Happy New Year everyone!
I hope everyone had a relaxing, enjoyable holiday season. I for sure took advantage of some much needed down time and was quite absent on social media as to spend time with family and friends. Now that my halls have been undecked, and the New Year has been rung in, I’m ready to get back to work!
I would like to start with with a recap of a particularly memorable staging project from 2019.
The homeowners had me in for a home staging consultation to their gorgeous Tollendale area Home in Barrie. As with most homeowners, they wanted maximum equity from the sale of their home and they knew they would need to come out with their best foot forward. They had made some upgrades over the years and were in the midst of finishing the basement but some areas were on the verge of becoming dated, like the kitchen. Some of their furniture although in very good condition was purchased aprox 20 years ago. They wanted my advise on whether or not to invest in the kitchen update. I thought against it, and advised to update and refresh the decor and furniture instead. This advise is not one size fits all, in some cases I will advise against staging with rental furniture and spend all the preparation budget on a fresh coat of paint and update counters and backsplash. It really just depends on so many factors.
They agreed with my advise and I built them a staging quote for what they needed. We went over the quote, item by item and they requested we trim the budget a bit, so I decided on which of their pieces we could use in different areas of the home. I focused the bulk of the home staging with furniture rentals to the first room buyers walked into upon entering the home, the formal living room. I wanted to Wow buyers from the start. The master bedroom got staged as well with furniture and accessories.
My clients loved the staging and felt good about their decision. They had confided in me that they suspected their home may take several months to sell as the comps in the area had all taken some time to sell. They were prepared to rent items beyond the first month. I disagreed. I had a very strong feeling that the home would sell in the first month, I mean, that’s the goal of staging any home. Price it right, present it beautifully, desirable location, equals quick sale. I’ve seen it time and time again throughout my over 10 years as a home stager in Barrie, Ontario.
It sold in under 1 week at 98% of list price!! 🎉
I love it when a good plan comes together! Talk about happy clients!! They sent me this sweet testimonial:
“Simone Frank at New Leaf Decor is amazing! Her staging skills were an essential asset when selling our home. We expected to sit on the market for the entire winter but the first showing sold it in under a week! The Buyers even told us the house looked like it was from a magazine.
Great job Simone! Til next time - Brandi and Tim Yeomans”