Home Staging Pennsylvania- Hart & Associates Servicing the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

In addition to providing home staging services for our clients in the Philadelphia region we also design spaces for our clients in their new homes. A recent client however was not selling her home, rather she was moving in with her fiancee and needed some help making his home into their home. I had known this client for years and was really touched when she contacted me to work on this special project. Sure, she could have moved her things in and then figured out what went where, but this busy professional knew that #1 she did not have the time, #2 she wanted to be able to entertain for the holidays and #3 she did not want to be the one to tell her fiancee what items needed to go! Sometimes we have to act as the "home therapist" and make decisions for clients!

With only 2 weeks to complete the project we approached this methodically. First we visited her home to view her furniture, next we visited his home to see the existing decor and his things, and then we interviewed them to find out what they were looking for. He wanted comfort, she wanted glam. Our solution? Create two rooms that they can use for entertaining. One room was the large living room that was centrally located, the other room was on the third floor and had access to the roof deck. This space also needed to serve as her dressing room when they were not entertaining since space was tight in this city home.

To create the luxurious living/dining room in our short time frame, we kept the existing wall color and dining room furniture. We balanced the space by adding a blue sofa to the white wall. We removed cluttered bookcases and added her piano to the dining area so they could play when entertaining. We added a new seating area to the living room and some lively pops of lime green to contrast with the dark blue walls.

The vacant third floor had a total transformation. Along one wall we constructed a closet to store her clothes and added mirrored doors to add more light to the space. Maximizing every inch of space we added a bar under the stairs to the roof deck. This space will also house a flat screen tv so they can enjoy using this room as a cozy den. Working with the existing color pallate we then purchased new seating for this space and incorporated some of her antiques and accent furniture from her home. To give it a glam look we added fabrics with sparkle and sheen and a gorgeous gilded floor lamp.

The results were stunning! Now this couple had a home that reflected both their styles and 2 new spaces to entertain. Even the dog loves it!

Every now and then I have a staging challenge that I just cannot figure out. Most homes are easy to plan- first I determine the best purpose for the space, next I come up with the design scheme and then I sort out what furniture and accessories work best for the image we are trying to convey. Sometimes however I come upon a space that puzzles me. If I cannot figure it out, how can the buyer?

Such was the case with one of my most recent staging projects in Chester County Pennsylvania:

• First there was an entry hall that had been added between the home and the garage. It was both the front and the back entrance to the home so it was the first thing buyers noticed when they came in. It had a tile floor and brick walls making it instantly feel cold.

• Next was the living room. It was open on one side to the entrance hall, the other side to the kitchen and the other side to the sun room. The fourth wall had the fireplace and built-in bookcases. Upon first glance the only obvious place to put the sofa was on the wall near the entry hall but this would make the seating area absurdly far from the fireplace.

• The kitchen was lovely but since it was open to the dining area buyers needed to see how this space would work for them.

• Finally there was the sun room. It was a gorgeous bright space overlooking lovely farmland. It had been added onto the house and it was the largest room in the home. By calling it a "sun room" buyers instantly felt like they could not enjoy it all the time and were relegated to the smaller living room or the basement.

My solution was to give more definition to the spaces in this open floor plan:

• The foyer became a mudroom and a command center for busy families.

• The living room featured a gathering place adjacent to the gourmet kitchen and  a separate home office niche.

• The kitchen and dining room were made into one cohesive space by using the same color palate as the adjoining spaces.

• The sunroom was transformed into a spacious family room that was an extension of the other living areas.

Since this home was bright and sunny I felt the typical staging neutrals (beige, brown and grey) just would not do. My vision was to infuse the home with color so that the buyer would remember how cheerful this space felt. The result? A charming and whimsical country retreat!

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors to wear however when it comes to selling a home it is not typically my go to color of choice. Last week I visited a property in Wayne Pennsylvania owned by a real estate investor that I work with and was surprised to discover that one of the units we were getting ready to sell had some really lovely teal wallpaper in the hall bathroom. Normally, this client does what ever we ask him to do to get his homes ready to sell- he replaces light fixtures, installs new carpet, regrouts the floors and stages the rooms. When I mentioned the wall paper to him he was not interested in replacing it. He had already invested a lot of money and he thought it was not really that bad... but was it?

That wallpaper gave me nightmares. My tranquil, transitional vision for this townhome was not in tune with those teal walls. Night after night I plotted how I could make those walls go away until I had an amazing idea. Instead of fighting the turquoise walls, I decided to make them work as part of the design for the home. As home staging professionals we can recommend what our clients need to do to properly present their home for sale, but no matter how persuasive we are, getting them to actually do the work is another task entirely. Suddenly I felt empowered again. This client would not change the walls, but I could change the way those walls felt. To make it all tie together I would use that teal color in all the rooms we were staging so it would not seem like such an island of color in this otherwise neutral home. We would make it look like it was supposed to be that color all along!

