This year Lois Interiors was invited to participate in the Sutton Place Hotel “Home for the Holidays” fundraiser for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice by decorating one of nine trees on display in the beautiful Sutton Place Hotel lobby.
You are invited, to take some time this season, to stop by the hotel to view the wonderful trees and to vote for your favourite (no pressure!). Each vote requires a $5.00 donation to Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.
All the best to you this season,
Lois
Lois North, CID, PRES
ph: 778.388.4518
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We had an unusually large class for the November PRES staging and redesign course so, as the instructor, I knew I needed a really large property to use for training purposes. We had a fantastic training home for the home makeover redesign for living, but needed something large for our staging practicum.
Coming to the rescue was Lois North of Lois Interiors! She had met a realtor at her BNI and ‘talked him into’ letting the PRES students come and restage a listing he had that was not moving. Lois graciously offered her fabulous inventory and WOW the homeowner was ecstatic. This property has been on the market for quite awhile with very little interest. The new photos have gone up on the MLS listing now and the home looks fantastic.
CLICK HERE for a virtual tour of this home.
Home Owner’s Testimonial: – Ann of West Vancouver, BC
“Our home now looks amazing after the staging ‘magic’ was done. Having our home staged after having been on the market for such a long time has breathed new life into it. There is more interest in our home and it looks fabulous. I’m proud and excited to have the realtor show our ‘renewed’ home to prospective buyers.
PS. The only thing I might add is what a pleasure it was to meet the students and their instructor, how professional they were and how much I enjoyed their enthusiasm at the reveal.”
and from Lois North:
“ Just a quick note to let you know how thrilled the home owner is with the work your PRES Staging class did in their home – they truly appreciate all the effort and think it’s beautiful.
Appreciation also comes from me and the great job done by the class. Interesting for me to see my inventory used in different ways – through fresh eyes. Thank you to all for a job well done.
Living Room - BEFORE
Living Room - AFTER
Guest Bedroom - BEFORE
Guest Bedroom - AFTER
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Want to get rid of some of that overwhelming stress you feel when you are getting your property ready for selling? Consider having a charity come and pick up your household items and other items that you do not want to take with you when you move.
If you have any goods that you want to donate, Helping Families In Need in the Lower Mainland area of BC will come and pick your things up. It is a win-win situation because, as a seller or a home stager, you are helping your client make a difference in someone else’s life. And, This way, you can move forward and hopefully just keep the things you really love and need!
Just give them a call. You will make some family, less fortunate, very happy!
Other non-profit organizations that accept goods as charitable donations:
Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver
Union Gospel Mission
Salvation Army
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I know November may be a wee bit early to decorate for the holidays but Saturday, November 20th was a perfect day in Vancouver BC , the sun was shining, it was warm out and being the organized person that I am I had already planned out my scheme and had everything that I needed to so I thought, why not?
I use the same major pieces each year but change the scheme. This year I took my inspiration from all the plaid and gold in fashion. All I did was change the bows on my wreaths, create some live urns with fresh cedar and birch poles, and spray paint the stars from the silver of last year to gold. I purchased a few yards of plaid and covered my deck chairs for that finishing detail. And….TA-DA! Now all I need to do is wait for December 1st to flick the light switch.
I hope this is an inspiration to you and will spark the flame of your Christmas spirit.
By Zsuzsi Abramson of Plum Creative -a recent PRES Graduate
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Ellie Hanson of NexTrend Design presented a fantastic slide show, of Colour Trends 2010 – 2012, at a recent PRES member meeting. Ellie Hanson is the founder & creative expert behind NexTrend Design, specializing in Real Estate Staging, Interior ReDesign, and Colour Marketing Intelligence.
She trained in the USA as a Colour Marketing Consultant under one of the world’s most renowned experts on Colour, Leatrice Eiseman. Her professional training is in Real Estate Staging & Interior ReDesign and Colour Consulting.
As a colour & design professional, Ellie is living her dream of helping people beautify their homes while helping realtors, builders, & home owners market their homes more successfully.
Ellie presented her Colour Trends, empowering the PRES Members with the knowledge of colour trends to make savvy decisions to enhance their clients’ life, home, and business success. She says “Why choose “yesterday’s” colours that are on their way out when you can choose directional colours facing a long & secure future!” Whether you’re staging or redesigning home interiors or retail space, reviewing your company logo & branding colors, revising product & packaging colors, you have a distinct advantage by being on the forefront of the trends.
PRES members were inspired by the range and choices of the new colours thanks to Ellie! Packed full of gorgeous images, this presentation is a visual delight and a real eye-opener into the future…a must-see!
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The PRES students had transformed most of Gill’s home during their staging training course. However, we didn’t get to the master bedroom and the ensuite so Lisa Mackie of Footsteps Home Staging, went back and did the rest of the home with Gill! This is what Gill had to say about Lisa:
“Lisa looked at our master bedroom and en-suite bathroom and asked questions about various pieces of furniture and items in the rooms. She wanted to know how attached we were to them, if there was a particular item that had a special to us and checked with us that it was OK to move stuff around. We also talked about colour and what kind of atmosphere we’d like to create. Lisa made some notes as we chatted and from our conversation it was clear that we needed to go shopping!
