You may have seen on the national news that Portland Oregon has had record high temps up to 108* this week. We're not used to this heat -- unlike some of you in the south -- you were smart enough to put in your home staging contracts that the home must have A/C .... but now we've learned our lesson :-))
On Tuesday, my home staging company was scheduled to "move" the staging from one home (that sold in just 38 days, after being on the market for 533 days) to another one. The home we were moving the staging inventory to was quite a bit larger so we had to add some additional furniture. It turned out that on "move" day, both locations had record highs of 108* and NO A/C! Yikes, my home staging colleagues and I thought we were going to faint. We had only one small fan
and even with an early start it was a struggle to get through the arduous task of packing everything up & then unpacking again. The best part of the day was the short time in our air-conditioned cars between the two homes! We made it a shorter work day than usual, planning to finish up the next day.
Well, it was just as hot the next day -- and the three of us came with coolers packed with with lots of water -- and 3 fans. Oh, did I mention this new home had no refrigerator? If it had, we would have opened it up and put our heads inside for a quick cool down ... we also discovered that this new home used to have A/C before the units were STOLEN from the backyard sometime during the past year that it's been on the market as a vacant home!
How lucky I was that these two loyal staging colleagues came to my rescue! You know them from here on A/R -- Kathy Alexander of GreatStages Home Staging & Redesign and Peggy Prather of HomeStaging Solutions, both from nearby Vancouver WA. They are my Staging Super Heroes! Who else would agree to help stage in 108* heat with no A/C?
If you're one of those stagers who thinks that staging by yourself is OK, imagine how much MORE fun it would be to have some really talented, experienced & just-plain-nice colleagues to help you on a staging project. You won't get lonely, you'll have someone else to bounce ideas off, and you might learn a new staging trick or two in the process.
I'd encourage all A/R stagers to join one of your local professional home staging organizations and network with your staging colleagues! When you need help you'll find some wonderful people to work with. Working with other talented home stagers, like we do here in Portland Oregon, is a real pleasure.
How about you ~ Do you ask your colleagues for help when you need it?
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Kudos to both. I've seen some home stagers who are real idiots. But then again I'm a lender and I've seen some lenders who take the cake. I'm so glad that AR has some stellar home stagers. I do and will take note!!!!! Maureen...feature them in "them, them."
We certainly have met some great staggers. Congratuations.
Larry -- thanks for taking note of these great home stagers! This post is in the Them Them group too -- well-deserved.
Joan ~ It's good to know you've met some great stagers too -- there are plenty of them right here on A/R! Thanks for joining in.
I really enjoyed reading your post on this particular real estate topic.
You bet I do-I do not know what I'd do without my staging buddies!!! What a terrific post Maureen. I wrote a post in January featuring a few super hero stagers that saved the week for me when my Aunt passed away unexpectedly.
Thanks for sharing your story. Us in the blizzard - you in the heat. We de-staged are were able to wait until 9:00 p.m. just to beat the heat. Congrats on finishing. Lunch soon?
Cathy ~ I remember your post about your staging heroes who came through for you when you needed them. Aren't we lucky that we have such great colleagues nearby?
David ~ It's been a year of real weather extremes here in Portland! I'll never forget that house you staged with the steep driveway & all those stairs .... with you and Nik trying to maneuver through the snow & ice! We should have special "hazard duty" pay or something! Let's meet for lunch as soon as it cools down ... next week?
Hard work under such high temps - great to have such wonderful colleagues willing to help out and make the day more enjoyable.
While I know you ladies were "glowing" from the heat and work - I know you all had a lot of fun as well because you all know how to make the best of any situation! I'm sure Peg and Kathy also had some wonderful creativity to throw in the mix which made the staging go quicker and produce a wonderful result! Networking with local stagers has been so important to our business. Whether it is getting ideas, sharing resources or helping with projects - it's created great win-win situations. We're destaging a sold home tomorrow - glad it's only going to be in the 90's!
Now that's HOT!
HOT STAGERS!
HOT STAGING!
HOT NETWORKING!
HOT COLLEAGUES!
HOT POST!
. . . . AND, unfortunately . . . hot temps! oh, my, 108! I am melting just thinking about it!
Well Maureen since I deal with mostly owner occupieds here in Georgia I can sympathize w/ the heat flash you're having. I meet many homeowners after their workday and they do not turn on the A/C until they've reach home :( The consult can turn into an extra hour or 2 of redesign and buy that time I'm {{{glistening}}} all over.
