Mason Design Group

Staging your home for maximum sales return.

After a bit of a hiatus due to scheduling and, I hate to admit, writer’s block (my friend Susie calls it “Bloggage”)  I’ve returned with gusto to my blog as new questions have been coming at me now for a few weeks. 

The real estate market in Vancouver continues to be on the upswing and while some houses sell quickly and for over-asking others languish on the MLS pages, frustrating owners and realtors alike.  I was recently asked to write an editorial piece for the North Shore Real Estate Weekly encouraging people to think about home staging needs.  The following is the long version of that article.

Realtors suggest that staged homes spend less time on the market and sell for more than their un-staged counterparts.  Staging is more than just cleaning up: it is what you do after you’ve cleaned, painted, repaired and de-cluttered.  When you think of staging think theatre: presentation, impressions, engagement. 

“Staging for resale gives your property a huge competitive edge, a marketing boost that shows your home in a truly positive way that the buyer can relate to”, says Toni Lindsay of Remax Masters Realty in West Vancouver, BC.  With your realtor, Toni advises,  you first decide what segment of the market to appeal to, and then work to towards “wowing” the largest possible segment of that market.  If your house is empty, remember that an empty house can be notoriously difficult to sell so plan for a furnishings rental budget to make at least the primary rooms of the house (living room, master bedroom, dining and kitchen, for example) set a stage for encouraging buyers. 

My project shown here is a dramatic difference that, if I do say myself, caused jaws to drop.  I’m quite proud of that.  Modern paint, clean furniture lines, improved lighting (if you really like the fixtures remember to add to the sales agreement that they go with you) and fresh flowers.  I’ve heard that baking bread or cookies just before an open house can make your home smell like everyone’s happy-place! 

The most basic effort you should make means that your home inside and out should be spotless – and I mean toothbrush-in-the-corners spotless.  Repairs should be done, paint should be fresh and simple, windows sparkling clean.  Remove torn or worn furniture, junk in the yard, personal photos and busy nick-knacks on bookcases – de-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter.  Remove items that will distract from the space: that giant collection of Star Wars figurines in the living room, for example.

Then add creative elements with furnishings, art, area rugs, fresh unused towels, and even iron the bedding!  Don’t forget to tackle the garage and get rid of anything that really doesn’t belong there.  Rent a storage locker if you must, don’t hide your removed items somewhere in the house.  Remember, potential buyers open every door!  To stage your home does not have to cost you a bundle of money.  But do be prepared to make investments in pieces or pay for rentals so you can take your home from OK to inspirational.

Debbie Davis of Reveal Staging in Seattle has done a wonderful job in these before and after shots.  Simple changes but huge impact.  Note that she painted out the dining room to a colour that is easy for almost everyone to feel good about.  Makes the floors stand out so much better.

Here are a few ideas used by the pro’s:

• Don’t use all small furniture in a small room as this actually makes the space feel smaller, busier.  Use fewer but larger and functional pieces in a small room.  Rent furniture if you need to, but be strategic and careful.
• Buy new towels for the bathrooms and only use them for show.  A basket filled with soaps, salts, creams and sponges adds the “spa” feel.  New bathrobes and slippers suggest luxury.  Your every-day used towels should be tucked away.
• The kitchen is the heart of the home.  Counters should be cleared except a few showy appliances.  Add a big glass bowl full of green apples or lemons.  Display a basket filled with live potted herbs.  One or two cookbooks can be a nice touch. 
• Add decorative pillows and throws to sofas, chairs or beds.  Edit the book cases and group a few interesting books together, then fill the remaining space with eye-catching accessories like art or antiques.
• Live plants in beautiful pots are always a feature.  Be sure you don’t have a jungle on display, just one or two clean and healthy plants will do.
• Switch out heavy or dark drapery in living rooms for lighter options that let the daylight stream in.
• A vase filled with fresh cut flowers should be front and centre.
• Don’t forget the garden or patio.  Outdoor areas are a huge draw for buyers.  Clean and bright cushions on the garden furniture, potted shrubs, flowers and sculptures all say “buy me”.

