Testimonials

 

Dear Darla,

We are very glad that you were there to help my dad in the selling of his home of 60 plus years. You took an overwhelming task and broke it down into manageable chucks. We decided what we could do, and you somehow accomplished the rest. You gave us lots of good advice about how to do our part (moving Dad, storing what he didn’t need until the estate sale, then having the sale). And you were so understanding of Dad’s indecisions, and patiently worked with him every step of the way.

Once Dad was settled, you, your contractors and staff did the agreed upon improvements, and staged the house quickly. Proof of the effectiveness of your work was immediate: the house sold in one weekend! We are convinced that because of your skills, the house sold quickly and at the top of what the market would bear.

Darla, your professional and personal service helped our family emotionally, physically, and financially. We cannot thank you enough!

Sincerely and with Best Wishes,

C. Beaubien
December 5, 2011

 

Dear Darla,

I am in Stuart, Florida and just concluded negotiations for a 53 foot Hatteras motor yacht.  It’s like me, old, and needs some work.  (Like me!!!)

I owe it all to you.  While other homes on my street have languished for months (or years in one case) seeking a buyer, because of your expertise, mine sold within six weeks.  (With only a 2% price reduction that was really a bargaining ploy.)

As I told you, when we first met, my kids never liked the paint colors I insisted on.  They never complained about the oriental rug or the furniture that came out of the basement, when I moved out of the marital home.  You spent only a few moments to tell me that all of those things had to go.  I was astounded with the magic you performed.

I probably could have gotten full price from the buyer but I had me eye set on my boat and didn’t want to fool around.

Thank you for a professional, job well done.

Feel free to refer any of your potential clients to me.  I’ll be pleased to give you a rave revue.

Ben
September 13, 2011

Hi Darla:

Here’s what Cortney Strother, President of Blake Appraisal Corp. has to say about appraisal values and well-maintained homes:

As a Real Estate Appraiser, obviously I see a lot of houses. While the job of an Appraiser is not the same as (nor should be confused with) a Home Inspector, during the course of my site inspection I do look for things that are obviously wrong in addition to looking for things that are right and/or improved and updated. Most appraisers will take interior photos of the home in order to back up any claims of the property’s condition, and include those photos within the body of the appraisal report. When a home is in good condition with recent updates, it affects many things about the appraisal process including (but not limited to) comparable selection, value opinion, etc. Generally speaking, when a home has all of these “bells and whistles” a higher appraised value opinion is usually in order.

Cortney B. Strother
President
Blake Appraisal Corp.
August 3, 2011

Dear Darla,

I want to thank you and your team for all the work you did in staging my mother’s house before we put it up for sale. My siblings and I didn’t know what to expect in such a depressed real estate market, and thought long and hard about whether we would be wasting any money we put into staging.  Having decided to go ahead and use your services, we are glad we did.

There are several advantages to having the “experts” do the work:

1)    Beyond watching staging shows on HGTV, we had no idea what needed to be updated; you took care of picking out color for the kitchen that needed to be repainted, as well as new light fixtures in several rooms.
2)    We didn’t have to find people to do repair work, which would have entailed getting several quotes for each job, scheduling time away from work and family responsibilities to let them in the house, and then having to worry about the quality of their work.
3)    Your people got things done in a timely manner. I never thought the house would be transformed in such a short amount of time. There’s no way we could have done that on our own.
4)    We considered whether we wanted to do some of the staging ourselves, but found your prices to be very competitive with furniture rental outlets, and with the added benefit of having it arranged and accessorized by a design professional. When the staging was done, the house looked beautiful.

The house went up for sale and received a solid offer very quickly. We thought that maybe we could have skipped the staging, since it sold so quickly. But at closing, the couple that bought the house made it clear that they fell in love with the house when they walked in the front door. They didn’t have to imagine what they could do with it, it looked great already. Buyers in this market are not interested in making improvements themselves. I’m convinced that the staging job you did for us was a critical factor in getting the house sold so quickly, and to a high quality buyer. Thank you (and your team) again for a great job.

Sincerely,
Mary McLennan
April 2011

A. Seidl – Royal Oak
March 19, 2011

Dear Darla:

This letter is to thank you for your efforts in preparing Rosa’s home for sale. You took a dark and somewhat dingy abode and turned it into a bright and cheerful home. The transformation was so successful that there were 2 offers within 3 days of the house being listed. One offer was for $5,000 more than the asking price.

