Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Bean.
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in southern Ohio in a modest but lovely home surrounded by beautiful things. My parents knew how to stretch a dollar and had an innate design eye to use color, texture, and eclectic quality pieces to make a house a cozy home. Some of my fondest memories were watching my parents hang wall art or rearrange furniture for family and friends. Decorating and creating a sense of home was their specialty. And it seeped into me.
After graduating college, I took on various roles in university recruitment, health insurance, and office management, but on evenings and weekends, you would find me decorating friends’ homes and helping pick out color for their walls. Returning to my creative roots reignited my childhood passion as I witnessed the joy transformed spaces and creating a sense of home brought to others. I thought it would just be a side hustle until friends turned into clients, and clients turned into referral upon referral.
In 2017 I launched Altogether Lovely Home, and in 2018 became certified as a Home Stager & Redesigner with Home Staging Resources. Today I am doing what I LOVE! I partner with sellers, realtors, and investors to transform houses into altogether lovely homes that sell quickly and for top dollar. I also work with clients who want to create beautiful spaces they enjoy to live in and that reflect their own sense of home and style. My husband, Mike, at times, will work alongside me, and we currently live in Delaware, Ohio, where we have raised our two sons.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In my entrepreneurial journey, I have learned a lot along the way. Establishing strong connections with my realtor partners and other business owners have kept me grounded, supported, and growing. Listening well to my clients and walking hand and hand together through the staging or redesigning process (which can be quite an emotional process when selling or remodeling) has created trust and collaboration that has resulted in long-lasting client relationships… As a highly relational person, serving others well is important to me. And I try to keep on a growth mindset by learning from my colleagues and those a part of my industry to deliver beautiful work for my clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Altogether Lovely Home Staging + Redesign?
At Altogether Lovely, there are two sides to our business: Home Staging and Redesign. Whereas Redesign is designing for the client (homeowner or business owner), Home Staging is designing for the buyer. We specialize in quickly transforming homes to sell for top dollar by following a simple, step-by-step design process in each room. Our first step in an owner-occupied home includes a staging consultation with the seller, where we put on “buyers’ eyes” and build a prep list to strategically showcase the home’s best features. Recommendations may include tips to enhance lighting, recommended furniture placement, color, and decor suggestions, and steps to create emotional connection points that will attract buyers. By utilizing what the seller already owns and making updates for greatest ROI, we help create homes buyers love.
Often the preparation to sell, coupled with packing and a pending move, leads sellers to feel overwhelmed. Our staging services, which includes rolling up our sleeves and setting up the home to appeal to the most buyers, helps alleviate that stress. If needed we can bring in our furniture and decor rentals to marry with items the seller already owns!
9 out of every 10 people walking into a vacant home on the market can’t picture the wonderful possibilities the home has to offer them. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Survey, over 81% of buyers find it “easier to visualize the property as their future home” when it’s staged. In a vacant home, we select furnishings and décor that complement the home and appeal to buyers so they fall in love and say, “I HAVE to live here!”
Our Redesign approach is designed with the client in mind so that they truly love and enjoy their home. We marry new items with favorite pieces the client already owns to create a space that is fresh, comfortable, and altogether lovely. During an initial consultation, we discuss their style, recommend furniture placement, decluttering, accessory styling, and offer color advice. We are committed to walking closely with the client throughout the redesign process so that the result is a cohesive, beautifully designed space they love to live in!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Through the Covid-19 Crisis, I learned to cherish family and friends and to continue to invest my time, resources, and talents in those around me. People are important and are more important than things or tasks. In business, my heart is to honor the people, my clients, who are in front of me to help them achieve their selling and designing goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.altogetherlovelyhome.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/altogetherlovelyhome/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/altogetherlovelyhome
