Grateful doesn't even begin to describe the emotions running through me today as I reflect on the incredible journey that began 9 years ago. A life-changing car accident forced me to stand at a crossroads, uncertain of the path ahead. Little did I know, destiny had already paved the way. In 2007, I returned to Indiana and became more involved in my family's real estate business. Every home was an opportunity to make something out of nothing. The experience became the foundation upon which I built my own venture. Fast forward to today, and the past 9 years have been nothing short of transformat ..read more

Every homeowner dreams of a swift and successful sale. Recently, we had the privilege of collaborating with Michael Botkin Real Estate and turning around a property in Brownsburg, IN. Let me share the remarkable journey of how a house that lingered on the market for months found a new lease on life. The Challenge The Brownsburg property faced a common predicament – despite having an appealing open concept living space, it struggled to attract potential buyers. The challenge with open floor plans, while trendy, lies in buyers' difficulty envisioning their furniture and décor in such spaces. Wit ..read more

Unlocking the potential of a luxury home in the competitive real estate market requires a strategic combination of the right realtor and expert staging. We were thrilled when Michael Botkin, Realtor with Century 21 Scheetz in Zionsville, IN. reached out to us about his upcoming listing at 514 N. Park Ave in the Lockerbie area of downtown Indianapolis, This $1.25 million dollar home exemplifies the perfect synergy between professional staging and a seasoned realtor. The Challenge Selling homes priced over $1 million often poses unique challenges due to a smaller pool of qualified buyers. Moreov ..read more

A few years ago I had the distinct pleasure of representing Indiana in the article “Home Staging Secrets to Appeal to Buyers in Your City.” which was featured on Redfin. So when Lexi Klinkenberg, author at Redfin, reached out with this article I was happy to be able to return the favor and feature Redfin as part of my regular blog. I’m approached at least once month with someone wanting to be featured on this blog. I always look at the content and am amazed when the writer approaching me doesn’t even mention staging or relevant real estate tips! This is the first time I’ve featured a guest b ..read more

A little over a week ago we published the image below in response to the current environment of social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. My, how times change….quickly. A few days later Governor Eric Holcomb passed a “Stay at Home” order. Which basically states, and I’m paraphrasing here…. STAY HOME. It goes on to also limit travel to essential trips. This tiny word ‘essential’ opened a pandora’s box of what is an essential trip, what items are essential and businesses that are essential to keep operating. Yes, there’s all sorts of gray area (going to the grocery is essential, go ..read more

“The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.” -Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Today is our 5-Year Anniversary. It’s our 5th Birthday. Whatever you call it, it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that 5 years ago TODAY I sat down at this very same desk (it was my grandfathers’), this very same laptop (probably need to think about an upgrade) and spent the day launching my website. What a 5 years it has been.&nb ..read more

I have always loved this photo. I love the imagery and the possibility of an angel walking down the street doing her own thing, holding a basket of groceries as she passes people on the street. Yep, just another day working miracles, completely unnoticed. The image is a bit grainy because I scanned it from a notecard I received from my dear friend, mentor, and former boss, Mary Ellen. I framed the notecard and this image has been sitting front and center on various bookshelves throughout my career since the day I received it in 1999. It's a reminder. It's a reminder that miracles happen e ..read more

“Life comes at us in waves. Sometimes the surge ripples gently by. Other times it can pound the daylights out of us and leave us gasping for breath.”   - Michael Hyatt   “Wiping out is an under appreciated skill.”   - Laird Hamilton   This year was Ah-mazing….and intense.  So much so that I found myself taking a refresher course on goal setting. Let me preface this by saying I’m a bit of a goal setting/time management snob. I am very fortunate in that my first “real” boss (at my first “real” job) was very dedicated to continuing education and giving her staff the skill ..read more

This year has been moving at the speed of light. However, as a business owner, our job is to not only manage the day-to-day cray-cray (translation: craziness) but also to move our business and industry forward. That's exactly what I did this week. This week not only did I earn the designation of RESA-PRO™ (Real Estate Staging Association PRO designation, more on that below) but I also finalized plans with the national leadership board for the Indiana Chapter Kick-off Meeting of RESA® in September.  It was a productive week.  So, what is RESA® and why should you care? RESA® is a 501 ..read more

"Sometimes the greatest messages come out of the greatest messes." - Dr. Steve Maraboli Ask George Bailey.  For those of you who may not be familiar with the movie "It's a Wonderful Life", the classic film is about George Bailey (James Stewart), who gives up his dreams in order to help others, and is pondering suicide on Christmas Eve, until his guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born. I watch this movie every year and, every year, there are t ..read more