Debra Brodhecker--House Dressing, New Jersey

Make every day Earth Day, even Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. These tips are good for the environment and your wallet.


1. Put less packaging on your gifts. Re-use wrapping paper, the comics, or magazines. Re-use cardboard boxes and packing peanuts.

2. Send e-cards or tree free cards using recycled paper or hemp.

3. Regifting is not a crime. Pass along hand-me-downs and heirlooms. Include the story of the item if giving an heirloom.

4. Use Do it Yourself Decor. Make the house festive with popcorn, berries, greens form the yard and dried flowers.

5. Recycle your Christmas tree when you can no longer use it.

6. Give away untouched leftovers and unwanted gifts. Those less fortunate will appreciate it.

7. When having a party use use dishes, utensils, napkins and plates that aren't paper or plastic. Recycle bottles and cans and compost leftover food.

8. Use sustainable candles made of soy or beeswax. Paraffin candles may emit toxins.

9. Buy locally grown produce.

10. Give gifts from the heart--a home cooked meal, help with chores or babysitting. These will mean more than another thing from a store.

A little thought can help keep the green in the holidays and help us remember the true meaning of the season. Happy Holidays to All!

A frequent buyer request is an open floor plan. But often an open plan without furniture leaves a potential buyer wondering how to use the space--it's too much of a good thing.

In Sussex County, NJ we have many beautiful lakes surrounded by homes that were originally built as Summer and weekend get aways. As they are converted to year round homes and adapted to todays lifestyles the floorplans can be confusing to buyers.

After the sellers remodeled this large room was designed to be used as the Living Room and Dining Room but potential buyers may think warehouse. After staging it's easier for potential buyers to imagine placing their furniture and the space feels more like a home.

This house had been on the market, vacant and unstaged, for nine months. After staging by House Dressing and proper pricing it went under contract in a month.

The key to having good photos for a web site or other marketing materials is to take lots of photos--a cheap easy thing to do in the age of digital photography.

Here are are some photos of staged rooms that didn't make it onto a web site or promotional flyer. But these "extra" photos are perfect to illustrate some of the key principles of staging. Bedrooms, always benefit from staging--it's much easier to imagine furniture layout in a room that already has some furniture. This bedroom also had a loft area perfect for an office and an aerial view of the bed.

The photo on the left illustrates one of the best uses of staging--defining a space. This space just inside the front door made everyone who entered wonder what it was--it was awkward and dark.

A few accessories and this space became "Martha Stewart's mudroom" as one visitor put it.

Although a house is usually a family's biggest investment, the purchase is often made based on emotion rather than a cost benefit analysis.

Staging plays to those emotions by helping people imagine the lifestyle they will have living in this particular house. Beautiful dining rooms help potential buyers see themselves entertaining, making memories and celebrating life's milestones.

In this market with so many houses for a buyer to look at a house that accommodates their furniture, makes sense spatially and connects emotionally is the one they will remember, revisit and make an offer on.

The long Columbus Day weekend and peak Fall foliage in Sussex County, NJ generally coincide. The beautiful colors always inspire me to take lots of photos--and wish the photos I had taken were better. Below are some tips gleaned from experts, the internet and my own experience.

• Put the camera in the car. A camera phone does not do justice to the subject. We're lucky in Sussex County to see breathtaking sights on our way to the grocery store so keep a camera handy.
• Catch the "golden light". Photographers refer to the hours right around surise and sunset as the golden hours--the light best for photos.
• The air is clearest after a rain--especially in the mornng. Dust, pollutants etc. have been washed away and you will get a clearer view.
• Look for color contrasts--dark green conifers behind bright red maples for example.
• Try different settings and lenses for your camera. Use a telephoto lense to pick out detail. Use a wide angle lense for large swaths of color.
• Try a polarizing filter on your camera lense. The filter will minimize reflection and glare and give you the saturated colors of Fall.
• If the sky is gray and overcast minimize the amount of sky in the photo--zoom in on the trees.
• Use a photo editing program to enhance your photos. I use Photoshop Elements and generally the quick fix editing results in photos I'm happy with.
• Think outside of the forest. Many images say Fall besides beautifully colored trees--farmers market, piles of pumpkins, leaves floating on the water.

If you live in Sussex County or are visiting some of the most beautiful spots for photos are High Point State Park with its views of the Delaware River and many lakes. Stokes State Forest offers stunning views from Sunrise Mountain and Tillmans Ravine offers trees, water and rocks.

Whatever you do, take some time to enjoy the changing colors and the beauty that surrounds us. When you are ready to change the colors inside your home be sure to give me a call.