Sometimes a house has been renovated/built by someone determined to prove their vision is a viable, preferable one. It may not be everyone's dream to live in a Russian "villa" (think Rhode Island "cottage") on the Baltic sea, for example, but if you did, you would have marble floors throughout and very elaborate mouldings. It is our job as stagers to make the house appeal to a wide base, however, and see that the builder's vision has a certain charm and efficiency no matter how mad it might initially appear.
The Background:
Some local Russian emigres decided to try their hand at the fix-and-flip game and made the house as nice as could be... in their eyes. Their realtor is new to the business. Anxious to take any listing and make it a success, she was told by everyone in her office: "Get this thing staged; it's your only hope". Plus, it's coming on at over $2 million.
The Brief:
Make sense of a Russian-flavored renovation for an upscale American market.
Living Room
Dining Room
The Family Room
The Bar - Russian Vodka, of course, with some fun black stools. I had ordered cream and silver, but the black came instead. Looked fine given that the hearth is ve-ry black granite.
This half of the room now has a glass chess set on it, with a famous game in progress: Fischer vs. Spasskey in the 1972 World Championship.
Yes, that's vinyl sheets on the glass... to minimize heat... "hey, whaddya want for $2 million?!!" said the REA when I asked if I could take it down.
Then I fell apart upstairs. I was told to do a sofa in the sitting room. I picked what I knew the builder would love (and pay for), not what was right for the home. Still, it has a sumptousness to it, don't it?
Why so much yellow?
"Ees forrrr sun."
Ok, there's kind of a lot of it. We should repaint the principal rooms something else.
"I do Dining Room"
Not Kitchen?
"No. Cabinets."
Kitchen
What you can't see here is the elaborate (foam) moulding in this space. It's got personality but odd with the light fixtures. The builder was a professional artist back in Russia. He and his wife still paint in oils, but for fun now. So, to them, lighting's primary purpose is to make the art look good and then light the area.
My favorite space was an upstairs bedroom, which I did in adorable Peter Pan and Beatrix Potter. I was asked to change it - too bland. I had no more color left in inventory for non-gender-specific bedding, so rushed out for a pack of multicolored napkins. With an ornate stitch on the sewing machine, we have COLOR:-
The final chapter has yet to be written here. It's a lot of money. I was told I was "a miracle worker on this one". Nice to hear, no question.
The Bottom line
Every house deserves to be seen not just in general terms, but also in context.
Vodka and chess anyone?
I merchandise high-end homes in NJ w/ staging & re-design to add the right perceived value so as to speed & maximize each sale. We illustrate the potential & options within all architectural styles.
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Juliet-------all I can say is WOW! The furniture pieces that you chose for each room really suit it well.
I am constantly amazed at the talent that we have here on AR. You truly have a gift, girl!
Let us know when it sells---which I'm sure will be soon!
Julia
Cheers, Julia. This was a new furniture supplier for me. It was a lot of fun playing with different pieces.
Juliet - you did a wonderful job minimizing the floor inlays. I used to have to work with many cultures in Southern California that wanted all marble/travertine floors. It was their idea of wealth. I could not save all of them but managed a few. Again, great job showing how to minimize someone else's vision.
<chuckling> I wanna be there for the final walk-thru, when the rugs have gone and the buyer sees all the "luxury" they've been given! thanks for the kind words, Sheron.
Juliet, this was an amazing transformation. I loved everything! The yellows didnt look so bright to me and it all came together.
I do agree with you/...I wanna be there for the final walk-thru, when the rugs have gone and the buyer sees all the "luxury" they've been given!
Juliette - Wow, what an amazing transformation. It really was hard to picture what to do with the rooms with the inlays. You did a great job. Keep us posted.
Once again you've waved your magic wand! How did you get the project in the first place (or, how did the new agent find YOU)?
Juliette, another great job. I, too want to be there when the Buyers see the whole floor. It was like the designs dictated where to put the rugs. That must be a cultural thing. Love the family room... where did you get that picture? Happy staging.... :)
Thanks Juliet,
You turned a challenging staging job into an entertaining and informative blog for us all! Plus, you did an excellent job for the clients and realtor. CONGRATULATIONS!
We are stagers...turning challlenges into opportunities.
Wendy Casey, CSP
Vancouver, BC., Canada
Thanks, everyone.
Lori - that painting was from the builder. That's what he and his wife did back in Russa- paint old masters.
Susan - the agent found me thru her "mentor" at Burgdorff where I'm the preferred stager. I was giving them a special discount rate in exchange for doing all of their staging of listings in this zip code, but it didn't work. The agents are free agents and some of them have to work with their tennis partner who wants to try her hand at staging, etc.
As for the inlays dictating furniture placement - too right! With all of the yellow, I felt the black and coral inlays were really unhelpful. The only thing to do was to cover them up, except in key places like the foyer.
Hi Juliet
What a great use of the rugs.
Lynette
That is too funny. You did a great job on a tough house. I especially like the art features :)
Well you would, wouldn't you? ;-)
I like the stuff at Imagekind, but find the prices a little enthusiastic. Wanna offer some kind of discount to Rainers? You know our pictures get seen, and our blogs read.....
Juliet,
You certainly 'rose to the occasion' and did a great job of enhancing someone else's 'vision'! Now more people can relate to each room.
This is exactly the kind of blog that I envisioned when I started this group! Thanks for sharing with us!
VAL
Без перевода.
Superbly done!!!
Congratulations. Your post is being featured in the group Staging "Before" & "After" Pictures.
Kathy
Wow - absolutely gorgeous.
Hi Juliet,
WOW! You did a great job, the rooms all look fabulous! Vadka & Chess? You bet! (It's happy hour somewhere!) LOL
Excellent job Juliet. I understand the challenges you faced all too well. But you rose above it all to create a very appealing home.
Juliet, that is one awesome staging job. Wow! You have a great deal of talent and you certainly utilized it with this home. I hope it sells really soon. Betty
You did a great job! But I am wondering that by covering up the patterns, would buyers get "shocked" at the final walk through and affects the deal? Then again, your use of rugs have shown them what to do in the situation very well!
Cheers,
Cindy
Shocked? Likely. A deal buster? No. A good realtor can put spin on that.
I once went on a walk through only to find the seller had covered the most beautiful latice fretwork with a painting. They hated it. I loved it. Let me see if I can find a photo...
I've lived in some fun houses in my time.
Wow!!! Very impressive work! The furniture is just perfect for the rooms!!!
Thanks, Lori. But as Karen pointed out, the fashion has changed considerably in the last 5 years.
You really pulled in a together for a nice flow throughout the house. I would rather have this kind of a challenge than to have to dig out serious clutter in a house that has been neglected. Terrific work - Thanks for sharing.
ditto
What great pictures - and wonderful staging - congrats!
Super job....those mosaics/inlays are such a personal thing for a homeowner and for a new owner, well, thank goodness for floor rugs! Thanks for sharing! Regards-Kathleen
Challenging house and challenging clients! You did a great job!
The challenge is where all the fun is, no?
What an array of moldings and cold stone surfaces. The floors....ugh the floors. I'm at a loss for words. Unfortunately those could not be changed. Good job.
My mother had an appartment in the South of France and every surface was either glass or marble there, too. It was easy to clean...
Juliet - I think you have done a fabulous job incorporating the inlays into the final product. The fact that you have not covered them entirely gives a potential buyer some insight in how to incorporate them with their own furniture. I didn't find the yellow too much even though it is not one of my favorite colors. Great job. I like to work with existing challenges - the end results are much more satisfying I find.