Check out the photos of the finished product!

Check out the photos of the finished product!

4733 Marshall Dr., Culver City CA 90230

$639,000

Listed by Todd Miller, Keller Williams Santa Monica

Hidden behind mature trees this 3-bedroom home offers hardwood floors, updated bathrooms and a nice master suite. The backyard has a large grass yard & patio lined with bamboo. The garage could be used as an art studio or office. With a great Westside location (only 3 miles to Santa Monica, 3.5 miles to Venice Pier & 4.5 miles to LAX), the home sits on a quiet Culver City cul-de-sac near shops & restaurants.

If you are selling your Los Angeles home, let us help you get it SOLD so you can get on with your life!

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

“We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!”

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Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company, and Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown was named the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) 2011 Professional Stager of the Year.

Annie is an ASP (Accredited Staging Professional), a RESA-PRO, and an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors. She is also a Home Staging instructor for Staging and Redesign (SAR).

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo’s hit show “Million Dollar Listing” and TLC’s “Property Ladder.” She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website . There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos , as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

10740 Ashton Ave.

Living Room

Dining Room

Family/Media Room

Office/Library

Office/Library

Kitchen

Kitchen/Breakfast Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

3rd Bedroom

Atrium

Listed by Daniel Bahr – CORE Commercial Real Estate. Call 818-231-2231 for more information or to arrange a showing.

Now you would think I would know better, seeing as how I posted this article back in 2008, warning other stagers to make sure their properties are “Stage Ready” before they show up. However, even the most experienced of us can sometimes slip when the agents and sellers are in a hurry to get a property staged and on the market.

So it happened (twice) that I found myself and my crew at a property that was simply not ready for us.

A couple of months ago, we were asked to stage a property that had been in the middle of a big remodel when the owner ran out of money before s/he could finish it. Our client purchased the home with the intent of quickly finishing the work and flipping it. While most of the construction seemed to progress fairly quickly, there were some issues with the electrical that the inspector refused to sign off on. Until he signed off, they couldn’t have electricity at the property. I informed the client of the reasons that we can’t stage without water and power and he assured me that the water would definitely be turned on in time, but that he wouldn’t have confirmation on the power until closer to the staging day. When I pushed him on this, he responded that the contractor knew my schedule, so I shouldn’t worry. Famous last words!

We arrived to the job site to find that not only was there no electricity (so we couldn’t steam any of the bedding or turn on any of the lights to take photos when we were done), but the contractors were actually still working. They were just beginning to install a large Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. The tub itself (which was quite large) had to sit inside the master bedroom while the workers  poured the concrete and waited for it to set before they could install the tub. Unfortunately that meant that my furniture delivery guys couldn’t get the bed, dresser and nightstands into the room!

After much back and forth, we compromised with the workers. They would move the tub into the very large master closet so we could install the furniture and stage the master bedroom. Unfortunately we still didn’t have power, so we couldn’t steam any of the bedding in the three bedrooms. We took photos, but they were taken with natural light only since none of the overhead lights or lamps worked.

After almost two months of me checking in weekly with the owner about when we could come back to do the steaming and photos, we finally got the go-ahead that they had power this week. We showed up on Wednesday only to find that, once again, the power was off (though it had been fully functional just the day before). The sad part is that the owner has paid for two months of staging rentals and hasn’t had the full effect of being able to show the property in its “best light” – pun intended. The Realtor has continued to hold open houses and to do showings, despite the lack of power, and the good news is that there may already be an offer on the table! That would be a wonderful result for this seller and I certainly hope it goes through. But lesson learned – or so I thought…

A mere month and a half later, I was asked to stage another property that was in the midst of a major remodel. In fact, this is what it looked like on the day I went to preview the home.

But the Realtor assured me that they would be ready for us in 8 days, which was how long we had before the staging date.

The good news is that we arrived to both water AND power! The bad news was that we also arrived to a house FULL of workers – electricians, painters, and more. The kitchen was full of appliances waiting to be installed. The tile guy still needed to grout the tile in both bathrooms and the kitchen, and there was a bunch of electrical work that still had to be done (fixtures installed, half-hot outlets set up, etc). To their credit, the construction crew was as accommodating as possible. They really tried to stay out of our way so we could work. But I had a four-person staging crew plus two delivery guys, and for much of the day, we were stuck waiting for workmen to finish so we could stage.

