Photo Credit: MS2 Design Studio

While no one could have anticipated the unprecedented circumstances in which the world has found itself over the past two years, principal at MS2 Design, Michael Scigliano, reveals he designed his business to be able to function under any condition.

Haute Design: With the global pandemic going into its second full year, how has MS2 Design Studio adapted to this “new normal?” Was the beginning of the pandemic a particular shock in terms of business?

Michael Scigliano: Before opening MS2 Design Studio in 2010, the original business plan took into consideration the lessons that were learned from the previous firms that I had worked with. One firm had gone out of business because of the 2008 recession and the other because of conflicts with the partners. I made a conscious decision to keep our firm more boutique; therefore, eliminating the need for a large office space and the corresponding overhead.

Our team has always worked from home when possible and we meet when needed. This boutique design also kept us from bringing on too many employees and therefore, not needing too many projects at once. We’re able to hand-select the projects that challenge and interest us.

I’m humbled that MS2 Design Studio has thrived these past two years; having two of the best years in our history. This pandemic has negatively impacted so many companies and my heart goes out to all those that have fallen on hard times.

HD: What are some of the ways you have managed to maintain your high standards throughout all of this?

MS: Managing our high standards during the pandemic was actually easier than expected. Being stuck inside and having nothing else to concentrate on but work, made getting our job done much easier. There was literally nothing to do…but work. The beginning of the pandemic, March- May 2020, was surreal for everyone. Trying to make sure we were still taking care of our clients, while they were stuck in their own homes, helped to take the focus off being stuck at home ourselves.

Photo Credit: MS2 Design Studio

HD: How have you managed client expectations throughout the pandemic?

MS: We’ve been blessed that our clients have been very understanding to the current situation. Being business owners themselves, they understood that the entire world was being affected and that those delays would impact their projects as well. Oddly enough, within the last year and a half, we finished a gut renovation in Miami Beach at the Continuum and a design project at 40 Bleecker in New York City, in record time. The team we’ve assembled has gone above and beyond to keep things on track.

HD: Given the amount of time folks have been forced to remain indoors, have any of your residential design plans changed?

MS: The biggest change we have noticed is that we have signed several new projects from clients moving to the Miami area from New York and California. The need to have a home with combined indoor and outdoor social areas became a necessity to see friends and family in a somewhat-safe environment. This made Miami more popular than ever. Add to that, major companies changing to “work from home” formats, living in a warm, open-air environment, just seemed like the best choice. The exploding Miami real estate market is a clear sign of that.

HD: What is the biggest takeaway you've gotten from these unprecedented times?

MS: My biggest takeaway from all this change, is that HOME is the most important place. It doesn’t matter how big your home is or how many things you have, but having a sanctuary where you feel safe and can detox from all that the world is throwing at you, is incredibly important. When you aren’t allowed outside or allowed to live a normal life, your home is where you gather with those you love.  It’s the place you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc. The feeling of “being home and safe” has become paramount to our physical and mental well-being. And we get to design those spaces for our clients.

Photo Credit: MS2 Design Studio

The post MS2 Design Studio was Built to be COVID-Proof appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Agents are hit up daily by companies offering their services, tools, and apps. It is never-ending and exhausting. I have tried some and canceled many. In the end, here are my TOP 8 real estate tools and apps that made the cut, and that I do use daily.

1. ​Calendly: An ideal calendar tool. Calendly makes it easy to keep track of who is showing your listing and at what time. This tool documents their contact information making it easily accessible rather than buried in an email. Calendly is an excellent way to stay organized.

2. DocuSign: No matter where you or your client may be in the world, as long as each has access to the internet, documents can be signed and business performed. One can utilize Docusign on a mobile phone as well, but it is more difficult to read the fine print on a contract or disclosure, so I don't recommend it for lengthy documents unless of course the documents have been read and thoroughly understood, beforehand.

3. REveo: REveo ​All-in-one-click Real Estate Virtual Showing makes showing a home virtually, as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply CONNECT with your client from your iPhone by sending a link to their mobile device, laptop, or smart TV. Then TOUR your clients live, as you walk through the home together. The tour can also be saved and shared again later. Now REveo has a Matterport component. Go to REveo.co to learn more. Here is an example of a big REveo win for the DiMaggio & Betta Group: During COVID our clients were in New York and unable to come out to the Bay Area. So my husband utilized REveo to show homes to our clients, virtually. Show, Share, Close! 

