Studio A Staging

Aimee Dively works with select major realtors in Baltimore to prepare a home for showing. Ours was a historic, 200 year old home in Baltimore's cultural section, Mount Vernon. Using the Internet to preview homes has changed the way buyers build their short list of homes to visit. Seven years ago when we bought the home we sold June 25, 2014, buyers visited homes in person to build a short list, a time consuming activity that resulted in more misses than hits. Pre-viewing homes on the Internet is the way buyers narrow their list today, so photos that entice buyers are essential. Our furniture was large and made the home appeared cluttered. We removed all but a few special pieces that Aimee selected, and Aimee had her movers bring in a sofa, chairs, art, ficus trees, area rugs and other furnishings that let a buyer get a sense of what could be done with a space, did not distract from the room and made the rooms, some of which were quite small, The home showed well in photos on the Internet and when buyers arrived, they were impressed with the décor, how colors complemented each other, the freshness lent a room by the plants. It enabled buyers to envision how their own furnishings would work in the space. Further, we found that Aimee's design enabled the realtor to avoid using a lens, like a fish-eye, that made a room look unnaturally large. Buyers can easily see when a photo has been manipulated and it's a turn-off. Aimee visited the home, developed a design and presented it to us. Some stagers rent furniture or have the owner rent or purchase furniture. Aimee owns her furniture, has her own warehouse, and delivers a large selection in a truck and van. Her assistants and she move the furniture into your home, up steps and stairs, tries out different configurations, sets it up, hangs art and lays rugs. If you have eye-catching furniture that adds to a room, Aimee will use it in the design and lower her price. She charged us $1100 for six rooms for three months, and would have charged $300/month after that. The house was on the market for only 6 weeks. The winning bid came only one week after initial listing. Aimee returned, separated our furniture from hers, moved hers out and cleaned up all on time to meet the tight schedule for settlement. The house was left completely clean and undamaged. I attribute Aimee's work as contributing to the rapid sale of the house and the premium price that it commanded.