Luckily both of these stagings turned out great in the end, but let it be a lesson to other stagers not to repeat my mistakes. Confirm and reconfirm in the days leading up to the installation. And make sure you have a backup plan if you walk in to a construction site. You’ll be glad you did!

As things go in the “small world” of Los Angeles real estate, the buyer’s agent for that property loved my work and hired me to stage one of his listings…and another and another. That agent has been a steady client ever since and tells me he won’t take a listing unless the seller agrees to have me stage it! Aren’t those type of clients the BEST?

So last week this agent calls to tell me that his clients (the ones that bought that Santa Monica townhome) are now selling, and it was time for me to “work my magic” again! It’s not often we get a second chance to stage the same home, so I was excited – especially since it was such a great experience the last time! We both agreed not to mess with success (so to speak) and to keep the basics the same in terms of furniture placement, but I just had to mix it up a bit.

Check out these photos of the home how I staged it in 2008 and now how it looks today. Which do you prefer?

View from 2nd floor 2008

View from 2nd floor 2010

Living/Dining Room 2008

Living/Dining Room 2010

Dining Room 2008

Dining Room 2010

Master Bedroom 2008

Master Bedroom 2010

Office 2008

Office 2010

Guest Room 2008

Guest Room 2010

Master Bath 2008

Master Bath 2010

827 Wilson Place, Santa Monica

Contact Revi Mendelsohn at 310-963-7384 for a showing. Hurry, this one will go fast!

Living Room After

Family Room After

Dining Room After

Master Bedroom After

2nd Bedroom After

Property Address: 12041 Clover Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Price:   $769,000

MLS #:  10-453409

Listed by: Elizabeth Puro, Teles Properties 424-202-3249

As any professional Home Stager will tell you, we spend probably a quarter of our work week in the car, driving all over town from one listing to another, and back and forth to our storage facilities. So I was incredibly psyched to be able to Stage a  home right down the block. I even gave this client a really good deal on the price for the convenience factor. Budget was an issue for her, but for my own sake as well as hers, I wanted to make sure I did everything in my power to keep both our property values high!

This home is a gorgeous mid-century design, with beautiful built-ins and a stunning fireplace. The layout would be confusing to buyers if the property were shown empty because of the very long living room that’s divided by the fireplace wall. By placing appropriately scaled furniture in just the right arrangement, it will now appeal to even the most particular buyer!

Oh, and when we were almost finished Staging, but didn’t have quite the right vases for the coffee table, we just walked down the street and picked them up. How great is that?!

Living Room Before

Today it’s a whole different story. Now no buyer could say this space doesn’t exude warmth.

Living Room After

If you are selling a vacant home in Los Angeles, and buyers aren’t biting, call Stage to Sell, your Los Angeles Home Staging Professionals, to add warmth and bring in those offers!

Cue jaw dropping in shock and utter disappointment!

I just want to know who has been out there spreading rumors that home buyers want to see white walls?

Is it the TV shows about Staging?

I don’t think so – I watch enough of those and they NEVER paint a wall white. In fact, I think some of the TV Stagers go  a bit too far with color for Staging purposes. Remember, Staging is not interior design – we are trying to sell houses here!

So what makes sellers think it’s a good idea to paint all the walls in their home stark white?

“What’s wrong with white?” you ask…

1) White is very stark and cold. It tends to feel like you’re living in a hospital.

2) Generally all doors, ceilings and trim are painted white. If the walls are white too, there is no contrast whatsoever and it doesn’t allow the detail in the trim to show.

Here’s a great example of how adding color to white walls can instantly warm up a space:

White walls make this bedroom fall flat

Color adds warmth and contrast

In the first photo, you hardly even notice the plantation shutters because they’re the same white as the walls. In the second shot, the room feels so much warmer and more inviting. And those shutters really pop!

“Is there ever a time that white can work?” you ask…

Yes, there is always an exception to the rule. There are some more contemporary spaces that have a gallery-like feel. Using the correct art, you can make white walls work in that case.

White Walls Can Work for a Gallery Effect

But I implore you…before you paint your home in preparation to sell, please consult a professional Home Stager to help you select the appropriate neutral but warm color scheme that will have buyers beating down the door to make an offer!