Home Staging Quiz

Do you know what it takes to sell your home?

1. There are 5 days until your Open House. Your living room is filled to the brim with clutter that you don't want to throw away. What is your best option?
a) Plan a garage sale
b) Moving everything into the garage
c) Pack the clutter in boxes and store off site
d) Put things into the closet so they are not visible

2. When should a home seller begin packing for a move?
a) Before they list the home for sale
b) As soon as they list the home for sale
c) After they receive a viable offer
d) After the closing

3. When staging a room, you should:
a) Create a focal point that's related to how the buyer will use it
b) Remove furniture from each room, to make it look larger
c) Make sure lighting fixtures are clean and working
d) All of the above

4. In staging, the "Rule of Odds" states that:
a) For every 3 prospective buyers, at least one will like it
b) When accessorizing, use odd numbers of items
c) No more than 3 colors should be used in a room
d) Each room should have enough seating for 3 people

5. Affordable items that can be used for staging include:
a) Old shampoo bottles and washcloths for a "lived in" look
b) Baskets, which control clutter and add a decorative touch
c) Shoes--placed near entryways and stacked in empty closets
d) Brooms and mops, which can emphasize cleanliness

6. To make a child's room look most appealing to buyers:
a) Decorate the room with growth charts and art projects
b) De-clutter shelves and closets
c) Paint walls a bright color such as purple, green or bright red
d) All of the above

7. Which of the following factors plays a role in staging a home:
a) The smell of a home
b) The layout of furniture
c) The backyard landscaping
d) All of the above

8. The best colors for walls in a staged home are:
a) A hue that matches the dominate furniture in each room
b) Dark hues in baths/basements; light in living/bedrooms
c) Neutral colors, such as taupe and warm off-whites
d) Colors that show off your personality

9. If carpet in the hom is worn or stained, what should you do?
a) Take an allowance off the home price
b) Ask prospective buyers to imagine the potential change
c) Cover most of the floor with furniture so it is less noticeable
d) Replace the worn carpet with a neutral color

10. To make a laundry room look its best:
a) Keep counters and sinks empty and clean
b) Hang clothes to dry and open washer to show "function"
c) Keep door closed; it's not an area that you should show off
d) All of the above

Answers: 1)c 2)a 3)d 4)b 5)b 6)b 7)d 8)c 9)d 10)a

Cozy Chic "Momtrepreneur"

As a military spouse, finding a job you love can be challenging and sometimes a fruitless process, even for those with experience and education. As a former military officer, and now a mother of two, nobody knows this better than momtrepreneur, Jen Griswold. “I chose to get out of the military in order to stay at home with my children. However, after leaving the workforce, I have always had the urge to start a little something of my own,” says Griswold.

After relocating her household 6 times in the last 8 years, Griswold acquired a love and talent for decorating. Each time, she created beautiful spaces utilizing furnishings her family already owned, whether they were ideally suited for each home or not. After 5 moves, she decided to combine her experience in relocating, her love of interior design, and her Master’s degree in Education to start a business specializing in home staging, interior redesign, home décor and redesign education courses.
Though the seeds of the business idea were planted years ago, Griswold did not officially “take the plunge” until she and her husband received orders to Travis AFB. While looking for houses in foreclosure-laden Solano County in June of 2007, the couple was flabbergasted at the condition of houses they encountered. “We kept thinking, all it would take is a little staging and these homes would be so much more appealing,“ stated Griswold. Cozy Chic Design & Home Staging was born January of 2008 and has grown steadily ever since.
Between caring for two kids under the age of 3 and running a business, Griswold has her work cut out for her. Yet, she would not have it any other way. “I work two days a week for five hours a day in client’s homes and the rest of the week I spend with my kids.” Phone calls, emails, orders and other office work are slipped in during naptimes, preschool, and mostly after the kids go to bed. Additionally, shortly after starting up, Griswold partnered with longtime decorator and Vacaville resident, Janet Davison. They share the workload which allows for a larger quantity of clientele. Davison also has experience as a military spouse and shares Griswold’s love for decorating and hard work. For the pair, partnering together made the office work much more manageable, decorating a lot more fun, and allowed family to remain a top priority. Griswold hopes her kids will learn by watching her entrepreneurial pursuits. “I think it is important for my kids to see that their mom has a creative outlet in which she has goals and works hard to achieve them. It is a wonderful lesson in both dedication and what it takes to achieve personal fulfillment.”
Though Cozy Chic Design now serves a wide variety of homes and businesses in Yolo and Solano Counties, the owners are still working towards a vision that would also focus on military families and spouses. Griswold and Davison’s long term goal for the company is to franchise into smaller units at military locations around the country in order to provide decorating services to military families and to provide career opportunities to the many talented and educated military spouses who would like part-time employment. They will begin testing the idea when Griswold moves on to their next Air Force base in a few years.

