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DIY Staging Strategies
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| Foyer Before (cold & uninviting) |
After Staging |
Foyer Before
First and foremost, we addressed safety (regarding persons and property). Safety is always a concern. Looking at the foyer, the tall glass shelving unit tucked behind the front door was full with fragile collectibles. It was lovely for living. However, with numerous buyers entering the house through the front door not aware of the collectible hidden behind, the placement of this tall, fragile unit was "an accident waiting to happen" as an expensive, fragile door stop. There was nothing to stop the door from breaking the shelving unit and its contents.
Beyond safety, the shelving unit did not enhance the foyer from a buyer's perspective. Its height competed with the front door - a major "Don't." The front door is the focal point selling with the house. Also, the shelving unit is a distraction because of the numerous items displayed and added no warmth upon entry. The unit took up too much space in the corner and added no lighting (needed to create a warm inviting glow that appeals to most buyers).
The challenge with the entry rug stemmed from its color scheme and placement. The color, believe it or not, clashed with the adjacent dining room wall-to-wall grey carpeting. As a result, the dining room carpeting (unfairly) apeared dated and dirty, when in fact the carpeting throughout the house was in pristine condition and less than 2 years old. Perception is the buyers reality.
Foyer After
We made the following changes to great advantage: The shelving unit was moved into a different room. In its place, we positioned a wonderfully warm, wood chest of drawers previously hidden in the family's powder room. We added a charming, small lamp and greenery, topped with a gold mirror to complete the vignette. The umbrella stand in the foreground completes the foyers usefulness and charm.
The brighter, red rug was moved from the kitchen. And in the foyer, it enhanced (by warm contrast) the grey dining room carpeting. Note: most of the fabulous wood floor in the foyer remains visible - this is a key selling point for buyers and their real estate agents.
The resulting transformation appeared to warm up the wall color - without ANY painting. That is the magic of strategic lighting and staging.
Mirrors
An important point about mirrors. We recommend stategic placement of mirrors, especially in the foyer, so that the prospective buyers literally see themselves in the house. In a very positive light. Which of course requires the right mirror, at the right height, in the right location, with the right amount of (flattering) lighting. Caution: mirrors should not be overused, and we can nearly guarantee that a mirror should NOT be in every room of the house. Mirrors should never reflect anything uninteresting or unattractive (e.g. a ceiling fan, a bathroom door, etc.). A well placed mirror should reflect something of interest and/or aesthetic value.
Dinette
Adjacent to the foyer is the dinette within the kitchen area. Our strategy for this room was to open up the space.
Kitchen dinettes can be overly furnished for day to day living (when selling the house). To sell house smart, it is essential that all unused items packed away. This includes table leaves, for example. Keeping the leaves in actually makes the room look smaller. Similarly, the full complement of chairs eats up visual space. Removing 1-2 chairs adds important visual floor space and makes for a great picture (mental and MLS photo). Same thing for area rugs (large & small). In this house, the wonderful wood floor was unfortunately hidden by a beautiful area rug. Once removed, the floor was shown to best advantage -exactly what the buyers were looking for!
On the left, a dry bar armoire was in fact too large for the demi wall. The refrigerator (which had to remain obviously) seemed out of scale for the room because of the dry wall. the basket collection on top of the refrigerator overly accentuated the imposing size of the refrigerator.
We loved the crown molidng and high ceilings. We used the sellers plate racks to draw the eye up to the ceiling (showcasing its wonderful height) previously downplayed.
Because the windows lacked wood trim frames, we added small artwork in between for two reasons: to enhance the windows and feature the beautiful view (with trees) and downplay the missing molding. (This is common in new construction).
After staging, the room appears less cluttered, larger, newer, much closer to a model home appearance than before. Buyers love new homes.
The table vignette sets the scene for buyers. We took advantage of the sellers beautiful glassware and included real fruit with silk flowers for a dramatic table scape. This created a more appealing proportion w/ the light fixture. The light fixture is too high above the table. Only supposed to be 30 inches off of the table. The model home look. Not how most people live.
Note: real fruit can spoil. Unless the seller can timely replace, we suggest artificial fruit. Use real fruit only when it can be monitored. Real is fresher, fake is easier (but more expensive unless the stager rents it to you).
