I’m happy to announce that I did not pass out, throw up, or get booed off the stage at the international 2014 Real Estate Staging Association convention in Las Vegas last week!
I’m on stage! photo by Fran Scarborough
I was supposed to speak for one hour, and I only went over by 16 seconds – that’s pretty impressive, right? I even got to go up on the stage at the Awards Banquet to receive an award for Top 10 Redesigns in North America – here I am with the other winners:
2014 RESA Awards
During the worldwind few days in Las Vegas, I was reminded how powerful and encouraging it is to spend time with other people who are working in your industry or in similar industries, where you can share experiences, ideas, and processes that can be mutually beneficial.
on the RESA red carpet with HGTV host, Lisa Vail
Besides lots of great information about networking, marketing, and social media, I learned a few other important tidbits at the RESA convention this year:
40% of the paint bought is the WRONG color. I have never heard this statistic before, but the fact is that 40% of the paint color that is purchased is a mistake – and whoever says, “paint is cheap” hasn’t bought paint lately. Painting the wrong color and repainting to make it right can be a costly experience!
The perfect size for an exterior light fixture is 1/4 height of the front door and the bottom of it should be 66 inches from the threshold. Thank you, Christine Rae, for that piece of information! I’ve often taped off a shape and height on the exterior of clients’ homes with painter’s tape, but now I can use this standard instead to get the scale right!
exterior paint colors by The Decorologist
According to social media maven, Katie Lance, the average pinner spends 97 minutes on Pinterest each day. I have certainly noticed how many page views on my blog come from Pinterest, but that statistic is stunning to me! I must be an efficient pinner, because even though I have 7000+ followers on Pinterest, I certainly don’t spend that much time there.
NEVER travel without your own AV guy. I don’t always appreciate Mr. Man like I should, but I was very blessed to have a Corporate Meeting Producer on this trip with me. My presentation went more smoothly than any of the other presenters (even the heavy hitters), and that is all thanks to him.
And speaking of heavy hitters, here’s one of the best who spoke on the same stage last week:
Real Estate Mogul and Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran
Congratulations Kristie! So nice to see the rest of the design community is recognizing what we have always known about you – You are amazing!
It was an awesome presentation you put on Kristie! I enjoyed chatting with you and being on stage getting that award with you!!
I’m sure you were a hit! You are correct about paint colors. We just bought paint for a small bathroom and just wanted a neutral beige color……….. well, it’s yellow. Back to the paint store.
I believe it about paint being mixed the wrong color.
I have had two experiences in the last six months — one at a Ben Moore store and one at Sherwin Williams. We are redoing two houses, so we are currently buying A LOT of paint, but it isn’t just Home Depot and Lowes who mix your paint wrong…I’ve gotten free paint because of it, but that doesn’t make up for lost time and travel and hassle.
Congratulations! You certainly deserve it. Your redos are inspirational!
Actually, that stat isn’t referring to wrong mixes – it’s that the homeowner doesn’t end up using the color they chose – they chose the wrong color for themselves! But, mixing errors occur as well!
The perfect size for an exterior light fixture is 1/4 height of the front door and the bottom of it should be 66 inches from the threshold. Would that hold true to a garage door?
Laura,
I think not – it would depend on the exterior wall space available on the garage doors. It’s hard to say without seeing the exact situation.
You rocked Vegas and the RESA conference! Your presentation was flawless and so very informative. I was happy to finally get to meet you,too!
Thank you so much, Kathy! You guys were a great audience 🙂
Kristie,
Way to go…..in Vegas! I’m just overjoyed for you in all of your accomplishments. You certainly deserve them. Unfortunately, my home WAS a culprit of the 40% wrong paint color statistic and I say to myself quite often “IF ONLY I HAD FOUND KRISTIE SOONER,” I could have avoided that. But, I have you NOW and am proud to say you’re MY DECOROLOGIST!!! You’re a true inspiration and I’m not just referring to decor here. Keep up the great work!
Kizzy,
That makes me so happy!!! Thank you for your kind words – I’ve loved working with you!
Good summation of our conference, Kristie! I missed the exterior light fixture one – I was zoning out by then, I think. It was fun sitting with you and I look forward to seeing you again.
So nice to finally get to meet you, Beth – and thanks for letting me sit at your table!!
Thanks for the tips and congratulations on your talk. I knew you would do great…I’m sure even Barbara (love her) was impressed.
Thanks for sharing those tips – especially the ext. lighting stats – very helpful. Did you try the power pose before going on? I was thinking of you!
Yes!!! I went in the bathroom stall and did power poses and deep breathing for a few minutes before my presentation. I think that Wonder Woman pose is a winner 🙂
You were a wonderful speaker, Kristie! I really enjoyed your presentation.
Thank you so much, Betsy!
I heard great things about your presentation from associates who attended the RESA conference. Congrats on a job well-done.
Thanks for the lighting tip. I have a project I’m currently working on that will definitely benefit from well proportioned exterior lighting. ps…do you know when your promotional contest with SmallWall begins? I want to enter and hopefully have you come to Seattle!
Judy,
I’ve never been to Seattle before – that would be fun! The contest will launch sometime in the spring – I will keep you updated through the blog. I wish you could have been at the conference – would have loved to meet you there!
Booed off stage! LOL I am sure everyone loved your presentation! Congratulations on your award. I bet one of the best parts of the conference was meeting everyone! Looks like it was so fun.
Kristie you definitely rocked as a speaker at the RESA convention! We were all taking notes fast and furiously. Great thing you had Mr. Man there, boy there were so many AV issues for everyone else! It was a pleasure to finally meet you. Congratulations on your award as well. Here is to another amazing year!
Thank you, Ginny – it was so nice to finally meet you. I felt as though I already knew you 🙂