How do we do it?

We go over your home, room by room, noticing things you probably no longer see because you see them everyday. We find solutions for potential problem areas and enhance the features that increase your home’s value. By appealing to the largest segment of potential buyers, we create an environment that buyers want to make their own. Around every corner we prompt potential buyers to envision themselves: having a romantic evening with their partner, playing games with the family, preparing and enjoying an intimate dinner with friends or having a summer barbeque with the neighbors, etc… We appeal to the home buyer’s aspirations for their life – how they want to live. We create an emotional response that brings you top dollar offers.

Savvy real estate agents will be more inclined to show our homes because they know their buyers will easily envision living in them. A home staged by Chic gives a good impression throughout the process and is more likely to be seen as a well-cared-for property by estimators, inspectors, etc.

What is it, really?

Staging is an essential marketing technique in today’s competitive Real Estate market that enhances property presentation using lifestyle selling techniques to secure top dollar offers from buyers. We use proven techniques to review a property for ultimate impact on buyers. Showcasing your home’s best features takes more than de-cluttering, adding flowers and placing a bed on an angle! It is creating favorable impressions everywhere the eyes rest. Starting at curbside and moving throughout the house to the very back edge of the property, we review everything with an objective and creative eye.

Who do we work with?

* Home owners selling their homes who want to secure the most equity possible in the shortest timeframe

* Home builders and re-modelers who want to maximize the return on their investment

* Savvy real estate agents wanting to earn and keep a reputation for excellent service and exceptional performance

What does it cost?

The simple answer to that question is: “Less then it will cost you to not stage…” It is an investment, not overhead. That said, the fee for staging a house varies depending on the size of the house, how many rooms, the level of furnishings needed to support the value of the house, the size and condition of the rooms and if the house is vacant or occupied. You should expect a minimum fee of $300 for a simple consultation and that can go north of $10,000 for full staging of large, high-end homes. Remember, this is probably going to be less than that first price reduction you may be forced to make if you don’t stage, or the house payments you are forced to make while your un-staged home sits on the market and becomes stale. Your return on investment can be threefold or more. How often can you say that about other investments in such a short amount of time?

Every one of us on this planet leaves an eco-footprint as we go about our daily activities. This footprint consists of the CO2 and other greenhouse gases that result from our use of transportation, energy consumption and rubbish disposal. The impact from resources consumption in our daily lives shows up in these footprints, as does a communal impact resulting from pollution and contamination caused by manufacturing, wars, and the degradation of biodiversity.

Your eco-footprint will be here well after you are gone. Like a fossil record, it remains for eons and eons. You can’t eradicate your footprint, but you do have the ability to minimize it – and you can influence others to minimize theirs, as well.

The world’s best scientific minds believe that a combination of global warming, depletion of the planets resources from dominant patterns of production, consumption, wars and over-population are causing environmental devastation. We all face a responsibility to help protect and restore the Earth’s ecological systems.

The most significant changes each of us can make in our impact on the Earth’s ecology are related to lifestyle, transportation, shelter, and family. We can’t all do everything possible to reduce human-induced environmental degradation, but we can each do something now. Here are a few things you can do now to have a measurable effect on the footprint – and planet – you leave behind:

LIFESTYLE
RECYCLE paper, plastic, metal, batteries, reuse old things or donate them to a good cause, sell them or give them away.
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when you leave a room.
CLEAN YOUR HOME, CAR AND BODY with green, non-toxic products.
COMPOST your yard and garden waste to keep it out of landfills and sanitary sewers.
LINE DRY your clothes – and if your city has rules against this, change them.
EAT SUSTAINABLY by choosing organic, fair trade, and locally produced foods when they are available.
REDUCE JUNK MAIL by opting-out at www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist
TURN OFF THE FAUCET when brushing your teeth or washing dishes.
SHORTEN YOUR SHOWER and remember that tub baths use tens of gallons of water – save them for treats.
START A RECYCLING PROGRAM at your company, church or school.
TURN OFF APPLIANCES especially TV sets, stereos and computers that draw phantom energy with their instant-on features.
TURN OFF YOUR HOT TUB during the summer.
BUY WHAT YOU NEED, not everything the Joneses buy.
AVOID BUYING DISPOSABLES when there is another option.
BUY SUSTAINABLE when shopping for clothes, coffee, chocolate, anything.
FORGET ABOUT whether to choose paper or plastic bags: they use about the same resources for production and disposal – instead, reuse, recycle, and byob.
ENCOURAGE YOUR COMPANY to turn off office and plant lights and computer monitors.
ENCOURAGE YOUR ORGANIZATION, CLUB, CHURCH, SYNAGOGUE, MOSQUE AND TEMPLE to develop an environmental sustainability plan.
GIVE GIFTS that improve the environment, from light bulbs to tree seedlings.
PLANT A TREE or start an organic garden.

