Today we’d like to introduce you to Pat Shankle.
Pat, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a very creative family. My parents were very artistic and talented in transforming outdated pieces or designing and creating something brand new for our home. They always let us kids get in on the fun no matter what crazy design or color we chose! So I continued my passion in being creative and decorating as a hobby then 15 years ago, I turned my hobby into a career. Thus, Georgia Home Staging was born. I started out stealing items from my own home to stage other homes. My husband and son would scratch their head as our dining table, sofa, art or decor would float out the door. “It’s out making money,” I would say! The dog and our bed were the only things off limits for staging. We’ve come a long way baby from using my basement to multiple storage units and now to a 10,000 sq ft warehouse.
Shortly after starting GHS, and seeing how much fun I was having, my very artistic and creative son, Ryan Hillsgrove, began working with me and has helped grow the business. We now have a team of amazing stagers and movers! We specialize in staging the luxury home market but we love staging charming bungalows as well. We do more than just put furniture in a home. We customize our staging packages to each individual home, creating a lifestyle, targeting your specific buyer… Pretty is a side effect of what we do. We have 15 years of a proven track record in transforming a house into a home that on average, will sell within the first two weeks to 30 days and for top dollar.
Our goal for every project is to create a cozy, welcoming home and lifestyle image that buyers fall in love with the moment they walk in the door. As a hobby, I love painting the artwork for the homes we stage, which gives the home that extra custom feel. We are so humbled, honored and blessed in creating such lasting partnerships with the most amazing realtors, investors, builders and sellers throughout metro Atlanta. Super excited when DIY hired us to stage “Vacation Homes for Free” as well as a few pilots for different networks. Then HGTV came knocking on our door to stage season 1 & 2 of Flip Or Flop Atlanta and as well as staging a few episodes of a new upcoming HGTV show (name cant be divulged at this time). We are looking forward to the future in staging as it continues to be an essential marketing tool to attract the largest pool of prospective buyers and gain top dollar.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ha – only smoothies are smooth. Struggles help overcome obstacles and challenges that sometimes turn into a blessing of growth and satisfaction of solving the puzzle. Being a small business owner has many struggles… from finding the right team to wearing too many hats and learning to delicate, plus telling yourself its ok if you mess up sometimes. Our biggest struggle is probably when we are in birthing stages of growth and having to work twice as hard till we can find the right people with strong work ethics and that fit into our most amazing family we have built. When you are in the service industry, some people don’t realize they are paying you for your education and many years of experience that you have vs. the time it took you to complete the project.
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.” Jim Rohn
Please tell us about Georgia Home Staging.
I’m proud of my team for their dedication and sharing my goal of pouring themselves and creativity into a home that evokes happy, charming, cozy rooms that buyers connect with and cant wait to make it theirs. Super proud to be selected as HGTV’s stager for Flip or Flop Atlanta and an upcoming show.
We pour our hearts and soul into each and every project as if it were our own home. We don’t just pull the furniture off our shelf – it has to be a perfect size, color, style so you’ll want to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine-staging is an art. Most realtors around Marietta or Metro Atlanta recognize our work due to our customized staging. We are an award-wining Luxury Staging Company. You’ll find most of my custom paintings hanging over the fireplace in our homes. We design and build some of our unique furniture pieces to add to that custom look.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Painting, coloring, making mud pies and throwing them at my sisters. Picking vegetables, shucking corn and snapping peas with the family then throwing it all on the picnic table with fried chicken and a big gallon of sweet tea and banana pudding for dessert.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.georgiahomestaging.com
- Phone: 14042744574
- Email: pat@georgiahomestaging.com
- Instagram: georgiahomestaging
- Facebook: Georgia Home Staging
Image Credit:
Johnny Sinclair, Ansley Atlanta, Sam Johnson, Ansley Atlanta, Cheryl Sawyer, Georgia Residential/Commercial Real Estate, Tuscany Village Woodstock
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
