Home | Shop | Send Us Info | Subscribe | Advertise | Help |

Australian Home Stager Increases Property Value by $30,000

Debra Gould
November 13, 2009
Colette Smith has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. This former owner and operator of a picture framing and gallery shop is now using her business acumen and talent for decorating to help homeowners in the Perth Metropolitan area of Australia sell their homes fast.

Colette is a Staging Diva® Graduate and the owner of Perth home staging business, Staged with Finesse. Her company recently helped a real estate investor increase the value of a property by $30,000.

This real estate investor was preparing to sell her unit in a 200 unit complex. The 2-bedroom unit was in a great location with river views but because it had been a long-standing rental, it needed to be updated before going to market.

Colette determined that the home´s target market was a professional couple or a small family and the home staging was done with that demographic in mind.

First, though, maintenance issues were attended to with non-working exhaust fans being replaced, new carpets installed and old cupboards removed. Walls were then painted in soft shades of grey and doors and trim were done in dark charcoal to give the unit a smart, crisp and modern look.


The unit was staged with rental furniture, lamps, art, draperies and accessories all expertly chosen by Colette.

Colette´s client was a real estate agent in addition to being an investor and quickly determined that the asking price would have to go up after the transformation. There were two other units in the building for sale at the same time – one for $250,000 and another for $265,000.

The unit "Staged with Finesse" went on the market for $295,000 and sold to the first person to view it. Clear proof that home staging works!

Colette recently wrote to say, "Training with Debra Gould gave me the confidence to take what I knew I had and put it into practice. What I did for free before I now do for money and love what I am doing. The gleaming smiles of satisfaction on clients´ faces when they view the transformation is more important than the financial rewards at the end of the day. What a difference a day makes!"

Through the Staging Diva® Home Staging Training Program, Debra Gould has trained thousands of people like Colette to turn their passion for decorating into a profitable and satisfying career.
Print Email
Bookmark and Share

Debra Gould

Debra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Gould has trained 4000+ Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start their own businesses. All shared a natural talent for decorating and interest in real estate, but didn't know how to make a living in their own house staging business before learning her secrets.

Debra Gould's mission is to inspire and empower others to use their natural talents to earn a living. She followed her dreams and wants to teach others to be able to do the same.

Gould pursued an MBA in Marketing and began a corporate career before moving to advertising. In the 1980s, she launched one of the first integrated marketing firms, which she ran for 10 years. Wanting a more creative life, Debra gave it up to design home accessories. She created the Debra Gould Home Collection, landing a magazine cover story and book feature, followed by her first of several HGTV appearances.

Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a new staging career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since that time she has staged homes for hundreds of clients in addition to providing home staging training.

Gould is the author of "Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home staging tips, tricks and floor plans", "Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: The easy way to pick colors for home staging projects", and "Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning clients with the perfect home staging portfolio".

In addition to HGTV, Debra Gould's media coverage includes: CityTV, GlobalTV, CBC, CBS Radio, CNNMoney, Wall Street Journal, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, MoneySense, Entrepreneur, House and Home, Home & Decor, Style at Home, Centre of the City, USAA Magazine, FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, Home Style, National Post Homes, This Old House, Home Business Magazine, Globe & Mail and others.