Welcome…
Missy Christie de Koning is not like other real estate brokers. Perhaps that’s because she’s not quite a real estate broker – at least not in the traditional sense.
She’s also not like other decorators, for much the same reason. As a real estate pro who is a seasoned interior designer, Missy looks at homes from an entirely different viewpoint. It’s this unique perspective that prompted her to marry her two careers into one full-service business.
“For every client I work with – be it a real estate client, design client, or both, I need to know their story,” she attests. “What are their interests and passions? How do they live from day to day? Is there a room they remember loving when they were growing up? Our spaces are deeply personal and a good broker or designer really gets to know their client before selecting or creating a place for them to call home.” Indeed, it’s this level of personal attention that has turned the majority of Missy’s former clients into lifelong friends.
As a broker with a design background (and vice versa) working with Missy means that the entire process – from listing, to staging, buying and ultimately creating your new space – is seamless. This deep knowledge of not only real estate but also architecture and design allows Missy to help her clients make smart, sound decisions.
“We all know that hiring a designer can help you avoid costly mishaps,” she explains. “But hiring a broker who is also a designer can help you avoid monumental mistakes. So often, buyers purchase a home assuming they can move a wall, build an addition or rehab a kitchen only to find out that these changes are either exponentially more expensive than they were told or are altogether impossible. Sadly, it’s oftentimes too late.”
Conversely, her design background also comes into play for Missy’s sellers who benefit from her staging services and experience. In fact, she personally stages every home she lists, always utilizing as much of the homeowner’s own furnishings as possible. “When a home hits the market, it should be edited in a way that buyers can see themselves living in it,” she explains. “Yet it also needs to have character. My goal is to create rooms that buyers want to linger in. The emotional reaction that staging can evoke always helps to sell a home for maximum value.”
Yet for Missy, it’s about so much more than avoiding mistakes or saving time. The veteran broker and mother of three prides herself on the notion that finding and designing a home for a client is a sincere privilege. “This is your nest. It’s where you are going to live, raise your family and create memories. There’s no greater or more meaningful responsibility than that,” she says. “I always tell my clients that above all, my job is is to ensure their home has a soul.”
To that end, she believes that a good decorator captures the essence of the person living in the home – a lesson she learned from mentor and design legend Carleton Varney while living on Mackinac Island (Varney designed the tony vacation enclave’s famed Grand Hotel). “I always tell my clients to surround themselves with the things they love. For me, that’s the only hard and fast rule of design,” she smiles. “I also believe that editing and accessorizing a home is a true art form. Whether I am staging for a seller or designing someone’s forever space, the impact that the right accessories can have on a room is significant.” And while Missy’s personal tastes lean towards all things classic – she loves antiques, Asian influences and blue and white hues – her design prowess reaches far beyond her own preferences. “Good design is good design and that spans many genres. We can get rather stale if we stay within one specific style – branching out into other styles like mid century modern and mountain contemporary has made me a much better designer,” she affirms.
One thing remains certain regardless of style or scope. Missy gives her clients her all. “I don’t take on too many jobs at once. It’s incredibly important to me that I spend as much time as possible finding my clients a home they genuinely love and designing that home to perfectly fit their life and style.”