Sugar Land - Missouri City | July Edition

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2023 HOME EDITION

HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE

ASK A HOME STAGER

Jenn Neitzey is an accredited staging design professional who started Dream Team Home Staging at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COMPILED BY JOE EDWARDS & RACHEL LELAND

WHAT INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING? So this shift is to more creamy neutrals, more textures and using that to enhance the space rather than bright, bold colors. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A VACANT AND AN OCCUPIED STAGING? An occupied stage means that the homeowners will still live in the home while it’s trying to be on the market. So an occupied staging could mean that the stager would just be coming in and bringing accessories and art. Or say it’s a young family and they were using their dining room as a playroom and they need a dining room set to be brought in. A vacant staging would mean that the homeowner has already moved out and there’s nothing left in the home. So stagers would come in with our furniture … and rugs and accessories and just create the space with our things only. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PRICE RANGE consultation is approximately $225 for the stager to come in as well as give a written report back so the homeowners have a checklist as to what to do to get the home ready. FOR YOUR STAGING SERVICES? So I would say a typical staging If you’re talking about an occupied home, that has a range because it just depends on the number of items that you’re bringing in. So, it could go anywhere from $500 to $4,000. It’s just a really big range depending on what’s there. A vacant stage would typically be a living room, dining room, the primary bedroom and then accessories in the kitchen and bathrooms, and that starts around $3,000. Dream Team Home Staging 281-507-2696 www.dreamteamhomestaging.com www.instagram.com/dreamteamstaging www.facebook.com/dthomestaging

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST VALUE IN HOME STAGING FOR HOMEOWNERS LOOKING TO PUT THEIR HOME ON THE MARKET? If your home is staged when buyers come in, they’re actually able to see themselves in the house rather than you. Sellers have their own personal design idea, which is important when you’re living in a house. But if you’re trying to sell a house, you want to depersonalize it as much as possible and create a space that is approachable for a variety of buyers. It also helps sellers to start the process of kind of preparing themselves for the move. So I like to say “prepacking” rather than “decluttering” because really, you’re just getting yourself ready. So you can identify, “Well, yes, I’m going to keep these things, but I’m going to actually donate these other things.” WHAT SHOULD HOMEOWNERS PREPARE FOR WHEN WORKING WITH A HOME STAGER? I mean, honestly, there’s no prep to working with the stager. A stager will come in and take the sellers room by room and give them suggestions and ideas of what to prepack and possibly what a stager could bring in to enhance that space. So [sellers] don’t have to prepare for the stager; it’s the stager that helps them prepare to move. IF THE SELLER ONLY HAS THE BUDGET TO STAGE ONE ROOM, WHICH SHOULD THEY PRIORITIZE? We recommend always the main living spaces, so that would be your living room, your dining room and the kitchen area, as well as the primary bedroom. The buyers are the ones who will be in the primary bedroom, so you want them to see that it’s a beautiful space. Another thing is, with so many people working from home after the pandemic, it’s wonderful if there’s a dedicated oce space, but if there’s not, it’s a good idea to transform a secondary bedroom into an oce to show that it’s possible.

ASK AN ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNER

Corrie Hartman, general manager of Closets by Design in Staord, shared her insight and advice on how her business can turn a home into an organized oasis.

there’s a three-day mandatory holding period where they can cancel without any charge. Then about three to ve days prior to installation, we cut the job in our factory here, and then we bring it out the day of their installation. We will always work with the customer until they’re fully satised with their product. HOW DO YOU STAY ON TOP OF THE TRENDS AND POPULAR FINISHES WITHIN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY? Well due to the fact that we’re a large franchise organization, we actually have global purchasing power through all of the leading vendors. So, as our vendors are making new oerings—whether that’s hardware or wood colors or what have you—they are coming in promoting that to us. ... If they asked us for something custom, even if it’s not in our catalog, or in our showroom, we will do everything we can to try to satisfy their request. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WANT THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW ABOUT CLOSETS BY DESIGN IN STAFFORD? We are a full-service company, we’re based in Staord, we sell, produce and install all from this location, and we’re family owned and operated. Our motto is “imagine your home fully organized.” Sure, we do closets, but we do oces, garages, wall beds, laundries, mud rooms and even entertainment centers. Our carpenters can do really anything; they are amazing.

WHAT TYPES OF CLIENTS SEEK OUT HELP FROM CLOSETS BY DESIGN? It’s really a big mix. We do have a lot of customers who are building a brand new home, and they’ll literally tell their builders not to put closets and that they’re going to have them done custom. We have people that are doing renovations. We also do spaces for rentals. ... So they’ll say, ‘Come build me some closet systems,’ and we’ll put a custom lock system in so we can keep our personal possessions locked up for when the renters are here. ... The nal type of client’s reasoning to seek our help would be that sometimes people will put new closet areas in to increase the value of their home if they are planning to sell soon. DESCRIBE THE CONSULTATION AND DESIGN PROCESS FOR HOMEOWNERS SEEKING HELP. We provide a free in-home design consultation, where we meet with a customer at their home or place of employment. The client will show us the space that they want us to give them a design for, and we take into account their ideas because a lot of times people see things on Pinterest or everyday life that inspires them for their own space. We will provide clients with the design and the cost estimate while we’re there. Then once it comes into the oce,

Corrie Hartman General Manager Closets by Design 12603 Executive Drive, Ste. 810, Staord 832-476-6228 www.closetsbydesign.com

T E D R .

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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JULY 2023