Lately I've had to restage 2 builders units where the properties went under short sale (one 3 days after contract - the other less than 2 weeks) and the builder opted to move the furniture themselves rather than pay for our movers. I was called in to hang art, etc.... they already had 'set up' everything.
When we arrived, we realized they really hadn't.... they need to stop this! I didn't have the forsight to take my camera to the first home. The second one I had to take a photo of the upstairs bedroom they staged.
When we used these chairs in the home next door they were used to add color and function to an akward space in the home.... In the new home they decided stage one of the bedrooms upstairs.
Why doesn't this work? When they added the furniture to this space, particularly centering it in the MIDDLE of the room it makes the room appear ridiculously small. I mean does this look like it would hold a bed, dresser & nightstand? Could your children be happy sleeping & playing here?
We immediately removed these items from the space & repurposed them in the dining and living rooms. Sadly there was no home for the Scrabble game in this house....
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet 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 Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
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Melissa,
It's unfortunate the builders moved your inventory without your being present. I have a clause in my contract that states that no items can be moved from their present position without first obtaining my permission....
Maureen - They did have my permission to move the furniture. One of them had to be moved the day after they received a contract and I couldn't get my movers on such short notice that particular week. The other one needed it moved while I was teaching last week. I could have had my assistant there, but they were just moving everything next door (literally). I still got paid for updating the look of the home & rehanging artwork, etc.
The comment that I was making was that they thought they staged the unit & had NO CLUE the image they were conveying. This goes back to the issue many of us have been noticing. Sellers, agents & the untrained often don't really understand what staging is supposed to be. We still need to educate.
I have seen an agent that I work with now and then attempt to stage a couple of homes that, for whatever reason, has not called me in. I agree with you whole-heartedly......it did NOT add desire in ANY manner.
In a vacant...a job poorly done is worse than nothing at all.
julia
Maureen - I wasn't available when the furniture needed to be removed from the other homes - they were on short sale & I was busy with other jobs. I did come in and fix everything on both jobs within days of them moving the furniture.
Julia - Yes! Vacants are better empty than poorly staged. I've seen some unskilled stagers around here lately who cheapen very nice properties by not paying attention to many of the cardinal rules.... know your target audience, scale furniture to the size of the property, etc
Gary - at least in my case above they knew enough to call me back to finish the job! You are right though... many don't realize they don't know what they don't know. This is where training is very beneficial. I recently overheard the story of a builder's wife who wanted to stage one of their properties. The kitchen was small according to feedback. She thought the best thing to do was to put in a large table & chairs.... you know, to show how large a table it could hold! Maybe they should have actually paid for a professional to assess the situation. Their 'do it yourself' attitude will likely cost them more money in the long run.
Melissa:
I have has to "re-do" two different builders models in the past few months as well. Each builder let their wife and or daughter to stage the model. What are they thinking, other then saving money and then shooting themselves in the foot?
I rarely go to reuse much or "spin" or "tweak" as they asked. It cost them both more money in the end.
It was frustrating for me because both "decorators" got quite offended. The Realtors who brought me in convinced each builder it was not about offending personal taste, but the "Numbers" ($)
My thought when looking at the table and chairs in the bedroom - is what feeling were they trying to convey? Do they understand that we try to evoke emotions?? Like, AWWW how sweet, I can see my kids sleeping and playing here? or my mom would be at such peace in this room when she visits?