Why I Chose Real Estate ~ My Path to Real Estate Staging (Thanks Mom & Dad!)
Way back when I was 6, my mom took me with her to the interior decorator's shop -- my parents were building a new home that would have more room for our growing family. I was allowed to select the wallpaper for my bedroom in the new house -- for a few weeks I poured over many wallpaper books and went with a stylized English rose print. The matching fabric was made into bed skirts and tops for the cafe curtains. I was in heaven, and a burning desire to make my surroundings "pretty" was born. Here's a photo of my my big brother Kevin, my mom Mary, and me standing in the new house as the walls are going up. 
This home in Carmel, California was what they called a "post adobe" and my dad was so into it looking authentic that he and Kevin even made many of those adobe bricks you see in this photo (Kevin made those crooked ones that added character!)
My parents were way ahead of their time and knew that when you sold your home, you had to present it well for potential buyers. At an early age I learned a lot from my parents about the importance of making a house look like a home when it's time to sell. When they sold two of our family homes, they always arranged furniture and accessories there to make buyers feel like they could move right in. (And they'd drag us back there on weekends to help make sure the house looked perfect; my job was to vacuum, dust, sweep the patios, and water the roses.) My parents also took me to see model homes on Sundays, a fun activity even for a youngster because all of the rooms were decorated to the hilt (and then some!) Later when I was a teenager, I was always moving furniture around the house, and my mom loved the changes I made.
In 1980 I had an Oregon Real Estate license and kept it active for a few years. As I bought homes and fixed them up, I remembered that presentation was very important. Every home sold in just a few days or weeks and Realtors would ask 'how do you know how to do this?' My parents get all the credit for guiding me to this wonderful career!
In the early 90's, I talked with a few of my Realtor friends about helping people prepare their homes for selling, only to be told, "no one would ever pay you to do THAT!" But I was determined not to give up and knew that somehow, I'd find a way to make a living doing what I knew I was meant to. 
Meanwhile, I had a varied work career but the one that "stuck" the longest was as a sales manager for American Airlines, calling on corporate accounts -- and then I decided to move to Ireland in 1996 for an adventure, opening a Bed & Breakfast in the enchanting rural countryside of County Limerick. Naturally, all of my guest rooms were decorated with great attention to detail! While there, I had the good fortune to see a TV show called "House Doctor" with Ann Maurice, a property stylist from California who'd moved to the UK and helped people get their homes sold quickly. The first time I saw this show while flipping through the channels, I called out to my son Brendan "Look -- she's doing exactly what I've been talking about for years!" I was so excited to see that someone was successful in pursuing a career in home staging. Over the next couple of years I watched every episode of "House Doctor" multiple times, and I was determined that when I returned to the U.S. I'd start my home staging business in Portland OR.
After a stint working for Stanford University managing their private hotel, I took several home staging training courses, and in 2006 Room Solutions Staging was born in Portland. I feel like career-wise, I've really "come home full circle."
So -- thanks again Mom and Dad for the inspiration! I can feel you smiling down on me every day!
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Hi Maureen, great story and thanks for sharing with us in AR world.
Hi Maureen-love the photos-you were absolutely adorable and the photo and the adobe is really something special. You've had a textured career path and so glad that it all added up to your passion!
hi Ron ~ Thanks for reading my entry in the Diary of a Realtor Group contest!
hi Joanna ~ I knew what I wanted to do but it took a while for it to all come together -- timing is everything, isn't it!
Good Morning Maureen....GREAT story of coming full circle. I can see your same smile on that little girl on the beach!!!! I've seen many of the adobe homes in Carmel....really charming and as you know VERY expensive these days!!!!!
Morning, Kathy ~ OK now let's see your entry! Everyone's path is different and I love reading how people arrived at their chosen career.
P.S. Did you also notice that I was wearing red in both of those photos? Some old habits are hard to break :-)
Maureen- first ... thank you to your mom and dad for getting you started in the direction that would take you to Home Staging. I still find it fascinating that you had a B&B in Ireland!!
hi Kathy ~ Thanks for giving my parents the credit :-)
I loved Ireland because my grandparents emigrated from there, and my first visit was at age 11. When the timing was right, I obtained (dual) Irish citizenship and moved to Ireland. I'd thought of a B&B as a great opportunity to meet people -- I'd spent 12 years in sales and loved the daily interaction with clients. My B&B could accomodate up to 10 guests, and I personally cooked the "full Irish" breakfasts every morning! It was a great adventure.
Maureen - What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it with all of us. My family was also very influential in my destiny. I can see that you are doing what you love and you are where you should be. What a wonderful path you've traveled to arrive there.
Kathy - what a great story. You were definitely meant to be a stager!
Maureen-I love this post. The picture with you and your parents is so poignant! Thanks for sharing your passion!
hi Barb ~ You should write your story too -- we'd love to read it! It's amazing how many of our talents are revealed at a young age, isn't it?
hi Maria ~ Yes, it was destiny, I'm convinced!
hi Marianne ~ Glad you liked it. That is my mom and my brother! However, my mom was so young-looking for her age that many people thought my brother was her husband LOL -- My mom would love it and my brother would cringe!
So that's HOW you became such an incredible stager? That's awesome, Maureen. I so loved this post. Hearing of your past and how you got to this point - SO interesting.
