Kym Hough, Home Staging Professional CSP, RESA, Danville, CA

This was a project that we could not wait to share with you.

We worked on this project for four months. Before our client purchased the property it was used as a half-way house for recovering addicts. A great cause but its located in the heart of an established neighborhood and maintaining the property was not number one the previous owners priority list.

The new owner was referred to us by another Stager from Active Rain because we offer Full Service Staging and could fill the clients needs. We met with the new owner, assessed the needs to bring it up to current market value and away we went. He agreed to all of the recommended items and we ended up changing every detail of the house except the roof and the foundation! A crew worked six days a week on every detail. Here are just a few of the before and afters:

Turn a Family Room into a Master Bedroom with a new Travertine covered fireplace

MASTER BEDROOM BEFORE

MASTER SUITE AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Turn a tiny bedroom into a Master Suite Bath

MASTER BATH BEFORE

MASTER BATH AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Turn an area that was just dirt under the house into a spectacular laundry room/craft area

No befores available - it was just a dirt mound

Take a Front Door and move it from the side of the house to the front - Curb Appeal!

EXTERIOR BEFORE

EXTERIOR AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Take down three walls to open up the gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay

GREAT ROOM ENTRANCE BEFORE (lots of walls)

GREAT ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Gut the entire kitchen and start fresh with new floors, cabinets, appliances and granite counters

KITCHEN BEFORE

KITCHEN AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Update the facade of the fireplace

FIREPLACE BEFORE

FIREPLACE AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Change three outdated, dirty and dingy bathrooms into beautiful spaces

HALL BATHROOM BEFORE

HALL BATHROOM AFTER

GUEST BATHROOM BEFORE

GUEST BATHROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

KIDS BATHROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Remove outdated and unattractive banister and replace with contemporary bamboo and glass

What were the results of all this work? Sold in 6 days for the highest price ever received in that area - ever. Yes, even in this market.

www.staged-to-sell.com is the East Bay's premier full service staging company. Our services include small and large preparation of homes for market. Whether our clients just need the bare minimum to make their home stand out from the rest or much more we have the resources and team to make it happen. For more information visit website www.staged-to-sell.com.

It doesn't happen often, but when it does it gives me a stomach ache.

We were on a job earlier this week when my Blackberry did the little jingle it does when an email has come through. I stopped hanging the new fixture Danny was just adjusting over the dining table and scanned my in-box where I found an email from a Realtor I had staged a home for a couple of weeks ago.

"Hi Kym, this is Margaret. The sellers have decided to take the home off the market. You did too good of a job, they realize that they love it, can live there for the rest of their lives. How about that!

Oh my...not the goal of any Professional Home Stager and words we don't want to hear. Of course, we are happy that the clients loved our work, but our goal and mission is always to help them love their NEW house even more!

My crew went to pick up the job yesterday, and we all agree that they are one of the nicest families we have ever staged with. The grandparents lived with the young couple to help raise their 8 month old baby girl. They couldn't stop thanking us for our work and were pleased that they had received multiple offers but decided they now loved it too much to sell.

Moral of the story is to CALL A STAGER NOW while you are still living in the home. Don't wait until you need to put it on the market. Let us help you fall in Love with your home now and live in it for years to come. When you are ready to sell down the road you will be ready, and have spent years of enjoyment prior to selling.

OCCUPIED HOME - USING HOMEOWNER'S FURNITURE

LIVING ROOM BEFORE

LIVING ROOM AFTER STAGED

BABY'S ROOM BEFORE

BABY'S ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

OFFICE/GUEST ROOM BEFORE

OFFICE/GUEST ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

Staged to Sell is the San Francisco East Bay's premier staging company. We offer services for both Occupied and Vacant Homes and Design services for Staging to Live. For more information go to www.staged-to-sell.com. Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville, Orinda, Lafayette, Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and the entire Contra Costa County.

This wasn't our client's first Rodeo, as my assistant Maya likes to say. The homeowner has been through the staging process before with another Realtor/Staging team in 2008. He thought he knew what was coming and was prepared when we met for our consultation.

