Staged Home Raises Funds to Benefit Art Center

Well, I gotta admit it really is odd to see the house empty again… but just one weekend later that's how this house sits.

However, LAST weekend, this newly constructed luxury home in Park Ridge, Illinois was staged and GLORIOUSLY TRANSFORMED (as these photos show) into the premier site on the Artistic Living Tour of Homes.










Last weekend was the culmination of over year of preparation for a unique fund raising event. The weekend's festivities were no small undertaking, as it took an army of volunteers, who graciously donated their time, talent and treasure, to totally transform this site into a beautiful staged show-house... all for the benefit of Brickton Art Center.

I am happy and proud to report that the Artistic Living Tour of Homes, a show-house plus 5 tour residential tour homes, was a wonderful success. With over 300 people touring the sites… everyone is already buzzing about next year. The volunteers are excited and full of ideas and anticipation on how to make next year’s tour even better. One resident even already offered their home as a tour site!








This “staged” fund raising event was for Brickton Art Center. Brickton does amazing things with and for the arts and is one of the “crown jewels” of our community. It is one of those unique resources within Park Ridge that makes this city such a desirable community to live in.

Brickton, is a small art center tucked away in a corner of the downtown area, currently fulfills the cultural and creative needs of over 6,000 Park Ridge and Northwest Chicago community members each year. It offers over 200 fine arts classes and has hosted nearly 100 gallery exhibits featuring established, emerging and developing Illinois artists. PLUS, and most importantly, Brickton creates beautiful changes in the lives of at-risk populations through it’s out-reach and art therapy based programs.








However, like any not-for-profit, raising funds to continue Brickton’s mission is critical.

At Real Estaging, where one of our core values is to support not-for-profit organizations that are making a difference in the world, it made total sense to offer our help and support such a wonderful organization. We've known how staging can be used as an AWESOME marketing tool for selling... so it made perfect sense to adapt it for this event and create an entirely new version of Brickton’s Artistic Living event.

This event was no small undertaking… besides creating a fresh adaptation of the event and then coordinating all the creative talent of the Gallery Home, whose rooms were each separately "staged" by 9 different designers and/or retailers, we also worked with 5 residents in Park Ridge who graciously opened up their homes as sites on the first ever Park Ridge Tour of Homes. We received accolades for having the “perfect mixture” of big homes, small homes, contemporary homes, traditional homes, new homes, and old homes. The homes we selected were a perfect cross section of all that Park Ridge has to offer.

Having a great idea is one thing, but a weekend long city-wide event of this magnitude takes hundreds of helping hands, including individuals, business organizations, artists, designers, home stagers, elected officials, corporations, residents, neighbors, and families. It took a community working together to make this event the success that it was.

So, needless to say Brickton staff and the army of volunteers were THRILLED that after all their hard work the Grand Opening ceremony was recognized by state Senator Dan Kotowski. Senator Kotowski came and cut the ribbon kicking off the tour and opening the Gallery Home last Friday night at the Gallery 1033 Cocktail Party. More pictures of the gallery home and the cocktail party can be seen here.

So, all I can say is a heartfelt “thank-you” to the many of you that helped stage this successful event.

Finally, to my fellow home stagers, I share this idea with you… for while this one event showcased how we transform spaces, more importantly it shows that we can Staged It Forward... by giving it back.

Keep Staging It Forward...
Me


PS: Oh... Real Estaging staged the Red Living Room & Dining in the pictures above and in the link.

THANKS NBC CHICAGO... for featuring this story on your web site.

Good Photography Helped National Media Tell our Staging Story

I know that at times I sound like a broken record. But this is a story that is worth repeating. In the past I have blogged about how important good photography is to tell your own staging story… but now I have proof how important is it and can do more and help you tell a BIGGER story.
National print media uses the web to search out and find good photos to use in conjunction with the feature stories they are publishing on the home staging and interior re-design.

A Few months back, Home Magazine found our the our Real Estaging website gallery and contacted us, asking if they could use photos of our home staging work for an upcoming feature story they were going to be publishing (June 2007 issue). Of course we were more than happy to help them out.

Well I gotta admit Real Estaging has come a long way. To have a ½ page photo spread as the main work featured in a national magazine for an an article on Home Staging that also quotes Donna Freeman of HGTV’s Secrets that Sell and Barb Schwarz, president of StagedHomes.com (and lets face it the grand-dame’ of home staging)… well this is quite an honor. We surely must be doing something right.

But more importantly the point I really want to make is... we shoot ALL of our home staging jobs. Right from the start, we made a commitment to INVEST in the time to completely and thoroughly photograph each and every one of our home staging project.

Over the years, with each home staging we completed and photographed, we got better and better at capturing the essence of our work. Yes, it took us awhile to learn how to use our 3 different cameras... but we have gotten pretty good at it. And we are proud to say we are ALL self taught. (Yes we read manuals!)

