Creating Winter Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is so important, especially during these cold winter months. If you're putting your house on the market or simply in the Holiday spirit, draw attention to your home and bring on that warm and inviting feeling!

Create a focal point by hanging a handsome wreath on your front door. Or, fill windowboxes and urns with beautiful evergreens and your front entrance will come to life!



Add some colour with red dogwood and berries...



...or decorate with colourful Christmas baubles!



Creatively adding lights to outdoor sculptures make the garden sparkle and keep statues visible in the snow.





Most buyers will come view the house at night and with the sun setting earlier in the day, make sure your home is well lit by adding flood lights.



Decorate the deck! Show off the backyard as an extension of the home.



Leave your hot tub open and running for showings to help buyers envision a lifestyle they can have during the winter months!



And don't forget to make sure that walkways are shovelled and pathways are well lit!



Winter curb appeal is probably something that most sellers living in snowy areas would easily ignore. Because of that it is so unexpected, making it a delight to see for those looking to buy!

To my American friends and visitors, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving! And to everyone, I wish you joy and happiness as you celebrate throughout Holiday season in the days ahead!

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design Consultant

visit www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a good reminder to be thankful, rather than complain, which is a far easier thing to do, about the things we don't have or what is lacking in our lives. I am thankful for my business which is work that I actually love and allows me to stay involved with my family. Our home is comfortable, our cars are running, and we can still afford to pay the unexpected expenses that come up to maintain them. I am thankful we have bills to pay because that means we have money to pay them! Everyone in our family is generally healthy, including our pets. I have a wonderful, supportive husband who adores me. My children are bright, and have good friends. My family gives me purpose and meaning behind everything I do, and I thank God for them! These are reasons to be thankful everyday! What are you thankful for?

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving Weekend and hope you get to spend it with the ones you love! If you have some time this weekend, visit this link, The Gobbler. I came across it the other day and thought it was appropriate to post on my blog given the season and it having to do with design. There's a fair amount of reading involved but it's very funny. Enjoy!

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design Consultant

visit www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

"Buyer Beware" ...of Home Staging?

Beware of Home Staging : NewsTime : Propertynews

Yesterday, I came across the above article which basically suggests that homeowners who stage before selling may be trying to conceal or hide defects of their property-- in the end, the buyer is left to discover that he has gotten less than what he had bargained for!

While staging may do just that, I think the point is entirely missed!  A home stager's recommendations to repair and paint are to the benefit of the buyers, not to hide flaws or mislead them.  In fact, a good home stager will look for the defects and flaws and will ALWAYS recommend to either replace or repair what is wrong. You don't want buyers to be disillusioned once the love affair has begun.  I always say to clients that we want the house to be in excellent condition BEFORE we bring our 'stuff' to 'fluff' your home. If there are major repairs that can't be looked after, it is better to be up front about it with buyers and consider that with your agent when pricing your home.  You are more likely to lose out on your investment if you use staging to hide something.

Home buyers today are savvy and know what to look for.  If they are working with reputable people, you can guarantee a home inspection would be recommended by their agent.  Likewise, for the home seller, if working with a reputable stager, he or she will ensure that your home is presented well and prepared to get the most return on investment.

Staging is a win, win for both the buyer AND the seller.  Would you agree?

Find out more about staging your home if you are planning to sell your house in the near future, I'll be happy to help you out!

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design Consultant
www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

Organized Living

With the kids back at school and everyone returning into full swing with an organized routine, now is a perfect time to get organized at home. Did you know that organized storage is one of the top three things buyers are looking for in a home? The other two being freshly painted walls and updated flooring.



Consider investing in an organizational system for your storage spaces. For closets there are many systems available from ones that offer flexibility to change as your needs change over time, to beautiful custom cabinetry with rich finishes. Other spaces in your home to consider are the mud room and the garage. And while many closet companies provide solutions for all these rooms in your home, there are a few do-it-yourself options that can be found at your local home improvement store.


In a perfect world it would be great to have a professional come in and make your spaces beautiful. But for some who may be on an even tighter budget, simple shelving and baskets will do the job quite nicely.

