Best Staged Plans by Claire Cook

Best Staged Plans Reviews

• 
  Holly (2 Kids and Tired)

  Liked it, didn't love it. I never really connected with Sandy and I found her to be selfish, shallow and whiny. All she cared about was herself and selling her house. There was no compassion for her husband or children, only disdain for the fact that they didn't do things the way or as fast as she wanted them to.
  
  The narrative was conversational and the staging tips were fun and added an interesting note. There were moments of laugh out loud funny humor, but overall the story was shallow and felt unfinished. When Sandy meets Naomi, there was an opportunity for added depth, but Sandy simply gives her a makeover and job. Naomi's story is also never actually concluded, but pushed aside for the girlfriends-band-together-to-make-a-man-miserable ending.
  
  A light, fluffy, humorous beach read. Nothing more. Perfect for an afternoon escape where you don't want to concentrate on anything.
• 
  Belinda Fry

  It was a fun read. Esp since I enjoy HGTV and the whole "staging" concept. Liked the main character, she was funny.
• 
  Michelle Robinson

  I tried to like this book. Or I tried to like Sandy.
  
  I understand that several of her antics are supposed to be amusing but the whole reading glasses things just felt forced and over the top.
  
  I am married and can completely understand and empathize with her frustration with her husband, as it relates to his procrastination. However, I was frustrated with her choice to just move away from the situation. It felt like there was so much more going on there than procrastination, more like maybe he was not ready to move. Her choice felt a little bit over the top, if not silly. I don't know, I admired her for taking care of herself in the moment but the whole "not talking to him" just felt juvenile, even though I totally understood her frustration. So, now I'm frustrated with myself, lol, I seem to be vasicilating between two opposing opinions.
  
  I did not care for Sandy, even though there were times when I really liked some of what she did, for example when she helps to "stage" a bathroom for a woman who did not plan to sell her house. However, I did not completely dislike her until we get to hear some really judgmental and condescending statements that she makes. The whole thing about southern people being "slow" is so overdone and insulting. Ugh Finally, for me her superior and contemptuous attitude toward her son-in-law just was too much for me to stomach. All we saw him do was call her "mom", so sorry that you are above him trying to create a closeness between you. Anyone who has married into a family where someone feels as if you were not good enough to become a part of who they are might find her attitude to be a bit too much to take. I kept thinking of all of the things he could have been calling her instead!
  She complains about having to live with him when her daughter goes out of town, she created this situation, move out! Or, go home. She encourages her daughter to try to get her (Sandy's) husband to get going on the renovations of the house with the condition that the daughter does not tell her father that Sandy asked her to do so. Wow, I didn't know that it was ok to manipulate adult children into interceding into your personal affairs with your husband.
  
  I don't know what I thought this book would be, it feels like she is trying to do a light fiction Erma Bombeck or someone like that. However, it just does not read that way, for me.
  
  As is obvious by now, I could not like Sandy. I tried. Finally, I realized it just was not going to happen.
  
  As an aside, when I first joined goodreads, I was excited to find a place, other than just my old notebooks, and then my computer journal to write my honest thoughts about the books that I read. So, in the past, I have written maybe too much of my honest reactions to books, here, when I first finished them. Now, I still write what I think but if I hate a book I wait at least a week before creating a review, here, for myself. I don't want to come off as just a ranter.
  Having said that, I hated this book. I could not get over her superior attitude and manipulative behavior. Then there is a place where, as if to try to justify her current actions, she lists all of the good things she has done and the self sacrifices she has made.... Wait a minute I've gotten sidetracked, lol I didn't mean to go into more detail about this book just to say that I did not like it but I hope when this review is read it does not sound like a rant. I may have missed the boat on that one....
  