Vacaville Supports Vacaville Campaign

"Before"

Back in the days when the Vacaville Reporter was only delivered on Thursdays, and Mr. Wykoff delivered milk, and occasionally fresh-picked blackberries, directly to your door Marylou and Jack Amphlett moved to town.

It was 1958. All the phone numbers in town started with “HICKORY 8” and many of the downtown streets still had their namesake families living on them. Everybody knew everybody.

Neighbors helped neighbors. And “downtown” was like an extended family where merchants and shoppers supported one another.

In the light of the current economic times, it is time to get back to that “old town friendliness” in order to keep Vacaville’s merchants alive and well.

Cozy Chic Designers, Janet Davison and Jen Griswold, are always looking for creative ways to combine their passion for interior design with helping the community. This summer, they have partnered with Amphlett’s Decorating to kickoff a “Vacaville Supports Vacaville” campaign by incorporating local vendors’ wares and goods in Amphlett’s storefront on the corner of Main St. and Dobbins.

Owner, Stephen Amphlett, is excited to be able to use his store’s prime location to help boost the downtown economy. He reminisces about when his parents, Jack and Mary Lou Amphlett, moved to Vacaville in 1958 and opened the flooring and window covering business at its current location. Amphlett says “Vacaville was the kind of place where ‘community spirit’ thrived. The streets were safe to ride bikes on, and kids stayed outside all day. Nobody caused much trouble because someone would always keep an eye on you.” Amplett is excited to take part in a revitalization of the “old ways!”

To kick off the first display in Amplett’s window, Cozy Chic Design called upon several of their regular vendors to participate in the “Vacaville Supports Vacaville” campaign. The first step involved rebuilding Amplett’s storefront wall. Cozy Chic called upon Vacville general contractor and custom home builder, Dan Rehm, of Rehm & Co. Rehm didn’t hesitate to volunteer labor and materials to construct a brand new wall for the design backdrop. Dan has a reputation as someone who makes himself personally available to give free estimates in a timely fashion. He does absolutely beautiful work and is hands down one of Cozy Chic’s “choice vendors!” Dan has donated his skilled labor to other community service projects led by Cozy Chic Design and did not hesitate to help out again!

Pier One Imports is also a fervent supporter of the Vacaville area. Store manager, Tracy Snow, says she is “excited about keeping Vacaville shoppers in Vacaville.” Although her store, which is located in Vacaville Commons next to Safeway and Target, may not physically exist in downtown Vacaville, when you walk through the doors of Pier One you are immediately greeted with a distinct feeling of “downtown friendliness.” Pier One was generous enough to contribute all artwork, foliage, furniture and accessory décor to the current Amphlett’s display. Cozy Chic thanks Tracy and her team for their support on this and past collaborative projects—we are grateful for the example you are to the community!

Everyone knows that a “fireplace is the heart of the home.” Such is the tagline for the Gallery of Fireplaces, Vacaville’s downtown showroom for a variety of indoor and outdoor fireplaces, mantels, and coordinating accessories. Owner, Dennis Gregerson, was more than happy to let Cozy Chic have a pick of their outdoor fireplaces to use in the storefront. And if anyone’s shop exudes “downtown friendliness” it is Gregerson’s. Between the “home-on-the-corner” location, glowing fireplaces, friendly staff and permanent model, 3-yr-old husky, Sadie, the ambiance can hardly be beat! Anyone who has not stopped in should make it a point to come by to drink in the atmosphere.

