Jessica Hughes

Kudos if you do! My husband did, but then again he's a cycling enthusiast, For the rest of us here's the def. according to Wikpedia:

Peloton: a field, bunch or pack is the large main group in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) near (particularly behind) other riders.

The point being?

Some of you know that I'm planning a move soon, but for the rest of you, I thought I'd share what is going on in my life of late. My husband and I decided to take advantage of the 'pre-construction' sales price and buy into a Luxury Condo Community that's going up in Boulder.

The Boulder Peloton, is an exciting new mixed-use community going up in a fabulous location in Central Boulder, next to the 29th Street Shopping District, with direct access to the Boulder Creek Path, the Cyling Artery through Boulder. Initially we weren't sure whether we were buying for investment only or if we wanted to live in it ourselves, at least for a little while!

In the end the Community Center with top-notch amenities including: Year-Round Heated Rooftop Pool, with 2 Hot Tubs, Fire Pit and Barbecue Area, 6,000 square foot Fitness Center, 22 seat Movie Theater, Billiards/Game Room, and Conference Center to name a few; and of course the stunning mountain view are what sealed it for us!

We are planning to move in sometime this August, and I'm getting more and more excited each week! In the end we decided to that we'll sell our mountain home, even though it's not necessarily the strongest market right now. But one of the reasons we're moving is to simplify our lives and having our current home as a second home would complicate matters....

Of course I'm planning to stage the heck out of it, and I'll post pictures for you all to see when we list!

I'm not sure why the developers chose the name Peloton, but it really rings true to me. One of the reasons we bought was because the idea of downsizing from a 3,000 square foot home to a 1,200 square foot condo really appealed to us. And of course that by combining smaller living spaces with shared amenities would be an energy saver. By downsizing and moving closer to where we work, and the girls go to school, we're significantly reducing our carbon footprint in a most luxurious way and it feels great! If only they'd hurry up!

I have recently decided to to take on a business partner to grow my business. Mary Hickling, a Boulder resident, and fellow home stager and I have decided to form a partnership!

My vision is for Ambiance Staging to be a driving force in our community and an industry leader; and I felt that in order to do that Ambiance Staging would need to be a more substantial entity. I didn't want to be just a 'one-man band'.

Also, together we can get so much more accomplished, share the load, and respond to inquiries/needs in a more timely manner.

Mary has always had a passion for 'staging' and interior design, and now that her two daughters are in high school she felt the time was right to branch out in a new direction.

Mary contacted me about 6 weeks ago when she was researching home staging online. She found my Active Rain blog, read about me online, liked my online personality, and thought it worthwhile to contact me to see if I was interested in working together in any fashion.

Since then we have collaborated on a couple of projects and find that we work well together. I am so pleased and grateful to have met her. I couldn't have found a better partner if I'd tried, and she just stumbled across me in the most serendipitous of ways thanks to Active Rain!

Now we just have to iron out the details and figure out the logistics of how our partnership will work; all the legal stuff YUCK!

As they say in England I feel like the dog's bollock's today! (translation= I feel very important, like I'm on top of the world......)

A few hours after I submitted my Staging 2.0 Blog to ActiveRain I was contacted via e-mail by Frances Flynn Thorsen, the managing editor of RealTown.com, a real estate portal. She said that she enjoyed blog and wanted to tweak it into an article to showcase it on the RealTown site along with a photo, byline and link. I immediately e-mailed back saying that I'd be thrilled! How cool is that?! But then I didn't hear anything back and I assumed that I had been passed over. Well, I e-mailed Frances today and she linked me to the article which had been published pretty much immediately after we 'talked' last week.

So here is a link to the RealTown article Staging 2.0: Take Your Business to the Next Level.

I have broken out of ActiveRain and launched into the world wide web :) I am so honored and excited.

In addition Kristal Kraft has asked me be a guest on her very cool Denver Real Estate and Relocation blog. It might be a while though, I'm working hard at a blog that will do justice to her illustrious site!

This the first post in a series about our beloved collection classic vehicles. My husband, a classic car lover, owns a 1962 Series IIa Land Rover which we had shipped from England when we moved to the States; but that story is for another day!

This story is about MY ‘baby', which happens to be a Lambretta Motorscooter; the 1956 LD 150 manufactured by Innocenti. I first became fascinated by classic scooters when I moved to England in 1997, and was spending a lot of time traveling to Italy among many European Countries.

I loved their classic lines, their ease of use, and fuel economy (well, compared to cars anyway!). I almost bought one to bring back with me when I moved back to the States, but didn't quite make it happen. Then one day, shortly after I discovered EBay, I lost my head and bid on a 56' Lammy, thinking that I wouldn't possibly win it. I did! Well, I was a proud owner of my little scooter, but the problem was that it lived in Nevada, and I in Colorado.

