Staging tips when working for another

How many of you decorator types have dreams of staging for others? Whether it be in homes or businesses, I'd say it's fair to admit, most of us have those desires and wonder what it's really like.

I am currently staging for a restaurant just moments from my home,  The Vedder Mt. Grille.

It's a lovely little restaurant with wonderful homemade meals. The building is an original to our little town so going with vintage decor suited the place to perfection. (Befores and afters coming soon!)

For those of you not having taken the stager plunge yet, I thought I'd share a few tips on what I'd consider to be helpful should you be debating on it.

Staging tips when working for another

1. Bring your camera. AND tripod.

Interiors are difficult to capture, so it's critical to stabilize your camera rock steady for such pictures. Your aperture wants to stay open longer due to the darker indoor conditions, therefore any motion at all will blur your photos.

Additional lighting would have been nice, however the restaurant wasn't closed and I felt that would have been intrusive for guests, so I went without. But if you can get away with it, bring an automotive lamp tree for a quick fix.

2. Have a mobile tool kit ready to go. With a bit of everything!

I happen to store screws and hooks in two cute little tool boxes, so it was easy to cart them around with me. And I brought my cordless drill with all the fittings too. But I didn't end up using those at all.  I used an old fashioned hammer and some nails. But what I DID forget was hand held screwdrivers, window cleaner, blades for scraping.. you get the idea.

Set up a mobile cleaning and tool kit that's well stocked and easy to grab and run and you won't have to drive back home again like I did. :)

3. You need stock.

I've staged for friends and family before many times, utilizing things they already had. However, it's alot different when you walk into a place that NEEDS stuff.

This particular project is about thrift store/vintage, so you can't jaunt down to Walmart to just pick it up. You either shop for your client with the chances of having nothing to show for your efforts if the pickings aren't good, or slowly collect things for your own 'stockpile' over time when out and about already.

I've stockpiled for awhile so I had things to bring.  I'm just glad I have a reason to horde collect now! It's for the sake of others of course. :)

4. Try it first. Paint it later. Maybe. :)

In a perfect world, all the stock we had on hand would be perfectly prematched for the decor. Or would it?!? I vote to NEVER assume.

I expected to paint and glaze a grouping of picture frames for a themed wall, however what ended up looking best was to leave them all as is. Which also proves another decorating theory I've used forever. Don't touch that paint until you try things as is first!

5. Expect some heartache with the parting of loved items.

It's inevitable. You'll look at something in your home that you KNOW will absolutely sing in it's new location. So you load it into your vehicle, secretly hoping it won't work. But it does. As you knew it would. 

Although the restaurant had some lovely things for me to use right away,  I needed much more. Part of this particular marketing stragety is to also sell my creations. So they have to come from... my creations. :)

But I admit... it was wonderful to see those items work so well elsewhere. And we can always collect and make new stuff, right Miss Mustard Seed?!?. :)

6. Bring entertainment for the kiddo/s.  If you bring them.

I brought my 11 yr old son with me. We brought in a laptop,  ordered up a chocolate milkshake for him and I was able to create uninterrupted. I could have gotten my son to assist in some areas, however this round, I chose to go it alone as he was perfectly content. In a perfect world, he'd be in school while I did this but I don't remember the last time my world was any where near perfect. :)


and finally


7. Plan your first job at a restaurant.

You won't have to worry about dinner that night and you can tweak your work while you eat. :)

My first day was a unique and new experience for me and way too much fun. :) I wasn't able to take after pics of what was accomplished as it was too late in the day, however I'll sneak in there soon and give you a little taste of what we accomplished for certain!

I can't wait to get back in there. Laurie is shopping for a cool vintage sofa and we're going to create a Starbucks style coffee area for those java/laptop types. I may even be the very first to try it out... "I'll take a pumpkin spiced latte while I SNS away on a Friday night, pretty please!" :)

Stagers! Have any tips for this newbie and others that are debating on making the plunge? 

How about stager wannabes? What's your dream staging job you'd love to dive into?

Staging a home for sale... that's empty. Part 2

 

  Are you a real estate agent that wishes homes would show better?

Are you a homeowner trying to sell your home but not quite sure how to go about staging it?

Do you wish you knew how to portray your home to make it look the very best it can be?

If so, this post may be for you. :)

 Awhile back, I posted that I was staging my mom's empty home that's currently for sale.

Part One was HERE

When I started pulling things out of my truck and hauling them into my mom's place, it felt so... odd. These were MY things. Not my mom's.

And it was shocking. After seeing the rooms so bare and empty, even one thing in the room caused your eyes to refocus in a very different way. You REALLY saw objects.