The transformation was obvious from the pictures in the listing and some friends who saw the place, remarked that it would not last long before someone snapped it up. Your philosophy of less is more certainly worked, as did your choice of furnishings and décor.

Finally, Rosa and I appreciate the fact that you accomplished this while coming in under budget. It was money well spent. I would certainly recommend your company’s services to anyone contemplating selling a home.

Regards,
George W. Dauth
August 1, 2010

We were concerned about selling our house in this difficult economy, but Darla’s staging plan and suggestions helped us make the improvements we needed to market our home. She was always available when we had questions and we could not have been happier with our decision to stage our home.

It looked beautiful and we sold it in two days for the asking price! Our Realtor told us we had done everything right!
Becky and Carl Bergren
Dearborn, MI

“I am proud to have Impact! Interior Design solutions on my team. They have made a big difference in assisting us get our listings ready. Darla’s attention to details, and cost effective strategies have turned average homes into fabulous! Recently we had a modest home staged and it received an offer in just 6 days!

She assisted us in staging another home, and I was amazed how much she was able to get done on so little budget, mixing old and new items! From now on, I want all of my listings staged. I will encourage all of my clients to learn about staging, and hire Impact! Interior Design Solutions!”
Kate Jones
Royal Oak, MI

“IMPACT! did a great job turning my “bachelor pad” in Rochester Hills into a home that any family could appreciate. Starting with the exterior, my landscape was beautifully redone with flowers, shrubs, and trees in both the front and back yards.

The interior appearance was improved by re-arranging existing furniture, bringing in accent furniture/pictures/lighting, and adding a personal touch. Each room was changed into a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Thank you IMPACT! for your creativity and style and helping to sell my home quickly (less than 6 weeks) in a down market.

Sincerely,
John Faarup
Rochester Hills, MI

IMPACT! gave us first class, prompt, personalized service when we were readying our home for sale. The attention to detail paid off in spades; we sold the home in just six days in an extremely competitive market. Darla Rowley and her crew worked cooperatively with the contractor/painter who was updating the 1950′s home, suggesting subtle, impressive color schemes and finishing touches that set our house apart from the many others listed in our price range. We believe Impact gave us the edge we needed to make a quick and profitable sale.

Barbara Zmich
Celeste McClellan
Birmingham MI

My office had the pleasure of working with owner Darla Rowley and her company IMPACT! Interior Design Solutions, on a recent staging that was needed to promote the sale of one of my clients estates.

From start to finish, the effective communication and email communication with Ms.Rowley streamlined the process of expressing my requests and accomplishing those tasks fast and easy.

The entire relationship with Ms. Rowley and IMPACT! Interior Design Solutions as a successful tool for anyone in need or properly presenting their home as a product for sale.
Jean Michalak
Plymouth, MI

“I had our house on the market for nine months with out a single offer. It looked like nothing would ever happen until our new Real Estate Agent introduced us to Darla. She worked closely with our agent, did her magic, and we sold our house at the asking price within 2 weeks! Simply amazing!”
S. Groscurth
Royal Oak, MI

Darla,

Your thoughtfulness and hard work is greatly appreciated more than you know. Thanks for handling everything so efficiently.

Sincerely,
Karen, and Gary
Waterford, MI

Darla the house really sold! … Thank you so very much for the work you and your crews did to make the house look great. I’m convinced that your efforts were a major factor in moving the house so quickly in a very turbulent economy. While I didn’t get my asking price, I came within 10% of the independent appraisal done in 2004 – that’s more than OK with me.

As I get more organized, …  I’m passing your name along to anyone I can, and I hope you get some good clients out of it!

Terri Bellaimey
Detroit, MI

“It is usually the housing decor situation most difficult to conquer, when I hire Darla. She gets the mission done! Her eye to detail is yet practicality and that allows her services to reach high standards of quality. Her pleasant nature manages to be direct and to the point, there are no hidden costs or ulterior motives.

Authentic in every aspect of what she does!”

Annette Keeble
http://www.annettekeeble.com

“Darla has a genuine passion for her work, and this passion shows through in the beautiful results she creates. She has a keen eye for color, and an exceptional sense of style. Not only are her artistic abilities excellent, but I also admired her business and marketing acumen. It is rare to find both of these talents embodied in one person!”

