Well done!  Very good to keep in mind that we need just one buyer to absolutely love and have to have one thing.

Hi Michelle, What an awesome mirror!! Congrats on selling that home with your staging. God bless,

Hi Michelle, What an awesome mirror!! Congrat on selling that home with your staging. God bless,

Hello Michelle -- I'm sure the staging throughout was awesome, but yes -- that mirror makes an impact!  Congratulations on smashing results!

Hi Margaret, I have to admit, I wanted to buy this house! :) The entire house was a showpiece and I was privileged to be able to stage it.

Hi Cheryl,  the only thing I was looking for in the right mirror for the space was that it had to be as tall as me and had to have a wide frame. I found one for $ 50 and painted the frame Black Bean Soup by Benjamin Moore. As soon as I entered the house I could visualize it, then I just had to find the right mirror to pull it off.

This is one skill that I seem to possess. The ability to see the ONE THING that can be done to make the property unique to buyers.

Using something that sparkles and conveys "lite-ness" as well as "light" over the heaviness of the stonework was genius and very feng-shui ;-D.  I love that $699,000 mirror!

Michelle- Great story! That is a beautiful mirror. People interested in learning more about staging their homes can check out my YouTube video "Staging Bathrooms and Bedrooms". I have other videos on how to stage kitchens, etc. Enjoy!

Michelle- That mirror really does it for that fireplace!! Congradulations on the sale :)

michelle great post. Just love that. A 699,000 mirror you bet! Kym

Hi Michelle,

That mirror was a magnifying glass for the sweet spot in this house. That's what staging is all about.

Beautiful fireplace and room too!  Your staging enhanced it perfectly!  Congratulations Michelle! 

Hi again,

I just wanted to let you know that my last comment on your most excellent blog pushed me over 50,000 points! Thanks!

I don't know about the rest of the house but it looked like a good buy at $699 with the mirror of couirse.

Congratulations Michelle!  If I were you, I would pick up a couple more of those mirrors.  LOL  I think I remember you posting more photos of this home and it was breath taking.  Continued success!

That was a cute story! Thanks for sharing!  Regards-Kathleen G

That's really awesome Michelle.  Can you share some more photos with us?  I'd love to see them.  I bet the home was beautiful once you were finished. 

$699,000 what a deal.  Fabulous job creating a eye catching focal point.

Hi Connie, glad you caught the feng shui connection. I don't really discuss it with my clients, but I do practice it in my listings. Whether you subscribe to the feng shui ideas or not, I think most people are sensitive to the results of using it when staging.

HI Ilyce, I will stop in at your site. I say live and learn and I learn from every single person that I have in my life.

HI Wendy, thank you for the good wishes on my work. I am even happier for the homeowner. It is difficult to sell at that price point right now so a professional stager is one "must have" for every Realtor to have as part of their marketing plan.

Hi Kym, that was the best return on investment I have ever seen in my life!  :)
A $50  mirror nets a $ 699,000 sale. A simplistic view maybe, but it sure made the homeowner smile when every person through the house commented in a positive way on the mirror and then the final offer came with the stipulation that the mirror stay.

Hi Susan, magnifying the sweet spot of the house. Very apt description;I think I will use it in my presentations. Thanks for stopping in and sharing your thoughts. As I said, I learn from every one in my life. Especially AR people. They are the best motivators I know. Congratulations on hitting 50,000 points. That is quite an accomplishment here on AR. Kudos to you for sharing your knowledge with others.

HI Cathy Lee, thank you for the encouragement. I appreciate hearing from you. :)

Hi Cindy, the house was definitely worth the $ 699,000. It was lovingly built by the owner and it showed. The mirror was the icing on the cake and reflected his good work.

Hi Michele, Yes I posted the photos of this house when I originally staged it about 4 months ago. The other houses in the neighbourhood that are not staged are still sitting idle with no viewings and no offers. The rest of the house is stunning. I was giddy like a school girl staging this one as I knew it would make a huge difference in my portfolio presentations to clients. I had it professionally photographed and it was worth every penny to me. I wish there had been more of the mirrors to buy but it was the last one when I found it.  :(

Hi Kathleen, It's the personal stories that convey our passion for what we do as stagers that impresses our clients the most when deciding which stager to hire to market their property. I love to share my stories with everyone on AR as we all learn from each other.

