Debby Dutilh

Del Rey News, both on-line and in print, is always chock-full of exciting articles about local happenings and the people making them happen. Art and Soul Home Staging is proud to have been featured in the latest edition alongside many other local businesses and organizations contributing to keep Westchester, Culver City, Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey and Venice vibrant and thriving.

Of course, I think all of the articles are worthwhile and informative. Alas, I can't cite them all here-- after all that's what the local press is for! Nevertheless, for the Arts in Art and Soul, here are just a few.

Because my mom was an actress at Kentwood Players in Westchester way back at their beginning, I have a special fondness for little theater, especially, this one who is celebrating its 60th anniversary. I know their current production "A Little Night Music" is the same high quality of all the others.

Here's a mouth watering note that Art and Soul Home Staging delights in is Tacone Flavor Grill, located on Sepulveda Blvd in El Segundo and whose "chefs consider Flavor to be an Art form". They use ingredients from around the world to prepare "food that explodes with unstoppable flavor." This definitely appeals to my globetrotter tastebuds!

And while all of us stagers and designers are flipping through Elle Decor, shopping at the newest Target in Culver City's newly opened Westfield Shopping Center or looking for the perfect accessories at Home Goods in Westchester, seeking inspiration for our current projects and holiday themes, we must also remember that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a home. I am disturbed when I learn that according to Los Angeles County data, one in every 32 people in Venice is homeless! And my Soul is deeply touched when I learn that the Venice Community Housing Corporation will give a chance to supply housing for the homeless with the purchase of a 20-unit apartment building in Venice. VCHC Director, Steve Clare, notes this is "truly a community response that faces us all - helping the homeless get back on their feet." What a wonderful mission and call to action for each of us to give back to our communities not only as the Holiday Season gets into full swing, but year round.

I'd like to thank Stephen L Hadland, Editor at Del Rey News, his staff and especially Stephanie Singh Smith for offering to feature Art and Soul Home Staging in the November publication.

Enjoy the local news!

Art and Soul Home Staging and Redesign works with home sellers and realtors in Westchester, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Marina del Rey, Culver City, Los Angeles and surrounding communities by offering services to prepare property for resale.

For more information contact Debby Dutilh (424) 227-0061 or by email

Having grown up in Westchester, I've always had a soft spot for Venice Beach, and I get excited when there's a reason to celebrate community. Ask any local what their favorite street is in the area and chances are they'll reply "Abbot Kinney", often followed by Main Street, both literally and geographically. On Sunday, September 27 the 25th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival with an expected attendance of 150,000 is being held. Abbot Kinney is full of original artsy shops selling anything from eclectic books, to captivating floral arrangements, design furniture, and art galleries.

If you're a local like I am, then you've probably seen the same funky original personalities perform, skate board, or work out in public on the Venice Boardwalk year after year. Although I lived abroad for many years, each return trip home always included a trip to the Boardwalk with the obligatory purchase of T-shirts, sunglasses and beach gear, usually at sunset. Every visitor we've had from around the world still wants to go there and is delighted to see it really is just like the post cards. Who hasn't seen the skate boarding granny or been to the bookstore at the Sidewalk Café? How about The Rose Café, located on nearby Rose Avenue. It's still the place to meet up with old-time friends or get acquainted with new ones for the first time.

The Abbot Kinney Festival is sure to be a wonderful fun way to spend the day by taking part in local activities and supporting their mission of "celebrating community, beauty and goodwill."

I'll be there and hope to see you there, too! Come on out and Celebrate Community this weekend!

http://www.abbotkinney.org/

Less than 48 hours after being staged by Art and Soul Home Staging, this Playa Vista Townhouse received a offer that is in negotiation. Prior to that, it had been listed mid-July without getting any serious offers.

Playa Vista boasts the best of Southern California living with a fantastic location near Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey, close to shops and restaurants, easy access to LAX and the freeways, and a vast array of activities and amenitites for its residents. However, these are just some of the elements that buyers are looking at. With so many Playa Vista properties to choose from, make your listing stand above the others by showcasing it with Professional Home Staging by Art and Soul Home Staging.

Wouldn't you love to get serious offers this fast? Call a Professional Home Stager to prepare your next listing so that it outshines the competition!

Art and Soul Home Staging proudly serves Los Angeles and the beach communities.

No free lunches in Vacant Home Staging? When I started I was advised by my mentor one Saturday afternoon a few months back, to take small steps. Go to Open Houses, leave my card and offer some free consultations to Realtors, and for sure, don't take on anything I can't deliver. In the meantime, get your vacant home staging packages together so you'll be ready if that's what you want to do...later on down the line. All sounds pretty straight forward and doable. I get the picture. Check out the furntirue rental showrooms. Get to know the the friendly staff who is more than willing to help and offer me some neat deals. Shouldn't be so tough to get a package together! And off I gon the next day to a few open houses. This is fun.

