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Secrets 2 Staging – A Slight Twist on #LovingtheLocal

June 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Each week, we like to feature an outstanding local business here on theNoogaLife. This week, instead of our usual format, we would like to share a guest post from business owner Theresa Maddox, owner of Secrets

before

before staging

2 Staging. Theresa helps homeowners and real estate agents ready houses for the market. If you would like to learn more about her business, you can reach her at 423-987-3054, or send her an email at secrets2staging@yahoo.com.

My goal in working with realtors and their clients is to help home buyers to visualize the house as “their home” and guiding sellers in staging their house to show off its best features.

Once a home is put on the market it becomes a house, a marketable product.  The goal is to sell the house as quickly as possible and for the highest price.  Statistically staged homes sell for 10-20 percent more than non-staged homes.  94% of staged homes sell with 33 days compared to non staged homes which sell in 144 days, according to the website stagedhomes.com.

When you go to a play, the scenery on the stage is set to give you information of where you are, or what the actors are doing.  That is the goal in staging a home for potential buyers.  We want to show off the features and focal points of the home, not the personal “stuff” of the home owner.

I like to tell my clients that staging is the first step in packing.  If you can box up thinks that are stuffed in closets, cabinets and drawers, precious breakables and hardly used item you are working your way toward moving.    It’s also a great time to donate items that you are not planning on using in your next house.

The three most important steps in staging a home are de-personnalizing, de-cluttering and cleaning.  Removing paper back books, packing up personnel photos and collectibles gives more space to help potential

after

after staging

buyers see the architecture of the home and visualize themselves in the home.  We are all attached to our personal things and the memories they create but these things might keep a buyer from seeing potential in the home.  Each room in the home needs to welcome guest into the room so they can mentally want to place their furniture and themselves in the room.

The finished product, is the selling of the home.  I love finding out that the house has sold.  The client is happy, the realtor is happy and so am I.  When working with homeowners, you really get to know a lot about them, their families and their lifestyles.  Everyone has reached the goal and the results are worth the effort.

 

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#LovingtheLocal with Area 61

June 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Area 61 is part of the burgeoning arts scene on the Southside of Chattanooga. Originally, the gallery was going to feature works of art made from wood but it quickly evolved to include all sorts of beautiful, handcrafted art. From jewelry to painting to sculpture to furniture, you’ll find it all — and much, much more! Owners David and Keeli Crewe have done a fantastic job of creating a comfortable atmosphere that is a bit unusual for an art gallery. You’ll probably want to pull up a chair and enjoy the ambiance for awhile when you visit.

On May 5, 2014, Area 61 celebrated their five year anniversary. Having opened during a serious economic downturn, things were touch and go at times, but by finding and showcasing gorgeous work from local artists and craftspeople, as well as by contributing to the community, Area 61 pulled through the most difficult period for most new businesses.

A fun time to visit the gallery is during the Southside Stroll, the last Friday of each month from 5-8pm. (It’s the perfect thing to do just before Nightfall!). Many of the artists are at the gallery during the Strolls. The next Southside Stroll is Friday, June 27, and Area 61 will be featuring a new body of work by local artist Bob Fazio, called Italy Reimagined.

Take a look!

area 61 door, logo

Come on in!

 

 

David and Keeli Crewe

David and Keeli Crewe

 

There's a LOT to see!

There’s a LOT to see!

 

Every corner is filled with beautiful things.

Every corner is filled with beautiful things.

 

 

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#LovingtheLocal with Southern Star Restaurant

June 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

If you like meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, pork chops, and other delectable southern food, you need to visit the Southern Star. With two SouthernStarlocations — one on the Southside, and one on Signal Mountain — the Southern Star makes it easy for Chattanoogans to get a fix of southern cooked goodness.

Operated by Rick and Nancy Adams, the Southern Star offers up the best kind of comfort food. Menu items are all house-made, and taste like someone’s grandmother is doing the cooking. One of the things that is special about the Southern Star is the carry-out convenience they offer. You can purchase a fully-cooked entree and side items to take home and reheat, in sizes that vary from a single portion to a family-sized serving.

The Broad Street location is a full-service restaurant, with a smaller carry-out section, while the Signal Mountain location is more of a carry-out shop, where you can have items heated if you want to eat in. Both locations offer special orders and catering, whether you want to buy a whole cake, or have a black-tie event catered.

Whichever location you visit, do yourself a favor and have dessert! Cakes, pies, and perfect banana pudding keep customers coming back for more. But, it’s not all sweets and fried foods — the deli cases have plenty of fresh, healthy options. The kale salad, and the quinoa salad are both low in calories but extremely flavorful.

 

 

 

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Farmers Markets in ‘Nooga

June 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

In Chattanooga there are lots of options and ways to purchase fresh, locally grown food.

Local food is better for several reasons:

It’s fresher. A tomato grown in Chattanooga is going to be picked more recently than one grown in California and shipped to Tennessee.

It doesn’t have to travel as far. Shipping isn’t great for produce. It has to be picked sooner, packed and often bruised, and then there is the radishcost of moving it.

You are helping the local economy. When you buy food grown in the area, your money directly supports the farmer.

You’ll discover new varieties. Have you ever tried to buy fresh figs? If so, you probably had to go to a specialty store. Figs don’t travel well, and they have to be eaten soon after being picked. Local food vendors have items you usually don’t find in most grocery stores.

It just tastes better. Produce picked and eaten at the height of ripeness has a brighter, more vibrant flavor.

Chattanooga is rich in local food! No matter where you are, there is probably a farmers market nearby, and it seems like more of them pop up every year. Even if you can’t afford to buy all of your food at a farmers market, just buying an item or two can transform your meals.

Besides simply making food available at markets, many local farms operate Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. When you participate in a CSA, you basically invest in a farm for a season and get your return in the form of a share of the farm’s harvest. Each week, you get a box or basket of produce, or eggs, or meat, or herbs, or some of each depending on the type of CSA you join. The best way to find a CSA is to visit a farmers market and ask around.

Here are some of the farmers markets in Chattanooga:

  • The Chattanooga Market — Held at the First Tennessee Pavilion, this is probably the most well-known market in the area. You can find produce, meat, eggs, hand-crafted items, and much more every Sunday from 11-4, April-November. Market organizers have also added a Wednesday market this year — Wednesday evenings from 4-7 pm, May through October.
  • Main Street Market — From 4-6pm every Wednesday, a special group of farmers and shoppers can be found at 325 East Main Street. Herbs, meat, cheese, coffee, produce, and lots of smiles!
  • The River Market — This Saturday morning market offers more arts and crafts than produce, you will still find some delicious, fresh, local food. Things get started with free yoga at 10 am at the Tennessee Aquarium Plaza, and the market is open until 5pm.

In addition to these three big, well-known farmers markets, there are several community markets around town:

  • Signal Mountain Market — Held at the Bachman Community Center each Thursday from 4-6pm.
  • Lookout Mountain Market — Three times/days/locations: Tuesdays from 4-7pm at Audubon Acres, Thursdays from 3-7pm at City Hall on Lula Lake Road on Lookout Mountain, and Fridays from 4-7pm at the Incline Railway in St. Elmo.
  • Brainerd Farmers Market — Saturday mornings from 10am-12pm in the parking lot at Grace Episcopal Church.
  • St. Alban’s Farmers Market — In Hixson, on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm.
  • Northside Farmers Market — on the Northshore at Northside Presbyterian Church on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm.

Did we miss any? Do you regularly shop at a farmers market? What’s your favorite thing about buying food directly from the farmers who raise it?

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