HGTV

Staging Diva Teaches Home Staging on HGTV

Debra Gould finished a two day shoot for the HGTV show “The Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price.”

In this episode, home staging expert Debra Gould takes Ambrose under her wing to teach him about how to stage a home.

They visited 3 staged houses and Debra explained what was done right and wrong in each one. Later in the show, Ambrose tests his new skills to stage a condo on his own with Debra wrapping up with her critique of his new-found home staging skills.

Find out what she said when he asked to be hired by her staging firm! (Watch the TV Clip at the top of this page.)

Studio Interview and Tour of Debra Gould’s Home

In Sue Warden’s show “Creative Spirit” Debra Gould’s home and design studio are featured on HGTV. During an in-studio interview Debra sits down with Sue Warden to discuss how and why she gave up a lucrative career in marketing communications for Fortune 500 companies to pursue her passion, and live the life of a designer.

National Post

Homes Magazine: “Ready, Stage, Sell,” by Rebecca Vogt

Excerpt: “As president of Six Elements Inc., and the force behind Staging Diva, a six-year-old company, which has primped hundreds of homes variously priced from $190,000 to $1.7-million — in addition to seven of her own (she’s also taught home staging from Spain to New Zealand)— Ms. Gould knows what it takes to sell a house quickly and for a hefty sum.

A good stager, she says, will set the scene so that the highest number of potential buyers fall in love the space. . . .”

“Use winter to spruce up your home for spring market,” by Sandra Martin

Excerpt: “For homeowners with itchy feet, the next few months will be a real bummer. That’s because real estate sales drop off in November, and stay subdued until spring. But while a wise course of action would be to hold off listing your home until the market picks up again, you needn’t feel paralyzed in the meantime.

Instead, the real estate service ForSaleByOwner.com suggests using the winter months to make improvements that will boost the selling price of your home — and also help it sell more quickly. Studies by ReMax suggest that if you do nothing else, you should get a bit of planting. The national realty chain has found the return on landscaping is 7% better than for any other home improvement.

ForSaleByOwner also recommends touching up any bedraggled aspects of your home’s exterior. Similarly, de-cluttering rooms and cleaning closets will make your home more appealing, and all it costs is a little time and elbow grease.

Trouble is, for many of us time is in short supply and, left to our own devices we could leave all those little improvements undone. That’s where a home stager, such as Debra Gould of Toronto’s Six Elements, can help. For $1,000 and up, she’ll come to your home, assess what needs to be done for maximum impact, then make it happen. “You’re trying to create a situation where potential buyers will fall in love with the home,” she says.

Depending on the neighborhood and what type of buyer might be drawn to it, Ms. Gould will rent furniture and buy a few accessories to create the illusion that someone like them already lives there. For example, when a childless couple in Toronto’s family-crazy Riverdale area hired her, she transformed two of their five bedrooms into kids’ sanctuaries.

In a few cases, the value of a stager’s service is the time and money it saves you in renovations left undone. “If it’s a tear-down type of situation, there’s no point [in doing renovations],” Ms. Gould says, “because who really cares what color the kitchen is?” . . .”

This Old House Magazine

“House Selling Secrets of a Home Stager” by Deborah Snoonian

Excerpt: “Who knew that getting rid of family photos and clearing off countertops could help you snag top dollar for your house? These are just two secrets from Debra Gould, founder of Staging Diva. Gould, a professional home stager, has helped scores of homeowners clean up, rearrange, and style their homes to command top price.

That can mean anything from putting extra books in storage to getting rid of moldy caulk in bathrooms to renting furniture to fill up too-bare spaces.

“The goal is to make your home clean, organized, and welcoming so potential buyers can picture living there,” says Gould. Thus the no-family-photos rule: “They make people feel like they’re invading your space,” she explains. . . .”

Read the full story about Staging Diva Debra Gould in This Old House.

Dream Homes & Condominiums Magazine

“Keeping that Brand New Home Look,” by J. Lynn Fraser

Excerpt: “Buying a new home or condo means buying a dream. Part of that dream is the life we envision ourselves having in our new home. A life inspired by magazines and home decorating television shows.

In real life, unfortunately, it’s difficult to keep up that “new home” look. Professional home stagers, the experts who create ideal home suites and get homes ready for sale, can offer some valuable tips about keeping that “model suite” look in your home. These tips are also helpful for special occasions when you want to impress visitors.

“Only hold on to things you really use and/or really love. Anything else should be given away or sold,” states Debra Gould, also known as The Staging Diva. Gould is president of the Toronto-based home staging and interior redesign company Six Elements Inc. . . .”

Home Style Magazine

“What Price For Happiness,” by Patricia Rivera

Excerpt: “Leave the cost-benefit analysis to the number crunchers and consider this: Even a minor bathroom remodel can boost your personal satisfaction index a gazillion percent. What are you waiting for?