With the hustle and bustle of your family's daily life along with all the extra-currucular activities that are happening, having an orderly space is an aid to your routine giving a place for everything. It offers a sense of 'calm' and reduces stress.

You can see why having organized storage in your home would attract buyers. Whether the space is professionally finished or presents a temporary solution, it suggests a lifestyle your home can offer and a place that they will want to live in.

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design & Consulting

"Positioning Your Home For a Quick and Profitable Sale"

visit www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

Fall Colour Trend

GREY... the new 'go to' neutral! Consider this colour if you're looking to repaint or redecorate. Punch it up with an accent colour like yellow or blue. And should you be selling your home in the near future, you'll be up-to-date on the latest colour trend.

You'll see this listed as #1 in House & Home's "Fall Home Trends." Check it out and see what else is new to look for this fall.

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design & Consulting

"Positioning Your Home For a Quick and Profitable Sale"

visit www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

Decluttering Dilemma?

You know it! Decluttering is something that most of us hate to do! Really... how did your home get cluttered in the first place? But it is something that needs to be done, especially when you are planning to sell your home. You're moving anyway, so why not start early and streamline your belongings to make your move lighter and easier?

I read a great tip on www.FlyLady.net called the the 27 Fling Boogie. It works like this— take a garbage bag and walk through your house and throw away 27 items. Once you've collected 27 items, close the bag without looking back into it and pitch it! Next, take an empty box and collect 27 items to give away. Once the box is full, take it straight to the car so you won't be tempted to rescue any items later. The rule of thumb to follow is, if you have two of any item, you only keep one. And while doing this job, you must sing "Please Release Me, Let Me Go"— sung from the stuff's point of view.

Keep in mind though, if you're short on time and plan to list your house soon you may need to get rid of more than 27 items at a time. Nonetheless, it's a great exercise we all can do to get rid of clutter and keep things under control.

Imelda Smith
Home Staging Design Consultant

visit my website at www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Being in the early phase of my home staging career I've had a few jobs where I've offered my services for free to family and friends. I did this, as I'm sure most stagers have done in their beginning stages, in order to build experience and try to gain momentum to start growing my business. One instance that comes to mind is a relative who is a real estate agent. He had inherited a house that was an investment property. The house was free of tenants, so he decided to fix it up (it was in pretty rough shape). The intent is to sell it to a young professional single or couple, or a young family. I went to have a look at the property because he was considering bringing in rental furniture and having it staged. I was there to give an estimate of how much it would cost to bring in rentals to stage the entire house. My time, of course, was free. In the end, I never did get the 'call back' after he said "I'll think about it and let you know." What is interesting is, he says he believes in staging but yet he decided not to stage. The reason was because the house needed so much work that money he would spend on staging could be used for improvements on the house. Yes, the improvements had to be addressed, but it was then I knew that I needed more practice on handling objections since it felt like he was not 'sold' on the benefits of staging especially when the service itself was being provided 'complimentary.' The house is currently on the market. It has been a couple weeks now and while it may be premature to say that prospects are looking grim, no offers have come yet. Something tells me the story would've taken a different turn by now had he decided to have it staged. Maybe I'll get a call back.

So here is an example of where this story fits in with the statistic of 98% of agents surveyed believed it was necessary to hire a stager but only 20% actually did (Maritz Research). The reason being is that they do not know how to communicate the message to the seller. In this particular case it is the agent who is the seller, and I needed to communicate the message.

So in order to become better at what we do, we must learn from our experiences. What should I have communicated to him? It is what I need to remember to communicate to every client... Really, staging is about embarking on a task with a purpose in mind-- the purpose being a fast sale with a high return. Given the resources you have to work with, what are the chances that it will get the results you are wanting to obtain? If there are limits to your resources, are there other resources you can tap into in order to increase your chances to get the results or even above average results? And how important is it for you to get those results?

The statistics are there and the facts show that staging does work... it really is up to you and what your goals are. So, before you list your house, ask yourself, are you "putting your best foot forward" in order to achieve the outcome you desire?

Imelda Smith,
Home Staging Design Consultant

visit my website at www.imeldasmithhomestaging.com