Adding Some Life to a Home: Montreal Home Staging Before and After Pictures

I’ve got some Montreal home staging before and after pictures for you here.  These come from a Montreal West Island home staging project we recently did.  The home sold after 6 weeks on the market, which was great considering it was in the $500,000+ range where homes generally take longer to sell. 

It was another real estate agent’s listing, but I was happy to stage it because the homeowner was the mother of my very first client as a Montreal home stager. 

The home was essentially vacant, as the homeowner spent very little time there.  It needed a bit of PERSONALITY and LIFE.

I like to give each bedroom in a home a personality of its own.  I think it helps potential buyers remember them: “Remember the one with the funky green art on the wall?”  

With the inundation of information in everyone’s life, anything we can do to help potential buyers differentiate our listing/home from everything else they see has gotta help, no? 

More to come later on the main living spaces…

In the meantime, feel free to visit my web-site for some more home staging Montreal before and after pictures.

Bed and window

Hello? Anyone home?

Master Bedroom

A little more panache.

Ensuite bathroom

Completely renovated but...

Ensuite bathroom

A few finishing touches and voila!

Bedroom with bed and window

A little bland...

Bedroom with bed and window

Still soft but pulled together.

Bedroom with bed and window

Big room with little personality.

Bedroom with bed and window

A bit of colour brings this room to life.

No Comments

Tanya Nouwens, June 17th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Home Staging

The Difference Between Montreal Home Staging and Interior Decorating

What is the difference between Montreal home staging and interior decorating?

As a Montreal home stager and Montreal real estate broker, where home staging is still a relatively new concept, I’m often asked, “What’s the difference between home staging and interior decorating?”

There are many, not the least of which is the fact that interior decorating caters to the tastes and preferences of one home owner/family, while home staging caters to the tastes of a whole pool of potential buyers for a home.

But it goes beyond that too. Here’s a picture of a room that we were presented with at one of our Montreal home staging projects. 

Before shot of the home office 

Now it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a good clean-up of the room would work wonders.  And as an interior decorator, I could quickly come up with some window coverings, a nice desk lamp and other touches to pull the room together into a pretty nice office.

But as a professional Montreal home stager, my job is to think about the target market for this home.  According to the Montreal real estate agent (this wasn’t my listing), the most likely buyer for this home, in this neighbourhood and in this price range, would be a young family. 

Aha!  Young family = about two children.  The office was taking up one of the three bedrooms in the home.  Clearly, to attract as many potential buyers as possible, this room had to be converted from an office to a bedroom to clearly show that there were three bedrooms in the home. You never want to make a potential buyer “work” to picture a home working for them or to picture themselves living there.  

So, this is what we did.

After shot of how a home office turns into a bedroom 

The home sold within a week of the staging, with offers coming in at the first open house.

And THAT is the difference between interior decorating and Montreal home staging.

Happy staging everyone.

1 Comment

Tanya Nouwens, June 3rd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Home Staging, Real Estate

Quick Fix for a Stuffed Dining Room

We run into a lot of properties in Montreal’s West Island real estate market that have more furniture than they can handle. This was one of them.  Among other rooms we tackled in our Montreal home staging of this property, the dining room was over-stuffed and didn’t show off all of the available space.

Here’s a home staging tip: Remove the top half of a buffet/hutch, i.e., the hutch portion.  This presents a more contemporary look, cleaner lines, less clutter and, most importantly, more space!

Before

After

We also removed the dated wallpaper throughout the home and applied a fresh coat of paint.  Under the salesmanship of a great real estate agent (no I’m not bragging – this wasn’t my listing!), the house sold within a couple of weeks. 

Yup, space is real estate…and a more contemporary look makes for better showings.

No Comments

Tanya Nouwens, May 6th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Home Staging, Real Estate

Montreal Home Staging: The Proof is in the Pudding

The proof is in the pudding: home staging is way more than smoke and mirrors.  In this case, it helped an agent in my office sell a vacant Montreal condo that she had had on the market for a year. A year! 

Our vision: to make the condo appeal to a young and hip clientele.  Being located within walking distance of two of Montreal’s major universities, this was prime Montreal real estate for students and/or students’ parents looking to make an investment while at university. 

Once staged by Ready, Set…Sold! Inc., a Montreal home staging company that I started three years ago (before I got my real estate license), it sold with multiple offers within two weeks.  No price change, no difference in marketing…with one big exception: great photos for the MLS listing.

