BEHIND THE YARD SIGN: TELLING THE STORY OF NEW CONSTRUCTION COMMUNITY AND LIFESTYLE WITH SHELLI-ANNE COUCH

LISTEN TO BEHIND THE YARD SIGN EPISODE 10 HERE

Small businesses are created because of a core idea originated from an understanding that there is something missing out there and that there is a need. What's so challenging for most of the people behind these businesses is getting to the launching pad and realizing that they have no way of announcing this brand new thing. So what now? 

Marketing!

Marketing, and branding, and community engagement, and PR, and promos, and printouts, and samples, and website, and social media… all of these things help you when you get to that launch pad. What makes that hurdle truly challenging is usually the fact that they take more time to generate and of course, more money and investment to produce.

There are a lot of industries that you would expect to have that all figured out and planned for, like a retailer or the plethora of coffee shops that can exist three doors down from their competitors. (Seriously, how is that a thing?) But what about new home construction for real estate? 

Developers build buildings, and they love it. They live and breathe that work. What they tend to not do -- and furthermore not *want* to do --  is marketing. Insert Plumb Bob Marketing here. They are a one-stop shop for developer marketing needs for new home communities and complexes. The Los Angeles-based company's founder and Principal, Shelli-Anne Couch, joined us for our recent Behind the Yard Sign podcast episode to educate us on what marketing for such a field within real estate does and can be.

The nature of the varied clientele that Shelli-Anne and her team speak to means there are many stories to be told within one chapter. Plumb Bob's job is to take this new shiny group of homes and inspire a large audience. They then also find the small niche audiences inside of that larger group simultaneously. Sounds complicated, but her method is quite practical -- keep it simple and straightforward. 

Spade and Archer Home Staging for Plumb Bob Marketing in Los Angeles

When asked about that process, Shelli-Anne shared a thoughtful sentiment. "For every one of these homes, every buyer is different. Every home, even though it may be built similarly has got a different view at the front door or the back door, or may have a different rooftop deck. There's something different about every home and it's recognizing that. And then it's communicating it without being too salesy. We have a saying: more storytelling, less selling."

Shelli-Anne is not a real estate agent, nor does she want to be one in her role as a marketing guru. She knows the value of what the agent does for a listing, and gives them the space to own that. Something separate that Shelli-Anne and Plumb Bob can bring to the table is the willingness to experience a new development's community and learn about what makes its neighborhood unique. 

Spade and Archer Home Staging for Plumb Bob Marketing in Los Angeles

Often times, new development is shunned by a local community. New condo blocks or small-lot subdivisions seem to invade and mark their territory the second they break ground, but what Plumb Bob does is connect and literally communicate with the people and the businesses in the area to help generate excitement and explain the good this new construction will do. What a service! Sure, the deeper understanding of a new development's neighborhood helps with the storytelling and sales of the homes, but the way in which it is done can help welcome this new group of homes or condos into the community.

Spade and Archer Home Staging for Plumb Bob Marketing in Los Angeles

Another important aspect that Plumb Bob brings awareness to the housing scarcity that exists in this vast city that is Los Angeles. "I saw an opportunity to bridge that gap between what people thought a small lot subdivision was versus how it actually could benefit the community, right down to rates," said Couch when asked about this controversial topic.

While she sees their concerns and empathizes, she also works to connect and remind folks that new home building can help to better a neighborhood more than it can hurt one. Walk scores, school ratings, density and local business growth are some of the big benefits that people often forget when they see and hear and feel that new building or neighborhood taking shape. Shelli-Anne continues saying, "Let's have a talk about that five bedroom home ... that was an eyesore that we've knocked down and we've actually put up 10 homes now and [are] welcoming 10 new families into the neighborhood."

Plumb Bob has its hands full when it comes to managing the array of Los Angeles neighborhoods. "LA is more like 5 or 6 cities within one city … it's sort of like having 5 or 6 children." There are a lot of projects that can happen and they can happen at a rapid pace considering the lack of inclement weather. Shelli-Anne has crafted her business at Plumb Bob in a way that can keep up with that pace and can do so gracefully, and thoughtfully. The way in which she partners with the people involved in the process, whether its the superintendents or us, the home stager, reflects that she knows people's time is important and she has no intention of abusing it. 

