Growing up, gifts were purchased, and came with pretty paper and bows. No one ever thinks of, or saw what their parents do as a gift. It’s time and life that adds perspective and poignancy.

Even though I lost my mother at a young age, I see it every day, when I look at her wedding ring, on my left hand. No matter what my parents’ own personal problems were, they raised three children who somehow each knew to pick exactly the right mate, and go on to have loving relationships, and productive lives.

What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most is a collection of personal essays, reflecting on the gifts of wisdom, courage and strength they received from their mothers. I am 1/31st into it, had to stop and write this:  Buy This Book

“How They Do it in France” by Elissa Schappell is a funny and warm portrait of her mother whose choice of substance over style she saw manifest itself  in baked goods.  Other titles include The Plant Whisperer, The Gift Twice Given, The Unicorn Princess, and Never Too Late.

If you’re looking for a special way to thank mom, or the mom-like people in your life, buy her this book. If you’re looking for a really special way to thank her, buy this book, read a chapter or two for inspiration, then write  your own story.

‘What do you know about Home Staging?’ is how I start out my Home Staging classes.

‘De-personalize’ usually come up right away. Asking what that means, the answers come less quickly, are usually self-deprecating (‘No one else will appreciate my fine taste in ___’) or quietly sad (‘No one cares about, or wants to see my family’).

There is nothing constructive or positive about it.  It’s sweeping and un-specific, finding fault without offering a solution, and sounds judgemental and arbitrary to the homeowner. YET I know  removing personalization is a truth to getting a house noticed and sold. Well, at least a partial truth.

Very personal personalization in a property for sale is never a good idea-it distracts buyers, and can provide buyers with way TMI regarding the sellers and their circumstances, information that could be used against them.  BUT-less really is less, and a flat, pale space void of warmth or character isn’t received well, either.

People sell for all sorts of reasons, but in buying-and yes, even in downsizing-there is always the desire for a better place, and hope for happiness.  The secret to successful Staging in Westchester County is to attract, touch, and engage buyers in very real ways, in ways they do not expect.  The Refreshed Home champions RE-PERSONALIZING a space, here are some ways how:

Clever looks for and demonstrates value:

• Has the patio/deck looking good now, and keeps it in shape til the first snow: Patio furniture scrubbed and out, grill ready to go, even buying a fire pit to extend living space.
• A desk in the corner of the family room-away from the TV< but near so a parent can multi-task.
• Dresses up the garage or basement by cleaning and painting the cement floor

Aspirational points to all the things that could be, in this new house:

• Kitchen accouterments that support visions of cooking adventures and healthy eating: specialty/vintage cookbooks, herb plants, colorful legumes in glass canisters
• Good books add soul and character; who doesn’t want to be smarter, or yearn for more time to read?
• Color-ordered closets with matching hangers: almost magical, a sophisticated, unexpected luxury

Whimsical adds delight. It makes people pause, smile, and feel good.

• A live goldfish
• A puzzle, or poker game in progress
• Really cool-colorful, sexy or fun- toss pillows

Knowing who the buyer will be is the Realtor’s job; knowing how to attract buyers (and other agents!) is mine.  Some sellers have a pool of suitable items, but many don’t; accessory shopping, and accessory rental have consistently been the fastest-growing segments of The Refreshed Home’s business.  NEXT:  Accessories and Home Staging: Little Things Make Big Things Happen.

Home Staging-preparing your Westchester County property for a quick and rewarding sale-can unfold in many different ways, a Home Staging Consult is the best way to get started.

Once you’ve decided to sell, the questions about getting market-ready can be many: How does it work? What needs to be done, what can we do ourselves?  What makes sense for our market, what will reinforce the price we want? Who will do what, and what will it cost?

The Refreshed Home believes sellers can do more than they might think they can, and offers Home Staging Consults as a platform for ideas, information and discussion that lead sellers to their own best answers. Interactive and collaborative: the sellers’ needs, goals and expectations are considered, resources are explored, while current/local market conditions and comps  are discussed with the Realtor.

Home Staging Consults are up to two hours on the property, with refined and detailed notes emailed to all parties within 36 hours.  It puts many tools in the sellers’ hands for  $285.00.  Even better, it adds peace of mind and a trusted advocate to your equation.

The Refreshed Home has been helping people make better sense of their space and their stuff since 1981. Whether your listing is languishing, or you are thinking of selling next year, it’s never too early-or too late-to start the conversation!

While I’ll always be an Ossining gal,  have been graced to live on the perimeter of Turnure Park in White Plains for many years now. And for  thirteen springs I have literally had a front row seat to the White Plains Annual Cherry Blossom festival. Always a wonderful and uplifting event, but tomorrow-Sunday April 28th 2013- will host the best ever-do not miss it!

