“Having your home staged is typically the best investment a seller can make,” says Valarie Dionne, owner of Urban Orchid Designs. “It helps you sell high, sell fast, and sell smart. It’s in the numbers, and it works.” Some sellers who stage their homes are able to sell their homes for an average of 10% more than those who do not stage. That significant bump in the price staged homes are selling for has allowed sellers to recuperate close to 200% of their initial investment explains Dionne.
Primarily serving clients in the West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Torrance, El Segundo, Playa Vista, Palos Verdes, San Fernando Valley, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Encino areas, Valarie knows her industry inside and out. “I have a background in real estate which I have been in for twelve years, but I have decorated since I was a little girl. I’ve always had a passion for it, so I decided to marry the two businesses together and incorporate my home staging with my real estate and mortgage financing background.”
The key, Dionne says, is creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. While her approach may sound simple and straightforward, she understands and explains, “Some people just don’t have a natural flair for decorating and design so they don’t see the full potential of the home. In those cases, we go in and help them out with different ideas. When it comes to home staging, the details matter. That 10% jump in your home’s sell price can be achieved by just a little extra flair,” says Dionne.
In addition to the financial gains home sellers can receive, “[Staged homes] definitely move a whole lot faster,” states Dionne. She sees the Wow Factor firsthand. “You have clients come in and they are wowed with the way the place is laid out, versus just an empty space.” Her message to home-sellers would be to make the decision to stage your home early in the process. “There are times,” she says, “when the house sits on the market for about three months and [sellers] realize they need to do something fast and that is when they decide to go ahead and stage.” Over a decade of industry experience, has shown Dionne that most homeowners trying to sell their properties wished they hadn’t waited to stage their space.
Urban Orchid Designs is a professional home staging and interior décor company. “Simply put, we help sellers sell their houses smarter, and for the maximum dollar,” says Valarie Dionne. To stage or not to stage…the answer seems clear.
To learn more about Urban Orchid Designs, visit their website at: http://www.urbanorchiddesigns.com.