Lori's Savvy Statements

I love the european approach to enhancing a home.  It's about personality, color and uniqueness.  It is easy to be drawn down a narrow street curious to find out what is around the next corner. Colorful plants draw the eye and brightly painted doors and awnings shine against stone and stucco wall...

Or more importantly, where do you want to?  I am a lover of modern architecture, I can spend hours pouring over "shelter" magazines.  My favorites?  Dwell tops the list, followed quickly by Metropolitan Home. . .  I adore flipping through the glossy pages filled with clean, modern rooms boasting ...

Loft. . .den/bedroom. . .multipurpose room. . .bonus room. . .nook.  Realtors use a myriad of creative phrases to describe awkward and questionable spaces.  They know that  buyers have a difficult time visualizing uses for all of the rooms in a house, especially those that have an unusual placeme...

When selling a home in Brainerd, MN  homeowners have the competitive advantageif they are savvy enough to hire Kathleen Lordbock of Re$ale Design and Home Staging. Together with her daughter Allison, this dynamic pair brings organizational expertise and design flair to every project.  In a sluggi...

I was recently referred to some savvy homeowners by an agent I met as a result of a "warm cold call".  They had just finished rehabbing a lovely home in Homer Glen, Illinios and wanted to bring in a stager to consult before putting the home on the market.  The home is a 3000 sq ft two story with ...

As many of you know, I am both a professional home stager and a Realtor.  I've struggled a bit with the duality of the roles. . . how to do both well, how to market myself, etc. I even wrote a blog to gain some perspective from all of you.  I have to admit to being a little surprised at the posit...

In order to get business, you have to ask for business.  Staging is a benefit to the homeowner and to the agent, but we as professional stagers have to get out there and prove it.  I for one hate to cold call!  I am not incredibly fond of rejection and I know how cold calling works.  Rejection, r...

My profile here on AR is one of a home stager, I also am a licensed Realtor.  I have had success as a Realtor, but love the creativity of staging.  ( I am also an artist of sorts, I have a penchant for silversmithing, and as a result, I have lots of fabulous jewelry!)  I live in an area where a R...

Remember back to the last time you went house hunting. It can be a daunting and exhausting experience. You meet your agent, who excitedly tells you about the homes scheduled for the day.  They all sound fantastic. You set out with hope and optimism that today you find a new "home".But with each s...

Many of you read my post this week about having the opportunity to bid on staging a custom builder's model.  In preparation, I took some time to walk through other model homes in the area. I'll call it "checking out the competition!"As I was standing in a model talking to a sales agent, I suddenl...