By Jessica Pack

Is that a rocket?  A silo? I confess.  You got me.  I didn’t know so I had to do some digging to find out what the structural component of our home on Wilson Ave was called.  The feature in question is called a turret and it is most definitely NOT a silo, a rocket, or even a silo housing rocket.  The history of turrets goes back a long long way when castles and fortresses needed lookout towers to keep watch and defend themselves.  As time passed, the need for such a feature was no longer required but turrets evolved and stayed around as a style for aesthetics.  You have likely seen them on Victorian homes where they are often a characteristic.

Our Wilson Ave home had a 3-story turret. It started inside the front door as the foyer; morphed into the primary bath on floor 2; and ended as a space on the 3rd floor.

Believe it or not, we prepared for this home almost a year before we actually staged it.  Through no fault of their own, the property investor experienced many delays. Thankfully, for us, we have a warehouse available to store the pieces and parts of these styled rooms until the home was complete.

If need be, we *can* hold items until a home is ready.  Most of the time, that hold is manageable, but in this case—a few months had passed.  We decided to release the prepared inventory for use in other listings. We are fortunate enough to have that flexibility and available inventory.  Additionally, many of our furniture pieces and decor items are universal and can be used in a variety of home settings.  “Hakuna Matata”  (“No worries” from the Lion King.)  Sanctuary can make it work.  That’s always the goal.  However…

The changes made to the original floor plan gave us a new challenge.  Rooms that were probably bedrooms for decades were converted into something completely new.  That brings me to my second confession… for a second I actually was a little perplexed on how to show and make sense of some of those spaces.  I was not Hakuna Matata-ing very well.

For example, the attic was not previously used as living space prior to this 2022 renovation.  In order to gain access to the 3rd floor, a bedroom was altered to accommodate stairs.  The new stairs significantly impacted the functionality of the room and cut the usable square footage.  Our solution?  We reimagined the space and called it “Mama’s room.”  It ended up as a dedicated area where a mom (or dad) could make sure the child(ren) remained upstairs OR just a place to hide away for a quiet moment with a book or tea (or wine-no judgment here).  We added a desk for that all-important ability to work from home and voila!  Mama’s room was perfection.  No worries!

The challenge we faced on the 3rd floor was the pitch of the roofline and numerous odd shaped alcoves.  With a slant that started at about knee height, art was wishful thinking.  How we tackled the situation was to bring it in.  IE: find ways to place furniture/decor more toward the center where the ceiling was the highest.  This tactic worked everywhere except on the third floor.  I am 5’2’ and was too tall to stand up in the third floor.  But, our fun children’s table and chairs were ideal for a teddy bear tea party.  “Bearing” in mind the early spirit of the turret, kids would be thrilled to play there and peep out the windows watching for their friends.  We created a mini living room, study area, and a second play space and there was still room to spare.  No probs!

Between the living room and kitchen, it appeared there was a wall removed.  With that wall gone, two identical fireplaces remained, side-by-side, in the same room.  As I scratched my head, I birthed a plan to select identical decor for each mantle but place the decor in different ways in order to make sense of the two prominent features so close together.  And it worked!

The last and final confession I had from the work Sanctuary Staging completed on this Southern Orchards house was that I did play favorites.  I secretly had a room I liked better than all the rest.  The Boho secondary bedroom just worked for me top to bottom.  The bohemian chic style combined with exposed brick and the colors of the walls and pillows and bedding. Oh my!!  It was a unique combination of such interesting elements and I was LOVING IT!!  There were definitely no worries in that room!

Confessions complete.  House fully staged.  We were proud of another job well done.

 

By Jessica Pack

As I have gotten *cough* “older” *cough cough* I have come to appreciate the finer things in life.  Some I may even attain.  Yay!  Yay for that!  I am blessed.  Sanctuary Staging was brought in to stage a home in Galena, OH in which the sellers had also reached that stage of life.  Their home was a custom built beauty with many of the amenities that rang true to my inner wish list.  In such a home, staging needed to accentuate those attributes.

I know I’m *cough* old because some of the things I loved the most about this home were the ones that were the most functional.  Spaces like the primary bedroom closet, pantry, patio, and living room/kitchen combo were such fun for me because I appreciated how well they were thought out and executed. Yes, we staged a patio in the dead of winter beside an in-ground pool because the patio was visually connected to the living room by way of a wall of windows.  Yes, that same chilly space was staged in colors that complimented and coordinated with the living room and kitchen space.  No, we did not go swimming in the frozen pool.