With similar principles of grace and thoughtfulness, Spade and Archer offers a great solution to help with the efforts of selling multiple homes like the ones Shelli-Anne and Plumb Bob cater to. Rather than staging each home separately and charging for a new idea and new design each time, we offer Model Unit staging where we create one or two looks for that community (or more depending on the number of floorplans), stage them, and "slide" the furnishings from one home to the next as they sell. This way, you have the same pieces reflected in your marketing regardless of the sample home the buyers are touring. Those buyers were already inspired by the thoughtful marketing, and they'll be even more excited when they see it in person. It will be an authentic experience from start to finish, and Spade and Archer will help keep it all neat and tidy as the stagings move from home to home. 

We love partnering with great people and thoughtful businesses. Let's connect and learn what we can do for each other as we continue into the new terrain of listing homes and marketing. Learn more at spade-archer.com, or shoot us a message at info@spade-archer.com. 

For more on Plumb Bob Marketing, visit their website at plumbbobmarketing.com.

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

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Design Principle: How to Accessorize

“The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize”

         -Clairee Blecher

‘Steel Magnolias’

This is the accessory wall in our Los Angeles warehouse, starring our LA Director Erin!

Accessorizing is the great joy of designers everywhere.  It’s the little bits of ‘jewelry’ that allow a home to really pop.  Accessories are where a lot of the fun of design comes in.  Sofas, chairs, tables, they are all pretty basic and necessary, especially in staging, to show scale and dimension in a room.  They are not the sparkly, eye-catching touches, though, that accessories can be.

See our accessorizing installed live in this Seattle home!

In home staging, we walk a fine line between over- and under-accessorizing a space. Too much and it feels like an outlet store; too little and you wonder why the place is unfinished.  We carefully craft every room to be the “just right” mix of design, inspiration and excitement that it needs.

Our design philosophy of Aspirational and Obtainable extends to every part of the staging.  We use a mix of styles, eras and materials in our accessories.  We like to use modern paired with vintage to give a cohesive look.  Accessories allow for character, humor, quirk, intrigue, notability.  They are the little ‘personalized’ touches that make a staged room have life.

We use accessories to bolster our color stories as well.  Each room Spade and Archer designs has one main color story to make it instantly recognizable in an online photograph.  We lay the foundation with neutral furnishing and then apply a layer of color with our linens, table top accessories and art.  Here is where we can play a little and customize the room to be unique among the thousands out there being viewed daily.

Accessories are meant to show off the features of a space and make a visitor feel right at home!

In order not to script a room too specifically, we use a mix of new, old, bright, muted, angled and soft accessories to give a complete picture while also letting the buyer use their own imagination.  For example, in order not to make a pink room feel too ‘girly’, we might sprinkle in some gray or black for a more sophisticated color pallet. All black can feel overwhelming, so we might mix it with other neutrals like white, gray and tan to make the room feel powerful yet elegant.

Pattern and texture are also great ways to use different accessories.  Maybe we do like an all-white room, but will choose throw pillows and blankets with different tactile feel. Different fabrics combine to make the color even more interesting.  Tone-on-tone patterns also add dimension to a monochromatic space. Mix and match different patterns in the same color family for added dimension and depth to a room.

We are very lucky to be able to use art and accessories from different eras and styles.  A lot of our accessories add humor and wit to a room without being too overt.  Subtle hints at the past give the room life and vitality.  If we were to buy everything from a store it would look like a display and not a home.  This is an area where we can have a little fun so why not show off some quirky, one-of-a-kind pieces and impress the attentive home buyer? However they are used, accessories are the special little touches added to every room to make it stand out. 

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

When Paying More for Staging Actually Gets You Less

Educating home sellers on the power of home staging requires contradictory messaging at times. We find ourselves making cases on both sides of the investment…. some days it’s, “Holy moly, please hire professionals and do not go the route of a budget stager,” and other times it’s, “A lot less money can be spent by taking the right steps.”

You’ve heard the saying: you get what you pay for.  But there are times when you pay more and get less.  This is especially true when it comes to staging.  There are times when going for the ‘budget stager’ becomes a budget buster.  

A homeowner came to us four months ago to get a staging quote.  They deemed our price too high and went with another stager that offered a lower monthly rate. After four months of this house sitting with no offers and no money coming to the homeowner (not to mention continued monthly payments going to their ‘budget stager’) they came back to us and asked for help.  We encouraged them to move out of their ADU and stage it along with fully staging the rest of the house.  Vacant homes look better and sell faster - that’s just a fact. No one wants to buy a home with someone else’s junk in the way.  Occupied homes make a buyer feel like a guest and not a tenant.  Clean up, move out and sell the house as intended.  

