Providing Services to Prepare the Home for Sale: Michigan: Bloomfield Hills

Now who could pass up a model train set up in a back yard?   Hundreds of feet of track, dozens of buildings and all the towns people to go with it.

Take a tour of the set up with me and see how similar it is to staging.

Bloomfield Twp Railway Garden Tour  This caught my attention in the local free newspaper that delivered to all residences in many cities.  I love it for a quick review of what's going on.

My husband and I thought it was such an interesting thing to do, on a July (hot & muggy) Sunday morning, and we could walk to it and enjoy a few minutes.

To our surprise the few minutes turned into about an hour or more.

It similar to  going into a Sunday Realtor Open House thinking that you'll have a quick walk through and then actually looking through every room, crook and cranny that it has.

The Dunn family:  Sharron, Bob two sons, daughter in laws and grandkids were all participating in this event.

The Dunn family took days and weeks to prepare for the annual event.  Very Similar to what sellers have to do to prepare for their day in the sun. 

The Dunn family  checks for winter damage to the tracks and landscaping. 

Stage-Show-Sell, LLC gives the home street appeal.

They make sure that the tiniest details are taken care of.  The tracks work, the trains work, the emergency helicopters are in place (you have to look at the photos to find them). The bathing pond is clean and fresh and all the models and show ready.

Stage-Show-Sell, LLC  makes sure the windows are clean, outdated light fixtures replaced and the house clean and fresh and furniture shows off the rooms to their best use.

We have a lot in common. Grab a cup of coffee and  Check the Photos of Dunn's Diversion 

  Is it that much different that what Stage-Show-Sell, LLC does?  Click here to see

I realize that many of you warm climate stagers don't understand the challenges that we go through.  Yes I do know that you are having a cold snap.  Gee what is it this week 60 degrees :-)

Last weekend we de-staged a home, during a snow storm, in Madison Heights.  That means getting the supplies damp, slipping and sliding on the ice walks and driveways.  Try loading your car when there is no purchase for your shoes on the ground.   Right after that we had to stage another vacant in Royal Oak.

Understand how complicated it is  by understanding that vacant house have to be winterized.  That means turning off the water and putting anti-freeze in all the pipes and TOILETS.  We women have to know where the nearest fast food restaurant, with facilities, is.

There are no utilities when the house is a foreclosure and there is no one to pay the utility bills.  That means no heat and no electricity.

This is like going back 100 years and staging a log cabin except there is no wood burning stove.

What damage can happen to our furniture and linens in this cold damp climate?

What happens to us trying to unpack boxes with gloves on our hands?

Oh, mother nature, please let this be a short winter.

I know that you all think that I'm making this stuff up.  No way.  This is an actual estate that I've been working on.

The family loved living with wallpaper and saw no need to change it.

The home is now neutral, warm and inviting

Yes the closet was wallpapered

♠

Wallpaper is gone and hardwood floors exposed

The closet paper matched the walls of the master bedroom

This is the same room.  The paper is done and the hardwood floors exposed.

I can't tell you what a pleasure it has been to work on this home and make this transformation.

♠

Two months of preparation including the estate sale.

Please vist my posts on the kitchen transformation

Changing the Family Room

The laundry room transformation

Bathroom♠

We all know that all our president has to do is create a rule or say there is an emergency and it's done.

Look at the swine flu.  He said there was a epidimec and 'pow' two weeks later is was gone.

Let's get him to impose a rule on wall paper.  The glue must self destruct after 5 years.

The wall paper should just vaporize.

Wouldn't that make our lives just a bit easier?

Kitchen Before

After Stage-Show-Sell, LLC crew attacked the offending paper

Breakfast room and Butler's pantry after.

I love what I do.   No Where Else Could I Make Such a Change.

Old ceiling post 

I realize that I'm miking this project into several posts :-)

There is no way that I'm going to work my heart and soul out for two months and put up one set of before and after pictures.

This was one of the ugliest bathrooms that I've ever seen.  The wall paper itself was bad.  The shutters, yellow tiles and yellow sinks added to the eye strain.

I love the flower toilet seat

I was expecting mold under the paper since it was a damp room and the shutters allowed no light.  It was a surprise to find good walls underneath

The double sink was replaced with a sink sink and a marble looking counter top

Th medicine cabinet and and light fixture had to stay for economy purposes.

We used the same mirror and framed it.

I have a wonderful crew.  Wall paper strippers, painters, electricians.

My husband helped me with the mirror framing and Marianne Sweet helped with the staging.

My crew is wonderful.

