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Joanne O'Donnell

Do You Need a Vacation?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> Tahoe Totem Mountain Home
Anyone Need a Break?
Gorgeous Lake Tahoe Vacation Rental!


Photo to the right was taken from the front door. this is an idlylic setting that backs up to the national forest on one side and has a fabulous view of Lake Tahoe on the other.

Every window has a great view and there are lots of windows and two decks totalling 2000 square feet, half of which is covered!
Tahoe Cabin - View out front door
Views Everywhere!

Stunning panoramic Lake Tahoe view, casino night lights, amazing Sierra Vistas! Set on a boulder studded secluded Heavenly cul-de-sac location, this uniquely designed modern mountain home set on over a third of an acre which backs to Tahoe National Forest. This expansive 3,432 sq. ft. designer home includes:
• 4 bedrooms, 3 baths
• Party size family room with fireplace, lake and sierra views, pool table, sound system, TV, DVD and full wet bar
• Living room with fireplace, sound system, TV, DVD, and unbelievable views
• Formal dining room with great views
• Chefs' eat-in gourmet kitchen complete with all the bells and whistles, including: Wolf range, Bosch dishwasher, Sub-Zero refrigerator, double oven, bun warmer, microwave, coffee pot, electric tea kettle, blender , electric can opener, 2000 ft of decking, ½ is covered and lots of parking!
View from Lake Tahoe Cabin DeckCheck out the view from the deck!

Click Here to see the Rental Listing Now!
I have recently taken on the project of doing vacation rentals for the owner and was talking to one of the Realtors I work with who mentioned that her office had just been asking if anyone knew of a great cabin at Tahoe. I, of course, sent her the listing right away but it got me to thinking that others on active rain might also be interested and need a great place to relax after this crazy real estate year. And we would love to have Real Estate professionals as guests because we know they appreciate a beautiful house and this is a beautiful house in an amazing setting! I am renting it through Vacation Rentals by Owner, check out the listing here. If you are interested or need more info there are links on that page to send me an email - don't forget to mention you saw it first on ActiveRain - I;'d love to see what response this gets. This is really a great place and has never been rented before, they just bought the place this year and only decided to rent in the last month, so you can be one of the first. I spent the first week in December up there and it was amazing - comfortable, beautiful, relaxing and so close to everything - I even walked down to town for lunch a couple times and Heavenly Ski Resort is about 10-15 minute walk (or 2 minutes by car). If you like to cook you will love the gourmet kitchen with a Wolfe range, Sub-Zero fridge, double oven, bun warmer and a great assortment of pots, pans, etc... Below are some photos of the inside.
Living room with fire going Tahoe family room Lake Tahoe formal dining room
check out the views from every window Gourmet Lake Tahoe Kitchen Fully equipped for gourmet cooking
Master bedroom with views of Lake Tahoe and Heavenly ski run even bath has views Amazing mattresses
downstairs bedroom with forest view twin beds great for kids or singles when snowing or raining use 100 sq ft covered deck
house front Front of the House
-
Plenty of
off-street parking plus garage!
More views all taken from inside house, deck or front door!
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe from upper deck National forest
Taken last week - snow! same as above but after snow Lake Tahoe in winter
the sierras at your door baby christmas three in the yard sunset on Lake Tahoe
National forest out the door front entrance lamp from the door at dawn off the deck
Chic Home Interiors
Chic Home Interiors
has been professionally staging quality homes in the San Francisco Bay Area since early 2002 and their staging work was prominently featured in "Home Staging for Dummies" in 2008. For home staging and consulting services in the Bay Area contact them at info@chichomeinteriors.com .

Staging for the Holidays

Amid a rough real estate market, you are probably looking to increase home values and speed up sales. Newspaper stories continue to write about staging, and even Oprah did a segment on staging with her favorite decorator, Nate. With all the publicity around staging, more homes are going to be staged; making sure that your properties are done properly and to the best effect is to your definite advantage.