Every detail of the inside and the outside of your house should be on the hit-list.  If you’re stumped then call an Interior Designer or Professional Stager to help you with plans, purchases or renting furniture and accessories.  These pro’s can simply consult or they can do the work for you.   The work of these professionals will more than pay for itself.

Remember, the idea of setting the stage for a quick and profitable home sale is to put your potential buyer’s needs and desires first.  It is a small investment with a huge return.

Live a creative life. 

Have fun.

Kindness is contageous. Pass it on.

February 14th – 20th is Random Acts Of Kindness Week.  Yes… it’s true and I love that someone made this official.  I love engaging in random acts of kindness and I love stories about them because being kind to others makes us happier people. 

Check out some great ideas from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation like anonymously sending someone a card telling them how great they are.  Or perhaps deliver a basket of flowers to a senior’s centre and have someone give a flower to all the ladies.  Take cookies to your local fire hall or police station.  How about using chalk on the sidewalk to send a message to a loved one, like Katy’s mom did in this photo for her dad who is training for a marathon and will pass right over these inspirational words.

You, my friends, are awesome and whether you are aware of it or not you make such a big difference in people’s lives everyday through your actions.   This is the chance to prove to yourself that what goes around truly does come around because being kind will bring you oodles of joy in return.  Take this time to love your life and those within it, strangers and loved ones alike.  Give thanks for what you have, what you have to offer and for what others do for you by paying it forward and helping others feel great.  Have compassion for those whose journey you may not understand by simply giving a smile and your warmest energy as they navigate their world and remember they are doing the best that they can.  You  may make their journey just a little bit easier with one simple act of kindness towards them.

The fun thing about random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty is that no one sees them coming; it’s something you do in an instant not something you plan for days to achieve.  “Random” is the theme and “just because” is your only reason.  For Random Acts of Kindness Week (and hopefully longer) live in the moment and embrace the beauty that is all around you no matter how odd, uncertain or trying the times.  

I so love the saying, “God grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the strength to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”  Being kind regardless of the circumstances takes serenity, strength and wisdom – and that simply has to be good for you!

 I give thanks for this crisp and sunny day, for my puppies, for my man, for our smiling neighbours, for our newly renovated foyer, for having a great hair day today, and for you. 

And I am off to celebrate my world and all the beautiful and odd and mysterious elements I will encounter.  Please join me… and have fun.

Living Life The Old Fashioned Way.

This weekend I went ice fishing.  Yes, me.  The city girl.  Minus 12 or so, in a little tent for five hours with four adults and three dogs (and for a few moments two giant teen aged boys who popped in to see what we were up to).  And, I was reassured, 3 feet of ice holding us all up above the very chilly Big Bar Lake in the Cariboo region of amazing British Columbia.  Our hosts and friends Richard and Doris shared with us a side of life that is so precious to me.  I love this part of the world.   Rugged, unforgiving and simply lovely.

In this photo, Doris is saving our wiener dog Porsche from a big snow hole -  3″ legs and two feet of snow don’t work well.  Porsche never did figure that out, but we were always there to help.

Doris and Richard’s home on Big Bar Lake is a slice of heaven.  A simple and oh so cozy cabin with a wood burning stove and, dare I say it, no dishwasher.  Just north of Clinton you turn left and head about 30 or so kilometres west from the Cariboo Highway and you find Big Bar Lake,  half provincial park and half little country homes.   We bundled up and explored the outdoors to learn about fishing through a hole in the lake.  The trout don’t hibernate like like bears do, so I learned.  Here is Richard on his quad clearing the way for us to get to the fishing spot.   

Richard then put up the ice fishing castle. Ok, tent.  But we thanked our lucky stars that he did!!  The day was sunny but the wind was so cold.   It was a castle in my eyes.

Then Richard drilled the holes and down went the hooks. 

And out came some beer, cheezies and my vodka and tonic (not a beer drinker myself).  There was even a red and white Molson Canadian beer bag that stated, “If you can read this, you are too close to my beer.”  My man Joe with his Olympic mittens next to the Molson Canadian beer cooler …  it was such a nationalistic experience I loved every moment- does it get any better than that?  I don’t think so.

The first fish to come out of that hole put up a very wet fight!  We all wore the frigid water but none were were more unhappy than the fish.  And me second as I was told I had to kill it.  You have to understand, I stop for squirrels and I let flies out of the car window.  Argh!  The horror.

