Home Staging in Portland Oregon Blog

Home staging as an industry has come a long way!  It's no longer surprising to find articles and books on home staging in national newspapers, magazines, and your local bookstore or library. 

Recently, I was interviewed by a feature writer for Angie's List Magazine who wanted some tips for homeowners who were planning to list their home for sale.  She said I was contacted because of the high ranking my Portland-based home staging company has on Angie's List.  We discussed various ways that home staging techniques can help a home look more spacious and appealing to potential buyers.  You can read the entire article in Angie's List Magazine here: "7 Surefire Home Staging Tips..."

I've been a consumer member of Angie's list since 2006, and have found their service to be invaluable when I'm searching for local contractors in many categories.  Whether hiring them myself or providing referrals to my home staging clients in the Portland, Oregon area, Angie's List is a proven and valuable resource for finding great service providers. 

More Information on Angie's List:

Angie's List is a consumer-driven online referral site that collects consumer reviews on local contractors and service providers in more than 500 categories for homeowners and consumers across the U.S.  Angie's List members have access to local ratings via internet and phone, to Angie's List magazine, and complaint resolution service as well.  Companies listed on Angie's List may not pay a fee to be listed -- they can only be nominated by local consumers, who then provide a rating "grade" in multiple categories including Price, Quality, Responsiveness, Punctuality and Professionalism.

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Whatever city we're based in, professional home stagers do so much more than make our clients' homes look amazing and irresistible to potential buyers so that they sell faster ...

What other Hats do we wear?  Here are just a few of them ....  

NEIGHBORHOOD EXPERT:  Home stagers need to be familiar with the neighborhoods in their cities, so that they know the types of architecture and styles of homes they'll be asked to submit staging proposals for.  The best home stagers have the ability to stage many different types of homes, whether they're modern and contemporary, traditional, mid-century, Victorian, ranch, Craftsman, or whatever style is popular in their area.

DIPLOMAT:  Sometimes, the client who hires the stager is the homeowner, and sometimes it's the listing agent.  Occasionally the stager is caught between both parties, and it's important to be very diplomatic whoever you find yourself dealing with.  Discretion is another excellent and important quality to have when working in people's homes (especially when they're still living there!)

HANDYMAN:  Professional stagers are always fixing things that they come across when they're staging a home.  We carry a variety of tools to repair household items, and usually we don't even charge our clients anything extra for this added service.

SECURITY EXPERT:  Home stagers learn quickly to make sure that all windows and doors are secure and safe when they're working in a client's home.  Our eyes and ears are always on alert to make sure that everyone -- and everything -- is safe inside the home.

ABILITY TO STAGE EQUALLY WELL IN SNOW OR 108* HEAT:  Even when heat or air conditioning isn't in the best working order, home stagers will work under the worst conditions ... not because we want to, but because we want to get the job done for our clients!

STATISTICAL WIZARD:  Home stagers are clever enough to track our home staging statistics for our clients so that they can see our average Days on Market of our staged properties.  We love to share this helpful information with potential clients!

PEACEMAKER:  Occasionally, nosy neighbors who don't like all the activity next door, or contractors working on the property exhibit short fuses for various reasons.  Home stagers need the wisdom of Solomon to keep the peace!

MAGICIAN:  As professional home stagers, we wear this hat every day!  Clients are always telling us how "magic" our transformations are!  (This is one of our favorite hats, by the way...)

SHOPPER EXTRAORDINAIRE:  Home stagers know all of the best places to shop for furniture and home decor, and we're famous for running into our favorite haunts 15 minutes before closing and filling up carts faster than Olympic sprinters!

PHOTOGRAPHER: We offer our clients quality photos for the online listing -- which is critically important in getting buyers to visit the home in person.

~ HOME STAGERS, WHAT OTHER HATS DO YOU WEAR?  Tell us your stories, please! ~

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Room Solutions Staging offers help to Portland Oregon homeowners, real estate professionals, builders, banks, trustees and investors in preparing homes for the market.  Our home staging clients love our service and our home staging statistics!  Our home staging services in the Portland OR metro area include consultations, staging for both vacant and lived-in homes, and interior redesign  projects.  For a complimentary home staging proposal, please contact us @ 503-246-1800.

Portland Oregon Home Stager is Named a Finalist in the

 REAL ESTATE STAGING ASSOCIATION’S 2011 HOME STAGING INDUSTRY AWARDS

Portland Oregon-based professional home stager Maureen Bray has been named a finalist in the Real Estate Staging Association’s™ Home Staging Industry Awards for the Professional Home Stager of the Year 2011  (West Region). Home Stagers from the U.S. and Canada submitted their “Before and After” photos for consideration in this industry-wide awards event. Bray is the only home stager in the states of Oregon and Washington to have been named a finalist for this prestigious award.

 “RESA congratulates and recognizes each person for their contributions to our industry.  Our Industry Awards are a wonderful way to give back to the staging industry as a whole and to recognize some amazing people,” said Shell Brodnax, President/CEO of RESA.  

"I'm delighted and honored to be named a Finalist for Professional Stager of the Year for 2011 by the Real Estate Staging Association, an organization that’s made great strides educating the public about the powerful benefits of home staging. As a professional home stager, nothing makes me happier than helping my clients reduce market time for their properties," said Bray, Owner & Creative Director of Room Solutions Staging.

The finalists will be judged by a panel of industry professionals and the winners will be announced at the RESA Home Staging Int'l Conference on Jan. 24, 2011 in Las Vegas.

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Room Solutions Staging offers help to Portland Oregon metro area homeowners, real estate professionals, builders, banks, trustees and investors in preparing homes for the market.  Our home staging clients love our service and our home staging statistics!  Our home staging services in the Portland OR metro area include consultations, staging for both vacant and live-in homes, and interior redesign  projects.  For a complimentary home staging proposal, please contact us @ 503-246-1800.