Matthew Finlason

Love

Not too long ago I adopted Barclay from an LA dog rescue agency Dogs Without Borders.   Barclay was abused and neglected during his first year of life.   I figured he was due some good times so I took him with me on an epic road trip.    We camped our way up to Vancouver BC.   On our return to LA, I wanted to do things differently.

Did we get in?

I wanted to put  Barclay up in a hotel where he would be treated like a guest. But I also  wanted an impressive aesthetic to write home about and that experience that caters to “the cultural creative”, “the modern traveler”, “the urban nomad” – or whatever we’re calling those of us who prefer originality, nostalgia and a built-in art scene with our rooms rather than a fancy thread count, lonely room service, and culturally sterile hotel accommodations.

I really wanted to hook Barclay up with some vibe, so I called up The Jupiter Hotel in Portland which was recommended to me by a close friend.   Shannon of the SCENE marketing group took my call and  it just so happened that she counts  one fat Yellow Labrador and a German Shorthair Pointer as her BFFs.    They team up with Portland’s Lexi Dog Boutique & Social Club to host Waggy Hour, a monthly party at the hotel for pet lovers and their dogs benefiting  The Oregon Humane Society.  Barclay sealed the deal winning  Shannon over with his street dog act who set us up in  their Lexi-Dog Suite. It had cute  food and water bowls,  a very photogenic leash that came home with me, organic snacks, potty bags, toys and what has become his favorite ball.   Traveling with your dog has perks.

I love that the Jupiter aesthetic  isn’t forced or intentionally plush.    Hotel Designer Colin Fjeld is the creative  maverick behind every room and all 81 hand painted murals or cinematic photo-scapes with custom-designed headboards in zebra wood and desks made with Ken Tomita.    I got Colin on the phone to discuss his approach.   He  wanted to design rooms where “artists can come to create” in “Rock & Roll meets Zen” that embraces the “mid-century motel” playing with “clean lines” and to “the jet-set mobility”.  His simple sensibility is everywhere in rooms with platform beds, eco-friendly bath products, and a copy of The Four Agreements without being pretentious with its details or decor.   Barclay and I felt at home with The Jupiter’s retro-themed style that doesn’t take itself too seriously but was covered in DWELL Magazine who called it first.   I’d love to work with him.

Barclay and free wi-fi

The coolest thing about the Jupiter Hotel is The Doug Fir Lounge,  an indie rock club/ resto-lounge host to major bands  every night. The Doug Fir serves hotel patrons but also local scenesters and Portland’s music community.

The Doug Fir Lounge

The place is a  masterpiece and Northwest rustic throw-back to 50′s modernism; it was designed by architect Jeff Kovel of Skylab Architecture (he’s also co-owner of the venue).   The rooms at the Jupiter hotel conveniently wrap around The Doug Fir’s bamboo garden patio where you can strike up a conversation around the fireplace with just about everyone.   And that’s exactly what I did all night and together with my new friends, we ran around scribbling art  on hotel chalk doors before stumbling in to bed. If you’re not into the late night part sounds, reach for a pair of the complimentary earplugs or  request the “quiet side” when you book. But it’s more fun if you just join the mischief.

The Jupiter Hotel and The Doug Fir Lounge lead a trend that sells a good time with your stay.   Like The Swimclub at The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, I didn’t need to venture out to indulge in the city’s urban life.   The Doug Fir brought the mingle to me.  And the headache that accompanied me the next morning for the photo-shoot Shannon hooked up for Barclay with  Portland’s top photographers of Moscaphoto.  Alice and Josh not only  photo-shopped my hangover but also produced stunning portraits of Barclay and made The Jupiter Hotel look like a movie set.  (stick around for the gallery below)  They have two rescues of their own, Ruby and Gino, which explains why Barclay made an impression on them.    Shannon, Alice and Josh treated Barclay and I like family and made him a star on their pet-friendly micro-site.

As I was getting ready to hit the road again, Barclay looked at me with those soulful eyes of his:  What’s the rush?

