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| Photo by Ojai Real Estate Imaging. |
Lila Francese of Ojai Home has
been designing and flipping homes for 13 years. Five years ago she and her
husband moved to Ojai from Los Angeles to plant roots and raise their daughter
(now 9). They decided to forgo the flipping, which was no longer a
family-friendly endeavor since it meant moving every year or two, and focus
instead on home staging. With a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Southern
Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Francese keeps current on what buyers
want by talking with realtors, shopping (a lot) and following the trends as
reported by the National Association of Realtors.
What exactly is
home staging, and why do it?
Home staging accentuates the best
aspects of a home, creating flow, beauty and a story buyers will visually learn
through marketing pictures or a live showing. Home staging diminishes a home's
flaws, and buyers are able to imagine how they will enjoy the fulfilling
lifestyle they will have in the home. The whole point of staging is a fast sale
at a higher price.
How is staging
different than interior decorating?
It’s different from decorating
because it’s not personalized. (With staging), I’m doing two to three homes a
week, whereas with decorating I might take six months. For example, if I were
decorating a home, I would put a rug in the entrance area. But if I were
staging, I wouldn’t. (For buyers), a little echo goes a long way!
You’ve called your
signature style “getting Lila-fied.” What does that mean and what style works
best in home staging?
We do it based on the science of
staging, based on what 90 percent of buyers like according to the National
Association of Realtors, like white towels and spring colors. Women (or the
more feminine side of a relationship) usually make the final decision, so the
staging design tends to be more feminine. I want life to look easy in the
houses I’m in – decluttered and light colors to make your soul feel lifted.
Do you have a
design manta?
“Less stuff equals more space,
which equals more life.” Less is more. We don’t need as much as we think we
need. (After decluttering), clients often tell me, “Why didn’t we do this 10
years ago?”
How emotional is
the process?
Everyone’s process is different. Some
call it psychological warfare. I worked with a woman who lived in her home for
50 years and lost her husband. There was a lot of crying and a lot of hugging.
There’s a whole process that’s cathartic.
The homes you stage
range in price from $300,000 to $3 million. How do you feel about tackling homes
with a lower price tag?
Those are fun to do because we can
do them quickly. The smaller homes sell faster and above asking price. In this
price range, it’s going to look like you’re in a Pottery Barn store. When we
can, we try to work with what clients own. We did a $400,000 bungalow for just
$600, plus her handyman re-hung the drapes. It sold right away, but the home
next door had been on the market for eight weeks.
How does your
pricing work?
Sometimes we’re full service, or
I can do a verbal staging, where (the clients) do all the work and I’ll just
tell them what to do. No job is too big or two small. It can range from $300 to
$6,000 – that was for an $8 million house. I had to work on that house for two
months.
What difference
does it make?
We know what works to seduce
buyers into the home. I had one lady in Ojai who had agents walk through (the
home she was selling) and they told her she couldn’t get the price she wanted.
We packed her up, we stored her stuff, and we re-did the driveway. She spent
$6,000 with us. We had the agents come back, and they set the price $120,000
higher, and it sold.
How
have design trends changed?
Effective staging evolves with
industry demands. People used to just want pretty, but now they want a little
bit sexy. I like to envision who the buyer might be. We used a blue mohair sofa
recently and a mid-century ottoman as a coffee table.
Talk to me about
shopping.
Home furnishing shopping is my
hobby. It’s my family’s hobby – my nine-year-old can quote furniture prices!
One of our favorite things to do is go to resale stores in Palm Desert. Palm
Desert is particularly good at stocking brand new looking high end
furniture – a result I am told from all the model home sales in the area.
White walls, yes or
no?
Yes – when selling a home. White
walls make rooms feel bright, open and clean. Always leave ceilings white –
colored ceilings shorten the height of a room. For colored rooms, I love the
color wheel Restoration Hardware sells for $10. You can match other brand paint
to it as well, and they really have perfect hues of almost every color.
You’ve said always
choose shiny chrome instead of brushed nickel to make spaces look brighter,
bigger and more expensive. What other DIY design tips do you have for our
readers?
My favorite tip: I think everyone
hangs their drapes wrong! I believe that people should “White House hang” from
the ceiling (yes, just like the home on Pennsylvania Avenue). If you hang your
drapes at 94 inches, your room will double in size. You can find 94-inch drapes
at Target or Pottery Barn.
Don’t have a throw pillow for 20
years. Go to T.J. Max or Home Goods and get a down-filled fresh pillow for your
sofa. You can do that for your bed, too.
White orchids are timeless and
beautiful and work anywhere. You can buy one at Trader Joe’s for $9.00. Put it
in your bathroom with white towels and white soap, and your bathroom looks
amazing.
Don’t be scared of white. White
lightens a room. White makes a house feel fresh and clean. You can use bleach
on white, but you can’t on colors. White sheets and towels are great because
you can wash them in hot water.
Make beds looks like Macy’s department
store beds.
Put a French Laundry cookbook in
the kitchen.
If a hallway is too long, put a
great vase or art piece at the end of the hall.
The same rules that apply to
fashion apply to home staging, like having a Gap T-shirt and a Prada handbag. Buy
an inexpensive couch from IKEA, and then buy expensive pillows – you only need
two!
Cost Plus rugs are thick and plush
and inexpensive and look just as good in a million dollar home as in a $300,000
home.
What will become of
that sexy blue mohair sofa?
It is part of our permanent
inventory collection. Who knows? It may retire in my living room some day.
For
more, visit OjaiHome.com.
