Home Staging Training Tips: Imaginary Planes affect your design
Sometimes there are just things in our jobs that become pet peeves. This is probably one of my biggest ones. (the biggest would be improper sized rugs... lol) It's something I've yet to hear stagers talk about but something we deal with everytime we stage.
Imagine a room as if it were a simulation or hollodeck (that's right, I'm a Star Trek junkie.. lol). Think of the way it is built. Where ever there is a doorway, walkway or window there is an imaginary (visual) plane. It's like a wall (or ceiling) of glass stretching out, creating a line that is invisible and yet still exists. It helps to dictate to us what our defined space really is.
Feeling confused? Let me show you....
The opening of this doorway created two visual planes - one on the right and one on the left. When the designer for this room placed the rug in this location, it broke the visual plane. Basically speaking, rug is neither really part of the space nor removed from it. Ideally the rug should have either stopped short of the left wall, or bridged the entire gap over to the right.
Imagine walking into this space in either direction. Rather than walking down the middle of the walkway (the entire point of a doorway) you are now forced to chose to move right or left - to walk on the rug, or off of it. Certainly none of us would consider one foot on and one foot off. By placing the rug in this way, the designer has created an awkwardness in the space where there should not be one.
This is another common problem when hanging artwork. Rather than looking at the entire picture and imagining the plane from doorway to window, the space between bed posts or the lines (visual planes) created by architecture and large furniture in the room, many stagers opt instead to focus just on the small area they want to hang something and not the big picture... this unfortunately causes many pieces to be hung too high - above widow frames or doorways - creating another feeling of awkwardness.
The next time you stage, imagine a clear wall (or ceiling) coming from these architectural elements - disipating the further you get from them.... pay attention to how they make you feel to be only part way in or out of them. When you lay a rug, check if you find yourself walking around it in your natural flow and decide if this is natural ..... simple changes like this can bring your design to a whole new level... it's worth thinking about!
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Staging And Resign and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
Melissa,
I do staging too and it all makes sense! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa, good post and perspective! ~ Susan
Funny, but coming from the constuction industry I see the planes rather easily. I totaly agree with you!
hi, Melissa:
I'm with you... I tell homeowners all of the time: the human eye is attracted to straight lines... If they don't believe me, I tell them to Google "Golden Rectangle." (Insert Dan Brown joke here) Back to the time when the Greeks built the Parthenon, they knew planes were an important part of estetics. This is one of the reasons I rarely recommend the Home Staging Cliche "Bed at 45"...
I'm with you Melissa. There are sometimes called "visual vistas" in design and you shouldn't block or draw a line through them. This includes floral arrangements that block vistas too, which I see everyday.. Rest assured that my graduates are well versed in visual vistas and "the big picture". One of my pet peeves too, along with furniture that is angled for no reason and too many throws (how staged is that?) and window treatments hung too low. Thanks for bringing this up. You are good teacher!
Melissa: Yet another very thoughtful post...I think Stagers bring the ability to listen to our subconscious, which is telling us what's right and wrong. Love Michael's angle story! Julie
Just dealt with this in a "niche" style dining area. I had to keep the area rug under the table a little closer to the wall than I would like to have done. If I pulled the rug closer to the walkway, even though there was room it still would feel wrong because of the side walls of the niche ending & the rug going past them. Probably doesn't make any sense at all. It's so hard to describe -- no wonder we don't write about it!
Michele - I'm so glad it made sense... I was a little worried!
Susan - Thanks!
John - great to hear it from a builder's perspective. Homes are built with them, we need to honor them.
Michael - We need to have a bed at an angle then a big circle with a line through it - no angled beds seal!! I'm so with you!
Allegra - thanks! I'm sure you are a great teacher too!
Julia - most of us know when something is wrong, but many ignore the impulse thinking it is 'good enough' or not knowing what exactly is wrong so they don't know how to fix it! I hope this helps some get a perspective...
Pangaea - it made perfect sense! Many times in spaces like that I want a rug, but it just doesn't work and I make the decision to remove it rather than have it make the space feel even more awkward.
OMG, the angled bed thing....ugh. Good post, totally agree and yes it made sense.
Melissa I know exactly what you are talking about. Many of us know innately about the planes you describe, but never put it into words. I think your blog post will help those who know when somethng is out of place but can't put their finger on it.
~ Lin
Nice post. You did a good job descibing something hard to explain without visuals. I hadn't thought of it as "planes", just "spaces" but you are so right!
Melissa, not only is this rug encroaching on the walkway space, but it also looks like a tripping hazard!
Melissa, Well put. To go along with the visual plane, I like to tell my clients that wall art should connect to something - the sofa, mantle, buffet, etc. (my pet peeve). If it doesn't, to use your words, it will feel awkward. One of my sayings; It just makes sense!
Melissa,
I agree wholeheartedly! When I try and advise Sellers in my reports and consultations, I try to teach them thinga like:
If you are putting artwork above a bed instead of a headboard, make sure it is one visual unit for the eye (not too high above the bed) so that the Buyer sees the "whole" as a unit
That is why it is sooo important to hire someone who has some design/art experience!
Thanks for explaining what is really an important part of staging!
Marianne