Advantage Staging stages many upper price point homes in the Vaughan and Toronto area for clientele that are not always living in the country year round. As we handle everything from A to Z on the job, we receive many inquiries from agents who are referred to us to work with this niche group of clients. They appreciate that we provide seamless, stres free service with no worries for their clients. Recently we received a call from an agent in Mississagua who asked for a consult on a property in Vaughan. When I entered the foyer this is what I saw first......            A giant sized poster of a Russel Peters Comedy Tour.  I commented to the agent that the seller must be a huge Russell Peters fan.  He smiled and said yes, the client was indeed. I looked into the front living room and this... 08/05/2012

This home staging in Vaughan had me perplexed at first. I really wanted the kitchen cabinets that were installed in the eating are removed. They seemed to be floating in mid air, they really needed to come down. Or I thought, they really need something below them to balance them out on the wall. In the end, our team did neither. We staged the white cabinet with a brand new set of dishes that the client had tucked away in the basement. While I was down there, I spotted (no pun intended) the cow theme seats on two, older looking black chairs. As stagers, we all know we have to keep our eyes open to find the hidden gems in the houses that we stage. This is what Adantage Staging did to create a modern, funky kitchen that would appeal to the younger families moving in to this neighbourhood. ... 01/02/2012

Recently Advantage Staging provided a home staging consultation in Vaughan that was your typical family home. A busy family with no time to prepare their home for sale. Or so they thought. Advantage Staging arrived to do the consult, left a written, detailed, room by room action plan with the family so that they would know what to do to get the property ready to be staged for sale. With precious little free time a seller needs the confidence that a focused, written plan can give them to complete the job in a short amount of time. The living room was originally minty green and the home owner didn't want to paint. Sellers are always reluctant to paint as they are moving and think that the buyers can overlook their choice of colour. I assured the seller that a neutral colour like CC 110 Mu... 01/02/2012

Home staging in Vaughan Advantage Staging sees many very nice homes with beautiful large bathrooms but no artwork. Most people are afraid to commit to a piece of artwork so they never get around to hanging any.  I believe artwork and lighting are two things that show buyers the lifestyle they are looking for in a new home. It is a very important detail of staging and can make or break the feeling you are trying to create in a home. The opposite can happen as well. The home owner will have totally inappropriate artwork hung in the most public spaces in their home. Ever see the dreaded nude in the dining room? I have several times. It is the first thing I put into storage when I do see it as buyers spend precious time discussing it instead of looking at the features in the property. All I... 12/15/2011

As a home stager in Vaughan, I thought I had seen every conceivable type of chandelier from every decade. Homeowners ask if there is any way of leaving the dated chandelier installed and adding crystals to the arms of the chandelier to update the look. This client actually added Barbie dolls suspended upside down and crystals. I'm thinking just the crystals would have done the trick. When you are considering listing your home for sale, Advantage Staging will make suggestions for replacement lighting that will suit every budget and look appropriate in the home for sale. Just one more reason that calling in a professional home stager can save you time and money when you are preparing your house for sale. Fact #1 -sellers are usually not interested in investing money into new light fixture... 11/05/2011

Home staging in Vaughan Advantage Staging will frequently consult on homes that appear to have small dining rooms. As the area attracts larger families it is a sticking point when buyers come to look at listings. The homes have at least four bedrooms, and adequate kitchens. However if the home is being sold vacant it can be very difficult for buyers to envision whether their furniture will fit in and whether their family will be able to use the space for their needs. That's when staging comes to the rescue. No guess work. By renting furniture and staging the room, buyers can readily see that there is plenty of room for their family. Dining Room Before                         Dining Room After                                                               Investment, minimal. Impact, pric... 10/02/2011

Home staging in Vaughan I run into quite a few  homes that have sellers with birds. The latest one was a bit over the top though.  When I arrived to do the staging consultation I found a 5 foot parrot cage in the eating area of the kitchen along with two small freezers. No table and chairs. Just a giant parrot cage and two freezers.   I know what you are thinking. Who does that? As I like to assure my clients, you live in a house one way, to suit yourself. You pay the mortgage and taxes and if it gives you pleasure and isn't illegal you live the way you want. But, and this is a big but- when you are selling your home, it is now a product for sale. And you have COMPETITION in the market place. So I did the only thing I could think of. I called my Dad. All you ladies out there will unders... 08/20/2011

