Home Staging is a marketing tool and a system used in real estate to highlight a home’s best features and create value in the minds of buyers. Staging can also help buyers emotionally connect so they feel like this could be their next home. Buying a home is both a financial and an emotional decision and when sellers can appeal to buyers on both levels, they sell quickly and at top dollar. Home staging works!
The System of Staging
The system of staging begins with basic decluttering. It sounds simple but there’s a strategy. Just the idea of “decluttering” overwhelms most people, me included. Next is furniture placement and space planning, then updates and hard finishes in the home and lastly, the condition of the home. These are all important elements of a good staging plan. After working through this system, décor is the element that eludes many but is the string that pulls at buyer’s hearts.
How to use Décor in Staging
Décor is the element that changes dramatically from house to house when the current owner is still living there. I refer to this as Occupied Staging meaning that the home is occupied by the current owners during the marketing period. Generally, 70% of homes are sold occupied rather than vacant, therefore the seller’s décor is part of the staging.
Décor can be trendy or dated, taste specific or non-existent. Some décor is all photos of people we love, and some is so bland you’d have no idea who lives in the home. In staging, the goal is to create a look that appeals to a broad audience, evokes a feeling of wanting to live in the space and does not detract from the fixed elements of the home. These elements include things such as architecture, moldings, flooring, lighting, cabinetry and hardware, but also the view and natural light. These elements are extremely important in staging. Staging is about the home, not the homeowner.
Most people don’t have a design plan either
I’ve been in enough homes now to tell you that the majority of homes do not have a cohesive design plan and function reigns over beauty. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, good staging is built the principles of design which will in turn, create a feeling of balance, rhythm and peace in the mind of potential buyers, no matter the preferences of the current homeowner.
5 WAYS TO ELEVATE DECOR AND DESIGN
1) Art
Use art that includes some color, not too much, and is hung in a way that gets the viewer’s eyes to move around the space rather than stop and look at anything too long. Avoid anything too taste specific – think landscapes, flowers and patterns of color. Avoid too many family photos or just too many pieces of art. Wall collages are tricky, often too busy and should be removed for staging.
And on the topic of art, be sure to follow the design rules on hanging art. The center of the art should be about 60 inches from the floor and 8-10 inches above a sofa or piece of furniture.
2) Soft Goods
The use of decorative pillows, throw blankets, rugs and bedding create a cozy feeling of home, add color and texture and can update a dated piece of furniture. A basic brown sofa is transformed with light colored pillows and throw. A dark bedroom instantly feels brighter with white bedding. These elements are extremely important in staging.
3) Greenery and plants
There seems to be two kinds of people – those with green thumbs and have an overabundance of plants, and those that know all plants will die under their care and therefore avoid all plants. Staging is a happy medium and thankfully, can include everlasting plants, the ones that never need water or sunlight and never die. Green plants add life, color and visual interest in a space. Some plants are trendy or dated, so if you’ve had it for 20 years, it may be time to get something new. Avoid too many colors in flowers; stick with soft colors or neutrals.
4) Lighting
Good lighting is a powerful accessory to any home and transforms a space. It updates a home, brightens a room and evokes a peaceful feeling when it is done properly and addressed in the staging process. While a 20 year old chandelier works the same as a brand new one, it also updates a room into something that is modern and not mom’s. Lamps are such an easy accessory to add to any surface and does double duty in creating a brighter, finished room.
And on the topic of lighting, pay attention to kelvin! What is kelvin? It is the color temperature of your lightbulb. Soft white, about 3000 kelvin is best for staging. Daylight bulbs, 5000 kelvin and above, is blue, harsh and clinical. If you happen to prefer those daylight bulbs, replacing them means you get to take them to your next home. Soft white is best for staging.
5) Repeat
This is so important in design! A red vase on a table with no other red in the room becomes a magnet for your eyes, causing a viewer to miss everything else. Repeating any element creates balance and calm and allows your eyes to move around a space.
Homeowners do not have to be experts at interior decorating in order to implement an effective staging plan when it’s time to sell. Consulting with an expert will give you the ability to see your own home in a new way and give you the tools to follow effective design strategies to stage your own home.
These strategies are effective even when you are not getting ready to sell! Utilizing design rules and staging strategies, homeowners can enjoy a staged home that is also a little more personal and cluttered, functional and homey for themselves too!
Schedule a Staging Consultation or a Color and Design Consultation whether you are getting ready to sell or looking to enjoy what you have even more!
