Who We Are
Lead Designer/Co Founder: Allison Bogue
Born and raised in nearby South Carolina, Allison grew up vacationing in the North Georgia mountains with her family. After earning a Bachelor’s degree from Winthrop University, Allison moved to Texas, where she cultivated her passion for design and decorating through small projects for friends and family.
In 2018, Allison made the move to Ellijay, where she finally realized her lifelong dream of starting her own design business. She met her friend and business partner, Tram Taylor, who shared her passion for design, and together they co-founded First Impression Staging & Design Co.
Allison has a keen eye for decorating and a natural talent for creating beautiful spaces. Her areas of specialization include Farmhouse and Craftsman styles, and she also has extensive experience decorating industrial business spaces. Allison believes that a well-designed space should reflect her clients' personalities and lifestyles while also being functional and stylish.
Allison's approach is always collaborative and client-focused. She works closely with her clients to understand their vision and needs, and then uses her expertise and creativity to bring that vision to life. Whether she is working on a residential or commercial project, Allison is committed to delivering stunning results that exceed her clients' expectations.
Allison continues to inspire and impress with her innovative and beautiful designs, and her clients love her for her warm personality and professionalism.
Manager/Co Founder: Tram Taylor
Tram was born and raised in a crossed cultural environment and spent her childhood moving between various countries in Asia and Europe due to her parent’s jobs. Her exposure to diverse cultures and landscapes sparked her interest in design and architecture from an early age. After graduating from high school, Tram decided to attend Virginia Tech, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Architecture.
After graduating from college, Tram was particularly drawn to the field property management and enjoys the challenges of designing short term rentals, which were becoming increasingly popular around the world. She saw an opportunity to combine her love of travel and her passion for design by creating unique and memorable spaces for travelers.
Over the years, Tram has owned and designed a wide variety of short term rentals, from cozy city apartments to spacious mountain cabins. She’s excited to bring her expertise and love for design to the North Georgia Mountains whether through real estate staging or short term rental set-up.
We founded First Impression Staging and Design to create spaces that are comfortable, memorable, and inspiring.
Like most great stories, ours began with an opportunity. A local real estate agent reached out to us for help listing a home that desperately needed a facelift. The house had just appraised for $265k but the seller wanted to list it for over $300k. The agent knew we had an eye for creating memorable spaces, and he also knew what all good agents know: Potential buyers make decisions regarding hundreds of thousands (or millions!) of dollars based on their first impression. Data shows that sellers who invest 1% of the sale price into staging enjoy a property value increase of 5-15% over those who don’t (National Association of Realtors). In other words, sellers who invest $1,000 into professional staging typically turn it into $5,000-$15,000 after closing—a return on investment upwards of 400%! And that’s not just anecdotal information… it is our story. After hiring First Impression Staging and Design, the house was under contract in 3 days for over $300k, nearly $40,000 more than the previous appraisal. An investment of $1,400 returned over $40,000 to the seller—a 15% increase in home value and a staggering 2,757% ROI. Simply put, staging doesn’t cost you money, it makes you money.
While we can’t promise a 2,757% ROI for every client, we are proud of the work we do to increase the value of our clients’ properties and we believe we can increase the value of your property too. In addition to staging real estate properties, our designers can also help you create comfortable, memorable, and inspiring spaces for your home, business, or special event.