Below are some photos from the staging we did. The results look even better in person. From the teal front entrance door to the master bedroom spa-bath the touches of turquoise carry the buyer's eye through the space. The home seller was beyond thrilled. He even loved how the flowers in the wallpaper matched the floral art we selected. And in case you did not know, turquoise is one of the Pantone colors for 2010. It is trendy and here to stay.

Below is a guest blog I wrote for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors news website PAR Just Listed. If you are selling your home this holiday season, follow my advice to make sure your home is the star of the show- not your seasonal decor.

Showcase your home during the holidays

Monday, December 7, 2009 By Kate Hart

You don't have to act like the Grinch to make sure your home is show ready during the holiday season. Instead, follow these simple suggestions to showcase your home's selling features and celebrate at the same time:

Let your home be the star of the show, not your lawn ornaments.
It may be fun to pull a Clark Griswold and cover your entire roof with brightly colored Christmas lights and the front yard with giant blow up sculptures but remember that curb appeal is important and buyers will make their initial decision on whether or not to buy your home based on their first impression.  Instead, opt for simple and classic greenery and white lights. A wreath on the front door, small evergreens in urns and some garland along the fence post will keep your home festive but not overwhelm buyers.

When it comes to holiday décor, less is more.
You want buyers to appreciate the space your home offers, not your nutcracker collection that requires shoving the sofa up against the wall.  Pick one key area per room to decorate and create a focal point that will capture the buyer's eye.  In the living room add some garland to the fireplace and some seasonal colored candles. In the dining room, add a festive centerpiece and keep the sideboard streamlined. Set up your tree or menorah in the family room but forgo the additional items you normally display.  

Once the guests leave, so do the decorations.
As soon as the holidays are over, get your home back to its show ready state as soon as possible. Resist the temptation to let the stacks of gifts linger in the living room and the tree stay up past the New Year. Buyers have time off from work during the holidays and if they're shopping for a home they'll make it a priority to get out there and look- hopefully at yours!

Still not convinced that you need to stage your home to prepare it for sale? Think staging only works for model homes? Take a look at our most recent staging in Malvern Pennsylvania. Located in picturesque Chester County, this gorgeous home had great selling features but needed to be fine tuned to show families how they could live there. The results? Stunning!

You know you have been staging for a long time when you get a call from a client you helped years ago to stage their current home. I was elated to hear from 2 clients last month who I had helped 3 years ago and were moving again. Clearly these clients understood that home staging was an essential part of marketing and selling their homes.

I was equally surprised to get a call from a new client to stage their home. When they told me the address of the house something seemed all too familiar. When I pulled up to the house I instantly remembered- this was a home that I staged the first year I was in business! The family that had purchased the home was now moving and wanted to make sure this home looked its best. These clients were a joy to work with! They had already installed new windows and removed all the carpet.  They eagerly agreed to make some simple updates- new lighting in all the rooms, polish the hardwood floors, repaint and add new blinds. During our first meeting we discussed what type of buyer would most likely buy the home. Given the great neighborhood and schools I felt it would most likely be a young family. I recommended that the clients use their existing furniture and rent some pieces to give this home the young, trendy look first time home buyers would be looking for. Below are some photos of the transformation. I am thrilled that these clients were so open to staging- I will keep you posted on how quickly they get an offer!

I just got off the phone with an ecstatic Realtor- her most recent property was listed on Sunday, got an offer on Monday, accepted the offer on Tuesday and got a back up offer Tuesday evening. The reason she is so thrilled is not only because this home sold so quickly but because the last home we staged for her also sold in less than a week!

This Realtor understands that in today's market staging a home is essential to getting a faster sale. She also knows that home staging does not have to be expensive. Often times all a client needs is a home staging consultation or a plan of how to best present their home for sale. Once I meet with a client to advise them on how to prepare their home for sale,  they can then complete their home staging home work- this can mean rearranging the furniture, decluttering, cleaning or adding items to accent the home. Once their staging work is complete the home can be listed and shown.

Below are our recent statistics for homes we have recently staged in the Main Line and Philadelphia region. If you are considering listing your home this Fall, I recommend that you begin to prepare your home for sale now so that it is ready to show. Visit our website www.hartstaging.com or contact us for our $tage and $ave plans for every home seller's budget.

Ardmore, Montgomery County PA: Home on the market 2 months, after staging consultation sells to second buyer to tour the property.

Ardmore, Montgomery County PA: Home listed on Sunday, sold the next day to first showing.

Ardmore, Montgomery County PA: Home sells after 3 days on the market.

"House was listed on Monday and sold on Thursday (Friday with counter offer agreed to). Also had another offer on Saturday and all thru the process lots of comments about "beautiful house  - very well presented"!.Thanks much for all your help"

Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County PA: Home on the market for 6 months. After consult and recommendation to remove wall paper sells to second buyer to see the home.

Devon, Chester County PA: Home sells after 1 week on the market with multiple offers!

Devon, Chester County PA: Home sells in less than 2 weeks on the market.

