Speaking Up about Home Staging

I blogged about this home last night with the RES, The first of 50... Working with what the builder already has & making it work!  The home was already full of inventory.  The management company (and the manager's wife) have done a lot of watching HGTV and felt that the home really would show better staged.... YAY HGTV!  The problem is that after getting a pretty good start, they didn't know what to do.

Internet search .... finding that one of my two websites usually comes up in the first slot (with the second one right behind it) he did a little looking and liked what he saw...... We set up a meeting and went through the property, we discussed their needs not only for this property, but the next few years worth of spec building.  A plan was created, contracts signed and a few days later this is the transformation....

When buyers want to spend $600K on a home, typically they want a dining room large enough to entertain in.  The current set up was not especially condusive to this.  We removed the light fixture (they will be rehanging it) since the current location would not have centered on the table.  We didn't want to be confined to the tiny area that it appeared to be contained to. 

We used side by side seating (we often do this) because you can clearly see that 6 people could fit at this table BUT the room does not appear crowded by actually adding the other 2.  In this photo you can see that you could add an even larger table & rug if you wanted to.

The sofa and loveseat were out of style and felt very dated.  The least expensive option was to slipcover them.  (This is island territory, so it works!)  We also added a seagrass rug, coffee table, end table, lamp and a few throw pillows.  (A TV was added above the fireplace also, but not before we took the photos.)  We had considered adding curtains to the outside windows, but decided against it because the windows are fully surrounded with molding.  Curtains also may have interfered with the built in bookcase.

The management company brought int he rug and the bedding after our walkthrough.  Our job was to then finish the room with pillows, art, lamps and accessories.  I think the final product is very 'beachy' - soft and comfortable. 

Gold is not an accent that we typically like to find in homes (particularly new construction) anymore.  The management company did a good job by adding the gold & mother of pearl mirrors.  We softened the gold punch by adding yellow orchids, fluffy natural bamboo towels, greenery and richer gold accessories. 

The management company added all the furniture after our consultation.  We wanted to make sure that we had 2 separate areas for seating since the room was quite large.  I think they did a great job all on their own!

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Proud sponsor of the 2008 Realtor of Distinction Luncheon at CTAR's Plugged In Conference.  Join us for our Staging Workshop at the conference! 

2007 RESA Staging Innovator of the Year nominee

2007 RESA Professional Stager of the Year nominee