• 
  Barbara Sissel

  I read this book last fall and have been meaning to review it ever since. The title says so much. Who hasn’t had a best-staged plan? In Sandy Sullivan’s case, best staged can be taken literally. Sandy’s a professional home stager, an expert on interior design. That intrigued me. It’s something I can imagine myself doing, but what hooked me was the opening scene, where Sandy has accidently wrapped her reading glasses in with a package she mailed. That’s something I can see myself doing too, to my chagrin. But that’s the charm of this book, it’s so relatable, especially if you’re a woman of a certain age, a mom in transition, looking to downsize because now that the kids are grown, your home feels too big. Sandy wants to put the house on the market, but her husband and the college-graduate son, who’s cozily reinstalled himself in the family basement, aren’t as electrified by the idea of such a drastic change. Sandy tries every way she can to get them motivated, but it’s like pushing a rope. (Oh, how I could identify. I had three of those guys under one roof!) Finally, Sandy gives up and takes on a huge hotel re-do in Atlanta where her daughter lives--where she’ll be gone for weeks--and maybe that will teach them! Sandy is looking forward to some quality mother-daughter time, but guess what? Well, you know … best staged plans and all….
  
  This book could have been just another cute, lightweight read from the much-maligned chick-lit genre except for Claire Cook’s sure-handed writing style. It’s fun, delightful even, and it’s chock full of tips about home decorating and organization as well, which I could appreciate. But there is also true wisdom written into Sandy’s voice. There are places to stop and think. Rich places that are as familiar and warm and dearly loved as the faces of your own family. There is such a lot of real life in this story. It’s almost as if you are sharing a long conversation, trading confidences over coffee with a friend you treasure.
  
• 
  Carolyn West

  I was fortunate that Claire Cook let me read her book prior to it's June 7th release date. As an aspiring writer myself, I love finding an author who reads like I think. If I could write a book, I would want it to sound like a Claire Cook book.
  
  So I'm sitting in my bedroom reading and I'm getting kind of creeped out because it was as if I was reading about my life. How on earth did Claire know so much about me? The main character of the story is Sandy, a middle-age home stager. Me? I'm Carolyn, a middle-age interior designer.
  
  Sandy is trying to sell her house and figure out where the next stage of her life will take her. Meanwhile, she takes on the job of staging a boutique hotel for her best friend's boyfriend. While this is all going on, she learns some lessons on being grateful for what you have. Me? I've worked on large scale luxury hotels, but a bed & breakfast or a boutique hotel would be my dream job. I, too, have learned some lessons along the way. Life sometimes throws you a curve that you don't expect. Just like the staging of a house or a hotel, once in a while you need to take note of yourself and the things you can improve upon.
  
  The characters are you and me. They are your neighbors and family members. They are the people you meet at school, they are your children's parents. I love how you can read a book and know exactly who each person reminds you of.
  
  Best Staged Plans is the kind of book you take with you to the beach this summer and while reading you start to make plans of your own. I must admit it got me all riled up again to work on my own house. Part entertainment + part inspiration = an amazing read that is going on my Favorites List.
• 
  Jeanne

  Well, I like a nice cozy book, just right for reading when life is more difficult than usual, but I got much more than I imagined possible in Best Staged Plans. I can thank Claire Cook for her gentle prods to actually see homeless persons -- and there are two men, drinking on the street in the cold Washington DC drizzle, that can thank her as well.
  
  As I was negotiating the rain, the closing pharmacy, no parking and people jaywalking in the dark rainy night, two guys in the next doorway pointed out a parking spot I had missed. I rushed into the pharmacy just in time for the young pharmacist to spot me and generously agree to stay open and fill my husbands pain meds. The pharmacist would have been gone if I had been a minute later. Returning to my car, I walked up to the two men and asked if they were hungry and would like a sandwich and coffee. Yes, indeed. And we talked a bit. It was enlightening to me. I simply felt connected and helped in an unfamiliar part of DC. Care comes in surprising packages. The packaging was this book and the present the care I carried with me driving home on a late Sunday evening.
  
  
• 
  Kristy W

  I usually like this author, but I just really didn't like these characters. This lady who's been married like 25 years thinks maybe her perfectly happy marriage has run its course and maybe it's time to move on to other adventures. Oh please, grow up already.
• 
  Christine

  Loved this book!!!!!!!!!
  Not so much the story but the witty tips and trader joe secrets ;)
• 
  Bookwormed Virtuoso

  This book follows the rather dreary midlife crisis of Sandy. All she wants is everything to be perfect, exciting, and staged. Her occupation has allowed a certain ego and perfectionism in her that is downright irrational at times.
  