TRANSPORTATION
CAR POOL in low-polluting vehicles.
RIDE A BIKE to school, work, the store or the gym.
WALKING reduces pollution and avoids parking delays.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION reduces the use of land for roads and reduces the pollution from personal vehicles.
BUY A CAR, SUV OR TRUCK that gets at least ten more MPG than the one your’re replacing.
NEW VEHICLES AND FUELS like hybrid, electric and bio-fuel produce fewer emissions and make a public statement that you’re going greener.
SMALLER VEHICLES use fewer resources to produce and get better mileage.
JOIN A CAR RENTAL POOL and use a car only when you need it.
TURN OFF YOUR PARKED VEHICLE
BUY ONLINE, save trips to the mall. Besides less personal vehicle fuel and emissions, many on-line companies use better logistical and delivery services to save more fuel.
REDUCE AIR TRAVEL for business: video conference or web conference whenever feasible.
TUNE UP YOUR CAR and keep your tires properly inflated for better mileage and less pollution.

SHELTER
BUILD OR REMODEL your home with toxic free and sustainable materials.
TURN DOWN HEAT AND COOLING when you leave home for work or vacation.
REPLACE LIGHTBULBS with fluorescent and LED bulbs for energy and dollar savings.
REDUCE WATER USE by installing low flow toilets and showerheads.
LIVE IN A BIG-ENOUGH HOUSE for lower energy and material usage.
SEAL UP AIR LEAKS around windows, doors and electric sockets.
INSULATE walls, foundations, and ceilings
REPLACE OLD WINDOWS with triple glazed gas-filled windows.
FIX leaky faucets.
BUY ENERGY STAR-rated appliances
COLLECT RAINWATER from gutters to water plants.
BUILD RAIN GARDENS and plant native drought resistant plants.
GO CHEMICAL FREE on the lawns.
PUSH your mower and sweep your leaves instead of using power tools that burn gas or electricity – and enjoy the quiet.
WASH CLOTHES in cold water with bio-degradable laundry products.
PROGRAMMABLE thermostats at home and work save energy at home and work.
CEILING FANS can reduce heating and cooling needs.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY can be used at home: install solar water heaters, wind turbines, geothermal heat and cooling, photovoltaic and electric co-generation units.
CHANGE YOUR PAVING replace outdoor hard surfaces like driveways and patios with permeable surfaces to prevent water run off into storm sewers and wetlands.

POLITICS AND FAMILY
VOTE for individuals and policies that protect the environment.
RUN for public office, and green-up local, state, and federal laws.
START A GREEN organization, study group, book club or CSA farm.
DISPOSE of diaper and medical waste safely – whatever choice you make.
READ poetry and fiction and view art and theatre that consider the Earth.
PLAY in ways that respect the environment.
LEARN about how plants and animals and people are inter-related.
TEACH your children what you have learned about preserving the planet.
JOIN an on-line green community for resources and networking.
DONATE time and money to environmental action.

And most of all, don’t lose heart or grow discouraged. We can restore the world’s most important resources – and we are among those resources.

As a stager I work with realtors and homeowners to market properties. The principles of professional staging create a story about the house and the lifestyle that comes with that house. That story creates the emotional connection that we all want in the place we choose to call home – and that is quite magical when it is created in a place we don’t actually yet live. It is what makes staging a viable and indispensible marketing tool.

So how does green come into that? Today buyers are looking for green features. In May of 2008, NAR published a report that indicated that 9 out of 10 REALTORS® said buyers are looking for green features and that interest would continue to rise.
• And, in a trend that could signal greater attention from institutional investors, Energy Star buildings are selling for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings command a remarkable $171 more per square foot.
• According to a recent study, LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.24 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and have 3.8 percent higher occupancy.
• Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.38 per square foot premium over comparable non-Energy Star buildings and have 3.6 percent higher occupancy.

Obviously, hiring me as a stager is not going to give you a Platinum LEED rating, so what do I bring to the table? First I can take a look at the home and review the already existing features that are green, and then give the homeowner a list of features they can market as green. My knowledge of sustainability, green features and practices, energy and water efficiencies and conservation, and grants and tax credits available to finance eco-friendly repairs and upgrades will serve my client well as we go through the consultation phase of the staging project. During the consultation I recommend repairs and upgrades that will help sell the property and I use my green knowledge to ensure they know the choices which will up their green quotient. I can also provide them with the sources and resources to get this done through my knowledge of green products and relationships with service providers with a commitment to energy efficiency, durability, sustainable products and practices, durability, value and healthier options for the home.

The information we provide during the course of getting the home ready to sell and the environmentally sensitive choices we help the client make is only the beginning of the impact an EcoStagerTM can make for the seller. Many clients use the information we give them during the consultation when they move to the next home to continue moving towards a more sustainable life. And, the changes we help to implement and the information we help the seller provide the buyer can be the beginning or continuation of moving towards sustainability for the buyer as well. The service and knowledge we provide are invaluable and, for real estate professionals, making an EcoStagerTM part of your team is the best value you can provide for your clients.

“Green construction is a construction project built to a standard higher than building codes, they last longer are cheaper to operate, sell for a premium, use fewer resources and have a lower impact on the environment.”Source: Alliance for Sustainability, Mike Holcomb / 2007

Chic Home Interiors does Home Staging, Interior Redesign and Training in Staging, Color and Green Build Science. Our training arena is all of North America, while our design and staging is in the San Francisco Bay Area only. Visit our new Green Website.

“Staging is not decorating. Decorating is optional, staging is mandatory in order to sell the house for the most possible money in the shortest amount of time,” says home staging instructor Joanne O’Donnell. O’Donnell has been teaching courses on how to stage a home to be sold for several years. The concept first became known in 1972 by then-Realtor, Barb Schwarz who realized that homes would sell for higher prices if they were prepared to sell first. Today, hundreds of thousands of real estate professionals, decorators and sellers have come to understand the once-little-known term staging that was coined by Schwarz.

O’Donnell recently taught a course in San Diego, Calif. In the course were two mother-daughter teams, Realtors and even a lawyer. “When we put your home on the market it is no longer your home; it is a product and we’re marketing it,” O’Donnell told the students. Home stagers start by viewing the seller’s home inside and out. O’Donnell encourages the students to walk through a home that they plan to stage with the seller, being sure to take notes of items that need to be moved and/or removed. While home staging may improve the looks of the home, O’Donnell is careful to point out it is not interior decorating. Instead she says it’s much simpler. “You can’t go out and buy new things for every problem that you have with a house,” says O’Donnell.

She tells the students to be problem solvers, reminding them that her clients are selling their homes and they don’t want to spend a lot to do it. Really home staging is about de-cluttering and making a home desirable to the masses. “Clutter eats up equity,” O’Donnell frequently reminds the students throughout the course. “The whole idea of staging is that you want to market to the largest number of people to get as many offers as possible,” says O’Donnell.

There are five key points that must be applied when staging a home. O’Donnell refers to them as the Five C’s of Staging: the home needs to be clean, clutter free, have color, be creatively staged, and finally stagers have to compromise with the sellers, because, of course, many sellers continue living in their homes while they’re being shown. “People don’t see that a lot of things that are in their houses are part of themselves and when you try to sell a house you want to make it as neutral as possible, not necessarily in the colors, but in the way it’s presented,” says Gerin Canin, a lawyer from New York who is transitioning into a home staging career. Canin believes home stagers play a vital role in real estate. “I think that when people sell their homes they don’t necessarily see their house as a potential buyer would see their house. They become attached to things. [The seller] doesn’t notice things that other people would notice. So I do think it’s important to have an opinion from someone else,” explains Canin.

Here are a few home staging tips from professionals.
For the Inside:
• Clear the clutter.
• Put away all electrical cords and extra appliances
• Put away family photos
• Think open space

For the Outside:
• Shutters improve the look
• Paint/Power wash
• Plants, high, medium, low — with lots of color
• Decks — even small ones can be a big improvement

Author: Phoebe Chongchua