 So whatever I used, I had to make sure they were pretty to look at. I love this vintage mix master with the heavy porcelain bowl. And it was perfect for the kitchen.

This experience was interesting. The more I attempted to make an empty home look lived in, the stranger everything looked. It was so painfully obvious that it was empty, so overdoing some rooms while others had nothing didn't work.

 Loose sanded down palette boards simply placed overtop a little bench created some extra instant warmth to this area.

So, I took a different approach. I placed 'suggestion' items to bring warmth back into the spaces. It left you with the feeling of the house saying, "This is what I could look like if you bought me and loved me back. You just wait and see!" :)

Pickets by their lonesome encouraged you to elevate your eye towards these vaulted ceilings

And yes, there were indeed moments of sadness. (she passed away in March) But it wasn't long before I switched gears into design mode and went with it. I was on a mission to make my mom's house sing. One last time. 

Two funky drawers took the place of the microwave. And hid alllll the paperwork for the home sale. :)

I realize staging an empty home is VERY different from decluttering a full one. I think both scenarios bring issues into play. But it's my belief that if you wish your home to look it's best, depersonalizing and decluttering are VERY important. This home looked HUGE with all the roomy closets and living spaces! And newer too.

From hereon out, I'm going to allow the pictures to do all the talking.  I created an online magazine spread for the benefit of our real estate agent as well as a means of an online portfolio for myself so I can show what I can offer others.

Enjoy. :)

 

Click HERE for the fullsize online YUDU magazine spread.

And I have to just thank Layla from The Lettered Cottage. When I saw her magazine spread for the cottage she decorated, I 'bout died. I had no idea this format was available to us. Thanks for your never ending inspiration you offer my way, Layla!

What do you think about this format for helping to sell a home?

Yup, it's still on! Click HERE to enter!

Are you a part of the fun? 

We're all purging as a group effort and offering up daily de-junking tips on Facebook. 

Join in the BAD JUNK Challenge!

Staging a home for sale... that's empty. Part 1

Any real estate sales folks out there? Lovely folks wanting to sell their home? Potential future stagers? This one's for you!

I'm off today to play.. for a good cause. A few of them to be exact.

 Most of you that are avid followers, already know about the passing of my wonderful mom. Well, ultimately, that leads to the family selling her lovely condo.

( for newbies, you can read what transpired HERE) And updates are on my off topic blog HERE. I'm sharing this so others in the same situation can go forth knowing it WILL be ok.  {hugs!} )

 So, I came up with the bright idea to create a blog on her home with pretty pictures, reflecting a different spin on how lovely her place is. General listings just don't capture what I have in mind. So...

Today I'm going to lightly stage up an empty home and produce a photo shoot.

And gutting sections of my own home in the process. :)

All in the name of an inspiring idea, potential leads to other like minded work, a new portfolio piece, and the best of all... creating  a photo memory blog of her home one last time.

Which also leads me to gutting out the camping firewood and salvaged palette wood in my truck that has been residing there forever. Ah yes. One step ultimately always leads to another (billion). The hayfield lawn will have to wait for it's turn this round. I'm a little behind in all things homestead you see.

So, stay tuned to see the less junky side of my decorating.

Well... NEARLY is close enough, right? :)

I've also been working very hard on a portfolio of my own home I'd like to share with you next week. You haven't seen this type of setup on my blog yet, so I'm sure it'll give you yourself more fuel to create and dream your way into your own given passion.

Join me on this new little endevour, won't you? Let's go stage a home!

One slightly less junky artifact at a time. :)

The wild unraveling of a portfolio room

Someone in my neighborhood wants to come to my house for a specific reason. He wants to see what I've done to it.

That was... I think last Friday. I promised to clean it up so I wouldn't pass out from embarrassment and then give him a shout. And here we are at Wednesday.

 DANGER ZONE indeed...

I got it clean. For awhile. But then the 'big rebuild of the nests' started once again. And today I'm totally back to square one.

Guess that's a problem I'll always face. When you LIVE in your portfolio that is.

For that's what our homes are. They aren't just a place to live anymore. You know that right? If you're taking this dive into the world of decor seriously and wanting to make something of it, gone are the days when your livingrooom was just a place to crash.

Here. Let's just chat about this one for instance. Said in my best hoity toity pinky up voice, "Why yes of course... The layers upon layers are intricately placed just so each and every day. This is my home, my getaway, my sanctuary after all."

