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

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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

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Staging tips for the holidays!

          

Example of bad Christmas decorating during sale.                                                 Example of proper decorating during the sale of a home.

Christmas is a hard time of season to deal with as we work full time, have gifts to buy, parties to attend or host, and you may have added the sale of your home as well. Here are the top 5 tips for decorating your home so you can still enjoy the holiday as well as still appeal to potential buyers.

1) Think "Holiday festive" thank birth of Christ, Hanukkah, etc. you still want your decor to stay neutral so you appeal to the most amount of buyers. You want your decorative items to used to celebrate a holiday rather than a specific religion as Ottawa is multi cultural and we want to appeal to all religions.

2) Don't skip the Decluttering: when it comes to selling a home decluttering is a natural part of the process. Just because you may be in a time crunch because of the month don't skip this part as adding holiday decor to a home with out decluttering will be overwhelming. For every holiday decor piece you add remove one normal decor piece (or two if you have many decor pieces or collectibles)

3) Add comforting feelings: This is the BEST time of year to have baked cookies, cakes, cupcakes etc displayed and presented in a way that buyers want to enjoy the delicious treat! Because of the time of year you'll want to hit home with the potential buyers that their home could be just as cozy and comforting.

4) To tree or not to tree.....that is the question! Well if you can decorate the home in a festive way with out a tree i would say go for it. However if you have small children it will be hard to convince them that Santa will still be able to give gifts with out a tree. So when it comes to trees try and select one that is about two feet from the ceiling and as skinny as possible with out it looking top heavy. This will allow for more floor space to be shown off and give the appeal of a large floor home.

5) Curb appeal- You still need to attract buyers up into the home so don't put out anything large or what may be considered tacky by potential buyers. Hide giant blow up snowmen, reindeer, Santas, candy canes, snowflakes, or even lots of flashing lights. Opt in for the simple look as when it comes to selling "LESS is MORE" simple white lights lining the roof peaks, walk ways and large attractive windows (Note: if your window's need replacing or look rough don't highlight them with lighting)

 Now your ready to sell this winter season or maybe even decorate your home in a way that will appeal to everyone!

if you have any holiday decorating or staging questions please do not hesitate to call me!

Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
(613) 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca
www.CapitalHomeStagingAndDesign.ca
@OttawaStager + @CapitalHStaging

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2011 / 2012 paint Colour trends

According to the Ottawa Sun's article this weekend Sico paints and their Colour experts say their are three trend themes to look out for. They called them Inviting, Authentic, and Dazzling.

Inviting is the trend to make the house feel homey & comfortable. This is colours that remind them of familiar things that make them happy. Such as "clear sky's" (blue) "juicy fruits" (red) "strawberry & violet" (mauve) "sunny fields" (yellow) and shades of coral, moss green and lavenders. These colours are informal, relaxed, and allows home owners to cherish their home.

Authentic is very earthy and full of timeless beauty with wood, clay, earth and denim tones. Here less is more. Popular colours included sand, cream, blue, brown, yellow. These tones are supposed to relax and have a pleasing feeling.

Dazzling is energetic of clean pastels and zingy tints these colours are hot pink, brilliant yellow, lime green, turquoise. Thank goodness they said these colours are BEST applied as an accent wall or Colour blocked to a neutral Colour.

Now that i have read the article and see their predictions for Colour trends all i have to say from a stagers point of view is "I sure hope not!!!!" inviting and authentic colour's can be quite attractive for living (never for sale) Of all of my Colour consultations I have NEVER done a consultation where the owners requested the new trends nore have I recommended to do the new trends....why....well TRENDS CHANGE and that's every year! So unless you have so much disposable income your can paint your home every year I don't suggest a "trend" design. When we do a Colour consultation we talk with the client about colours they like and dislike and come up with a plan using those colours our clients like. Now with that said we also make suggestions as to thinking outside the box but the choice is ultimately up to our clients! What do you think of the new Colour tends coming up? Which set would you choose? Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
613 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca Sent from my iPad

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Free Hugs Campaign - Official Page (music by Sick Puppies.net )

We all need to open up a little. :)

Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
613 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca Sent from my iPad

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How to sell your home around Halloween with out scaring buyers away!!

Selling your home near Halloween can be SCARY!.....
You have to keep in mind your Halloween decor while selling your home. Buyers will not appreciate going up to a home that scares them till next week! Their is a way to decorate your home for Halloween so your kids can still enjoy the fun but you don't scare away potential buyers! Here are a few tips.....

1) Go for "PG" rated think kids and don't go over the top (this year)
2) Reduce the amount of exterior scare, no cobwebs, spiders, things that jump out you want buyers to WANT to enter the home not run away screaming.
3) Interior should have festive small pumpkins, gourds, arranged decoratively, you can even get the kids to paint fun faces on the mini pumpkins. This is more fun, cute and definitely won't scare buyers away!

It only takes one time to scare away a buyer do you really want to take that chance over a 1 day kids holiday?? Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
613 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca Sent from my iPad

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What is the best secret weapon for any business???? Business Coach!

Plain and simple.......an amazing business coach!
A business coach will evaluate where you stand in your industry what you are doing well and what you can improve on as well as help you think outside the box and create ways to draw attention to your business!

Working day in and day out in your business or on your business can wear you down mentally so your "creative" aspects can not shine and eventually....in a worst case scenario you let things slide and become an after thought which is the WORST thing for your business.....becoming an after thought. In my company being TOMA (top of mind always) is very important to me for Capital Home Staging & Design which is why I love working with and having our weekly coaching meetings Mary Anne Gillispie of "Red Apple Coaching" MAG is high energy, honest, creative, and inspiring to me as a business owner! One of the greatest ideas thought up by MAG was an alternate world in a space that appears to be normal.......a fully staged tent in the middle of a golf course at a local golf tournament! I thought of sponsoring a golf hole before but how can I make it memorable???.......well this definitely made it memorable! I was able to bring out couches, accessories, art, rugs, lamps, tables, food etc and having this on my sponsored hole where I was able to meet some great real estate agents that I hope to develop a strong business relationship with!

MAG knows that I have big plans for my company and I am confident that with her on my right arm I can stay focused and obtain my short and long term goals. It is important to have someone there you can talk to, count on and brainstorm with! So, if you are in business whether you are an agent, stager, mortgage broker etc who has their own business and you want to stay focused or even obtain help with goal setting or thinking outside the box then call MAG at RED APPLE COACHING. You will not regret it!! http://www.redapplecoaching.ca/

Kristy Morrison
Capital Home Staging & Design
613 832-8958 / info@chsd.ca Sent from my iPad

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