Lets stay

And this is what I love about dogs: they teach us to be grateful for what we have.    They show us how to cope with life by pulling us out of the future and ask us to stay in the present, to take a walk with them, slow down, or rub their belly. How could I resist? With Barclay in the driver’s seat, we stayed another night for him to get his crush on with Jupiter Lily.

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We’ve all heard it before that when staging your home, you must neutralize with off-white paint so as to appeal to the majority and offend no one. Now, I’m not going to argue with fact, though I have been known to try, but am I the only one suffering from neutral fatigue?

When asked by Sara Cation, assistant editor of Style at Home,  to pony up on my favorite staging paints, it led to a discussion about a new trend…staging with colour?     “It’s a myth that a house must be painted beige to sell fast…these designers say” in an interesting article we read in the Globe and Mail called SOLD on COLOUR which promotes that “you don’t turn on buyers with bland” and that “staging a home using monochromatic, tone-on-tone neutrals is simply old-school.” They not only refer to invigorating your stage with paint, but also furnishings that pop with colour.

I think that painting neutral has less to do with what is old or new and more about providing the buyer with a neutral canvas so that they can project their own lifestyle into the space.   It’s as simple as that.  Nine out of ten times I stick to Ben’s Off White Collection. Favorite neutrals: Swiss Coffee, Vanilla Milkshake, Powder Sand,  Inukshuk, and Gray Mist.

As well, home owners and many stagers  aren’t expert enough in colour to successfully stage outside of neutral.  It is unwise to promote that staging with colour is a new trend which may encourage new stagers in this direction.

This isn’t a new trend at all.    It is something interior designers, urban loft dwellers, and niche market home sellers have doing for many years simply because they know exactly who their buyer is and they use colour to target them.   These designers who are sold on colour are target-staging. They are staging experts and what I like to call lifestyle merchandisers. I target stage when I clearly know who my buyer is and/or if they are a professional creative.

There is no room for error in this business of first impressions.  Make sure you create a demographic profile of who your buyer is before stepping outside of neutral.  Know your market inside and out.   Having staged everything from bachelor condos to multi-million dollar properties in many different countries, markets, and communities throughout North America and the Caribbean, I have developed colour/staging strategies for each targeted area.  What appeals to the majority in the east may repel the west.   Don’t assume neutral is always beige.   In Hollywood, there are no rules and rally cries everywhere to join the War on Beige.

When painting neutral, think crisp or clean, and stay away from any of the dated yellow hues and tones. If you choose to take a risk with colour, paint one feature wall and neutralize with furnishings as these stagers did in a small contemporary listing I found on  The Vegas Strip.   Tailor your staging for each buyer to make it memorable to them.    If your market is bold, stage bold,  but do it with taste and make sure you nail it.

Check out the current October issue of Style at Home to get the low down on hot paints chosen by other top staging professionals.

What are your favorite staging paints?    What is your opinion of colour in staging?    And anyone else in love with  Caliente for the front door?

After so many episodes on The Stagers, working with a plethora or object and art,  watching trends disappear as fast as they arrive, it is hard to play favorites when it comes to product. One product, however,  that I wish I could have taken home with me is the pricey ECOSMART Fire Tower from the Outdoor Ethanol Collection I used to bring warmth to a very cold confined contemporary space.

One of the downsides to this 950 square foot, 2 bedroom condo, was a living  space that was barely functional though boasting 2000 square feet of exterior patio space.   While that much patio is on everyone’s wish-list, there are  two must haves to survive Vancouver’s rainy season:  a living room and fire.   I had neither at the outset of this particular challenge.

It is vital to enhance the perception of space by using scale appropriate furniture. Increasing the perceived square footage will add value and open the room for more function.   People really just want to know if their stuff will fit and what to do with small  flex spaces that aren’t easily defined.   I needed to visually extend the living area onto the adjacent covered patio area.   By installing a fireplace that would draw the eye beyond the perimeter of the living room, the exterior space would add perceptually more square footage to the living room.   This would also aesthetically serve both inside and out while selling the exterior as additional living area.   It was a gamble under serious time constraints and budget.  Without the  necessary utility connection for fuel supply and constrained by a very contemporary environment,  I was limited.   I required something simple, safe and ecosmart.

