more home-staging tips

I was talking to my sister on the phone last night, and she reminded me of some more home-staging tips I want to share.

In your kitchen, clear everything - magnets, photos, memos, kids' art - off the refrigerator. My sister did this on her own without being told, and even she (who loves a fridge covered with her family's stuff) admits the fridge looks better without all the clutter.

Clean off the top of the fridge while you're at it; you'll improve its efficiency (by allowing air to flow around the top and back of it) at the same time.

This next tip is something my sister heard about years ago: When you're showing your house, always keep a couple of large, empty Rubbermaid-type bins handy. Just before a showing, do a quick sweep of the entire house, putting all stray items into the bins. Then close the lids and stash them someplace inconspicuous.

After the showing you can return everything to its rightful place. Keep the bins empty until the next time you need them.

Be aware of your house's smell. Ask a good friend or family member about it if you're not sure what your home really smells like. If you have pets (especially dogs), make sure you take care of any strong odours. You might be inclined to bring out a bunch of artificial air fresheners, but be considerate of those who have chemical sensitivities. Better to stick a tray of Pillsbury Ready To Bake! cookies in the oven half an hour before a scheduled showing. Nothing says "home" like the aroma of fresh baked goods.

Don't be afraid to repaint your rooms and replace worn or outdated elements such as flooring. I once cleaned for a family who were trying to sell their house. The walls were painted with a sponge finish in a very dated peach colour, and the floor in their eat-in kitchen was a dingy and scruffy brown vinyl from the 70s.

The house was on the market for months without any serious offers until they repainted everything in a soft, clean white, and replaced the vinyl flooring with a neutral, contemporary pattern. After they de-cluttered, and addressed a strong dog odour in the house, the home looked immaculate and sold quickly.

Ask your realtor for advice about tweaking your home. He or she should know what to do to improve a home's value and selling price. Realtors can also refer you to established home stagers if you require more in-depth assistance.

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

introduction to home staging

My sister and her husband are building a new house, and they'll soon be putting their current home on the market.

I want to help her out (being a good sister and a professional organizer and all), so I recently sent her a home-staging checklist.

If you're unfamiliar with home staging, it's a marketing strategy created by American real estate agent Barb Schwarz in the 1970s. Schwarz was tired of selling cluttered, unkempt houses for less than top dollar, so she convinced her sellers to invest time and energy (and occasionally money) in presenting their products - their homes - in the best possible light.

Here's a definition from Wikipedia:

Home staging is the act of preparing a private residence prior to its going up for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to sell a home quickly, and for the most money possible. Staging focuses on improving a property to make it welcoming, appealing, and attractive to the largest generic audience of potential homebuyers. Staging often raises the value of a property by way of repairs, re-decorating, renovations, and landscaping. For vacant homes, rental furniture will accent very nicely. Properly executed staging leads the eye to attractive features while minimizing flaws.

Home staging involves seeing your house through the eyes of the buyer. Schwarz emphasizes that once you put the home on the market, it is not really yours anymore. You are trying to convince potential buyers that it is their home.

If you are interested in the subject of home staging, check out Schwarz's book, Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House For More Money.

Here's the checklist I sent to my sister:

1. This may sound like a no-brainer, but make sure the house is clean. And not just a quick vacuuming - make sure there are no marks/smudges on the walls, doors, and door frames; address any stains on carpets or furniture, and make sure that everything is in good repair (i.e. replace burnt-out light bulbs, patch walls, etc.).
   
2. De-cluttering is the big thing. Reduce knick-knacks everywhere to a minimum. A few well-placed things are much better than a jumble. Pack and store everything else.
   
3. In the kitchen, make sure the counters are as clear as possible. Put away any appliances you normally keep on the counter (toaster, coffee maker). Clean out all the cupboards (including pantry), and keep only the necessities. This is the place to start packing; people will look through cupboards and closets to see how much room there is, and you want things to look spacious. Make the buyer believe that there is more storage space than anyone could ever need.
   
4. In the laundry area, keep the machines clear and clean, and have only the bare minimum of detergents/fabric softeners on the shelves. Everything else should be out of there.
   
5. In the bathrooms, keep the counters absolutely clear (as in the kitchen). A soap dispenser and a towel or two are okay, but everything else should be out of sight (even in the kids' bathroom - and BTW, hide the bath toys, and keep the shampoo to one or two bottles, max). If there are things in the cupboards that you don't often use, pack them up and store them elsewhere.
   
