Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amanda Folkestad. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

My staging company, House Dressing PDX, creates unique interior spaces in the realm of staging to help people sell their homes. I use vintage furniture, textiles, tons of color, pattern and feminine touches in my staging, making each home shine bright and stand out from the sea of black, white and gray modern staging. I source almost all of items locally and am on a mission to reduce waste. I am a vintage junky and love a good recycle or up-cycle.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a gal that has always loved homes and interiors. For as long as I can remember, I have been looking at spaces and seeing how I can reimagine them. On my 11th birthday I remember I got to pick out a comforter set from the Speigel catalog. It included a comforter bed skirt, shams, pillows, and a decorative valance. Fast forward many years later right out of art school, I started working for a local company in Portland called the whole 9 yards. We sold upholstery fabric and helped people reupholster items in their homes and decorate their homes with interior fabrics. After working there for a few years, I decided to open a little boutique in the Pearl district in North West Portland. I sold furniture, bedding and home accessories. Most of the items I sold were things I found at estate sales and either refurbished, painted, sewed and made myself. I have a very feminine and soft aesthetic, which was very different than most of the interior stores here in Portland. After years of doing that and having some life-changing events happen, I decided to get into real estate and close the shop. I started real estate in 2007. I have sold hundreds of homes and helped hundreds of families and people buy and sell homes. Two years ago, I started my staging company, House Dressing PDX and dipped my toe back into the water of interiors. It has been an incredible journey with many lessons, none of which I would change. Now I get to stage and sell houses and also help people reimagine their current spaces. To be able to integrate my love of interior design, fabrics, furniture, accessories, and home decor into my real estate business has been amazing. What I do different is that it’s just me, I’m a small staging company. Each house is staged in a unique way to highlight its beautiful features.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I told myself for years and years that I didn’t have the money, time or ability to start a staging company. I would show countless number of houses that were staged by other home stagers while I was working with buyers. I would look at the way that they made the beds, laid out the dishes, dressed the kitchens and so much more. I dreamed of being able to do this for myself and after years of dreaming, I got a call one day from an agent who asked me to stage two of his listings that were coming up. Even though I had a lot of fear around investing money into something that I didn’t really think would be successful for me I said yes. I had a small sliver of willingness and a weak moment in my self doubt. That changed everything, I started with two sets of furniture and today I have 20 sets. Now I get to help people sell, stage and purchase homes and it lights my soul on fire. I wish I could go back to that girl and tell her to flip the switch and turn the light on before I did, but I think my story needed to be exactly as it is for me to have the success that I do today. I became a single mother in 2021, suddenly having to support our lifestyle alone. It was a time full of fear, but also so much beauty!! I have been able to rise to every challenge since.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My real estate business has been rolling since 2007, 2 years ago I did make a major pivot starting my staging company, House Dressing PDX. It took a lot of time, money, energy and effort, but I built this company from the ground up. It helped re-ignite my passion for selling homes. Having both a real estate and staging business has helped grow my personal brand tremendously and opened so many doors, pun fully intended.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amandafolkestad.com/
• Instagram: @portlandpink
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@portlandpink

Image Credits

Rachel Hadiashar

Abigail Syck