Advantage Staging is asked quite often by sellers if it is worth it to stage a vacant home.  This phone call typically comes in after their home has been sitting on the market for some time with no offers. The seller has been covering the carrying costs of the home and is getting anxious that it could be another few months of expenses if they don't do something to get the property sold. Sellers are left scratching their heads as to why their vacant home has not sold. They have created a blank slate, why they ask,  are there no offers coming in? Isn't it plain to see that this is the perfect house? When I arrive, the house is clean as a whistle, rooms appear large, nothing is in the way to distract buyers from seeing the home and its potential.       Why oh why has it not sold?  They hav... 07/23/2011

Advantage Staging was fortunate to be able to apprentice with the Stager of the Year when I first started working in this industry. One very important  skill that was taught was how to stage a bookcase. In this example all I did was declutter and make sure the book case was only two thirds full.   The staging suggestions in this example were a matter of spending a few minutes boxing up the items that were making the office look less spacious than what it actually was.  Now buyers can imagine themselves working in the this lovely den at home that has room to work and display their favourite things. Investment, minimal. Impact priceless. Advantage Staging is ready to create interest in your property when you are ready to list. Michelle Finnamore    Advantage Staging Two offices to serve y... 06/10/2011

Sally Weatherley, home stager extraordinaire in Vancouver, has inspired me to write about the chandliers and light fixtures that I replace when I am home staging in Vaughan. Most of these chandeliers and light fixtures were purchased 20 -25 years ago and were the height of fashion and very on trend at the time. Lighting is like jewellery in a home. It is what gets noticed by buyers when they approach your front door, entering the foyer and in each room they travel through. When you are selling your home, it is now a product for sale so it is a good idea to put your best "jewellery" on display. And that means replacing light fixtures like these.....                               With current lighting such as these...                                                                        ... 06/08/2011

Working with sellers you often hear them ask why they have to paint when the new people will just do what they want with the place when they move in. I explain that it is important to create a clean, fresh neutral pallette so that anyone can move in without having to do a lot of work right away. Plus, by using neutral colours, the space expands visually allowing buyers to perceive more value in your home. And that's a good thing. In this home staging in Vaughan you can see the dramatic changes that have taken place by simply changing the paint colour. Choosing the correct paint colour is something that your professional home stager is trained to do to gain interest in your property. The sun room was originally painted with a faux finish is various shades of taupe. To stage the house the... 06/02/2011

ActiveRainPhotoBloggerContest - Is A Picture Worth A Thousand Words? It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, well have a look at the picture below.  Look at it close, take in the whole picture... do you see the thousand words?   We had an occasion this past Saturday to visit the Reptilia Zoo and Education Facility located in the City of Vaughan at 2501 Rutherford Road.  You can see the smallest of reptilies to the largest Nile crocodile on display in Canada coming in at 14 feet long. What you are seeing is a King Cobra having lunch.  Lunch is an eight inch long rat, brought into the zoo frozen, thawed out just before lunch time.  Our friend Mr. King Cobra is only fed once a week.  It took him just under an hour to finish lunch and get back to some modelling for all the spec... 05/02/2011

We were in a hurry yesterday with duplicating keys for an estate sale. At the closest hardware store I was directed to an irritated "minimum Wage" employee that reminded me that their price was the lowest. "Cheapest Prices for Cut Keys" he chimed The second key, they didn't carry that particular blank, but that "More Expensive" fellow up the mall did. At the second store I was greeted by the proprietor who looked at the key to be duplicated and warned about the price of the blank; "I need it". Back to the house to try the key... Expensive one works great, cheap one is stiff and resistant. Doesn't fully close. It was very difficult to turn. Back to the shops. I don't have time for this. Did I return to the lowest price that complained? No, I went to the fellow who did his job properly a... 03/15/2011

