Rising Stars: Meet Robin DeCapua

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin DeCapua.

Hi Robin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
One bright June morning in 2011, I made a fateful decision. I walked into my boss’ office and said “I need to make a change.” He knew what I meant instantly. It meant I was ready to move on, to start a new career, a new life. He gave me his support and blessing, and it helped me launch myself into starting a small business as a home stager. At this point, I had already been staging homes on nights and weekends with my daughter and design partner, Rachel Moore. Rachel and I developed an interest in interior design at exactly the same time and together decorated my younger daughter’s bedroom as a surprise makeoever (complete with dramatic reveal!) as our first team project. I had also become well-known at my workplace for having the best-designed office and for helping my colleagues design their offices as well. Lunch hours were spent watching videos about home stagers, shopping for vintage items to build our inventory and dreaming of decorating homes for a living. Our small business didn’t have a name yet, a website or any social media presence whatsoever. But it was real and we had already staged a few homes based solely on word-of-mouth referrals. Quitting my full-time marketing manager job was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make — but also one of the best. You never know what you’re capable of until you actually try it. While I knew I could always fall back on marketing as a career, that idea was fading into the distance more and more because I was already in my 50s. I knew the next phase of life for me was as an entrepreneur.

While I worked on creating an LLC, building a web presence for our business and reaching out to the real estate community, I used the $13,000 I took from my job in unused vacation time to live on. I knew I couldn’t spend more than about three months at these pursuits. I had to pull in paying clients soon. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you know you have to pay your bills. My husband was a great support to me and encouraged me to go for it every single time. I know it can be hard if your spouse basically leaps off into the unknown when you’d gotten used to that steady paycheck. By this time, Rachel had graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) with a degree in interior design. And within the first couple of years, her husband Ernie Rodriguez joined our team as general manager. Nothing was going to hold us back now! Fast forward to 11 years later and we’re staging on average 100 homes each year. In 2022 alone, we staged more than $100 million worth of real estate. Our growth has been slow and steady but has weathered both the pandemic and a real estate market slowdown. Many lessons were learned along the way, and we’ve grown from having one storage unit to hold furniture and decor to now leasing a 7,000 square-foot warehouse with enough inventory to stage as many as 30-40 homes at a time.

Alright, 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?
I’ll never forget the lowest point in my home staging career. We used to rent furniture from CORT Furniture Rental to stage homes and provide just the smaller items like rugs, lamps, pillows, decor and bedding, etc. CORT would charge us monthly rental fees and we would charge our clients a marked-up fee. We handled all the details of moving and installation as well as assuming the risk of potential damage to the rental furniture. But we were behind on our payments to CORT by about $200. I was waiting for funds to be deposited but they weren’t in yet, so I had to ask Rachel to loan $200 to our business bank account to cover the shortfall. I remember sitting in my car and asking her for this huge favor. It seems like forever ago, and yes, things got really tight at times. But like every business owner, we did what we had to do. Every single day we learn something new about running a small business. I know I could’ve read a bunch of books on the subject, but honestly, I’m an experiential learner and I had to learn through mistakes and hard knocks. Luckily they were all small mistakes, nothing major, and each time we vowed to avoid that particular pitfall — whatever it might be — in the future. I’ve always said I started out wanting to be a stager, I didn’t especially want to be a small business owner, but I realized early on that I would have to be. I just wanted to be my own boss and do what I love.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Home staging is the art of making people fall in love with a home so much that they must make an offer on it — It’s also the art of encouraging strong offers and shortened time on market for real estate. Time and money are crucial whenever a property is listed. In Los Angeles, if a home doesn’t get any offers in the first few days, realtors start to blanch and rethink price and marketing strategy. More than 90% of home buyers between the ages of 23 and 56 began their home-buying process online in 2022. What this means is that homes that present well visually are the most likely to attract an in-person viewing. Well-staged and photographed properties show potential buyers how the home could look fully furnished and decorated. This has a profound effect on people, eliciting a positive emotional response. Emotional connection to a home is one of the most crucial factors affecting home purchase. Location, affordability, practicality and size are, of course, important.

But without the emotional connection, it’s only a part of the whole. I love the psychological aspect of home staging, thinking about the demographics of the likely buyer pool and then designing the whole staging to appeal to a specific demographic. Staging used to be plain vanilla — all white and neutral with little personality. Now it’s much more like interior design on demand. Colorful, eclectic and interesting, staging has really grown into an exciting field. And I couldn’t be happier. Our company excels in creating a space that appears to be lived in by an interesting, well-traveled person or persons. People want to feel that by buying this house they will become the best version of themselves — organized, productive, happy, well-organized and stylish. Aspirational staging checks all these boxes, making potential buyers compelled to purchase a particular home.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Los Angeles is one of the most exciting and diverse cities in the world. I can’t imagine living anywhere else since I moved here in 1988. Originally based in the Bay Area, I came here because my ex-husband was a film editor and had gotten a job in the industry. It was tough at first, as we navigated all the different neighborhoods, after finally settling in Silverlake. After nine years there and a divorce, I purchased a home in Glendale’s Adams Hill neighborhood and have happily lived here since 1998 (raising two daughters as a single mom and remarrying my current husband Jerry DeCapua in 2006). This area of Glendale is hilly and the housing stock is varied — you can find a Spanish-style home in between a 1950s ranch and an English cottage.

We’re walking distance to all that downtown Glendale has to offer, while also being at the crossroads of three major freeways — the 134 Freeway, the I-5 and the 2 Freeway. There is an abundance of vintage and interesting furniture and decor to be found in LA, from thrift stores and flea markets to decor shops and businesses that refinish furniture. It’s a treasure trove for a home stager and it’s made our business possible. Additionally, because LA County is so huge there is an abundance of real estate and so many opportunities for new business. I just wish there were more walkable, pedestrian-friendly streets in the LA area. But you can still find a wealth of outdoor restaurants and activities that involve walking. I just recently discovered 3rd Street in downtown Long Beach, with some great outdoor dining and strolling.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.madmodhome.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madmod_home/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madisonmodernhome
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-decapua-963b8712/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/madison-modern-home-glendale?osq=Home+Stagers
• Other: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/home-stagers/madison-modern-home-pfvwus-pf~503386916

Image Credits
Christopher Lee Foto