Smart Fires are an Australian innovation that is flue-less, does not require installation,  virtually maintenance free,  burns clean renewable denatured ethanol, and looks sleek.

I was drawn to the tower because of it’s scale, proportion, portability and dramatic flame that spirals in its tempered glass enclosure generating significant heat.  The intensity of flame is easily adjusted  to control  burn time and flame size.  The cabinet is powder coated steel.  I just couldn’t believe how  easy and effective the entire experience was.

The gamble worked and I loved watching people cozy up inside to a fireplace that was literally outside.  These towers also look great by any pool and come in white.   Check out other hot ecosmart installations.

Watch the video reveal here by clicking The Stagers.  It’s way better in person.

STAGING:  Matthew Finlason  Dina Holmes  DEKORA /  Asst. STAGING:  Sarah / PHOTO: Walter LeDaca

Working in old English Tudor and Craftsman homes revealed to me the importance of  designing or staging a home.  Too often, money is spent decorating a house.  While it may look perfect, how does it feel?  What does it say?  I can’t tell you how many times I have been hired to make a home feel more comfortable after the previous interior designer spent 50K on clean lines ignoring either the intent of the person, the space, or the choice of object.

I am incredibly attuned to found object and antiques or homes that are very old.  The older an object or space the greater its residual energy.  That energy is like story which can speak very loudly to me; so loud in fact that it can block out hearing even people.  Walking into homes rich with history or can be as overwhelming as trying to maintain a conversation while watching The View.  Often, old homes and furniture will collect impressions from past occupants.  On or off the market they can feel strange or have bad energy that can  be linked to a divorce or death, sadness or depression.   Likewise, homes that have given birth or entertained many guests possess a jubilation about them.  Throw a party in your home and you will hear laughter long after.  I believe that our interaction with furniture and space becomes so personal that we imbue intentions, moods, desires, feelings and energies onto furniture and into homes.  If you sit and listen to these energies you can fill in many gaps.  Trust me, your furniture likes to gossip.   The ill positioned chaise, the date of mail on your dining room table, the make-up of your bedding will tell me well how exciting your love life is, whether you entertain guests, and how happy you are.   I don’t rely solely on  clients to reveal  why they need a change or have thrown their home on the market.    You must investigate the why behind the need for transformation before creating and implementing any design strategy.  Understanding the psychology of design is paramount in order to create the ideal space:  a home.

I have developed a talent for reading these whispers and the secrets furniture or homes will tell me about their occupants simply because I have chosen to listen to homes rather than look at houses.   When I think deeper on it, I have always possessed an ability to make relevant associations from any object of unknown history.     The function of an object has never eluded me through an uncanny built in sense of it’s inner workings.     I was that weird child who knew how everything worked, the right placement of things, and what to say without ever really being instructed.   I can sense immediately why a room is not working, what forces create blockages and when feeling furniture or decor know instantly its desired purpose.  This ability has enhanced every aspect of my career.  I call it the Art of Seeing.  Others call me The Furniture Whisperer. I’m never alone, in a room full of furniture.  Clients will first ask me what I think about their furniture.   I’m more interested in what their furniture has to to say about them.     Trust me, you don’t want to know what your furniture thinks about you.

By tuning in to the whispers I can hear the most amazing objects calling out to me that want to be found or the home wanting me to find it…..like the  vintage Sputnik standing lamp buried deep within my in-laws crawl space.      It is no wonder why I love miscellaneous drawers, garage sales and The Rose Bowl Flea Market.