Quick and merciful, that was on my mind.  Then the dogs starting licking the poor little guy, so I hoped it was dead – oh, the indignity.   I wanted to  remember, however, that in some parts of our cold north people must find their dinner this way so I persevered and learned what I needed.  It was a big learning curve, I might add.

After a day of laughter, triumph, and bonding we headed home to cook our catch.  Our little dogs, Cooper and Porsche, were a bit chilly so they rode home on the quad with Richard. 

I must admit our trout dinner was amazing!  Though I didn’t tell anyone, I said a little prayer for our scaly beast as it was cleaned and prepped.  Such a huge sacrifice and I felt huge gratitude.  That must be how it is when you fend for yourself and take a life in order to eat.  No grocery store purchase.  It brings you closer to your food.  I guess I needed to learn that.  I have a new outlook on life.    

Our day in the frigid and unforgiving environment that is BC’s winter Cariboo Region was a time I will remember for many quiet reasons.  Worth every chilly moment we spent in Richard’s fishing castle on the frozen lake getting closer with our friends and learning how to live off the land (0k, lake). 

Creating and designing the life we love is why we all get up the morning.  My world is just a little bit better and a little bit richer thanks to Doris and Richard.  And the trout, of course.

Celebrate.  Give thanks.  Have fun.

Fire As Art

You absolutely must see what the folks at Fire Features are up to.  You’ll never look at your fireplace the same way again.  See Elena Colombo’s work and dream!

Crock Pots Are Hip.

Hi all,

It’s January and I’m feeling oh so fat from gorging myself on the excesses of the holidays.  The old muffin-top has taken on a life of it’s own and I think it high time to empty the pantry of food that was holiday guest treats and to stock it with sensible and healthy eats.  It is still cold out so salad is not quite filling my cravings yet but I hauled out my crock pot again and it is a thing of beauty!  I have your classic Crock Pot brand unit, and I love it because I can take the bowl right out of the cooker base and put it on the table.  Easy.

My  mom used to make chili and stew in her crock pot.  It seemed such a mom thing to do… soooooo 1970′s family cooking!  Well, like everything, slow cooking is back in style and it’s yummy!  Slow cookers are a must-have for every home in my view.   There are a some very cool ones you should look at although the fancy functions are naturally going to be reflected in the price.

At the high end of the price point is the Breville Slow Cooker with “EasySear“, this cool unit allows you to use the internal pot on the stove to brown meats and such and then simply transfer the entire thing right into the slow cooker base to go for hours.  Truly makes slow cooking a one-pot deal.  But this baby will run you about $180.00.

Hamilton Beach makes this great little unit ( at the right) called the Set ‘N Forget Programmable Slow Cooker.  When you’re wanting to cook the perfect roast  it has this nifty little thermometer that goes through the lid so it can sense when to shut the cooker off.  Sounds like a dream for my family if I would never over-do another roast.

I’m a working woman who loves to cook.  I’ve always thought that there was weekday food that was quick, and then weekend food that takes hours of my time to prepare and tastes way better.  It is true to some extent but rediscovering slow cooking has changed my boring mid-week meals to something to look forward to.  You simply cannot cook everything in a crock pot, but you can cook amazing things that will fill your soul as much as your belly.

My friend Robert is the publisher at Whitecap Books, and he has a knack for publishing some of the absolutely best cook books in Canada.  And their new Everyone Can Cook Slow Cooker Meals by Eric Akis is my current favourite.  You can check out the Whitecap link for all that they publish and you’ll find these books at all good book sellers.   I noticed this one in Save-On Foods the other day. 

The first recipe I tried was the Pork Back Ribs with Bourbon, Chipotle and Maple syrup (are you salivating yet?).  The crowd at the table couldn’t get enough.  Six ingredients in with the ribs.  How easy can that get?  Healthy, simple and oh so great. 

There are lots of great recipes on the web and other cook books for slow cookers so you will never run short of ideas.  And it’s home-style 1970′s mom cooking that will greet you when you get home from work – did I mention that is my favourite thing about crock pots?  Like having a little chef at home. 

Enjoy!