DesAnn Collins

As a large portion of my business, Design By DesAnn, we Stage hundreds of homes every year.

At this time of year with the Holidays approaching I am asked by clients and Realtors what we recommend for Holiday Decorating.

•1. First of all let's start with the outside. I like to see lights outside but kept to specific areas that will make our product shine.

•2. A spot light on a beautiful wooden door with a LARGE wreath is fantastic. If there are tall wooden columns flanking the entry showcase them with lights and natural green boughs of Pine. Natural Pine roping can be found at Nursery's and Christmas tree retailers.

•3. I like to stay true to the products age and Architecture. Showcase any Trees you may have with lights. You can either hang lights from low branches and/or Spot Light those tall Evergreens.

•4. I like to see all the lights the same color as not to "clutter" the visual affect. White lights are gorgeous, in my opinion, yet will the perspective buyer notice another White Holiday lit home?

•5. All Red or All Blue or Green lights perhaps. They need to flatter the selling features and compliment the products color and style.

Warm & Inviting is always a Stagers desire for the exterior of a home for sale. This is the perfect time of year to Stage your product. The idea is to have the Buyer WANT to be there to EXPERIENCE the Holidays.

WOW them with a bold statement done simply.

Consider using the new LED window candles in every window that can be seen from the street. Makes ya just want to go in and be cozy.

Really understanding who it is you are Marketing too is crucial.

•1. With Interiors it can be tricky. We Stagers are accustomed to asking our clients to minimize all religious Icons. There are however certain neighborhoods known for their Church, Synagogue, Temple and so on. In my city where we live there is an entire area of town called The Saint Jude's neighborhood. Having a Nativity scene in this specific neighborhood could be a positive point.

•2. I recommend that my clients really discipline themselves to only display a small portion of their decorations.

•3. Keeping the product warm & inviting, cheerful and uncluttered should be the goal.

•4. A particular home here in my hometown always has their Christmas tree in their beautiful 10 ft. windows. If I were looking in that area and price range... that staged scene of that tree would have me buying in a heartbeat

•5.

This is the perfect time to have a Dining Room set for a party. This would have the buyer dreaming of perhaps them entertaining their friends and family in that room.

Staging any home is problem solving.

Be particularly careful not to leave decorations up after the New Year. It conveys that you are not "on top of things". I recommend that an exterior door wreath be replaced with any other shaped decoration for winter such as a basket with cascading greens or a Pear shape. The wreath, circle, shape seen on homes in February will look like a Holiday Wreath.

A great source for inspiration is the Better Homes & Gardens online site.

Please Decorate your home even while it is in the market. Life is short and you need to enjoy your home during the selling process, but PLEASE restrain yourself.

My best,

DesAnn Collins O.D.S.D.P., CSREP

Design By DesAnn LLC

Charter Certified member of The SDP®

Certified Decorating & Home Staging Professional

Founder Certified Staging Real Estate Association®

RVP RESA

440-324-1957

www.DesignByDesAnn.com

info@DesignByDesAnn.com

Changing the world one room at a time,

By transforming what you own!

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November is Home Staging Awareness Month

Professional Home Stagers Gather to Discuss Industry News and Promote Home Staging

YOUR'E INVITED

WHERE: CORT® Furniture

4698 Great Northern Blvd., North Olmsted, Ohio

WHEN: November 19^th

9:15 am registration

9:30am-12:30 meeting

Stay for lunch

provided by:

The Lincoln Moving & Storage CO.

8686 Brookpark Rd. Brooklyn Ohio

The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) the Trade Association for Professional Home Stagers has announced that November is Home Staging Awareness Month.

RESA along with IRIS and ASHSR is proud to announce that we are National Co-Sponsors of Home Staging Awareness Month.

During Home Staging Awareness Month the popular "Stage it Forward" (SIF) Round Table Meetings will be taking place all over North America.

The meetings will focus on the Staging Industry, creating standards, ethics and the wants and needs of the Professional Stager. You ALL can have a voice in creating standards and choosing the direction you want your industry to take.

Keeping with the tradition of SIF and RESA ALL Stagers are welcome to attend. You do not have to be a member of RESA to attend the meeting nor do you have to hold any particular designation.

SIF Facilitator: RESA Regional Vice President DesAnn Collins, ODSDP, CSREA, RESA-RVP

Please RSVP no later than November 10^th to https://resa.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=87&club_id=304550&item_id=66412

I hope to see many of you there.

Together we can elevate the Staging industry!

DesAnn Collins, Design By DesAnn® Regional Vice President for RESA

Any questions please call 440 324-1957 or info@DesignByDesAnn.com

Hello Everyone! I am noticing that the questions folks ask is beginning to change. For years I was hearing, "What is Staging?". Now I am hearing, "How are your numbers?" It is nice to see that the marketing of what Staging is, seems to be working. Now that the public and Realtors understand what it is that we do they are now asking for our statistics.
We, Design By DesAnn, have been tracking our numbers for a couple of years now. We have had 4 homes sell in ONE day. Over a third of our homes sell in less than 2 weeks. The rest have sold in less than 60 days. The word is definitely getting out that we Staging pros know our stuff!
I was recently at a LoCAR event where a Realtor asked me..."What are your numbers?" Luckily I was prepared. Please start tracking your success as a Staging Pro.
Our success keeps building. The higher our numbers climb in "quickly" sold homes the more clients we are receiving. At the event a few Realtors were lamenting about how bad of a year they are having. A Realtor who has been working with me stated that she was having a GREAT year and gave me the credit.
What is so great is the better our numbers become the more confident we are about selling our Staging services to future clients. My clients, the Seller, are more receptive about my suggestions to Stage their homes. Many have even updated them. My Realtor colleagues are selling my services for me. Many even include all of my company's info embedded in their advertising. The best thing is we ALL are making money, The Seller, The Realtor and Design By DesAnn of Ohio. A Win, Win, Win for everyone. Even the buyer gets to purchase a "Ready To Live" house. Start tracking those numbers......they will be asking! My best, DesAnn

DesAnn Collins of Design By DesAnn will be speaking to the public on the topic of Ready, Set Sale!

DesAnn will be sharing information to homeowners about the secrets that will help your home to SELL!

I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of sellers. It is pure joy to have been instrumental in helping to acheive the SOLD sign. My passion is Design/Decorating and helping others. Staging a home is an Art form that truly has a major impact on a homes sale-ability. I want to share many of those secrets to help homeowners in todays tuff market. It is important that seller's and Realtors understand the secrets. Homes are STILL SELLING you just need to understand the basics.

Join me for a FREE informative evening.