Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

Series of Free Online Videos Featuring Many Simple, Cost-Conscious and Highly Effective Design Tips to Help Increase the Value of Any Home 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (April 16, 2009) — “Good design has the power to change lives.”  That simple philosophy is what inspires noted home and style designer Stephen Saint-Onge, whose makeover techniques have reached millions across the country through design makeovers in magazines and on television. Now, Saint-Onge is applying those easy-to-implement home improvements to real estate in a new in a series of free TV-quality videos produced by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. The web-based videos are available immediately at www.bhgrealestate.com/designsforlife as part of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate’s lifestyle campaign.

The four initial titles being released today, include:  Stephen Saint-Onge Welcome, Design and the Home, Master Bedroom, and Home Office. An additional eight will be unveiled in the weeks to come, and are part of the company’s campaign to educate home owners and sellers. The exclusive TV-quality videos are relevant to the current economic climate and to today’s home sellers who do not have the capacity for expensive redesign efforts, but still need to ensure that their homes stand apart from the rest.

The videos include a myriad of highly effective home selling design secrets -- creative tips that are fast, easy and simple to implement.  The goal of the video series is to turn house hunters into home buyers and to transform virtually any space into one that is visually appealing.   “We are excited to work with such a prestigious interior designer whose down-to-earth style and practical and budget conscious decorating solutions resonate with our customers,” says Sherry Chris, president and CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. “Strategically, this helps us build better relationships with our current and potential homebuyers and sellers and most importantly, gives them the knowledge and tools to successfully sell their house.”

Chris adds that the designer’s creativity and expertise are helping to expand the real estate brand by offering consumers the kind of professional and expert advice that they may not be able to get elsewhere.  “The bottom line is that we are empowering consumers with lifestyle and real estate information – real, how-to advice that they will find invaluable.” 

Known as “The Home and Style Designer for the Everyday Family,” Saint-Onge has a friendly and engaging style that, along with his specific design philosophies, is well captured in these educational video series.  Presented in a very conversational style, the designer provides decorating tips and solutions that are effective ‘quick fixes’ for virtually any room in the house. Saint-Onge shows viewers how to make rooms visually exciting and dramatic and how to use simple décor items to add panache and interest.  “Redesigning a room does not have to cost a fortune. These videos will inspire any homeowner to make their rooms feel more comfortable and inviting by using some of my simple, cost-effective design creative direction,” says Saint-Onge.   

Camilla Sullivan, senior vice president of marketing, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC, adds: “Design with broad appeal can help move a house toward to a sale faster, by appealing to the senses. These new videos will empower sellers who need a little help with affordable staging ideas, ways to improve the feel of a room or even the ability to take a critical eye to their own design. Our goal is to be a valuable resource for consumers on all matters related to residential real estate buying and selling.  We want to help them make their homes more appealing to would-be buyers.” 

The videos include several before-and-after transformations and a wide variety of decorating themes. For example, Saint-Onge describes several colorful ways to add splash to boring white walls, and he shares a toolbox of ideas to modernize outdated kitchens with relative ease, thereby adding significant resale value.

Topics on the videos also include:

• Accessorizing the Mantle

• Design and the Home

• Creating a “Lookbook”

• Living Room

• Kitchen

• Entry Foyer

• Home Office

• Master Bedroom

• Children’s Bedroom 

About Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC

Better Homes and Gardens^® Real Estate is an international real estate brand that offers a full range of services to brokers, sales associates and home buyers and sellers. Using innovative technology, sophisticated business systems and the broad appeal of a lifestyle brand, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate embodies the future of the real estate industry while remaining grounded in the tradition of home. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. For more information, please visit www.bhgrealestate.com. 

Better Homes and Gardens® is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation licensed to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC.

Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Better Homes and Gardens^® Real Estate Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

Media Contact:

Michael Fischer

646-747-8238

michael@mcipr.com