Hi, I’m Elia Martinez and I am the owner and Lead Home Stager of MC Home Staging & ReDesign.

I am a Certified Staging Professional (CSP), member of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), graduate of CSP international and Master Level Graduate from Staging Studio.

My story, vision and motivation for this business began in beautiful Nicaragua, where I was raised. 

Growing up in Nicaragua involved  strained economic conditions – everything was limited. There was no middle class, either you had money or you were poor. I grew up in very humble beginnings but had hope that one day life would be better.

My parents worked hard to build a solid family foundation for myself and my siblings. I was blessed to earn a scholarship to study in an USA university and I graduated with a degree in Economics and Finance. After I finished my studies I went back to Nicaragua and worked in Human Resources. I married my husband Gil who worked as a civil engineer in Nicaragua and as we started reflecting on our future we knew we wanted a better life for the family we would create together.

Dramatic deterioration of the country’s economic system, political state and freedom of rights drove us to the very difficult decision to pursue our dream to come to Canada, knowing that it would be a better future for us but would also be difficult. 

We left Nicaragua and embarked our journey to seek refugee protection in Canada. We came to Canada in Oct 2007, with a lot of hope but only $400 in our pockets. We lived in a one bedroom basement apartment with just a bed and no furniture. 

I know firsthand how hard it is to live with nothing. I am forever grateful for organizations like the furniture bank who helped us furnish our small apartment. I’m grateful for people from our church who donated clothes for us and our newborn. Through the rough times we were able to find hope and love. In the days where I found myself lonely, there were people in my corner who would call me, who would listen, believe in us, and who, with their words and actions helped us to thrive in the uncertainty.

The challenges we faced pushed me to get where I am today – to live into my purpose by impacting others, working toward continual self improvement and to achieve the goal of becoming a businesswoman, interior designer and staging professional. 

While working full time in the corporate world, I also immersed myself in studies, online courses, books, coaching and networking events. In 2019 I completed my Professional Staging Certification with CSP Academy in Toronto. Thereafter, In 2020 I did a Master in Home Staging with Staging Studio in Texas. I believe in continually developing ourselves to offer our best to those around us and this is an important aspect of how we serve our clients.

I am now able to extend my passion for Home Staging & Redesign to homeowners, real estate agents, builders and investors to maximize profits when selling their properties. I am also positioning our business to eventually provide support to those living with less.

This is part of my important mission now – to give hope to all people that they can do more than they think they can do.I’m very passionate about giving back and making a difference in people’s lives. Through sharing my own success story, I hope to inspire others to pursue their dreams and never give up. I would love to hear your story and look forward to connecting with you.