  I was very surprised at what actually pushed the change in Sandy. In this case, it is Naomi, a homeless woman she meets while working on staging a hotel for her best friend's muse of the time. She began to let her guard down, appreciate life again, and realize she was being too forceful and even a bit ungrateful. Not only does she improve as a person, but she aids the development of the side characters.
  
  It is a very charming and somewhat short read. The only drawback is that in places it is a little slow and bogged down with details about staging. I recommend giving this book a read though!
• 
  Sarah

  Essentially a Lifetime movie in print. Sandra Sullivan fits perfectly into the stereotype of a middle-aged American woman. Beverage of choice; nonfat latte. Outing with a friend; pedicure. Method of drowning her sorrows; chocolate. No longer cooks but assembles meals with a little help from Trader Joe's prepared food.
  A professional home stager by trade, she grows increasingly exasperated when her laid-back husband and bat cave dwelling son take their time prepping the family home for sale. Offered an out-of-state job she travels to Atlanta to assist her BFF's boyfriend with getting a dilapidated hotel back in business. Along the way she manages to stick her nose into other peoples' affairs all the while neglecting her own deteriorating relationships.
  This is not a bad read, but the cookie cutter protagonist failed to win over my heart so I found it difficult to participate in her cheering section. Also, although I liked the side story of the homeless woman the resolution was highly improbable and thus, we have Lifetime movie fare.
• 
  Laura

  This story expressed what a lot of empy nesters or near empy nesters experience.
  I thought I had a lot of the story figured out as I read, but was surprised that I didn't, especially the ending.
  
  Makes you realize that things don't always have to go the way you planned and can turn out OK in spite of it.
  
  
• 
  Denise

  This was a fast read. Very entertaining but sometimes a little hard to believe.
• 
  Becka

  I really don’t like the main character.
• 
  Ruth

  With her typical humorous outlook on the everyday things in life, Claire Cook introduces us to Sandi Sullivan. Sandi stages homes in the hopes of getting them sold. This also branches out to helping people stage homes that they are going to stay in.
  
  Sandi's husband is now retired and spends his days playing tennis and running. Sandi's son lives in the basement, which she refers to as the "bat cave". They have decided that it is time to sell their huge, old home and move on but don't know where that should be. They also feel that this will be the perfect way to get their son off on his own. Sandi is working and trying to stage their own home for sale. She is not getting much help from her husband and son when the offer to set up a hotel that was just purchased by her best friend's current beau comes along. Frustrated by her family's lack of help she decides to take the job and tells them to get it done and don't call her until it is done. Days are going by and she hasn't heard from them.
  
  When she arrives in Atlanta to begin this new job she is looking forward to having time with her daughter. Her daughter, however, is sent to Boston for training and will be staying with her father and brother so Sandi won't get to have her time with her daughter. She asks her daughter to keep an eye on dad and her brother and set a fire under them to get the house completed.
  
  Will the family fall apart under the strain of preparing and deciding the next steps in their lives or will a miracle occur?
  
  This was a satisfying read with some laughs that might just remind you of something similar that has happened to you.
• 
  Jackie

  Claire Cook is back with another gift for beach readers and book clubs everywhere--Best Staged Plans. This is a fun romp involving a woman trying to get her nest emptied and sold so that she and her husband can start their next stage of life (whatever that may be). Unfortunately, the son in the basement and the husband on the tennis court aren't really helping with the project. Sandy is a professional home stager (the person who pretties up a home to help it sell), but she just can't get her own house in order. So, when a big hotel job comes up for her in Atlanta, she's off on a plane, issuing ultimatum's to her husband about finishing the house while she's gone, or else. She's looking forward to spending time with her newly married daughter in Atlanta--who in fact will be leaving for a month's training for her job, leaving Sandy awkwardly alone with her new son-in-law. The icing on the cake is her client for the hotel project is her best friends boyfriend--who seems to be cheating on her friend. Mix in a homeless woman, a whole lot of shopping and several "assembled" meals and you'll find fun, heart and hilarity from cover to cover. This is yet another winner for Cook, most certainly.
• 
  Agnes

  This was a great short story to read. I did enjoy it but there really wasn't anything that captured my attention to not be able to put it down. We have a woman that stages other people's homes but can't seem to stange her own life. Annoyed with her husband's lack of motivation to put their house on the market she takes a job out of town and leaves. While staging a boutique hotel she finds her best friend's boyfriend cheating and a homeless woman that she takes under her wing to help. This is pretty much the story line.
  