Finally, we cannot forget to mention Wendy Z Photography for donating her time and efforts to take beautiful photographs of this project in motion. Wendy Zippwald, owner and photographer extraordinaire, has helped Cozy Chic document milestones on numerous occasions and did a wonderful job again this time! Wendy Z. Photography can meet any of your photography needs. Wendy strives to bring clients high-quality images in a casual and affordable way. She does Family, Newborn, Senior Portrait, Preschool and Wedding Sessions. She puts motherly love into each photograph and has a beautiful eye for those special moments!

Thank you to all the participants for a wonderful kickoff to our high hopes for a revitalized “hometown” feel for downtown Vacaville where everyone helps support one another. At Cozy Chic Design, Jen and Janet believe in the idea that business owners should, “love your job so much that you’d do it for free, and do it so well that you get paid for it.” We hope that you will remember those words and join us in participating to help “Vacaville Support Vacaville!”

**Stay tuned next week for the "After" pictures!
___________________________________________________________________
Cozy Chic Design is owned and operated by Jen Griswold and Janet Davison. Their company specializes in interior redesign and home staging in Solano and Yolo Counties. Amphlett’s and Cozy Chic Design will completely change the window design on a quarterly basis to create a different look for each of the seasons. Anyone interested in participating in the project should contact Cozy Chic Design at either 707-455-8265 or 707-447-0977.

Military Mommy MakeOver

Wow, what a great day we had on Tuesday! It goes down in history as one of the best "pay it forward" days I think I've ever had.

We had given away a "Live Room MakeOver" to the wife of a deployed Airmen on Valentine's Day of this year. And on Tuesday, we finally got to reveal the results to the deserving recipient!

Danielle is a young wife and stay-at-home mom on Travis AFB. When we originally met her our plan was to "redesign" her house and donate our services for however long the project took. However, upon our initial consultation, we realized that the family room was only sparsely furnished with a couch and TV.

So we decided to take on a new course. We soliticed for vendors to donate to our cause and were able to provide her with complete furnishings and paint for a beautiful family room with the help of Balfour Beatty Communities (base housing company), and Pier 1 Imports. We also received volunteer help from Airmen in the 15 AMMOS.

Overall, it was a great experience, and we are excited to do it again next year!

The Decorating Paradox of Technology

If you are like a lot of our clients, you've struggled with the decorating dilemma of what to do on the wall of your flat-screen TV. Although these new-fangled entertainment boxes are widely popular, they have really caused problems for the beauty of family rooms across the country.

So, here is a great decorating option: Mask the TV as a piece of a larger picture collage with similar frames!

One piece of advice though: Keep the other framed artwork very easy to view at a glance. Notice the florals and dog in the picture are very high contrast, very defined shapes. That way you avoid competition with your TV when it is turned on.

Picture courtesy of: Better Homes and Gardens

Economic Hardship Causes Families to "Celebrate Home" By Janet Davison

When I was a child growing up in Vacaville, my Dad, a self-employed contractor and the father of eight, had a fluctuating income. I remember times – especially around tax-time when my parents would call us all together, sit us on the couch and tell us it was “Nuts and Berries Time.” Having almond trees and blackberry bushes in our Chestnut Street backyard, we all knew that this meant that we needed to “tighten our belts, eat the food that was already in the cupboard, and pitch in together to save money” -- at least until after the taxes were paid. As kids, our contributions were no doubt small, but we felt the pride and satisfaction of joining together and being a part of the solution.

Today, there is similar trend on the rise where families are banding together to combat the challenging economic times. My 35-year career as a decorator has brought me into the living rooms of hundreds of Vacaville homes and given me a “front row seat” to observe families as they adapt to changes in the economy. When our country first started experiencing the problems associated with recession there was the typical stress that accompanies uncertainty, but as time goes by families are rising above the stress and creating their own “nuts and berries experience.”

From what I’ve observed, I really see a silver lining of optimism emerging. People are “settling into the economic situation” and are turning recovery into a positive process. Families are being brought closer together as they go “back to basics.” Family members are not just pitching in and cooperating, they are working together with a hardy resilience – intentionally doing things together and enjoying each other’s company.

