Congratulations on the decision to put your home on the market!

Now, take a deep breath, and take a walk through your home – what colors are the walls?  Do the rooms flow well, or is each room it’s own decorative eco-system? Are the colors dark or bright? Nothing wrong with that, unless you’re selling.  How you live in your home is different than how you sell it.

Yes, in theory, buyers should be able to look past the colors of your walls to envision themselves living in your home.

The reality?  Wall color is the first thing they talk about!  Watch enough “House Hunters” on HGTV and you’ll hear the same comments about wall colors over and over.

“Nice room, but I’m not sure about the color”

“What were they thinking!”

“Wow, this would really need to be painted”

Painting is one of the most inexpensive ways to update the look of a room.  Not only can it neutralize the room, but it also gives it that “new car” fresh feeling!

Which begs the question, what keeps a seller from painting a room to sell?  Here are some excuses I’ve heard:

• But I like the color (newsflash – it’s not about what YOU like!)
• I’d have to move everything to paint (hello…aren’t you moving anyway? Prepack while you’re at it!)
• I don’t know how to paint (cop out – it’s not that hard, and you can always get help – many family members will work for pizza!)
• I don’t have time (since time = money, why can’t you carve out a weekend to do something that will make you money in the end?)
• I wouldn’t know what color to paint it (then ask for help!)

Still don’t believe me?

Ok, enough nagging! If you’re serious about selling your home, give it every competitive advantage you can!

We’re thrilled to announce our new i-Staging Service.  It’s a great way to save time and money – the ultimate do-it-yourself with professional direction.

How does it work? Simple.  Select the option for 1 room or 4 rooms, then complete an easy online questionnaire.   You get your staging report within one week.

And yes, we guarantee our i-Staging services – you have 30 days after we send your design plan to ask any questions or clarifications.

Bonus – if you send us your “after” pictures, we’ll make a 2nd round of tweaking suggestions at no extra charge!

Results are in for the 2009 HomeGain top 12 home improvement survey.  Once again, Home Staging proves it’s value with an average 586% ROI.  That means if you spend $300, you’ll realize an average price increase of $1,780.  Click here to read the entire report.

HOMEdigz.com is a new online community for home enthusiasts set up in a room-by-room format.  It a welcoming place online for homeowners and businesses to chat about their homes and projects in a casual environment.  In other words, it’s lots of fun!

It’s free to register, so go check it out today.  And if you own a business in the design/staging industry, learn how HOMEdigz.com can help you drive traffic to your website.

As a cobbler’s kids often have no shoes, updating this website has been on my list of to-do’s longer than I care to admit.

We’re still tweaking some spots here or there, but the core is pretty much complete.

I hope you find what you are looking for, and please sign up for the new Rooms That Work eNewsletter!  And while you’re at it, join the RTW fan page and follow our tweets!  I love that there are so many ways to stay connected!

Have a great day!

Susan