Use What You Have

I normally have 3-4 visits per staging but since this home was far away from me and we had a very tight deadline I had to accomplish everything in only 2 visits so I had to be extremely prepared. The first visit entailed a walk-through and made up a plan for each room. I started moving some of the furniture around right away just to make sure the homeowner was on board. She needed to get excited about the work ahead. Sometimes the biggest challenge is getting the homeowner to believe that the process will be worth it. Since this woman lived alone I knew that manpower was also going to be an issue and that I would have to do more than usual as well. For me, it was a challenge knowing exactly what to bring from my inventory to make the house look it’s best for photos. No second chances to go pick anything else up. I also knew keeping the budget as low as possible was key so I did my best using her own furniture in a different way.

IMG_7250 (800x533) — BEFORE – the furniture placement had to stay the same since it was the only way everything would fit but the mirrors in front of the window really blocked the light

AFTER – removing the mirror above the dresser really brightened the room. We also removed the tan shears but left the aqua ones to keep it feeling breezy. We also moved the artwork above the headboard and put it on the side wall since it was way too high. I wanted to use the ottoman at the end of the bed in another room. Adding the large light area rug helped define the area. When you have really dark furniture and really dark floors there has to be a break or it just looks like a dark hole in photos (but not necessarily when you are actually in the room)

IMG_7256 (800x533) — BEFORE – this room had no personality since it wasn’t being used by anyone. I wanted to use the chair in the living room and turn this room into an appealing ‘children’s’ room to appeal to buyers with young families. Always know who your target market it 🙂

AFTER – this room was an easy transformation once the extra furniture was removed. I brought in all my rentals for the fun pops of colour and a youthful feel. Even the homeowners’ dresser looks good now

IMG_7266 (800x533) — BEFORE – since no one was living in this room I really felt it was important to remove EVERYTHING. The furniture was just too big and it dwarfed the room. I always like to put beds in all the bedrooms for staging but in a case like this where the bed is too large it can put a negative twist on it and we didn’t have any other single beds. Her family members were happy to take this bedroom suite

AFTER – this room makes a great home office. She had the desk stored in the basement and the ottoman was from the master bedroom. All this room needed was some artwork and accessories

BEFORE – when staging your home you want to simplify bathrooms as much as possible. Never have floor mats, toilet seat covers and extra shelves or it will look like there isn’t enough storage

AFTER – hard to believe this is the same room by simply neutralizing it with fresh white towels and shower curtain. Buyers can actually see what they are buying now

BEFORE – this dining room had way too much furniture which made the room look small and congested

IMG_7514 (800x533) — AFTER – removing the large china cabinet from the corner and two extra chairs allowed more traffic flow around the table

IMG_7510 (800x533) — AFTER – adding my rental artwork and accessories really helped give the room interest. Large mirrors are wonderful but sometimes you need colour and textures when there is anything else in the room. Since the floors were dark and the table was dark I added accessories on the table to break up all the chocolate brown. The colour inspiration was carried through to the living room

BEFORE – I didn’t like this brown sofa in the room since it was too long for the wall and it didn’t match the beige sofa on the other side of the room. I also didn’t like have all the TV components on the mantle for Staging purposes

AFTER – replacing the large brown sofa with the leather chair from upstairs made a nice conversation area and it was a better proportion for the room. I also like how the mantle is now a focal point instead of just the TV. Buyers can see what it would look like with artwork there if they didn’t want their TV there

IMG_7229 (800x533) (800x533) — BEFORE -Although the area rug was the homeowners colour pallet I didn’t like the way it looked in photos. I found it made the room look too busy

IMG_7512 (800x533) — AFTER – adding a solid ivory area rug keep it looking calm. Continuing with the orange/teal accents created a nice flow

I could tell that the homeowner was overwhelmed at first when I told her the original plan but I think the pictures speak for themselves. This house will not be on the market for long!!!

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