About Vancouver's Hastings East

Vancouver City Stagers - Together for a Great Cause!

A little while ago I wrote a post about a project we were working on in the downtown east side of Vancouver. Basically, we decided as a group of home stagers, my company included, to transform a women's shelter, Sereena House, from a cold, stark building, to a place these women can feel comfortable in and call home. Of course, this project took months of planning, and was spear-headed by Heather Kleim of Epic Empire Designs. We rallied round behind Heather, to see how we could help.

First, the original floor was in terrible condition. New flooring was donated and installed by Mira Floors. Next, we were not happy with the cold, white walls. Benjamin Moore came through by donating cans of paint, and Pierce O'Sullivan, a North Shore painter, donated his time and expertise in painting these high ceilings. I donated a large harvest table and 5 chairs, which Sean at Go Truck Go kindly delivered, at no charge.

BEFORE - LIVING AREA

LIVING-AFTER

Today was the culmination of a lot of hard work. 13 home stagers, including myself, arrived at 10am, sleeves rolled up, ready for some hard work. There were a few rules. We couldn't paint the walls in the dining area, as a brightly coloured mural had recently been painted. We also were asked not to use any lamps or accessories, as often these items disappear very quickly. However, not to be deterred, we knew there was still a lot that could be done to transform these spaces.

BEFORE - LIVING AREA

AFTER - LIVING AREA

We focused on the two main rooms: the living area and the dining area. The new paint colour in the living area, a warm gold/yellow just glowed and brightened up the room to no end. We hung donated colourful artwork, and slowly the room began to transform from an institution to a home. We decorated the Christmas tree, and we each brought 5 wrapped Christmas presents, to place under the tree, for the close to 60 women living in this shelter.

BEFORE - DINING ROOM AREA

AFTER - DINING ROOM AREA

I was chatting with one of the professional photographers donating their services, Orange Memories Photography. She said that when she arrived, she had no idea how we could possibly make the space look good, and was really surprised and delighted with what we had achieved by the end of the day. Of course, home stagers have vision, and can imagine great possibilities, so it wasn't a surprise to any of us, just a delight that we were able, in some small way, to help other women in need.

I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY A FEW MORE AFTER PHOTOS...

Forming a New RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) Chapter in Metro Vancouver - and Giving Back

Are we ever excited to be working on organizing a new RESA Chapter in Metro Vancouver, B.C. So Far, we've had 3 meetings, and the energy has been amazing.

It's great to gather with other Home Stagers in Vancouver, and discuss ways to support the real estate staging industry as a whole, as well as each other. Yes, we're in competition with each other, but we are also collaborating for the better good of the home staging industry as a whole in Vancouver. To-date, we have about 32 members, and we're growing!

One of the first items on the agenda is to give back to our community. Our first speaker ever last week was Louise Edwards. She is referred to as "the Godmother of the Downtown Eastside Vancouver". Please check out my blog if you'd like to read more. Louise lives in Kamloops, and travels 366 kilometers (227 miles) to Vancouver, every 2 - 3 weeks. She collects donations from her community in Kamloops, then distributes them to the struggling women of the Downtown Eastside. At present, her goal is to help out Sereena House. This is an old hotel that has been turned into a refuge for women recovering from alcohol and drug abuse, or who have worked the streets and want to leave that life behind and start anew. These women are trying to move back into society and leave the hard street life behind them.

Sereena House is in dire need of furniture, artwork and ambiance. There is very little government assistance for this project, and this is where Louise Edwards and our Home Staging group comes in. We have pledged to help Louise and these women, by donating our time and resources to "fix up" Sereena House, and make it a more homey environment. We will be tackling the dining area, and the common room area, as well as the kitchen. We hope to bring in donated furniture, artwork and whatever else we can find, and create an ambiance that encourages the women to feel more at home in their environment.

I'll keep you posted on our progress, and will hopefully be able to post some photos of our project, once it's complete. At our RESA meeting, we were brain storming, and so many of us have art and used furniture that we could definitely part with. We also plan to mention our project to our clients who are moving house. Often, our home staging clients have lots of "stuff" that they'd like to get rid of before they move, and donating these items to Sereena House would be a great long-term thing to do.