Researchers at Remodeling magazine, have long found that remodeling a bathroom gives homeowners one of the highest value-vs.-cost ratios of all home-improvement projects.

Before they get too carried away with plans for a new bathroom, designers are quick to warn their clients that the cost of redoing this small space can quickly spiral upward.

Less than $1,000

Toronto-based interior design expert Debra Gould, who is also known as The Staging Diva, boasts that she can give a bathroom a complete makeover for $500.

In fact, by just changing towels (color-coordinated, of course), a new shower curtain, adding flowers and a fresh coat of paint, she says she can even create a new bathroom in a single day.

“Many bathrooms look ugly or tired, but the expensive items are basically there,” she says. “You just need to add the details.”

Experts agree that one of the easiest ways to create a stylish bathroom is with coordinated metal finishes. Faucets vary widely in price, but many attractive ones fall below $200 at any nearby hardware store. Once you select a style, look for matching accessories with the same finish: towel bars, soap dishes, knobs, faucets and even decorative pieces.

Other simple solutions that complete the picture include changing outdated light fixtures. For some reason, new lighting isn’t one of the top jobs on most consumers’ remodelling To-Do lists. Gould reports that many homeowners she’s worked with have stuck with the same Hollywood-style rack lighting that once was the pinnacle of style and a staple in countless suburban cookie-cutter homes. She suggests swapping them for halogen lights, which more closely resemble natural sunlight. . . .”

Toronto Life Online Exclusive

“Home made success: One woman’s real estate windfall”

Excerpt: “Call it Debra Gould’s $90,000 touch. That’s about how much the 47-year-old made getting out of the Toronto real estate market— and what she made when she got back in four years later.

Her first windfall came in 1998 when the then-marketing consultant decided to downsize so that she could pursue a new career as an artist. She’d been in her three-bedroom detached Beach home for almost two years, during which time she’d given the tired space a rejuvenating lift with new lighting, some paint and a modest kichen reno.

With her marketing background and her eye for decor, she knew how to style the home to show it at its best, rearranging furniture and hanging art for added effect. Her efforts paid off: the house sold for almost $90,000 more than she had paid two years earlier.

Four years— and three cities— later, Gould was eyeing a return to Toronto. But it was 2002 and the market had changed, with prices higher and bargains tougher to find…she started tracking homes in her price rnage and watching what they sold for. As her knowledge-base grew, so did her abilitiy to spot a good deal. It wasn’t long before something caught her eye.

…The three-bedroom semi was listed at $259,000, when others like it were going on the market for $299,900 and selling, she says, at around $310,000…Within 24 hours, Gould was in Toronto at the agent open-house with an inspector in tow. . . . .”

Center of the City Magazine

“Debra Gould is The Staging Diva”

Excerpt: “So often my clients say, ‘wow, and to think, my house could have looked like this for the last five years,” says Gould, president of Six Elements Inc.

“The biggest problem I see in people’s homes is inadequate lighting,” she says. “Many people live in very dark, dingy homes and they don’t even know it.”

Beyond small clutter items, many homes have too much furniture for the size of the rooms, she says.

Gould has staged hundreds of homes, ranging in price from $190,000 to $1.5 million. . . .”

Home and Decor Magazine

“As Good as Sold”

Excerpt: “From the outside in, home staging expert Debra Gould of Six Elements Inc. shows how to make your home more sellable through some simple cosmetic changes that make all the difference.

Some say the first impression is the only impression that counts… when you’re trying to sell your home, it’s true. Home-staging expert Debra Gould, also known as “The Staging Diva,” of Six Elements Inc. has bought six of her own homes and staged hundreds of others for clients.

Gould points out that when a real estate agent has eight homes to show prospective purchasers in a day, many buyers will decide from the car parked in the driveway whether they even want to bother seeing a listing. This is one of the reasons first impressions, or curb appeal, is so critical. . . .”

Style at Home Magazine

Debra Gould Shares “Her Faves”

Excerpt: “Home staging expert Debra Gould, a.k.a. The Staging Diva of Six Elements (sixelements.com, stagingdiva.com), shares two books that will help you look at your home in a new way.

What Color is Your Slipcover? How Discovering Your Design Personality Can Help You Create The Home Of Your Dreams by Denny Daikeler

I decorate homes for clients who believe they can’t make their current house work, so they decide to sell. The irony is once I’ve redecorated, my clients see what they could have enjoyed all along. “What Color is Your Slipcover?” is for anyone whose home isn’t the sanctuary they’re looking for. Borrowing from “What Color is Your Parachute?”, this book helps you define your design personality and create an action plan.

The Home Zone: Making the Most of Your Living Space by Caroline Clifton-Mogg

Top interiors writers and hundreds of inspirational photos of real homes guide readers through five popular decorating styles, and discuss how to work with color, lighting, flooring, window treatments and soft furnishings. I say ‘real homes; because unlike in some books, these ones look lived in. You’ll learn about space planning, and issues specific to each area, from choosing the right bathroom faucet to picking a kitchen layout that works.”