  If it was longer I would have only given it 2 stars.
• 
  Kater Cheek

  I wanted to like this book more. I'm not dissimilar from the protagonist demographically. Like me, Sandy is pretty much post-kids, eager to downsize and move on to the unfettered child-free part of her life. I too have dealt with the monumental task of getting a big family home full of memories (and stuff!) ready for strangers to view. I understand the resentment from feeling as though I'm herding cats to get other people to work towards a supposedly common goal. I can also get pretty excited about decorating and paint colors.
  
  The good thing about the book is that there's enough plot and subplots that I wanted to find out how it ended. Was Josh cheating on Denise? What happened to her favorite pair of reading glasses? Why wasn't Greg picking up the phone? It's low stakes, but it's a lighthearted book and low stakes were enough. I also liked some of the descriptions of the memories of their family life. The protagonist's constant arguments with the GPS weren't funny, but I give the author credit for trying.
  
  The bad thing is that I absolutely hated the main character. I found her whiny and self-absorbed and incredibly shallow. She bragged about how amazing her daughter was yet didn't seem to care about taking an interest in her daughter's life, not bothering to understand the daughter's career. At one point she's talking about how her daughter gave Sandy a good bed in the guest room, but instead of gratitude it came off as "well, I'm glad you measure up to my high standards." Having Sandy help the the homeless woman redeemed her somewhat at the end, but by the middle of the book I just got so sick of the way she didn't seem to appreciate her affluence and good fortune. She claims that no one cares about her, yet she doesn't seem to notice that her husband isn't as excited about moving as she is. She claims no one recognizes her work, yet she doesn't seem to notice when other people are also working hard.
  
  There was also this weird feminist/anti-feminist shame thing surrounding cooking and homemaking. She loses her shit when she sees her daughter wearing an apron and cooking a stew from scratch, and yet she has numerous tricks to pretend that she has made something from scratch when she hasn't. Her daughter pleads to "not let Chance eat take out every day" so the protagonist makes a trip to Trader Joe's to get stuff to "assemble." Because she's good at "assembling" things to make them look homemade. Make up your mind, lady. Is cooking from scratch a valuable skill or not? Cook or don't cook, but don't wring your hands about it. Cooking can not be simultaneously a rejection of feminine rights and a fundamental female value. As a person who feels firmly feminist and yet makes every meal from whole ingredients, I found the anti-cooking thing off-putting.
  
  This book had a fluffy romance vibe, even though the protagonist is not involved in a romance, because the men are cardboard paragons who remain calmly bemused when the women around them spin off axis. She stops talking to her husband for three days because he doesn't paint the cabinet fronts to her liking, and yet when he doesn't call her back, she's horrified. She flips out when she has to live in the house with her son-in-law alone, and seems utterly incapable of making polite conversation with her host. Surely being good company is a basic skill that adult women should have acquired at some point? Josh, her employer (who is also dating her best friend) is also kind of blandly blase about everything, even when Sandy gets in his face about a woman he may or may not be seeing. I get that Sandy was unhappy, but surely you should be a bit more professional with your boss? I enjoyed that the women were fully-fleshed out characters, but they were mostly unlikeable, and they were given more dimension by the two-dimensional nature of the men. Gossiping, shopping, getting pedicures and engaging in petty vandalism are not the behaviors I aspire to. The fact that she didn't even consider returning the glasses she stole made me dislike her.
  
