Staging – A Field Guide

 

Some people think of staging in terms of strictly selling a house and others think of it as a way of making your current place look fresh and shiny.   The reality is, it’s both.

HGTV’s “Staged to Perfection” is addicting and there’s a good reason.  A clean, well organized and clutter free space is just a great place to live or work.  In fact, once you’ve stage your home or your office, you may stand back and say, “Why do I want to leave?”

Staging can be applied to any space and any location.  And it doesn’t require investing big bucks in getting to make it look it’s best. In fact, we focus on using what you already have.  Something may look great in your bedroom today and look terrific in your family room tomorrow.  We work very hard not to apply limits on creativity and work to keep the cost reasonable.

So let’s explore Staging as a way of getting your home or business ready to sell or as a way of redesigning your “nest”.

Staging to Sell:

“All the world’s a stage…” is a phrase that begins a monologue in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It.  This same quote can be applied to your living or working space.  Good or bad, when people enter into your home or office you are setting the stage for a first impression of the world you live and work in, everyday.  You want that impression to be as positive as possible.

For anyone who is selling, staging is a way of making a home more marketable.  The same holds true for business property.  On average, a staged home will sell 43% faster and helps reduce the seller’s risk of leaving money on the table.  Organizing, getting rid of “stuff” and adding a little spit and polish will do wonders!

Not all buyers can visualize a room without a little help.  By setting the stage, your offering that extra help and helping yourself as well.  And if you think it might be expensive, think of the cost of having to reduce the price to sell.  It’s far cheaper.

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Bookshelf before

 

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Bookshelf after

 

Staging to Stay:

So you just need an update to your home.  The floral curtains that have been hanging around since 1998 when you were going through a shabby chic phase, need to be replaced.  Staging to Stay is simply redesigning the space you live in.  What it’s not is completely gutting a room down to the studs and rebuilding.

Staging to Stay, much like Staging to Sell is rethinking the space you live in today.  Clean it up, de-clutter and organize. The bird statue with the clock in the middle of it’s belly may have been a nice wedding present, but now may be time to let it bring joy to someone else’s home.

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Music room before it became an office
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Office Space after staging

If all of this frightens the heck out of you, we suggest you work with a professional.  Whether you are Staging to Sell or Staging to Stay, having someone to work with you and create the space you are leaving or the space you are living, can be much less stressful than going it alone.  So turn to a professional for help, then just sit back and enjoy!