Kitchen
Kitchens sell houses. So it is absolutely paramount that sellers depersonalize (edit) most of their items off of all counters, off the top of cupboards. This will open up the space and showcase to buyers the abundance of counter space and cupboard space.
This particular kitchen had lots of great amenities hidden: under a rug, under a fabulous but imposing baset collection, not to mention other accessory items moving with the sellers to their new house.
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| Kitchen Before (small and cramped) |
After Staging (spacious and clean) |
One rule of thumb: anything you will not use during the next 30 days should be packed up and removed. (Bread maker, waffle iron). Prepacked and stored offsite. This will add so much more buyer appeal to your kitchen. Otherwise, the perfect stainless sink will be lost in the buyers recollection of your fruit bowl and bread maker. You want the buyer to recall and desire the features of your kitchen that you are selling (and not the personal items you use in your kitchen).
By removing the baskets and the rug, the kitchen appeared twice as large and appeared infinitetly more clean (that is, uncluttered) and appealing.
The floor plan of this house led directly from the kitchen to the family room. This family room was over-filled with overlarge, mis matched pieces. Out of proportion, over accessorized. Very distracting and uninviting. The imposingly overlarge furniture actually kept buyers out of the room - too difficult to manoeuver. Maze-style footprint of the furnishings kept buyers out. The goal for staging is to invite buyers in.
The fireplace, the proper focal point for this room, was hidden by furniture (e.g. the TV that dwarfed the mantle) and furniture placed in front, literally blocking the hearth. Even the window was hidden behind a very large, although attractive candle screen. Plus there was a very large ficus tree that completely hid the fireplace from the kitchen view.
The solution was simple: edit the furniture by 50%. Opened up the walkway to invite buyers in and showcase the size of the room and the excellent condition of the wall-to-wall carpeted floor. The tree was stored off site, along with the TV. The window was restored as a focal point, and now a source for additional ambient light. The screen was strategically moved from the window to the fireplace mantle. Now its height showcased the tall ceilings in this room, while enhancing the fireplace itself. The result is spectacular.
Adding two lamps and removing the coffee table completed the positive transformation. The perfect comibination of ambient and artificial light. The room appears warmer and appears to have been painted (a wonderful visual illusion from proper staging). Neutral warmth and richness appeals to prospective buyers. Buyers are looking for prestige. This room has a much richer feel as a result of reworking the sellers existing pieces.
Equally important to this particular kitchen was the open view to the family room. In addition to the open kitchen, the view buyers were
Guest Bedroom Sometimes very little is needed to make a big difference in a room.
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| Guest Bedroom Before |
After Staging |
Here, the guest bedroom. We edited the number of pillows from the bed and removed the teddy bear. For added interest on an otherwise plain wall, As you can see, we added an architectural mirror - the arch complements the shape of the head board. The mirror also reflected the ambient light from the windows, making a small room feel larger. Turning on the light - absolute must for all showings and MLS photos. The after photo shows the glow from the artificial light. The room now sparkles.
Note: even on a sunny day, turn on the lights. This is one example of what we call "buyer bait." Buyers (consciuosly and subconsciously) respond well to the "warmth" provided by lights - provided you turn them on! So light it up and buyers will love it!
Result: this small guest bedroom feels richer, warmer and larger (emphasizing ceiling height - a wonderful selling point).
Porch Problems
When is a porch not a porch? When it is used for storage!
Screen porches are highly desirable to potential buyers for entertainment and additional living space. During the listing of your house, the porch should not be used for other purposes, here storage. Because buyers cannot see past your boxes.
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| Screened Porch Before (Used for Storage) |
After DeCluttering & Staging |
Even during colder months, the porch should be merchandised to show buyers the lifestyle charm and allow them to envision themselves enjoying the porch after they purchase your house!
The solution was simple: we uncovered the two windows that are now visible - very important for buyers to see the views, of which this house had an abundance. We showcased the spaciousness of this porch with a simple vignette utilizing the owners' porch furniture. We added the greens from other rooms in the house - for a simple and affordable stage. Once the boxes were removed, the staging took five minutes to position the furniture. This simple stage added thousands of dollars in appeal and price to the fast sale of this house (over asking price with multiple offers).
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