Buyers all start with a check list of items that they want to have in their next home. It could be a double car garage, a large eat in kitchen, four bedrooms or an in law suite. In the end for most buyers, it comes down to emotion and how they feel in a house. That's why home staging is one of the best marketing tools you have to prepare your home for sale.    Advantage Staging tries to create a vignette somewhere in the home that will have the buyer saying "I knew right away this house was for me!" All I did in these homes was create master ensuite vignettes that make you think you are staying at a spa hotel retreat. And who wouldn't like the thought that?                                  You can create a  very zen, spa like look using very    simple, white towels, florals and soap dis... 03/12/2011

Advantage Staging works with many successful Realtors and two of them comprise the Diamond Team at Remax Premier in Vaughan. The Diamond Team inlcudes home staging as part of their marketing plan to prepare their listings for photos and open houses. Together we make things happen. The clients are happy as they have a detailed written action plan to get their homes ready for listing photos, agent open houses and for public open houses. Homeowners are sometimes reluctant to have a  home stager come in to their home as they have heard different stories and watched TV programs. With our team working together we get homeowners on board with the suggestions and they are always pleased with the outcome. Their homes sell quickly and for market value. This lets them avoid having buyers trudge th... 03/08/2011

Whoa!!! I can hear you disagreeing all the way up here in snowy Toronto.  I have heard many a real estate sales person and home owner express this sentiment. The problem with leaving a home or a room vacant is that the buyer cannot identify what the purpose of the room might be or whether their furniture will fit in the space. The buyer needs something in the room to make a comparison to. For instance, when a dining room has a table set in it the buyer will be thinking ..."My table is a little longer than this one so mine will fit here no problem". You get the buyer seeing themselves living in the home.  Advantage Staging will rent a dining room table set to you for a very reasonable fee or you can do as my client did. They had lived in the house for 5 years without ever having purchase... 01/17/2011

It's official!  The launch of my staging boutique, Michelle Finnamore Interiors, was a grand affair. Hundreds of real estate sales agents brought their clients through on client appreciation day to see how I could help them to stage their homes for sale as well as providing design services for their new home.  It all started out with a vision to grow my business from providing only staging services to staging to live (redesign), designing homes from plans, to designing model homes and sales centres for builders.   The past year was definitely one to remember. Winning design awards both in Canada and the U.S. I knew I had to do something with all the partnerships that I had formed and the upgraded services that I had incorporated into my staging business. When the brokerage where I had m... 12/31/2010

Clients who are trying to sell their homes over the holidays , here are some helpful ideas.Holiday season, is an ideal time to show your House for sale. Usually homes have  presents, decorations,.  Keeping your home tidy and decorated tastefully without overdoing it, makes the buyers warmup to your home. Potential buyers expect some decorations, and they want to imagine what it would be like to live in the home. Keeping the holiday decorations to the right level will be easier for them to imagine themselves living in your home.Get rid of clutter whether its the holiday season or not. People don't want to be reminded that the home belongs to some else.   · Neutral lighting is always best, and don't overdo it. ·  Don't forget about the snow on your driveway.  Making it a hazard to get aro... 12/23/2010

Finding houses to live in, often creates a lot of problems; as the world population is increasing, the need for housing is also increasing, as a result of which people often do not get the type of houses they need. Even the real estate agent sometimes do not have appropriate houses in their stock for the common people. Besides, searching for an honest and dependable real estate agent is also pretty problematic and time consuming. People have to spend a lot of time and visit several realtors to choose the best one. This can be prevented if people take the help of internet. The websites published by the real estate agents prove to be very helpful for people seeking houses. The houses available to that particular real estate broker companies are displayed on the website and detailed inform... 12/23/2010

Using some helpful strategies will help you purchase a home in Woodbridge Ontario at the best possible value. In today's market, it is very easy to find  beautiful homes in your price range. Of course this cannot be done by yourself. You need a team behind you. For Buyers this is a totally  free. A Realtor like myself in Vaughan Ontario I have seen all kinds of markets. Understand the present state of the market: How you're going to approach a home purchase largely depends on the kind of market you have. In a buyers' market, you may be able to look for a home to buy more confidently. This is because there are many homes to choose from, properties are cheaper, there are more sellers and very few buyers. Sellers will probably compete to get your attention. Additionally, you will have the ... 12/23/2010