Cathy Dick - Final Touch Designs, Inc. in Roanoke VA

About Cathy, President of Final Touch Designs:

My interest in Home Staging became apparent when I began taking Interior Design classes a few years ago. Both talents require an excellent eye - both being an ART in themselves. Only now have I been able to pursue my dreams and create a business around what I truly love to do, and what I've done on the side for many years. Final Touch Designs is the icing on the cake - the final touch before selling your home or the final touch to defining your personality within your home or office. So begins the birth of a new company that offers you Home Staging, Redesign, and Organizational services with that creative flare. We are now a green business and always offer sustainable concepts and materials in all of our designing projects.

I grew up in Arizona where my parents and I spent many weekends walking through model homes. Remember those great looking models that almost every home development company had? I would sneak around when the agents were busy and take photos of things I liked and things that intrigued me. Throughout the years I've used those ideas to help friends and neighbors construct and style their homes while I lived in Alaska. In Homer, where I spent 20 long years, you can enjoy the long 22 hour days in the summer while enduring the short 5 hour days in the peak of winter. You would be amazed with things you could accomplish during the summer months! I believe the long dark winters may contribute to reasons I enjoy helping people to express themselves through light and color. People are never shy about wearing bright colors, but when it comes to their homes, most people tend to go with the norm and simplify their use of color. When you have a great eye for color, it becomes part of your daily life; colors are a necessary and emotional part of every person. It's the association - not the colors - that elicits the responses we have to them. Colors can open up a whole new world of emotions, fantasies, and expressions. The world is my palate.

Another of my talents is in organizing, i.e. space clearing, purging, de-cluttering. I was born to organize and I share many tips of the trade daily with co-workers, neighbors, friends and family. Like a good massage, being organized can reduce a lot of stress that life constantly places on our shoulders. I help people prioritize the "treasures" they've collected over the years--and that of their parents and children--and make sense of it all. What do you keep, store, give away, and throw away? It can be so incredibly overwhelming when you're moving out of a home or into a new one because most people just don't know where to begin. Since I began studying Feng Shui, I have learned to apply it to organizing. With each simple step you can become more organized to free yourself to really enjoy life instead of "reacting" to it!

Final Touch Designs hopes to reach out to many homeowners who want to put their homes on the market to sell quickly. We also want to help people who are moving into new homes in need of help in defining their personality, with color choices, and in need of de-cluttering their homes and their lives. Give us a call if you live in Roanoke or its surrounding area. We look forward to working with you and sharing our creative ideas.

We also hope to reach out to others in the community by providing training workshops on various subjects. Please check out our website to see what we offer under the Training tab on the menu bar.

Why not start a business doing something you love?

The longer we live in a home, the more "treasures" are brought into our living space. The more things that are brought in, the less space we have. The less space we have, the more cramped we become. And the more cramped we become, the more frusrating and distractable our daily life becomes. We all have reasons to keep those treasured items, and that can be great if we have lots of space. The problem arises when those treasures don't have a home of their own and they start getting in the way or they are shoved away...but not completely out of site or mind!

Because we all experience clutter, it's easy to empathize with the situations most of us run into. If we want to have a clearer mind, we need to eliminate the things around us that keep bogging us down. Clutter is like extra "noise" that distracts us from getting things done quickly and efficiently. We need to identify what we consider clutter to be and where those areas are in our homes that we put things....you know....that spare room that rarely gets used....because it's our easiest stashing place? Then disassociate from these things in order for us to release the spell they have case upon us. Seriously though, we have to take baby steps to begin the process of letting go of the clutter -- one piece at a time -- and deciding if we really need or want them, then finding the best place to store the things. That's where it all begins .....and that's where we come in.

This can't always be done when we're getting ready to sell our home, however. Sometimes life throws a huge boulder in the middle of the road. Suddenly a baby is approaching, mom moves in, or you're making plans to move to the other side of the world...or maybe just the other side of the city. So when you have to move quickly, Final Touch Designs helps to plant the seeds. It is our job to help the homeowner emphasize the great qualities of their home by simply de-cluttering areas, getting things cleaned up, touched up, and rearranging some pieces of furniture to allow all the home's positive features to shine. This frees the homeowner (and Realtor) from worrying about hiding Bowser next door, the dumbells that have housed clothes for the past few years, or lowering the price of a great home! Now our homeowner can relax and live comfortably within their showcase.

It makes perfect sense...a clean, well taken care of home will not only sell faster, but it sells for a higher price. There are not many things that compare to the feeling you have when you get the price you ask for in your home and you did little to spruce things up. After all, this for most of us, is our largest most prized investment. A little extra expense put out BEFORE can reap greater rewards AFTER. When the dirty work is done ahead of time, everythings is in its place, and your home is staged to look its best, the finalities of moving is so much easier. Now that is something to talk about!

I love helping new homeowners add some sparkle and personality to their home - new or old. If you're not quite sure where to begin, we'll give you that jump start. Why not create an atmosphere that makes you feel energized and relaxed. There are many options as to how we can help. This gives the homeowner a chance to work within their budget. The idea is always to create the most impact at an affordable price. If you want ideas or a helping hand, give us a call. We also have gift certificates and one-hour coupons available to purchase for clients, friends and family. I hope to hear from you!

Workshops Offered

2009: I currently present workshops in our area on the following topics:

• Staging Your Home To Sell
• Using Color in Your Home
• Decorating With What You Have
• Papers, Papers, and More Papers (Organizing your office space)
• Sidetracked Home Executives

Because I believe strongly in conserving our resources, I always strive to include green materials and concepts into my design projects. As a result, I also present "Green" workshops on such topics as:

• How Safe are Your Cleaning Products?
• How Safe are Your Skin Care Products?
• Making Your Own Simple & Edible Gifts

As my interests and talents are many, I also present other workshops, most of which are through Roanoke Parks & Recreation. I hope to see you at a few of them! The knowledge you take home, you WILL use!