Staging is Quite Different Than Decorating
Our goal is to keep costs down for homeowners by using as much of their furnishings and accessories as possible. We always work within the time line, budget and ability of the homeowners. All photos are published with the homeowners consent.
Ever notice how sometimes you just walk into a home and it feels ‘happy’? The last house I Staged, felt like that. Was it the cheery colours, the aged wood floors that creek when you walked on them, the rich architectural details that were full of history or was it just the adorable curb appeal? Showcase the Features In order to draw your attention to the architectural details, I minimized all the artwork. I kept the client’s beautiful turquoise acrylic sculpture since it was one of the colour inspirations. It also balanced the fact that the wall measurements on either …
When staging an occupied home vs. an empty home, there is always the extra challenge of working with the homeowners furniture and figuring out what accessories to bring in to tie everything together. I always start with the furniture placement so I can see what stays and what needs to leave (if possible). Something Had to Go There were too many sofas in this room. The ivory sofa under the blanket matched the blue and ivory chair better, but it was too long for the space. We decided on keeping the green velvet tuxedo sofa instead. I also didn’t want …
I had the privilege to Stage a home that belongs to the sweetest couple who have lived in this house for 52 years!!!!! It was interesting to see how well the homeowner had decorated the home back in the 70’s. According to the family, the house really hasn’t changed that much over time. It’s always hard not to offend homeowners since Staging and decorating for your own personal taste can be very different. So many people still don’t really understand the Staging process if they haven’t sold a house within the last 15 years. Where To Begin: When I first …
This blog post is all about how to find your source of inspiration when staging a room When I first meet with a homeowner I need to instantly gain their trust because not everyone is on board with Staging at the beginning. Often it’s the Realtors who want me there, not the homeowners. While I’m doing that, I’m also scanning the room to see where my ‘jumping off’ point is and figuring out what inventory I have in stock that would suit their house. I’m searching for the features of the home that I want to highlight and what needs …
When I first walked into this open concept townhouse I noticed that there were only the two chairs in the living room. I didn’t know where to sit since there were three of us at the meeting. Two chairs were fine for the homeowners however, for Staging purposes, we really want to appeal to the masses. This is a great family/entertaining home so I wanted to stage every room to the best of my ability. The Realtor was all ready to go to the furniture rental store with me after the consultation since she was expecting to rent furniture. This …
How Hiring Styled & Staged Saved Hundreds of Dollars Read More »
No matter how many times I meet with homeowners, I always get anxious and nervous suggesting that they do any painting. I cringe when I see the glazed look come over their face when I talk about the “P” word. I know it’s a big undertaking for them when there is so much else to do, but fresh paint makes the biggest difference in their investment. This is when I have to “pick my battles” and choose which rooms are priority, and then ultimatley, it’s their decision what they will do. Obviously the timeline is also a huge factor of …
The homeowners called me after reading my blog and asked for help to Stage their townhouse. They were under an extremely short timeline so we all had to work fast!!!! Choose a Colour Palette: When I first walked into this home, there were too many accent colours which chopped up the different zones. I would like to preface that the homeowners had already started to tidy up when I got there so things were out of place and boxes were getting filled up. This is an open-concept house, so in order to make it look and feel larger, we …
I absolutely LOVE Staging bedrooms because I can be more creative and each room can be unique. The key is to imagine who the projected buyers are going to be. I don’t have a crystal ball, however you get a sense of who the buyers are going to be based on the location, price point, number of bedrooms and who else lives in the community etc. Teen Rooms: When I first saw this room, I thought it was the master bedroom. The room is so large, it has the stunning window, the big chandelier and mature looking furniture. I suggested …
Peeling Back The Layers Of An Onion: Sometimes staging a house is like peeling back an onion. As you start to remove layers of ‘stuff’ you begin to see what you have to work with and all the beauty of the home. It can be extremely stressful for homeowners to go through this process alone. In this case we had a wonderful team of movers, the help of an organization company, painters, cleaners, the very hands-on Realtor Patti Smith, myself and yes, even our husbands were there to move stuff and shampoo carpets. Where to Begin: Fortunately I’ve been doing …
Every house has it’s own story. In this case, the family had outgrown the space and purchased a large country home that they were moving to right after I staged the house. The big decision was ‘what furniture do you keep for Staging purposes, and what do you pack in the moving truck to keep costs down? Each visit required more decisions to be made as we slowly removed old furniture and bought new furniture. Every time I went to the house it looked completely different and more decisions needed to be made. 5 Biggest Changes: New paint colour on …
