the privacy of my vehicle) as I drive away. I can only image what the homeowner will be like for the real estate agent. Best of luck on that one!

We are here to help. Take the help. Staging works!

Get great deals at Linens n Things

As you may know the store, Linens n' Things, is going out of business.

Great deals are to be had right now!

Did you see me in line yesterday? I was the one with a whole shopping cart full of stuff.

As the weeks go on, the discounts will be steeper but the selection with be less. This was a great store for interior decorators, redesigners,home stagers and, of course, the do-it-yourself homeowner. This is your opportunity to stock up on props, inventory, and accessories. Check out the local store near you or shop online (www.lnt.com) while you can.

I know I'll be back in the next week or two to see what is left.

Julie