My husband, Tim, currently does home improvement/handyman work around Atlanta. He's done various jobs for some of my home staging clients. He also been referred by a real estate agent friend of ours who has given his name out to her clients who need quick repairs done from inspection reports. He's also done quite a bit of work for our friend who is a contractor.
One day, while working at one house, he was called upon to stop by a neighbor's house on that same cul-de-sac to see if he could fix a few loose tiles in the shower of the master bathroom. He said "no problem" and ran over later in the day to check it out.
Well, there was a reason those tiles were loose.
The shower was built out of sheetrock not concrete board---bad move. The leak must have existed for sometime because the sheetrock was saturated and crumbled when touched and the tiles fell off like dominoes...the woodframe started to mold and there was a colony of teeny-tiny ants, as well. {eww, I don't do bugs!}
So, the homeowner asked him to give him an estimate to fix it all and thankfully he was hired for the job! Having assisted on this job, from the tile design, to demolition, to cutting, laying and grouting the tiles, I had the pleasure of meeting the homeowner and she said she was confident that he'd do it right! The job took a few days longer than projected but he fixed all the unexpecteds so the job was done right. =)
Ain't no lipstick on this pig!
The homeowner selected stone-looking porcelain tiles along with a few decorative, accent tiles. She opted for a darker 1"x1" mosaic tile for the floor and to be used as an additional accent. Part of her updating included replacing the old brass shower head with an affordable bronze fixture.
He custom built the shelves and the bench in the shower. The rest of the shower will be enclosed with a frameless glass enclosure, with installation scheduled for later this week, by another vendor.
The problem?
It was going to cost over $600 to purchase bronze Jacuzzi brand fixtures for their Jacuzzi tub! The existing fixtures were brass and in rough shape.
The Solution?
He told her he'd paint them and for less than $10.00, so she was able to get updated fixtures for her tub for a deal! She was thrilled with the end result!
What he did: after sanding them down (the waterfall and the faucets), he used Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint on them and finished it with 3 clear top coats.
He also taped off the trim on the bottom of the mirror and painted that the same color because it was previously brass as well.
If you caught my other blog post, Take 90's Brass into the New Millenium, we used this technique on a brass dining room light fixture and it came out great! If you have a homeowner that can't afford, or isn't willing to spend, the money on new fixtures, spray paint can be your friend.
Please also note that we have had trouble finding the Rust Oleum brand Oil Rubbed Bronze color but used the Krylon brand in that color this time around and it looked just as good.
*****I don't have any Before pictures of this project. But, it was all plain white builder-grade tiles with brass fixtures.
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ALR Home Staging and Showcasing provides interior Re-design consultations for Atlanta area homeowners looking to make a few changes without breaking the bank.
Affordable home improvement and handy man services available by Tim Reilly of ATR Home Improvement.
Special discounts are available for home improvement/handy man services by ATR Home Improvement for clients of ALR Home Staging and Showcasing. Contact us for more information.
Networking is a key factor to owning a successful home staging business. While there are many opportunities to have repeat business, in a market like we have today, there's no guarantee that previous clients can be relied upon for subsequential business. That's where networking becomes invaluable because, like every other service business, it's those referrals that will get the business before the random company from the yellow pages.
It's been said before that the real estate professional and the home stager make a great team to successfully prepare and market a home for sale. The addition of a great home inspector and a great mortgage broker further secure a solid team. There are other service providers that can be added to that network to create a fabulous one-stop-shop for homeselling clients but also build the network for referral opportunities. These include home repair/improvement companies, painters, landscapers, etc.
The Metro Atlanta Chapter meeting for ASHSR home stagers was held today at Brook Furniture Rental showroom in Atlanta. Brook has been an instrumental partner in the home staging industry for many many years. Carolyn Higgins, Account Sales representative hosted our meeting and was joined by Ed Baird, the interim GM for the Atlanta showroom and a long standing manager from Brook. Our guest speakers were Lance Grooms and Mark Kligerman from Bekins Moving Company. They introduced their Clear the Clutter (tm) program in an effort to help home sellers prepare their homes for sale. They saw a need for people to get organized and declutter homes prior to selling and asked to meet with home stagers as a way to partner with their service.