6. In the family room, make sure the kids' toys are out of sight, and don't clutter the mantel.
   
7. In the living room, be careful about cluttering the tables with knick-knacks, candles or photographs. In fact, put away all family photographs (everywhere in the house) that aren't hung on the walls. It's important that people viewing the house be able to imagine themselves in the space, and family photos detract from this.
   
8. Purge the front hall closet and/or mud room. Keep only the coats and shoes or boots that you are using right now. You could have a basket or two on shelves for hats, gloves, and scarves, but that's it.
   
9. The dining room will probably be one of your nightmares (only because I know you depend on it to hide all the overflow). Clear it out, leaving only the table, chairs, and hutch. Clear off the top of the hutch, leave only a few items (like a candle or two). Make sure that the things behind glass doors are neatly arranged. Pack up anything else that's clutter inside the hutch.
   
10. I don't know what to suggest about the basement, but basically have it as tidy and as clear as possible. If it's unfinished you can't hide that fact, but you can make it look warm and appealing.
    
11. In the kids' rooms, empty their closets of any clothes they're not wearing right now, and then use the extra space to put their toys neatly. In the rooms themselves, there should be NO clutter (especially on the dressers and floor). This may be tough for the kids, but tell them it's only temporary.
    
12. In your room, try to purge your closet, or at least pack up a lot of your stuff and store it elsewhere. Again, people will be looking in the closets, and you want to give the impression of abundant space. If you can, have all the hangers the same, or grouped by type. And hang your clothes neatly, by type or by colour (so that they look appealing). In the room itself, get rid of all knick-knacks and photos. Have only a few well-chosen things on the dressers and bedside tables. If you can find inexpensive, bright/pretty throw cushions to match the bedding, do it.
    
13. It might get costly if your house is on the market very long, but try to have fresh flowers strategically placed in the family room, kitchen, and master bedroom.

The big thing is, the place shouldn't look like your home anymore. And that will be tough, because you still have to live there until it sells. But pretend it's a really beautiful holiday rental - everything impersonal, clean, and simple. You want buyers to forget that anyone else has ever owned this house.

I visited my sister this past weekend, and she did pretty well. Her house is usually uncluttered, so it wasn't a nightmare to purge; the weakest areas are the children's rooms and the basement, where there are still too many toys scattered everywhere. And she still has too many family photos on the dressers in her bedroom. Her walk-in master bedroom closet also needs tweaking.

They're calling a realtor this morning. May they sell well!

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

first impressions, part ii

Before I tell you how to quick-clean your office, let me say a few more words about first impressions.

In my work as a home stager I often have to explain to clients that when they get too familiar with their home, they stop "seeing" it as it really is, and become blind to things that strangers would notice right away. Things like excess clutter, dirty or damaged property, poor traffic paths...

If you've had your space for a while, take a look at it with new eyes - the eyes of your customers, clients, or patients. What do they see when they first come in? How do they move through your space? What do things look like from their vantage points?

Start with the exterior of your building. Is it clean and well-maintained? If you have control over the exterior, for heaven's sake don't let it get dirty, cobwebby, or run-down. If you lease, cultivate a good relationship with your landlord, and convey to them that keeping things looking great is good for your business - and what's good for your business is good for THEIR business.

Is the entryway easy to access? Physical challenges aren't restricted to those in wheelchairs: doors that are too heavy or cumbersome are a challenge for any with poor strength, and entryways that are too confined for heavy foot traffic make people feel uncomfortable.

Is there a place to sit down and remove shoes or boots? And are there ample places to put boots, coats, and bags (if necessary)? My personal pet peeve is offices that request I remove my boots, then make me stand in a puddle of melting slush while I try to figure out where the #%$& I'm supposed to put them...

What's the temperature like? Too warm? Too cold? Cold waiting rooms and offices are the bane of my existence; nothing says "I don't care about your comfort" more than an interior climate that's frigid or boiling.

Does your office have a smell? That may sound like a weird question, but I'm always amazed at the number of health care offices, say, that smell too "medical" (i.e. like the inside of a Band-aid box). And many people these days are affected by chemical sensitivities, so harsh artificial air fresheners or perfumes are a big no-no.