IN the future, there may be a time when we will have to hire a professional photographer to take our photos to the next level... but we happy to report that investing in the time to learn and do the best we can has paid off now.

Thank you Home Magazine... all of us at Real Estaging we are thrilled and honored!

This article really helps to Stage It Forward...
Me

PS: REALTORS, if you have not replied to the Real Estaging Poll on home staging, we would appreciate if you would go to our blog an do so. Just quickly select a button on the right colomn on our blog and then hit "VOTE" >>>>>.

Will Barb Schwarz's Home Staging Biz Book, Soon to Hit the Shelves, Hit the Target?

Well, I even if I wanted to I couldn’t have planned this better. Considering my last post spoke of the difficulties of owning and operating a home staging business, the fact that this week Barb Schwarz of StagedHomes.com is to release a new book entitled "Building a Successful Home Staging Business" is timed perfectly. Just what will Barb Schwarz reveal in her business book? Well, I do not know… but I will SURELY read it and share my thoughts about it here in a future book review.

However, a quote taken from the inside front cover (quote taken from Amazon) shares this insight of what the book is to offer the home staging industry: "Whether you are thinking about starting a Home Staging business or want to improve upon an existing one, this timely guide can help you master the essential elements of a successful Home Staging business." So, considering and understanding what start up business owners in the home staging industry are hungering for... the promise sounds mighty good.

But I have to admit, Barb's book puts her and the company she started, StagedHomes.com, in an odd quandary.

If her book should reveal too much it could jeopardize future students from enrolling and buying into her expensive classes in home staging… for they might think they now only need to "buy the book".

On the other side, if Barb's book reveals too little it can STILL jeopardize her home staging training seminars. For if people who are interested in a career in home staging buy her book, believing in its promises to provide "various strategies and techniques needed to achieve unparalleled success in this field" (inside cover quote) but end up thinking it is "useless fluf and hype," then the book might backfire with potential students… thinking that her training seminars too might also be “fluffy” and not worth it.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that if Barb reveals too much in the book she might end up alienating past graduates who already paid thousands of dollars to be trained as ASP’s in her home staging training seminars. Buying a book for a mere $16.47 (today's price on Amazon) might be seen by past graduates as now selling off the ASP secrets. PLUS, if the book is good, then other non-ASP stagers will surely benefit from the ASP leader's wisdom, but this may be seen as directly helping the “competition". Barb’s “sharing” could back fire and leave those who for years have helped her build up and are committed to StagedHomes.com and the ASP network feeling betrayed.

(OY! I gotta admit as I write this I see what a pickled predicament this one book puts Barb in!)

So that leaves me with just one more scenario to examine. How will not revealing enough, in a book so desperately needed by her graduates and other home stagers, be looked upon? Well, as for graduates of her ASP seminars, Barb has built up a following amongst them and they tend to be her biggest fans. I would not be surprised if they are content and cheer the new book along as they did with her previous one.

On the other hand, those stagers outside StagedHomes.com, who make up the fastest growing segment of the home staging industry, if after they buy and read Barb’s book think it is just a "puffed up fluffy infomercial," they will then rip it to shreds. She will be seen as shrewd, but as an opportunist. (This has happened before so don’t be surprised to see it again.)

Just in writing this article I now have come to a conclusion as to just how much good information on how to run a truly successful home staging business I think Barb Schwartz will reveal (or not) in this book. I look forward to reading it, and when done I will surely let you know in my review if it hit or misses the target. In the mean time, if you do read it let me know what YOU think.

Stage It Forward...
Me

5/23/07 Post Script: The release of this book must have been delayed. Amazon HAD been pre-selling and stated it would be available on May 18. Amazon now says its availability is anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks out. It is Amazons policy to tag books that ARE in-stock as "In Stock".

THANKS! ABC 2 Atlanta for picking up this Post on Barb's Schwarz'z book on running a Home Staging businness.

Stone Cold Reality: Dying Dreams and Limited Opportunities

With each passing week I seem to receive more and more emails with questions from budding stagers asking me how to approach and solve a myriad of challenges and issues facing staging business. Some of what I am asked are QUITE complex concerns and take MORE than just a quick email response. Unfortunately, as I work on growing my own business, I simply do not have the time to reply. I've tried to help as many of you as I can, but I literally could have a career JUST answering the questions and solving the problems that new stagers are asking.

Dealing with all that I have been in my own business and looking at the types of questions other stagers look to me for advice on, got me to thinking that it is a stone cold reality that starting, owning and operating a successful home staging business is tough.

I have concluded that in order for individual home staging businesses to succeed, the home staging industry needs to look at itself and examine itself and correct that which it is doing wrong if it is to grow to its fullest and experience its greatest possibility.

This post (the first of a series) takes a tough look at one of the realities and dynamics many people who are entering into this industry do not take into consideration. These realities and dynamics compromise the possibility of owning and operating a successful staging business.