It didn’t take much to persuade me to jump in the car and visit some home décor stores. Lisa and I shopped for items for the bedroom and bathroom and came back with new bedroom curtains, pillows, a throw for the bed, towels and various decorative items for both rooms. Our pre-makeover homework had been to purchase new bed linen which I had done. Shopping with Lisa was fun and also educational. She has a great eye for design and colour and how things will fit together in a way that is artistic yet practical. She is also considerate of her client’s budget.
We returned to the house and Lisa spent the next few hours transforming our bedroom from an area full of clutter and laundry baskets to a beautiful, tranquil, relaxing space. Our small, functional bathroom is now a small, functional, beautiful bathroom!
Throughout the day I really enjoyed Lisa’s sense of humour and we laughed a lot. She was extremely tactful with her comments and suggestions and I was impressed with her knowledge, professionalism and her creative vision. My husband and I are thrilled with the results of Lisa’s work and we are happy to recommend her services to our friends.
Thank you Lisa and we wish you every success in your business!
Gill, Coquitlam
Bedroom #1 - BEFORE
Bedroom #1 - AFTER
Bedroom #2 - BEFORE
Bedroom #2 - AFTER
Bedroom #3 - BEFORE
Bedroom #3 - AFTER
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We all know as home staging professionals that the learning doesn’t stop after you take the course!
We have monthly meetings and field trips to stay current with trends, etc. Outside speakers and PRES members often share their expertise in some aspect of their business so that others can gain valuable knowledge too. Ezines and webinars add to the on-going learning and knowledge base.
On Saturday, October 16th, we enjoyed our annual PRES conference in Vancouver BC. Talk about a day just unfolding to perfection!!! The PRES Stagers & Redesigners got together for a day full of inspiration, knowledge and fun. The theme was focusing on building the PRES community and being aware of how our MIND, BODY & SPIRIT work together to make us who we are in our personal lives and in our home staging & redesign businesses.
We learned a lot and we definitely laughed a lot. Gratitude to all of the PRES members who attended, to the fantastic speakers and to our Hoop Dance Queen Michelle Bellerose for getting us out of our comfort zOne!!!
Carolyn McOuatt (Guest Speaker 'Living Above the Line')
Attendees enjoying a workshop
Louise 'steps up' to enjoy applause for her decision to live 'above the line'
Susan Friesen (Guest Speaker 'Why eNewsletters are Essential to your Business'
Cheryl facilitates Q&A session with the panel of PRES members experts
Group exercise with guest speaker, Kathy Forbes 'What Making Soap Teaches Us'
Special Guest, Michelle Bellerose 'Hoopdance'
Working out and having fun with the hoops!
Toasting a very inspiring and fun day!!
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Last year the PRES community had a fantastic time learning, laughing and loving all the goodies and prizes.
This year the PRES members are getting ready to enjoy a full day of education and then some fun! The conference will be held on October 16th at the Executive Hotel in Coquitlam BC.
We have a fantastic line up of speakers: Marlie Oden of Bridge Communications – Defining Your Personal Brand, Carolyn Cooper-McQuatt of Inspired Business, Susan Friesen of eVision Media – How to Create a Low-cost & Effective Marketing Funnel Through Newsletters, Kathy Forbes of A New Paige Event - I’m This and You’re That…So What? Learning your personality type and how to work with the other types and Michelle Bellerose of She Hoops providing Fitness that Rocks.
Dana J. Smithers the Founder & Creative Director of PRES Staging Resource Centre will open the conference and welcome the PRES members.
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Every month the PRES members have a monthly mentoring meeting. For members outside of the Lower Mainland area, PRES members connect via teleconference calls or webinars. Our meetings consist of networking, a monthly topic which could be an expert in a particular field coming in to teach us more, or may be a field trip to a strategic alliance for the PRES home stagers.
We had a lot of fun and chose topics for our next meetings coming up. One of our new members went so far as to think we are kind of a ‘sisterhood’ since we are all women! PRES entrepreneurs benefit from connecting and belonging to the PRES community.
PRES Monthly Mentoring Meeting - September
PRES Members
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A savvy homeowner looking to stage their vacant condo in Richmond BC did extensive research to find Enjy Fouad of Envious Design. They interviewed a panel of a few other reputable stagers, but hired Envious Design. What made them stand out was their services package tailored for each individual project. It includes project coordination, contractor referral, color consultation, and of course Enjy’s favourite – home staging. The client was SOLD on Envious Design’s tailored services package.
Envious Design decided to use Fluff Rentals to source from their warehouse of contemporary furnishings. The staff at Fluff are great and it’s always great fun to shop for the client’s property. The best part of all is staging the property with all the handpicked furniture, accessories, and decor pieces from Fluff. The realtor that this was the best staged property he had seen, and that it showcased the client’s property to its best potential and made it the best looking unit within the building.
After the completion of the colour consultation, project coordination on time and staging his property, both my client and his realtor were so pleased with the dramatic shabby to Envious results! The client was very happy that he was able to hire a home staging company that help him with all his project needs from A to Z.
Living Room (Before)
Living Room (After)
Dining Room (Before)
Dining Room (After)
Bedroom (Before)
Bedroom (After)
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