I am an HGTV junkie.  I fully admit that.  The programs that most appeal to me are ones that trend toward open concept design. Namely those core rooms of a home.  This home was open concept.  It’s a bonus when there is some unique feature.  For example, the living room in this listing had a wood feature that illuminated the mounted television and included storage.  It was amazing.  We, as stagers, take into account each component of the homes we stage.  I have counted built-in shelves, and the number of glass front cabinets to prepare for our jobs or the number of sinks in a bathroom.  It’s a detail-oriented occupation.

The trick for this stage was to make sense of the open concept combined with the homeowners’ pops of color… but not distract with our decor.  Thankfully, our inventory can accommodate many scenarios.  To give you insight into some of the thoughts that crossed my mind when staging this home, I considered things such as only dressing the countertops with “pretty” things because the large pantry would be where practical things (canister sets and such) reside in a high-end home like this one.  Add to that, those pretties needed to be neutral.  Or setting the dining table for 8 vs. 6… even two extra places set is noticeable when space is available to accommodate.  The divided Jack & Jill bathroom offered each bedroom a private sink that we made sure the decor for each matched… in mirror.

These are the kinds of considerations we make for each home we stage and why this work is rewarding.  We create and invent and come up with new ways to see a space.  Regularly, we hear sellers say that they had never seen their home look so good, or that they would have never thought to do that.  The best compliment is when they say that we made them fall in love with their house all over again (except that they still sell it, but still).

In the end, this home was magnificent.  I get to see many homes in this line of work.  This property had great appeal to me, personally, and checked many of my boxes.  Each house is also a little bit of a life lesson.  It’s a lesson in what is important to me AND it’s a lesson in how to make each and every home we stage be the BEST it can possibly be.  (Regardless of my *cough cough* age).

By Jessica Pack

This Canal Winchester home was a home that Sanctuary staged for one of our clients that we have worked with before.  We sometimes work with repeat customers whether that be realtors, contractors, investors, etc.  It’s quite a compliment that they come back for our proven services.  This was one of our repeat relationships, and he just so happens to be a real estate agent and an investor.

To some degree, Sanctuary is bigger than just our staging company team members.  I see people like this particular investor and our professional movers enough, that they almost feel like co-workers.  We learn about each other and it’s nice not to have to start over completely every time our paths cross.  We have come to know him well enough that he brought us in to stage a very special home.  He gave us the full low-down on the home.

Turned out that it was his dad’s home when he was young.  Originally, he was sentimental about it and was going to move in.  Then, he decided to fix it up before moving in.  Then, he did a complete 180 and made it an investment property.  Let me just say that this house was GORGEOUS!  I can see why he would have considered carrying on the family legacy and establish roots there a second time around.  What he brought to this 2800 square foot ranch was nothing short of amazing.  His renovation not only upped the living space to 4200 square feet, it brought a home built in the 80’s into 2021 with many high-end amenities.

If I had to move, this would be the style to which I am drawn…inside and out.  The property was over 7 acres and the home looked out over a 2-acre pond.  On our move-in day, I was working in the primary bedroom ironing the bedding.  The entire back of the first floor was nothing but windows.  I had my ironing board propped up to enjoy the view while I worked but I was more like the distracted dog, Dug, from “Up” because a leaf would fall and it was like “Squirrel!!!!”  I found myself drawn into the colors of the autumn trees reflecting in the pond.  Truth be told, I found myself bemused by everything around me.

The house was one squirrel moment after the next because there were so many interesting features to behold.  Look… coffered ceilings with inlayed wood-Squirrel!!!  Check out these lights-Squirrel!!!  A wet bar in the living room?-Squirrel!!  Two-story stone fireplace?!—Squirrel!! This kitchen is HUGE-Squirrel!!!!!!!!  Talk about a “ruff” (ha ha) day on the job.

The home was so incredibly beautiful, that our staging was about as easy as it comes.  The most difficult consideration was selecting which best features to highlight since there were so many.  Aside from the view, he opened up the attic space and created a second floor loft where there wasn’t one prior.    By doing so, the whole house transformed visually into spectacular vaulted ceiling masterpiece.  Potential buyers could now look over the railing at the living space below.  I didn’t want to leave.  I could see myself on the sofa with a cozy fire aglow as I watched some television.  Alas, I lacked the $1.5 million needed to permanently perch my feet there.  This home was a very memorable listing.

The investor worked some special magic on his childhood home and we got to be the cherry on top of his vision.  We also can claim to forever be part of this home’s story.  It seemed like the house sold in about 35 seconds which didn’t surprise me in the slightest… and that was when he pulled the Dug and asked if we could stage another of the homes he was renovating… his brother’s house.  And so it goes.   Squirrel!!

