Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch paint anymore.

All day Saturday at your local ACE HARDWARE store they are giving away a quart of free paint to introduce a new premium paint found exclusively at ACE called Clark+Kensington.

Only a quart you say?? Hey…if you are picking out paint colors for a new room you need a quart to test it out on various walls so this is perfect.

Or if you are like me and have been putting off painting an ugly pine bookshelf you can paint it now for free as all you need is one quart. Or maybe you have a small table, bench or chair that needs a fun color??

See how many things you can do with a quart of paint! Clark+Kensington has the primer already included so I won’t even have to prime my ugly bookshelf first!

Let your Redesign or Home Staging juices flow!!

And here’s another secret…..ssshhhh….on Memorial Day weekend the paint is going to be $7 off per gallon! So get a free quart this weekend to test your color and then get the paint on Memorial Day weekend and save big!

I love my local Ace store! They are friendly, knowledgeable and

most important….available to help you unlike some Big Box stores.

They are each locally owned so even better! Check out your local ACE Hardware today and see if they are giving out free paint on Saturday too!

Need help choosing your paint colors? Let Rooms With Style help!

I just spent an hour and a half in my closet trying on:

 
1) Every pair of black pants known to mankind (yes I have many).

2) Every silk camisole (yes I have many).      

3) Every jacket long and short, crop sweater, and shawl imaginable.

4) Fourteen pairs of shoes.

5) Thirty-three pairs of earrings.

And…..drum roll please……982 combinations later I now have the best outfit possible from my closet that fits me to wear to a fund raiser tonight.

On the other hand….my husband will grab a tie on the way out of the house and call it good.

Not fair..not fair I tell you!!!

But hey…Martina McBride, I am looking as good for you tonight as possible! LOL

Think hard…..I bet there is. I was thinking about it when the answer hit me like a TON OF BRICKS. Literally. LOL

I am many things in Life but the most important are:

1) A Woman of God

2) A Wife

3) A Big Dog Mom

And duh….what better movie to depict a HUGE (another intended pun) part of my life than Mom to St. Bernards.   We not only have our own St. Bernards but my husband and I also are a part of “St. Bernard Rescue”, taking in Saints that have been abandoned and abused and nursing them back to health until they find their forever home.

Whether they are with us a week or six months….I cry when our foster kids leave. The only good part is we have final say in the home they are going to so that helps.

The Saints we have had as our very own forever kids: Baxter, Savanna, Princess Ann, Barkley, Roby, Ilean (she leaned on everything and everybody…”I Lean” …get it? LOL….she came with her own warning), Timber, Sally and our new addition as of Sunday, Annika.

Annika is 8 1/2 years old and her previous Dad is losing his home to foreclosure and the house he will be renting does not take dogs. Annika needed a place to spend the last few years of her life but it is really tough to place a dog that is 8 1/2 years old when their life expectancy is 8 – 10 years.  After living outside in a dog run for 8 1/2 years, within an hour of being with us Annika had found a blankie in my husband’s office and was snoring. AAhhh…I love that sound.

The Saints we have fostered are: Jake, Brutus, Scooby, Belle, and Benjamin. (not as many as our fosters tend to become our forever kids, ha).

So we now have three St. Bernards in our home. We have six in Heaven.

Take a look at who I am as a person through my family photo album:

We have Birthday Parties:

We drink wine (Dog House wine if you take note):

We take naps:

We have bath time:

Take Sunday drives:

And get into trouble…….(“Oops…that open container on the counter wasn’t for me?”)

The movie Beethoven has nothing on me! It could have been filmed at my house. LOL

Take a look at this movie trailer to get a glimpse into my life! LOL

Well, I came upon this one left late last night from a Realtor and I won’t be deleting it!

“I just want you to know how much you rock! I listed the home on 90th ave on Friday. They took the last 3 weeks to do everything you asked. I mean everything! By 6pm Saturday we had 15 showings, 8 offers and now one sold house!!!

Your abilities as a stager go far beyond that of decorating knowledge. That’s only a portion of what makes you incredible at your job. Your ability to easily connect with people and create an immediate sense of trust allowing them to accept what needs to be done and approach all tasks with an open mind versus the emotions that consistently tell sellers that they know better and your recommendations wont make that much of a difference. When people accept and trust the process of the professionals they hire, the results always come. ALWAYS!!!!

