Having always had a passion for decorating and design, Charlene Storozuk brought her dream to reality with the launch of Dezigner Digz™ in 2007. Originally offering home staging, interior decorating, redesign, styling, furniture layout, and downsizing services in Burlington, Ontario, and surrounding areas. As of 2021, Dezigner Digz™ has relocated to the Municipality of Lambton Shores, providing services to Grand Bend, Ontario, and surrounding areas.
“I started out as a Legal Assistant when I finished school. From there, I moved into Human Resources for an investment firm in Toronto. I started Dezigner Digz while still working full-time, but never treated it as a ‘hobby’. Both of those careers were very helpful to my staging business. They provided me with a basic knowledge of contracts and gave me the ability to deal with people.”
During this time, she also became very involved as a founding member of the Real Estate Staging Association®. Charlene started up one of the first RESA chapters in North America and held the position of Chapter President for two consecutive years. After completion of her term, she became a member of the RESA’s Executive Committee and was appointed Regional Vice-President, Canada for a two-year period.
“When I heard about RESA® 14 years ago, I was very interested in getting on board in its early days. The staging industry was still relatively new and I felt strongly that there needed to be a professional organization that would promote the industry, give home stagers credibility, and hold its members to the highest standards. 14 years later, RESA® is still doing that.”
Learn more about Charlene:
What is your favorite RESA memory?
I have many great memories such as our local chapter’s first-ever meeting and attending two of the staging conventions in Las Vegas. However, I would have to say that my favorite memory was 10 years ago when I was totally caught off-guard at the convention and given the Regional Vice-President of the Year award.
Have you been to any RESA events that made an impact on you or your business?
Definitely the RESA conventions. The guest speakers were uplifting, informative and inspired me to take home many of their suggestions and apply them to my own business.
What has been your most memorable staging project over the last 14 years?
One staging project, in particular, comes to mind. Last year I had to deal with the worst client ever: myself! I knew there would come a day when we would sell our home. As a home stager, I struggled with what that would look like when the time came as there would be an expectation for our home to look a certain way. I say that because, over the years, I’ve had several clients mention to me that they imagined my home to be ‘magazine worthy’. In a perfect world, it would be 24-7, but as we all know, there’s no such thing as that. Although our home was always clean and for the most part tidy, after living there for many years it did need some upgrading, refreshing, and repurposing of certain spaces.
My biggest concern was whether or not I’d be objective enough since, as you know, it’s hard to be unbiased about something as personal as your own home. As it turned out, I was much harder on myself than I ever have been with a client. My husband ended up with a to-do list that took a couple of months to complete before I could even start on the actual staging. Luckily he was on board.
All of the hard work paid off though. We listed our home once the market became hot. Multiple offers weren’t the norm yet (too bad we hadn’t waited just a little longer), however, we were very excited to sell our home in 1 day for the full asking price!
My motto is…
Be kind and treat everyone with respect; especially the elderly.
My personal aesthetic is…
I lean towards eclectic. I love mixing an unexpected old piece in with the new. But there also has to be texture and an organic element added to the design.
Good staging should…
Leave a lasting impression on potential buyers and make them want to buy that house.
When I am not working I enjoy…
Traveling, reading, writing, and walking on the beach.
Right now I am obsessed with…
Driftwood and how it can be applied as a design element. That’s probably because we just moved to a beach town. I love hunting the beach for the perfect pieces. In our new home, we’ve added a couple of beautiful driftwood pieces as wall features along with up lighting. Also, my husband and I designed a driftwood chandelier for our dining area from one of our beach finds. I’m pretty excited about how that turned out.
My goal is…
Now that we’ve moved to a new town, my goal is to build up a new clientele. My focus will be on occupied staging, redesign, interior decorating, and downsizing. It has also been a dream of mine for a long time to write a fictional book. I’ve started on the outline, so we’ll see where that takes me.
My morning ritual is…
Coffee first, followed by catching up on the latest news and then looking for content for my Facebook business page and Twitter account.
My go-to staging accessory is…
Definitely artwork!
When you are in a rut creatively where do you go or what do you do to get out of it?
A long walk is always the best way to clear my head.
What does a perfect day look like to you?
It can be time spent with family and/or friends, the completion of a project, a snowy day curled up with a good book, or a summer day at the beach.
What project are you really excited about right now and why?
After our current lockdown is over, I’m looking forward to working with a client that has a summer cottage here in town. She wants to ‘stage’ it for her own enjoyment. From our discussions so far, it looks like we’ll be doing a beach theme. That will be a lot of fun!
What do you think about when you are alone in your car?
Not much of anything if possible. That’s my “me time”. I love cranking up the stereo to my favorite tunes and just chilling.
You can find out more about Charlene and her company by visiting her website http://www.dezignerdigz.com/
Photos provided and staged by Dezigner Digz™. Photography credit for 2nd and 4th photo: Virtual Viewing. Photography credit for 1st and 3rd photo: Charlene Storozuk.
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