Susan Hewitt, C.J. Nakagawa + Team

The Golden Gate Group

Let this mutigenerational real estate team help you achieve stellar results.

What is it about your team that make you a great choice for clients?

Our top priority is to increase our clients’ return on their real estate investment. Whether it’s selling your property for the highest dollar possible or looking for a new residence that speaks to your design aesthetics and growing needs, we are here to offer our expertise. As industry leaders and the No. 1 team at Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty for two years in a row, few agents assist more people to achieve their real estate goals than we do. With nearly 20 percent of all sales taking place off-market, reach out today so you don’t miss out on your next home.

What sets your approach apart when it comes to buying and selling property?

We take the time to educate clients and help them stage and improve the property for targeted market positioning. This leads to a strong ROI. For buyers, we have an incredible arsenal of contacts and service providers who can help transform and add value to their new home. For sellers, we are deeply-involved and help them easily manage an otherwise stressful process.

What new services do you offer clients?

We offer interior design, landscape design and staging ideas at no cost to our clients. We are affiliated with the best design teams in Marin County and San Francisco. Our roster is full of designers, landscapers, architects, stagers, handymen and other tradespeople.

The Golden Gate Group: Susan Hewitt, C.J. Nakagawa + Team 415.407.8349 team@themaringroup.com www.themaringroup.com

Leigh Bakhtiari City Carpets

Let these flooring experts put their decades of experience to work for you.

What do you want people to know about your business?

We are your locally owned and family operated flooring store that’s part of the largest nationwide flooring co-op, Carpet One. This gives us access to all the finest carpets and flooring as the S.F. design centers but without the hassles and costs of a trip to the city, and with the pricing and warranties afforded through our co-op.

What new products in interior design do you offer clients?

Outdoor living is huge in Marin, people are extending their living spaces and we have the most beautiful indoor/ outdoor rugs, waterproof hardwoods and natural flooring products to enhance your home. Our website offers a room visualizer feature where clients can upload a photo of their room and see what different flooring will look like in their space. We also offer personalized service from home visits to help in the design process all the way through the final installation.

What is it about your team that makes it a great choice for clients?

Our designers and installation staff are the people in your neighborhood. Along with serving Marin County for the last 30 years, we live here, too. Our knowledgeable team stays up to date on all the latest flooring products, trends and installation techniques.

City Carpets

555 Francisco Boulevard, East San Rafael, CA 94901 415.726.2882 | leigh@city-carpets.com www.city-carpets.com

/@citycarpetsc1 | /CityCarpets

CSL #746886

What is it about your team that makes it a great choice for clients?

We have four decades of experience and a six-person, full-time team so no stone is unturned, no detail is missed and no mistakes are made. There is no substitute for experience, longevity and connections.

What new services do you offer?

We have a full-time project designer and a marketing team who stay on top of all things home design. We give our sellers options and have dozens of “before and after” photographs from previous makeovers to give them ideas of what can be done within their budget. Furthermore, we guide them on what projects will give them the best return on their investment. We are the only organization that offers interestfree funds for improvements that are not due until the close of escrow. As an alternative, we can market a home and get top dollar when sellers need to sell “as-is.” We do this by creating custom design plans/ideas to show potential buyers.

How are you addressing new design trends?

Since the pandemic, the demand for flex spaces is huge. We stage or offer design ideas to maximize the flexibility of each home, often including reaching out to our favorite architect to draw some options and inspiration for buyers.

Allison Salzer Compass

This agent has a plan to maximize your real estate investment.

What is it about you that makes you a great choice for clients?

I think outside the box. Markets change, each home is unique and each buyer or seller will have their own goals. I will always create a plan, but I am nimble and will adjust that plan for each nuance.

What sets your design approach apart when it comes to improving or staging property?

There is no one design approach, each home is unique. I like the style of architecture to dictate the design. My father was an architect and I think design is baked into my DNA. I can walk into a home and know what can be done to maximize value — and the key is value. I will only suggest an upgrade if I think my client will achieve at least $2 for every $1 they spend. I’m also not opposed to walking into a home and say “do nothing.” I just don’t take a cookie-cutter approach.

How are you addressing some of the new design trends?

I am so excited about the new trends; here are the ones I am most excited about: color is making a comeback from the grey and white pallet we have lived with; rich wood paired with a hard surface such as marble or Caesarstone is back in style; outdoors we are seeing low-maintenance, low-water landscapes with use of native plants and succulents.

Allison Salzer

allison.salzer@compass.com

415.297.2110 www.allisonsalzer.com | DRE #01978463

How are you addressing some of the new design trends?

We work with top-notch stagers, designers and architects that help us keep on top of the ever-changing trends so we always present current ideas to our clients.

What is it about your team that makes it a great choice for clients?

