Giving Thanks….. Surrounded by turkeys! (…. and deer and herons…)

I finally posted to my blog for the first time a few weeks ago. I confess, I have been “lurking” on and off and making a few comments here and there for a while now and I was beginning to feel guilty! Being technically challenged, I assumed there was some mysteries I wasn’t privy to regarding blogging and I was reticent to just dive in there. Finally, after spending several days researching ‘how to blog’ on the Active Rain site I was ready to take the plunge! For any Newbie’s out there, trust me, it wasn’t that bad!

But what to write about? I was nervous, I hemmed and hawed and decided something informative and non-controversial was the way to go, I chose staging vignettes, so far so good. I gave so much thought to all of this that it has only now occurred to me I neglected to properly introduce myself! With that in mind and being seized with the spirit of Thanksgiving and all that I am thankful for, I was inspired to write this post.

I am an Interior Designer and my background is model home merchandising. With 26 years of merchandising homes under my belt I decided Staging was a natural transition and a great way to have my own business. I’m also a single Mom, with a 17-year-old son to support. (Yes, that’s him on the drums; I know what you’re thinking…better me than you! LOL!)

Over the course of the last 2-3 years; I started my own business, got divorced (after 25 years of marriage) and staged and sold my house in MD . After all that I moved my son, my cat Felix (drove a Ryder truck towing my car) and I to Sag Harbor, NY. Lot’s of leaps of faith!

OK, I know, I said something about being grateful!! Yes, the last few years have been very trying but everything happens for a reason. My son is a gem and adjusting beautifully. I love Staging, it’s far more gratifying than model homes. After staging my own house, I sold it myself for full price to the first person that looked at it. During this time, I finally completed an e-book that I have been working on for more than two years, “The Home Staging Guide to Interior Merchandising and Design Principles”. It has finally been released and I’m celebrating! (You can find it at www.styledbydesign.com. To my knowledge it’s the first Staging book written from the perspective of a designer with an extensive background of merchandising homes to sell). My new website with a brand new logo will be completed in a few days (www.styledandsold.com) and I have an article coming out next week in a beautiful glossy magazine, The Homes of Eastern Long Island. That’s a lot to be grateful for!

But that’s not all. I found an amazing place for my son and I to live. We landed on our feet in the idyllic “Hamptons”, right next door to a wild life Sanctuary. There is a pond in our front yard and the bay is visible beyond and everyday is a feast for the eyes. I’m only three miles from my sister and her husband and on Thursday I prepared Thanksgiving dinner here for my family. So, my story has a happy ending. I am thankful, I am surrounded by wonderful friends, loving family and everyday in my yard Mother Nature “stages” a show that can’t help but keep me inspired.

Happy belated thanks-giving to all!

Allegra Dioguardi

Styled and Sold Home Staging

Wild turkey in my front yard My front yard with view (can you see the Bay beyond the pond? It looks even

better in person! I have to pinch myself!)