Almost everyone has heard of “staging”. The idea is to go through the home and make it look like a place that we might see in a magazine. The right amount of furniture is put in the right places to make the home look inviting and livable.
It isn’t about cramming the place full of furniture, lamps, books, and rugs. Staging is more about cleaning, decluttering and making needed repairs or upgrades. Most of the houses I sell have too much furniture and furniture needs to be removed not added.
Effective home staging for an occupied home can include removing pieces of furniture and family photos from the walls. Clearing horizontal surfaces and re-arranging shelves and artwork. There is no need to over think it. Moving a chair from one place to another isn’t going to cause a home to sell for more or less.
I am not convinced that a vacant house always needs to have furniture put in it to help it sell. I love the look of clean empty rooms. To me, there isn’t any room that is more pleasing than one that is empty. I don’t have any problem seeing the possibilities or imagining it with my own stuff in it.
If furniture is used to stage a vacant home it should be kept to a minimum. Limit the number of rugs and huge ottomans and artfully draped throws. Small furniture should be used in small rooms.
Home sellers who have a home professionally staged should also have it professionally photographed. Chances are anyone who wants to see the home will see it on the internet first.
If the house needs a little work and a good cleaning filling it with a stagers furniture isn’t going to help. Bad staging can actually hurt as rooms may look smaller with too much stuff in them and decorations can become distractions.