He had cleaned out the clutter, painted a few walls and worked on the garden a bit. He was a bit surprised when we asked for a few additional items in our report, but after lots of discussion and a few photos from our website he did agree to about 80% of recommendations and committed to staging while staying on a strict budget. Wallpaper came down, fireplace was painted and some of the dated furniture went into the garage.

The day of staging arrived and the client left his home expecting to return to a few additional touches and hoping for the best. We could tell he was not really convinced Staged to Sell could possible make that much of a difference from the Staging company who worked on his house in 2008.

When he returned from his day long excursion he was surprised, delighted and completed amazed at what he saw. "It's not the same house and completely different than it was when it went on the market last year." he said. Not only was the homeowner happy but the Realtor almost danced down the sidewalk after seeing the finished product. "The same Realtors will be coming to the Brokers Tour on Thursday that saw it last year...they won't even know its the same house" she said, smiling from ear to ear.

Result - multiple offers.

It's not just about staging, its about hiring the right Staging Company and Realtor to really make the most of the property and the market.

FAMILY ROOM BEFORE

FAMILY ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL AND A LITTLE PAINT

MOST OF THE FURNISHINGS USED IN THE STAGING WERE THE HOMEOWNER'S

FOYER AND LIVING ROOM BEFORE

FOYER AND LIVING ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

DATED DRAPREY AND DARK FURNISHINGS BEFORE

BRIGHT, WARM AND INVITING NOW

COFFEE TABLE FROM FAMILY ROOM REALLY LIGHTEN AND BRIGHTEN THIS SPACE

GUEST BEDROOM BEFORE

USING HOMEOWNER'S FURNISHINGS WITH A DASH OF COLOR

GUEST ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

For more information on Staged to Sell's services go to www.staged-to-sell.com. Staged to Sell services Castro Valley, San Leandro, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville and the entire Alameda and Contra Contra Counties

This charming bungalow had all the right touches. Beautiful molding and hardwood floors. Custom tile in the bathrooms and granite counters in the kitchen. New appliances and a gorgeous fireplace. The backyard was spacious with a massive deck for multiple uses. Even with all of these fabulous features the Realtor insisted that the home be staged for maximum appeal. The homeowner resisted, but the Realtor insisted. Staged to Sell came in and added the right touches to enhance the property even more and there were offers within a matter of days!

LIVING ROOM BEFORE

LIVING ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

DINING ROOM BEFORE

DINING ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL

BACKYARD BEFORE

BACKYARD AFTER STAGED TO SELL

For more information on Kym Hough's Staged to Sell go to www.Staged-to-Sell.com. We have many more before and after's of our work and lots of tips for selling your home in today's market.

Staged to Sell was given the opportunity this summer to work with a client on a cozy condo in a very popular development in the Oakland Hills. We have been working in this particular development for years and have seriously worked on this particular model several times before with much success. We were therefore prepared to come and do our thing and get it sold in record time - just like before.

My Realtor client decided not to tell me a head of time that we would need to do a bit of painting. I think she was having some fun with us and decided to get my reaction when I arrived for our meeting with the client, a lovely woman who had a beautiful baby less than a year old. The family was moving to a bigger place as they had outgrown the one bedroom at this point.

The painter did a great job....lots of primer, three coats of paint too. Results: Sold in a week and two referrals from this one job. The wonderful clients referred us to all their friends and are having us come and help them with their new home.

Color is great for living (you should see my house) but for selling we need to tone it down and bit while keeping it warm and cozy.

Living Room Before

Living Room After Staged to Sell

Bathroom Before

Bathroom After Staged to Sell

Bedroom Before

After Staged to Sell

As you can see we still believe color helps sell a property, but the right color makes all the difference.

Kym Hough's Staged to Sell is the San Francisco East Bay's Premier Staging Company. With two locations and a 4,000 square foot warehouse full of furnishings and accessories, we tailor our designs to the demographics and style of the home. Good staging is marketing, and with 25 years of marketing experience we are qualified to assist our Realtor and Homeowner clients with getting the property sold in record time. For more information on Staged to Sell's services click on to our website www.staged-to-sell.com