While your home should say something about who you are, a house on the market should say something about, and to, the potential buyers. Family homes should say they are “family-friendly”; high end condos should really say they are “sleek, chic and modern - an “it” pad. With the holidays imminent, now is the time to see Staging for the Holidays as a way to keep homes in showing-ready style.

The basic steps of staging apply even when adding in holiday pieces. Start with a checklist: Clean It, Fix It, Move It, Remove It and Add It. Guests or buyers’ reaction to embarrassing unfinished projects is a great motivator for the Fix It and Clean It steps. Take this opportunity to go through every room and address nagging issues – don’t leave undone projects that will cause buyers to chip away at the price. Bringing in a tree and holiday colors means that you clear out more pieces than you normally would.

Creating and keeping a sense of consistency of style in the house is important even when adding holiday decor. If it is “cute”, it stays packed. “Cute” is not a universally appreciated concept, and the surest way to avoid trouble is to keep it simple and elegant. Keeping it secular will allow all buyers to feel welcome, regardless of religious beliefs or holiday traditions. Using greenery, wreaths, and holiday sparkle creates holiday warmth in a PC and Staging-Safe way. And don't forget the outside!

Staging for the Holidays

When bringing in your holiday colors, be cautious not to create a clashing color palette. As you purchase and unpack the decorative pieces, take special effort to be picky about what is on display. All ornaments do not have to be used every holiday and certainly not when a home is on the market. Creating themes can be a fun way to change things up, and create some consistency in the look of the house. Ornaments of one basic color palette with “show piece” ornaments adding style can be a great way to create a chic tree without turning off potential buyers with a too-homey (and often homely) holiday look. Glass bulb ornaments (all in one or two tones), and non-blinking white tree lights add sophistication to a tree. An elegant and staging-safe choice would be to keep all ornaments in white and matallic colors. Simple touches throughout the home also help, a fresh wreath on the door (sans Santa - here again, leave out the cute stuff). As you unpack your holiday treats, take a breath and really inspect and organize your decorations. Items do not need to go out just because it has a holiday look; it should go out if it works with the style and color of your décor. Keep the living room tree a show-stopper: white lights, coordinated ornaments that work with the space as a whole. Want some simple touches to turn a bland room festive without going holiday kitsch crazy? Adding simple pieces of greenery to fireplace mantels and as a base for dining room table centerpieces (similarly styled ornaments strewn along the branches make for a stylish horizontal tree) can be a great way to add style and extend the season to other rooms. Small branches placed on trays or in bowls add instant holiday appeal. What’s more, the house quickly smells like winter. Adding a pot of mulling spices or cider completes the sensory experience, equating your home with warm friendly, holiday cheer. Whatever you do, remember in a staged home, less can often be more – keep your décor simple, elegant and spare.
Chic Home Interiors Chic Family Room Happy Holidays
J
oanne O'Donnell

CEO and Founder, Chic Home Interiors
Certified Staging Professional
Treasurer, Real Estate Staging Association

joanne@chichomeinteriors.com
www.chichomeinteriors.com


Realtors - Get 8 hours CEU and help save the planet!

Certified EcoProfessional™ Training

at the Contra Costa Green Business Program Offices in Martinez, CA, August 31, 2010

8 Clock Hours for REALTORS®
CEP logo

Join Joanne O'Donnell, Certified EcoProfessional™ Instructor and founder of EcoChic Partners as she shares her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for sustainable living and green practices.

The 8 hour program is the most advanced green build training program in North America. Help your clients save up to 30 percent on energy costs, while setting yourself apart from the competition. Expand your business opportunities by taking advantage of program benefits, including:

• How to make a difference, in your home, in the homes of your clients • How to add green to your business • How to relate and inform your client on this critical topic • How to save your client’s $$$ with tax incentives and rebates • Provide green build strategies for all budgets • Green building science best practices and green terminology • About the state of the planet and why going green is crucial • Why building certification programs (such as LEED) are important • Marketing advantages to promote your business as green .