Hi Charlene, I will post some more photos soon, if you go to my first page of my website and scroll down you will see a few there.     www.advantagestaging.ca   They represent some of my best work to date for sure.

Hi Terri, I have a feeling the new owner will be telling the same story for years to come! :)   Every time someone comes to visit at the house they will all be impressed with the view from the front entrance  hall. I would be proud to be the owner of this house as well.

Michelle ~ I love that you found the mirror and then painted the frame -- it looks fabulous!  I once had a huge surprise when a very humble window drape (made on the spot with a sheet and a rosette and ribbons) was written into the sales contract!  You just never know what will grab a buyer's fancy do you?

Michelle you DID IT!!!  You have the touch, the talent and the know how for doing just the right thing and not overdoing it.  Good job.  And, I love the last line.  How much did you pay for the mirror?  $699,000!!!  Terrific.

Hi Maureen, it really is surprizing sometimes what a buyer wants when buying a house. I recently did a vacant which I had put inflatable beds in. I had created a sweet little girl's room and that is what the deal hinged on.

The buyer wanted to put an offer in on the house if she could have the complete girl's bedroom furniture.

Again the seller chuckled and said he would be glad to sell her the items. I asked how much he got for my inflatable bed hoping that he had asked enough money to cover it. He said $265,000.  :)

(Eventually he told her it was just an inflatable bed, but he had such a chuckle out of it as he had originally thought that inflatables were not the way to go. Live and learn I always say)

Hi Terrylynn, thanks for the positive feedback on my work. It was a great marketing story that I had to share. That is what Staging is all about. Giving the buyer what they want to buy.   Staging is marketing the lifestyle that a home represents and a lifestyle the buyer is willing to pay for. Buyers don't want to see the nitty gritty of you living in your home. They want to buy a dream to fulfill their desires for the way they want to live.

Michelle, I have to say I love that you saw what the mirror was reflecting and doubled the energy of it!  You did a fabulous job.  People are so much more open to Feng Shui now more then ever, having a knowledge of it not only works while you're staging but allows people to see your knowledge and expertise---I think you should talk about it, they'll be impressed!

Hi Carole,

I learn so much from your articles here on AR. I encourage everyone to read your postings to have an uderstanding of how feng shui can play an active role in their staging work. Whether you speak about feng shui to you clients or not, most people know they feel good in a room when it has been applied. They may not know why, they just tell you they like the room alot.

HI Michelle,

Reading your post reminded me of a house I staged during the summer. I struggled to find the right piece to go over a fireplace.  I wanted the star burst mirror as the fireplace was very large and had a book shelf on either side. Placing any old mirror or picture above the fireplace would not have done the unit jutice. Unfortunately I did not have the time to go to Toronto to get ihe piece I wanted and there was no one locally who had it.

Instead of just putting up any old thing, I waited. I found a mirror that was just  the "right" size. The house sold and during the de-staging the homeowner let me kmow the new owner wanted the mirror above the fireplace.

Staging is all about emotion, and if we do our job right, the connection is made.  For the newer stagers on active rain, having the right lifestyle elements in a room not only sell a property such as in Michelles case, it generates addtional income for you.  At least one of my pieces will get sold during a showcasing. Whether it be to the current home owner or the new one.

Wishing you all great success

All my best to my friend Michelle, glad to see things are good!

Hi Devin, so good to hear from you.  It's been a long time since we were last together promoting Staging to Realtors.

It is true, staging is about finding the one thing that will make a connection to the buyer. Mirrors are an excellent choice for doing this as they are unique and cannot be purchased in mass quantities so you have more than an average chance of creating a singular look in a property that the buyer cannot just get down the street or around the corner in another listing.

Thank you for your good wishes and I give thanks on this Thanksgiving long weekend that I had the good fortune to meet you this year at Realtorquest in Toronto.

What a wonderful post....

I feel connected to this house and I'm miles away:}

You are absolutely right on when you say the buyers need to have that one thing for them to fall in love with the home.

Great job!

BB

Michelle,

I have to admit, I like the mirror too! :)  You certainly know what your doing...the proof is in the results of this sale! Continued success!

Hi Brian, Thank you for stopping in to see my work. I appreciate your comments very much and love that you feel connected to the house from so far away.

Hi Michelle, Thank you for the positive comments on my work. This house was one the greatest opportunities I have been presented with to showcase my work. The mirror was the one thing that I insisted on when I was doing the consultation and happily the homeowner agreed to secure it to the stone wall.