Sunday, February 7, 2010

Stage Right!

You know all those "Sell this House That's Designed to Sell and Get it Sold!" type of shows?  I'm totally addicted to them.  I won't be selling the Family Homestead anytime soon (read: this lifetime) but I cannot get enough of these shows.  

15 years ago when TheManTheMyth and I were getting ready to sell our first house, the house that was obviously built on unhallowed and cursed land with the bodies of murdered Indians (feather, not dot) buried deep within the ground under our foundation because of all the bad stuff that occurred during our residency and that's the only explanation I can come up with because really bad stuff went down from almost the day we moved in and I was never so glad to have the front door hit me in the ass as we said Adios and started afresh in the Old Family Homestead and where was I?  Oh yes, selling the House of the Damned.

Well, it sold.  Even though I was completely clueless and had this misguided thought that realtors would call ahead of time to show the house, giving me time to clean up but imagine my surprise when I would come home from work, to a very messy house because my housekeeping skills were deficient and find cards on the dining room table from realtors who had shown the house in the middle of the day.  Oddly enough, we were home on a Sunday morning, plopped on the couch reading the Sunday paper while still in our robes when the front door opened and in walked a realtor with some clients.  Everyone was a little uncomfortable but the house was actually clean for a change and we went out and sat in the backyard while they toured the house.  I said to TheManTheMyth, there's our buyers and sure enough, the next day we got an offer and SOLD!

Anyway, I just love Staged to Get it Sold shows.  I love seeing how bad the BEFORE house is and wonder what the heck were these people thinking, showing their house in that condition and seeing exactly why they weren't getting any offers.  I crack up at the homeowners who oppose the ideas of the designers because they like their house the way it is and think everyone should love to live in a house that is decorated like Bell Watling's house of ill-repute.  I don't always agree with the AFTER staging (putting beds on the diagonal = wasted space, IMO) but just about anything looks better than a house decorated in Our Toddler Is In Charge style.

The changes don't always work, though.  How many times does the show's host(ess) close the show with the words, "They're expecting an offer any day" which means they got nuthin'.

I'm envious of the people who get a new kitchen from these shows, new counters, cabinets and floors.  It's tempting to try and get on one of these shows just so I can get my 1973-era kitchen redone and then tell the show I love the changes SO much I changed my mind about selling.  Yeah, I don't think that would go over so well, though.

I'll just keep watching and getting ideas for staging my own house even though I'm not selling.
 

3 comments:

  1. I like those shows too but most of the time I don't like the new looks.

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  2. I, too, am hooked on those shows but I'd actually like to sell my current house and downsize (plus move south). I just don't have the gazillion dollars needed to update it (a la some of those shows)to ensure it will sell - plus the market still stinks and we'd be lucky to break even. sigh. I like some of the ideas but you always have to remember that there are crews of people working very hard and it is never as easy as it looks.

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  3. I have some friends who had their house staged and I have to say it looked marvelous. Their little 1930's cottage furnished with castoffs and Goodwill pieces, looked like this retro, vintagey cozy home. They made a mint and some of the decorator's good taste rubbed off on them, so it turned out a win-win for everyone.

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