France and New York

This week is back to normal at Home Style after two months of variety for me - although business has been ably managed by Terri, Ged and Vicki in my absence.

First was a magical holiday in France, a 20th wedding anniversary trip providing space to think on a larger scale. Chateaux and scenery with Eddie Izzard on TomTom allowing me to put the map down and enjoy the ride.

Next came the rapid run-up to the Canterbury Home Show - Ged and I were on the stand from Friday morning to Sunday night talking to hundreds of people and selling the newly released audio CD "How to Prepare a House For Sale." The audio takes you through your home step by step to add $1,000s to the price of your home - show special price of $45 (including Postage and Handling) still applies. You can buy now by credit card through PayPal

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=896987

or email me at info@homestyle.co.nz to arrange payment.

Two days after the Home Show I left for New York to attend Robert McKee's Story course, predominantly for screen writers but the elements and principles of story apply equally to novels. The course was fabulous and New York spectacular, golden leaves and sunshine.

And now back to the office. Time to create the vision for the next 12 months and beyond!

How to Make a Room Seem Bigger

Hi,

Here's a simple tip for enjoying your home more.

Our sense of space is not dictated so much by the actual size of the room, but by how far we can see. This means we can make a room seem larger by extending the views.

There are a few simple ways we can do this:

• Open curtains and blinds so you can see out better
• Cut back foliage outside windows
• Place a visual focal point at the end of the view outside to draw the eye out
• Open doors to other rooms and place visual focal points at the end of those view
• Hang pictures with perspective, such as landscapes or interiors of buildings
• Use mirrors to bring long views back to the doorway to the room, or anywhere you sit

The other important thing is to have a clear walking path through the room - even a large room feels cramped if you can't move around it easily.

Imagine standing looking at a blank wall. Now replace the wall in your mind with a view out over a harbour or mountains. Feel the space expand?

Have a great day!

Jennifer.

For Jennifer's audio products and Home Style services see http://www.homestyle.co.nz/

How to Prepare a House For Sale

Big news! I am taking a new direction with my business and life. (Work IS life, right?)

Previously primarily a Home Staging and Furniture Rental business - lots of fun, but very much a local market - I am now moving to being a global "weightless" business (if you don't count me.) That means selling the furniture and accessories - ideally to someone who would love to have a similar successful little Christchurch-based business, contact me if you live in Christchurch and you're interested - and focusing on my passions, which are consultations, professional speaking, newspaper and magazine articles and audio products.

My new MP3 audio "How to Prepare a House For Sale" is available from the Home Style website www.homestyle.co.nz. There's a free sample track "Instant Improvements" to try, or for those needing to prepare for sale quickly.

It took a long time to build up the courage to produce the audio - every time the recording studio sent a new version it would sit for a month before I could bring myself to listen to it.

But I'm past that now, in fact, I am now producing audio Interviews with Experts myself. More on that later.

Cheers,

Jennifer.