Kathy
What an amazing story you've put together here Maureen. I don't think I knew about your time in County Limerick! How fun, and you're right...you really did come full circle. I wonder if the fact that my folks also dragged us aroung to model homes back in the day had some influence on me (lol)...you never know.
hi Kathy ~ What a nice thing to say .... Thank you!! How about your entry -- will we see it soon??
hi David ~ Living in Ireland for 8 years was a true adventure and an unforgetable experience -- the Irish are such fun and friendly people!
Years ago, seeing those model homes on Sundays was fun ... my first one was when I was in first grade and I embarassed my parents terribly by claiming loudly "no one lives here so all this stuff is just silly." I guess I had no idea I'd be doing just that many years later!!
Hi Maureen--wow, what a career you have had. Running a B & B in Ireland tops my "most interesting pre-staging career" list. Cute photographs, and yes, I did notice that you are wearing red in them!
Maureen - What a delightful, charming post. Love the photos of you as a little girl - you have that look of determination on your face, even back then! I loved the House Doctor series and have also watched them over and over again, numerous times. I especially liked to tune in to see Alistaire - what a cutie!
Maureen, such an interesting story. I like your picture on the beach. You were lucky that your parents let you to decide on your own room design. B&B is really interesting path too. I was always wondered if that business keeps you busy more than gives you a profit :-). I've never watched the House Doctor show but just visited their website and have to say that you brought this whole staging to the different level. Your pictures are like from the design magazine. There are a lot to learn form you.
hi Janet ~ Sometimes the path we're on just brings us around to what we really should be doing -- seems like many of us fit that mold!
hi Sally ~ Glad you have the chance to see House Doctor too -- wish it was available here in the U.S. And yes, who wouldn't love that handsome Alistaire!
hi Anna ~ You hit the nail on the head in your comment about running a B&B (busy and very interesting but very little profit!). Thanks for your kind words :-)
Maureen I really enjoyed the journey, and the road to where you are today. It seems it was destiny. You always knew what you wanted to do, but no one else did.
I think..I'm on that road today, too. I keep gravitating to my passion.
hi Liz ~ so true, no one believed back then that there was a career path in home staging/property styling. Keep doing what you love and before you know it, you'll be so busy that you'll have to turn work away!!
Love that you also enjoyed a hospitality career - I can see you with an ever-changing Bed and Bath - oh, wait - that's next week's Design Star episode, right?
I've loved reading everyone's stories - and your photos are especially telling - love those bricks!
Maureen, absolutely love your photos and the story that goes with them. I would bet that an adobe in Carmet was out of the ordinary. How fun that your dad and big brother made some of the bricks. I think that Liz hit the nail on the head when she said this was your destiny!
hi Julie ~ My hospitality career spanned about 9 years altogether ... enjoyed it, but staging is so much more fun!!
hi Ginger ~ There are actually quite a few post adobes in Carmel, many built by Comstock. My dad wanted some of the bricks to have a more authentic look, so he made quite a few of them with Kevin. One of our neighbors had a mill in Carmel Valley and he supplied huge beams for the interior open-beam ceilings. The fireplace stones were Carmel River rock so the house had a lot of locally-sourced materials. My son Brendan and I visited that home a few years ago, and the owners gave us a great tour! It looks exactly the same.
Maureen, I love these "opportunities" that AR creates to let us "get to know you". Your family was certainly interesting and inspiring you to "go for it".... your travel to Ireland and opening and managing a "B & B". You must have met so many interesting people and I'm sure it was plenty of work too. And, then your inspiration to move to Portland and become the smashing success that inspires so many of us in the house staging/lifestyle merchandising industry.... thanks for taking time to write such a great and insightful post to your history and choosen career path.... great fun to read!
PS... my sister lived in the Carmel Valley and has resided in Pebble Beach since 1982... I have seen the adobe houses!
An amazing story Maureen. What an adventurous life! Your wonderful sense of humor shines through here! I didn't know you lived in Limerick and owned a bed & breakfast. I would say, your life really did come full circle back to what you love to do. I'm so glad it did! So, you brother formed the bricks with "Character"? Cute!
hi Teri ~ Glad to hear that you enjoyed reading about my career path -- now why don't you write one as well to share with us? (all the cool kids are doing it LOL!) P.S. I was born and raised in Carmel and envy your sister who still lives in the area!
hi Laura ~ I'm glad that my path led me back to home staging too! What interested me as a youngster is still keeping me happy today :-)
Maureen, sounds like a fun road to your chosen career. My parents would have loved to have even one child who wanted to keep her room beautiful! We were all such slobs.
Hi Pat ~ It's amazing how our career path can take twists and turns and still lead us to where we're meant to be. P.S. My new bedroom wasn't always as neat as it should have been but I tried to keep it tidy most of the time!
Maureen thank you for sharing your history...it just personalizes things and allows us to relate/understand more about you. Enjoyed it.
What a great story Maureen - I just love the Ireland side trip - I'm sure you fell in love with all the local flavor. Ireland is on my bucket list.
I'm glad to have met you and it's nice to know such a talented staging professional that's close to home. ( I live in Camas) I'm an ASP Realtor, which means I promote staging and stagers. While, I can offer the basics, I know when to turn it over to a professional - and that's most of the time. :)
I can tell by your before and afters that you're very talented. Take care. D
hi Debb ~ It's so good to hear from another smart Realtor who believes in the powerful benefits of home staging :-)
You should definitely make that trip to Ireland -- the people and the scenery are spectacular! Have a great week :-)