Atlanta Georgia Home Staging : July 2009

This Atlanta Home Staging Company, Georgia Interior Solutions, has the expertise and experience to help showcase your home and/or listing so that it stands out from the others on the market. With years of experience and a massive inventory designed to compliment any style home, we implement solutions that draw the buyer in and allow them to emotionally connect with the home.

Sex Sells and So Does Home Staging. Just Sayin...

Sex Sells and So Does Home Staging.  Just Sayin

Here's why:

Let's take this room as an example.  This is what it looked like before being professionally home staged by Georgia Interior Solutions (homestagingatlanta.com). Not very warm and inviting; is it? In fact, this sitting room is just plain boring looking.  Think it will impress the buyers? It hasn't.

 

Atlanta Home Staging Before Picture

Now here's the room after we staged it:

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

 

Through home staging:

  • Buyers can now envision living in the home
  • Will become much more emotionally connected to the home
  • Are given solutions with how to use the space
And the list goes on.

If you're thinking it doesn't matter to a buyer, I can assure you that it does. After having staged hundreds of homes throughout Atlanta, I know first-hand what an impact staging can have on a vacant home.  Just Sayin....

For tips on how to decorate a small sitting room, visit our blog site at Atlanta Home Stager Info.

 

Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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. 

 

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Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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16 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 29 2009 05:37PM

No, They're Not Real.

The apples.  They're not real.

Unfortunately, they (he/she) learned the hard way.

I remember this happening to Michelle Minch with a pear. See her post titled Fake Food is Not For Human Consumption. I still crack up reading her post.

Yes, my goal as a professional home stager is to allow the prospective buyers to envision living in the home.  This includes, obviously, passing by a bowl full of apples and grabbing one to munch on.  I'll take it as a compliment (smile).

 

Home Staging Atlanta Apple Picture

Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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.

 

 

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Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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24 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 27 2009 10:30AM

Why I said NO to Staging This Listing

For the record, I'm not use to saying NO. Having staged hundreds of homes and millions of dollars in real estate throughout the Atlanta area, I know how beneficial staging can be. 

The truth of the matter is that I've only said NO to two; both happened this year.

The first time was via the phone when the seller had informed me that he only needed the staging for a day. He explained that he was attempting to trick the potential lender in believing that he lived in the home.  The conversation ended quickly.  

The second time happened recently with an investment property I was asked to see. The investors live in California and had purchased three investment properties here in Atlanta.

Having passed the phone interview, I was on my way to see the first of the three properties.

NOTE:  The home pictured is NOT the home but it's close. The home is part of a collection of photos taken by Kevin Bauman Photography. Kevin is an incredible photographer who has an incredible eye. To see more of his photos, visit his site at Kevin Bauman Photography.

Kevin Bauman Photography Abandoned Houses

 

 

 

I secured the keys from the agents' office and hit the driveway with a lot of trepidation.

The lawn, recently mowed, lay covered in hay. Appears the last time it was mowed had been months prior.

The car port was leaning. Not slightly leaning, mind you. This puppy looked ready to topple over.

Let me cut to the chase - the keys wouldn't work so I never did get to see the interior.  No worries. I knew looking at the exterior that their investment dollars allocated to staging would be better served with repairs, landscaping and painting.

Now I had the difficult task of telling the homeowner that I wouldn't be putting a bid in to stage their home.

Again, I'm not use to saying no.

After a lengthy conversation, I ended up being thanked for my professionalism.

As for the agent - well now that's another story. Appears she didn't like the fact that I said no.  Her response: Fine, I'll find another stager who WILL stage the home. I wished her the very best.












Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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.


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Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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16 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 27 2009 09:03AM

Let's Add Some More Bling to Bing

Let's Add some more Bling to Bing

 

For those who may be unfamiliar with Bing, I captured the following definition from Wikipedia: Hopefully, you can read this.  If not, click on the Wikipedia link.

Wikipedia definition of Bing

 

 

Some state that Bing is positioned to give Google a run for its' money. Time will tell. Personally, I'm so use to using Google that I can't imagine using anything else. However, I found myself curious so have hopped over a few times to check it out.

 

 

Of course, one of the things I just HAD to check is to see where our Active Rain Group called Staging Before & After Pictures appeared. Well, here's the answer:

Home Staging Before & After Pictures Screenshot of Bing

 

To see where this same Active Rain group appears in Google, check out this blog "home stagers - go ahead and expose yourself."