After the restage, they received an offer in two days.  Altogether, it was staged under a Spade and Archer Guaranteed Home Staging® program for 16 days and it sold.  The lesson here is to do it right the first time.  The homeowner actually paid MORE for their budget stager than they did for our top-of-the-line service.  On paper it looked good to start, but the reality is they way overpaid for subpar performance.  Not only did the homeowner get to pay more money over a longer period of time ($8000 for four months as opposed to $6000 for two weeks with us), but they had to incur all the other expenses that accrued over that four-month period.  They had to pay the mortgage, the insurance, the taxes, and the principle on top of a monthly fee for staging that wasn’t working.  What a waste of money!

AFTER the full home stage, this Portland house was ready to be listed again fresh!

Bargain hunting isn’t always a bargain.  Think of it like this: You go to the grocery store to buy a steak. You narrow it down to two options. You’ve got the family-size $10 chuck that looks okay or the $20 prime cut that looks amazing.  You opt for the cheaper piece of meat thinking it will suffice.  But when you get it home and cook it, it’s got a lot of hidden grossness you don’t really want anything to do with.  It ends up being chewy and tough and when it’s all said and done you got less and worse quality from the cheap meat than you would have gotten from the more expensive, yet perfect $20 steak.  Go for quality over cost-cutting and you will be satisfied every time.

AFTER the restage, it’s super easy to see how to use every single space in the home.

Spade and Archer is the World’s First Guaranteed Home Stager® and we have over 10 years of experience selling homes quickly and for more money.  Our Guaranteed Home Staging® program is 98% effective. Our Pay-Up-Front, full staging is 93% effective. That’s a solid A no matter how you slice it. When we start doing partial staging, that percentage dips down to 86% which is decent B.  This only proves that when you start with an appropriately high level of intention and attention, you get appropriately high levels of return.

Some companies are now offering financed staging.  Don’t be fooled!  You have to pay interest on that and you still have to pay whether the house sells or not. You are still paying a ton of money, for a longer period of time, and with no guarantee that it will sell at all.  Why would you want to pay for staging years after you’ve sold your house and moved on?  At Spade and Archer, we never charge interest and you only pay us when the house sells. It makes sense.

Sunny, bright, spacious, functional, scaled, and completely appropriate for family living, this Portland home staging set the right course for this house to sell in days after months of inactivity on the market.

You do get what you pay for so don’t short change yourself by paying more for less. We love to swoop in and save the day, but think how much more effective it would be if we were your first line of defense. It’s much better to get the job done right the first time without lingering bills. When you shop only by the price tag, you end up with chewy meat and half-ass staging.  Go for the filet mignon from the beginning and don’t look back.

Get your instant home staging price now by clicking here.

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Design Principle: Designing for Photography

Many people ask why we place things where we do in our staging.  The long and short answer is: it’s all about the photograph.  Every home buyer’s first look at a property will be through listing photographs viewed either on their computer or cell phone.  That picture will be their first exposure and first impression of any property.  That is why the photograph is so important and why we spend so much time meticulously crafting that tableau.

Spade and Archer Home Staging in Los Angeles

We intentionally place art lower on the wall than you would if you were living in a home in order to get that art in the shot. A photograph should tell the story of the room in one brief glance.  Art placed out of the frame or too high to relate to the furniture in the room will seem disjointed.  It will actually call attention to itself and distract from the room. That is something we do not want.  We believe our staging should be the back-up dancer to the main show -- the home you’re selling. 

We try to think of where the best angle for the photo will be taken and what elements of the room as well as the staging that will be in the shot. We obviously take into account the 3D space when a person will be walking through it, but we pay very close attention to the 2D space of the photograph and the impression it gives as well. We want the space to make sense to a buyer when they walk through it, but we also want it to be easily relatable when looking at a tiny online photo.

BEFORE — this unstaged space is not optimized for photography.

AFTER - Spade and Archer home staging filled out this space making it camera ready in Wilsonville, OR.

We place furniture and art so that it will fill up a photograph and accentuate the architecture of the house.  “Windows sell homes” is a trope we hear all the time and it’s true.  We want to place furniture in a room to highlight those windows and not necessarily cover them up.  If a window is in a shot, we want a little something there as well to anchor it. Our placement actually draws attention to the architectural features while not distracting from them.  You may not place your bed or sofa near a window when you move in, but that is the difference between staging a home to sell and living in a home the way that suits you. What we do as home stagers is not design a space for the practical everyday life of a homeowner, but rather we craft an environment to highlight the architectural features and real-life dimensions of the property. The buyer is responsible for placing their furniture how it pleases them, we are responsible for placing furniture how it pleases the house.