Before: Nice but…

Picture of Living Area Before Staging

After: Young and hip, just like the most likely buyer for this condo.

After Shot of Living Space

2 Comments

Tanya Nouwens, May 3rd 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Home Staging

I Must Be Losing It

I’m in the middle of a great Montreal home staging job.  Yesterday was a really big day of loading and unloading artwork, lighting, bedding, pillows, accessories, etc.  You know, the stuff we use to make a home look and feel warm, inviting, comfortable and full of life.  I hope to finish the job today. 

This morning at breakfast, my husband asks, “So was the homeowner there all day while you were working?” 

“Yes.”  He knows I don’t like this because home staging always looks terrible before it looks great…like any work in progress.

“Oh. Was she bugging you?” he asks.

“Well, sort of.  I mean, she kept to herself and let me do my thing.  But…her being there meant I couldn’t talk to myself while I worked.”

And I meant it.

I must be losing it.

No Comments

Tanya Nouwens, April 28th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Home Staging

Go On, Take the Risk

New Year’s Eve 1990. I’m newly single. My best friend and I plan to travel from Ottawa (where we live) to Montreal for some guy’s annual New Year’s Eve bash.  But there’s a snowstorm outside.  And she has a terrible cold.  But we go anyway.  And I meet my future husband there – he’s the “some guy” having the party.

December 2007.Out of the blue, I call JJ Jacobs, one of the biggest Montreal real estate brokers, and ask her if she would be willing to meet with me to brainstorm about my Montreal staging business, Ready, Set…Sold!.  She sounds busy…and a bit irritated.  Yikes.  But she agrees to meet with me.  Fast forward to today, and I’m now a Montreal real estate agent in her brokerage.

January 2008. I get a contact from my web-site from someone who would like me to stage her home in Montreal north…not the safest part of town. And so totally out of my territory.  But I want the work.  So I drive out there and meet the sweetest woman and her family.  I stage her home, which sells within a week with multiple offers.  Then her sister hires me to decorate her house, her agent hires me to stage his home, and this week I’ll be staging her mom’s home.

Climber on Rock

February 2010. “Tanya, are you interested in selling some land for someone I’ve known for a long time?”  Sure. I know nothing about selling land but I’ll find out.  Two months later, we have a conditional offer (subject to rezoning of the land).

April 2010.Been showing soooooooo many homes to my buyers.  So many homes that don’t work for so many reasons.  Here’s one more.  Looks from the outside like all the others they’ve seen and dismissed. None of us really wants to see it because we can’t handle the disappointment again.  But we go anyway.  And they buy it within 24 hours.

You just never know where things will lead.  Sometimes, we have to take what feels like a real risk…or puts us out of our comfort zone…and then watch how the magic happens as we get led somewhere we never thought we’d be.

1 Comment

Tanya Nouwens, April 24th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Real Estate

Feeling Fat…But Inspired

I’ve put on 12 pounds in the 3 years I’ve been involved in the world of real estate, first as a Montreal home stager and now as a Montreal real estate agent too.

Worse than the weight, I totally dropped my running and pilates. I used to be in great shape. Now I’m in terrible shape.

So, after months and months of complaining about my weight and condition, last Friday I joined the Montreal West Island YMCA.  I’ve gone to 2 classes so far — one of which hobbled me for 72 hours : )   And Wednesday, I got a gift that was most inspiring of all.

At that morning’s class, right in front of me was my neighbour/friend…with her bright blue scarf covering a bald head. She’s under-going chemotherapy for breast cancer. Her last treatment, she threw up for 24 hours.

And she was at the gym today.

Not making excuses.

Not complaining about the schlepping of gear.

Doing as much of the workout as she could…which was more than me.

Smiling!  Happy to feel well enough to be there.  Helping lead the class. (She will be co-teaching it again soon.)

Inspiring.

She’s one of the bravest women I know.

We should all be so lucky to have someone like her appear in our lives just when we need it.  To inspire us to take care of ourselves.  To stop making excuses.  To schedule in the time we need to take care of these bodies that allow us to do all that we do.

1 Comment

Tanya Nouwens, April 16th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in work life balance

A Recipe for Success for Selling a St. Laurent Condo Quickly and for 98% of the Asking Price

My listing for a St. Laurent 3-bedroom condo just sold for 98% of the asking price and in 30 days. The market average for this type of property was 93 days.  No price reduction.  No languishing on the market. 