We are a great choice as we have over four decades of experience between us in the real estate industry. We also both happen to be third-generation Marin residents with deep roots and extensive knowledge of all of the unique Marin neighborhoods. We really enjoy being able to guide our clients in taking their next steps in real estate and thrive on the connections we make as well as the life-long friendships. We are truly fortunate to love what we do while making a difference.

Does your team have a notable history in the Bay Area?

Both of us are third-generation Marinites and even better, thirdand fourth-generation construction families. Our grandparents commuted from Marin to San Francisco before the Golden Gate Bridge was built.

Catherine Simon

Garvey|Simon Art

What makes your team a great choice for clients?

At Garvey|Simon, we believe in the transformative power of art and inclusivity. Sisters Liz and Catherine joined forces to provide an approachable entry point into the world of fine art and collecting. With over 30 years experience, Garvey|Simon is armed with the knowledge and expertise to educate and guide clients on their art journeys. Our San Anselmo location hosts rotating exhibitions featuring established and emerging artists and also offers personalized art advisory.

What sets our design approach apart when improving property?

We help individuals define their aesthetic and then offer a launching place that is aligned with their goals. During the process, tastes are refined further and a collection takes form.

What new services do you offer?

In addition to our rotating exhibitions and advisory services, we also curate art experiences for individuals or small groups. Our commitment to inclusivity in the arts has brought educational and immersive workshops to correctional facilities and other institutions where creativity and care can heal and elevate. People thrive where art is thoughtfully incorporated. And remember: our space is also available to rent for a private event.

Ron Sutton and Elizabeth Suzuki

What is it about your team that makes it a great choice for clients?

No one person can do it all. We are lucky to have a team of professionals who possess a wide range of experience. Some bring a deep understanding of construction methods, others contribute innovative design solutions, or have a detailed understanding of codes and know who to talk to at every agency.

What sets your approach apart?

The diverse experience of our team leads to an intense exchange of ideas, a meticulous search for solutions and an innovative approach to design. We always give our clients design options and carefully talk through the pros and cons of each. Not only does this allow us to explore the possibilities of their unique site, but it also helps us get to know our clients more intimately and allows them to think more deeply about their own needs and wants.

What new services do you offer?

At our free, initial consultation we confirm the jurisdiction and all related zoning information. We educate ourselves about the location and size of property, the slope, adjacencies as well as size of house, if existing, and applicable zoning codes. We come fully prepared to address the clients’ needs and concerns, and to help them make their vision a reality.

Bernadette Szilvasy

Bernadette’s Workshop

Hand-painted pieces that reflect the peace and beauty around us.

What is it about you that makes you a great choice for clients?

Hand-painted porcelain refined homes in Europe and Asia for centuries. I trained as a painter in the renowned porcelain manufacture of Herend, but I have been settled in Marin for 25 years. I like to capture the magic of nature in my work. My pieces feature local plants and animals. They are designed to be understated but unique and detailed in ways that only handmade pieces are.

What sets your design approach apart?

Many people choose to live in Marin because they have fallen in love with its natural beauty. I live in Marin for this reason, and I try to capture this beauty on the pieces I make. Marin’s beauty is rarely grandiose, it is often small: ferns that furl just the right way or wildflowers that disappear in a few days. My porcelain pieces attempt to capture these fleeting moments of splendor.

What new products do you offer clients?

I offer porcelain plates, cups, saucers, vases, lamps, etc. that can be decorated according to the clients’ wishes adding a distinctive ingredient to any home. No two pieces are ever the same, so you get something that is truly you. I invite you to come by the studio to watch me work.

Darcy KoleyShell Marin Staging Company

A unique approach to staging and improving a home’s value.

What sets your design approach apart when it comes to improving or staging property?

Sellers often find themselves suddenly needing to make necessary decisions with home improvement upgrades. Besides staging, we take the design approach a step further by offering experienced knowledge in selecting finishes such as paint, flooring and fixtures. We also offer home organizing services that can go hand-in-hand, especially when moving homes. Owner, Darcy Shell’s visual communications degree and 20-plus-years’ experience in design is useful — knowing what works best for resale value and offering pre-stage consults and creative design strategies.

APRIL ISSUE: Summer Solutions

In our next issue, Marin Living spotlights businesses, services and products that offer the perfect summer solutions for all tastes. Our April advertorial feature provides readers with a wide scope of warm weather solutions. Whether they’re looking to sell or buy a home, find experts to spruce up their property, connect with beauty professionals or discover a new vacation destination, we’ve got it covered. Showcase your business with an advertorial profile that highlights what makes you and your business the best solution for the summer season. Marin Living will enhance your exposure with a linked sponsored article on our website for one year, newsletter promotion to approximately 15,000 opted-in subscribers and social media posts.