Haverford, Montgomery County PA: Home sells in less than 2 weeks on the market.

Havertown, Delaware County PA: Home sells in less than 2 weeks on the market.

Merion Station, Montgomery County PA: Home sells to first buyer to look at property (home seller spent 9 months getting home ready to sell and it was worth it!)

Narberth, Montgomery County PA: Home sells in less than 2 weeks on the market.

"The house is under contract, we signed on Monday night and the inspections were Thursday. I will let you know once the deal is completely done. I think your staging had a huge impact on the speed of the whole process,  and the final price. We cannot thank you enough, you are amazing, and I have learned so much about living in a tidier fashion which I really like."

Newtown Square, Delaware County PA:  3.6 million dollar home gets offer after 40 days on market and 10 showings!

Newtown Square, Delaware County PA: Home sells in less than one month with 3 other homes in the same development on the market!

Radnor, Delaware County PA: Contemporary home in traditional neighborhood sells in less than three weeks on market!

"We got an offer, with the buyers' first visit occurring about 2-2 1/2 weeks into the project. We've accepted, and closing will be around the 30th. Thanks so much for your guidance; I know it made a difference."

Wynnewood, Montgomery County PA: Home sells in one week after home staging consultation.

Kate Hart is an award winning home stager servicing clients in the Main Line and Philadelphia regions of Pennsylvania. Visit www.hartstaging.com to learn more about our services and our new Virtual Real Estate Staging Services^tm for every home seller's budget. For all other locations contact us at www.selecthomestagers.com to find an associate in your local area.

Lately it seems like we have been physically staging a lot of occupied or lived in homes- this means a lot of decluttering and packing up client belongings! Typically we do not do hands on staging for occupied homes, instead, we provide a home staging consultation and the client completes the plan that we recommend and then we come back for fine tuning or to add a few accent items.

For our most recent project in Villanova Pennsylvania we were asked to do the physical staging and rearrange the home seller's items to make the home presentable for sale. When I first visited the property to provide the client with an estimate I was surprised to see that he did not have much furniture at all to rearrange. I recommended that we use his items and treat his home like a vacant property and add furniture and accessories to show the best purpose for each space.

While I was there I also made some recommendations on things the client could do to make his home show even better such as remove the wall to wall carpeting that was covering the hardwood floors, remove the dated window treatments and repaint the walls to remove any wear and tear. As I was leaving he asked me if there was anything else he needed to do- Knowing budget was a concern, I casually made a comment that since his bathrooms and kitchen were dated that he needed to consider updating them to make his home more competitive. I showed him the unused space in the hallway between the kitchen and powder room and how the future home owner could expand the kitchen. A few phone calls and emails later we had a deal to stage the home.

When I arrived today I was shocked! The home was not the same home that I had seen a few weeks prior. The home seller had done all the things I recommended- he removed the carpet, polished the floors, removed the window treatments and repainted. But that was not the best part- he had remodeled the kitchen and even took down the wall to open up the space! I was shocked, excited and overjoyed- he had done his home staging homework!

Below are some before, during and after photos of this property. I am so impressed with his understanding of staging and that he needed to do something to make his home stand out in today's market. After we completed the staging he agreed to add a new refrigerator too to make the kitchen even more of a selling feature! See if you can spot how we used the home seller's things!

Still not convinced staging can help you to properly prepare your home for sale? Take a look at the pictures below of a home staging we did in Gladwyne Pennsylvania this week. If this does not convince you to stage your home I do not know what will! Staging can transform even the most "lived" in home into a showplace that appeals to the most potential buyers. Take this bachelor pad for example and consider what we are selling- how someone lives in their home or how buyers want to envision living in a home. Just looking at these pics makes me exhausted but amazed at what can be done in one day. I am also proud of the home seller for realizing that he needed to invest in staging to market his home. Pictures may be worth a thousand words but staging is worth thousands more for home!

We recently had the pleasure of helping Sposato Builders with one of their most recent Main Line home renovations. This was an especially rewarding experience because the client chose not only to stage a few key rooms but also to finish the lower level of this home per our recommendation.

As a home staging professional it is our duty to make sure that we are giving our client all the right information about what they need to do to best market and present their property for sale. In this case, completing the basement meant staging less areas in the home, however this compromise meant the home was more competitive with other homes on the market.

Here are some photos of this recent project. As you can see adding some key pieces of furniture and accessories not only added warmth to this space but also enhanced the selling features of this home. Once the lower level is complete the play room items will move out of the third floor and into the lower level. With 4 fully renovated stories and a professionally landscaped yard this home will not last long!

If you are looking to sell your home take a look at how home staging transformed this property. Hart Staging personally services the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery area of Pennsylvania. Visit our site at www.hartstaging.com to learn more about our services. For all other locations contact us at www.selecthomestagers.com to find an associate in your local area.

Kate Hart is an award winning home staging expert servicing clients in the Main Line and Philadelphia regions. Make sure to subscribe to her blog for money saving staging and home design ideas.