My Other Job
HOME STAGING
On the Vineyard many of us seem to have multiple jobs. For a variety of reasons; seasonal work, part time jobs or we just like to do different things. I have noticed that there are a lot of creative, entrepreneurial folks here on the Island. I, for one, have always loved interior design. I dreamed about it in high school and when I declared I wanted to major in Interior Design in college to my folks I was immediately discouraged. “There’s no money in it, tough to get clients, too detail oriented”…My mother told me to go the business route and I could always be a secretary, my father told me I liked to travel so I should be a flight attendant. Well, after many jobs, careers and becoming a boutique store owner, I still am drawn to decor, furnishings and all things interior design.
So, 6 years ago I took an Interior Design certification class at RISD in Providence and it was there that I learned about Home Staging. I was instantly hooked on this new styling industry! I then found a home staging certification workshop taught by the highly talented Kristi Barnett of Expert Psychology Stagers located in Nashville. I booked my trip and flew down to Nashville for a week of intense color theory, furniture design, styling and staging psychology.
I learned so much but most importantly found that the psychology behind home staging is just as important as the styling and furniture placement. I learned that educating home owners on the theory that their precious home is now a product that needs to be depersonalized and marketed in the best possible manner is the hardest part of the job.
Well, I earned my Home Staging Certification, hoped back on that plane ready to start buying furniture and start my new business. Then Covid hit. On the plane home we were all so concerned about this new virus we had heard about as the news whirled about us. About a week later everything shut down - including real estate sales. Even though I was filled with fear and trepidation, I went ahead and started Martha's Vineyard Home Staging in 2020. My store had been shut down so I figured I had nothing to lose (except for a big investment!). The paperwork was filed, the headshots, business cards and website completed - I just needed a team. I knew all the gals in my store and my husband’s Big Sky Tent crew/trucks were going to be the core of my business, I needed a real expert.
Sometimes it’s so true that when you put your message “out to the Universe” things fall into your lap. In this case, Terry Burns, walked through the door of my store and answered by prayers for a top-notch team.
T
erry had just moved to the Island from California and wanted to help me with home staging. Phew - my secret weapon! Terry had worked at Crate & Barrel for 30 years as a Lead Stylist and knows design, furniture and decor placement like nobody’s business. She hung in there with me even when we only had 1 job for the first 6 months!
My team and I kept at it and slowly we began to gain traction and got more and more jobs and staging projects. The whole Coastal Supply Co. store team jumped in to work on staging jobs. My inventory grew too. We initially went off island with my husband's largest truck and purchased enough furniture to fill one house. It was completely nerve racking to be spending that much money on a new business that I had no idea if it would take off or not.
Wow how we have grown - we now have enough furniture and decor to stage 5-6 houses. We have implemented a staging software program to keep track of all our inventory and create room-by-room schematics for the team. The jobs keep coming in as realtors and homeowners learn more about our services and our commitment to quality. We have now staged almost 55 homes. The staging definitely works; the houses sell quicker and for more money than un-staged or empty houses.
Our services now include:
Vacant Staging (house is not occupied and empty of furniture )
Partial Staging (we might be doing a mixture of “editing” the home, removing some furniture and adding in new furniture/decor)
Rental Home Staging
Photo Styling
Long Term Furniture Rental
BEFORE’S & AFTER’S
Goals:
create light, bright and tasteful rooms in order to give the appearance of more square footage
highlight the architecture of the home versus the furniture
depersonalize and declutter
“modern coastal luxury” is our vibe
Process:
Site visit (measurements, photos, etc)
Floor plan if needed
Proposal (2 month minimum required)
Once proposal accepted electronic Invoice & Contract sent
Staging and destaging dates determined
Terry creates sketches of each room with furniture and accessories details
Stage with crew - Big Sky Tent…my generous husband’s crew :)
Juggling the running of the store and the home staging has, at times, been tricky but I love it all! I am in a constant state of learning and growing and problem solving. The Vineyard’s real estate market keeps going through iterations. I think to the outside world the Vineyard has an image of mega mansions and over-priced shacks. But there’s a lot of great quality, well built homes here that sometimes just need a little lift when going on market. Sometimes there is only some rearranging of furniture to do or “editing” from our team to make it all come together. Other times, we will need to make a lot of recommendations on painting, power washing, landscaping and needed repairs before we even start the staging. If a homeowner wants to get top dollar for their home in a quick period of time the staging then adds the final touches.
Here’s some of our work:
Even though some people think I’m crazy to have two businesses on the Vineyard, especially when it’s peak season here, the store is jamming and we have a few staging jobs going at once. Trust me - my head can spin at times. But my amazing team (including Nina, Ruby, Vasile & Gregory), my staging software, my patient husband and Terry help me keep it all together. I am able to see some amazing houses, satisfy my taste for interior design and help sell houses.
I believe it is our focus on quality and commitment to service that have paid off, as evidenced by the increasing number of jobs coming our way. Hopefully, this is a testament to the resilience and creativity of individuals on the Vineyard who juggle multiple jobs for various reasons. Here’s to Martha’s Vineyard and all of us locals who are living that “Vineyard Vibe”.
Cheers & Thanks for reading my blog!
Anne-Marie