By Jessica Pack

A brief history on me so this tale makes sense… I was born, raised, and have lived in Ohio my entire life.  My spouse was born in New York.  He was raised in New York and then his parents moved numerous times over the course of his childhood and eventually landed in Ohio.  His grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins et al stayed in Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York.

With that history, I have a visual image in mind of city dwelling. I thought Newbank Circle would have that same impression. My husband’s grandma lived in a high-rise most of her life.  Newbank was like “Friends” living but the demographic was a smidge older and was a fraction of the size of the NYC high-rise.  We are in the midwest and the vast majority of homes are single family residences.  That’s just the nature of the beast.

When we were brought in to stage Unit 302, there were strict guidelines to which we had to adhere under the direction and supervision of property management.  At first, we weren’t sure how the stage would work with the restrictions placed on us and our movers: Enter only through the side, park in designated spaces, cover your shoes, only touch the handles, use one specific elevator, moving truck can only park *here,* don’t walk on the carpet directly…  The list was lengthy.  Short of hovering though the air, it seemed like this one might become trickier than our typical stages.

While Newbank was a multi-tenant building, it was still most definitely a home when you got inside.  The space was cozy but large enough even for empty nesters to have guests or grandkids stay the night.  In contrast to the Brooklyn high-rise that came with a view of more high-rise apartment buildings and/or other man-made creations in the concrete jungle (which I have confirmed with my husband) THIS home had a gorgeous view of green space and the river with tree-lines banks.  Trust me when I say, we capitalized that view in our arrangement of the living room furniture.

Part of me thought the unit would be dark and windowless but I was completely wrong.  Nearly every room had tons of natural light.  The wall of windows in the living space led out to a balcony that overlooked the Scioto River.  When we were there, the skies were blue with a handful of puffy clouds and the trees of autumn were just starting to change color.  I, myself, wanted to plop on the sofa and take it all in.

My husband’s description of his grandma’s apartment epitomized what I think of when city living is imagine…cramped.  Grandma had a teeny tiny 1-bedroom home with barely a nook of a kitchen.  Newbank had room to have a dance party (assuming those are allowed there-lol)!

In my own home, I have a dining space right inside the front door.  Admittedly, I don’t use mine that often, but I like that space to be one of the first impressions when someone enters our house.  The bonus for me is because it’s not regularly used, it’s ALWAYS clean.  Those who come over don’t know that it is a lesser used space, but it punches a big impact.  Newbank’s dining room was directly inside the door too.  We saw this opportunity to do the same from a decorating standpoint.  Most likely, though, this dining room would be used more often.  The arched paned mirror over the console created the illusion of a window in the middle of an internal wall that bounced around light.  It made the space appear even larger.  It was a “wow” moment.

Truthfully, the whole home was one “wow” moment after another.  The vibe in every room was almost larger than life just because it wasn’t expected in this not-so-high high-rise.  The condo even had a room that we found to be a PERFECT parlor!  How often have you seen that?!  It was a pleasure to be part of this home’s next story.

In the end, I believe we won over the property management with our professionalism and respect.  She complimented us on our efficiency of loading in (and out) of the unit as well as how great the home looked.  Buyers seemed to agree because there was pretty much an offer made as we were walking out.  Perfect ending to the tale.

By Jessica Pack

There’s something to be said about simplifying one’s life.  Consolidating.  Creating solutions.  De-cluttering.  There are obvious perks to small homes.  For example, it takes less energy to heat or cool and less time to clean.

Our home stage on North High St in Clintonville was a home on the smaller side at just over 1,100 square feet.  What it lacked in size, it made up for in other a host of other sensible ways.  Location location location.  This beauty was directly across the street from Columbus Park of Roses and a branch of the Columbus Public Library…literally…look out the front window.  And if walking or bicycling to nearby eateries is your thing, you’re in luck.

This little gem had all the components anyone would need and they were all within steps of the other.  Bedrooms were across the hall from each other and close to the bathroom.  The living room was actually spacious.  We did a little trial and error with placement but in the end, created a room where the residents could enjoy the fireplace and/or watch tv and/or utilize a desk to catch up on a little work.  We demonstrated seating for seven…SEVEN!!!  That’s worth bragging about.  That’s room for a party!

Work smarter, not harder.  Isn’t that how the saying goes?  N High was that way for us too.  Our warehouse was close had we needed to run back for anything (which we didn’t).  We have developed a system when we stage of who does what. It works for us.  We know who can knock out ironing and who can do efficient placement.  Teamwork makes the dream work.

Much like the simplicity of having a small home lends itself to organization, our well-oiled staging machine staff cranked out the entire stage in record time. Sanctuary used just the right amount of decor and that decor was used in a manner to maximize function as well as style. In the end, we showed the BIG things that can be done in a smaller space.