Meet Alisa Adams of Silver and Gray

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisa Adams.

Hi Alisa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Thank you so much for inviting me here today! I’m Alisa Adams, the Principal Stager/Designer with Silver & Gray.  The idea for our staging company began when I realized there was a niche in the real estate market that wasn’t being met. This staging business was created from the idea that the perceived level of the house is greatly influenced by the level of the design. I learned from the very talented and knowledgeable broker, and now dear friend, Candice Quinn. Working with her helped me to refine my love of real estate and interior design. I realized the importance of a meticulously curated listing. After assisting friends and family members to prepare their own listings, I was ready to start Silver & Gray Staging, but would need more help.

Through inspiration and backing from our favorite store, Abode Fine Living on High Street in Phoenix, we began to focus on high-end design. When I have a big project, I often call on the owner, my friend Catherine Crandall, to brainstorm ideas with, as well as execute the plan. It’s been exciting to work on some beautiful projects together. The more we placed high-end furniture and accessories in homes, the faster the listings seemed to sell, and often for more than expected pricing. We were amazed at how we continued to grow faster. There were furniture deliveries almost on a daily basis to the point where sometimes the entire sidewalk was covered! Keeping up with demand was a challenge. It was a stagers’ market.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Looking back, it feels like everything fell into place.  When we’re going through it, we’re constantly assessing the market, and making adjustments as needed to keep us with more coming in than what’s going out.  That’s been the biggest challenge.  We were weathering it all pretty well as the years went on and then…. in came the pandemic and the dynamics changed. Homes began selling so quickly that many people stopped staging. We were fortunate to have the backing that we did of our investor clients who continued to stage their homes in order to encourage higher price points. Our referral to the biggest real estate investor in Scottsdale, MwM, kept us busy when others were selling off all of their furniture. The first time I went into a house with his entire team to discuss the transformation was intimidating to say the least.  I really kept looking over my shoulder for the HGTV cameras.  As with most experiences that push us out of our comfort zones, it made me grow, learn, and work more effectively.  Getting to see a house when it’s down to the studs, then the progress, and finally the transformation after a stage is completed is truly inspiring. Seeing the story of how the architectural elements come together allows us to make adjustments to improve each house. This luxury market has forced us to constantly be reaching higher and elevating our designs, so that is what we are committed to doing.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Silver & Gray?
In addition to staging, we are now a design firm as well.  We are experienced in seeing the vision for what upgrades will make the biggest impact.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
One of the biggest lessons we have learned is that there are no limits to what we can do as a team!  Friends and family have been supportive, with cheerleading to heavy-lifting and everything in between, with an extra special thanks to Jeff, Mallory, Everly, Janie, Lil, Eva, and Anushka who have had my back through it all so much that I don’t feel comfortable not mentioning their roles.  Omar Estrada and his moving team have been a huge part of our success. There from the beginning, we have been staging almost every home with their valuable insights. We are always keeping our eyes open for talented workers. This week is the anniversary of our most recent addition of the very talented Kathleen Collins.  I’m so thankful to have found her, as she is a brilliant stager who is also a lot of fun to be around.  We work with exceptional photographers, agents, contractors, and investors, but it’s the personalities that make me look forward to teaming up with them on the next exciting project.

Contact Info:

• Email: alisaadamsrealestate@gmail.com
• Website: www.silverandgraystaging.com

Image Credits
Pixelist Media www.pixelistmedia.com for all real estate photos Angelique Craig of Wish Portraits for the portrait image