About Madera County, CA

Why did I wait so long for this simple yet dramatic change? Well, it's a bit like the story of the shoemaker's daughter or the plumber's wife. I'm always excited to help someone else with changes in their home, for Staging or For Living (Redesign), but I don't always get those projects done in my own home.

This is just a hallway so most people would think...big deal. However, as with so many California Ranch style homes, the hallways use up a lot of square footage, so they need some attention.

The fix was easy: 1)Patch the walls as needed, 2)Add some paint and NOT in white or builder's beige, 3)Replace the light fixture and, 4)Add the accessories and decor items.

How long did it take, one day. What was the cost? One gallon of paint for the side walls and 1 quart of paint for the focal end wall.

Next I'm ready to tile the backsplash in the kitchen. As soon as the weather cooperates for using the wet saw.

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Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service Professional Staging and ReDesign company. Locally serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Also available for work in Fresno and Clovis, CA. Click here to see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Visit our website for more information or call 559-877-2442

No cell service here...should I move???

I am joking about moving, but unfortunately NOT joking about cell service. Do I hate it, you betcha, but verizon (the ONLY local carrier) has been talking about upgrading their services for at least the last five years and everything remains the same.

Does it hurt my business? Yes, I suppose it does in more than one way, especially since I am a home-based business.

Do people understand....absolutely NOT. I did have one agent emphatically tell me that I needed to move and all that I could do was consider the source and nod.

Sometimes it's nice to be unconnected but if would be a lot better if it were by choice, not by NO CHOICE.

SO, if you meet up with a client or service provider that does not have cell service PLEASE it does happen and we just have to smile (%$^#), adjust and hope that you will too.

Clearly the kids and grandkids do not like to come to visit.

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Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service Professional Staging and ReDesign company. Locally serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Click here to see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Visit our website for more information or call 559-877-2442.

Educate Your Sellers....PLEASE!

All too often most of us see listings that look similar to this.

Cluttered, messy and less than appealing to potential buyers.

They look like this online and they look like this in person. Potential buyers move-on to the next listing and the sellers never know why.

This house and others like it are sad houses,

Sad houses rarely sell quickly and sometimes never sell at all. Sad houses need attention and the seller's of those homes need help from all of us in the real estate industry to give them the information that they desperately need to turn For Sale into SOLD.

Sad houses usually have disgruntled, angry owners.

Often they are angry with their Real Estate agent, right or wrong.

Agents, you can and should help. PLEASE, please don't be afraid to be honest with your clients about the condition of their valuable property. If you are afraid, you are doing a disservice to the sellers that have hired you as their Real Estate Expert. Who else is going to tell them?

The result of not being forthright and honest with clients, from the beginning, is a house that lingers and a house that may never sell. The seller will undoubtedly question the listing agent with "WHY hasn't my house sold' and it's very difficult to go back and tell them what they should have heard from the beginning. All too often a price reduction is an agent's answer but when the condition doesn't change, does that really help? Also, how does this type of listing reflect on a real estate agent's reputation?

I know that many agents do tell what is needed and the seller's just don't listen. That is a tough situation. At least those agents are educating the sellers and have points for discussion when the "why hasn't my house sold" question arises from the disgruntled.

As a Professional Home Stager sellers will frequently say to me..."but why didn't my agent tell me that I needed to do that." My shrug or "I don't know" isn't very appeasing. I DO NOT take sides or bad-mouth agents because I think that the sellers know the answers and frequently the result is a NEW agent when the listing expires. Who benefits?

If you cannot overcome the fear of being up-front with your listing clients, then hire a Professional Home Stager to help you get the message to the sellers. A Professional Home Stager can gently, yet honestly tell the sellers what they need to hear to properly present a house For Sale. Do it from the beginning, not in the midst of desperation. If you are afraid that the sellers will be angry let them be angry with the stager, not with their agent. A written staging consultation also gives the listing agent something to back them up when a sale doesn't happen as the sellers expected. The agent can, with the sellers, look back at the consultation and discuss what still needs to be done. It's a WIN-WIN for everyone.

NO ONE benefits from a SAD house.

Make your listings HAPPY HOUSES (with happy sellers), EDUCATE them from the start, PLEASE!

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Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service Professional Staging and ReDesign company. Locally serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Click here to see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Visit our website for more information or call 559-877-2442.

Get out of that damp, dreary, gray FOG. You need the sunshine!

Living in the Central San Joaquin Valley always brings the fog this time of year...but you needn't endure it day after day. Head to the local mountains and be warmed by the sunshine. Take your sunglasses out and use them.

Take Highway 41 (southern route), Highway 120 (northern route) or Highway 140 (central route) and climb out of the gray and into the blue.

If driving up Highway 41, you will usually break out of the fog at about elevation 1500' or where Road 200 (to North Fork) meets the highway.

Over the holidays, the roads can be very busy but now things will quiet down until the middle of February. There are many places to stop along the way to enjoy breakfast or lunch. Better yet pack a picnic lunch or pick up a deli sandwich in Coarsegold or Oakhurst and find a special spot to stop and enjoy. Just make sure to fill your gas tank in Oakhurst before you head to the high country.

Our favorite destination in our wonderful national park Yosemite. We are so fortunate to have this treasure in our backyard. We head there all seasons and take in the delights that it offers.

If you haven't seen these sites in the winter, make plans to do it. Yes, the roads can be icy but they are well maintained (carry chains) and you may have to slow down.

View from the tunnel overlook.

El Capitan shrouded in clouds with Half-Dome in the background.

Bridalveil Fall

Upper Yosemite Fall

Winter in the park is enchanting. Get out of that fog and experience it's delights.

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Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service Professional Staging and ReDesign company serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Also in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Click hereto see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work and more. Also, visit our website at www.dreamredesigns.com or www.oakhurststaging.com for more information or call 559-877-2442.

Just discovered this group and have to contribute.

These smart critters were catching the warmth of the geyser...

If you have never visited Yellowstone in the winter it is a trip worth taking. The number of visitors into the park is limited and you will see wild life in unimaginable settings. We rode snow mobiles into the park but there are other (warmer) ways to travel.

I don't know if this trip is listed on the 1000 things to do before you die list, but it should be.