Picture of Key on a Piece of Paper Saying "Success"

The Key to Success is Often More of a Recipe

The recipe for success here had many ingredients:

Sellers who trusted me and my expertise in knowing what buyers for this type of property are looking for.

A painter/handyman I’ve worked with for a long time who knew how to identify and address outstanding maintenance issues.

A Montreal real estate agent (me) with a background in Montreal home staging, with the knowledge, resources and inventory of lighting, art and accessories to make this home shine.

Sellers who were patient enough to wait until their property was ready before it went on the market.

A detailed comparative market analysis to ensure the property was priced right, right from the get-go.

Effective, well-written on-line and print marketing with good pictures.

Numerous showings, the vast majority of which I attended even though I was the listing agent.

Strong negotiation when it came down to the nitty-gritty.

It worked. 

And now I’m off to find my clients a new home.  The movers are booked!

No Comments

Tanya Nouwens, April 13th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Real Estate

According to Warren Beatty, I’m Successful in My Field

 

Yes, that’s what I said: According to Warren Beatty, I’m successful in my field.

Did he tell me that over drinks?  No.

While discussing my business plan?  Um, no.

While lounging with me in a bubble bath, overlooking the Pacific ocean? Yes! Okay, maybe not.

Did he ever tell me that?  Well, no.

His exact words were: “You’ve achieved success in your field when you don’t know whether what you’re doing is work or play.”

Those are the first words in Chapter Four of Jennifer Allan’s “If You’re Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You’re Not Doing It Right.”  Great book.  Great philosophy.  A common-sensical approach to doing anything (not just real estate): Be yourself, be very good at what you do, and have fun. I’m loving the book. But this post isn’t about that.

Back to Warren Beatty…and his quote…

Is this Really Work? 'Cause It Sure Feels Like Play

I could spend hours on Matrix, the Quebec real estate agents’ version of MLS, analyzing comparables this way, that way and upside down.  Looking at average sell times for Beaconsfield real estate and Kirkland real estate - my markets. Seeing what’s moving and what’s not, and trying to figure out why.

I could spend hours home staging Montreal clients’ homes.  Hell, staging friends’ homes!  I love, love, love staging.  I love taking something and making something fabulous out of it.  I love finding the diamond in the rough, or helping something’s true potential shine (or someone‘s true potential shine, hence my previous career in criminology).

Sourcing new lighting, art, bedding and kitchen cabinet knobs for my home sellers? Is that really work? ‘Cause it sure feels like play to me.

Speaking to my buyers over and over again about how I don’t want them to compromise on location, or on that wood-burning fireplace that is such a big part of their evening chill-session.  Is that really work?  Really?  ‘Cause it sure doesn’t feel like it.

And let’s not even talk about how much time I spend on ActiveRain (an on-line real estate network of 171,000+ real estate professionals), acting like a living sponge for all the wisdom, experience and sheer knowledge that’s being shared there. Are you SURE this is work?  Can’t be…

I am doing what I was meant to do.  And I’m having so much fun. 

You’re a wise (and sexy) man, Warren Beatty.

No Comments

Tanya Nouwens, January 19th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Home Staging, Real Estate

Sometimes, decluttering and decorating can change a person’s life.

Sometimes, decluttering and decorating can change a person’s life.  Sounds kitschy, but that’s what they tell us.  And for any of us who have gone through the monumental task of decluttering our own homes and then pulling things together in a way that makes us happy, we know it’s true.

Last spring, we did a Montreal home staging for a Montreal real estate agent and the home sold within days.  That real estate agent then referred us to a friend of hers who wanted some help pulling his Montreal condo together.

It turned out to be more than “pulling things together” actually.  This man had allowed the clutter in his home to accumulate, had never chosen furniture and art that he actually loved, and hadn’t bothered to arrange things in a way that made him want to be at home or have friends over.

And there were many reasons for this, not the least of which was a belief that it was not important.  He had been raised in a modest home where home furnishings and decorating had no real importance.  Art and music were important, but not the feeling you get in your own home.  I think he also had to get his head around the idea that decorating his home because he wanted to was enough of a reason; his reasons needn’t be loftier or more altruistic than that.

He was ready for change, he worked really hard, and we helped him get there.

Here’s a look at some before and after photos of his living room and dining room. I’ll show the bedrooms in my next posts.

Living Room Before Decluttering and Decorating

Come on in, have a seat, relax...

Dining Room Before Decluttering and Decorating

Ready for Entertaining

2 Comments

Tanya Nouwens, January 7th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Interior Decorating
« Older Posts