RESA 2011 Staging Confrence -Attended Kristy Morrison of Capital Home Staging & Design

I just got back from the 2011 RESA (Real Estate Staging Association –North America) annual home staging conference. The conferences started in 2010 and doubled in 2011. It was such an exciting experience to meet stagers from all over North America (AND we had some from Europe!) I wasn’t able to find any other Ottawa stagers (but I hear their were 3 others) at this event but their was a ton of Canadians! (Shout out to Laurie Cole in Fredericton! And the team of Toronto stagers too many to list!!)

The first night of networking and food was a nice way to meet the other attendees. I was also floored when people started coming up to me and saying how excited they were to meet “THE Ottawa Stager”….it was kind of fun being given that title I do have to say!! (Thanks for that one Cecilia Cannon –Chicago!) I felt like a mini celebrity! LOL

This 2 day packed event was completely mind blowing! I think I’m a learning junkie as I am so focused on learning all that I could possibly learn! Here’s what was on the agenda:

-Wealth Building Strategies for Stagers
-How to close more sales
-Building a dynamic repeat & referral business
-Inventory Management (THIS was quite exciting to find a program that me and my team can use efficiently!)
-How to effectively use accessories
-Growing your business by bringing on other stagers
-How to use your own staging statistics
-Staging your business……interesting right!?
-and much much more!

Then the awards ceremony in the middle served a buffet style dinner (you know I sat near the food!)

Now that I am back I am ecstatic to see that my team of exceptional girls were able to continue our appointments and got us to our JANUARY MONTHLY GOAL already!! Way to go girls! This dedication from my team members allows me to focus on rewriting my notes and starting to implement things in areas I feel we need to expand on.

Kristy Morrison ISRP, IDDP, IOP, PCC, VT

Property Stylist & CEO

(613) 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca

Capital Home Staging & Design

-2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics Winner

-2009 & 2010 RESA Rookie Stager of the Year Finalist (top 5 stager in North America)

Services we offer:

Home Staging, Interior Redesign, Colour Consultations, Furniture & Accessory Rental, Home Flipping Consultations, Interior Decorating Guidance, Organizing.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Kristy's posterous

White or off white which is the right choice?

I recently attended a paint seminar with a local painter and many local decorators and the white paint debate came up. Many designers were on board with a "famous tv designer" who says pure white is "wrong" and should NEVER be used. They all said that an off white is the best choice like "designer white" or "cloud white" for trim and doors. Well I STRONGLY disagree with the "never" aspect of the statement! Their is a place and time / situations where tinted whites are appropriate and when a pure off the shelf white is also appropriate.

Tinted whites are great when you want to lessen the intensity of the trim work when it is up against the coloured wall. But this is a VERY expensive way to go as all trim, doors and ceilings (unless they are painted a Colour) should match. This will take 2-3 proper coats of paint on every inch of space to the proper colour. Changing a door from white to tinted white can also ruin the look of the door as factory painted doors look better than a home painted door (spray painting them can also increase the price though they do look good when finished) Decorators really need to consider the home owners budget as changing the pure white trim to a tinted trim is it REALLY conducive and necessary to the design or is it a ploy "up sell" and get a bigger referral fee from the painter?
If the room would benefit from a tinted paint and you can afford it them go for it! I do agree that it does change the look of the room. 97% of people can't tell the difference between pure white and tinted white so is it worth it?

I do love pure white for many reasons and here are a few:
-Allows for easy touch up and spot fixing if you don't have a "tinted" white -save thousands of dollars by spot touching instead of full base board cutting in & painting.
-makes a great baseboard or crown moulding stand out as crisp, clean
-highlights architectural features

Now I am not saying your decorator is wrong but they and you need to evaluate your design concepts (ex: are you highlighting, hiding or minimizing the baseboards?) your budget, time frame and purpose. If you are SELLING do NOT waste time and money changing it into a tinted paint colour keep it simple.

Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
613 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca Www.CapitalHomeStagingAndDesign.ca

Posted via email from Kristy's posterous