Thank you again for your wonderful demeanor with my clients and of course….allowing me to share your talents with them. You make me look like a rock star!”

Now if that isn’t the nicest thing for the Realtor to stop and write after an extremely hectic day with 8 offers in one day! What a great guy and it reflects why I like working with him as well.

It made my day! So a reminder to us all, in a culture where we hear only the negative…..if you like what others have done for you, tell them!

And when you are working with others, put yourself in their shoes and be kind. Just be kind.

Everyone wants their home to sell quickly and for as much money as possible. But for investors it is slightly different. It is a business.

Getting a property sold so they can buy their next one is all that matters. Literally ‘time is money’.

When I met with a Realtor turned investor a couple weeks ago he told me that in 2011 he and his business partner renovated and re-sold eight homes and that he hoped to do more in 2012.

He commented that the average days on the market for them was 60 days thus they had never needed to stage. (I silently thought differently, ha).

They were currently renovating a home that was a little higher in price then the others so they thought they would give Home Staging a try prior to listing it to give it every advantage.

Depending on how it went they said they may have me stage another of their properties that had been on the market close to 60 days without an offer.

Here is the staging:

Living Room Before and After:

Dining Area Before and After:

Family Room Before and After:

They listed this property on a Friday and I got a text on Sunday saying that they had already received multiply offers and one was for full price!! I think the three days improved their 60 day average!

Both partners were thrilled with the staging, the service and the results. Because of that I was hired to stage their other property mentioned above that has been on the market about 60 days with alot of activity but without a single offer. Let’s hope that one goes as well!

If you have an Investment Property and have questions about Home Staging for Investors talk with a expert that understands the needs of an investor. www.roomswithstyle.com

WWW.ROOMSWITHSTYLE.COM 952-567-1124

I DID IT! I DID IT!

After years of turning down teaching and speaking opportunities I finally said yes. Last fall I was asked to teach three Community Ed classes in different suburbs of Minneapolis and I said yes.

I have been working on the agenda and Power Point “before and after” pictures for weeks but not really thinking about the words.

Then, two weeks ago I was asked to be on the Radio for an hour long Home Show Program with only a 2 day notice. My post “I Was On the Radio Last Night” tells of that experience.

I just ‘winged it’ for the radio show and decided I would do the same for the Community Ed class. It was great!

Of course I still had the power point because pictures are worth a thousand words, but I had nothing on a list to say. I know the subject inside and out and I just wanted to be me. What you see is what you get!

It was a small class so it was perfect. Everyone asked questions specific to their homes they are trying to sell, we had interactive exercises, and I brought candy. LOL

What fun. I didn’t think I would ever say that but really truly it was a blast. My next two are in May and I have a couple ideas to make it even better but I am really looking forward to them. Who would have thought that??

So if you get the opportunity, go for it!

“Hello Shar,

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for helping us with staging our townhome a couple months back. After 6 weeks of de-cluttering, moving, cleaning, shopping, and rearranging, we put our home up for sale last Saturday. Our Open House was on Sunday, we had 8 showings by Thursday and 2 offers on Thursday night. We accepted an offer that ended up being above our asking price!

Your advice was so valuable to us. I just wanted to let you know that we couldn’t have done it without your help! We close at the beginning of April, and we will definitely be calling for help with our new home ”

Okay….I mentioned I don’t normally hear how Home Staging Consultations end up as so much time may elapse between when I meet with a homeowner and when they may list and I don’t hear back. But here I got two emails in a few days! And did you see that part that said…”above our asking price”.

More proof that Home Staging can and does make a difference!!

Need some assistance getting your home sold? Call Rooms With Style Home Staging and Redesign to book a Home Staging Consultation Appointment!  952-567-1124

www.roomswithstyle.com

Here was the rest of the email:

“Hi Shar,

I wanted to let you know that your 2 hours of staging advice led our hand toward a very quick offer and sale of our house.

We met with you back in November in our home and made color, furniture purchase and placement decisions based upon your advice that really made our showings pop!

