The reason this house was so in demand is because it was thoroughly staged before the MLS pictures were posted. This Baltimore, Maryland home was staged by Paula Henry of Simply Put Interiors. Paula was hired by Realtor Joe Vickers of Century 21 The Real Estate Centre. Joe pays for the professional staging service at his own expense. He knows that staging works. In this case the homeowners were being located and needed to sell fast. The sellers had a good idea of what staging is from shows like Sell this House and Designed to Sell from HGTV. The house sold so quickly because the sellers were aggressive in following the stager’s suggestions to repaint and rearrange along with other tasks. They realized that it was no longer their home, but now it is a product on the market that had to show at its best. 

For more on this Henry and Vicker’s successful staging and sale, read the full story from Trans World News.

From the Akron Beacon Journal’s Article “Area home sales freeze, down 29% in January”

According to figures provided by the Akron Area Board of Realtors, number of home sales in the area dropped a whopping 29% compared to January of last year. In total for 2007, the annual decline was 12% and things don’t look much better for 2008. The total value of home sales from 2007 dropped 28%. Not that it is good, but one number did go up, the average number of days on the market went from 91 days to 94 days. Well I guess there is some good news…the average sales price in January 2008 was $128,799 compared to $127,360 in January 2007. Don’t get too excited, that’s only 1% and there is more bad news. The National Association of Realtors announced Monday that national sales dropped last month to the lowest level in nearly a decade and is the fifth consecutive decline. Home values in Akron are reported to have dropped 3.8% over the past year according to the Zillow Home Value report. Can we say, “housing slump?”

I found a hilarious post on home staging at St. Paul Real Estate’s blog. Curiousity drew me in to find out how banks staged the homes that they have listed. Teresa Boardman is a Realtor and author of this article. She has posted some excellent pictures with commentary that are sure to make you laugh. Check them out….

Design Within Reach (aka DWR) has opened its first international studio in Toronto, Canada. DWR specializes in mid-century modern furniture, art, and accessories from well known designers such as Mies van der Rohe, Aalto, Bertoia, Jacobsen, Saarinen, Noguchi, Le Corbusier, Eames, Gehry, Wright, Gray and more! It is almost impossible to open and Architectural Digest, Metropolis, Metropolitan Home, or Interior Design magazine without seeing one of their legendary pieces.

The 23rd Annual Kitchen and Bath Business Market Forecaster revealed its expectations for the industry in this rough economy based on consumer expectations from the last quarter of 2007. Both kitchen and bath remodeling project spending are expected to drop 14% which amounts to over a $118 billion drop. Parallel to this decrease in spending is the decrease in jobs in the bath sector of the industry, which is predicted to decrease around 14%. The kitchen industry expects only a 1% gain in jobs. With the threat of recession, lowered housing starts, and the weak real estate market, it is no surprise that consumers are spending less on interior design and home remodeling. In home staging we often see how reluctant homeowners are to remodel bathrooms, but notice that they are more likely to remodel kitchens. Bathrooms are private spaces and get little attention when it comes to home improvement. Kitchens on the other hand have become showy social places and the key selling feature of homes.

Figures from K+BB January 2008 issue

Our showroom at the National City Home and Garden show in Cleveland was a big hit with the crowds that came through. The show is the largest home and flower show in the country. If you missed it check out the photo of our fabulous designer showcase room here. We also released our “New for 2008″ offerings such as home staging courses and REALTOR continuing education classes. Visit our training page to find out more.

According to the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the International Federation of Interior Architects and Interior Designers (IFI) member, Rita Carson, FASID and a group of her peers at the IFI conference in New York, the core values needed to be a good interior designer are:

• Ability to translate needs, ideas, and desires into appropriate interiors
• An ability to understand human behavior
• An understanding and concern for sustainability
• Ability to be ethically responsible
• Must have empathy for human life
• Must have passion for design
• Must be technically competent
• Ability to provide usability and functionalty within pschologically enhancing space
• A sharp focus of needs of people
• An ability to know how to “do no harm”
• Must have the ability to communicate both verbally and visually
• Must have aesthetic understanding
• Must have respect for human life

Earth tones aren’t only the trend, but they are also psychologically comforting for homeowners and visitors. This is very important when putting a home on the market and having the entire house staged for sale. Interior designers use the colors based on color forecasts from the Color Marketing Group and what they see in popular magazines and catalogs such as Better Homes and Gardens or Pottery Barn. If you are selling your home consider hiring an interior redesigner or home staging professional to help select the colors that are most agreeable and appealing to the volumes of potential buyers. Not only do neutral colors bring a sense of warmth and comfort, they also bring in high offers when selling your home!

At the office we use binder clips to stay nice and organized, so why not take the concept home? Unexpected uses give your work tools and old school supplies a second life. How about this great idea? Binder clips are an inexpensive and great way to store sets of napkins and table linens. What other office products can you think of using in your home? Share some of your tricks with us!