Let's see if we can't improve on our position by adding a little more "bling" (aka your home staging before and after pictures) to the group!.

Kathy

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Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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6 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 16 2009 06:02PM

Home Stagers - Go Ahead, Expose Yourself

 

Home Stagers - Go Ahead, Expose Yourself

Trust me; exposing yourself in the Rain can be extremely beneficial. No, not the "open your raincoat kind of exposure." That calls for an entirely different type of blog. But, I digressed.  If you're a professional home stager, then you know how important your before & after pictures are to your prospective clients. Whether it's a real estate agent, an investor or the homeowner, your portfolio speaks volumes to the quality of your work.

Knowing how important these photos are, I created the group called Staging Before & After Pictures back in April of 2007 (yes, I've been around for a while). As the description states, the group was designed to showcase and share with others the beautiful transformations created by the Stagers in Active Rain. 

The purpose of this blog post is to show you just how powerful adding your staging pictures can be.

Here's the proof:

The group, "Staging Before & After Pictures", sits in the #3 spot on the first page of Google.

 

Home Staging Before and After Pictures

Cost:  Zero dollars

Exposure:  Incredible!

 

Kathy

 

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Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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9 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 16 2009 05:23PM

Are Your Photos Separating You From the Pack?

By now, we've all know how critically important photos can be in helping to sell a home more quickly. What may not be as well known is how handy a little site called Picnik can be.

The following picture was enhanced using Picnik.

Here are the steps I had taken to enhance the photo:

  • Framed the shot with a shadow and then did another frame to create the small white border.
  • Added text (HomeStagingAtlanta.com) in the upper right hand corner
  • Reduced the exposure as the photo ended up being a tad bit over exposed.

These simple changes took less than 5 minutes to make. 

Given how important photos are to agents and to home stagers, these small changes can truly help enhance your photos. 

 

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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18 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 15 2009 08:46AM

Lots of Lookers But No Takers?

Home Staging Atlanta

This town home pictured below hasn't lacked for lookers.  In fact, according to the agent, it's been shown over 30 times in the last two months. Unfortunately for the homeowner, who now resides out-of-state, this has been the case for the last two years.  Yes.  You read that correctly. The home has been on the market for two years.  While you may be quick to conclude that it's not priced right, I can assure you that it is. In fact, it's the lowest priced unit in the complex, number one.  And number two, others are selling.

Might it be that they weren't connecting with the home? Here are two before pictures of what they (the prospective buyers) were seeing when entering the home:

Dining Room:

Home Stager Atlanta Before Picture

 

Living Room:

Atlanta Home Stager Before Picture

The challenge for many buyers is that a vacant home is made more difficult to connect to on an emotional level.

 

After being professional home staged by Georgia Interior Solutions today, here's what they will see:

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

And because I love close-ups, here's one of the coffee table:

Atlanta Home Stager After Picture

Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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.

 

 

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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23 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 09 2009 06:47PM

Home Staging Before & After Pictures

Home Staging in Atlanta

As I shared on my Atlanta Staging Information blog site, there are several reasons why home staging is so effective. One of the greatest benefits is that it can help define the purpose of the room.

Case in point - here are two sets of before and after pictures of the home we staged on Monday in Marietta, Georgia. As you walked in the front door, there were two rooms; one on the left and the other on the right.  As it turns out the room on the left, which I had thought was a formal living room, turned out to be the dining room. If I was confused, I knew the prospective buyers would be confused.

My job as a professional home stager in Atlanta is to:

  • Bring in the warmth thru the furniture and accessories and make the home feel like it "welcomes them home."
  • Showcase the homes' features as well as space
  • Eliminate the confusion that may exist as to the purpose of the room.

Here's what the living room looked like before:

Home Staging Atlanta Before Picture

Here's the after picture:

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

Here's the room that I thought was the formal living room:

Home Staging Atlanta Before Picture

Now here are two "after" pictures of the room:

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

 

Home Staging Atlanta After Picture

Atlanta Home Stager LogoTwitter button

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.

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kathy Nielsen RESA National Board Member of the Year

 

 

About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is  a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly.  Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392.  Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.

 

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23 comments • Kathy Nielsen Atlanta Georgia Home Stager • July 08 2009 08:23AM