Monique de la cruz March 2015 BCBusiness 47
When Homelife Benchmark real-
tor Lissa Greenwood put her own White
Rock home on the market last summer,
she hired Jean Burns of JB Home Stag-
ing to style the interior. To Greenwood's
existing furnishings Burns added new
dining room chairs, end tables, lamps
and accessories, plus art for the walls.
The furniture and accessories were sup-
plied by Wow Factor Staging Rentals. But
rather than use artwork from Wow Fac-
tor or her own inventory, Burns decided
to hire Fort Langley artist Lori McPhee
to create more than 20 custom paintings
for the home.
"When I brought Lori in, I said, 'OK,
we really need to do an outstanding job
on this because it's a great home to show-
case your art—and hopefully we'll sell it,'"
recalls Burns.
A professional artist for 25 years,
McPhee now works with several inte-
rior designers in the Lower Mainland,
charging between $10 and $35 a cus-
tom-designed piece (depending on its
size). "What I've learnt working with the
designers is not everybody can do it," she
says. "A lot of artists get set in their ways,
and they want to make what they want to
make and they don't like the guidance of
the designers."
Burns works with McPhee because,
All the Home's a Stage
styling a house for sale–a practice that's been popular for years–now
includes a burgeoning cottage industry for custom artwork, created with
the express purpose of enticing buyers by Felicity Stone
Real
Estate
2015
PACKAGE DEAL
When this North
Vancouver home went
on the market, art and
furnishings were included.
