The common thread that runs through the work done by Gin Treadwell is that the goal is improve the look and feel of someone’s home.
Because she works both as an interior designer and a stager of homes going on the market, the difference is that sometimes the homes are furnished, sometimes not, and some of her clients already live in the home, while others have yet to walk through the front door as prospecti
ve buyers.
An even split
The four-year old company, Gin Treadwell Home, “is fairly evenly split between interior design for homeowners and home staging for realtors and prospective sellers,” she said.
Business fluctuates with the residential real estate market. “Some months I’ll get multiple calls from realtors to stage empty homes,” she said. “In those cases, I rent the furniture and use art and items for decor that are mine. I’m always looking for more items, so that you won’t see the same things in multiple homes.”
Staging an empty home gives Treadwell the greatest flexibility. “I consider the neighborhood, the type of home, and the prospective buyer when I set up a home. I wouldn’t stage a 1,500-square-foot home in Canyon Country the same way I would set up a 2,500-square-foot home in Stevenson Ranch.”
Editing the clutter
The challenge is different when owners want to list their home while still living in it. Treadwell uses the term “editing” to describe the reduction in clutter that is usually required.
On the interior design side of the business, Treadwell has had some clients ask for one room to be redone, while others want a complete overhaul.
Sometimes, the plan evolves. “I had one client who started out wanting to revise his flooring and lighting. That turned into a full renovation of every room in the house that taken over a year. We’re almost done.”
Ready for mobile
Treadwell turned to Signal Digital Solutions to help refresh her website and make sure it’s optimized for mobile devices. “I’m more artistic and less technical in my outlook. I have a three-year-old website, which I found out was not at all mobile friendly. I’m very much a visual person, so the site has to be visually attractive.”
She also found out that she was perilously close to invisible on Google. “A prospective customer practically had to search for me by name to find me on Google. If they searched for home staging or interior design in Santa Clarita, they were less likely to find me.”
Signal Digital Solutions is helping Treadwell by building a more effective website, helping with content for her blog, and with strategies that helping improve her Google visibility.
“I totally see the value of these things, but I have no idea how to do them,” she said. “I don’t have the ability or the time to keep up with those things. That’s where Signal Digital Solutions comes in.”