4. Canva: As the Marketing Director of HIGHLAND PARTNERS, and for our team the DiMaggio & Betta Group, I am simply obsessed with creating ads and coming up with marketing campaigns, CANVA makes it easy to implement while providing templates you can use, edit and adjust. CANVA can be used on both your laptop or mobile device. It is an intuitive app that allows you to resize your template from Twitter to LinkedIn, Facebook to Pinterest, and more.

5. Ladies of Real Estate: Ladies of Real Estate social media and networking platform. This platform offers a variety of stylish real estate templates that can be saved to CANVA and edited to fit your needs. It also provides a referral network where Realtors are showcased. This is just the tip of the iceberg, so go to Ladies of Real Estate to learn more.

6. RealScout: A listed alert search platform that allows an agent to share listings in their desired price range. At the same time allowing the Realtor and client to communicate through RealScout.  RealScout offers market snapshots and other valuable information that can be shared with clients. RealScout is also easy to use and displays the listings beautifully.

7. Social Media Channels - Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest: Once you create beautiful marketing pieces on CANVA or other similar tools you have to post them somewhere. Each of our social media channels will have unique followers, so it is ideal to post across all platforms.

8. Dropbox: Real Estate is visual. Any agent who represents Sellers and their homes should always have professional, high res photos taken. Dropbox allows the easy transfer of high-resolution photographs for both web and brochures. Dropbox allows our photographers to share the images they shoot for all our listings with our marketing team so we can create brochures, websites, and upload them to the MLS. Dropbox is a convenient place to keep and categorize all of your photos, real estate related and personal.   

The post Top 8 Must Have Real Estate Apps, Tools And Platforms | Debbi DiMaggio, DiMaggio & Betta Group appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Nestled in Hidden Hills is the beautiful Hidden Hills Manor and Vineyard. Home to Wish Vineyards, this estate has recently gone on the market and is available for all winery-hopefuls to finally make their dreams come true.

Perched atop a privately gated 1.5-acre knoll, an impressive motor court welcomes you to this distinctive 8 bedroom, 10 bathroom estate compound.

A grand 2-story foyer & main hall open to an array of dramatic public living areas warmed by numerous fireplaces and adorned with custom millwork & gleaming wood floors. The professional chef's kitchen boasts top-of-the-line appliances, a center island & a sunlit breakfast room. The adjacent great room adorned with rich wood paneling, custom fireplace, beamed ceiling detail & impressive entertainers bar is the heart of this home. Two en-suite guest bedrooms and a handsome library complete the main living floor. The upper level features an elegant primary suite plus 3 additional secondary en-suite bedrooms.

But the crown jewel of the property is, of course, the vineyard that comes with the land. Today, Haute Residence sat down with the current owner and seller of Wish Vineyards and the property to learn more about what goes into owning a vineyard and the lifestyle associated with it.

Photo Credit: Luxury Level

HR: What would you say is the lifestyle associated with owning a vineyard?

Owner: Well, you soon learn the lifestyle is two-fold. First, there’s the idyllic setting, the joy of producing a great vintage, and the fun of sharing it with your friends and family, and then secondly you realize that you are becoming a farmer of sorts. You get in touch with the seasons and nature and the grapes and you develop a feel for your land. The end product is a result of your attention to the flora and fauna surrounding your home.

HR: If you sell the estate is the business side included such as the branding of the Wish vineyard, social media, trademark, etc.?

Owner: Yes, and it's up for discussion because first of all there are two things: the technical side of it is that Wish has the licenses and licenses have to be approved and there's paperwork that goes with that side of it. But more importantly, I think is the idea that the branding is personal to us, each person that owns a vineyard picks their own brand. If they fall in love with the Wish logo and trademark and social media that's great and I'd be happy to sell that along with it, but I would think that whoever buys the vineyard would want to establish their own brand. It’s more of a buyer’s choice. 

HR: How much and what kinds of wine are produced per year.

Owner: The vineyard has a capacity for about 300 cases a year. Sometimes we reduce something or depending on quality we’ll make a different call. We have Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and we primarily do a Meritage blend. And each year we determine what type of wine will be made depending on what the grapes tell us.

