How Much Does it Cost? Usually the first question I get when a home owner or realtor calls about home staging is “How much does it cost?”To get the best possible results from home staging, it is worth spending the money to hire a professional home stager with experience and great reviews. See my interview on Helpful Tips for Finding a Great Home Stager to learn what to look for. Benefits of Home Staging The benefits include getting the highest possible price for your home in the Read more […]
Author: Mary Ann Benoit
President- Northern Lights Home Staging and Design
Owner- Arctic Paradise Bed and Breakfast
Artist- Stained Glass, Jewelry and Alcohol Ink Art
Wildlife Biologist
Director- Kaleido World Percussion and Dance Company
Director- Tavus Dance Company of Alaska
Lover of music, art, dance and animals.
An Inconvenient Truth about Selling Your Home
I love to feature great articles that help home sellers. This is one of my favorites, An Inconvenient Truth about Selling Your Home, by Susan Atwell of Atwell Staged Homes. Truth is few things are more inconvenient than selling your home and having it on the market. By Susan Atwell as published in The Somers Record Imagine a bad reality show, where you are forced to live in Macy’s window for weeks on end. Your personal items, your life, constantly exposed to strangers and their criticisms Read more […]
Empire Radio Now with Mary Ann Benoit
I got a call from Empire Radio Now in New York to do a live interview on their online radio station for the “Professionals Roundtable”. Exciting!! Here is a transcript of the broadcast, I hope you enjoy it. You can hear the broadcast here. Please give a description of your company and the products/services you offer. Company: Northern Lights Home Staging and Design provides Home Staging, Interior Design and Social Media Advertising for homes and vacation rental properties. Read more […]
My Top Ten Interior Design Tips
Here are my top ten Interior Design tips to create a beautiful space that is uniquely aligned with you, tells your story and is your favorite place in the world! Make an Interior Design Plan You are much more likely to get the end result you want if you start with an Interior Design plan. Many people just start buying things they like, hoping that it will all work together in the end. This usually does not work. A designer can help you develop an overall plan to guide you before you buy anything. Read more […]
Will Younger Buyers Love Your For-Sale Home?
Will younger buyers love your for-sale home? The majority of staging projects that I do are for older sellers and the target market is younger buyers. The sellers are retiring and moving to a new location. Many have lived in their home for many years, which were often built in the 1970’s-1980’s. Based on the price they are selling these older homes for and location near schools, the target buyer is often a young family buying their first or second house. The styles that appeal to these two groups Read more […]
Alaska Home Magazine “Ask the Expert”- Staging for a Quick Sale
Staging for a Quick Sale I was asked by Alaska Home Magazine to write an article for their “Ask the Expert” column on Staging for a Quick Sale. Here are some of the key questions and answers from my article which I hope helps you with your home sale! Staging for a quick sale Q: We are planning to put our home on the market and are hoping for a quick sell. What are your top staging tips for appealing to the greatest possible pool of prospective buyers? Congratulations on being proactive Read more […]
Home Staging Helps Seniors Move on to Their Next Adventure
Home staging helps seniors move on to their next adventure. How? Many of my home staging customers are seniors or mature sellers moving on to the next stage of their life for a variety of reasons, including: Retiring and moving to their dream home or location. Empty nesters downsizing to smaller, more affordable spaces. Moving closer to family. Moving to assisted living facilities. Many of the buyers looking at homes being sold by seniors are younger families, potentially buying Read more […]
4 Housing Options Seniors Should Consider
Here are 4 housing options seniors should consider from my guest blogger, Jim Vogel. Did you know that you don’t necessarily need to purchase a home to downsize as a senior? There are several options to think about – including leasing, renting, and buying. Each option has pros and cons. The most important thing, however, is choosing the living experience that meets your expectations and presents the best possibilities for your future (particularly if aging in place is part of your plan). Kiplinger Read more […]
The Power of Color in Home Staging
Color is a very personal thing. We all have our favorite colors and ones we really don’t like. The colors we surround ourselves with, whether in our homes or the clothes we wear affect our mood and be stimulating, relaxing, inspiring or agitating. Because color can have a strong emotional effect on people, it is important to consider how it will affect buyers when you put your home on the market. While you can indulge your love of certain colors when living in the home, those colors may turn Read more […]
Preparing for your Photo Shoot
Getting professional photos to highlight your for-sale home is critical to helping your listing outshine the competition online and getting buyers to visit your property!Professional photos also help make your vacation rental stand out online and attract your ideal customer.Even with professional photos, it is important to make sure what is in the photo looks great and will capture buyer or renter interest! After all, a high quality photo of an ugly room will emphasize the negative aspects rather Read more […]