Anyone who's worked with a real estate agent to sell a home is probably familiar with the term "staging". For those who haven't heard of it, staging is the cultivated practice of making a home visually pleasing to a wide variety of people while, at the same time, improving the chances of an expedient sale.

Staging usually involves de-cluttering each room of the house, even depersonalizing it to some extent. A home that's cluttered looks smaller, and a home that's over-personalized makes it difficult for potential homebuyers to envision it any other way. Staging can also mean making physical changes, such as repainting walls in more neutral colors or redoing window treatments to reflect a more modern look. Albeit these are not the most expensive projects, they do cost money.

So, what if you could reap the benefits associated with staging, such as reducing clutter and improving a room's aesthetics, but accomplish it all with just one day's work? And what if this could be achieved without spending any money, utilizing only the possessions and materials which already adorn the inside your home? Enter Carole Talbott, the "Mother of Makeovers" and creator of a method known as Visual Coordination.

As the Founder and President of her own company, Talbott says she's been practicing the art of coordinating home interiors all her life. In the late 80s, Ms. Talbott displayed her craft as a guest on ABC's Home. Since then, she's made appearances on Oprah, Good Morning America, and countless other television programs. Talbott credits her early TV appearances with helping her to create the actual "formula" she uses to transform the inside of a home.

Talbott and her unique formula have also gained fans from the world of real estate. One such admirer is mega-real estate agent, Patrick Stracuzzi, from South Florida. Patrick, ranked as one of the nation's top agents, says "I'm a believer in Visual Coordination because I've seen the results." Patrick says he recently took on a listing which had expired with another real estate agent. He hired Carole to coordinate the home's interior, and a mere ten days later it sold.

Talbott says, "The key is to jump in head first and follow my formula to a tee." The result, she claims, is a home which is not only highly functional but optimal in terms of aesthetics. She adds that her method of visual coordination works in any room of any home, regardless of the furniture or accessories you own. Talbot also says it's an added edge for anyone looking to sell a home, especially in this "buyer's market".

At this point you're probably asking, "So, what's her formula?" Talbott says she starts from scratch, taking everything out of a room and examining its floor plan with nothing in her way. She says it's important to look at every room as a "puzzle" and its unencumbered layout should serve as your "game board". From there, Talbott positions all of the furniture in proper accordance with the specific floor plan of said room. She continues to piece together her puzzle by layering (as she refers to it) the artwork on the walls. Talbot completes her masterpiece by strategically placing the remaining accessories and decorations.

It's important to keep in mind the countless floor plans and designs that exist in homes today. And just as every room in every home is different, so are the possessions which fill them. It is because of these variances that it took Talbott three years to chronicle her technique and turn it into a book, Decorating for Good: A Step-by-Step Guide to Rearranging What You Already Own. She does, however, have a few take-away hints which she says apply to every home.

Oftentimes when a homeowner is not happy with the look of a room, the tendency is to re-hang pictures, rearrange decorations, or concentrate on one specific corner. Talbot says it's this practice which begins a never-ending cycle of "moving things around". She says, "Don't be scared to start over…from the beginning." It is the only way to get it right. Talbott adds that starting from scratch and placing one piece at a time is much less overwhelming than it may sound.

Talbot also urges people to group their like possessions. She claims that similar colors, motifs, and designs belong together as opposed to being haphazardly strewn throughout a room or a home. Once again, Talbot refers to her puzzle analogy. She says when you start on a jigsaw puzzle, you always look for likeness, and a room is no different. Doing otherwise will result in time wasted.

Talbot says that the ultimate goal should be to unify content with structure, keeping in mind that anything placed inside a room becomes an extension of the architecture. She says for any homeowner, it is this philosophy which will bring ultimate function as well as visual coordination to their home. For anyone selling a home, she says it's also the best way for interested buyers to see your home's true beauty and, more importantly, how it will fit into their lives.

Carole's company, Visual Coordinations by Carole Talbott, Inc., is located in Stewart, Florida. To learn more about her business, visit the official website at www.CaroleTalbott.com or contact Carole directly by emailing her at Carole@CTalbott.com. Her book, Decorating for Good, can be found at most bookstores or ordered online at www.amazon.com.