Knowing I desperately needed some help preparing my house to sell, I enlisted the expertise of Alice at Stage Right.  She carefully took inventory of my entire house, taking notes and time to think through the possibilities I had in front of me.  We sat down together and went through her notes, emphasizing focal points, colors, and styles for each room and discussing the items that could/would stay put, those that could be rearranged, and those that could be taken out of my décor.  She never told me what to do, but instead gave several suggestions, always explaining her thoughts.  I had no idea what a focal point of a room even was!  For example, I have a great room with a fireplace that really seemed like more of a furniture collection room.  After a few furniture adjustments and wall hanging placements and re-placements, my room was transformed!  There were a few items that had lost their previous function, and I was happy to remove them once I realized how they detracted from my functional living space.  Alice also gave me some suggestions for a few very inexpensive items that updated the look of my home.  Ultimately, I had an offer on my house that unfortunately fell through.  I took my home off the market, and I am still living in it with pride!  I feel good about the way it looks, and I always remember the helpful tips Alice gave me when I consider changes in my home.  

Sincerely,
Judy
Winfield, IL

​
In 2009, my husband and I decided to sell our four bedroom colonial house in Elgin after becoming empty nesters. We were ready to downsize and found a duplex that we wanted to purchase. We were told by realtors that it was a buyer’s market and it was not an optimum time to sell a home. We knew that it would be a challenge.  We had been in our house for 19 years and had accumulated a lot of furniture and clutter. After cleaning, painting, and removing the clutter, we listed our house for sale. There was very little interest in our home. We took it off the market and waited a few months. When we were ready to list our home again, we contacted Alice at Stage Right. She came over and gave us advice on how to stage our home. It involved rearranging furniture and wall hangings, removing some furniture, and adding some very inexpensive decorative touches. She taught us about focal points and depersonalizing our home to make it appealing to a variety of buyers. She even helped us with the outdoor landscaping and decoration and gave us advice on how to photograph our house for the realtor’s website. We listed again, had several showings, and received an offer about a month later. The staging allowed prospective buyers the ability to “visualize themselves” in our house. It was successful!
After finalizing the contract with the buyers, we were faced with the chore of deciding what furniture and decorations to move to our new, much smaller home. Once again, it was Alice to the rescue! She showed us how to use floor plans and furniture dimensions and together we determined where to place every piece of furniture in the new home. With that plan, we knew what items to sell or donate.  It also simplified the moving process because we could tell the movers exactly where each piece of furniture should be placed in our new duplex. The move went very quickly and smoothly. 
After we moved in, Alice again came over and helped us to decorate. We love our new place!
Sincerely, 
Terri
Pingree Grove, IL


Thank you for helping me choose a color scheme for my living room. We love it! You not only have an ear for beautiful music, you also have the eye of a designer.
Thanks.
Carol
Schaumburg, IL

Working with Alice is an absolute joy! I was downsizing houses and she helped me figure out what would fit and look good together from what I had. She walked through my old house to see the available furniture, then went with me to my new house to get the lay of the land and take measurements of each room. She then came another day to sit with me and used some really cool furniture cutouts and used them with the scale drawing she did of my rooms. It made it so easy to know what to load in the moving van and what needed to stay back for sale or donation. When we got to the new house, I already had a plan for where everything would go and it looked GREAT!
In addition to having a sound approach to the problem at hand, Alice is so easy to get along with and is a pleasure to be around. She has a calm, kind presence, despite my anxiety about the move. She LISTENS - a trait that is way too rare these days. That being said, she wasn't afraid to give her opinion and gently suggest changes to some of the thoughts I had. I would work with her again in a heartbeat!
Stacey
Elmhurst, IL

My husband and I were getting our 5 bedroom home ready to be put on the market. We still wanted to be sure that someone with a professional eye came through our home to see it from another perspective - the one of a new home buyer. That is why Alice from Stage Right was the perfect partner to assist in getting our home ready for its next family. She helped us with ideas on where to place furniture and items for the best effect in the rooms. She provided us with a couple sets of bedspreads and coordinating decorative pillows to add some color and pizzazz  to the bedrooms. Adding some of her towels and bath products to the bathrooms gave the bathrooms a sense of luxury.  It all sounds so simple, but if Alice hadn't shown us, we wouldn't have thought of these details! She repurposed items she found in our home in a clever way.  Finding a piece of uncut fabric, she created a desktop runner. Adding a few coffee table books in the living and family room,  a bowl of apples on the kitchen counter, a dining table centerpiece and runner, and a tray with wine glasses and a bottle of wine in our bar area really added a lot to our rooms. She organized items in cabinets that had glass doors so that they looked clean and uncluttered. The most valuable things to obtain from a staging professional are advice and perspective. Our house received multiple offers and we accepted the final offer in under one week!
A very satisfied customer.
Vicky
Elmhurst, IL

In August of 2016, my husband and I put our 1927 home on the market. Before staging it, I thought carefully about all the advice I would give a client and followed it to a "t". It was interesting to be on the other side of the process. It paid off, as we sold the house on the first day it was on the market to the first couple that walked in the door! Staging does make a difference.
Alice Merrill
Owner of Stage Right Home Staging and Redesign 

Alice was instrumental in helping me stage my old house and prepare my new home. Her advice was well thought out and took into consideration my budget and taste. She is a pleasure to work with, has an eye for space and color and is prompt and accurate with so many details. You can tell that she was an educator for 35 years prior to this career. I would recommend her for your staging project.
Ken
Elmhurst, IL

I had originally listed my home with a realtor and it did not sell. After taking it off the market for the holidays, I found another realtor who told me that I needed to "stage" my home before putting it on the market. He had some specific suggestions, but it was not really his job to consult on paint colors or to be there for me to bounce ideas off of. I felt really lucky that I knew Alice and knew that she was in the business of decorating and organizing. I was excited that I had her to consult! It was fun to walk around my house with her and she immediately had ideas for paint colors. Her suggestions were simple and I was able to do them myself. I went to IKEA and spent $30 for a few decorative items, had a few rooms painted and was ready to go.  My home sold in less than two months! 
Barb
Elmhurst, IL