First Open House and the first Realtor that I speak to the next day is definitely not a Free Lunch: "I've got a vacant condo. Do you do vacant home stagings?" Gulp, no one said that was going to happen immediately after class and before even attempting to all my homework done! I'm a smart cookie but am thinking,"Boy have I got my work cut out for me starting Monday."

July 17, 2009: Real Estate Staging Association Summer Meetup with a Free Lunch! Little did I know how fantastic this gathering of passionate Home Stagers was going to be for jump-starting Art and Soul Home Staging. Several of us decided to work on starting a local RESA chapter here in the Los Angeles South Bay. The week following that meeting and my first blog on AR, a contact from my website asked me to submit a bid for a vacant property listed at $1.8M. This is much bigger than the packages I had put together.

Also, since then several of us have met to work on the RESA project. I've been invited to help stage a vacant home (and yes, I was treated to a Free Lunch) and install furniture and artwork for another stager's interior design project. Moreover, I've known that all the theory in the world is helpful and the actvity over the past couple of weeks is reminding me of that. Until I actually did a vacant home staging, I couldn't have imagined all the details involved and what I should be including in my services.

Here's what's happened just in the last three days and still no free lunches, even if I did have time. While organizing inventory, my doorbell rings. It's a local listing agent doing door-to-door asking if I want to sell my house. Nope, but I'm a Home Stager, myself. She does staging, as well, but has a vacant property and could I call her. Cards are exchanged. Saturday I visit a couple of open houses and am much more confident than the first time. The first one is not only vacant and freshly renovated, the toilet is still sitting in the newly remodeled Italian Tile Shower in it's plastic gift wrapping, waiting to be installed (no, not in the shower). I tell the Realtor, that I grew up in the neighborhood in a house that had this same original floor plan and I'm a Professional Home Stager. "Fantastic! We need you! Here's my card. My boss inherited this house that he grew up in. Call me Monday at 11!" Next house, totally remodeled and vacant. However, at the other end of the specturm, the young agent doesn't know anything about Home Staging and once I explain it to him thinks this house could sure use it. "Please send me more info and give me a call on Monday!"

My own Realtor who is backing me and Home Staging has a tenant occupied listing. "Deb, the tenants are moving out Aug 20 and we need to stage this place. Go take a look at Sunday's Open House. It's the perfect candidate for our compelling success story!"

I've got the picture: vacant home staging is what the agents I'm meeting are asking for and it's not a free lunch. It's demanding, is all in the planning, and also fun. So what were you telling me about starting out with consultations, that vacant home staging is another beast altogether, and maybe newbies don't want to bite off more than they can chew? Gosh, has someone told any of the Realtors that I've been meeting, because not to many of them seem interested in consultations so far?

Next chapter, at least as of this morning. It looks like the bid on the tenant occupied condo is going to go through! And I'm loving it all, not expecting any free lunches and knowing that when it finally all pays off, I'll be offering some Free Lunches of my own.

Doing some in-depth research before getting started in home staging in Los Angeles is step one for any newbie. But how do you get your big toe in the door and avoid having your enquiries be perceived like future competition? Building rapport with graciousness, sincerity and gratitude are the keys to getting started and forging on-going professional relationships.

Follow these simple rapport building tips and you're on your way to creating a vital support group as you embark on this new adventure of Home Staging!

• Be upfront and honest, first and foremost, by simply and sincerely explaining that you're just getting started in your area and are interested in learning more about the business of Home Staging. By doing this you'll be received with enthusiasm and generosity. In fact, even though I had always set my limit of taking only 20-30 minutes of their time for enquiries, I found it almost impossibe to stop them and end the conversation. These passionate home stagers seemed to lose all track of time and one hour later they were still going strong with pointers and suggestions. I could only assume that extra time for sharing ideas with "newbies" was built into their schedule!

• Do your homework and be prepared before you call. Find out about them before you call. Visit their website, note what impressed you about it and prepare some questions about their past projects. Show your genuine enthusiasm for their success and insights and they will be delighted to tell you more. Everyone I spoke to was more than willing to answer my questions and encouraged me to hang in there, reminding me that they were once beginners, too.
  

• Think out of the box when it comes to researching other aspects of the business. Ask about the professional associations, creative marketing ideas, the daily grind of running a business, the anatomy of a staging project and tales from the trenches.

• And most importantly, be gracious and grateful. Follow up all your enquiries with an email thanking them for taking the time to share their thougths. Start building your social network from day one and let others know about them, too.

Many thanks to Lori Kim Polk, Beth Lester, Ricardo Bueno, Karen Thornton, Linda Turner, Connie Tebyani, each of whom has supported and inspired me with generosity and friendliness.