ABOUT CATHY
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO STAGE
Cathy Helmholz, founder of Just In Time Design is a native Belgian who has been living in America for over 34 years. After a long career in the fashion business, she decided to bring her European sensibility and practical American “can-do” approach to her work ethic and business style.
As a former real estate agent, she knows what buyers and sellers want. As an Accredited Home Staging Professional, she is always on a mission to do a perfect job, to energize every room with style, speed and efficiency.
Her reputation is built on referrals through satisfied clients who rely on her to deliver quality results at minimum cost.
HOW I GOT INTO HOME STAGING
When I lived in New York I joined a small real estate office on the Hudson river. One day during a weekly meeting, the broker was talking about a new listing she just got and by the look on her face we could tell she wasn’t too excited about it. We were all feeling hopeless because the house was a disaster; looking as though the owners never got over the 70s era. Every little thing was tie-died, there were dead plants throughout the home, and exotic animals in disfigured cages.
She was horrified and about to lose hope on the listing. I then had an idea and told her I wanted to meet her at the house and start moving things around to give her a sense of what it would look like if it was staged. Within 30 minutes the living room was transformed and my broker was very impressed. I volunteered to do the whole house for free to prove myself and a week later the place was ready for showings.
The staged home sold after 5 days! She designated me as the home stager for the entire office and that’s when my new career took off!
