Susan Smith is the founder and President of Rooms That Work, a Home Staging and Interior Redesign company. Rooms That Work was established to provide an inexpensive solution for homeowners, whether selling, moving, or simply staying put.

In addition to her design work, she has a B.S. in Marketing from The Ohio State University, an M.B.A. from Capital University, and oodles of experience as a marketing executive.

Contact Rooms That Work at 860.808.4171, or susan@roomsthatwork.com.  We also invite you to join our email newsletter list to receive monthly tips and ideas, and feel free to comment on the Rooms That Work blog community!

Rooms That Work creates beautiful, functional, and affordable rooms.  By helping homeowners transform their rooms into a meaningful reflection of their personality using items they already have, we create a comfortable and personal space called ‘home'.  And when the time comes to move on, we help them transform their rooms into welcoming and neutral spaces that appeal to potential buyers.  It's your home, only better.

Home Staging: Susan's extensive marketing background gives her a great advantage in marketing homes to sell. Decorating to sell is very different than decorating a home to live in. Susan has the ability to understand the market and emphasize a home's best asset while minimizing distractions. Staging works whether the seller is living in the house or not, or whether or not the home is furnished. Once you put your home on the market, it becomes a product to sell. Rooms That Work can package that product for you. After all, first impressions are everything when it comes to selling your home!

Interior Redesign: It's an exciting challenge to create something new from things you already own. A fresh perspective can bring big improvements to any home! Susan (bashfully) prides herself on the ability to create big impacts with small budgets. Most people have too much stuff, which makes for a wonderful in-home shopping experience where everything is free! From there, pieces are carefully selected to create the right look, perform the right function, all at the right price.

For before/after pictures, visit www.roomsthatwork.com/gallery.html.

Does Soft-Staging of a Vacant Property work? YES!

A lovely (albeit vacant) home was on the market for over 1 year.  Once it was re-listed with a new agent who understood the value of staging, it sold in less than 3 months.  The agent arranged for the home to be staged with accessories (soft-staging) to make the home more welcoming and guide the buyer's eye to the home's best attributes.  While the price was adjusted along the way to better reflect the market, the agent attributed the staging for creating the emotional connection with the buyer.

"Having been an agent in the business for nearly 12 years, I welcome the staging concept with open arms.  I have seen so many homes vacant that look tired or sad.  With the assistance Susan Smith, a vacant home takes on life again with soft and subtle touches.  I find that buyers feel more welcome and tend to stay and tour the home longer." - Pia Ciccone, Prudential