The thoughtful subtleties of where and how objects are arranged is our greatest asset.  We take into account how the space will look in person.  We are concerned with the feel of an environment when a buyer walks through it.  We are also salesmen and our job is to get as many people into this house as possible so that it sells.  To that point, we pay very careful attention to the photographs, how they attract a buyer and ultimately how they are the best advertising tools to sell this home. 

Spade and Archer Professional Home Staging in Seattle, WA.

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Spade and Archer Design Agency is a professional home stager in Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. We start every single project with our Instant Price so let’s start the process of selling your home with an easy, free and instant quote. Spade and Archer is your no-risk, pay-at-closing, touchless installation, instant pricing home stager and we can’t wait to work with you.

Behind the Yard Sign: Being Different and Creating Real Estate Culture That Attracts with Jenelle Isaacson, Founder of Living Room Realty

After starting on a new career path with the prominent and established Hasson Real Estate Company in Portland, OR, Jenelle Isaacson recognized she was a bit of a punk rock black sheep within her team. Coming from a background in music and having been a part of the quintessential Portland culture of embracing weirdness, her network and client base of colorful folks around town put her on a sort of social pedestal as an agent. She found there was a niche market base of clients and peers that had yet to be represented in the big, adult, financial commitments in home-owning. 

Listen to the entire Behind the Yard Sign episode with Jenelle here.

Founder Jenelle Isaacson started Living Room Realty in Portland, OR because she looked around and didn’t see anyone in real estate that reflected her or her people. Fast forward a decade and this woman-owned company is rocking it!

Jenelle decided to jump on it. She was migrating from her rock n roll past into motherhood and decided to open Living Room Realty in 2009 (while very pregnant and eventually nursing her first child). Location is what set the company off with a strong start. If it weren't for the gut feeling of her very loyal colleagues, Jenelle would never have made the move to open her first office in one of the most visible blocks of Portland.

The chance to have immediate presence came as huge luck to Living Room Realty. They were positioned right next door to one of the best known and most recognized breakfast & brunch spots in the popular Alberta District, The Tin Shed. The location -- which had long, lingering lines of [hungry] folks -- resulted in a quickly growing clientele base. Their in-your-face presence to on-lookers with listings in the windows launched them to be known as a true local business in a time when Portland as a city (and people's desire to be a part of it) was booming. 

Living Room Realty was founded by Jenelle in the last Great Recession.

Jenelle was real to herself through the entire process and embraced being human. Rather than letting the collapsing market get her and the business down, she chose to not let it add to her very inundated line-up of tasks and company growth. Her drive and commitment to represent real people made her business extremely relatable and approachable in the community. 

Most local businesses in Portland that are built from the ground up have almost naturally found ways to cater to the community and listen to people they serve. Jenelle and her team took requests and inquiries to heart and developed services around them which eventually led to more growth and more chances for success. The need for rental housing placement for example — no one was doing that! And with that perfect location of visitors flocking to brunch and falling in love with the City of Roses, they had a slew of interest desiring their attention.

We love a good "flopportunity," and Jenelle shared one of the biggest of her career with us during our podcast chat. As Living Room Realty quickly grew, she was also facing a trial of a time with the recent recession. To be starting a real estate company in a recession is shear madness, but her knack for staying positive and trusting that it would all work out got her through. When recruiting for agents, she couldn't look at their numbers based on the market conditions of the time. She cared more about the people she brought on and their character during the hard times as she knew that their ability to connect with their community and their partners and neighbors would come back to serve them long-term. 

"I had to look for other cues, and we still recruit like this today. It's been such an opportunity to hold true to our values because we aren't obsessed with the producing." Jenelle continued, asking rhetorically, "How are you invested? ...because I know that when the market returns, your community will come back and return that support to you."

Jenelle and the people that make up Living Room Realty have essentially developed huge levels of loyalty with their fellow citizens and business partners in Portland, OR and beyond. Her ability to really see and hear her clients and also the team she surrounds herself with has created something bigger than just a real estate company. They have a hub for connectivity in a city that prides itself on community and local integrity. We're thrilled to be a friend of Living Room Realty for home staging and cater each other's needs as businesses, because we, just like Jenelle, see the bigger picture and recognize that there's more to life than just selling homes and making them look pretty. It's about our connections and the impacts we can make to do and feel better.

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Spade and Archer Design Agency is a professional home stager in Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles. We start every single project with our Instant Price so let’s start the process of selling your home with an easy, free and instant quote. Spade and Archer is your no-risk, pay-at-closing, touchless installation, instant pricing home stager and we can’t wait to work with you.