Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Ok, you've waited patiently for it since I alluded to this post in my last blog about Staging for a Low Income Housing Development. Now it's finally here...Bear with me because it's a long one!

Before I begin let me say that I absolutely LOVE the client who has given me a total of 3 different projects like this one. They are fun and easy to work with, they pay in advance and never give me a hassle about anything. Not to mention, they are always very pleased with my work! For these reasons I really hate to complain about anything related to the work I do for them. BUT in the spirit of a good laugh and some commiseration by fellow Stagers at the sheer lunacy of it all, I am going to dish...

According to Wikipedia, "Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states, 'if anything can go wrong, it will.'" Well, that may be going a little too far since I'm sure there's a lot more that could've gone awry on this job, but you be the judge.

• Problem #1: A Delivery Dilemma

Since this was an interior design job versus a Staging, we were buying, rather than renting all the furnishings. And in order to get the best prices for my client I shopped with multiple vendors, most of which were online. This meant that deliveries were going to be coming from MANY different places, in MANY different boxes, at MANY different times. We had to have the items delivered to the jobsite directly since we don't have a large enough storage space to hold everything.

Since our installation was in mid-December, we ordered most of the items the week before Thanksgiving to make sure they all arrived on time. Literally MINUTES after I clicked the "SEND ORDER" button, I got an email from my client saying that the only stipulation to our delivering to their jobsite was that nothing could arrive before Thanksgiving, and if anything arrived after 3:30pm when the project manager left for the day, no one would be onsite to accept the delivery. Uh oh! I immediately called Overstock.com, where I had ordered a HUGE amount of stuff. They said the only way to ensure nothing arrived before Thanksgiving was to cancel the order and place it again after the holiday. Well I was nervous about that because if it didn't arrive in time we'd be in trouble. And really, how could they possibly ship things so fast that they would arrive in just a couple of days? Nothing to worry about.

Well, Murphy's Law prevailed and the first shipment of about 5 or 6 things (2 rugs, a couple of tables and some benches) arrived right before Thanksgiving and were promptly refused by whomever was on the job site at the time. No one alerted me to this fact, and I only figured it out when Overstock contacted me saying they received my returns and were processing a refund. RETURNS?? What do you mean returns???!!! I panicked because here we were in early December already and I had less than 2 weeks before the installation. When I called they said the items had been refused and now the only thing to do was to reorder them. Luckily all but one item was still in stock and the new rug I found to replace the one that was out of stock was actually better than the first one. So I reordered and all was well. Everything arrived on time for the installation. Note to self, Overstock has incredible shipping. Not only is it practically free, no matter what you order, but it's FAST!

• Problem #2: An Art Anomaly

Picking the art for this job was an organizational nightmare because there were so many different rooms and hallways which needed art in many different sizes, so I needed to choose pieces that coordinated with each other in exactly the right sizes and colors for each space. I also had to know in advance which pieces would be used in which spaces so that the accessories I bought for those rooms would coordinate with the art. When we had originally previewed the site, it was still under construction so I was nervous that what I ordered wouldn't work. Not to mention, this was an Art Deco building, so the art had to be from that period, which turned out to be hard to find in the quantity we needed.

We ended up choosing a series of Cuban magazine covers from the 1930s, which we had printed in poster size by CubanGraphics. They were the only affordable source of Art Deco posters I could find. And since I needed about 20 large posters, cost was definitely a factor. In order to keep all the pieces straight, I created a spreadsheet for each room with thumbnails of the art I had chosen. This way I could easily see which pieces were going where and could verify that my throw pillows and decor would work.

The other factor was that right when we were about to order the art, Michael's was having a HUGE sale on poster frames. No matter what size you bought, they were all $9.99! Now I could absolutely not pass this up, even though the sale actually happened before I had completely nailed down the sizes I was going to order. So I spent about an hour at Michael's looking at all the different sizes and referring back to my meticulous notes from the art supplier as to which sizes they could provide (the sizes of the frames didn't always match up with the sizes of the posters). Finally I left with about 20 frames in about 3 different sizes. I thought I was all set.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to when the art arrives. I actually left it in the packaging for over a week until we were ready to start framing. My assistant opens everything up and tells me that the sizes don't match up to my list. What?? I went back to the email I had sent to the art supplier to confirm that I had requested the right thing - I had. As it turns out though, they had sent me only 2 different sizes. Most of what they sent was the largest size (27x40) and these had not been trimmed down to size. They were actually a few inches wider and longer than they needed to be. There were none in the middle size I had ordered (24x36) and only a few in the smaller size (20x30). Once again, panic! I went back to my spreadsheet and pored over the list. Luckily I could work with the larger sizes in most cases, but what about the frames?? My $10 frames were now not going to work and to replace them was going to cost a LOT more than I had paid for them! Well, I had to bite the bullet. I went back to Michael's and upgraded to higher quality frames (turns out the $10 ones were really bad quality anyway) and there was another sale going on so the upgrade didn't cost as much as I thought it would.

