Charlene Storozuk - Burlington Ontario Home Stager

[Photo from HGTV's website]

I hope that everyone has been enjoying Season Two of The Stagers as much as I have. I may not have been doing reviews of each episode as I did last season, but don't think that means I'm over the show; in fact, the complete opposite is true. I just found that writing the reviews was taking up a lot of my time.

Season Two is polished. The Stagers has really found its groove. The frantic pace of Season One has been left behind and replaced with a show that flows so well. It's tough to cram so much information, drama, and décor eye candy into one 30 minute episode (23 minutes if you remove the commercials) but the team at Paperny Films has managed to pull it off. Viewers aren't left feeling short of breath at episode's end from the velocity (although I still wish each episode aired for 1 hour).

The high drama has been scaled back and the focus is now more on the actual staging of each property, which is really what it's all about. We still get our little infusions of Matthew Finlason's trademark personality - good thing that hasn't been taken out as we all know that he steals the show.

In case you weren't aware, here's a little newsflash for you. At the recently held Leo Awards the following well-deserved awards were presented:

Best Information or Lifestyle Series: The Stagers - Producers: David Paperny, Cal Shumiatcher & Trevor Hodgson

Best Host in an Information or Lifestyle Series: Matthew Finlason - The Stagers.

Best Director in an Information or Lifestyle Series: Keith Behrman - The Stagers

Best Screenwriting in an Information or Lifestyle Series: Margot Daley - The Stagers

So here's what I'm thinking. Would you like to see another season of The Stagers? If so, let it be known to HGTV by commenting on this post. Let's make sure that they hear us! I know that they paid attention to the communal voice of Active Rain in Season One so if you want to see more, speak out now! Better yet, if you want a third season, also tell them what you'd like to see and what they could do to make it even better next year if they're back. You know the old expression "the squeaky wheel gets the oil", well, start squeaking!

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Dezigner Digz is a professional home staging and interior decorating company based in Burlington, Ontario. The Owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on the Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. Our work has been featured in the book FabJob Guide To Become A Home Stager, 2009 edition. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com.

When selling your home, it's important to make a great first impression (the first rule of home staging). The same goes for selling your business services - first impressions really count. It's been over 2 years since I had headshots taken. The last photos were taken by my Hubby - good thing he's so patient because I had the poor guy take tons of them.

I decided though, that it was time to have updated photos taken, and this time I wanted them taken by a professional [no offence Honey if you're reading this :-)]. Mandie took a ton of photos and narrowed it down to 17 for me to choose from. I've narrowed it down from there to 2 photos, but I'm having trouble making a decision on which one to pick.

I would really appreciate some input from my friends and peers on which photo I should choose. So what do you think? Photo A, Photo B or a combination of both? If a combination of both, which should I use for my website and which should I use for the social media sites? Any help would really be appreciated!

Photo A:

Photo B:

Thanks for your help!

UPDATE: My friend, Michelle Molinari just tweaked the sideways picture for me and here's the result below. I'm going to use this version on Active Rain and Twitter. Michelle said that she pulled the background colour from my eyes. She's amazing! Thanks so much Michelle!

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Dezigner Digz is a professional home staging and interior decorating firm based in Burlington, Ontario. The Owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on RESA's Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. Charlene's work has been featured in the book FabJob Guide To Become A Home Stager, 2009 edition. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com.

Whether you are selling your home, or improving it for your own enjoyment, Feng Shui can play an important role.

In Part 8, the final instalment of our Feng Shui It! series, we will be looking at the Knowledge and Self-Cultivation area of your home. You will want to pay particular attention to this area if you wish to further your knowledge or are looking for ways to improve yourself.

If you have read Parts 1-7 of this series, by now you will be familiar with the Bagua Map and know how to locate the Knowledge and Self-Cultivation area of your home. If you are a little "late to the party", no problem, here's a link to Part 1 of the series which will teach you how to use a Bagua Map and divide your floor plan into the 8 life areas addressed in this series. From there, you can follow through the remaining posts to get caught up. A link is provided to Parts 2-7 at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

As you can see from your Bagua Map, the Knowledge and Self-Cultivation area is located on the bottom row in the far left corner of your map. In our home, this area is located in the dining room. Where is it located in yours? If it happens to be in your home office lucky you, that's great Feng Shui!

Here are a few tips to improve this area in your home:

• Incorporate the colour blue, green or black into this space. If the Knowledge and Self-Cultivation area happens to fall in your bathroom, try to avoid the colour blue. The bathroom already contains the water element, so adding the colour blue (which also represents water) will be too much of a good thing.