Because staying home saves money, the place we call “home” is taking on a greater importance.The way I see it, there are three trends forming:

1. Families are enjoying spending time together
The evidence of families enjoying each other is spread across their dining room tables in the form of puzzles and board games. It is reported that the sale of games has increased during the recession. Families are watching movies together, cooking, shopping and eating together. With the release of Wii Fit®, some are even exercising together!

2. Home improvement and decorating are on the rise.
The physical condition of the home itself is taking on a greater importance. Rather than going on vacation or making big ticket purchases families are sprucing up the place where they spend their time together – their homes!

My partner, Jennifer Griswold, and I see this evidenced through our business, Cozy Chic Design & Home Staging®. While we offer a full range of decorating services, our most popular ones today center around “interior redesign” which is an thrifty way to help people bring life and excitement into the decorating they already have. The process, which can be done in as little as a “Power Hour” involvesboth of us using our trained eye and experience to reposition existing furniture and accessories, and suggest minimal purchases where necessary to create a whole new look on a very reasonable budget.

3. American families are doing more entertaining at home.
Inviting friends over has replaced “going out” as a form of entertainment. People have returned to playing cards and visiting together -- sharing everything from information about good buys they have found, to sales events, family stories and recipes.

Ironically, one industry that is feeling the reverse affects of the failing economy is the home party industry. With more and more people looking for second jobs to supplement their income, the home party industry is as strong as ever. Couple that with the fact that “shopping locally” through a home party representative is excellent way to support members of your local economy, and you may think twice about buying items through a “big box” store next time. Neil Offen, president of the Direct Sales Association reports that the “home party industry is flourishing as friends gather together in each others’ homes to fellowship, learn something new and shop together.”

Cozy Chic Design married decorating and entertaining together by creating our signature party-event, the “Home MakeOver Party.” After completing a redesign project” we invite the homeowner to host a Home MakeOver Party – providing her an entertaining format to unveil her newly decorated room at a party with her friends. By using an accessory product line from “Celebrating Home”® we are able to offer the homemaker the added money-saving benefit of receiving some of her decorating items for free. Created in March 2009, at the height of the recession, Celebrating Home® was built on the foundation of two industry icons, Home and Garden Party and Home Interiors and Gifts. It is the largest party-plan home décor company in the nation. Heather Chastain, president of Celebrating Home® says, “We share a passion for the home. We believe that the home is the center of family.”

Even though times are tough, the American can-do attitude is alive and well – and very evident in our Vacaville homes. Families and friends are coming together, caring about each other, getting back to basics and pitching in with a “nuts and berries attitude.”
There is a silver lining to this recession and you’ll begin to see it too, once you take the time to once again, “celebrate home.”


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Janet Davison is the daughter of the late Ted Chancellor, former mayor of Vacaville. She is a co-owner of Cozy Chic Design and a Senior National Executive with Celebrating Home®

Bedroom Redesign x 2

This is a double redesign we did recently on two bedrooms in the same house. We wanted to make use of the current bedding, which was in good condition, and maintain the current furniture. Although the pictures don't quite show it, this room was quite dark and cave-like with little light, dark pieces of furniture and heavy bedding.

We started by switching the heavy bedding with a lighter-colored beige velvet comforter set from the guest room. From there we chose to incorporate mirrors and white to really brighten the room. The patterns in the pillow and blanket materiels give the room a much more contemporary feel. The cost of this section of the room was under $150. See details below:

Sunburst Mirror..................................$69.99..........Home Goods, Vacaville

Lamps...................................................$15/ea..........Encore, Sacramento

Green pillows.......................................$9.99/set.....Ikea, Sacramento

Pink patterned pillow.........................$19.99..........World Market, Fairfield

Fabric (green pattern).......................$10...............Ikea, Sacramento

Pink flowers.........................................$10...............Home Goods, Vacaville

Next, we took the heavier bedding and incorporated it into the guest room. This room really lacked a very definable focal point and it lacked a headboard as well, so we married the two together in our resulting design. The homeowner had the mosaic candle sconces, so the only purchase necessary was the headboard mirror.

The headboard mirror was a great find at Encore in Sacramento. It really expands the look of this very tiny room and gives it a much more majestic look.

Mirror..........$25..........Encore

Redesign results = PRICELESS!