I should also say that the vendor was very good about handling the problem. In order to get these to us quickly, she had them sent directly from the printer which meant she hadn't had the opportunity to review the order before it went out. She apologized profusely and resent out the one that needed to be reprinted immediately. We had actually gotten larger pieces for the same price as the smaller ones so I didn't haggle for a discount. It all worked out in the end. And the prints were just beautiful - the colors were vibrant and looked just like they had onscreen! If you ever need Art Deco Cuban magazine covers, CubanGraphics is your one stop shop!

• Problem #3: Previewing During Preconstruction is a Pain (I'm stretching for an alliteration for this one)

In each of their low income housing developments, this particular developer puts in a desk wtih 3 computer workstations that are available for the residents to use. This desk is built by the contractor, not something that we order and install ourselves. When we previewed the jobsite, the place was still under construction and the desk hadn't yet been installed. With our client, we determined where the desk was going to go based on where the computer and internet hookups were on the walls. I created my design and layout based on that assumption. Well, you know what they say about the word ASSUME (if you don't, email me offline). When we arrived onsite, the computer desk had been installed right where I was planning to put a loveseat, coffee table and a kids play area. So we had to rearrange on the fly and though it turned out ok, I wasn't thrilled with the new placement as I had something different in my head.

Now, the moment you've been waiting for...

• Problem #4: The Case of the Moldy Sofas

As I mentioned, we had to have all the furnishings shipped to the site before we arrived. The largest items we had shipped were the office furniture (which had to be assembled - UGH) and the coup de gras of the entire design, the Le Corbusier sofa/loveseat/chair/ottoman set.

When you see the after photos...

You can hardly imagine what they looked like when we arrived onsite and opened up the boxes...

Did I tell you it would be worth the wait? In all my years of Staging I have never seen anything as bad as this. These pieces were COVERED in mold! It took my assistant and I an additional hour or so to painstakingly wipe down each piece. We were using non-toxic cleaning fluid (this is all I had with me as no one told me I'd need "MOLD-BE-GONE" - I just made that up so don't go googling it). But as we breathed in the moldy dust that came up, I'm sure the non-toxic part of the equation was negated. The great thing about leather is that you can just wipe anything off of it. That's why I have a leather sofa and dining chairs in my house and leather upholstery in my car. Because with 2 young kids you never know what kind of mess you're going to have to clean up. But even being a mom did not prepare me for this one!

Of course I immediately took photos and emailed them to the vendor (EuroModerno). He was shocked and contacted his supplier immediately. The supplier responded that "it should wipe off and stay off." That made me think that I was not the first customer this had happened to! The boxes were dry and had been kept indoors so who knows how this happened!

I alerted the client, of course, in case the mold came back. I would be mortified if they went to see our handywork and the sofas were covered again. EuroModerno offered to swap out this set with another one as soon as they are in stock again (3 weeks) OR to issue a partial refund for the hassle. We are still waiting for word from the client as to whether or not the mold has returned. EuroModerno has great customer service, so I do recommend them despite this problem. Just make sure to check the boxes before you accept delivery!

We were very pleased with the end result, but boy did we have a time of it getting there!

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

At the tail end of 2008 I completed my third "Staging" job for a developer of low income housing developments. If you read my posts about Staging 1 & Staging 2, you will realize that these are really more interior design than Staging jobs. Our goal was not to "sell" these places to the residents, but rather to make the common rooms warm and inviting, as well as functional for relaxing, watching TV, having meetings & classes and using the computer.

Job #3 was Hobart Heights in downtown Los Angeles. This is the flagship building for this developer, so it had to look great. The building was designed in a contemporary Art Deco style, so we chose furnishings and art that fit with this theme. This building had 2 main living spaces and a couple of ancillary areas, like entries and hallways that needed to be Staged. The first was the Common Room which is used for watching TV and having occasional meetings, as well as just hanging out. The second was the Learning Center, which included a desk area for 3 workstations, a conference table for courses provided by the facility, and an area for kids to play while their parents attend these courses.

These jobs are huge projects for us, requiring the coordination of several different vendors so that all the furniture, art and accessories arrive on time and in are put in the proper place. We also have to assemble some of the pieces on-site (especially the office furniture), which is a labor intensive process. This project in particular had its share of challenges (the first being "the case of the moldy sofa" which I will cover in my next post!).

Below are my photos of the end result. Stay tuned for my next post to hear more details of our challenges on this job.

*************************************************************************************

Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

If you follow my blog, you may have seen a post a couple of months ago about a townhome we Staged in Santa Monica. To follow up, that property had multiple offers (one right after the first open house!) and ended up selling in 23 days for just over asking. We were thrilled!

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I get a call from a Realtor who says he saw the Staged townhome and he's currently in the process of listing another townhome in the same building with almost the EXACT SAME layout. Well, it's a mirror image, but you get the picture. He knew how well the first one did so he wanted me to Stage this unit for his client. We Staged this unit this past Monday the 8th (which also happens to be my birthday for anyone who cares!) and I just had to share.

