5 ‘Hip’ Ideas for Do-it-Yourself Staging

By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Looking for some quick home staging ideas that don’t cost a lot? Here are five inexpensive “Hip Tipz” from stager Charlene Storozuk that will help you show off a home with painting techniques and found objects.

1. Paint bedroom furniture antique white and the walls a darker tint. Add crystal hardware such as a chandelier or light fixtures for added elegance to create a French-inspired bedroom.

2. Frame a favorite tea towel for display in the kitchen.

3. Make the rooms off the hallway appear larger by painting them a lighter shade than the hallway.

4. Vintage door panels make an interesting headboard when painted.

5. Make a sloped ceiling appear taller by installing a shelf underneath at height of lowest point of slope.

“I Don’t Do Windows” – Not Something You Want to Say When Selling Your Home

By Charlene Storozuk

Just as your eyes are the mirror to your soul, the “soul” of your house is mirrored by your windows. Make sure you don’t neglect them when preparing a property for sale. 

In fact, Feng Shui principles view the windows as the eyes of a home.

Here are a few pre-listing tips for making the most of your windows:

1. Make sure that every window sparkles — both inside and out. Not only will it give a property that well-kept look, it will also let more light into each room which is very important for showings. 

2. Replace any cracked window panes.

3. Repair and neatly paint weathered window frames.

 4. Inspect all windows to ensure that they open. Make sure that all paint is removed from the panes. A razor blade, used with caution, will usually work well to scrape off unsightly paint.

 5. All windows should have window treatments. A ”naked” window gives a room a cold, unwelcoming feel. Select a treatment that is suitable to  Read more

How to Make the Most of Your Winter Property Listings

By Charlene Storozuk

Once the holiday season is over, we all tend to hunker down for the cold months ahead (at least those of us not lucky enough to live in a warm locale).  The long winter months can play havoc with your social life, mood, travel plans, and, dare I say it, your real estate listings.

How do you bolster potential buyers on the merits of your listing’s exterior when there’s 4 feet of snow outside? Well, here are a few things that just might help.

• Make sure all seasonal decorations have been put away.  It’s time to remove the outdoor Christmas lights and Santa displays.

• Place a few frost resistant planters or urns outside.  Dress them up with twigs, winter greenery, and sparkly “baubles.”

• Statues look great in an outdoor winter garden.  Make sure that the pieces you display are frost resistant so they won’t crack.  Strategically place them around your garden to help draw potential buyers’ eyes around your outdoor space.

• A few outdoor flood lights (clear, not colored) shining on statues, urns, and other interesting architectural features will give a hint of drama for nighttime showings. Read more

Selling Your Home During the Holidays

By Charlene Storozuk

Selling your home is a stressful event, but doing so over the holiday season can kick the tension level up a notch.  If your home is on the market over the holidays, you might be wondering if you should deck the halls or give it a pass for this year.  That is, if in fact you celebrate the season.

When deciding whether to decorate or not, take the demographics of your neighbourhood into account.  If the majority of home owners in your area do not celebrate the holidays, you may want to follow their lead and not decorate your home for the festive season either.

Here are some things to take into account if you are going to decorate:

• Less is definitely more.  Combat clutter by keeping your holiday decor to a minimum and choosing classic, tasteful pieces.
• Avoid displaying holiday collections.  I happened to mention one year that I like nutcrackers.  I didn’t even own one at the time, but now, 10 years later, I would have to guess that there are close to 80 of those little fellows standing guard in my home during the holidays.  If I were selling, I’d want people to look at my home, not my collection.
• Decorations should be in good condition.  This is not the year to bring out Grandma’s tattered Santa Claus or Rudolph with the missing nose.  Let them hibernate.
• Use an artificial tree for this year.  You can place some pine boughs in a large bowl and dress it up with a few pine cones and holiday balls.  You’ll still get that real Christmas tree scent without the mess.
• Never leave tree lights on when you are not home.  If you have a showing booked, turn the lights on just before the appointment and be sure to come back right after to turn them off.
• Consider the safety of small children that may be coming through your home.  Don’t leave out small decorations that could become a choking hazard.
• If Felix the cat has a bad habit of knocking your tree down on occasion, you might want to forego putting your tree up this year.  Murphy’s Law says that Felix will do this just when potential buyers are on their way over for a showing.

One last thing: once the holidays are over, make sure you take down your decorations soon afterwards.  As well, if the listing photos were taken while your home was decorated for the season, make sure that once mid January rolls around, new photos are taken.  Buyers that see a Christmas tree in your living room while viewing your property online in March will be tipped off pretty quickly to the fact that your home has been on the market for a while.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Charlene Storozuk is the owner of Dezigner Digz, a professional home staging and interior decorating company based in Burlington, Ontario.  Her work is featured in the book FabJob Guide To Become A Home Stager, 2009 edition. She serves as regional vice-president, Canada for the Real Estate Staging Association and is a past recipient of the North American Leadership Award for her work as founder and president of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth RESA Chapter.

Meet Your Client’s Opposition to Staging Head-on

By Charlene Storozuk

Recently, I had the pleasure of exhibiting at the REALTORS® Without BORDERS Convention & Trade Show, Southern Ontario’s largest annual conference on real estate.

I must say that I was very impressed by the number of REALTORS® who are advocates of home staging.  There are still a few sitting on the fence about its merits, but in time, as home staging grows in popularity, I’m confident that even more will become believers.

In speaking with REALTORS® at the show, I learned that the apprehension voiced by some was out of fear of offending their clients.  They felt that the suggestion of bringing in a home stager would be met with resistance.  Admittedly, this is a legitimate concern, but one that can be overcome.  For that reason, I decided to touch on it in this blog post.

Undoubtedly, you have come across many home owners who feel their home is perfect just the way it is.  How do you tactfully tell them that the life-size portrait of dear old Aunt Edna in the front hall is downright frightening or that the beer fridge in the bathroom has to go?  Offering your client a complimentary staging consultation alleviates that problem for you since you don’t have to be the bearer of bad news.  Don’t worry though; a professional home stager will be very diplomatic. Read more

Bathroom Update: Maximum Impact on a Minimal ($71) Budget

By Charlene Storozuk

Let me start out by telling you that our home was the recipient of this quick and easy facelift.  My husband and I bought our home as a fixer-upper. It’s taking longer than expected to finish because little things such as life, time, and money seem to get in the way. When it came time to update the bathroom, we had a decision to make. Do we totally renovate it, or spend the money on a new patio instead?

Since both of us love the outdoors, the patio won out. Here’s what I’ve done with the bathroom temporarily and something you can pass along as an inexpensive fix for those selling their homes.

You’ll see that the cupboards looked tired and were starting to peel. The previous home owner painted them before listing, but he either didn’t clean them thoroughly, or he used the wrong paint. Read more

A Home’s Intended Purpose: Does Your Home Pass the Test?

By Charlene Storozuk

Before a property goes on the market, it’s important that every room be showcased in a way that portrays its intended purpose. If not, potential buyers can become confused as to the function of the space.  Take a look at the room in the photo below.

For the current home owner, this room functioned as a flow-over storage area for excess furniture.  Want to hazard a guess at what the builder intended this room to be?

You’re probably thinking that it’s a family room, aren’t you? That would be a pretty good guess.

At first walk-through of this property, I thought it was a family room as well.  After all, there was a couch, love seat, and end tables in there.

Here’s a hint: Do you see the chandelier hanging from the ceiling?

Read more