There was only one thing to do: fly out to Vegas, rent a moving truck to pick up Lolita (yep, that's her name) and drive her back home.

This would turn out to be one of the greatest adventures of my life. My husband and I flew out to Las Vegas, Nevada together and picked up Lolita. She was everything I could have hoped for and more! That night we stayed in the Hotel Bellagio, which had a stunning art display in the lobby with 2,000 blown glass flowers on the ceiling. We decided it was worth the ‘splurge' since we were camping for the rest of the trip back home. We drove down "The Strip" together on Lolita, one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We discovered that we were able to park her right at the entrance to each hotel/casino; my husband simply explained, with his lovely accent ;) that we had no way to lock her, she could be easily stolen so we wanted her to be in a safe place; and all the security guards & concierges' were more than happy to oblige. It was like having a VIP tour of Vegas.

The next day we drove to toward the Grand Canyon (which I had seen once before) via Boulder City and the Hoover Dam. What a masterpiece of engineering.

I have to tell this funny story which still makes me laugh to this day. When we arrived in Grand Canyon National Park the light was fading fast and we found ourselves cruising down rim road trying to get a glimpse of the canyon before the last rays were gone. I thought it best to park the truck and leg it by foot to the canyon trail, which, looked very close on the map. After walking for a few minutes my husband became frustrated & grabbed the map to see for himself in response to my latest: "just a few more yards for sure!"

With a voice full of despair he exclaimed, "Are you crazy? The canyon is at least a mile away from here, maybe even two!!" "Look, here we are and here's the river! "We'll never get there in time!"

I looked at him and started laughing! Pointing at the map: "And here's the rim of the canyon" "Holy moly" (or something similar) says he "I had no IDEA it was THAT BIG!"

"That's why they call it the Grand Canyon" said I with a smug look on my face. We carried on up the slight hill through the woods and a minute later we were looking out over the vast expanse that is the Grand Canyon all alight with the golds and reds of the setting sun's rays. That was a moment to remember!

The next day we did the rim to river hike and back. A grueling 15 mile hike, but absolutely stunning! Next time we're planning on taking one of those river rafting tours, river to rim is more my style. After another night in the park, recovering from our hike, we took the scooter out for a run on the rim trail very early in the morning. Though we technically shouldn't have had a motorized vehicle on the walking trail, it was worth the trespass; luckily we encountered no other pedestrians at that time of the morning. The view was breathtaking and all during the ride I was giddy with the thrill of glancing down into the abyss. Another unforgettable moment.

Next stop on our list was Williams, Arizona, a quaint old town on the Historic Route 66, and terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway (which I hope to ride someday). Of course we had to unload Lolita again to give her a quick run on the 66! I recommend Pancho McGillicuddys if you're in the area. A neat little Mexican restaurant with nice outdoor patio overlooking the train station. We also enjoyed the little gas station museum and the 50's style gift shops. We spent the next day in Flagstaff, Arizona, one of my favorite small cities in the United States. It was there that I learned that knitting was the ‘new yoga'! All I have to say is whoever coined that term must not know how irritating it can be to try to knit when you really aren't good at it! Not relaxing in the least! But I digress..........

After our stay in Flagstaff we drove to Mesa Verde, Colorado via the Four Corners where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. Mesa Verde, with over 4,000 archeological sites built between 600 and 1300 AD, contains some of the most significant archaeological findings in the world, including the famous cliff dwellings. There had been a great fire 2 years before our trip, and much of the landscape still looked a desolate graveyard of trees; but the fire had uncovered more than 1,000 archeological sites, most previously unknown. The fire also provided us with ample wood for our camp that night. After watching the sun set in the park, we cruised to Durango, Colorado to find our accommodation for the evening (in the dark). Luckily there's a lot of camping options in Colorado! There are many great restaurants to choose from in downtown Durango, but the one we chose shall remain anonymous because they graciously allowed us to cork our wine bottle and take it with us (I wouldn't want to get them in trouble). After dinner we went back to our riverside campsite, and drank the rest of our wine by the warmth of the fire under a limitless starry sky.

The next day we decided to take a detour and stop by Sand Dunes National Park, nestled in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, on our way back. The highest dunes in North America (the tallest being 750 feet from base to crest), this 30 square mile ‘mini-desert' nestled at 8,000 feet above seal level is a stunning natural phenomenon. It also happens to be a lot of fun, especially if you have a cardboard box with you!

Our last stop on the way home was The Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs, Colorado. We had taken some friends/family there when they came over for our wedding a few months prior, but this time as we were on our own, we had the chance to get in some bouldering.

What had taken us 2 hours to traverse by plane, took 6 days by car to cover! By all accounts, it was the best road trip I've ever been on; and my husband (having only lived in the United States 1 year at that time) was blown away by the vast size and scale of everything he saw. It was wonderful to see it all again through his ‘virgin' eyes. And of course, the best part about it all, is that I have my lovely Lolita to thank for it!