Organizers at The Japan Education Center have worked just as hard behind the scenes…the entertainers will be just as enthralling…the White Plains’ DPW crews have busied themselves just as mightily this year-repairing damage from the ravages of this past season, then seeding, edging, mulching, planting and such…so why will this one be the best ever??

Two reasons…first: Mother Nature is cooperating. Am certainly not an expert, but like most flowering trees, the blooms of the Cherry Blossom trees have a short span.

Too many warm days speed up the process, too many cold days, or back and forth weather yields mild or uneven blooming. This spring has been on the cooler side, with a gentle trajectory toward warmer temps, PERFECT. Looking out my window as I write this, tomorrow will be MAGNIFICENT.

Other reason it’ll be White Plain’s best Cherry Blossom Festival ever? We are SO READY.

This festival celebrates the beginning of Spring- always an uplifting time of renewal. But this year, we are REALLY READY. Ready to  see neighbors, and share new experiences.  Ready to wear just one layer of clothes, and to feel the warm sun on bare arms.  Ready to breathe clean, crisp air under clear blue skies, stroll and linger under canopies of fluffy, cotton-candy pink flowers.  Ready to put the collective heaviness of the last 6 months behind us. Ready to be HAPPY.

Free, and open to the public, vendors start setting up early, but festivities run from noon to 5. The park is one block in off of Broadway, between Main and Lake Streets.   If you’re driving, I recommend parking at one of the municipal lots like Hamilton-Main, (by Wal-Mart) and walking the 2 or 3 blocks…trust me, you’ll spend at least that much time stuck in traffic behind others who keep circling the block.

The Annual Cherry Blossom Festival in White Plains is a celebration of Japanese culture:  music, singing and dancing will abound. Storytelling, and other events are suitable for kids of all ages, and popular food and beverages will be available for purchase.  TODAY might be a great day to find and dust off (or go out and buy) those folding chairs that you can carry in a fabric tube, on your shoulder, as sitting space is minimal.

Am always so grateful to The Japan Education Center, and the City of White Plains for this event.

LIKE it now on FB  now to see photos and more details. It will be the best ever, do not miss it.

The color of sinners and saints, after black and white, red was the first color used, and the first color named.  Red Ochre (clay + iron ore) was found coloring drawings in Beijing caves, thought to be inhabited as long as 700,0oo years ago.  In later years, pigment also came from various organic sources: minerals like cinnabar, the roots of Madder plants, and crushed Kermes bugs-Kermes vermilio, to be exact, as in Vermilion Red…

By definition, it’s one of three primary colors-meaning it’s a building block for other colors. As a practical matter, it’s color few are ambivalent about.  Romans and Greeks both used it to celebrate war, life, and victory.  During  the Middle Ages the Church used it to denote authority. Louis XIV wore red heels as a wink and a nod to his status in the early 1700′s, then red first became the symbol of political rebellion during the French Revolution at the end of that century. In Russian, the word for ‘red’ comes from the same root as the Slavic words beautiful and excellent, and ‘Red Square’ meant Beautiful Square before the Russian Revolution.

Redheads were both feared for their fiery temperament, and admired for their unique coloration. Folklore assigned red gemstones similar powers: Wearing garnets were both an antidote to poison, and protection against lightening strikes. Carnelian was said to repel rage and anger, and in certain Asian countries, rubies were set underneath a building’s foundation, to insure good fortune inside.

Today red still signifies everything intense. It raises the heartbeat, increases respiration, and stimulates the appetite. Pure color, in quantity could be a lot for many to live with, but here are some ways this Westchester County Decorator suggests you can …ahhh…temper it for everyday living.

• If you’re a little nervous, start with a  small quantity (always eaiser to amp something up, rather than calm it down)-draperies against neutral walls, a single chair, or some accessories.
• If you opt for red walls, remember dark furniture, and or high-contrast white trim will balance the final effect. Consider things like wall art or a mirror as an additional safety net.
•  Dulled, but still dense and saturated reds can still be stunningly striking, just not as jarring. My favs: Benjamin Moore Dinner Party (Affinity line) #AF-300, #1316 Umbria Red or #2080-10 Raspberry Truffle.

Did you know almost 80% of the U.S.’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) last year came from the service sector?  A big number, but not a new trend.

Defined as an economic activity that does not result in ownership, or  provide physical goods, the service sector is admittedly a wide field. But how to explain an intangible product, whose value is ultimately subjective?  Welcome to my newest series:  Who, Why and How.

Service is often equal parts knowledge and skills, as well as physical ability to get something done. Most are personal services, but there is ‘personal’, and there is PERSONAL; I’d say Professional Organizers fall into the latter category. Many have specialties, each has their style, but share common goals: to replace chaos with serenity, and to add hours to your days.