There is one sink now instead of two.  This gives a little counter space.

The cabinet's 3rd drawer, next to the toilet, has two shelves for items and a built in waste basket.

Stage-Show-Sell, LLC does more than stage. We do everything that is necessary, within the budget, to prepare the home for sale.

We look forward to feedback from agents and buyers

almost a year ago I wrote a blog about taking it all off and how the extra details mean a lot.

Right now I'm working on two estate and the same time.  This has really been a challenge.   One is a nice little condo in Royal Oak that has been on the market for 2 years.  Other units have been slowly selling around it and this one has stayed on the market.

The realtor brought me in thinking that I could do some magic.

The first thing that struck me was the front door knocker.   Being a condo we needed to stay in the same theme as everyone else so I made a great change with a little polish.

This is what it looked like the first day.

And then the next day.   Do you think this will make a difference?

The 2nd Estate is in Bloomfield Township.  It was built in 1963 and has had very few updates. See they wallpapered the ceiling.   This house has been a challenge because very very few of the electrical outlets and switches were grounded.

This is the old style electrical outlet

These were not grounded although the outlets had grounding wire in the wall.

They have been now replaced with three prong grounded plugs

We have also installed GFI where they are needed.

These things take a little bit longer when getting a house for the market.

Stage-Show-Sell, LLC feels that this investment will bring in an extra $10K.   The buyer won't beat us up for bad electrical.

The Bloomfield Twp. home will have it's pre-listing inspection today.

Both of these Estates will be market ready in the next couple of days.

Watch for the before and after shots.

Once a month I meet with a networking group. Today I wanted to get a little more visual On the Art of Staging.

This is what I looked like when I stood in line waiting for the doors to open.   Can you believe no one spoke to me while we were waiting for the doors to open.

Not only that................. No One talked to me during the open networking part of the meeting.

TTL, they didn't kick me out for being a vagrant.

I started my talk (two minutes) with "Well ladies and gentlemen NO ONE spoke to me during the networking time"   Was that because I didn't look what you expected.  My dress (house) was not internet ready.

This is what many homes look like on the Internet because they are not staged.

I took the hat off and said "There is nothing wrong with this hat"   It just doesn't look good this way.

Next came off all the jewelry.  Each one being very nice and expensive.  5 of them together was a bit too much

The jacket was next.  It sure didn't work  with the white vest/jacket underneath.

The blue neck scarf was gone and the red jacket for color.

Now I'm Internet ready.

 The SHOW went on a little longer.  My photographer couldn't keep up with me :-)

Stage-Show-Sell, offers affordable home staging solutions in the Birmingham – Bloomfield and surrounding areas in getting your home ready for the market. We service both home sellers and realtors. We have the experience, our own rental furniture and accessories to stage many homes

Traditionally New Years Day I turn up the radio and listen to the Christmas music and say good bye to my decorations.

This is my dining room buffet and all of my decorations.

Simple and enjoyable

When my mother passed a few years ago, the family divided up her village set.

I have Victoria Station and a few other pieces that are special to me

 As you can tell it's a little cluttered and not 'staged' at all.

This tree was purchased a few years ago at a WCR chapter auction.  I thought it was perfect with my village set.

Today they all get packed up for another year. 

We didn't go out last night to celebrate the coming of the New Year.  We haven't done that in about 15 years.  We stay home pop open a bottle of champagne and toast in the New Year.  This morning we woke to a beautiful Winter Wonderland in Bloomfield Hills Michigan

We have close to 12 inches of snow on the ground.  I stepped out side and measured it.

It's not the most snow that we have had a one time.  I remember getting about 17 inches one April when my kids were small.

This was taken before we went out to feed the birds and ruined the beauty of the snow with our foot prints.

The feeder is kept busy all day with cardinals, blue-jays and squirrels.  This is supposed to be a squirrel proff bird feeder.  The manufacturer has met out squirells :-)

The rhododendrons in the atrium, in the middle of our house, are covered with snow.  It's hard to believe that these southern plants would fair well in these kind of conditions.  These plants are over 35 years old.  We keep them around 8 feet tall.

Around the atrium, inside the house, we have orchids and other warm weather plants.  They are comfortable with the sun load that we get thru the winter months.

I'm greatful that this happened on a Holiday and I don't have to drag staging materials into a house.

Staying at home, enjoying my music, taking down the decorations, enjoying the beauty of the day and of course posting is my schedule for the day.

Have a wonderful and safe New Years.

My Red Balloons weren't delivered in time to start my resolution so I have to do it in my mind.

The first balloon has been popped.