What's the lighting like? Is it bright enough to read by while waiting, or is it too glaring? If you have office staff, do they feel refreshed and energized at the end of the day, or are they dragged down by poor task lighting and canned indoor air? My least favorite optometrist's office had lighting that would have been great to have sex by (i.e. enough to see, but just barely), but was brutal for a waiting room - I always left with raging migraines from squinting at my magazines.

Actually sit in your waiting room seats. Are they comfortable? Are they too close together? Do you honestly know how full your waiting room gets at its fullest? Are the chairs easy to get into and out of? Firm seats with arm rests are ideal, especially if you serve aging populations. Avoid too soft and comfy and low (think: overstuffed sofas bad).

Please re-think playing the radio over your office's sound system. I have never found commercial radio to be calming or restful (and surely you want your clients to be calm and rested!). Soft, New Age music might seem an appealing alternative, but becomes nauseous after several hours. The best solution I ever experienced was a family doctor who made note of each patient's musical preferences during their initial visit, and pre-programmed her office stereo (via her laptop) every morning to play their favorites at around the time when each patient could be expected to be in the waiting room. She never made anyone wait more than ten minutes (really!), so there wasn't any opportunity for conflict of musical tastes. I miss her very much (I just moved to a new city, which in retrospect was a very stupid idea, in this day and age of GP shortages)... :(

Head to your inner office/consulting room/treatment room, and spend some time sitting or lying where your customers have to sit or lie. Do they have something interesting to look at? (And those stained ceiling tiles don't count.) The most beautiful acoustic tile treatment I ever saw was at a friend's Reiki office, where she suspended lengths of green silk in great billows across the entire ceiling.

If your clients have to undress, do you have someplace for them to hang their clothes? Personally, I don't like rolling my nice suits into a ball on top of the only chair in the room.

I hope you get the idea. I'm not even going to mention bathrooms. (Just wait until my next post.) You probably designed your office space for your own tastes and preferences; just don't forget that you are playing "host" to the people who are paying all your bills...

(And speaking of bills... if you want repeat customers, try and make it easy for them to pay you. I don't mean offering multiple payment options; I mean, giving them a place to write a cheque or input their next appointment into their Day-Timer. Please. Juggling a purse on top of one's knees is a circus act, not the proper way to end a visit.)

Until next time...

copyright 2006, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

first impressions

So, I spent four more hours cleaning my friend's massage therapy clinic this afternoon.

To all massage therapy clinic owners out there: Keep up with your housekeeping!

(That was not a swipe at my friend. He's a very nice person... and I hope he doesn't surf the internet much...) *

This may seem kind of obvious, but I've noticed over the years that many small businesses (whether they be of the health care ilk or not) often neglect simple cleanliness in their offices, perhaps not realizing the impression they are making on customers, clients, and patients.

I know that many (most?) people don't like to clean, and don't want to have to be worried about staying on top of the housekeeping, but the truth is that a little can go a long way towards keeping things looking good. It doesn't have to be a chore unless you make it that way.

(Really!)

I'll admit, I'm a freak. I love to clean. Some of my most creative ideas have come to me while cleaning; the quiet and mindless repetition leaves my mind free to ramble, muse, and be open to new inspiration.

If you're a small business owner and you can't outsource your cleaning (or delegate it to your employees), please schedule a regular time to do the basics. Depending on how much foot traffic you get through your office, this may be daily, weekly, or bi-weekly.

(Hint: Don't make it monthly (or yearly?) unless you're the only one ever sets foot in your space (and you happen to like wading through dust bunnies every time you walk to your desk).)

Give yourself enough time to do the job in a restful way (i.e. don't rush through it because you'd rather be doing something else). Make sure you have good supplies that you enjoy using (no harsh chemicals if you're sensitive to strong smells, all your cleaning tools in good repair and easy to access - that kind of thing).

Play music that you love, if it will inspire you.

(If anybody's actually made it through this entire post without navigating away in disgust at my unreasonable optimism, I'll tell you in my next post what kinds of things you should be doing when you clean your office...)

*all kidding aside, my friend is an AMAZING Registered Massage Therapist, and he has a very lovely (and hygienic!) clinic. The work I did for him over the last two days involved lots of moving of heavy furniture, cleaning behind said furniture, and moving furniture back. Plus things like dusting baseboards and scrubbing scuff marks off walls. Fall cleaning. Only-do-this-once-a-year kind of stuff. Do not be afraid!

copyright 2006, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow