Atlanta Georgia Home Staging : May 2009

Updated With An After Picture: Out-Staging Your Competition

Updated - See comment below for a sneak peek at what the rooms looks like AFTER being staged.

I have something to admit...

I keep an eye out on my competition and try and out-stage them (no pun intended) each and every single time. Amazingly enough, it's not for the reason you may be thinking. My objective isn't to simply add another home to my portfolio. I have hundreds of homes under my belt and have literally over 18,000 photos from which to pull from for both my blog and my website.

And... my competition isn't the other stagers.

Instead, my competition is really the other homes that reside in that same area. My objective mirrors the sellers. My goal, as a professional home stager, is to do what it takes to a) have the home I'm staging stand-out and b) to ensure it engages the buyer. It's part of the formula for success and I use it on every single staging.

For those that follow my blog at Atlanta Home Stager Info or my outside blog here in the rain called AtlantaHomeStager, you know I can't simply make a post without having some sort of picture.

So without further ado.

These are the "before" pictures of the home I'll be staging tomorrow. You're going to want to either bookmark this or subscribe to my blog (look to your right in the side bar) so that you can see how the home turns out as I'll be posting the "after" pictures either tomorrow or Thursday.

Ready? This is the living room.

Home Staging Atlanta Before Picture

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

Here's another angle:

Home Staging Atlanta Before Picture

After Picture:

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

Close up:

Atlanta Home Stageing Picture

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

35 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 26 2009 10:28PM

How to Arrange a Living Room When Selling Your Home

How to arrange a living room when selling your home.

A common challenge for most sellers is understanding what actions to take in each of the rooms. Given that we live amongst our things, we end up being familiar and perhaps even comfortable with the current arrangement. However, there are some extremely easy and very effective changes that will work in almost every living room out there.

Here's a collage I created of an occupied home we had staged:

Atlanta Home Staging Company Collage

Visit our Atlanta Home Staging Information blog for the step-by-step process. These changes were done in less than a day and made a significant impact on how the buyers viewed the home.

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

10 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 19 2009 02:12PM

Getting it Right Matters!

Capturing the right photo is critically important to me. As a home staging professional I use them in a number of different ways:

I pass them over to the agent and homeowner for their use in marketing the home
I use them on my web site (click here to see my portfolio)
I use them in my on-line marketing efforts (i.e., blog posts)

And the list goes on....

The truth of the matter is that I don't always get it right the first go-around. In the case of this home, which had been on the market for 18 months prior to being home staged and sold after staging in 2 months (yes, staging can help sell a home more quickly), I decided to re-take some photos before de-staging the home. When I initially staged the home, I had the ISO level way too high. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of noise in the pictures. Fortunately, they weren't too bad and the agent was able to use them.

So, here's one of the pictures I took yesterday. As you can see, I didn't get it right the 2nd time either. Here's what I mean:

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Yes, that's me in the mirror. Right after snapping this picture, I realized what I had done. So, with absolutely no time constraints, I took several more.

Here's the one that WILL be added to my portfolio:

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture - Dining room

Here are a couple more photos (same room, different angles):

The moral of the story? Takes lots and lots of pictures and be careful of mirrors (smile).

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.G

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

34 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 12 2009 08:42AM

Atlanta Home Staging - Trifecta

Three Staged Homes - Three Now Under Contract

I'm calling this my Atlanta Home Staging Trifecta. I was notified on Tuesday that three of the homes I had staged are now under contract. Happy Day! The sellers are thrilled, their agents are ecstatic and I couldn't be happier.

Here they are, along with a little history:

Atlanta Georgia Home Stager After Picture

Home Staging East Point Georgia

This home is owned by an investor. We had the home staged and within days it went under contract. One day prior to the closing, we de-staged. Closing came and the financing for the buyer fell through. So, we re-staged. Two weeks later, we're scheduling another de-stage as the house is once again under contract.

This coming week, I'll be staging a 2nd property for this same investor. I'm calling this new property "the rainbow home." I'll be posting before pictures soon in another post so be on the look-out.

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

Home Staging Midtown Atlanta Georgia

This is a town home located that we staged 3 months ago. Prior to being staged, this home had been on the market for over 1 year.

The homeowner was thrilled with how the staging look and beyond thrilled with the results.

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

Home Staging Mableton Georgia

This home, priced higher than most in the neighborhood given its' finished basement, had lingered on the market for 8 months.

Staged and under contract 6 weeks later.

Take note - all of this inventory is coming back in and is ready for YOUR home. Contact us today for your free in-home evaluation. We'll preview your home, whether vacant or occupied, and provide you with a home staging proposal.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

13 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 07 2009 10:05AM

Bedroom Transformation Before & After Pictures - Home Staging Marietta, Georgia

A Before & After Bedroom Transformation - Home Staging Marietta, GA

Okay, I admit it, I love to make my home staging clients squeal.

In this particular home staging, the homeowner clapped; the agent squealed and the agents' mom wants to fly me to Connecticut to decorate her home. And while pleasing my clients is always nice, the real objective behind home staging is to ensure the home appeals to the prospective buyers.

The opportunity to enhance the visual aspect of the home is exactly what home staging is about. And at HomeStagingAtlanta.com, we aim to do just that.

Here's an example of home we just finished last week. Here's the "before" picture of the master bedroom:

Bedroom Picture before being home staged

Now here's the same bedroom after being staged by Atlanta's premier home staging company:

Picture of a bedroom after being home staged

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

14 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 02 2009 09:47AM

How to Add Visual Energy (Interest) to Your Home When Selling

How to add visual energy to your home when selling:

One of the greatest opportunities a home seller can do is to ensure their home has "visual energy."

What is "visual energy" you ask? It's the energy a room generates visually to a prospective buyer.

Visual energy can be:

Features within the home. For example, crown molding can actually add visual energy to a room.

Furniture and accessories. Yes, the pieces that reside within the home can and do add visual energy. One without the other, however, may seem out of place. Here's an example:

As you can see in the above picture, we have a combination of some furniture pieces (coffee table and TV) and a few scattered accessories (floor plant, candles and mirror on the mantel and rug). While there's some degree of visual energy within the home, the missing pieces (i.e., sofa) are really throwing the energy off Not good for prospective buyers.

Now here's the same room with all of the right components (furniture and accessories).

Can you feel the difference? The energy comes from not only the pieces added but how they are laid out.

Now let's get to the "how":

If the home is vacant - consider bringing in furniture and accessories. Yes, I meant to underline the word "and". Furniture alone isn't going to get us the same level of visual energy needed when selling. As for how the room should be laid out - let's use the after picture as an example. I snapped this picture from the front entrance. With the TV being on the wall to the right, that left us with two options for the sofa 1) facing the fireplace or 2) on the wall on the left. Given that this house is on the market and we're selling the REAL ESTATE (said another way, square footage the home has to offer), the best solution is the wall on the left. In placing the sofa on that wall, we have a ton more "visual space."

If the home is occupied - considering paring down on the number of furniture items. Your objective is to add as much "visual space" as possible. Be careful with the accessories. A common mistake made by many (and you can see it in the "before" picture above) is to place a mirror on the mantel. While it may look appealing, the reflection may not. In this case, it was reflecting the balcony railings on the 2nd floor. The best rule of thumb when it comes to accessories is to find the right balance. Start by taking all of the items out of the room and adding in a few at a time.

And if in doubt.... always contact a professional home stager. Whether the home is vacant or occupied, they'll share sound advice and are pros at creating the right "visual energy" needed to help sell a home more quickly.

Here's a close-up of the orchids on the table. The home pictured, by the way, was professionally home staged by Georgia Interior Solutions, LLC.

Picture of Orchids used in a home staging

Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.

With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Atlanta Home Stager Banner

A Real Estate Staging Association Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year 2010, Kathy Nielsen understands what it takes to help sell homes quickly. Considered an expert within the home staging industry, and having years of experience, Kathy makes the perfect choice for preparing your home for the market in the Atlanta area.

Website: Home Staging Atlanta

Before and After Pictures: Atlanta Home Staging Portfolio:

Email: Kathy@HomeStagingAtlanta.com

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture Master Sitting Room

32 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • May 01 2009 03:16PM

Atlanta Georgia Home Staging : May 2009

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Updated With An After Picture: Out-Staging Your Competition

How to Arrange a Living Room When Selling Your Home

Getting it Right Matters!

Atlanta Home Staging - Trifecta

Bedroom Transformation Before & After Pictures - Home Staging Marietta, Georgia

How to Add Visual Energy (Interest) to Your Home When Selling