(home-sellers) hadn’t needed to stage their listings before, so they thought, so why do it now?” The reason is very simple a better return on your investment. “People still have a hard time investing in a property they plan on leaving believing that the new homeowners want to buy the home and the to-do list that comes with it” she says. But that is not the case for most new home buyers as they are looking for something that is ready to live in. Chamberlin goes on to say, “I chose to specialize in occupied staging, because I love the challenge of creating inviting, open spaces using what the client already owns.” She believes that it gives the property greater character and helps reduce the cost of stages, again maximizing her clients return. Currently, her most popular service is something she refers to as “blended staging” which is a staging project where I use the client’s available items plus items from my personal inventory to create spaces that will appeal to the target buyer. I bring in accessories and art and, if needed, a small number of rental furnishing. Home staging is a self-regulated industry and member- ship to the oldest and largest trade association, the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA®) is completely volun- tary. Chamberlin believes specialized training is incredibly important in order to understand the industry and provide the best service possible to clients. “It is only through staging training that new stagers grasp the fact that staging is not interior decorating. Yes, staging does follow basic design practices such as scale, repetition, and colour, but unlike interior decorating, staging is about creating spaces that will appeal to the property’s future owner, which is why understanding both the market and target buyer is so important.
“I once heard someone say that ‘almost anyone can make a space look nice, but it takes a stager to create a space that sells.’ And that has always stuck with me.” I asked why Chamberlin thought it was important to use a professional for staging and without missing a beat she responded with, “A professional stager needs to stay on top of design trends so that we can bring in elements of a trend to update and modernize the look of a space. Stagers must also stay on top of real estate trends and what buyers of a particular demographic will most likely want in a space, so that our staging always appeals to the seller’s target buyer.” “As an industry, staging is still in its infancy.” Chamberlin is happy with her career choice as it allows her to work mostly from home and she said she loves what she does, and knows it helps people realize their goals. “I don’t think anyone is 100 per cent happy all the time,” she says and admits to having days when things just don’t go as planned. “People have a misconception that being your own boss is working your own hours, but you work for clients with time schedules you fit yourself into. “Staging to sell is part science and part creativity. There’s a science to design principles, but you also need to look at a room and know what needs to go and what needs to be added,” Chamberlin explains. This talent comes naturally to some people and training along with experience help hone this skill. Clients are often surprised by how their property looks when it has been staged. “When a client sees what a differ- ence you can make to the appeal and function of a space they will often ask you to assist them with the setup of their new home.” In 2010, Chamberlin added the “picture perfect” staging service to help those clients not within the Ottawa area and tells me that Access Home Staging has just started to offer online design services to clients outside our normal service area. This is truly an exciting time for me as a business owner, I’m able to offer clients the expertise and services of a tra- ditional designer by using today’s technology to provide services at a fraction of the cost of traditional on-site design services. This new service is ideal for those on a limited budget who want to phase in their new design over time and for those that perfect and are more than comfortable with online shopping Chamberlin is currently looking to the future, which will see her online service expand.
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OCTOBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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