Bly’s Blog, Great Impressions Home Staging, NJ

On our way to Lavallette, NJ -- the "shore" in these parts -- to go crabbing this weekend, we stumbled on a small WW II museum in the basement of a VFW Post in Asbury Park, NJ.  My 21 y/o son is a history major who LOVES all things WW II related, and is in fact somewhat obsessed with military his...

Yesterday, I consulted on a Bergen County house that really wouldn't benefit enough from staging to make it a worthwhile investment. Although I would like to believe the benefits of staging are always worth the cost, every once in a while, you hit a "lemon" of a house that cannot be effectively s...

When it comes to selling your home, the larger you can make rooms look through staging, the more space buyers will feel they're getting for their money. Clutter and too much or too-large furniture are all space-gobblers that make rooms look messy, smaller than they really are, and generally not a...

This house felt like there was no room to breathe with all the clutter! The (out-of-date) furniture needed clearing out and re-arranging. We added long drapes in the family room to give it more modern style. The "after" photos show a cleaned up, pared-down, and much more inviting, livable house! ...

This foyer in a Colonial Home in Bergen County, NJ was stuck in the 90s with its bright yellow sponge-painted walls and brass ceiling light. Isn't is amazing what a coat of paint in a color that coordinates much better with the black diamond tiles, a new light fixture, and some de-cluttering can ...

I have seen this situation repeatedly, too . . . sellers put houses on the market "as-is" in order to test the market, but they are NOT market-ready, the response is lukewarm at best, no offers are made, agents don't like showing it, and the price drops . . . sometimes a few times. The owners end...

  Do you need to de-clutter your house but hate to throw out things that others might be able to use? Are you looking to furnish a new house with cheap (read: free) stuff that others don't want anymore?  A staging client turned me onto freecycle.org -- a recycling website with the goal of avoidin...

Attention residents of Bergen County, NJ: Sunday, June 12th is Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ. Open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., free to Bergen County residents (ID required).  Whether you're thinking about moving and need to clean up...

I'm shocked that not a single agent advised this seller who was having trouble selling to consult with a stager! Presentation and price are always both critical to selling, and there is no reason to ignore presentation. Perhaps agents are "afraid" to mention staging to sellers because of the extr...

If you are a seller who really wants to move on, set your price to fit the current market, which unfortunately is down from 5 years ago (ask your agent by how much!) I am not an agent, but I always tell sellers that BOTH presentation and price are crucial to selling their home quickly and without...