According to NAPO the average person spends one full year of their life looking for lost or misplaced things. YES. One. Full. Year.  Our lives are busy, our activities and commitments are many, and our days are fragmented; we are distracted, and otherwise engaged, it’s easy for  nice, perfectly fine things to accumulate and morph into clutter.

“Organized” is  the relationship between people and their stuff, so for many, the first step is acknowledging the stuff is affecting productivity, or happiness.  Trust is established first.  Most organizers work collaboratively, shoulder to shoulder, talking things out, taking small but solid steps to facilitate changes that will stick. A number work by the hour, usually in pre-determined time blocks of several hours, but some prefer to work by the project.

Tools they utilize could include organizational materials like files, labels, and containers.  Their niche could be photos, closets, paper systems, books, or behavior modification. Resources are just as likely to be a vetted donor list, an Ebay seller or an auction house-or burly men with dumpsters.

Many will seek the help of a Professional Organizer when their life, or their needs suddenly change:  The birth of a child,  an elderly parent or adult child coming into the household, an illness, even someone suddenly working from home all place new demands on an existing space.  Many times I see adult children who’ve used their parents’ space as a repository for stuff they can’t/won’t deal with on their own. Some may be  just chronically disorganized, others dealing with loss or grief, unable to let go.

Asking around my own circle, the biggest misconceptions or fears are they will be  judged, or that they will lose control, and be forced to throw things out, or adjust to a generic system. OK, sure-the less that changes, the less will change…but at their core, Professional Organizers are kind, but pragmatic problem solvers, with your best interests at heart. Overwhelmingly, being a witness to the positive transformation in people’s space, their lives and relationships are what floats their boat.

Bottom line-we all realize life is short. Whether it’s lost bills, not being able to park in the garage, tense relationships in the household or repeatedly buying replacements for things you know you have but can’t find-you can find your own best answers by taking the first step: talk to friends, or other trusted home professionals like Realtors or Home Stagers. Have a conversation, ask for some recommendations, then get on with your life.

Home Inspections-where a trained professional goes through a house checking and evaluating the systems and infrastructure of the house- are typically initiated by a buyer, most often after their offer has been accepted by the seller. But the number of sellers now choosing  pre-sale inspections are increasing: one inspector, speaking at a local WCR meeting recently estimated it was 25% of his business now.

Financing still takes months, even for an above-average qualified buyer, so it’s in no one’s best interest to spend any time going down that road, only to find conditions that could derail the deal. 

Properties that show a clean bill of health in from Day One stand out, and shine a little brighter in the eyes of a buyer.  Sellers can also remedy any conditions found to need attention faster, and almost always for a bunch less money than a buyer will estimate. And in that vein, you are not training the buyer to look for problems.

Buyers will often pay to have their own separate inspection down the line, but that is a conversation best left to the principles, their attorney and their agent.

Still wondering how Pre-Sale seller inspections are part of this Westchester County Home Stager’s inital consult?

The Refreshed Home believes preparing a property for sale is  a thoughtful strategy that considers ALL the circumstances.  Homeowners and agents hire TRH to address and develop a plan where together, we examine and discuss what makes sense, as well as what looks good. Why spend time planning, why advise a seller to invest funds on anything of cosmetic or discretionary value if a buyer’s inspector is going to find there’s about 45 minutes of useful life left on the roof, or the basement has mold?

Sometimes Home Staging IS about adding the green flags that add visual appeal, but making sure the red and yellow flags are remedied have got to be a sellers’ first priority.

“ When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would  say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are  helping.’ “

While I don’t remember watching Mr. Rogers as a child, thanks to social media, these now-familiar words have comforted, and given focus, hope and equilibrium to many (myself included) who’ve had their roots rocked by sudden, senseless violence, and catastrophic loss.

In my mind, the economy’s slow stabilization and recovery has paralleled the efforts to we’ve each had to make, to battle back from the recent series of tragedies that have attacked out homes, and invaded our psyche.

As my business has grown, I’ve been increasingly grateful for fellow professionals who’ve generously, graciously given of their time and thoughts…. but how to put it to words without sounding all prissy-or snarky about it?  A week of  back-to-back meetings and events crystallized it completely for me-so, paraphrasing Mr. Rogers, LOOK FOR THE SHARERS.

While cut from the same cloth, I think the Sharers are a little different from the Helpers. Circumstances might not be as dire, or as visceral, but Sharing-whether it’s half a PBJ, or-in my case-thoughts on creative problem-solving in business-is giving that feels much more personal. 

Sharers are givers. They extend themselves, and don’t keep a scorecard. They will be happy for you and your success, and tend to be at peace with the the world at large.  Their sharing will beget other acts of kindness, and they know it’s by giving, they receive (ok, Mr. Rogers ‘sharing’ credit here with St. Francis of Assisi).

