Meet Summer Rosenbalm | Staging Design Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Summer Rosenbalm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Summer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It’s certainly been a journey! I’ve always been entrepreneurial and have known that I wanted to start my own business, but identifying the type of business was always my roadblock. I honestly just stumbled into real estate and fell in love with it. I started flipping houses with my husband and that’s where I was introduced to home staging and design. He managed the construction and I made the design decisions. And I learned quickly the importance of staging homes for market to look their best.

At the time, I was still working a full-time job and it was getting hard to do both things. My 8-5 was stable, but I found myself wondering what life would be like working for myself. After a lot of consideration, I decided to make the jump and go out on my own to start my own home staging and design business: Chilton Staging + Design. As entrepreneurial as I am, it still wasn’t an easy decision to make! I just knew, deep down, that it was time for me to move on to my next chapter and go out on my own.

My husband and I had just finished renovating a 100 year old historic home and that was the project that really inspired me to start my home staging and design business. It was a very unique airplane bungalow with lots of art-deco features. Very different from our usual projects. This is where I fell in love with design. Mixing 1920s brass hardware with brand-new quartz countertops or pairing century-old chandeliers with modern recessed lighting brought a new wave of challenges for me. In the end, that house became a beautiful mix of old and new. That house was on Chilton Avenue, which became both the inspiration and the namesake for my next venture Chilton Staging + Design.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When I started Chilton Staging + Design, I had to wear a lot of different hats and stretch myself. It also required me to get outside of my comfort zone as an introvert and meet a lot of people to get business. Honestly, it was pretty “boots on the ground” (and still is, in a lot of ways!).

There are three main things that set Chilton Staging apart from other home staging companies:

#1 We pride ourselves on keeping a modern and updated inventory. We are constantly purchasing new inventory to ensure that our designs are fresh, modern, and appealing to a wide audience to make homes look their best.

#2 We are extremely easy to work with. Some of our clients simply text us an address, approve the quote and next thing they know, their house is staged and ready for photographs.

#3 We are owned and operated by real estate nerds. As a real estate investor myself, I have a deep understanding of all sides of the transaction. I strive to enhance all of my customer’s ROI. I keep my thumb on the market at all times and consider myself a student of real estate, constantly learning and adapting my business to help give my clients a competitive edge.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend visiting Houston I would make sure they were visiting during Rodeo season! There’s absolute nothing like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It’s so unique to Houston and such a fun experience. I love seeing people experience it for the first time. Secondly, I would definitely recommend visiting NASA! It’s so impressive to see the rockets up close in real life and it’s also just part of the history of Houston. Lastly, you have to go to an Astros game! I think it’s such a cool environment and you really get a feel for the culture and people of Houston when you visit the juice box!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family is everything to me. They’re my tribe. Between my family and my husband, they’ve been my encouragement when I’ve needed it and the best cheerleaders. My husband, Cody, jumped right into this with me and took the risk and I’m forever grateful for that.

Website: https://www.chiltonstaging.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiltonstaging/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/summer-rosenbalm-mba-114a0958/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chiltonstaging

Image Credits
Gary Cunningham