The seller of this property knew I did a great job for the last guy in his building, but kept saying to me during every conversation - "Make sure you've got your creative juices flowing on this one!" I got nervous after he said it 3 or 4 times. I mean I thought I always had my creative juices flowing on every job - what is he so nervous about?? This seller was also very budget conscious, as was the other client in that same building, so I was somewhat limited in the furniture I could use for his home. I didn't want it to look just like the last unit I had Staged in the building, but at the same time, that one had done so well, maybe I shouldn't mess with success. The owner of the previous unit had also told my new client to make sure I hung the SAME PICTURE over the bathtub in the master bath, as that (in his opinion) was the driving force behind the sale of his home!

So as all this was going through my head, I get a call from the rental company saying that some of the pieces I ordered were not in stock including the sofa & loveseat for the living room. Uh oh! So I had to figure out some substitutions. Now once they don't have what I've ordered, I know I can get anything else they DO have for the same price. So I figured I'd first try to upgrade to something a little nicer. Once I changed one thing, I had to change everything. So as it turned out I used almost none of the same pieces I used on the first property. And though the budget was the same, this one had much more expensive pieces so in my opinion, it looks even better than the first. A happy coincidence!

The seller was so thrilled with the results, he sent me the following email:

"Dear Annie, I've waited all afternoon and it was worth the wait. You are one amazing and talented lady. Christine and I were both blown away. Thank you Thank you Thank you. You really did kick in the creative juices just like you said you would. If Randy can't sell that unit, the way you have it looking I won't be disappointed to have to move into it myself. WOW No wonder you enjoy your work. You must have another business, ('Decorating Consultant") naming your own price!
A million more "Thanks", Annie
Bob"

Reading it again makes me smile. Don't you just love happy clients? Here are the results below.

Arty closeup...

Arty closeup...

The art above the bath that sold the first place...

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

In my weekly MLS research I came across the photo below as one of many of a beautiful home currently on the market in Venice. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the Realtor/Photographer was trying to sell by posting this photo to the MLS.

Firstly, it's a closeup of a BED. Secondly, it's a closeup of an UNMADE bed that looks the way my bed does when I wake up after a fitul night's sleep! A potential buyer can tell absolutely nothing about the room from this photo, except that the seller probably doesn't care enough about selling his home to at least make his bed before the Realtors takes the photos. You can't see the size of the room or how much furniture will fit in it. The walls are white and the bedding is white, making it even more difficult to tell anything at all about the room.

By contrast, below are 2 photos of a bedroom I took on Monday after we had Staged a townhome in Santa Monica (full story coming up in my next post). Notice that in the first photo, you get a view of almost the entire room, showing that it's spacious enough for a queen bed and 2 nightstands, plus a bench (or dresser) along the side wall. You also see that it's got an en suite master bath. In the second photo, you see the French doors that lead out to the balcony right off the patio.

The buyer who sees these photos on the MLS has already answered several of his/her own questions about the size and layout of the master bedroom & bath before he or she even sets foot in the home.

If you haven't already read my post about photography tips for Realtors, you may not realize that more than 85% of buyers pre-shop for homes on the internet! That means that your photos have to sell the home before a buyer will come to see it in person.

So this is not just about a photo of a Staged bedroom versus an unmade bed. It's about the importance of photography as a marketing tool for all your listings. Would you print a flyer that had the first photo as a way to market and sell this home? I certainly hope not. So if you can't at least make the bed for your client before taking the photo, just don't take it. No photo in this case is better than a bad photo that will turn off any potential buyer. And if you don't have a wide angle lens that will allow you to get more of the room in your photos, hire a professional to photograph the home. And better yet, have it professionally Staged first! Then you can guarantee your photos will have buyers knocking down the door to get in.

*************************************************************************************

Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

On Tuesday morning I got into a car accident. Not a fender-bender, but a full on crash & smash accident in a busy West Los Angeles intersection. I was so frightened as it was happening and in shock after it was over! Luckily neither the other driver or myself was seriously injured. Our cars were another story! I was driving my minivan, which works more than half the time as my Staging van.

The car wasn't drivable, so AAA came to tow it to the body shop where I later found out it was deemed a total loss. Basically this means I have to buy a new one (or a new used one) for much more than they are going to give me for my old perfectly wonderful one.

When I heard this I started having a bit of a pity party and was lamenting the fact that I'd be forced to buy a new van immediately for the sake of my staging business. With the economy in the toilet, now was not the time to spend a huge chunk of change.

But then I started to think about what could've happened...

1) My kids could've been in the car.

2) I could've been seriously injured or killed.

3) The other driver could've been seriously injured or killed.

4) I could've hit a pedestrian or another vehicle as my car swerved.

I'm sure there are many more awful scenarios, but you get the point.

What I quickly realized is that I am SO blessed! I'm alive and well and my family is safe. I will not have to choose between housing and clothing my family or buying a replacement for my van. I survived! The car, the money, the hassle - it's nothing that can't be overcome.

This is the perfect time of year for such a lesson and it's one we should all take to heart.

*************************************************************************************

Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"

************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.

Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.