My cat hasn't been enticed to visit my bedroom in months. Might be due to the missing quilt that tends to live on the floor. I don't understand the magic of the quilt. When did it sprout it's own legs? And where are all those pillows anyway? But moreso... whatever happened to the cat??? Which reminds me... one curtain panel is missing. It's gotta be on the floor like it is every so often.

I'm going to add a label to this post under 'bed making tips.' Maybe I'll revert back to it from time to time for inspiration.

 *lump in my throat*

What lovely memories this one conjours up. See that antique white/glazed coffee table? Set just so with my layered vignettes? (not to mention all the 'floor throwers' not on the floor)

Ahhhh, THERE you are! (to the left. on it's side. I want it BACK)

Ahhh... the boy's play/guest room.

 I think this is the only part that resembles what it does in the pictures. I really miss this room...

Ok, now here's an area that stays relatively the same.

IF you sit on the floor and look up like this that is.

I think you're seeing a reoccurring theme here, yes?

(hey.. I just found my keys! And my CAT. I'm so glad I took this picture)

Sheesh!

How do I get around this big fat issue? Every so often I treat myself to a 'showhome day.' I'll start in one room and really go to town and do it up right. After it's done, I'm inspired to do another. (unless I stop to blog about the first of course.. don't stop and blog about it when you're on a roll)

I think my friend will have to wait juuuust a few more days for me to catch up. But I personally think there's GREAT merit if he just hangs in there abit longer.

He's going to get to see some NEW stuff I haven't even blogged about yet!

And I will! After I remove the sticky tape and price tag off this table of course. And clean it up. And more. You know how it is. I call this the 'stop drop and dash' decorating method.

So! Hows things in your little staged up world?

 Could you honestly kick the door open for guests at any given time? What do you do when they want to come and see what you've done to your house? I need some help here...

Dining Details~

I have had so much positive feedback on my dining room restaging (and so many questions from readers) that I thought I'd share with you all a few of the details.

First and foremost, because we chose a neutral palette, texture was key! I used a burlap runner on the table, along with burlap, linen and canvas pillows.

And yes, for those of you who asked, my new curtains are painter's dropcloths. I love the heavy weight....they hang perfectly when left straight, or drape beautifully if pulled back.

My centerpiece is made from a seemingly mismatched bunch of random things...but it works together beautifully and adds a subtle touch of color.

Remove the color, and look how the textures play off of one another...the heavy details of the sphere, the smooth surface of the footed bowl, the earthiness of the wreath and the intricate metal work of the tray. A feast for the eyes!

Just a reminder today is the last day for the Shabby Nest Summer Sale...still some great deals left....hurry over!

Hope you all have a lovely July 4th weekend~

Silhouettes~

In my quest to depersonalize my house, without depersonalizing my house (remember my house staging mantra: depersonalize, do not dehumanize) I was trying to come up with a way to replace the photos of my boys in their room. Silhouettes to the rescue! I just love silhouettes...so timeless!

I have talked about easy ways to do silhouettes before, but this literally only took me 5 minutes! I simply print out photos of my boys in profile to use as templates, then placed them on top of some brown kraft paper and cut them out. That's it! I tried to get the sizes to match, but because I am not a tech-y genius, I just couldn't do it. So I opted instead for graduated sizes with Mr. One being the biggest and Mr. Three being the smallest...just like real life!

Linking to DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

Have a great day~

Curb Appeal~

It doesn't matter how much work you put into the interior of your home if people don't like the exterior, you've probably already lost them. Curb appeal is very important when it comes to selling a home.

I didn't have much of a budget to perk up the exterior of my home. So here are my low cost/no cost tips to spruce up your curb appeal.

1. Mow your lawn. Duh. Nothing is more unappealing than a lawn full of weeds. If your home is on the market you are probably going to want to mow your lawn a little more often than usual. (Keep in mind that if you live in a dry climate you'll want to make sure you keep your lawn sufficiently watered if you're cutting it often otherwise you'll end up with a brown lawn which is almost as bad as one full of weeds.)

2. Take care of your landscaping. I have a lot of planting beds around my home. I didn't have a budget for new mulch etc. But what I did do was rearrange some of my perrennials so my flower beds looked fuller and balanced. Then the day of a showing, I always rake my planter beds to loosen up the soil and make it look a little darker, more moist and more like mulch.

3. Paint your doors or any trim that may need it. You don't need to change the color, but a fresh coat of paint makes everything look crisper.

4. Add some color. Hanging plants, new flowers in your beds, potted flowers on your doorstep. These things make your home look inviting and say "come on in!" I did invest in some new hanging flowers for the stakes on either side of my front door. They add just the right pop of color!

Have a great day~