OUR TEAM
SIMPLICITY DESIGN SERVICES has been staging homes since 2005. We are one of the first staging companies in New Jersey and regarded as one of the most respected for our expertise, honesty, and creativity. We are also the first staging company to offer design for the real estate industry. This means we can completely transform your home from cost effective kitchen and bath remodels to simple staging. Essentially, we have flipped homeowners own homes to bring them the best return on investment. Our success rate staging and designing homes is so strong that we are relied upon by many of the top Realtors and brokerages in the Tri-state, who try to keep us a secret from their own competitors. Many of our homes, even in challenging markets, have received full price offers in a week. Some of our homes have sold for up to $100,000 over asking price. Our small boutique firm is the company agents call with their most challenging project and most exclusive clientele. We are a luxury staging firm and though we specialize in million dollar plus homes, we work with all budgets at all price points. We are masters at creating a luxe look for less. We are not simply stagers. We're designers with advanced degrees in design from Pratt and NYU who also stage. Oh, and yes we provide interior design services.
JASON
Jason, aka The Design Guy, is at the helm of SIMPLICITY. He began his career in design as an Industrial designer. What's that, you wonder? They design products, point-of-purchase displays, UFOs, you know, pretty much EVERYTHING. He received his MFA in Industrial design from Pratt and his BFA in Fine Art. He served as a founding board member for The Philadelphia Experiment for which he designed numerous large scale events and environmental art. Think designing a house is hard? Imagine transforming a warehouse into a garden party or designing a functional bridge out of barrells....in just 2 days. Jason ultimately left industrial design to embrace his inner-hippie and discovered a zen-like love for painting when taking a seven year ‘interim’ position with Prudential as an in-house corporate painter. Uh, what?! Crazy as it seems listening to his inner child proved invaluable as this position led to numerous design jobs and allowed him to utilize his skills in 3-dimensional space and color theory in residential design. This new venue also introduced him to the real estate industry for which he developed a keen passion. He opened the Philadelphia design firm Home Details and not long after a giant dragonfly led him to Darlene creating the partnership now known as SIMPLICITY. Destiny wasn't done with Jason. In 2011, Jason was an on-air designer for HGTV’s Real Estate Intervention inspring the SIMPLICITY brand 'Design for Real Estate'. In 2014, he served as a freelance designer for Churchill Corporate Services assisting on the showroom designs across the northeast. His eye for 3-dimensional space and creating structural solutions has been instrumental to SIMPLICITY’s competitive edge. Not to mention, he's male and they are pretty few and far between in the staging industry. Jason oversees the design for real estate division. Be careful though, he's a slick one and it's not uncommon for him to subtly slip in really cool and irresistable design ideas. Just say yes, our clients always do and they never regret it.
Darlene
Darlene has spent eighteen years refining and re-defining the scope of staging. In 2006 she founded one of the first staging companies in New Jersey, SIMPLICITY HOME STAGING & DESIGN (now known as SIMPLICITY DESIGN SERVICES). In 2011, Darlene was an on-air designer and project manager for season 5 of HGTV’s Real Estate Intervention where she designed and renovated homes on very small budgets. At the time, HGTV wanted to merge the boundaries of staging and interior design. Darlene brought this concept back to her professional practice with a system called ‘design for real estate’. It has resulted in many of SIMPLICITY staged homes receiving offers in 1-30 days on the market. Darlene served as Senior Designer/Buyer for Churchill Corporate Services, a national leader in furniture rental for the staging industry. She was responsible for redesigning all of their showrooms across the northeast and ultimately established a new company brand. She served as Vice President of Staging & Design for afainteriors in Westport, CT, overseeing all in-house staging for the leading real estate firm in New England. Prior to entering the field of design, Darlene began as a luxury real estate agent for Turpin Realtors in Mendham, NJ. As a result of staging, she sold her first listing in one week for over asking with multiple offers. Her experience as a Realtor offers her the insight to evaluate homes from both a real estate and design perspective to make smart, cost-effective recommendations that truly help increase the perceived value of a home. Darlene holds a Masters’ degree from NYU and an undergraduate degree from Rutgers College where she studied theatrical design. Darlene now serves SIMPLICITY on an advisory and consulting basis.