  I liked the renovation discussions, to a point. I disagreed with some of her choices. I would call a hotel "Chocolate" which makes me think of luxury and indulgence, not "hot chocolate" which makes me think of disgusting packets of artificially-sweetened powder with desiccated marshmallows in them. I don't think that painting walls brown is edgy. I got pretty tired of the endless product placement. It wasn't "we stopped to get coffee and a sandwich" it was "I picked up a Grande Vanilla Latte and a bacon and gouda ciabatta roll from Starbucks." It wasn't "I picked out a lovely warm brown" it was "I chose Behr's 'Iced Cappuccino' in a sateen finish." The trip to Trader Joe's read like an excerpt from their Fearless Flyer. All the endless product placements and unnecessary details about the things she purchased and what she ate just reinforced my feeling that Sandy was a totally shallow and materialistic woman whose only identity came from mindless consumerism. I felt like I was ten to fifteen years more mature than her, and I don't yet need reading glasses.
  
  I would like to read more books like this--fluffy and fun books about women in their fifties with simple characters and plenty of plot--but some of the writing choices and the unlikable main character hampered my enjoyment.
• 
  JanB

  Entertaining and witty summer read that had me chuckling out loud. Chick Lit for the mature crowd; fun but with a message. The audio book version is highly recommended.
• 
  Jean Giardina

  Met Claire Cook at an author event on June 7, 2012. She is as warm and charming as her books. Definitely recommend her work for a light but heartfelt summer read.
• 
  Rose Grabowski

  “What do I want? What kind of question is that? I want what everybody wants. I want someone who has my back. I want someone's name to put in the space after "in an emergency please call." I want someone who will drink the other half of the bottle of wine so I don't. And someone to make it worth sitting down at an actual table to eat. I want someone who's dying to get home after a long day because I'm going to be there.”
  ― Claire Cook, Best Staged Plans
  
  We follow Sandi Sullivan. She has a home staging business. Many of her clients are putting their houses on the market and some just need some design help. Her biggest upcoming project is staging her own home but she isn't getting much help from her retired husband and her failure to launch son who lives in the basement. She starts to question how happy she actually is with her family. She is called out of town to stage a motel and meets my favorite character in the book- a homeless woman named Naomi. Sandi learns what is really important from her. We learn about an issue I have never really thought much about. The simple problem of no eyeglasses can be a contributing factor in someone not being able to improve their life. It made the fact that Sandi was so upset about losing her favorite pair pale by comparison. This was a quick read with some funny and heartwarming moments.
• 
  Vickie

  I've read several other books by this author and enjoyed them, especially
  The Wildwater Walking Club. However, with this novel, I found it too silly more times than I found it enjoyable. Sandy, who lives outside Boston, is a professional home stager who is set up to stage a new boutique in Atlanta. However, it took more than half the novel for her to arrive there and get started. Once there, the author is quite obnoxious characterizing Southerners as being too slow, too polite, too whatever doesn't fit into her world. I love the storyline featuring Naomi but even here, Sandy wants something done and, poof, it gets done. Think walking into a dental office and requesting an appointment for veneers and walking out the same day with veneers. Uh, I don't think so. I did love the attack of the Jaguar scene in the boutique hotel parking lot.
  
  I have to give credit to an author who writes and gets published. It is not easy. However, this book was just not for me.
  
  Go Cards! L1C4!!
• 
  Phair

  Have enjoyed a few of Cook’s titles. This quick read was good but the last quarter felt rushed and seemed to go off on a tangent. First half was best part where she is trying to get her retired husband and adult son who lives in the basement to actually help get their big Victorian home ready to sell. Some funny stuff there and lots of little Boomer generation references come up during cleaning sessions like period toys and a mood ring unearthed. So this was pleasant but lost steam in places.
  
  Tbr shelf #14
• 
  Jessica Pagel

  I found this book at the library on a display about Spring. This book has good decluttering tips, so maybe the library was thinking it fit because of spring cleaning. I could see this book being made into a movie. Jane Fonda or Diane Keaton could play the main character Sandra. She is feisty, practical and fun. She is in midlife and trying to downsize while running a staging business with wacky clients. Her family and best friend are also interesting characters. I look forward to reading more by this author. She also wrote the book “Must Love Dogs” that was made into a cute movie.
• 
  Guy

  The protagonist of this frothy 'chick-lit' novel is a privileged, domineering, selfish, very white woman who seems sure she's the most clever and sassy gal to ever make fun of Southerners.
  I really didn't like her.
  p.s. DON'T store your coffee beans in the freezer. They'll just attract moisture and they'll spoil that much faster.