“Your best life starts at home.” As a professional home stager in Calgary, this quote from Anne Sage’s design and decorating book, Sage Living, struck a chord. Reflecting on 2015, including recent global events in the news, the power of home is a story that touches us all. Deeply.
 

With so much uncertainty in so many ways this past year on the home front and beyond, I get the sense that people value “home” more than ever. It’s the place where comfort resides. The place where dreams percolate. It’s the foundation for our well-being so we can extend our best selves outward to positively impact the world.
 

And for many of us, home is interconnected with our financial well-being too. I am blessed to experience both of these aspects of home in my work.
 

For the potential buyers who view my staged properties, I hope to instill in them a sense of knowing that they could live their best lives from that space.
 

For realtors and home sellers who are my clients, I hope to stage the property in a way that helps them achieve their financial goals.
 

Understanding these two perspectives of the value of home, I’m proud to share some of Set Your Stage’s accomplishments this year:
 

This year, we helped 161 clients with staging their property from giving advice on how to stage their home on their own to bringing in all the furniture, art and accessories to make their vacant spaces feel like home. We couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing team: both in-house (Jen, Whitney & Karen) and contractors (Elysse Bulloch of Simply Stylish Staging, Julie Vincent Photography and Sean & Cody at Plantz Moving). Great job team!
 

It has been an extreme pleasure to work with a broad range of first time and repeat clients in Calgary this year, including individual home owners, investors, and realtors. I want to thank them for their trust in me. If you will be selling a Calgary area property in 2016, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to your success and invite you to contact me.
 

In the meantime, here’s to your best life starting at HOME in 2016!
 

Wherever you call home, wishing you and your loved ones all the love, comfort, and inspiration that the holiday season holds! Jen
 

Find out more about Jen Campbell of Set Your Stage and contact her to schedule your free Home Staging Assessment in the New Year.
 

Think like a multi-tasker when it comes to small space staging. When you’re listing a smaller property for sale, it makes sense to arrange the rooms to show multiple functions, even if that’s not how you currently use them.
 

That’s because buyers are looking for the biggest bang for their buck. More function is more value.
 

Flexibility is key when it comes to small homes and condos. Potential buyers will have a list of the types of activities they want their new home to accommodate. Things like a home work space, space for overnight guests, room for entertaining, and storage top many lists.
 

If separate spaces are not available to tick off those items on the wish list, small space staging must show multiple functions.
 

Placing a table and chair against a wall, like we did in this Victoria Park, Calgary condo we staged, allows the spare bedroom to also function as a home office, while not feeling “office-y” when guests are using it.
 

Similarly, we placed the same small sofa table/desk and bar height chairs against the wall in this high end kitchen we staged in a Mission condo, creating a spot for comfortable conversation with the cook over a glass of wine, to enjoy a casual meal, or to use a laptop.
 

Bottom line – multiple functions are vital in small space staging. You add more value to your listing when you can show potential buyers how much of their wish list they can accomplish, even in a small space.
 

Want to stay in touch and read more of our home staging tips? Follow Set Your Stage on Twitter.
 

Potential buyers can see countless listings before they finally choose a home. While there are many factors influencing that decision, in most cases, it’s the warm fuzzies that ultimately tip the scales in the final buying decision between similar properties.
 

TIP: As a seller, working with a professional home stager can help you influence those emotions in your favour.
 

This Tomato Envy blog post describes the process well. In “Don’t Just Buy a House: How to Choose A Home”, the author recommends that buyers trust their gut. She puts it this way:
 

“Other homes, for reasons unknown, had a different vibe. They felt like happiness had lived there, and we should too…The warm fuzzies matter! Pay attention to them.”
 

I love that. Happiness lived there – and isn’t that really what we want our homes to be? Our place of comfort and happiness. That’s why, as a professional home stager in Calgary, the power of that vibe is what I focus on every day in my work. I help my clients market the warm fuzzies that potential buyers are looking for. The marketing is key. It’s more than decorating. Different types of buyers are looking for different things in terms of what happiness looks like at different stages of their lives. So, when you’re considering hiring a professional stager, it’s important that she has neighbourhood-specific expertise in staging properties that sell.
 

Warm fuzzies help a potential buyer to choose a home. If you’re selling your house or condo in Calgary, I can help you with that!
 

Want to stay in touch and read more of our home staging tips? Follow Set Your Stage on Twitter.
 

A lot of people love using essential oils for wellness. But have you considered using them as a tool for selling your house? Here are three tips for how you can strategically use essential oils for home staging.
 

Personally, my preference is for homes to smell clean and fresh versus scented. That includes using plants to clean your indoor air and other more natural solutions to address odours.
 

But if you are going to use scented products before your next open house, you might as well switch to essential oils. Keep in mind though, different people have different scent preferences, tolerances, and personal memories attached to certain scents. Proceed with that in mind and choose a “less is more” approach.
 

Inspired by this infographic on Pinterest, here’s how you can use essential oils for home staging:
 

For Cleaning:
Tea tree and eucalyptus oils might be great for disinfecting, but they’re not ideal scents to use when staging your home. Instead, use a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil on a wet cloth to clean solid surfaces or add a scented cotton ball to your vacuum bag before you do that last minute tidy for your next open house.
 

In the Bedroom:

Ideal for stress reduction and relaxation, try a chamomile and lavender blend. Add a few drops to a spray bottle with water. Shake and spray onto rugs and linens.
 

Inside Entrance:

Promote a positive feeling of happiness when potential buyers take their first step indoors. Stick with citrus and or something soothing like my favourite Young Living scents Peace & Calming or Stress Away? Just don’t overpower them!
 

Scent marketing is big business. Using essential oils for home staging is certainly something to consider.
 

For more staging inspiration, check out the various boards we have at Set Your Stage on Pinterest.