Investment in your future is $395. For more information about the Certified EcoProfessional™ training program or to visit Joanne's website please follow the links below OR CALL TOLL-FREE 1-888-782-4464.
Contact Information
Links

Open House Sunday, 100 Buckeye, Oakland, CA

Open House Sunday 2-4:30 Beautiful Upper Rockridge Home

Experience the best of Upper Rockridge living in this modern home. Perfect for a large family, this three-bedroom, two and a half bath home boasts separation of space for privacy and serenity as well as large common spaces for entertaining and everyday living. The spacious, sunny deck boasts views of Oakland, the San Francisco Bay and beyond. A private terraced garden is located off the master bedroom. An in-law unit with separate entry adds to the home's appealing options.

Size: 1,992 sq.ft. living space; 5300 sq.ft. lot (per public records, does not include in-law)

Additional Rooms: 1 bed, 1 bath in-law with separate entry

Garage: Carport, additional off-street parking

Yard: Fenced & terraced yard and gardens; large deck with views

Year Built: 1968





Rining Room Staged by chic Home InteriorsLiving Room Staged by Chic Home InteriorsKitchen Staged by Chic Home Interiors

Address: 100 Buckeye Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618

Price: $899,000

MLS # : 40458730

Bedrooms: Three


Bathrooms:
Two & one half

Additional Features:

  • Open floor plan in common living areas for today's modern lifestyles
  • Updated chef's kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and wine fridge
  • Updated bathrooms in main house
  • Double-paned windows throughout
  • Fresh paint throughout
  • One bedroom, one bath in-law unit with separate entrance
  • Ample storage
  • One block from Hillcrest School (K-8)
Joanne O'Donnell of Chic Home Interiors
Professionally staged by Joanne O'Donnell and Chic Home Interiors. Listed by Cameron Platt of Platt, Inc., Oakland. For more information and additional photos, check out the listing website.

Joanne O'Donnell has been professionally staging quality homes in the San Francisco Bay Area since early 2002 and her staging work was prominently featured in "Home Staging for Dummies" in 2008. Joanne does training and consulting in home staging, design and green business practices throughout North America. For home staging and consulting services in the Bay Area contact her at joanne@chichomeinteriors.com.

RainCamp 2009 - Home Staging Photosynth

I had the privilege of attending the San Francisco RainCamp yesterday and came away with a cramped hand from trying to write faster than I could even take in all the information. But I am energized to try and incorporate all that I learned from these amazing people into my business. I am inspired and so day by day, I intend to open myself to doing things outside of my comfort zone because "what got me here, won't get me there" (I think this is a quote from Ben Kinney but may have been from Bob Stewart... like I said, I was like a deer in headlights trying to keep up - no matter, they were both amazing!)

I am a Bay Area Home Stager and Staging Trainer who always takes multiple photos of my work and after almost eight years of business have so many photos that most of them never get on my website. So, I decided to make good use of one of the tools ActiveBob (follow him on twitter) shared with us - Photosynth.

This great software allows you to take a bunch of photos of the same object, room or scene and stitch them together into an interactive 3D viewing experience, which can be shared on the web. Now, this is my initial experiment with the software and I used photos I took last month of the Certified Staging Professional course final project from my Dallas, Texas class. Since I used existing photos I obviously wasn't following the easy instructions they provide when I took the original photos and so I know results will be even better when I do new projects following their guidelines.

Click on the photo to follow the link to my photosynth - I haven't yet learned to imbed a video in ActiveRain... so this is the next best thing... Hope you enjoy my efforts and it gives you an idea of the power of this application and the breadth of the information we got at San Francisco RainCamp - I had a ball!

Dallas Certified Staging Professionals Class Project

I can definitely see how I could use this great tool in my business, thanks again to all the staff and presenters - you were amazing! Thank you to presenters Brad Andersohn (and family), Ben Kinney, Bob Stewart, panelists Nick Cameron, Janet Guilbault, and Jeanean Gendron and all the great staff - Joel, Steven, Kerrie, Doug, Aaron (hope I got everyone and got them spelled correctly..., I apologize for any and all missing, misspelled or incorrect names)