Designed to ShowOff

Staging and redesigning homes in Austin and the surrounding hill country

Quick and Inexpensive ways to add curb appeal

I was recently contacted by a Realtor friend to speak on curb appeal at the Community Associations Institute (CAI) conference being held at the Austin UT alumni center. Not being comfortable enough to stand alone before a group I called my friend and fellow stager Amy...

Organizing and design ideas for electronic devices

    Ipad, ipod, iphone, laptop, camera, kindle, blue tooth,psp - ugh!! Does your charging station look like this?   As you can see above, this station even has one of those $50.00 organizers.  But guess what?  Once you (or kids or spouse) take any one device...

Tips for hanging wall art (continued)

  Today I’d like to finish up our discussion on wall art (part 1).  My grandmother, the artist will tell you art stands on its own merit – and should not be matched or coordinated to fit the décor of the room.   Since my grandmother doesn’t own a computer, I can...

Tips for hanging wall art

As a stager I’m in a lot of different homes and one of the biggest opportunities for improvements I see is wall décor.  So many pieces are hung too high to be appreciated or is the wrong scale for the furniture.  However, most often what I see is wall art that is...

Listen to your home!

I finally did it! I wanted to purchase an animal skin rug for my family room for years but wasn’t ready to commit until now. As an avid animal lover I was torn between my desire for beautiful design and my loyalty to my furry friends. So I did a little research and...

Design Perspective of a Different Nature

  I just returned from a vacation in Honduras. We spent eight days on the Caribbean Island of Roatan. I have been to the Caribbean many times but the beauty of it never fails to take my breath away. Just the vivid turquoise color of the ocean alone is stunning. I...

Maximize your shopping time

  Are you a nutty designing shopper? If not, you should be. Imagine you are shopping in your favorite home goods store, pushing a squeaky shopping cart down the aisle filled with a mixed but not quite matched bunch of accessories. Frustrated since nothing seems...

Lakeway Blvd Vacant Staging

  Recently I had the privilege of joining in with a fantastic group of folks in preparing a home to sell. I worked with the property manager – and if anyone needs a dedicated, goes-above-and-beyond, honest, hard-working property manager, I can highly recommend...

Redesigning a bench from trash to treasure

    As I love to stage vacant homes I often find myself in furniture stores, which gives me an opportunity to find really inexpensive treasures.  By treasures I mean pieces that have been damaged, are old or outdated, or could use a little repurposing and design...

Every room must have a purpose!

From a design perspective it is important for every space to have a purpose, however if your home is for sale it is absolutely ESSENTIAL! Buyers are paying for square footage, and certainly don’t want to spend money on wasted space. So every nook and cranny must be...

Designing distractions with chocolate

  Just like you can redirect a home buyer’s attention from the imperfections of a home with staging – you can focus someone’s attention from an imperfect candy jar, by filling it with chocolate! Is there anyone else that loves to take a project from a magazine...

Happy Valentine’s Day!

  Is there anyone else that has a special memory of Valentine’s Day?  Maybe you remember the first valentine day card you received.  Or the special dinner your special someone planned just for you?  My special valentine memory begins with a love triangle.  Stacey...

RESA Home Staging Convention – San Francisco January 2013

Wow, it was amazing! The speakers were fantastic, the workshops were educational and the groups of attendees were inspirational. I learned so much it will take me a while to process, organize and put into place all the information (hopefully before my brain explodes)....

Free decorating classes!

Pottery barn offers free classes on a regular basis! True, they are showing off their products but if you are lucky enough to live near a store, I would highly recommend them. The classes are informative, offer tips and tricks in decorating, gives you a great excuse...

How to give your home soul in 2013!

   Happy New Years!       One of my fellow toastmasters wrote a blog recently suggesting we should not make resolutions, but instead make goals.  Since I am not very good at keeping resolutions, I liked that idea.  I won’t bore you with my “goals” for the year;...

Photos from Staging for the Holidays

  As a lot of you know I teamed up with my friend and colleague, Holly Taylor from staging by Holly to offer a "staging for the holidays" decorating package.  Both Holly and I have a love of design, and an equally obsessive love of Christmas decorating.  So we...

From the perfect mantle to a beautifully designed tablescape!

The all important mantle The fireplace is typically the focal point of a living room. So it is important to create a beautifully designed mantle. We will focus on decorating the mantle for Christmas, but the basic rules applies to everyday items as well. Starting with...