Reader’s Digest

“Your Home is a Stage”

Excerpt: “When house hunting, people like to imagine they can look past ugly decor or empty rooms to see potential, but usually they can’t!

That’s why sellers might want to ‘repackage’ their house to appeal to potential buyers.

Enter professional home stager Debra Gould, president of Six Elements Inc.

She rearranges rooms, chooses paint colors, stores superfluous items and even brings in rental furniture.

The results can be dramatic: After Gould staged a home that had sat on the market without an offer for six weeks, the owner received three offers within days and sold at 98% of the asking price. Her fee was modest when you consider that the owner was going to drop the listing price by $50,000 but called Gould first. . . .”

MoneySense Magazine

“Winning the Real Estate War, ” by Julie Cazzin

Excerpt: “Coldwell Banker Realty tracked 2,772 properties, ranging in price from $229,000 (U.S.) to $4.8 million, in eight major U.S. cities.

It found that while the average home was on the market for nearly 31 days, the typical staged home sold in just under 14 days.

And while the average home sold for a mere 1.6% over the seller’s asking price, the staged homes went for a hefty 6.3% more.

“Home stagers perform their magic by playing up the best features of your house and minimizing the worst . . .

Debra Gould, who owns the Six Elements Home Staging firm in Toronto, says it’s important to avoid planting negative associations in buyers’ minds.

. . . Gould gives the example of an open house she attended where the owner had left all the garbage and recycling bins at the top of the long and steep flight of steps leading up to the house. She advised the agent to have the homeowner tuck the bins away behind the house rather than drawing attention to the major inconvenience of not having a place to store them at sidewalk level. . .

. . . Home Stager Gould recommends you pay special attention to the furnace room since every home buyer wonders what shape the furnace is in. “If the furnace looks clean, it looks newer,” says Gould. That goes for the fuse box and electrical panel too.

. . .  A couple of planters on your front porch, a vase of flowers on your dining room table, even a simple rose in a bud vase can warm up a room. This is where you can let some of your creativity show through. “You want to get away form making rooms feel dull and sterile,” says the home stager Gould. “Flowers and plants are good for that.” Candles help too.” . . .”

“Selling Up: A Home Stager Can Help You Get Top Dollar,” by Gabrielle Bauer

Excerpt: “If you’re looking to score on the real estate market, your best investment may not be a house or condo, but an hour with Debra Gould.

Through her company, Six Elements Inc., she dispenses design advice to people who want their property to sell faster and for more money.

The results can be stunning.

One week after implementing Gould’s suggestions, a Toronto couple sold their house for $12,000 over the original asking price of $349,000.

Gould’s hourly consulting fee “was the best $125 they ever spent,” says Cristina van Blommestein, the couple’s real estate agent.

Then there’s the magic Gould worked on her own home in Montreal last year.

To prep the place for buyers, she spent $2,000 on new lighting and fresh paint, and also strategically rearranged the furniture.

Then came the payoff: her house sold for $30,000 more than she had bought it for just three months earlier in a virtually identical real estate market. . . .”

CBC National News

TV interview on the impact of interest rates on real estate sales

Debra Gould interviewed on the CBC National News in a segment on the housing boom, discussing the role of falling interest rates on demand for resale housing.

Boulevard Magazine

Cover Story: “Art with a Mission: Functional Pieces with Plenty of Flair,” by Maureen Licata

Excerpt: “. . .We’re surrounded by functional objects, usually mass produced and not necessarily fun or interesting to look at,” says designer Debra Gould. “By introducing a few handcrafted items into our homes, we create a unique environment and bring our rooms to life. An environment should have elements that hit a person on an emotional level.”

Her floorcloths, wall hangings and place mats have jazzed up a slew of homes in the area and far afield.

. . .As color conscious as Matisse, Gould “coordinates but doesn’t match” her clients’ interior tones. “I’m passionate about color and it’s the starting point for all my work,” she says. “The clients and I develop a palette and the design flows from there.” . . .

Debra Gould Has Also Been Featured In

Radio Stations

Click to Download the Interview

Click to Download the Interview

Other Appearances:

FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager

Excerpt: “Debra Gould is the only person teaching the business of home staging who combines an MBA in marketing, almost 20 years experience as an entrepreneur and the proven track record of actually growing a successful home staging business herself from scratch— not as a sideline to a real estate practice, but as a stand alone and profitable home-based business.

Debra knows from first-hand experience what it takes to get a home staging business off the ground with a shoe string budget, and she knows how to attract home staging clients as proven by the hundreds of satisfied clients she’s served. . . .”

Floorcloth Magic

“How to Paint Canvas Rugs for Decorative Home Use” by Lisa Curry Mair

Creator of the Debra Gould Home Collection, Debra is one of 19 floorcloth artists in North America featured in this book, published in 2001 in the US.