Snow interferes with Marketing!

Did you know that snow interferes with marketing efforts?

Are you aware that it is almost impossible to visit Realtors when it never seems to stop snowing? Or that it stops but the roads are not passable? or the realtor decide not to open?

I mean, who buys a house in the snow?

I have a plan in place for the winter marketing, it involves open houses, visits to Realtors and a few other ideas, but it has been almost impossible to get any of it done.

Yes, I have sent out some information.

Yes, I have done a one hour Open House Staging for a realtor.

Yes, I have been working on my Facebook page and sending out great offers.

But none of that is as good as in person visits. Old Fashioned handshakes and friendly conversation. Being able to sell myself and my business - making appointments for follow ups.

Building my reputation in my home county - and maybe the counties next door.

So today was on my calendar to visit three Realtor offices...but it snowed. Enough to mess up the roads and close businesses (or keep them from opening). I have had enough of this snow.

I am now putting some open houses on my calendar for this weekend and keeping my fingers crossed that we have no snow for a week or two.

Why? Because....

Snow interferes with Marketing!

Enjoying the Olympics

It's been a whole week since I have posted and I have to admit it's all due to the Olympics! My family and I are really enjoying evening spent in from of the television watching all sorts of sports that we only watch once every four years.

Curling....so fun to analyze.

Short Track.....of that Apollo!

Will Bode Miller get his redemption? Will the USA get any Ice Skating medals? Will Bob Costas ever stop asking questions that are just so obvious?

Did anyone see the very funny Stephan Colbert interview when he went and laid in the fireplace on the NBC set? Who knew that fireplace was fake before that?

Is this not a great time or what? I get to see my teenage son every evening - why he'll even bring friends over to watch at our house! There is not fighting over the remote or long discussions on what to watch.

But the best part is sitting with the family, analyzing sports we will never be able to accomplish and being together - smiling, laughing and enjoying the Olympics.

5 Steps to Starting a Room Redesign

As a designer, I am often asked to redesign an existing room, to rethink the furniture placement, wall decorations, lighting etc. There are many ways to get the project moving but I usually like to do these five easy steps.

1) Assess the pros and cons of the room.

Make a list of what you like about the room and what you don’t like. Include the furniture and lighting you want to keep. Then be brutal with yourself and enlist your families help. See what they like and don’t like about the room and be willing to open yourself up to the possibilities that others may see.

For example:

Pros Cons

Lots of natural light Narrow room

New Sofa Wall Color

2) Take pictures from every possible angle, including furniture you may want to keep.

If you are hiring a decorator to help (please consider this!), this is one of the first things we do. Pictures help us determine how you use the room, what you are drawn to in style and when we go shopping, the pictures help us ensure we are staying with the character of the room.

Plus, it’s great to look at the before and after!

3) Determine how the room will be used.

What is the rooms main purpose? Is it a Dining room that somehow morphed into an office as well? It is a Living Room or a more casual Family Room? You cannot make the decision on how to decorate until you know how the room is used.

4) Draw the room on paper and fill in the furniture.

Take basic room measurements and draw the room on paper – your decorator will do this more formally and within scale. Use this drawing to help you place furniture so you can get an idea of what fits. This will help later with furniture shopping – you’ll know how big that coffee table can be for example.

If nothing else, it will save you from buying that 8 foot sofa for the 6 foot wall!

5) Pick color schemes

Decide on your colors, if possible. Not the details – Icy Blue verses Deep Silver Blue – but the colors you are drawn to. Do you love your yellow sofa? Are you a dark or light wood person? Do you like warm or cool colors? Your decorator will ask you these questions as well. Look around your home – what colors are in your home already? Do you love them? Are there colors you just want to rule out completely?

Throughout these steps, you need to be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid to decide that you really don’t like that sofa anymore – as a designer we may be able to repurpose it with slipcovers or be reupholstered. Or it may have to go – that okay too!

Following these five steps will lead you in the right direction and ensure that you – and your decorator – make the right changes for yourself and your family.

Findings - People Share News Online That Inspires Awe, Researchers Find - NYTimes.com

Findings - People Share News Online That Inspires Awe, Researchers Find - NYTimes.com

So you really have to share an article that discusses sharing...right?

Back tomorrow with a great 5 step plan for redecorating.....

Random Thoughts - plus new lamps

A few random thoughts for the snowy days of winter.



It's nice watching your men do the heavy work. However, it's hard watching your son snowboard off your garage roof. (He was fine!)






Wrestling is a sport I have never understood. Why do men want to be that close in a little tight outfit to another sweaty man? Your face plastered in the mat, stuck in someone's armpit - all sorts of positions that are just not natural.



With that said - he is my son and the other seniors on Senior Night. They won the match, won the division and are very happy.

Here are the new Living Room lamps. They are really contemperary and a huge change from the old mis-matched lamps that I had in the room. Next step is new chairs and a sofa - really don't like the current sofa.

We talked about buying a snow blower this past summer, but thought we could go one more year without one (Since the son is still home!). But now we certainly reget that decision. Of course should we decide to finally buy - it will never snow more than an inch or two again.

So, anyone have any good Valentine's Day plans? DH is taking me out to dinner. Happy for a nice evening out.

My son's half-brothers band has hit the big time - their songs are on I-Tunes. If you like heavy metal type music check out Triggered Impulse. We are all very proud and did you know I-Tunes is very generous with the royalties? I had no idea.

Just to end my thoughts with something awe-inspiring. Our newest grandson. Adorable, right?

What's in your head this week?

As the Snow Falls.....

As the snow continues to fall here in the Mid-Atlantic Region, I though I'd post something cheerier...




Now, out to shovel (well, not me - I'll be in the house cooking while the guys shovel). Also working on the Living Room redesign and some online picture labeling.....

What do you do on a snowy day?

My Next Project

Just wanted to give you all a sneak peek at my next project.....the Living Room. Sofa is outdated, chairs have seen better days and the walls need to be updated. Looking to have this done in about a month.

However, I do love the stained glass in the window so that stays....lots to do!