Ernst Haeckle

Ernst Haeckel, a contemporary of Darwin, a researcher of evolutionary theory and an illustrator whose talent has been far too obscure created this image. He named thousands of species and rendered them with this level of detail. And I just learned that he has a mountain named after him overlooking Evolution Basin in the Sierra Nevada range. This image is from www.bytsizebio.net We are completely obsessed with his work.

Same Pic Different Topic-Decorating Secrets

Staging & The Hudson Valley Realtor Convention

We recently exhibited at the Hudson Valley Real Estate Convention. We've expanded our list of services to offer home staging. For those of you who have never seen "Designed to Sell" on HGTV, home staging is preparing a home for sale. You essentially turn the home into a product that will have mass appeal. There are many reasons one should stage the home they're trying to sell, but that's not what I am going to talk about here.

Eek! What if I'm Seen in Home Goods?

You see, my background is big city, big money design. I've done staging before. I've set up model apartments for clients like Vornado and Trump. Most of you have also been inside the Burlock retail store where I sold $200 sheet sets and things that you just couldn't find anywhere else. I wasn't a snob, I just wanted to bring something different to Beacon. However, I thought to myself, what would my city colleagues think if they saw me toting around my reusable bag from Home Goods?

Great Design Shouldn't be a Luxury

My whole approach to design since I revamped my company late last year has been to offer decorating services that pretty much anyone could afford. However, once I started staging again my mindset changed drastically. The Valley is much different than the city and stagers round these parts pride themselves on inventive ways to problem solve and spend less money.

Flaunting my Secrets Instead of Hiding Them

So in this e-mail, I am sharing how I put my booth together for the convention. Not all these ideas can be used in a home, but they might inspire you to be resourceful in other ways. I had to contend with royal blue exhibition curtains and a gold and burgundy catering hall carpet. So I went with the blue and covered up the carpeting. Find out how below.

Screaming Magenta Side Table: This was picked out of the trash and was sprayed with artist spray paint (the stuff street artists use) because you just can't get a color like this at Lowe's or Home Depot. I added a glass top that I had in my inventory. And the cool hardware, I borrowed from the desk in my office.

Pair of Yellow Ceramic Foo Dogs: Target for $24.99. These just came out, but are selling like hotcakes. They are bookends, but I placed them on the table like they were talking to each other.

Lead Crystal Lamp: Found this beauty at Home Goods.

Orchid: From my mom who is the most amazing orchid raiser.

Fornasetti Vase (the item on the shelf of the side table): It's from my inventory. Don't go out and buy one of these. They're super pricey! I got mine off the floor of a trade show for a great price. I have four if anyone's interested-by the way.

Saarinen Tulip Chair: Thank GOD I had these in my inventory. They have royal blue vinyl seats which goes perfectly with my "Go With the Flow" royal blue theme.

Back Drop: A Robert Allen textile purchased at JoAnn Fabric. It's an indoor/outdoor fabric-polyester woven to look and feel like canvas. I love it! The curtains were Fabricated by the most amazing sewer in the Hudson Valley. If you need drapes or pillows or anything else sewn, please contact me, I will put you in touch. And I should also mention that I hung these using Auto Poles. This is what photographers use to support their back drop during a shoot. Those were borrowed from my ex.

Silkscreen: So this has a story behind it. This gorgeous print came from Open Space Gallery in Beacon. It is a borrowed piece. I thought it was going to be much taller than it was and I already bought the frame at Target so, I went to the paint store and begged for larger paint chips than what I had. That's what's below the image to fill the gap.

Striped Blue & White Bench: Marshalls is where I found this one. The legs used to be a cherry stain (ick!), but I didn't paint them. Nope, fooled ya! I thought I was going to return this piece after using it so I wrapped the legs in a low tack shelf liner paper. They looked amazing, especially from a distance. They looked like white lacquer. Sexy.

The Floor Covering: Finally, I will reveal how I dealt with the gold and burgundy carpeting disaster. My little trick was a 9'x12' canvas, painter's drop cloth for $19.99 from Home Depot. Ta Daa!

Tips for Realtors: How to Convince Your Seller to Stage Their Home

I recently exhibited at the Hudson Valley Realtor Convention. The number one reason I heard from realtors for not staging their listings was that they couldn’t convince their sellers it was worth it. So I began to question how agents broach the topic with their clients. I thought it might be helpful to make recommendations on how to convince sellers to stage. I firmly believe that with clear communication and a step by step approach, you can all start staging your listings and making more money for yourself and your client.

Change How You Market Yourself
The first thing I recommend is that you forget about all your amazing marketing strategies for the properties you sell…just for a moment, and change how you market yourself. I want you to bolster the source for all those great ideas and give yourself an edge over other agents.

Add a Staging Consultation to Your Listing Package
I know what your thinking “…of course she would say that, she owns a staging company,” but I’m not just feeding you lines. There are many benefits to doing this and most staging companies, including Burlock, offer industry discounts to agents they work with.

Stop Negotiating Your Commission
Just by adding the staging consultation, you’ve accomplished many things, the most important being that you are setting yourself apart from other realtors. You are providing your client with a value added service. Additionally, this gives you firmer ground to stand on when it comes to your commission. Give them something extra rather than discount your fee. Stop negotiating. By adding the staging consultation, you can proudly say “I do more, to get you more.”

Communicate About Staging Right Away
The other thing you’ve done by adding this to your listing presentation is you’ve planted the seed about staging, you’ve communicated clearly and upfront. This is tremendously important. Let’s jump into the mind of the seller for a moment.

They’re moving and if even if it’s for a good reason, moving in and of itself is a huge change that can overwhelm pretty much anyone. Then on top of it, their agent, the person that is supposed to be on their side, is asking them to shell out more money and wipe the house clean of all that makes their house a home. “Too much! Too soon! I wasn’t expecting this…” is what’s going through their mind.

By talking about the consultation right away, there are no unpleasant surprises.

A Consultation Allows the Seller to Stage Themselves
Now for those of you unfamiliar, a staging consultation educates and empowers the seller to do the staging themselves. We provide them with a detailed, written report that you will get a copy of. But before we leave, we go over everything in detail.

The Seller Can Hire us to do Further Work if They Wish
The seller can then choose to hire us further to help with as little or as much of the staging as they want. With Burlock, I can tell you that even if they choose not to hire us further, we will give them homework and check back with them to see how they are doing. We do this mainly as a service to you, the agent. Your job is to market and sell the property and we want you to be able to focus on that. Which leads me to my final recommendation...

Don’t Market the Listing Until it’s Staged
You’ve spent the money on the consultation; now use it to the fullest extent. If you market the listing before it’s staged, then your client has no motivation to stage it. You also, don’t have the best photographs you could have of your listing, do you? You’ll be happy you took this time because the sale of your listing will happen much sooner and save you money on marketing.


In Closing
Convincing your client to stage is about tweaking your approach. Set yourself apart with a value added service, communicate clearly about how you work from the beginning and lead your client through the process in steps. You’ll gain their confidence and trust right at the outset of your business relationship.