Stager reveals Bay Area homes’ life and style.
Designing her daughter’s nursery led to a new career for Mary Cronin. The event planner spent years organizing weddings and corporate retreats, but seriously considered a life in design after Sunset magazine featured her work in a publication about nurseries.
As a result, friends begged her to help find hardware, furniture or backsplashes for their homes, mountain cabins and guest cottages.
The new interest dovetailed with her work coordinating events with Kathleen Deery.
“I developed a deeper passion for the transformation of space, both inside and out,” Cronin said. “All while utilizing fine fabrics, brilliant color palettes, custom-designed furniture, seasonal florals, unique curiosities, and organic landscapes to set the stage.”
Cronin’s career shifted directions after meeting Carol Russell, founder of a successful staging company called The Design Shop. Russell was ready to retire after 25 years and mentored Cronin, who now runs the operation.
“I learned quickly in this competitive real estate market that an updated and turnkey, move-in ready home will sell for a much higher price and at much faster rate,” she said. “No matter the style of the home, my goal is to create the vision of modern living and portray a lifestyle of ease and entertaining, both inside and out.”
Her website, www.TheDesignShop.com, showcases her colorful portfolio. She provides clients with a menu of motifs to choose from. A home staged as “Understated Elegance” may see sconces set on neutrally colored walls, while trendy tables and abstract art will adorn a “Casual Contemporary.”
In this interview with SF is Homes, Cronin talks about the tools of the trade, her style of staging and how parallel parking her Ford F-350 in San
Francisco doesn’t stress her in the least.
Q: What would you estimate is your maximum workload?
A: In a given week I have enough inventory to stage about 20 properties. I like to say I could do two or three in a week, but of course I would love to run two full crews with move-in trucks.
Q: Tracking inventory seems like that act where the guy spins plates on sticks. How do you stay on top of it?
A: My operational assistant has a photographic memory. She’s invaluable. I suppose down the road we may need to use software to track everything. For now I know when we are getting low on a specific item. I know what style we need to shop for.
Q: Why do you offer a variety of staging styles?
A: Simply put, there’s not one recipe for designing any room. Staging is about being creative, and I believe a lot of stagers are good at one particular style but aren’t willing to mix things up. If a stager’s signature is orchids, then every listing they do will have orchids somewhere. I believe there are certain styles that don’t pair with specific types of architecture. Every home is unique. The Mid-century Modern look with sleek lines, teak and rosewood is especially popular right now. I love that style but wouldn’t put it into a Piedmont Traditional or turn-of-thecentury ranch in Alameda.
The lifestyle designs we offer complements the period and architectural details of the home, as well as its location and natural surroundings.
Q: What tools do you rely on?
A: I spend many late nights on www.Houzz.com, and I’m an avid reader of Dwell and Architectural Digest. They all give me design ideas and inspiration. There’s a program on my iPad called “Note master” that I couldn’t imagine being without now. I can walk through a home and take pictures of the rooms while making notes. I can also use my finger to draw out the layout of a room in order to plug in where I think a sofa or end table would go.
Q: How complicated are the logistics of home staging?
A: It’s exceptionally complex. Besides tracking inventory, we have to coordinate deliveries from our warehouse in Emeryville and make sure everything is placed exactly where you envisioned. Then there are the challenges associated with moving furniture.
Sometimes you have to take a door off its hinges or remove a window pane to get certain pieces of furniture inside.
I spend plenty of time in my Ford F-350 so I’m comfortable maneuvering it around the city. But I’ve had a lot of practice.
Years ago, my sister used to pick up furniture and materials from Mexico and drive cross-country in a 26-foot truck, so I’m used to it.
Q: What is your ideal day?
A: My favorite day is what I call “From Gump’s to Goodwill.” I may need that perfect textured pillow or bud vase for an elegant Victorian living room, so I’ll literally circle the bay, stopping at a flower market in San Francisco for some fresh seasonal cuts, window shop at the Design Center for the latest trends in furniture style and colors, then peruse through Gump’s. After that I’ll hit a couple of vintage or consignment shops, then stop into Goodwill for a vintage brass candlestick to polish. I find that the finishing touches, finer details and odd or obscure curiosities can add to the overall look and feel of the home.”