THE END

Come and join us in the Car Buffs group and share your experiences or love affairs with your cars, past present and future!

all photographs copyright Jessica Hughes 2006

All the world's a stage; unless you live in New York City that is! You would think that Manhattan, with its world-renowned theatre district and Broadway plays, would be rich fodder for staging services. Not so, according to this Forbes magazine article entitled Selling Unsellable Homes. Apparently, New Yorkers are much too skeptical a crowd to swallow staging's sugar coated pill!

In fact, brokers there baulk at the idea; not only are New Yorkers much too shrewd; they say, any property, as long as it's priced right, will sell regardless.

From the article (this is too funny!):

"Baum argues that New York homebuyers are naturally suspicious creatures and are extremely skeptical of artificial setups.

"In New York, if you play music when you're showing an apartment, people think you're hiding street noise, and they'll ask you to turn it off," Baum says. "If you have fresh baked bread, they think you're hiding a smell. If you have the lights on, they want to see the natural light. [New Yorkers] are shrewd cookies. They see through everything."

No smoke and mirrors for this lot! I feel for you Val, looks like you've got your work cut out for you!

Seriously though, I'm not the type to do the cookies in the oven or muzak in the background; those tactics are insincere in my opinion. I still do think, however, that a well polished home will always sell for more than it's drab counter-part. I think the concept is still applicable, even in Manhattan.

Ok so the cost of staging was only $500,000! Well, that was the cost of the furnishings alone. But the home, here in Aspen Colorado was listed (and I think sold) for 6.7 million. Forbes recently ran an article about this home on their Home of the Week. The "property enhancement" (staging) company commissioned to re-vamp the home is called Designed to Move.

If that seems extraordinary, then how about this Beverly Hills Mansion? Over $1,000,000 spend in furnishings! This 22,000 square foot home on 2 acres has a price tag of just under 17 Million!

WOW, this is the kind of market I'd like to get into! We have a vacant home here in Boulder on the market for 10 million. I could have such fun with that! Amiee Miller, founder of Designed to Move, stages homes from $2 million and up. She has a warehouse with $5 million worth of furnishings.

I think there's a substantial market here in Boulder to stage vacant homes from 1-4 million. The cost would be anwhere from 50,000-75,000, but this is MUCH less than what people have been reducing their prices around here lately; Designed to Move is proof of concept. Since all the furnishings are chosen custom to each home, I think there should be an option for buyers to purchase the home fully furnished. This would be especially appealing for high end destination markets, like Vail/Aspen. In which case, the staging company would pull in an even bigger profit. :)

As per Craig's request on my Listmania blog. Drumroll Please!!! THE TOP 6 ½ REASONS TO STAGE

#1 Staging gives the best first impression to potential buyers. Stagers strive to provide an ambiance that emotionally connects buyers to your home. A good stager will have researched the current trends in the market as well as the buyer demographics in the local area. If your demographic is mid thirties couples with 1.2 children, then that is the target style they will use. However, if your area attracts mainly baby boomers seeking a second home for vacationing a different style is called for. A professional stager will provide furnishings and accessories that appeal to broadest range of your buyer demographic.

#2 Staging neutralizes your home so that buyers feel relaxed and comfortable while viewing it. If a home is too personalized, buyers will feel as if they are invading your privacy, making them feel awkward about being there. By the same token a well staged home should not look 'staged'; if it is overly sterile or full of 'props' a buyer will feel manipulated. A professional stager will strike that balance and interested buyers will stay longer, making the home more memorable to them. The longer they stay the more they will emotionally connect to the home.

#3 Staging sells your home for more money. For most of us our home is our largest investment, so when it comes time to sell, treat your home as just that: an investment. For example: what if you knew that you could buy stock "x" for $2,000 and were guaranteed to sell it for $6,000 in one month’s time for an ROI of 200%? Would you do it? Staging studies show that staged homes sell for at least 5% more than their non-staged counterparts. On a $300,000 home that would be $15,000. Even if the staging costs at a high price of $3,000 the ROI would be 400%. Plus, for most people this money is tax free, because the IRS excludes the capital gains tax on primary residences. And if this isn’t reason enough, in many cases the costs of preparing your home for sale (incl. staging costs) are actually tax deductible.*

#4 Staging sells your home faster. OK this one is pretty obvious, but lets really think about it. To me, this is the THE MOST compelling reason to stage. The longer your home is on the market, the longer you are in limbo and not able to move on to the next phase of your life. In a slow market it is physically and emotionally draining be opening your home to buyers, potentially over months; all the while having to keep it in ‘show’ condition.

#5 Staging allows you to pre-pack. Moving is a monumental task and one of the most stressful times in most people’s lives. De-cluttering and packing are unavoidable tasks, but by eliminating the clutter and excess items in your home prior to listing, you are breaking down the moving process into more manageable segments.

