…or the whole house if you want.

Here are some staging friendly ideas from Better Homes and Gardens on decorating your home this season:

• Miniature cypress trees are a great bargain at $5 – $10 a piece. They will survive outside and look better than empty planters and urns.
• Poinsettias come in a variety of colors to coordinate with your decor.
• Add sprigs of greenery to shimmering place settings. Go for an all white and silver theme with just a touch of natural evergreen.
• Spray paint branches silver and add them to a vase.
• Try a nature theme that is unique such as berries and ferns.
• Make your own wreath using an old frame and objects such as evergreen (blue juniper, norway spruce, holly, balsam, or blue spruce), ribbon, garland, fake snow, etc.
• Place electric candles in the windows rather than strings of lights outside. They are much easier to take down, friendly to all religions, and more forgivable if you leave them up past the holiday.

If you’re thinking of a bright color but are hesitant to paint an entire room with it, consider painting one wall and keeping the others white or neutral. Not only does this ground the room, it becomes the focal point in what may otherwise be a boring room!

As always, stay tuned for more! This is only the second of ten color choosing tips I have to offer!

Want more? Don’t fret, I’ve got you covered!

“Here’s the nitty gritty: Man (Let’s call him Mr. Jordan) puts home on market with real estate agent. Many months later, the house is still for sale, has had no offers and few visitors. Real estate agent suggested lowering the price. Mr. Jordan wanted to sell, so followed the expert advice of his agent and lowered the price thousands of dollars. The house finally sold UNDER the asking price that had already been reduced. On the same street, just a couple of doors down, another man (Let’s call him Mr. Wills) put his house up for sale with another real estate agent. Within just a few weeks, Mr. Wills house sold ABOVE the asking price. 

Since Mr. Jordan and Mr. Wills live in townhouses EXACTLY ALIKE except for the decorating, Mr. Jordan just couldn’t figure it out. Until Mr. Wills explained that his real estate agent suggested hiring a home staging expert to get top dollar for the home in the shortest amount of time possible. It worked.  Mr. Jordan was furious (justifiably so, if you ask me) and took his real estate agent to court. And won! So beware all you real estate agents. Your job is to sell people’s homes quickly and for profit. So get out your contacts, hit the internet or consult your yellow pages but make sure you offer your client the services of a home stager and protect your profits. And if you actually stop and think about it for a moment, hiring a home stager is a great thing for you too. A home stager will have absolutely no qualms about telling your client that while selling his/her home, the smelly kitty litter has to go and by the way, the cat has to go too. And do you really have time to make sure the client gets their home spic and span for selling or open house visits? Isn’t your job to get listings and sell? Let a good home stager do their job and remember, it’s an investment on a high return. Sure, 10k lower for the sale of a home doesn’t really affect your bottom line. But if you have 16 homes listed for sale, 10k on all 16 of the homes makes a major difference to your bottom line! And keep in mind that a home that has been staged sells higher, on average in 15 days and the trend is that staged homes are so nice, multiple offers come in on a home and then you can just sit back and advise your client to take the highest bid… Much better than telling your client to lower the price. Hire a home stager, let the client pay for it and you get to take all the credit for selling high and selling fast…”

What do you think of this article? Is this true?

Here are some questions to ask before hiring the home inspector:
   1. How long have you been practicing?
   2. Are you specifically experienced in residential inspection?
   3. How long does the typical inspection take you?
   4. How much do you charge?
   5. Can I be present during the inspection?
   6. Are you a member of any professional associations?

The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) suggests asking at least the following questions during the inspection:
   1. Is the house well insulated?
   2. What is the condition of the foundation? Is it sinking?
   3. Are the roof and all of its components in good shape?
   4. Are the joists, beams, and other structural elements in good condition?
   5. Is there any termite damage?
   6. Are the pipes and plumbing systems in good condition?
   7. What is the condition of the wiring?
   8. Is the furnace efficient, clean and running properly?
   9. Is there a mold or a moisture problem in the house?

Once you have these questions answered, it will give you a better idea of if you really want the house. From there you can draw up a purchase agreement that states which repairs must be made and the amount of reductions in asking price to fix problems.

While the Pottery Barn sessions may not be for interior designers, they are a good start for homeowners who want to learn how to better select bedroom furniture and accessories, but aren’t looking to become designers. For those who are interested in training or starting an interior decorating business, Staged Makeovers is also offering Interior Redesign and Home Staging Classes at affordable prices. Find out more by contacting Sharon Kreighbaum, Accredited Staging Professional. Contact her by clicking here.

• www.energystar.gov – energy efficient appliances
• www.bettencourtwood.com – building supplies, cork flooring, sustainable plywood
• www.greenbuilder.com – online green building source guide
• www.vetrazzo.com – colorful countertops made from recycled glass

In 2007, Faces in the Wild generated $26,000 for wildlife conservation, and since 2000, Faces in the Wild has raised more than $200,000, including matching donations by Humanscale.

Humanscale founder and CEO Bob King has served on WWF’s National Council since 1999. As a company, Humanscale is committed to environmental sustainability and continually strives to design, engineer and manufacture products that consume less of the Earth’s limited resources.

Create Art, Protect Wildlife

Faces in the Wild: Call for Entries

Calling all artists and designers, amateur and pro: Here’s your opportunity to do what you love most while showing support for a great cause.

Humanscale is now accepting original artwork submissions for Faces in the Wild, an annual art auction and competition aimed at raising awareness and money for World Wildlife Fund, the leader in international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats.

Original artwork in any tangible medium depicting the face of a non-domesticated animal is eligible for entry. All artwork will be auctioned and judged by a panel of design and architecture leaders in Humanscale’s New York showroom in late April/early May. The artists behind three winning entries will each win a $1,500 credit toward Humanscale products. So unleash your best beast and take comfort in preserving the creatures that inspire your designs.

