Real Estate Rock Star

We like introducing you to agents we work with, love and admire. To us, it is worth spreading the word on the Real Estate Rock Stars out there.

Meet JASON VIYDO. He makes the home buying and selling process almost effortless. With his many years of experience in the industry he has seen and experienced just about everything. My advice? Listen to him, do what he says and your property will be listed, shown and sold in the best light. I appreciate that he personally meets us at the property, the inspector, the appraiser, the painter, the cleaner-it's all hands on and laser focused. I gave him a few get to know ya questions:

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION?

The opportunity to help my clients get clear on their real estate goals.  It is one of the biggest financial purchase or sale most of us make in our lifetime.  In some cases, giving the advice to not buy or sell if it is not in the best interest of my client is a rewarding part of my job.  I like being able to help someone achieve their goals.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AN AGENT?

30 years; all with Windermere Real Estate

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE LISTINGS?

A group of townhomes on Yale in the Eastlake neighborhood in 2008. This was a fabulous site overlooking Lake Union, the city skyline and evening sunsets in the most challenging market I ever faced.  I was able to get them all sold, while other properties around the city were going to foreclosure.

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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK?

Bourbon on the rocks.  It reminds me of my father; he always had a bottle of Old Grandad in the liquor cabinet, even though I never saw him take a drink. 

IF YOU HAD A BOAT WHAT WOULD YOU NAME IT?

The Carol Marie. (ahhh... I love that-your sweet adorable wife!)

WHAT IS THE BEST PURCHASE YOU EVER MADE?

Our home where we raised our family.  However, I always enjoy the purchase of a hot, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.

WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?

Parking in city.  To ease my pain, I’ve switched to a small electric car, the I-3.  I can create a parking spot darn near anywhere.

WHAT BENEFIT DO YOU BRING TO A GROUP OF FRIENDS?

Humor.  I like to give my friend’s a good-natured ribbing.  If you can dish it out, you got to be able to take it.

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.  This book is about being a leader and pulling together as a team.

Go here to meet another Rock Star Agent in our series.

Capitol Hill Condo

We loved this classic condo in the Betsy Ross on Capitol Hill. We chose to dress it up with a bit of glam here and there. Gold accents are hot right now so we played that up. Enjoy!

Listing by the ever-so-fabulous Team Diva Real Estate, staging by us and the photographs were artfully done by John Wilbanks Photography. 

2018 WHAT'S IN!

1. JEWEL TONES

2. KITCHEN COLOR

3. BRASS

4. BLACK AND WHITE

5. NATURAL ACCENTS

6. WOVEN TEXTURES

7. VINTAGE LIGHTING

images: Apartment Therapy, Lonny Magazine, Pinterest 

It appears to me that just about anything goes for 2018! There is something for everyone in this list. Enjoy freshening and reinventing your spaces!

 

Urban Farmhouse

What is an Urban Farmhouse?

An Urban Farmhouse, combines traditional features with modern trends to create an updated and fresh take on a classic. These homes are known for a blend of horizontal and vertical siding, open floor plans, covered back porches and metal roofs. They may have reclaimed woods, metal and leather elements, industrial elements with timeworn finishes and distressed details, and unique light fixtures. Essentially, straddling the line between rural and urban.  This eclectic, mix-and-match style is less about following the rules and more about creating a highly original look for every room in your home.  

This Seattle home was built by Thomas Group LLC. Listed by Gunnar Hadley and Greg Stamolis for Windermere Real Estate, photographed by Robert Brittingham @ RJN Imaging and the staging is by us!

Get Our Look!

A great way to get a look is inspiration from the design world. Here are some kitchen ideas to help with that Urban Farmhouse vibe. A very fun and creative staging job for all of us here at Open House Staging. Click and Shop!

This fabulous listing is designed and built by Thomas Group LLC, listing by Gunnar Hadley and Greg Stamolis for Windermere Real Estate. The staging was done by us! 

Real Estate Rock Star

One day we were having a champagne toast at Westward on Lake Union. We raised our glasses to all the different types of homes we had staged: Penthouse, tree house, old church, garage, condos, new construction, waterfront, etc. We still had one more type of home left on our list and that was a floating home. So we toasted to staging a floating home in the future.

The very next week the phone rang.  Yup, a floating home. That is how we met Molly. And I wanted to share her with you all.

Meet Molly Cartwright from Coopers Jacobs Real Estate.

Her doggies are adorable (more photos on her Instagram @mollysellsseattle) and love those views from a couple of her listings. 

I put Molly in the "Rock Star " category because she is great to work for and she goes the distance for her clients. We see first hand all the work that agents put into preparing a listing and Molly is no exception. She is smart, savvy, knowledgeable, stylish and interesting.

Throwing a few questions at her was a great way to get to know her. 

1. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION?

My career gives back to me each day in the form of gifts.  Every time my phone rings, every email I receive, or every person I meet I look at it as a gift of opportunity and I think this is what I like most about being a Realtor.  

2. HOW DID YOU CHOSE YOUR AGENCY?

 I knew the owner (OB Jacobi) of Windermere as a personal friend and was encouraged to join one of his new offices. But I've been with Cooper Jacobs Real Estate For 12 years.  We are powered by Keller Williams North Seattle. 

3. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LISTING?

Grrrreat question!  2420 Westlake Ave N #12.  The most sexiest floating home I’ve ever seen.  The vibe it transpired as soon as you walked in the front door was undeniable. I still have the professional flyer we made on my inspirational board.  It sold in three days as the highest sold Westlake floating home to date.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK?

Red Vino (current favs are Barbera and Malbec).  We don’t have liquor at home so when I go out it’s a gin o’ tonic for this girl. I like gin. Not a lot of people do. Okay, I also like dirty martinis. I feel like a Bond Girl when I drink them.

5. WHAT ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE WOULD YOU PUT A LAVA LAMP?

I’m not a huge fan of lava lamps.  So I would say in the garage.

6. WHAT WAS THE LAST GIFT YOU GAVE SOMEONE?

A glassy baby to one of my best friends benefiting Camp Korey

7. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT NEXT TO ON A 10 HOUR FLIGHT?

Jen Sincero, author extraordinaire! and if I could choose someone from the past it would be Abe Lincoln. 

Thank you for agreeing to my interview and sharing with us Molly! 

Preparing for the New Year.

I am a fan of Jessica Araus so I was thrilled when she gave me the green light to post her article. I think it is perfect food for thought when we look to the New Year.

DON'T WAIT FOR MONDAY... START TODAY

There will be days when you don’t follow your diet plan, you skip your workout, or you don’t work toward your vision. We all have days we don’t do what we said we were going to do. However, even if you consider an entire day to be a failure, I encourage you to pick yourself up and continue working toward your goals as soon as you can. Every day is a fresh beginning and a new opportunity to get things done. If you really want to make a change in your life, you have to be willing to accept failure and move on. You might have had a bad day, or maybe two, but don’t let it be three. Make proper use of your time starting now.

It’s easy to come up with excuses for why we can’t get things done today. We tell ourselves we’ll get it done “tomorrow,” or in the worst case, we’ll wait until it is Monday again. However, when you are clear on your vision, you won’t want to wait for Monday. You’ll want to start as soon as possible.

There have been times in my life when things didn’t go as I planned or wanted, but I never waited for Monday to start over again. I always had hope that tomorrow was going to be a better day, and I looked forward to every day.

So, what is your vision?

Perhaps you want to travel the world with your partner, get in shape, or help your family financially. Regardless of your plan, think of the people you are failing when you are delaying this goal, waiting for another Monday to come. Is it your family, your spouse, or maybe yourself? Realize that the sooner you take action, the earlier you’ll accomplish your goals. No matter what it is, start doing something today to move toward your vision. It can be as small as working out for 10 minutes, writing one good page, taking an hour to promote your business, or saving $10 for your next holiday. Success will not simply happen to you. You have to make it happen.

What is distracting you?

If you got stuck on Wednesday, take a moment to reflect on what went wrong. Perhaps you need to prioritize your activities and start the next day with your most important task. Get up earlier if needed and get it done. It’s important to be really honest with yourself and accept when you’ve been devoting time to things that are distracting you. Whether it’s negative thoughts, junk food, or procrastination, whatever isn’t serving your vision, drop it now and move on.

Treat each day as if it were a Monday, and you’ll start seeing results. What separates the successful from the rest is how they manage their time. No matter what your situation is right now, you can always rewrite your plan and change your story. All you need is the right mindset; the rest will take care of itself.

BY JESSICA ARAUS        November 15, 2017

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful, family and friend-filled Christmas!

Fauxidermy

Add a pop of personality over your mantle or bed with a faux animal head or Fauxidermy (yes, it is a word-well kind of). Mine is over the living room mantle. I love this guy. He is often a conversation piece and for sure a statement he makes. Right now he is decorated for the holiday.

photo from Decor8 via Pinterest

Photo via zGallarie

Photo Via zgallarie via pinterest

I actually purchased this metal cow head as a house warming gift for a friend but it has not made it to her yet. I sent her this photo and told her it was her gift the next time I see her. We just keep staging with it in homes.

Photo by steve hanson group

Photo by steve hanson group

Lake Living

Sometimes I feel like living anywhere but Seattle. Take me away. We loved this lake side listing which briefly did take us out of Seattle for the day and landed us at Lake Tapps. And a beautiful sunny day of staging is rare this time of year. The listing agent requested a bit the Chip and Joanna Gaines vibe and the rest is all our own. 

We don't usually stage so far out of the city but a few things came into play when we said "Yes!". First of all, who can say no to a listing agent who is a working mother of 4 very young kids? If she can do it-we can do it. Secondly, we got to stage her very 1st listing as a new agent and that felt great to be a part of something big. Thirdly, and yes, back to getting out of Seattle, we needed a break from our city. 

This listing is by Jessica Yost for Keller Williams of Puget Sound, the photos are by Andrew Webb for Clarity NW and the killer staging is us!

Log Cabin Chic

I tapped into our staging team for shopping tips. It's fun to see what everyone is into. Right now on Kristen's mind is a 2nd home. Of course we have all weighed in on how it should be decorated because that's just what we do. Loving her inspiration photos and her vision.