In old character homes  where the energy signatures become louder with time, you must also develop a talent for working with 3rd and 4th choices that may not resonate with you but may in fact work perfectly in the home.  I become inspired staging with anything written off as “ugly” knowing that paired with the right space and in the right light, it can become an object of beauty. The reality is that most homes are a collection of mis-matched furniture acquired over decades.    Each home has a  story to tell and you need to become their story-teller rather than imposing your own taste as most designers and decorators tend to do.       Traditional homes have much more leeway to play with nostalgia like “grandma’s attic came down for the new baby”‘ or something fun like that.   Have fun with this.

Some people don’t really want to sell their home.   Some just need  a change or a make-over to find the magic once again in their old home.    This was my first traditional stage 5 years ago.   I staged with a healthy rental budget and forgotten furnishings passed over by other stagers  found in the  recesses of Dekora’s famed inventory.  I relate to ugly duckling decor putting their best foot forward hoping to finding their stage, good lighting, and the notice of every passersby.      The owners fell back in love with their home.  Took it off the market.  Purchased everything old and new.  Moved back in.  Pissed off the Realtor.

(Between you and me, the home revealed early on that this process wasn’t going to be a stage for an open house.)

I love the creativity that will manifest in the 11th hour when you have run out of time and budget.    I was short one serving tray that was needed to complete the martini display and protect the furniture finish.     I  find it effective to stage cocktails  to give the room an impression of entertaining.  Everyone loves to envision themselves at a party – it makes them feel sexy.  With only minutes to spare I rummaged through the refuse and discovered a box of discarded cracked tile on the porch.  Voila!   No had to know this contemporary serving tray wasn’t my intention, which in fact sold to the neighbor for $20.  There is money hidden under rocks!

Be sure to use felt pads underneath tile to avoid scratching any important surface.   I now like to serve sushi on left-over rectangular glass tile.     Why spend dollars on wow factor you can literally find at your feet?

Furniture is required to blueprint the ‘Optimal Furniture Arrangement’ for a buyer, but it is ART that I use to play the ‘Pied Piper’ by enticing the flow of traffic and revealing a tune into the home’s soul. Realtors sell property, Stagers market lifestyle.

Attract a buyer’s attention… with ART to set an appropriate mood and to increase the perception of value that will in turn attract a higher price point. Explain this to your clients when they attempt to whittle away their art budget, not your art budget.     Art will create a positive first impression.  Staging is the business of first impressions.   You want to nail it the moment they open the door.

Here are some valuable tips when staging ART:

1. ART should never offend. Choose ART neutral in subject matter that is strong with impression.    Tanya Slingsby has never let me down.  There are exceptions to every rule if you are in tune with your target market.  I have staged nudes (a staging no-no) in the master en-suite for Dekora‘s sophisticated clientele.  Ensure both client and agent are on board with any risk.
2. Do not project your taste. Be careful not to stage what you love.   Study the market and choose art that will appeal to that market.   Provoke nostalgia. Staging should inspire positive thoughts only! ART can effectively shut down negative thoughts and strike  harmonious chords within people.  Craft the right tune.   If you listen carefully to any space, you will discover the home’s nature which will direct your choice in ART.
3. Stage ART to invite further investigation, room to room. Draw the buyer’s perspective from the front door.    Use the ART to tell a story.  Grab their attention from the get-go with repetition and don’t let go.  Mimic the art gallery experience by stopping them in their tracks with powerful ART which in turn will allow them to feel before they see.   Smaller dimensions can have greater impact.
4. Light your Art. Position ART in the most favorable lighting and if the wall is lit by 3 pot-lights,  stage a triptych to highlight the structural features of the home.
5. Don’t be obvious. Staging contemporary ART in traditional rooms will create an affect that will appeal to everyone.   Likewise, staging classical  heavy gold frames in an urban loft is trendy.  Don’t assume that your market, just because they are wealthy, don’t possess the humor to understand youthful, edgy or pop ART.  The aged still wish to feel sexy.   Don’t EVER forget this.   People won’t buy a home if it makes them feel old.
6. Mix it up. Play with various mediums: oils, photographs, etchings, frames, sculpture, installation and even children art depending on the function you wish to inspire room to room.  You don’t want it to look like you purchased or rented it all from one store.   To create opulence, ART must appear  collected over a lifetime.
7. Make them sit. Buying a new home is very stressful. A Stager must remove anxiety from a buyer’s experience.  Position ART in creative ways to enhance beautiful unique features of the home that will  entice a buyer to sit for reflection, serenity and breath.    If you achieve this, you have found THE buyer.
8. Be artful with your placement. Be creative with your composition. Have fun with arrangement. Take the creative license to push the envelope as long as the subject matter stays true to the nature of the home.
9. Feature ART…in the Living, Dining, and Master bedrooms. Stage your budget in  the most important rooms that decide a purchase.     Don’t waste valuable pieces  in the kitchen, hallways, basement, bathrooms, or second bedrooms.   Pick one wall that will house your ‘feature piece’ and go to town on it.
10. Be tasteful. Stage original ART.