#6 Staging always costs less than your first price reduction. The BEST time to stage is BEFORE you list your property, when you have the most momentum and interest generated. However, if you have a home that is currently on the market that is not staged, I urge you to consider staging before reducing your price. Staging will have a much bigger impact!! Remember to have your listing agent replace old photos in the brochures and on the net with post-staging photographs. A professional stager will provide professional ‘after’ photographs as part of their service. I would also recommend that the agent re-list the property to give it a new MLS number.

# ½ Staging is the Fendi bag of Real Estate. It’s trendy, it’s cool and everyone in California is doing it, Anyone else got a better one???

*Contact a tax advisor in your area to verify

I was all set to write about Boulder, Colorado for the hometown local topic: Home of my alma mater CU, boasting over 300 restaurants, more used book stores per capita than any other US city, 30 art galleries, 4 museums, a wonderful farmer’s market, the fabulous brand new 29^th Street Mall, not to mention the 300 sunny days a year….. Of course everyone knows about the skiing, climbing, kayacking, snowshoeing, paragliding, cycling side of Boulder, but I wanted to showcase the wonderfully diverse tapestry that makes the town truly unique. But I’m not gonna……..

Because it snowed! A lot! Almost 2 feet! …….So my husband and I had a snow day, since we couldn’t get our car up the driveway. Being snowbound reminded me that I don’t actually live in Boulder, but rather 10 miles west in the quaint little town of Gold Hill, nestled at 8,300 feet above sea level and 3,000 feet above Boulder. And when I say little, by that I mean that the last population estimate was 200 residents.

Anyway, my snowshoe hike to town on our snow day made me decide to write about Gold Hill instead. So welcome to my town, let me show you around and feel free to stay as long as you like. Why I almost forgot, I should tell you how to get here first! You take Lefthand Canyon up from Boulder for 8 miles, and take a left to go 1 mile up Lick Skillet, which just so happens to be the steepest county road in the ENTIRE United States! When you get to the top, you’ll find yourself at the cross-roads situated at the south end of town. Across the street you’ll see the Bluebird Lodge (est. 1872), which hosts murder mysteries every weekend all summer long. Next door is the Gold Hill Inn, owned and operated by the Finn family for over 40 years. They serve an award winning 6-course meal and host live music every Friday night.

Driving up through the old town you’ll see plenty of rustic log cabins, all protected by the historic register, an old fire truck, and several dogs roaming around. In fact, as you park up to go into the Gold Hill General Store you’ll probably notice the sign on the right that states: OLD DOG
YOUNG DOG
Several Stupid Dogs
Please Drive Slowly

You’ll get more of a taste for the local humor when you mosey into the store and see the t-shirts they have for sale with a picture of the store on the front and the town’s motto below: “Carpe Mañana”. Enjoy a nice lunch, coffee or pastry (sitting in front of the fire on cold days) and take your time reading the literature, or browsing postcards & trinkets. When you’ve finished chatting to the locals at the store, go west toward the edge of town you’ll often see the children involved in outdoor activities at the 2 room (one classroom) schoolhouse. A little known fact is that the Gold Hill School is actually the oldest, consecutively running school in Colorado.

To brush up on more town facts the museum just past the school is worth a visit. There you can delve into the history of Gold Hill rich with photographs and artifacts. You’ll learn that in July 1859 it became the first permanent mining camp in the 1^st Nebraska Territory (it would be another 17 years before Colorado became a state). So Gold Hill is one of the oldest towns in the present day state! Rich in Gold and Tellurium, mining brought many seeking their fortune, such that in it’s heyday there were over 1,500 residents! There were shops, hotels, and churches; even a newspaper. But when surface lodes were mined and depleted, the population fell drastically. Just before the First World War, the population had been reduced to 6 residents and Gold Hill almost became a ghost town. But in the 1920’s the population started to grow again thanks to a woman’s organization from Chicago called the Bluebirds. They bought the hotel and many of the cabins in town, using them as a summer retreat.

And speaking of retreats, the last stop while you’re here, an absolute MUST is a stint at the Gold Lake Mountain Resort. Preferably after your 3 day backpacking trip into the Rocky Mountain National Park or a day on the slopes (nearest ski resort is 20 min. away). Why? Because they offer luxurious spa packages and their outdoor hot pools overlook spectacular views. You can also horseback ride, go canoeing on the private lake, snoweshoe, cross country ski or any number of activities.

But I'm sure you'll go for the hot pools first. And while you’re relaxing in one of them you can break out your blackberry to watch the slideshow I’ve put together for you of local scenery/wildlife (all photos taken in Gold Hill or area immediately surrounding such as Indian Peaks Wilderness). Happy viewing!

Jessica Hughes