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!

Due to its proximity to UCLA, it is probable that this two bedroom condo might be purchased by a UCLA student (or his/her parents) for use while the student is in school. For this reason, we made sure it felt as if there was plenty of room for a bed and a desk in both bedrooms, in case the buyer wants to rent out the second bedroom to another student.

As a professional home staging company, it is crucial that we take into account who the target buyer is for any property. Then we must make sure that our furniture choices will appeal directly to the chosen demographic and make the property irresistable to our target audience!

Here are photos of this fabulous condo.

Living Room After

Living Room After

Dining Room After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bath After

Guest Room After

Guest Bedroom After

Guest Bath After

Property Address: 1840 Camden Ave #106, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Price:   $418,900

MLS #: 10-453691

Listed by: Regner Globus, Amazing Grace & Assoc. 310-476-7722

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

Case in point: our latest Staging job at 1533 South Point View.

The Realtor (who is flipping this home) called me after reviewing – by her estimation – 15 different Stager websites! I was very flattered that she chose Stage to Sell.

She is a huge believer in Staging (don’t you LOVE clients who already “get” us and what we do??) and knew that this home would sell quickly and for top dollar only if it was Staged.

Here are the “after” photos of our work.

When I visited the home, I fell in love with it. Sure there was some deferred maintenance that would have to be addressed, but the height, the light and the materials were to die for!

Now the only problem became what type of furnishings to use with this style of architecture. I needed inspiration. Luckily the agent, Mary Young of Prudential in Santa Monica, tracked down these amazing pictures of the home in 1975 when it was photographed for a magazine!

Now the gold shag carpet in the living room probably wouldn’t appeal to today’s buyer, but seeing the home in its former glory really got my creative juices flowing.

Here’s our modern interpretation of this 1970s classic. According to the agent, 200 Realtors came to yesterday’s Broker’s Open House. Looks like this one won’t last long!

Photography by Michael McCreary

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

Here was the living room in its original state. The piano took up so much of the space that there was no room for a proper seating area. The furniture was not in scale with the size of the room and did not draw your eye to the beautiful fireplace or the high ceilings.

Living Room After

By removing the piano and adding two large sofas flanking the fireplace, we focused the buyer’s eye on the features of this room that we wanted them to notice. A rug and throw pillows warmed up the space and added some much-needed color. We used the homeowner’s coffee and end table that were originally in a different room.

Family Room Before

This room had a perfectly good sofa set, but the coffee table and end table blended into the rug and didn’t pop at all. There was also no cohesiveness between the colors in the rug, throw pillows, and art.

Family Room After

By adding new occasional tables in a dark espresso finish, the light sofas didn’t feel as washed out. We tied in the black and gold in the rug with the art and throw pillows to create a finished elegant look. New lighting and accessories finished the transformation.

Bar Before

This is how most occupied homes look when I first come to see them – they are chock full of family photos and personal items. Remember sellers… we are not selling your stuff, we are selling your house. And with all that stuff everywhere, buyers won’t be able to see the features that DO come with the home.

Bar After

By removing the clutter we were able to see the added functionality of this wet bar. We also tied this space into the adjoining family room by using the same colors in the art.

Master Bedroom Before

This master bedroom felt anything but restful. The bedding did not fit the bed properly and the extra lamp and chair felt out of place.

Master Bedroom After

We added a chest dresser to show buyers there was plenty of room for storing their clothes. Then we moved the seating area to the opposite wall (you can see a chair and end table peeking out in the foreground of the above photo). We updated the bedding, art and pillows and used a plant to create this luxurious and restful space.

Guest Bedroom Before

This headboard and matching bedding felt like they belonged at grandma’s house, not in this elegant and updated home.

Guest Bedroom After

We switched out the headboard and bedding for more neutral ones, added updated lighting, a reading chair (the same one you saw in living room “before” shot) and a plant. That’s all it took to transform this room.

But the proof is in the pudding.

According to the Realtor,

“I got an offer on my sister’s home at the first Broker’s Open…The wife came on Friday, she brought her husband on Monday. They fell in love with everything in this home.”

Now that’s what we like to hear!

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!

"Shift" Author Gary Keller on Good Morning America

His most publicized quote from this interview (which has set Stager Blogs around the nation afire) is as follows:

“Price gets you interest.

Staging it gets you offers!”

Keller hit on a point that I often emphasize with my Los Angeles Home Staging clients. Right now we’re in a buyer’s market, and you’re kidding yourself if you think your buyers aren’t well aware of that fact!

Unless you create a sense of urgency for buyers to make an offer, they are likely to sit back and wait for your first (or second, or third) price reduction!

So how do you create a sense of urgency? That’s simple! Gary Keller has already told us:

1) PRICE

and

2) PRESENTATION (or STAGING)

Let’s look at both of these factors:

Price

If buyers perceive that the home is listed for an already competitive price (versus at or above market value), they are much more likely to move quickly to make an offer. Why? Because despite the market slump, everyone knows that eventually real estate will rebound. And if your buyer is looking for a long-term investment, s/he will have time to wait that out. If a home is perceived as a good value for the money, savvy buyers know they will not be the only ones interested and will be quicker to write an offer.

Presentation/Staging

The second way to create a sense of urgency with buyers is to make your home stand out from the competition. And the best way to do that is with Home Staging.

If your want your home to stand out from other similar homes on the market, you have to make your buyer fall in love with your home. Without that emotional connection, your house will just be one of many a buyer might consider based on price, condition and location. BUT if a buyer walks into your Staged home and falls in love with it, she will begin to “mentally move in” and to envision herself and her family living in – and loving – your home. Once the buyer starts picking out which room little Johnny will sleep in and which room she’ll use for her home office, you can be sure an offer will follow!

As a professional Home Stager in Los Angeles, I can attest to the fact that the well-priced single family homes and condos that we Stage are selling QUICKLY and in MULTIPLE OFFERS for OVER ASKING.

Want proof? Here are just a few of our recent results:

So remember when you’re preparing your home for sale that there are two important factors to consider if you want results like these. As Gary Keller so nicely put it, “Price gets you interest. Staging it gets you offers!”