Roslyn Ashford, Home Stager

I've been slacking this year with posting before and after pictures from local DC staging projects. There are a few that I am proud of so I wanted to post the pictures!

First, it all started with these great two white mid-century chairs that I found at a local thrit store. Always good to keep your eyes out when looking for staging furniture - never know what you will find where!

I got the pair for a whopping $15 - just before another shopper tried to claim them! mine! mine! Whew!

I wasn't sure which color to have them recovered with, but after shopping at the local furniture stores, the best color was a butter yellow vinyl. They turned out really nice and worked well in the room too.

Before I get to that, let me show a few before pictures of the property...

This is a shot o the dining and living combo space...looking into the dining side of the room. The exposed brick was a nice surprise!

Here is the other side of the room, opposite the exposed brick. and now for the Afters!

Yes, I made use of the newly remade chairs in the butter yellow. They went well in the room!

And here is the other side of the room...

And the entire room together...the money shot as I call it!

Hope you enjoyed the photos! will be posting more soon!

My fellow stagers - I hope you are mad busy this time of year. In the midst of the busy-ness, don't forget to take the time to get inspired for each project that you complete. sometimes using the same decorative accesories and props can make your work dull and lack-luster. I suggest you add yourself added to your local design center's emailing list and get ready to get inspired!

I have been on the list of the DC Design Center for a while now and to stay connected to events in the design world in DC. Any talks about photography or styling will find me front and center. So I was excited to see Eddie Ross, a MASTER photo stylist and interior designer, during the Design Center's Capital Design Days last week. He styles for national and regional design magazines and publications so learning how he works was fascinating. to say the least.

Don't we all want to style bookcases like Eddie? One of the main things he said was to style things that make sense for the space- don't put in items just to fill the space, if it doesn't make sense. Do perfume bottles near the bathtub REALLY make sense? Maybe not but towels and nicely wrapped soap do - so think about that the next time you are looking to highlight a gorgeous tub.

He also advised for your items to go together in a space so the items on the top shelf make sense with those on the bottom shelf. Fill in the spaces and give it some life! You don't have to do all of the books vertical with their spines out - make some horizontal too! Of course, stagers already knew that - right?! :-)

Would totally advise you to check out his website and catch him an at upcoming event or talk if you can. You can see more pics of the event on my Unexpected House Guest blog and even a picture of myself with Eddie, his business partner Jaithan and a designer friend Sheryl.

There are TONS of ways to get inspired with staging but after seeing this presentation, I totally want to revamp all of my staging props! Now I know that won't happen overnight! And going to events where you meet interior designers is good too. Many times, designers may be asked to stage properties and if aren't able to turn around a finished product in a short time frame, (that we do all the time) they can easily refer to the stager they met at that design event - YOU!!

Happy Staging ... and Styling!

Yes, I am in search of a smart savvy Realtor who sells homes in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Washington DC. This Realtor is tired of carrying around and blowing up beds for their sellers, of trying to schedule the movers in between closings and having a frank and convincing declutter conversation with their sellers. This Realtor typically manages 20 plus transactions (buying and selling) properties per season, and find themselves with more tasks than hours in a day! I would like to make their lives easier!

As a professional home stager, here is what I offer and provide to my current super-busy and stellar Silver Spring and Takoma Park based realtor that makes it easier for her to sell 25 properties every year for past 2 years that we have worked together.

- Review in-person and provide unique contract on each property, usually within 48 -72 hours of first request

- Stage a property as quickly as 2 days, per request.

- Provide an abbreviated staging plan, focusing on only 1-2 rooms, per Realtor request

- Stage using mostly new furniture, rented from local furniture store with professional movers (who know how to bring in furniture without damaging walls and floors).

- Offer an easy way to pay for services, accepting credit cards or checks

- Provide AFTER photos upon request

We focus and specialize in vacant properties and have over 4 years of direct hands on home staging experience! We have had some great wins in Dupont Circle, Takoma Park and Silver Spring in 2010. Tired of your porch/basement/garage looking like the picture here...then give us a call!

"Let Us Manage the staging while YOU manage the sale!"

Greater DC area realtors who work in Montgomery and Prince Georges, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexendra and Loudon counties and DC - would you to support Small Business Saturday year round? Since realtors are small/local business owners I could think of no better way to support other local businesses, in your own neighborhood! And it is a great referral gift for those special clients too!

The way to continue to support small businesses is to get your own copy of Crave DC, a guidebook of small businesses, run and operated by women business owners in the DC area. These businesses are those that women CRAVE all over the area - and include businesses such as clothing boutiques, yoga studios, bakeries (more places to get great cupcakes), organizers, and event planner, just to name a few.

It would also make a great thank you/referral gift for buyers who have recently moved into the area as there are businesses featured in Reston, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Alexandria and NW DC - and both service and product businesses are included. These books can only be purchaed through featured participants ....like yours truly, of course. We are the only home staging business featured in the guide!

Take a peek at some of the actual businesses that are featured - Each business has a great group of photos and more information on their business, mission and some fun stuff too! It is wildly popular and extremely impressive in real life. Every time I give one to a client, she tends to purchase another one for a friend or co-worker. Each time your client uses it, she will think of you and smile!

Two weeks ago, I was contacted by a Realtor for staging a newly constructed million dollar house, and to keep expenses down, was only looking to stage ONE space within the home. In line with a topic from a previous post, I informed him I could definitely stage one area in the home. I met with the new Realtor that afternoon and reviewed a beautiful home in McLean, VA.. Here is what I found:

Yes, the realtor asked to stage the landing – which is large enough to be its own room, as it seemed to be confusing potential buyers. I had a few ideas of what to do with the space – study area, reading room, kids play area but given time and budget, I narrowed down and decided to do it as a reading room.

I submitted the contract and received a call 2 days from the builder?! I didn’t know the Realtor was representing the builder…but they were pleased with the proposal and ready to make it happen. SCORE! So I got my ideas and accessories together to put together the following space (of course, I couldn’t hang anything from the walls…:-(

Hallway landing turned into lounge area, just off the balcony!

We were glad to be able to give this once ignored space some definition and purpose within the home…and are super excited to be able to stage for a home builder. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for ra reDoes rooms and DC area home builders!