Appeal to the Masses When Staging

As I walked into this house it immediately felt like a ‘home’.  It had a unique layout with lots of charm and personality.  As a Stager, it can be hard to ask homeowners to remove certain furnishings in order to appeal to the masses even though it looks beautiful..

Place Furniture the Way the Masses Would

Nothing says elegance, culture and sophistication more than a grand piano in a living room.  Unfortunately the masses don’t own one so they find it hard to visualize the scale of the room with ‘their’ furniture in it.  It killed me asking them to remove it but fortunately, it was going to another happy home to be enjoyed.

By removing the piano, we were able to place furniture the way the masses would. It also opened up the room for a better view of the fireplace. I did my best to bring in other accessories to maintain the elegance. It was important to think of the age of the buyers.

I wanted the fireplace to be the focal point of the room since it stays with the house.  We couldn’t paint the walls, so I brought in this artwork since it ties in the gold from the paint and the gray tones from the stone fireplace.  It also shows younger buyers how they can easily transform the look.  Gray is the current colour of choice by the younger buyers so I wanted to show how easy it was to add gray to the existing colours.

The piano didn’t allow any balance in the room since the sofa had to be at one end of the room.  This was ideal for parents as their children were enjoying their piano lessons, but symmetry is very important in Staging.

We brought in the leather sofa from another room since it was nice and low. It didn’t block the huge window and it also made it look more contemporary.  I loved being able to use the homeowners antique lamps and area rug since it tied in with the adjoining red dining room.  The eclectic look keeps the room interesting.

I brought in oversized artwork with all the colours to lead buyers into the dining room.

Replace What You Want to Take

I was drooling over the stunning wall unit.  It gave the house so much granduer.  The homeowners wanted to keep the chandelier so we needed to find another one that would work with their antiques but also appeal to a younger buyer. If you know that the you want to take something like light fixtures with you, it’s always better to remove them now and replace it with something else. You don’t want it to be an issue when negotiating.

This light fixture was a good choice since it mimicked the wood work and the black iron also tied in with the two visible fireplaces.  This light will blend with almost any style of furniture. I also added simple yet elegant oversized candle holders and a decorative bowl to appeal to the younger buyers.

I’m sure buyers will sense the “family ‘home'” feeling as soon as they walk in.