About Today’s Episode with
Ashley Tapley

Curious about how a home staging project actually comes together? 

In this episode, Ashley Tapley, an interior designer, color consultant, and Santa Cruz home stager from House Candy HOME, shares her process on her shortlisted home staging project for the 2022 International Home Staging Awards, which was even featured in Apartment Therapy!

Ashley shares the many design decisions she made and what went wrong! We also do a deep dive Q&A covering the new “Coastal Grandma” trend, pre-sales consultations, real vs. fake plants, and so much more.

Ashley is so incredibly creative and the combination of her education and life experience makes her so well suited to home staging.

This Week on The Home Staging Show Podcast

• Introduction to today’s community talk (00:04:37)

• Ashley introduces herself and shares her background in graphic design and thrift, which ultimately led her to staging (00:06:02)

• Ashley details what the pre-consultation process was like for this project and how she details notes (00:07:46)

• How mood boards can help solidify the design plan (00:10:26)

• Ashley reveals what went wrong during this home staging project and how she adapted to find quick solutions (00:12:49)

• Why Ashley landed on a vintage coastal and slightly modern design (00:14:41)

• Ashley gives us a behind the scenes peek at her process for staging (00:15:56)

• The decisions and upgrades Ashley made to the home (00:16:54)

• Why we need to “grow our business as our client list grows” (00:21:35)

• Ashley shares why meeting people is the key to growing your client base (00:23:18)

• How to stay up on design trends (and what style is making a HUGE comeback right now) (00:24:24)

• How to style around a client’s red couch (00:27:22)

• Ashley recommends Design Files as a tool for curating shoppable mood boards (00:29:32)

• If your client has a low budget, Ashley shares her #1 tip that can add value to a home (00:31:15)

• Ashley explains how she works with contractors on vacant staging projects (00:32:21)

• The importance of charging for your pre-sale consultation and NOT discounting your staging services (00:33:19)

• Ashley describes a luxury property she worked on (00:36:07)

• The benefits and pitfalls of real vs. fake plants (00:38:10)

• Buying vs. renting furniture for your home staging projects (00:43:07)

• Ashley shares why she hired a professional photographer to capture the project (and how she uses the photos on social media) (00:43:39)

• Ashley shares whether or not she gives clients any “freebies” after their consultation (00:45:08)

• The beauty of using second hand pieces in your work as a home stager (00:45:38)

• Ashley reveals what she charges for a two hour consultation (00:46:51)

Connect With Ashley

• Ashley’s website: www.housecandystaging.com

• Ashley’s Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/housecandyhome 

• Ashley’s Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/house.candy.home/ 

• Ashley’s Pinterest profile: https://www.pinterest.com/housecandyhome

• Ashley’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-tapley-b234447/

Links & Resources Mentioned On Today’s Show

• Learn more about our partner, 17hats: https://www.staged4more.com/17hats 

• If you’re ready to dive deep into your home staging business, join me and Elaine Penhaul in Italy this October 2nd-7th for a special Working Retreat for Home Stagers. 

• Catch the replay of Ashley’s Community Talk and see her slides

• Ready to build your home staging career but don’t know where to start? Join me on September 13th at our Open House and participate in live talks and Q&As, while learning about our offerings.

If you enjoy the show and would like to support the show, there are 3 ways:

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If you want to support the show and keep it going, you can do so by leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts, that will help other people to find our show. If you find the podcast helpful to your home sale and would like to donate a few bucks to help with the hosting of the show, there’s now a donation button on the blog sidebar to your right, you can donate $5 or more to help with costs associated with the show.

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