Lance manages 19 locations across the nation:
Lance is the sales and marketing manager for all of the above locations. He's looking to partner with home stagers in his areas to market the Clear the Clutter program. The program is a minimal fee to professionally pack, remove and store the content of one room for up to 90 days (up to 10 boxes, 1 vault for storage). It's a great suggestion for occupied homes that need to be decluttered in order to stage properly and to have the items removed and stored off site.
So, home stagers, if you are in one of Lance's areas, contact them for more information. He welcomes the opportunity to work with any, all home, stagers in those markets. It's a great service to offer your next home staging client. Remember, having a one-stop-shop is a great service to have. Your clients will be thrilled to know you can provide them with another valuable service. This will help reduce some of their stress and they will be forever grateful.
About a month ago I received the most wonderful voicemail message from a prospective home staging client in Alpharetta, for whom I did a free estimate for about 6 months prior. It was for an occupied home and she was looking to start preparing to list the house this fall.
Let me back up and say that about a month after doing this free estimate for her, and for about 3 other prospects (it was springtime...it was peak season...gotta take advantage of the traffic!), I realized that I could no longer afford to do what I'm doing for free. Free Estimates are a tough thing to perform as a home stager without giving away the farm. I'm a nice person and I want to help my clients but found that I was giving them waaaayyyy too much information; they no longer needed to hire me to come back. Essentially, I was giving them a verbal consultation for FREE. Bad move, I know, so I did decide to reevaluate my home staging service options and provide this service for a reasonable fee. I no longer do FREE estimates unless it's for a vacant property.
Anyway, her message stated that she was very pleased with the outcome of all of my suggestions and felt that she owed me something to compensate for my time and suggestions. This was completely unsolicited but came at a time that I couldn't have been more thankful or appreciative for. Funny how things work like that. God works in mysterious ways...really.
I responded to her that I was grateful for her comments and that the outcome was good. I told her that I was not comfortable charging her however I did mention that what I did for her is essentially what I'm now offering for a fee as a Verbal Consultation. I told her whatever she felt the service was worth to her, would be greatly appreciated.
She responded with "GREAT! I'm glad you are now charging for it because you are worth every penny! The check is in the mail!"
This 'client' baffled me because she did not respond to my initial bid, nor did she respond to my subsequent follow-ups to see how things were going, prior to this. I assumed she was blowing me off and after the third attempt to contact her, I gave up. It was nice to know, almost 6 months later, that things were going well, that she had listened to me and that she was satisfied with the outcome. If nothing else, the expression of gratitude from her was enough to plaster a smile across my face, especially during a time where there are few things to smile about.
Thanks to Connie T, who inspired this post.
It's true...even though it's cloudy there are silver linings.
Don't forget to say 'Thank You' and express your gratitude for someones service. We all could use a lift once and awhile. That lift could be all they need to keep them going!
As a home stager, I get the benefit of working with many different people in all different kinds of circumstances.
Sometimes they are the empty nesters looking to downsize or move closer to the family who's spread their wings and left the nest.
Sometimes they are the people that move sideways...just looking for a new house in another neighborhood.
And there are times I've had people in the process of graduating to the bigger home.
The common denominator in all of these scenarios is making sure the house is properly prepared to sell. All of my consulations include the basics:
Aside from having a few great real estate agents to refer to all of my clients (if they need one) I also need to have a great referral for things like cleaning, painting, minor repairs, landscaping, etc.
I have the added benefit to refer my husband, Tim, to my clients for their home repairs. Being a home stager, it's the perfect marriage for my business. He's been hired by clients to perform the repairs and changes I've suggested. He's also been referred by an agent friend of ours to perform some repairs designated on the inspection report of a house that her client is purchasing. Additionally he's worked alongside our neighbor who owns Precision Home Improvement as well as performing multiple improvements in our home from finishing the basment to closing up a wall, to removing windows and installing doors.