Due to space limitations, the number of entries is limited to a maximum of 75. To participate, contact Karen Brooking at 212-353-1383 or karen@bdeonline.biz.

> Learn More About Faces in the Wild
> Read Complete Call for Entries Details
>; See Previous Art Submissions

Two that we recently visited in our quest for Cleveland Home and Garden Show accessories are Suite Lorain and Flower Child. Both are located in an artsy area of Lakewood only a short distance from each other. The selections in each shop are plentiful and both shops are considerably large. Suite Lorain is 8,000 square feet of 1920’s Deco to 1970’s goods. Our favorite finds there were in the great stacks of vintage magazines, the fantastic Herman Miller, Saarinen, and Knoll chairs, and the wide variety of shoes. Flower Child was an amazing shopping experience. The merchandising is very well done with various rooms and vignettes. This store seems to go on and on with endless treasures. They also specialize in 1920’s to 1970’s and have expanded to a new Columbus location.

Rachel’s cat Ellie Vator (who once lived full time in an elevator company’s office) is retired and vowed to never step paw in an office again.

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Not only do you squeeze in a workout, but you save energy.
2. Bring your own travel coffee mug to your favorite coffee spot. People do it everyday, so the workers won’t even question your positive action.
3. Carry a reusable tote to the store and avoid wasting plastic bags. I just got a great one for $1.49 at Target, who is just one of many stores that have started carrying them. The impact will amaze you… see Rachel’s rant.
4. According to Rachel who put herself through college by working at a bank, online banking is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s free, doesn’t require envelopes or stamps, and gets your payments there on time.
5. Get a library card. Free entertainment. Free knowledge. Free from piles of books and clutter. (Had to throw that in…after all, we are home stagers).
6. Don’t litter. Come on! Do we really need to tell you?
7. Recycle.
8. Free your life from junk mail by removing yourself from mailing lists. It will change your life. Visit www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/ or read IdealBite’s Stopping Junk Mail article (a favorite site and great newsletter).
9. Turn your computer, printer, dvd player, stereo, etc. off when not using it. Even the little green (or whatever color) light takes energy in stand-by mode whether your are using the device or not.
10. Turn off the lights when you leave the room.

We’ve got plenty more tips up our green sleeves. Guess you’ll just have to come back for more!

• Sight – Start by clearing out the room. Who can relax when they are looking at clutter? If you are giving a spa gift basket to a friend, you can’t exactly clean her bathroom for her, but you can give her a large enough basket to quickly shove all the clutter into. Flowers, candles, and plants are spa must haves. Think of choosing relaxing colors like whites, pastels, ocean, or sky tones.
• Sound - Give a CD with relaxing music.  These can be found almost anywhere in the music and even fitness sections of the store. A “Do Not Disturb” sign is a great addition for those who have to lock themselves away for a rare moment of alone time.
• Smell – This ties into the candles and flowers. Pick scents that de-stress such as lavendar, ylang-ylang, or lemongrass.
• Taste - Add to the spa gift basket a mug and a relaxing herbal tea like chamomile, an organic juice, or her favorite gourmet coffee. Chocolate truffles or chocolate covered strawberries are other great additions. Everyone loves to be pampered.
• Touch – Nothing feels better than a warm fuzzy robe after a hot bath. Add a couple different sizes of plush white towels to the basket. Go for a high thread count cotton for both the robe and the towels. Other ideas to add to the basket are massage oils, scrubs, masks, body butter, etc.

Other ideas to add to the basket are a book, magazine, or a home-made gift certificate ”Good for __________ (fill in the blank).” Get creative and be thoughtful. Who wouldn’t appreciate a gift basket full of hand selected luxurious indulgences?

VOC’s are defined in another part of our blog. You’re sucking them in, you might as well find out what they are.

Here’s what freecycle has done for me… I’ve unloaded so much stuff on others who needed it:

• Carpet samples went to an animal shelter to keep the pups warm and cozy
• Wallpaper samples went to local girl scouts for crafts
• Household items went to a local woman in need
• Shoes, belts, and handbags – this post reunited me with a highschool friend.

The list goes on and on. I’ve even got a few goodies myself. I needed new speaker for my computer, a pair of baseball pants for a costume, an adapter for a label maker, etc. etc.

So if you want everyday to feel like your birthday, save some cash, lessen the landfill load, and help others in need, join your local freecycle group. It’s easy. 

PS I highly recommend using the daily digest setting to receive your freecycle messages otherwise you will get hundreds of e-mails a week.

Recently I noticed a little bit of mildew in a customer’s bathroom which was getting a makeover, so when I called Sherwin Williams to order his paint, I asked if they could add a mildewcide to the paint. Turns out the Duration Interior latex paint already contains a mildewcide. Perfect. Now he just needs to utilize his home warranty and get his bathroom vent fixed and prevent the mildew from coming back.

Find out how you can make your own flower arrangements to place throughout your home for sale or to bring color into your home.

Q. For every dollar spent on staging, how much return on investment should you expect?

a) $.50     b) $1     c) $2    d)$3 

Click here to watch the video and find the answer.

Now this is where it gets good.  When you wear something, return it to the hanger and hang the NORMAL WAY with the hanger opening facing back.  And then in six months look at all the BACKWARD hanging items.  Since these have not been worn in six months, get rid of them. 

This is the best way to stay on top of clothes and accessories that you don’t like, don’t fit, require too much maintenance, or do not make a complete outfit.  After all, that’s why you haven’t worn them in six months. 

Rachel is working on this system and loves it.  I’m next.