Posts Tagged ‘short-term furniture rental’

Boston Model Units

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Guest BedroomModel UnitI spent a lot of time this week working on a model unit in the South End in Boston.  Model units are usually my favorite projects.  I learn a bit about the type of people the builders are expecting to be their buyers.  I then research the styles, colors, etc that appeal to that group and get to work. 

This last project was especially fun because it was a young, very diverse group I was designing for.  Students and young doctors - male and female- in their residencies. 

I chose a lot of really current colors and patterns.  Plums, soft purples and bright apple green in the living room.  Modern art hung above the sofa and cute armless chairs in a gorgeous chocolate across from the sofa. 

The guest bedroom was a platform bed with a simple duvet folded down with an amazing lamp.  So simple and yet so pretty when it was finished.

The master bedroom was my favorite of the three rooms.  It was this beautiful bright yellowish green bedding with a white bird pattern and the duvet was trimmed in black as were the shams.  It is stunning.  I paired it with black grommet top draperies and glass lamps with black satin shades.  To quote one admirer “Julie, this looks so boutique hotel!”   What a great compliment.

The real trick with model units is making the space look homey and appealing which can be tough if you do not really know what is appealing to the buyer.

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Friday, July 3rd

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

southstreetPeople are constantly telling me I have a really cool job.  Yes, I do have very cool and fun job but there are times almost daily that I think to myself “people have no idea this is what I do”.  So I have decided to change my blog format to more of a diary so people can see what I really do everyday.

Friday, I had my first delivery with a new furniture rental source.  I was not sure what to expect but have done a ton of furniture rental deals in the past so I knew I could handle it.

The delivery is in the leather district of Boston which is a very cool, up and coming area with a ton of incredible loft spaces.

I show up ten minutes before my two hour delivery “window” (don’t you just love delivery windows, ugh!).  Luckily the delivery truck showed up about two minutes after me.  Now we just need to wait for the realtor to let us in.  No big deal.

In the meantime, the conceirge comes down and realizes we are doing a furniture delivery.  Unfortunately, he is steaming mad and is speaking with the heaviest Indian accent I have ever heard.  Oh Wow!  I literally have no idea what this man is saying and I feel horrible because he is clearly very unhappy.  I am trying so hard to understand him but I cannot make out a single word.  The poor guy finishes his rant and I have to tell him I have no idea what he said.  He grunts and throws his arms in the air and stomps off.  Nice.  Two minutes on-site and I am not making any friends.  Yikes.  I find out a little while later he is mad because he has to pad the elevator.  Oh, okay that works.

My rep is there to make sure the delivery goes well.  She actually carries my accessories upstairs for me…yay!!!  I am so happy.  Especially because it is 9am and I have parked in front of a huge puddle of swill and want to throw up every time I go back to my truck because it smells so nasty.  Everything is going well except there is no rug.  No problem, she calls the office and is having one sent out.  The only dilemma is we have to wait around for an hour for it to show up.  I get most of the job done and the rug arrives.  All is well in the world.

The only bummer is that I totally underestimated the amount of accessories I was going to need.  I need to bring down more soon to finish the job.  That is doable though.

So now I am leaving Boston without any parking tickets and with a mostly complete job that looks super cute.  Yay!  I am heading north on 93 when all of the sudden a brown baseball-type ball comes from the southbound lane and smashes into the windshield of my truck!!!  What the heck?  Luckily, I saw it coming so I took my hands off the wheel and ducked.  I have nowhere to pull over and I am covered in glass.  Ugh!  The rest of my day is not spent working, but instead spent waiting on the side of 93 for a tow truck, driving to the shop, getting a ride home from my mother-in-law and shampooing glass out of my hair.  Awesome, another productive day here at NESG.

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Furniture Rental

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

yankeebedRight now the majority of my business is short-term furniture rental. We rent furniture to homeowners or realtors that have an empty house to sell. We select furniture that will appeal to the target buyer and set it up for our clients. It is an investment for the homeowner and typically a three month minimum rental. So why do we go to all this trouble and expense when clearly the homeowner could just show the home empty? The answer is that time and time again the furniture helps the home sell quickly and in some markets it is an absolute necessity.

We all know that the furniture rental works. If it didn’t, then builders all across America would not furnish their model homes. Anyone who has been to a model home knows that these models would just not have the same effect if they were empty. The same goes for an empty home. It is just not as appealing as a furnished home.

So how do you know if furniture rental is going to help you sell your house? Well first you need to look at the other homes that are on the market in your area. If your area is flooded with empty homes for sale, or if you have a lot of competition in your market, furniture rental would be a good way to set your home apart from the others. Furniture rental can also be a good idea if your home is sparsely furnished with your own furniture or your home is furnished but with really old or worn out pieces. The cardinal rule in staging is that anything that distracts a potential buyer from looking at the beauty of the home must be removed.

Once you have decided you think furniture rental is the way to go you need to make sure you do it right. First you need to decide where you will rent the furniture. There are several companies out there and you just need to find the right one for your style and budget.

Now you just need to make sure the furniture you select appeals to the target buyer without putting off anyone else. It is essential that you ask your real estate agent who the most likely buyer is. Your Realtor will know the market and will be able to identify a target buyer.

Then you need to determine what rooms to furnish, as you usually do not need to do them all, and what the look will be. This is where the furniture rental companies come in handy. Tell them who the buyer is and what kind of home you have (contemporary, Victorian, etc.) they will know what look to help you go for. Then you just need to set it up and wait for the offers to roll in.

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