First, let me say I am NOT anti-education. However, as a whole, since the home staging education industry is not regulated in any manner, it makes it extremely easy for anyone to open their doors and start a home staging training program… and MANY have. With home staging training classes fetching anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000 per student for ONLY one week’s worth of training, it is not surprising to see why trainers and courses in home staging are popping up all over. The home staging training industry is a gold mine.

To keep the gold coming in, the home staging foundation training company’s have a vested interest and are quite successful at advertising to and enticing people to take their courses. Just go to any company’s website (Refer to featured list on the right hand column of this blog) and you will see courses on home staging being offered all over the USA and Canada. Plus to make it even easier some companies are offering training in the comfort of the student’s home… via the web.

Starry eyed students are buying into the dream that you can take a class in one week… and be a “professional” stager the next. The home staging training industry is a resounding success.

Unfortunately, while home staging education companies have done a GREAT job at selling the dream being a stager, they have not done an equally effective job educating the real estate community and the home seller so that they want to invest in the services of their graduates... and they have the gold to do it.

There is a huge disconnect in the market… the consumer market is not educated enough to absorb the glutton of stagers that graduate weekly from the multitude of home staging foundation courses offered nationwide.

People who invested their time, money and hearts into these courses to learn how to be a home stager are finding themselves spending a considerable amount of time and money trying to convince and educate Realtors and home sellers on the virtues of home staging. While home staging does work and is a GREAT service to offer and provide... it is NOT an easy sell.

This is not to say all hope is lost, but this is a reality. There are those who will train for a home staging career will go on to be quite successful. But, it is important for people interested in becoming home stagers to know the realities and dynamics they face. It would be great if the market for staging services was accepted and growing as fast as the market for training. However, these markets are mutually exclusive of the other. So please, do not make the mistake in believing they are one in the same.

Stage It Forward,
Me


THANKS! ABC Orlando News 9 for picking up this important post on the Home Staging Industry.

Don't Be Seen as a Shifty Seller that Stages to Bamboozle Potential Home Buyers

Home sellers, if you choose to use a home stager's service, here is a question to ponder...

Once staged, should your occupied property be ADVERTISED as such?

I bring this question up as I feel an educated Seller is an empowered Seller.

First, keep in mind, Home Staging is NOT just decorating. Staging IS a complex marketing tool, that relies a variety of skills, talents and knowledge. So while a basic undertaking of a Stager is to visually prepare a home so that it appeals to a buyer, it is also a Stager's responsibility is to teach home seller and Realtor how to best utilize the “tool” so that it has NO opportunity to work against the sale of the home.

So, getting back to the question at hand… Should your staged property be ADVERTISED as such? Well consider this, while we could benefit from such advertising exposure, those of us here in Chicago at Real Estaging believe that the home seller and the listing Realtor need to discuss the possible implications and then responsibly decide If, When, Where and How to reveal the fact that your home has been staged. In your discussion with your Realtor consider these 3 points:

1. With more and more people understanding what staging is and how it can actually INCREASE the asking price of a home (*See Post Script below for explanation), some buyers, may use that fact that they know a home has been staged AGAINST the seller and try to negotiate a lower price they "feel" is more appropriate.


2. Some buyers who learn a home has been staged might feel as though just the surface has been "touched-up" and they are being bamboozled into buying a house that is less than what they are seeing.


3. With staging still a relatively new service, buyers might find their attention drawn at the staging and NOT at to house and its features. As I have said time and time again… the home should be the star, not the stuff.

Now I doubt every buyer would turn their knowledge about your home’s staging against you. However, why risk it? So, my advice is… it's OK that a Realtor advertises the fact that a home has been staged within the industry and to fellow Realtors (such as within the MLS, or at a brokers open house). Advertising in this manner allows the BUYER'S Realtor, who has a much better read on their client's "sensitivity and quirks," decide if they want to reveal the staging fact to THEIR clients.

Finally, if you have not yet hired a Stager, before you do ask them a simple question: "Should your property, once staged, be advertised as such?" Then… wait for their reply. If they are quick to answer "YES" or say "It really doesn't matter." then I fear that if they don't fully understand a key basic subtlety to staging. And if they don't get this point, then what else about the "Staging Tool" might they not fully comprehend or incorrectly apply that will ultimately give you a LESS than the marketing result you were hoping for?

Stage It Forward...
Me

*POST SCRIPT: A home's listing price is based on 3 key elements: 1.) Location 2.) Market and 3.) Condition. The combination of these 3 Key elements... determines a home's possible price range (Low to High). Stagers go to work on CONDITION... improving the CONDITION of a home can raise the price to a higher price point. The better the condition... the more one can ask. This is a BASIC to ANY real estate transaction.

THANKS Pittsburgh WPIX -TV 11. I am glad you like this blog on home staging. Check out my featured link here.