Roslyn Ashford

One of my first staging jobs (three years ago!) was a condo in Springfield, VA. The great thing was that the client had most of her own furniture - we just had to declutter a bit and add some life. Believe it or not, all of the art was hers as well - she had some great pieces. A family member was an artist and she had all of this great original art. Score! I added the window treatments and spruced things up a bit. It turned out nice - what do you think?

I was so proud - my designer friend and I made this headboard on the spot! We needed something to match the bedding and were on a serious budget!

She had some great traditional furniture - the fox was the icing on the cake!

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Contact me for a staging consultation in the DC, MD and Northern VA areas. I can make magic happen in your home too!

Regards,

Stagers,

Have you ever been to asked to stage a recently remodeled unit, and in the midst of doing your measuring, visualizing and planning - you see something in the plan that just totally throws you off?

I was just called to review a recently remodeled row home in DC. Most of the space in each unit was planned well - nice big rooms, great closets, cool bathrooms, and i was feeling pretty good about making this place shine! As I was figuring out which dining table to use - I looked up. It seems as though the builder/developer decided to put a chandelier about 10 ft away from the main entrance to the unit. So now I have to figure out how to work a table under that - so close to the door? Good grief - what were they thinking?

So...when have you had a 'what were they thinking' moment? And what did you do?

Well...after a number of months on the market, the builders have finally sold all of their units! Yippee!!

So...I am finally destaging my first model condo unit in DC tomorrow. I rented furniture and although I am returning the items to the furniture store, the store is open to selling them rather than keeping them in the warehouse. If anyone is in the DC/MD area and interested in furniture - either for staging or personal use, take a look with this link and see if anything catches your eye.

I am not able to ship items - they are only available either pickup or delivery, for a nominal fee. The warehouse is in Rockville, MD and can be delivered or picked up in surrounding areas. The prices are good from Tuesday, September 30 through Friday, October 3! If you see anything of interest, contact me at redo@rarooms.com and we work through details.

Quick note - store is VERY interested in selling the gold scroll chest! It is a unique (and heavy) piece so if interested, let me know. We may be able to work out a lower price!

Happy Shopping!

One of the things that I have learned in my 4+ years as an interior decorator and stager, is that people have too much stuff! Of course, this becomes a problem when preparing the house for sale! Rather than dumping unwanted and unneeded items, the latest Real Simple maagzine provides a list of great ideas around recycling. I will list a few of the 'gems' below...

Catalog Choice - eliminate unwanted catalogs received in the mail. Extremely helpful for a vacant home and to reduce the number of Pottery Barn and Victoria's Secret catalogs stacking up in the mailbox. This is one of my favorites, I can't really remember where exactly I learned about it.

Recycle sneakers - Nike's Reuse-a-shoe program lists places where you can drop off old sneakers (no they don't have to be Nike's) for them to recycle into courts for children all over the world to have a place to play. The site includes a map of drop-off locations or an address to send shoes if there is no location near you.

Rollerblades, golf clubs, skis, even treadmills and exercise equipment can all be traded for cash at Play It Again Sports! Check out the site for locations all over the country.

Videotapes - donate old videotapes to be cleaned, erased and resold and help an organization employ disable people at the same time. Click on link above for details.

Hopefully these tips will help your clients not only clean but clean and declutter with a good conscious. And help you sell your properties