Do you ever have that feeling you should know someone? That vague facial recognition but a blank where their name should be?
I’ve been staging for Killingsworth Station, a LEED platinum rating green housing that was built as a partnership between the Portland Development Commission and Winkler Development Corp. Recently I had stopped by to make a few last minute changes we’d talked about on the staging I’d been working on.
When I got there, there was a man doing a walkthrough who I was sure I knew -or should know. I racked my brain? Was it an agent? Someone I’d been introduced to before on the project? I tried to make a circle in my thinking that would find some sort of trigger for who this person was… nothing.
So, I made polite conversation, made a few quick changes to the staging and was on my way. It wasn’t till that evening that I realized that the reason I recognized the man is because he is the mayor of Portland, Sam Adams! I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed about my cordial should-I-know-you interaction, or just thrilled about the “nice job” compliment on the staging.
The news clip above is of the mayor touring one of the units I staged. I have felt so lucky to have worked on this project, I am a strong supporter of green housing, and to have been able to lend my skills in staging these units has been one of the highlights of my year.
I recently staged another Craftsman home. This home had updated electrical, plumbing and a new furnace (which tend to be things buyers worry about in an older home). Visually though, it was distinctly Craftsman. I’ve seen some stagers and realtors who believe so strongly in “neutralizing” a home that they will try and modernize and minimize the more distinctly vintage features, because they believe this will help the home sell. Of course, region will reflect different buyer ideals, but here in Portland where Craftsman are more common, buyers gravitate towards the personality that these unique features bring.
We replaced things like lighting fixtures, and faucets to add details that matched the tone of the home and helped to update it with a vintage feel.
The bathroom was staged to show off the vintage features, particularly the tiling. The floor was tiled with black and white octagonal tiles that were commonly used in the 1920s through the 1940s, paired with the equally trendy 1920s subway tiles around the tub.
One of the other exciting vintage features this home had was a breakfast nook.
Craftsman homes were in many ways born out of the rise of the middle class. The changing times brought changing values, one of which was families coming together for meals. The kitchen became the heart of the home, and cozy breakfast nooks allowed the family to come together both for the meal, and while it was being prepared in the attached kitchen. This breakfast nook was easy to show off, with the wonderful natural lighting and its cute but cozy feel.
Portland is rolling out their new composting program on the 31st of this month. Compost will be collected every week, and trash will switch to being collected every other week.
“Food scraps and other compostable material account for almost 30 percent of garbage. It is better to compost this waste instead of throwing it away because when it breaks down in the landfill, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.”
Just a quick post today, on a recent staging for Will Tucker; a Ranch style and had some really gorgeous hardwood floors and a lot of natural lighting.
And an update on the recent staging I blogged about (with this same agent) -it sold on the first day, with multiple offers and for 50,000 over the asking price : )
A funny video to start a post with, I know… but a recent Huffington Post article on the topic of Portlander using goats to graze away invasive plants made me really realize how serious people are about finding positive environmental solutions here.
Portland is a city where going green is embraced as a way of life. Urban Farming is growing, and it is not uncommon to see chickens and perhaps a goat or two in a residential neighborhood. This push for living green has promoted some really exciting eco housing, the most recent of which is the K-Station Condos that I’m staging.
For those of you who remember all the green cleaning tips I’ve posted from time to time, projects like this are very close to my heart. K-Station is LEED Platinum certified, and features responsibly sourced bamboo hardwood floors, light shelves, a green roof and solar water heating.
To top things off, the K-Station is promoting a portion of their housing to lower income, and first time home buyers. Which is a big deal for a place like Portland where:
“Well-educated young people are disproportionately drawn to Portland…in focus groups people said Portland is a place where you can live your values, and environmentalism is clearly one of them.”
I can’t wait to show you guys pictures of the staging. Till then I’d love to hear about how you incorporate environmental values into your day to day life.
Complementary Colors: The two colors opposite each other on the color wheel; in light when the colors are combined together they produce white.
There’s been a contemporary trend of painting walls separate colors (treating each as its own canvas). It can create an incredibly playful modern feel to a room, but because it also bring such a specific personality with it, it’s not something a stager would recommend for a sale (in the same way we don’t tend to recommend vibrant colors). A bit back I blogged about a similar topic, and staging in homes with vibrant walls color vs. the classic neutral.
The recent home I staged had both vibrant colors, and in the kitchen separate walls painted complementary colors (a sort of salmon paired with spearmint). So, I decided to mirror this in the living room (yellow) by adding accents in the complimenting blue tone.
When staging a home that already has bright colors, using a complementary color as an accent can help neutralize the room. The blue of the pillows and accessories helped make the yellow wall color far more gentle then it had appeared when empty, and it also helped tie together the living room to the kitchen.
Response from the client: “oh my god … my house has never looked this good … NOT even close!”
I normally blog about the staging side of my business, but a large and equally important part of the business is construction. Sometimes these are independent jobs, and other times (as was the case with the pics below) the construction will overlap with a staging job.
As a stager I will recommend to a client cosmetic fixes to a home that will increase its value and help it sell faster. Thing like changing wallpaper or repainting, removing or adding carpeting, or refurbishing outdated features. Because my experience is in both staging and construction, it allows me to give advice based on a visual perspective, current trends, and the practical know how of the work and relative cost involved.
In the case of this house there were a lot of dated features that needed updating. The wallpaper (while there was something wonderfully dollhouse about some of it) was not showing off the selling points of this home. Here are some before and after pics of all the work done.
I recently worked with Realtor Lori Hamilton staging a custom-built home. With its spacious 3803 sqft, it was important to showcase the versatile use of the open floor plan.
Thank goodness we’re finally getting some sunshine. Somewhere between juggling work and life, I managed to put in two garden beds at my home (so happy about this!), and that coupled with this wonderful weather has been making me feel inspired. So, no shop talk today… instead I decided to post a couple of summer recipes I thought you guys would enjoy : )
Raspberry Lime Jam
4 cups ripe red raspberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
Zest of one lime
2 teaspoons calcium water
2 teaspoons pectin
Courtesy of Foodaphilia – (click for the full recipe)
There is something about lime that just pairs so well with raspberries. Tangy and sweet, this jam will make you think of summer no matter what time of the year you enjoy it.
Easy Summer Pie
1 (9 inch) frozen pie crust, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
4 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
Courtesy of AllRecipes – (click for the full recipe)
The perfect dessert for us berry lovers, and a nice, cool (not too sweet) summer treat.
Tomato, Mozzarella, & Basil Pasta Salad
2 cups of pasta
1 package of grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise or 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
10-12 basil leaves
1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped (optional)