Thanks for you help! Very happy to give any referrals to you!”

Well, wasn’t that nice! Most of the time, after I have been with a client for a Home Staging Consultation and give them a detailed list of what they need to do to get their home ready for sale, I never know if they follow through with the instructions and how long it took their home to sell. I am unable to track all the homes I have been in for a consultation as many don’t list for months if not a year later.

It is so great when a homeowner follows up with me. I love it! 

If you are having trouble getting an offer on your home or are thinking of selling it in the future, a two hour Home Staging Consultation by a Certified Home Staging Professional can be very valuable! Call 952-567-1127 to book an appointment.

www.roomswithstyle.com

My story starts last October when I was asked to “write down 50 things you would do if nothing could stop you” as part of a Home Stager Trainer’s Class. So that night I gave it serious thought…..

If nothing could stop me, if I had no barriers what would I do??? Hhmmmmmm…

#1 On My List: To start a Non-Profit that would decorate homes or spaces for women who were coming off the streets and out of abusive situations.

As Nate Berkus says “Your home should rise up to meet you”.

I believe that is for everyone…no matter what your situation or where your “home” is. Home could be a women’s shelter where you feel safe for the first time in years, a subsidized housing project that is all your own, or one room in an apartment shared by others in your situation. So, I wrote it down.

“I want to start a Non-Profit to bless women coming into perhaps their first safe clean living space ever.”

I had visions of what I would do with it when I retired. Receive donations, refurbish a worn out table by painting it a fun color, bringing new life to an old chair with fun fabric, have a list of volunteers to assist me. I could visualize it in the future.

So….guess what I did Thursday??

I decorated a three bedroom apartment for three women coming off of the streets from sex trafficking and prostitution.

Did you hear that?? Thursday. And I haven’t retire yet!

I won’t go into the details but this happened quickly. Someone at my local church knew what I did for a living, called me and asked if I would be willing to get involved. I called the charity and was told the women were moving in Friday and they needed help “pulling it together”.

I went down there Wednesday morning and a large local furniture store was just pulling away from donating BRAND NEW FURNITURE!!!!

But, there were no ‘girly things’. I went to my warehouse, picked out lamps, artwork, and girly things that I could donate.

Oh….I forgot the best part. When I told my sister what I was doing she came back to me a bit later with this:

“For these women the bed has never been a safe place. They need to know it is now safe and they need to be blessed with some nice new linens, not used.”. I must mention my sister is a psychologist and volunteers with women who have been sexually abused or part of sex trafficking.

So…off to Target I went to buy new bedding that she was going to donate. New sheets, new comforters, a fuzzy blankets for cuddling. All coordinated with their room’s paint color of course. Any good designer would have the paint deck samples with her. LOL.

I realized I needed help and needed to rearrange my schedule to meet the time commitment. With a one day notice I was back decorating the space with a wonderful woman named Sandy.

We worked for six hours cleaning, arranging furniture, making beds, hanging artwork. Boy were were exhausted but oh so blessed.

We left each woman with a brand new towel and wash cloth along with a box of chocolates and fresh flowers.

I think these women will have their home “rise up to meet them” when they walk in.

What do you think?

Bedroom 1: The taupe room

Bedroom 2: The lavendar room

Bedroom 3: The blue room

The common living room and dining area:

The Hallway Garden:

So….do you have a dream for the future? God may have something in mind sooner.

I don’t have my own Non-Profit yet to help numerous organizations assisting woman but hey….this is a start and it happened quicker than I thought.

What’s your dream?

But three months of the year they are fairly popular creating entire cities of houses! Remember the movie “Grumpier Old Men”? Yup…that was Minnesota! We love to Ice Fish! We meaning ‘they’…..not we including me.

There is the starter house:

The small but whimsical house:

The ‘sticks out in the neighborhood’ house: (every neighborhood has one)

The very cozy house:

The big boy on the block house!!!

And Aahhh…..the “Frosty The Snow Man House” – hurry up it’s warm outside:

I am hoping one day to be asked to stage one of these ‘houses’. I will let you know! Those of you in Florida…..eat your hearts out!