Photo Credit: Luxury Level

HR: Who does the vineyard harvesting and maintenance?

Owner: We have a contracted vineyard crew that maintains the vineyard and harvests the grapes.

HR: So the buyer could continue with the contract?

Owner: Yes, they’ve been there several years they know the run of the vineyard it’s not like whoever buys it is going to have to go out there and start trimming vines.

HR: Does it has an AVA (American Viticultural Area) compliant designation

Owner: yes we are actually members of the Malibu AVA and the Meritage society which allows us to use the Meritage marker on our bottle. And Meritage is a trademark that denotes a Bordeaux blend because we have Bordeaux grapes. 

HR: Are there any tax benefits?

Owner: Well yes, Wish Vineyards is an LLC so the expenses are deductible through the LLC you have to make sales to be able to offset expenses

Photo Credit: Luxury Level

HR: Why do you think someone would want to own a vineyard

Owner: Other than the glamour *laughs*, well in addition to the lifestyle answer above, the wine community is an all-encompassing group of people. We've met winemakers on 6 different continents that share similar and some divergent stories to our own. A vineyard becomes a part of your family, like another child you watch it develop from year to year. As the vineyard has matured, we have also grown as grape growers and winemakers; our wines have taken on characteristics of our own makings and preferences. 

HR: What advice would you give for someone who will own it in the future?

Owner: To embrace the vineyard and have it become a part of who you are. You connect yourself to the vineyard, you feel what it needs, it helps drive decisions you make about your life, your travel, your growth, and knowledge. You expand your circles in ways related to wine, educating yourself about wine lifestyles around the world. I would advise new owners to jump in wholeheartedly and look at the vineyard as an old friend who will be there for the long run. 

For more information on the listing, click here.

For more information on Wish Vineyards, please visit their website here.

The post A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes…. At Wish Vineyards! appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Recently Quadro Miami Design District hosted a business summit to help reinvigorate business relationships in Miami, FL. The Miami real estate market has shown incredible recovery from the pandemic thanks to incentives and the immediate response from the government to accelerate the implementation of vaccines as a way of reopening business. There has also been a major influx of people and businesses moving to Miami due to these incentives as well as the attractive model of taxes and the “fun in the sun” lifestyle of the city. 

Along with B2B Media and Immobiliere Magazine, Quadro used a blended format to host the conference, with the panels being held in-person at the Quadro Design District and streamed on Facebook Live for online viewers. The summit was comprised of three different panels: "America Grows - Real Estate Investments in the United States", "Restructuring the Post-Covid Financial Markets", and "What's Next for the Cities – Building a Better Future for the New Generations". 

"Nobody expected the market to be so resilient," remarked Javier Lluch of Element Development during one of the panels. "The state with the pandemic was a bit critical and it was expected to go down, however, the growth we've seen in the last 12 months has been significant."

Photo Credit: Quadro Miami

"In Miami, we have always been favored by immigration and influence from Latin America, however in the last year, the need for housing multiplied instead of stopping. The reduction in the state tax of 10% or 15% is one of the factors that occurred to make Miami more successful," Edgardo de Fortuna of Fortune International Group said during the second panel.

The Summit was a major success and allowed Miami business people and beyond a chance to network with some of the best of the best in real estate development. Opening remarks were given by Guillermo Almazo, CEO & Publisher of Immobiliere, and other notable panelists included: Edgardo de Fortuna of Fortune International Group, Pedro Azcué of JLL Mexico, Ignacio Montes of Alta Developers, Jeronimo Hirschfeld of ONE Real Estate Investment, Nitza Soledad Pérez of Miami & Latin America CGTN America, Jean-Paul Farah of Ritch Mueller, Federico Cerdas of Skyhaus & COBRA Development Fund, Rhiannon Jacobsen of USGBC and Robert Barcelo of Port Everglades. 

Quadro Miami Design District Summit Location

Photo Credit: Quadro Miami

About Quadro Miami Design District: 

Completed in 2019 and built by Alta Developers, Quadro Miami Design District offers turn-key luxury residences with the option to OWN. LIVE. SHARE. The fully finished residences are optimized for short-term use, whether it’s for weekly, monthly, seasonal, or long-term stays. Additionally, owners have the option to purchase a unit occupied by a long-term tenant. Six interior design packages with hand-selected accessories and furniture packages are also available.

Studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom residences range from 548 to 1,280 sq. ft., all with spacious balconies and/or terraces. Select units have oversized outdoor patios up to 1,302 sq. ft. The 12-story boutique building, architecturally designed by Behar Font & Partners and filled with over 500 works of custom art by Art With DNA, boasts walkability to shopping and dining in the internationally renowned Miami Design District with its designer boutiques and galleries, which are all only minutes from Wynwood, Miami Beach, and the airport. The expansive amenities deck with a pool, summer kitchen, and cabanas provides plenty of space for outdoor recreation with panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, while the spacious poolside clubroom, yoga, and spinning rooms create a private setting fit for relaxation or spending time with friends and family. Residences start in the $400,000’s. 

The post REB+ Summit Miami Was A Success At Quadro Miami Design District appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Born in Kansas, the designer and TV star Joanna Gaines balances her life between being a wife, a mother, and a businesswoman. Gaines is not only a star in the hit television show Fixer Upper but also the co-owner and co-founder of the design and real estate company Magnolia. 

Her interest in design emerged after she graduated from Baylor University with a degree in communications. She worked as an intern in New York and fell in love with the profession. Her expertise and knowledge of design will often give people the impression that she had intensive training in the area, however, when she started flipping houses with her husband she had zero interior design background. 

Magnolia, Gaines’ personal project, was founded in 2003 when she also opened her own shop, Magnolia Market. Gaines and her husband, Chip, put all their love for design into remodeling and flipping homes. She mentions on the company’s website how Magnolia Market’s business idea was born out of a dream that was imagined impossible. She explained how it came to life thanks to her husband’s support and encouragement. After having their two kids, the couple decided to close the Market to focus on family, while also putting all their efforts into Magnolia Homes, where they learned the construction side of the business. After starting with the television show, she made the decision to reopen Magnolia Market, which turned into a great store in downtown Waco and an extensive online store.

The exceptionally successful company landed Gaines in the post of one of the most successful designers and businesswomen in the country. In addition to her own company, the television show Fixer Upper transformed her into a design celebrity. Currently, with over eleven million followers, she is one of the designers with the highest number of followers on Instagram. 

Joanna’s style, inspired by her Texan roots, can be defined as classic, simple, and fresh. She has a great eye for seeing potential in old and antiquated things and turning them into new pieces. A room designed by Gaines will most likely include wooden floors, wooden furniture, a cozy fireplace, and a big plush bed. Interestingly, Gaines revealed that her favorite space to renovate and design in a house is the laundry room, since it is often underestimated, and can serve as a great inspiration and comfort space if designed right. 

The post Step Into The Story Of Famous Interior Designer Joanna Gaines  appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

The new celebrity design show will air on amazon based streaming service IMDb TV for free. The 51-year-old Flipping Out Alum and Jeff Lewis Live! Radio show host will executive produce the show, featuring his life as a single father and designer. The design show will showcase his eccentric home design, as well as his celebrity clientele and exclusive design innovations. 

The show will follow Lewis as he administers "high-maintenance celebrities and ambitious home design projects while juggling his staff and personal life, which are all a work in progress," according to the streaming service.

Jeff Lewis is popularly known as the star of his former show Flipping Out, which aired its final episode in November 2018. The show spotlighted his personal drama and the difficulties of owning his interior design firm, Jeff Lewis Design. Flipping Out ended with Lewis getting into a turbulent fight with his friend and coworker Jenni Pulos. 

Running for two seasons, the show Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis was a spin-off of Flipping Out, and premiered on Bravo in 2012. 

Interior Therapy’s series finale came shortly before Lewis had complications with his partner, Gage Edward, which resulted in their separation. Edward is the father of their 4-year-old daughter Monroe Christine and was also his business manager.

Jeff’s return to television is anxiously awaited by his fans, who idolize him for his breathtaking design work and humorous judgment of home renovations. A show premiere date has not yet been announced. 

The post Jeff Lewis Is Coming Back To TV Starring In A New Unscripted Celebrity Design Show appeared first on Haute Residence by Haute Living.