All Their World's a Stage - Page 2

"Over the years, we experimented with different looks. We found that our tastes kind of shifted," she said of decorating her own home, which now leans more to the swinging '60s.

Meanwhile she met Siler, who, in 2009, had bought a timeworn Eichler on foreclosure in nearby Rancho del Diablo and was restoring it. They began shopping together and perusing various modernist websites, blogs, and home listings.

"It's kind of our lives now, finding vintage furniture," she said from her car last week on her way to see an American of Martinsville dining table for sale in Sacramento. When she shops with Siler, though, sometimes there's an aspect of friendly competition: "We would kind of race through the aisles to see what you would find."

That competition subsided after Baum retired from being a social worker to spend more time with her daughter and start Redux Stage.

"We were seeing fantastic [real estate] photos of Eichlers, but the approach was not right," Baum said of the inspiration that led her and Siler to their joint venture. "We would say, 'Somebody should do something about that. Well, we could do it..."

A Concord neighbor gave the partners their first break—an opportunity to stage an Eichler about to go on the market. "It sold for $30,000 over asking [price]," Baum said proudly, and with that the business was off and staging. "We're onto our sixth Eichler now," Baum said last week. "We've been busy every month."

"We continue to appreciate the architecture because each one is so different," she said of their specialty. "Each one is pretty unique."

Baum said staging generally starts with a walk-through and assessment of the project, most importantly whether their staging includes the whole house or only a part. Nearly all the homes they have done so far have been in the East Bay, and Baum said she particularly likes attending open houses for the homes she stages because "we get really good feedback."

"We don't really have a formula," she said of the Redux Stage approach. "You want to make sense of the space you have…We really wanted the furniture to bring out the architecture."

So far, the approach appears to be working.

"They've all sold within two, two-and-half weeks of listing, and all for $20,000 to $30,000 over listing [price]," Baum boasted, citing one exception, a home listed for $825,000 that fetched $1.025 million. "We were pretty proud of that one."

Actually, in spite of the partnership's early success, Baum remains realistic bout their start.

"Obviously, I'd like to take the credit, but I can't," she said modestly. "Eichlers are just amazing."

• For more on Redux Stage Co., visit reduxstageco.com.