Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Staging a Behind the Scenes Look


When I tell people I’m a home stager, they say “What a fun job!”

I love my job, but there is so much more to it than arranging stuff in a house.

A typical staging job starts the moment a homeowner or Realtor calls. Step one is to go look at the property. Every property is unique, with distinct features. And each property will have a unique buying audience that we wish to target. This is why Stagers don’t prefer to estimate fees over the phone, site unseen. After careful consideration of the property’s needs, style, and demographics, a quote is prepared for the client within 24 hours.

Step Two: With the client approval and a date set, we move ahead with creating the design plan. After identifying the property’s needs, we head to the furniture store to pick out pieces for rental. We then source accessories, artwork, area rugs and anything else needed to complete the look. A full toolkit is essential too.
The pre-work is done. Step Three is staging day! Jessica from Fresh Moves and I meet at the property promptly at 9am with two full SUVs. The property is on the main level but down several looooong hallways. We unload our cars, piling everything in the lobby. The sight of beautiful accessories, furniture, and yes, a broom, makes passersby curious. We stop to chat with a few homeowners wondering if we are the new neighbours!

  
Shortly after, the large furniture pieces arrive. The moving men careful swivel the furniture into the condo. Andrei and Raymond of The Supermovers are simply awesome! Cheerful, skilled, and service-oriented, they really live up their name. We recommend them to anyone needing movers. They graciously help us move a pile of stuff from the lobby into the condo before heading off to the next job. Jessica and I are very thankful since each trip, that hallway gets a little looooooonger.


Now Jess and I are in full staging mode. Jessica starts to unpack accessories as I set up the beds in both bedrooms. We find it works best to put everything in the kitchen, but what a mess!                            


Starting in the bedrooms we first decide on the best layout, then choose the perfect pillows, artwork and accessories to complete the bedroom. We want to draw attention to the windows. This condo is nestled in Discovery Ridge and all the windows have a superb view of huge pine trees, your own private forest. In our opinion, an excellent selling feature! 


Now it’s time to tackle the main living area. Placing the furniture and art to highlight the focal points, dressing the sofa, mantle, and tables with just the right finishing touches – this is the art of staging that we love! A well-positioned mirror reflects the gorgeous kitchen and the wonderful view.
A few simple touches in the bathrooms takes them from empty-feeling to well-dressed and spa-like.

Now comes the steaming process! All bedding and towels are steamed so they are wrinkle-free, fresh and crisp. Time to tidy up and re-pack our cars with any extras floating around, plus the recycling.

Finally we snap a few shots for our portfolio and a quick phone call brings the homeowner running to the reveal. She is thrilled with the transformation! We’re thrilled that she’s thrilled. Another great day of staging complete!

For more information on having YOUR home transformed, contact Elysse at Simplystylishstaging@gmail.com; or Jessica@FreshMoves.ca.

To contact The Supermovers, call 403.437.MOVE (6683)


Enhanced by Zemanta

3 comments:

Kelley Skar said...

Wow Elysse! Great post! Loved how you laid it out and showed us all exactly what the steps are...the photos were a brilliant touch!!

Kelley Skar

Kelley Skar said...

Hey Elysse! Great post! Thought it was a brilliant use of visuals with the photos....nicely layed out...great job

Sheila Zeller said...

This is an excellent 'behind the scenes' look... and I love how you staged this property!!! Great choices on every staging level.