It's great to bounce ideas off one another when working, love, love, love the synergy!
Michele ~ We definitely had fun while completing this project, laughing at theworking conditions. That's what made it bearable!
Margaret ~ Yes we were glowing all right! Peg and Kathy helped make everything flow smoother and faster and you're so right that our networking through RESA and ASHSR has had a positive impact on our networking. Stay cool during your destaging!
Karen ~ You're too clever .... hot post LOL
Cynthia ~ I'm feeling your pain if you have to do this on a regular basis -- oh my you're much more patient about it than I'd be! One of the advantages of working together is bouncing off ideas ... it's wonderful.
Even though the heat was brutal, I wouldn't have missed it! Maureen and Kathy are just such fun people, I'll spend a hot day with them any time!
One funny thing that Maureen didn't mention was the unfinished wine cellar in house number 2. Once in awhile we would go just stand in it for a minutes relief! We considered having our lunch in there, but with the cement walls and floor it felt a little too much like a bunker! Fun day; I'd do it all again. Thanks for the opportunity Maureen. Stay cool!
Peg ~ Thanks for being such a trooper and filling in on such short notice, especially under the challenging conditions! Your help was immensely appreciated....and it's good we can all laugh about it now :-)) That wine cellar was like an oasis at the time wasn't it?
I did hear the crazy temperatures there in your neck of the woods! It does get hot here, but we've been having an unusually cool summer, except for the days I seem to be staging!
You're right, there is so much to be gained from relationships with other stagers. I don't know where I'd be today without their help!
Cathy ~ I'm with you on the value of networking with other professional stagers. I haven't worked alone on many jobs for a long, long time ... it's not nearly as much fun! Glad to hear it works for you too.
Maureen, I don't know where I'd be without my fellow Stagers, here on AR or in person. I called on Carol Buckalew of Omni Home Staging for my very first Staging project. She and I had taken a course together and became (and still are) friends. Thankfully we didn't have to work in 108 degree heat, but I do remember carrying 2 large Oriental rugs down into the basement.
Thanks for reminding us that Teamwork pays off.
Like Peg, it was such fun that I would do it again in a minute. We will have a lot of laughs in years to come about the lengths we went to stay cool that day.
When I collaborate with fellow stagers on a home, it always amazes me how the time just flies by. We are working hard, but the energy and flow of ideas draws you in and in a flash the day is over and the job is done. So much better than working alone in an empty and quiet home, in my opinion.
Thank you, Maureen for a fun couple of days. I am so appreciative of the great relationships I have developed through networking.
Kathy S. ~ Teamwork really does pay off! You know this from personal experience too....I can't imagine staging in a big vacant house all by myself. I love the synergy we create as a team!
Kathy A. ~ TWO DAYS in a row you trudged over here on the hottest days of the year ... THANK YOU once again! You're right about the time flying by when you're busy and having fun. We are really lucky to have such great staging colleagues here in our area!
Maureen, you know how much I envy the comraderie and collaboration that you share with your staging buddies. The only thing that I don't envy is the heat. I would have been wearing my sweat band and dripping. Hot here but....well you know.
Ginger ~ You'd have fit right into this group, that's for sure! :-) Like Peggy said above in her comment, we explored the lowest level of this 4,800 sq ft home and found a cement storage room and you'd think we struck gold, we were so excited. Too bad they didn't even have a refrigerator in this home -- or we might have tried to hop inside. Working with fun and talented stagers makes any project worthwhile. Hope you can visit up here sometime!
Networking is key to any business ~ especially ours. Here in SoCal there seems to be a pretty good conradory between Home Stagers - we are so fortunate. BUT, that being said - we all have air conditioning ;)
My goodness, Ladies! Maureen, I hope you have a clause for "hazard pay" in your contract ;) (just kidding - but try to stay cool and take care of yourselves)
Connie ~ The stagers in many communities have an excellent opportunity to network and help each other and I'm glad to hear that's the case in SoCal too. Let's see, "hazard pay" would have been nice on this week's project LOL
I can just picture you guys searching for cooler grounds. Too funny.
Minus the heat of course, it sure sounds like you had tons of fun!
Kathy
Kathy ~ Yes, we had fun in spite of the heat! I returned to that house yesterday to retake some photos and it just wasn't the same without the two Staging Super Heroes!