DISCLAIMER:

I use my stage to selfishly promote what I believe to be good taste in art to incredible consequences.   Below are some of my favorite pieces that can be rented, purchased or found here:  Sheila Norgate,  The Vancouver Art Gallery, The Winsor Gallery, Aion Gallery, Jay Hodgins, Art Works Gallery, Miriam Aroeste, Gillian Lindsay, Michael den Hertog, Marta Baricsa, Roy Mackey Steel Art,  and  Baux-xi Art Gallery.

The ACE HOTEL is the best thing about PORTLAND. It’s the only thing I know about this city really. I rolled into this hotel 10pm on the recommendation of Vancouver film directer Cam Labine. I was only supposed to stay in this city one night on the way to San Francisco. The ACE made me re-think this.  How come no one ever said anything to me about Portland, Oregon?

Its aesthetic is loud in people, architecture, and vibe. In fact, I want a haircut in THIS city and the uber-hip staff all have recommendations. Gabi(with an “i”) is the most charming part of this “Industrial Art-House” experience.  She made front desk feel like hanging out with a girlfriend. I wonder why I didn’t plan on staying longer?

“The City That Works”, Portland’s official motto, is everywhere in The ACE HOTEL’S aesthetic and design.  An  industrial  prop house where every creative or structural  element is  eco-friendly, sustainable, with green elements,  vintage furniture, low-VOC paints and recycled materials throughout.  I could have slept in the elevator and left impressed.    I fell in love with Room 301 the superior suite.   I was torn unsure whether to hang out in this room reading wallpaper (pages from a turn of the century building manual), listening to records (Jimmy Cliff, Elton John, Al Green), ordering the Blue Cheese Burger from Clyde Common(resto-room service adjacent) OR ……….going out. I stood still for what felt like 5 minutes until I had to use the lieu and discovered a paint can as waste bin – of course!    I  I decided to stay in, read wallpaper, and study the simple genius behind every creative detail.    The designers make each room look like an authentic after-thought.     I did not want to leave this room, EVER. I wanted my home to look like this.  I wanted to take credit for it. I hated myself for not inventing this style.   I called in for a late check-out. At some point I told myself I really should go see something outside of my room considering it would be my only night in Portland.

This town has a perfect seed to it I feel comfortable with. What kills me is that I have spent 5 years living in Vancouver without knowing that this gem was only 6 hours away. Like driving to Montreal or Quebec city from Toronto: next door.

Just my luck, across the street I’m watching Angina a contestant from RuPaul’s ‘Drag Race’ perform? I left my iPHONE in my room in an effort to unplug though here was a perfect opportunity to utilize its 3GS video capabilities. That’s ok, the next morning after decaf espresso downstairs in the also adjacent Stumphouse Coffee Roasters, I video’d myself bathing in a Clawfoot Tub with it  listening to “Un hombre y una mujer” thinking how delightful it must have been for the designers to furnish this room.

My only regret: not purchasing the pure virgin wool and cotton bed blanket.