His business, ATR Home Improvement, serves the northern Atlanta area, including Roswell, Sandy Springs, Marietta, Woodstock, Acworth and Kennesaw. His specialty is custom carpentry but will do flooring, painting, and other projects as necessary.
We are currently working on a joint marketing plan for the fall for redesign services. Redesign is an inexpensive alternative to update a room or rooms and a great way to prepare the house for the upcoming holidays...which will be here before you know it!
With special thanks to Annette Burnett of Sellers Advantage Home Staging in John's Creek, GA for making the connection, the Metro Atlanta chapter of ASHSR met on September 24 for it's monthly meeting at Liberty Oriental Rugs in Norcross, GA.
{l to r: Kathy Lockwood, Jeanne Nolan, Jennifer Lybeer, Annette Burnett, Abby Reilly, Stacie Stamper; Rowan in front} We look tiny in front of that beautiful 9'x12' rug.
Our host, Stacie Stamper, gave us a guided tour of their warehouse, which is open only to the trade, not to the public. While they sell to retailers, they specialize in assisting designers select the perfect rugs for the rooms being designed. Their rugs can be purchased from many high end retailers around the Atlanta area however working with a professional that is obtaining their one on one guidance will ensure the homeowner is getting the perfect rug. This is great for redesign work.
Liberty Oriental Rugs specializes in handmade rugs from Pakistan. They operate their own manufacturing facility there ensuring high quality product, on trend with color and design, hiring the most talented weavers (with the best of the best coming from Afghanistan) and making sure there isn't any child labor.
As part of our tour we also met Rowan, the warehouse manager, designer, do-it-all man. He gave us the most amazing product knowledge:
The topic of rental options came up because, for home staging, the pricepoints are high, unless someone was staging a luxury home. The owner, Jim, said he'd be interested in pursuing rental options for Atlanta's home stagers! Great news!!!!
So, home stagers in Atlanta, contact Stacie {877.208.4970} to set up your account with Liberty Oriental Rugs. She's also a GREAT resource for vendor referrals.
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Providing custom home staging services to Northern Atlanta and surrounding area home owners, realtor estate professionals and investors. Stage your home before you list it!
ALR Home Staging and Showcasing LLC is based out of Woodstock, GA and serves Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Abby Reilly, owner and operator of ALR Home Staging and Showcasing, LLC, is new to the home staging market but a seasoned veteran in the world of visual merchandising. She understands that a well put together presentation will dictate a higher price and shorten the decision making process, therefore increasing the marketability of a home.
This concept works in the retail environment! A store that looks good to the average customer statistically will see higher sales than the same-type store, selling the same merchandise at the same price but is poorly merchandised. A store that does not look good attracts clientele looking for a bargain; they seek the opportunity to haggle. Comparing apples to apples: A staged home will sell before a home that isn't staged offering the same selling features.
Abby's mission is to merchandise homes to make them more desirable to potential home buyers in the NW Metro-Atlanta area. Statistically, most home buyers cannot see beyond what is in front of their eyes and if they do not like what they see, they cannot picture themselves in that home. Let Abby help you turn your house into a potential buyers' dream home.
Abby holds a Bachelors degree in Art from College of Staten Island (CUNY); Staten Island, NY and an Associates degree in Fashion Buying and Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY); New York, NY. She comes to the Home Staging industry from over 14 years of Retail Visual merchandising, most recently with Guess?, Inc. as store manager of the Guess? Factory Accessories division.
Abby is a proud member of the American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners and currently holds the Chapter President position for the Metro Atlanta ASHSR Chapter.
ALR Home Staging and Showcasing offers home sellers of the Atlanta area customized detailed consultations as well as customized home staging proposals for home staging services. Abby welcomes inquiries from either home owners or real estate professionals. Call today to find out more!
With Abby's 14 years of retail merchandising and management behind her, she is trained to see details that can easily be overlooked but easily pointed out by a customer. Abby can assist you with the following:
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