In my own circles, I’m fortunate to know many Helpers, and Sharers, and I am so grateful to, and for them all.  Of late, I want to give a special shout-out to fellow local Stagers Julia Vigernon-Maher,  Birgit Anich, and Allison Segretto, as well as Ann and Kenneth Hutter of Kenneth Hutter Auctions, and four   Realtors I am thrilled to now know-Eva Maria Casoria, Gail Fatizzi,  Pat Palumbo, and Joan Solimine.

Last-Sharers and Helpers just make life easier, and more pleasant. So whether you want to work with me, or hire me, it’s good to know this is how I work, and these are the kind of people I choose to work with, and want to meet more of.

Thank you Mrs. Rogers, and yes, let’s all remember to look for, and when we can-BE-the Helpers and Sharers.

Two truisms about Home Staging: Preparing a property for sale is like sending it out on it’s first date. You do what you can to put it’s best foot forward, so buyers are first attracted, then engaged, so they notice, and see the value of all it’s best attributes.  Also, how you live in your HOME is different from how you will get your HOUSE sold.

For many reasons, what you already own might not be the best for the house: the purple sofa, Nanna’s mahoghany china cabinet-complete with all 24 place settings, the dresser you had as a teenager and never got around to replacing as an adult, and ohyes…that bachelor pad recliner.

-The purple sofa could be a real statement piece…in perfect condition, it’ll be the centerpiece of your new living room. But if it’s such a standout, it’s distracting, it’s what buyers will remember about your house. And which will put more money in your pocket-a house with a great sofa, or a house with wonderful light, tall ceilings and lots of closets?

-Most buyers favor a particular style of house. Sentiment might make an uber-traditional china cabinet work for you in your contemporary home, but it doesn’t reinforce what brings buyers to see your house in the first place.

It’s generous proportions might be a terrific function for you-all the better to display Nanna’s 24 place settings!-but very few people have the spatial skills to evaluate a space beyond how it appears. SO-if it crowds the Dining Room, it diminishes the main purpose-how big a table will fit; and the buyers’ takeaway is that there is not enough storage.

-Buying a house is someone getting a  step closer to fulfilling their dreams, so the rooms need to be all they can be. Your childhood furniture may be perfectly suitable for you and your needs, but Barbie-sized furniture is neither inspiring or representative of value or worth. Major rooms should have expected furniture pieces of the proper scale.

OK< we don’t really need to discuss that recliner, do we?

NEXT: Re-Thinking ‘De-Personalize’

Welcome back to FAQs, the series where quick and specific answers to your most-asked questions about Interior Decorating and Home Staging are the house specialty

Selling your Westchester County house, coop or condo? Questions about renting things to make your property look its best have probably come up. Previously we looked at the IF and WHY of rental furniture, today HOW renting furniture works. .

Thanks to HGTV, many homeowners believe Home Staging must include renting furniture. This Westchester County Home Stager always seeks to work  what is already owned, but with the caveat that it is the right choice, and puts the property in it’s best light.

Rental companies pretty much work in the same way: contracts are a minimum number of months,  and a minimum monthly dollar amount. Additional costs are delivery and pick-up, damage waivers,  sales tax and a refundable security deposit.  Like loans, the longer the term, the lower the monthly rate…but the more you will end up paying net, it’s just in smaller, managable increments.

Most offer pre-chosen room ‘packages’, but also let you choose individual pieces, too, and in my experience there is no big price differential.

After 25+ years in the furniture industry, TRH knows this is a highly specialized service-inventorying, maintaining, storing and delivering-best left to other professionals, and insteads facillitates the process on behalf of the homeowner:  First setting a strategy: editing, and choosing  what stays and goes where, then what is needed to complete the look, and will yield the best net ROI for the homeowner.

While consumers can typically rent furniture themselves, directly from most rental companies, here are a few ways this Westchester County Home Stager will make the process painless and the results stellar:

Strategy: What stays, what goes (or goes into storage)? What can be borrowed, re-worked; would buying something-that you’ll take with you-be a better choice?  Prioritizing rooms to be prepared that align with comps, and desired time/price benchmarks.

The Right Stuff:  Considering not just what looks pretty online, but what will work with existing walls/floors/items-or coordinating new choices; what is the correct look and scale, and OHYES besides fitting in the space, will it get in the door, up the stairs, and around the corner?

Better Rates: Dealing with a known, professional Home Stager streamlines the process for the rental companies, they will pass these savings on the client.

Vetted Vendors: While the process is the same, the type and quality of furniture, the level of customer service has been road-tested.

NEXT: RE-personalize (instead of de-personalize)