Really? You Cheated on Me? and God Luck!

bestaloeevera

 Friday, I had lunch with a long-time realtor client.  After meeting her for a consultation at her latest listing, we went out to lunch.  We were celebrating the immediate sale of one her houses I had recently staged.  I really like Debbie. She is marvelously talented, successful and just plain fun to work with.

During the course of lunch, Debbie admitted she had cheated.

She had flandered-around with two other stagers.

My realtor hired the other stagers because they were cheaper.  Way cheaper.

I wasn't shocked.
 
Cheater-realtor has bullied challenged me about price the last several months.

I won't regale you with all the negative things she said about the other stagers. (OK--so yeah, I did egg it on a bit--merely, research I assure you!)  Then she glorified me with a tsunami of praise. (Smile. Smile.) And, concluded with, "I'm done trying anyone else. You always deliver."

She is now in a committed, monogamous relationship with me.


I'm Just Sayin'...
Many of my blogging friends are small business owners.  Stand your ground on your pricing.  Competition is rough but you can survive on quality verses quantity. Your reputation is everything.  Do your best work consistently.  Be ethical in all your dealings.  Treat everyone respectfully.

The best work commands the best price. 

God Luck!
I read an article with a typo in it recently.  It was suppose to read 'Good' luck.  It read "God" luck.
I have pondered this typo.
We've all had someone tell us "Good luck".
Is there "God" luck?  


Happy Sunday and God Luck for the coming week!

Explore Using Furnishings in a New Fashion to Stage

Hi lovelies!  Winter is back again in NC.  Mr. Meteorologist promises it will be a distant memory by Easter Sunday.

Last post, I showed the sleeping area of this Master Bedroom. Here's the other side with it's oh-so-very-large-seating-area and fireplace. (Tonight would be the perfect time to fire it up.)

Here's the seating area before.

I swapped the sofa for the wing chairs in the living room.  The living room is near the front door and needed to be staged with more furniture for the best first impression.  The coffee table from the Master, I moved to the family room.

The fireplace is missing a hearth.  To simulate the hearth, I moved this trunk from the master closet to underneath the firebox. (I also removed the scary masks above the firebox!)

The staging is certainly not dramatic.  The purpose of the post is to look at all of your furnishings with fresh eyes. Consider using items in a new context.  Try moving furniture to different rooms where it makes more sense and has a bigger impact.

Adding the trunk below the fireplace adds dimension to the flat facade of this wall.  The warm wood tones of the trunk pick up the dark wood of the master bed on the other side of the room.

You need to consider the entire space when you stage.

I'm Back and Spring Bedding

Overwhelming apologies for my absence.  Life + stuff = no show.

My home seller took my advice to buy a Bed-in-a Bag for her master.  As I've said before, nothing gives as much bang for your buck as a B n/a B treatment. Seller sent me several links for bedding within her budget.  This is the one I suggested.  "But it doesn't match..."  Nope, it doesn't.  

Spring has sprung! We had a gruesome Winter. It is tres important for your bedding to look fresh and bright. You can't afford a melancholy Master when selling.  I went over to the seller's house to see the bedding when it arrived.  I gave it my blessing and moved on to another area of the house to check a color.  When I returned, I caught the seller stuffing the comforter into the washer. "STOP!" I screamed in horror.  "Please don't wash it!"  For staging, you don't want to risk the bedding shrinking and getting lumps in the dryer. (There is a reason B n/a B is such a good value.)

I digress....here is the very dull and rumbled bedding before we changed it. 

See that green tissue box on the 'nightstand'?  That green POPS.  It was my inspiration. (Doesn't everyone get inspiration from a Kleenex box?)  The picture below is the bedroom as it appeared in MLS. 

After staging, I missed a shot of the mastered bed.  Grrrr....It took me and 2 assistants f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get the bedding perfectly smooth, straight and the pillows placed to perfection.  The sellers' did a good job of reconstructing it after spending the night in their bed.  (But, StagerLinda is an impossible perfectionist.)

Such a better 'feeling' after staging. A pretty, happy bed!  (I don't use the small pillows on the bed that come with the set.  Again, too match-y match-y for me.)  I wanted the white in the comforter and shames to draw attention to the white moulding and tray ceiling.  We are selling that architecture! The picture above the bed coordinates the paint color and the comforter colors together.

The bed is only one side of the glorious room!  I'll show you the seating area next post.

Thanks for waiting for me, my amigos.