• Be sure to include the element of earth into this area of your home. Earth is a supportive element to Knowledge and Self-Cultivation. You can include items made of clay pottery, ceramic, tile, brick or stone.

• Place books in this area of your home to represent knowledge.

• Write a list of goals for your own self-improvement. Place the list in the Knowledge & Self-Cultivation area of your home. Come to think of it, why not include a few self-improvement books. This will take care of point # 3 above as well.

• This is a great place for your home office or study area if the layout of your home allows for it. This area should be comfortable, well lit and quiet.

• Although you should avoid clutter in all areas of your home for good Feng Shui, it is even more important here. Clutter makes for bad Ch'i, so if you don't use it, lose it!

As I mentioned in Parts 1-7 of this series, these are just a few tips to get you started in the right direction. There is so much more to learn than what could be written within this 8 part series. Sadly, this series has now come to an end. I've enjoyed sharing a little information with you on the fascinating practice of Feng Shui and hope you will continue on the journey to learn more about it.

On a final note, I would like to recommend to you a wonderful lady that is very knowledgeable about Feng Shui - a true expert: Carole Provenzale. If you haven't been following her blog already, it's time that you do.

Part 2 : How To Improve the Love & Marriage Area of Your Home

Part 3 : How to Improve the Health & Family Area of Your Home

Part 4 : How to Improve the Fame & Reputation Area of Your Home

Part 5 : How to Improve the Wealth & Prosperity Area of Your Home

Part 6 : How to Improve the Creativity & Children Area of Your Home

Part 7 : How to Improve the Helpful People & Travel Area of Your Home

Dezigner Digz^TM does not guarantee any results from the implementation by readers of these suggestions. The Feng Shui It! series is provided for entertainment purposes only and to offer a glimpse at the principles of Feng Shui.

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Dezigner Digz^TM is a professional home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Bronte, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas. The Owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on RESA's Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

Whether you are selling your home, or improving it for your own enjoyment, Feng Shui can play an important role.

In Part 7 of our Feng Shui It! series, we will be looking at the Helpful People & Travel Area of your home. If you want to bring helpful, supportive people into your life or wish to travel, then this is the area that you should concentrate on.

If you have read Parts 1-6 of this series, you should be able to locate the Helpful People & Travel Area of your home by using your Bagua Map. If you haven't been following along, please refer back to Part 1 to learn how to use a Bagua Map and divide your floor plan into the 8 life areas addressed in this series.

As you can see from your Bagua Map, the Helpful People & Travel Area is located in the bottom right hand corner of your map.

Here are a few tips to improve this area in your home:

• Incorporate the colour grey either through paint, furniture or accessories.

• The element of metal is a great enhancement to this area of your home. Add some metal picture frames or a metal box. If your taste in furniture leans to contemporary pieces, include a chair or tables with metal legs.

• Water is a complimentary element to metal. Depending on which room in your home this area falls, add a water feature if feasible.

• Include photos, maps and trinkets from places you have visited or would like to travel to. You can even store them in the metal box mentioned above.

• Place items given to you by helpful people in this area. You can also include a keepsake from a mentor here as well.

• This is a great area of your home to display items that are of religious importance to you.

As in Parts 1-6 of this series, these are just a few tips to get you started in the right direction. ** Stay Tuned ** Part 8: How To Improve the Knowledge and Self-Cultivation Area of Your Home.

Dezigner Digz^TM does not guarantee any results from the implementation by readers of these suggestions. The Feng Shui It! series is provided for entertainment purposes only and to offer a glimpse at the principles of Feng Shui.

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Dezigner Digz^TM is a professional home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Bronte, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas. The Owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on RESA's Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

An alarming story out of Brampton, Ontario this week: It seems that a woman arrived at an open house with two young boys in tow. While the older child stayed with the agent, the younger child and the woman looked through the house.

Allegedly, she "relocated" a video-game console, digital camera, jewellery and cash - all into her purse. The story gets worse. This wasn't the only open house that she and the boys attended. She has been charged in connection with thefts at 7 open houses during April and May of this year. The two children were also arrested but later released.

Let this be a reminder to you if you're selling your home. It's your responsibility as the homeowner to make sure that all valuables are put away prior to showings or open houses. Your agent can't be everywhere at once; especially during open houses when many people are on hand.

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Dezigner Digz is a professional home staging and interior decorating company based in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on RESA's Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com