Angela Davison
Farmington Hills, MI

“The nucleus of my radio show (www.hireitdone.com) is good content through local experts. With the down turn in the real estate market in Metro Detroit many of my listeners where eager to find ways to differentiate their homes that where for sale in a down market. I met with Darla Rowley to talk about home staging. Boy was i impressed! Her knowledge of home staging is unrivaled. She kept her finger on the pulse of what was going on in the local real estate market. When she came on my radio show as a guest in early 2007 the phone lines literally exploded! it was one of my better shows. If your home is on the market you shouldn’t be selling it without Darla looking at it first!!!”

Adam Helfman – www.hireitdone.com
Royal Oak, MI

“With the housing market what it is in Michigan right now, home owners looking to sell quickly and at the best cost possible should call Darla and hire her immediately! Darla staged our home for a quick sell, and her work is nothing short of miraculous. I can’t say enough how blown away I am by the transformation Darla and her team made on our 1950s bungalow. She took a house that needed lots of updating and had been “much loved” by three small children, and turned it into a showpiece. All the feedback we’re getting from potential buyers is that they love the decor! We’ve had our house on the market for almost two months and are getting tons of showings and are making several potential buyers’ short lists. Without Darla, I’m sure we wouldn’t have had the showings we’ve had so far. She creates the “WOW!” factor that sellers need to have in this tough housing market for very little investment.”

Lara Galloway
Royal Oak, MI

“Darla worked with my client to achieve a presentation of their home to make it more marketable in today’s real estate economy. She did a fantastic job of turning an “ugly duckling” into a beautiful “swan”! That being said she coordinated all the contractors from start to finish and completed the job on time and within a reasonable price. I have referred her throughout my office as a “go to” professional stager.”

Donna Barlow
Royal Oak, MI

“Darla has a terrific understanding for what it takes to make a home inviting and “sale-able.” She is creative, professional and hard working. Her assistance was instrumental to selling our house in the most challenging market in the country.”

Chris Hoebermann
Royal Oak, MI

“It was refreshing to find a decorator who listened to my thoughts and concerns and stayed within my budget to update my home with a new look. I especially liked how you were able to coordinate my existing favorite furniture and décor items with the newly purchased items. Very impressive!

I would definitely recommend your services to anyone looking to sell a house, decorate a new house, or re-decorate an existing space! It was also nice to get to know you during this process. Thanks again for all of your extra efforts!”

Sara Luster
Rochester Hills, MI

“Darla, Thank God there are people like you that are fixers … Your nurturing ways with everything you touch is your painting that will live on forever.  Thank you for all your help and wonderful ideas in beautifying your home and the world in which we all live.”

Deborah
Grosse Ile, MI

“I loved the way the house turned out! My friends and neighbors were impressed with the color selections, so much so they have asked for the names. What appeared to be tiny details, made a significant impact! Your ideas really worked to make my house feel special.

As you know, the work was done so I could put it on the market. Now that you have you have made the improvements, I no longer want to sell my home. I still will, but now I can enjoy it for a while first.  I always thought I had a nice house, but now everyone else does too! Thank you so much!”

Diana Franich
Albuquerque, NM

“Darla has done a fantastic job in staging homes for me.  The last home that Darla staged for me was in Troy. That home sold in 23 days….Yes, 23 days in this market!  I attribute much of that success and the quick sale to Darla.

Kevin Higgins  www.homesalesbykevin.com
Grosse Pointe, MI

Darla has been a wonderful addition to my professional real estate team. In such a competitive market, I have been able to offer Darla’s services as a solution to my seller clients & give my listings more perceive value & higher offers! Her expertise in invaluable to my clients & me as a real estate agent. Having a professional stager like Darla also builds my credibility with seller clients & differentiates me from other realtors.

Anne Patterson  annepatterson@remax.net
Plymouth MI

 

“As a real estate investor, I have utilized Darla’s services twice in the last year. In both instances, I was able to secure a buyer within one month of staging the property. Some people say that staging is only for high end property. I disagree. Both my sales were in the $80,000 range. Darla’s staging effectively allowed me to market my properties with the use of very appealing photos. At the same time, once prospective buyers entered the home, they had an instant vision for usage of the space. In fact, many inquired about including certain furnishings in the sale. In a nutshell, I fully endorse the efforts of Impact Interior Design. They are reliable, professional, flexible, and imaginative. The quality of services provided is the closest thing to HGTV that I personally have encountered. In the big scheme of things, the investment is miniscule and the result tangible. Thank you Darla.”

Niko Voutsinas
Redford, MI